Stuffed Baguette Bites

Baguettes can be an accessory ingredient in so many recipes. Used this way, it becomes an edible receptacle for just about any filling you can dream up. No need to dip or spread your bread with any other ingredients. This is a great ?self-contained? appetizer, as well as part of a lunch buffet for a special event.

These thin little loaves are one of my favorite inventions - a nice compromise between a slice of bread and a cracker. I had never given much thought to using a baguette as a shellfor anything before. When I noticed a halved baguette used as a ?boat? (of sorts) for a sandwich filling, it seemed like stuffing one might also work.

This filling is one of those totally random concoctions that resulted from a quick inventory of my ?need to be used? ingredients. Ham, green pepper, green onion, grated cheese - nothing special here. However, adding cream cheese and a few seasonings really made the difference.

The trickiest step is removing the soft center of the baguette. Being overly timid sometimes, I usually think I?ll do some damage that can?t be undone. Just dig in and go for it - these little bread rolls are tougher than they look. I simply started pinching the center and pulling out strands of the soft bread, and it easily made a tunnel. Just remember to cut your bread into 10-12? lengths - unless you have extremely LONG fingers.

A food processor makes fast work of chopping the ham and veggies. It even did a decent job of mixing in the cream cheese - although next time I?ll fold it in with a spatula so the ham is in recognizable pieces.

Chilling the filled baguettes before slicing sets the filling so it won?t escape while slicing. Arrange spiral-fashion on a serving platter, and be sure to keep these cool.

For the recipe & how-to's - go to :

www.changeabletable.com

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