Ingredients
small block of cheese, sliced (I used 1000 day aged gouda)
crackers or bread
1 cup grapes
1 teaspoon olive oil (coconut oil, grapeseed, or canola can be substituted) *
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F . Place grapes on a Silpat-lined (or parchment or foil-lined) baking sheet, drizzle grapes with olive oil, and bake at 425F for 20 minutes, or until grapes have begun to wilt and some have burst. While the grapes are roasting, make the reduction.
*Go light-handed on the oil because it doesn’t really absorb much and it will coat the grapes and just stay there, making them seem a little greasy if you use too much.
Balsamic Reduction
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
Combine vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stir until sugar dissolves, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, allowing mixture to boil rapidly for about 4-5 minutes, stirring nearly continuously. Shut off the heat and immediately pour the mixture into a heat-safe food storage container and allow it to cool in that container. Tip: If you let the mixture cool in most sauce pans or pots, it will harden and become insanely sticky, needing major elbow grease to clean the pan. Don’t allow mixture to cool in the pot; pour it into another container immediately.
You will likely have extra reduction; it will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for weeks. Use it over salads, when roasting vegetables, or as a dip for just about anything from bread to chips to tofu.
Place cheese on top of crackers, top with grapes and their cooking juices, drizzle with the balsamic reduction.
