The bliss that is roasted grapes

I bought a carton of organic red grapes from Costco on Saturday. 4 pounds of them, seriously, what the hell was I thinking? JR and I could never eat 4 pounds of grapes before they go totally fuzzy and mushy and start leaking sticky gross grape juice all over the counter. It was like I looked at them and my brain right turned off. They looked so dang yummy and I hadn't had decent grapes in forever and I just needed them. (Okay, let's not discuss the word "need". I want to go on record as saying that the difference between "need" and "want" in these circumstances is very very fine.) What can I say? I succumbed to their plump goodness.

Now, that I had them in my kitchen what was I to do with them? Sure, I could snack on them all day long but I needed and wanted to do something more. Because, holy cow, I had 4 pounds of the suckers. I had to put on my thinking cap to come up with something different, something all fancy like or at least the facsimile of fancy. I'd been eying a roasted grape recipe in one of my many cookbooks and since it was hors d'oeuvre night at our house I thought roasted grapes would be perfect.

It is now official...this will now be on a regular rotation at our house from now on. Served on a crunchy piece of grilled bread slathered with a little tangy goat cheese it is like a bite of heaven. Sweet, salty, crunchy, you can't beat that. Oh and let's not forget that this is about as easy as it gets.

There are a ton of recipes out there. I just sort of looked them over for basic technique than threw together what worked for me. Which was awesome, BTW.

Roasted Grapes
1 1/2 cup grapes (I used red seedless)
1 teaspoon of olive oil
salt, pepper and seasoning blend of your choice. (I happened to have Mrs. Dash on hand. I'd suggest staying with something without salt or don't salt them. Cooks choice)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper (makes clean up a whole lot easier, don'cha know). Spread grapes onto the sheet pan and toss with the olive oil and spices. That's as hard as it gets. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes or until the grapes are soft but still hold their shape.

This made 4 bread thingies. Which was just right for us. I had 2 left over for happy hour on Sunday night. I think they would be great folded into some creamy risotto or served on a bed of micro greens with some toasted walnuts and a simple vinaigrette. I'm, also, thinking that pear grape crumble is starting to sound good.

Give roasted grapes a try sometime...like when you buy too many grapes and don't how what the hell to do with them all.

Love,
M