Perfect Beef Football Appetizers

I am full. I ate beef all weekend. It was AWESOME.

I am not a Chicken person. As proof to such, I think the Chik-fil-a ads are HILARIOUS. Not because they inspire me to eat more chicken, but because I LOVE cows. Especially the commercial where the cows are getting down to disco music, having a huge party in the warehouse and get busted by the security guard and the cow looks into the camera like… well, I digress.

Having recently been told by my doctor that I am anemic (explains some things), I am on a mission to take better care of myself and eat more red meat.

I may have taken that as a green light to over-indulge.

That and I am participating in a 4 week Texan Beef Loving Blogger Holiday Series sponsored by the Texas Beef Council. You may remember when dreamy Chef Chamberlain taught me how to broil? Yep, I am totally qualified and ready to take on any beef recipe you throw at me, as long as I don’t have to actually touch the raw meat.

First on our slate of beef-wonderfulness? Hearty beef appetizers – I chose:

Beef Crostini with Balsamic Drizzle and Parmesan Crisps

Seriously, super descriptive but that’s just too much to say. We thought of renaming it to LSU Rally Bites. Because that’s precisely what my precious Tigers did the very moment that I got disgusted enough with the way the LSU v Georgia game was going to make my escape to the kitchen to cook. The more I prepared, the more they scored. Worked out to a perfect 42-10 finish to pave the way to playing in the national championship. What could be a better recipe recommendation than that?!

We are a bit superstitious around here. And that means that this yummy flavor explosion will be making a repeat in a few weeks. And might I recommend that as we approach bowl season that you ALSO try this fantastic beef appetizer recipe to ensure that your team wins!

As long as your team is NOT Alabama.

Beef Crostini with Balsamic Drizzle and Parmesan Crisps   LSU Rally Bites

Ingredients

• 2 boneless beef top loin (strip) steaks (about 1-1/4 pounds) Since it was only three of us eating these, I halfed the meat. I left everything else as is though.
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1-1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 12 slices of thin white sandwich bread, crusts removed – I’d recommend using a hearty cracker instead. I wasn’t crazy about the bread I used but it was okay.
• 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse grind black pepper – I freshly ground it.
• salt
• 4 ounces garlic-herb cheese spread, slightly softened – I used Boursin, Yum.
• prepared balsamic syrup – I couldn’t find this in the store, so I made it using this simple recipe

24 small arugula leaves – again, my store didn’t have these so I used baby spinach.

Instructions

Parmesan Cheese Crisps

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Combine Parmesan cheese and flour in small bowl; toss to mix well.
• Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or use Reynolds Aluminum foil non-stick if you hate cleaning dishes like I do.
• Sprinkle Parmesan mixture evenly into 8-inch circle on baking sheet.
• Bake in center of 350°F oven 6 to 8 minutes or until melted and light brown.
• Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet, then remove to wire rack to cool completely.
• Break into 24 irregular-shaped pieces. Set aside.
You can even set this aside for a day or two.

Prepare your bread:

• Cut each bread slice diagonally in half.
• Place in single layer on baking sheet.
• Bake in 350°F oven about 6 minutes or until lightly toasted but not brown.
• Set aside.

Prepare your steak:

• Press pepper evenly onto beef steaks.
• Heat large nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot.
• Place steaks in skillet; cook top loin steaks 12 to 15 minutes (tenderloin steaks 10 to 13 minutes) for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally.

Carve steaks into thin slices; season with salt.

• • Meanwhile, spread 1 teaspoon cheese onto each bread piece; top with 2 to 3 steak slices.
  • Drizzle balsamic syrup over beef; then top with Parmesan Cheese Crisps and arugula leaf, or in our case, a baby spinach leaf.

Makes: 24

Prep Time: Approximately 2 quarters of a football game (or 50 minutes)

Nutritional Information

Nutrition information per serving, using top loin steaks: 74 calories; 3 g fat (2 g saturated fat; 1 g monounsaturated fat); 17 mg cholesterol; 101 mg sodium; 4 g carbohydrate; 0.2 g fiber; 7 g protein; 1.7 mg ; 0.1 mg vitamin B6; 0.3 mcg vitamin B12; 0.6 mg iron; 7.3 mcg selenium; 1.1 mg zinc.

Be sure to visit the TexasBeef.org site for more tasty recipes and tips to make LSU Rally Bites. Or you know, [fill in your favorite team here] Rally Bites. And while you’re surfing, check out the other 9 bloggers who are participating in this beefy challenge and their recipes:

Allie at Screwed Up Texan, Amy from Mom’s Toolbox,  Arena from The Nerd’s Wife,  Brenda from Meal Planning Magic, Christina from A Closet Writer, Crystal from Crystal and Company, Holly from June Cleaver Nirvana, Jessica from My Baking Heart,  Lori from A Day in the Motherhood.

Here are links to my other Texas Beef Recipes for beef breakfast rolls, garlic crusted petite roast and cowboy chili, Yee Haw!

AND mark your calendar for Tuesday, December 13 from 8 – 9 CST.

Like the cows in the disco, I will be participating in the #TXBeef Holiday Menu Twitter party. There will be LOADS of prizes give away (23 to be exact), not to mention tips for making holiday menus easier. There will even be a butcher, a baker and a candlestick maker – oh wait, that’s a toddler song. (Ha ha.) There WILL be a butcher, a nutritionist and a chef tweeting with us. I promise you’ll have fun and learn at the same time. Hope to see you there!

Disclosure: I have partnered with the Texas Beef Council for the next four weeks and am being compensated, however all opinions are 100% my own. The recipes are courtesy of the Texas Beef Council.