Grilled Pineapple and Creamy Blue Cheese Bruschetta

Grilling season is upon us. And if you're like me and don't have an outdoor grill, use your indoor grill pan and whip up this tasty appetizer in your kitchen. It's so easy and it's gonna wake up every little taste bud in your mouth.

Grilled Pineapple and Creamy Blue Cheese Bruschetta
Inspired by Lauren "The Pie Maker"

1-1/2 cans (8 oz each) pineapple slices in 100% pineapple juice (6 slices)
1/2 baguette sliced 3/8"-1/2" on the diagonal
8 oz neufchatel cheese softened
5 oz blue cheese crumbled and at room temp
1/3 cup raisins
2 stalks celery finely chopped
3 tsp scallions finely chopped
2 tsp pineapple juice from the can of sliced pineapple
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Parsley or mint for garnish

Heat your grill pan on high and toast/grill your bread slices a few minutes on each side.

Set the bread aside and do the same thing with the pineapple slices until they become caramalized and light brown.

Set the pineapple slices aside to cool and let's make the cheese topping. Combine the neufchatel and blue cheese. I use a flexible spatuala. Now add the raisins, celery, scallions, Worcestershire, and pineapple juice.

Take four of the grilled pineapple slices and finely chop. Add these to the mixture and combine.

We're just about ready to plate. Take a heaping tablespoon of cheese mixture and place on grilled bread. With the two remaining slices of grilled pineapple cut them into 4 pieces (so they look like little fans) and place one atop each bruschetta. Now garnish with parsley or mint. Isn't that simple? And the combo of creamy and crispy is just what I'm always looking for.

There are many ways to re-mix this cheese spread- use dried cranberries or dried cherries instead of the raisins, pistachio nuts in place of the celery (we want crunch and this is a great option), and I've thought about some hot Fresno chilis but have not tested this idea yet. And then the addition of bacon came into the picture. I haven't tried that yet either, but bacon seems to go with everything and how could that fail? 

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Here's an update on what I did this past weekend with this creamy, fruity spread. I over-stuffed some extra large mushrooms. Super quick and delish. Sprinkle tops with some paprika for color and bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Garnish with parsley and gobble them up.