Goat Cheese Canapes with Strawberries & Balsamic Reduction

I was lucky enough to be able to find some decent passable strawberries last week. I know I say this every year, but good strawberries get harder and harder to find. Remember, people: small, dark red, and perhaps a little dull in texture. If they are big, red and shiny, they are NO GOOD. Do not buy them. Call over the store manager, and weep and wail and carry on. I can't be the only one, surely? As you may suppose, I did not find these in the grocery store. According to my local strawberry farmer, the local groceries won't even buy the good strawberries any more, even though she still grows them.  What do you think of them berries?!?

Ahem, sorry. That seems to have turned into my annual strawberry rant.

However, even with "just okay" strawberries, these were magnificently good. The combination of everything is hard to beat with the slightly sweet vinegar really bringing out the sweetness of the berries. 

24 pieces
30 minutes prep time

Make the Balsamic Reduction:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey

Put the vinegar and honey in a small pot. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, and simmer steadily until reduced by about one-third. Set aside to cool. This can be done in advance.

If you reduce the vinegar too much, and it is too thick, thin it with a little more vinegar, a few drops at a time, until it is the right consistency. Mr. Ferdzy took it for chocolate sauce at first, and that's about the right consistency.

Finish the Canapes:
24 thin slices of baguette
70 grams (2 ounces) chevre (soft goat cheese)
24 strawberries

Toast the slices of baguette lightly. Spread each one with about a teaspoonful of chevre. Wash and hull the strawberries, and cut them in halves or slices, and top each slice of baguette with a couple of slices of strawberry. Drizzle the balsamic reduction over the strawberries.




Last year at this time I made Garlic Scape Burgers.