Sweetbreads crostini with on-hand chimichurri
Bread
I always wanted to try my hand at veal sweetbreads and I finally came to the plate with this dish. You need to plan ahead (the prep for the sweetbreads is easy but takes 2 days), but its worth it; since I wasn't serving a crowd I took down 6 or 7 of these with a tempranillo. Fatty but cut with the faux chimichuri (I had it leftover from skirt steak) and wine, it'd be perfect for serving culinarily adventurous guests while the wine is flowing freely. In the (very poor quality) picture attached, I used a shmear of spanish goat cheese on the toast, but you could also use thin slices of good brie. <br />Some people suggest, after taking the sweetbreads out of the skillet, drying them on paper towel. I advise against this; at the highish temp I cook the sweetbreads at, the butter gets golden and nutty after round 2 of frying and when you put the finished, buttery pieces right down onto the cheese laden just-toasted bread, the cheese beneath will melt perfectly. Mushrooms would pair beautifully with this dish. While eating it I imagined you could also make the sweetbreads and put them (without the quartering step, so you have good portions) on a potato pancake, with a dollop of creme fraiche and some chopped chives. That, especially if paired with a wild mushroom side, would be an unctuous main dish. You could also bypass the toasting step and just use thick sliced bread. <br />For the faux chimmichurri I basically just used the herbs that I had on hand or were growing in the garden: cilantro, basil, parsley and oregano. I'm sure tarragon would work in there too. Totally up to you what you put in it besides the necessity of some cayenne for heat, vinegar and quality olive oil.
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