I’m so excited that people have been joining (and posting such delicious things to) this blog! Here is my first contribution, as requested by my already-dearly-missed friend Erin. It is what I am cheerfully assembling in the picture below.
Ingredients:
baguette
ricotta
pepper
olive oil
marjoram (fresh or dried)
1 recipe olive paste (see below)
Olive paste:
1 cup pitted olives (any kind; I used kalamata)
1/4 cup capers, rinsed
2 small garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried or 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
pepper
fresh lemon juice
Put the olives, capers, garlic and thyme (if using dried) in a food processor and blend. Add olive oil, blend some more. Season with pepper and add lemon juice (to taste, I used maybe around the juice of a quarter of a lemon) and thyme (if using fresh).
To make crostini: slice the baguette and toast the pieces. Spread a layer of olive paste and a layer of ricotta on each crostini in proportions that suit your tastes (I prefer a thicker layer of olive paste and a thinner one of ricotta, but your mileage may vary). Season with black pepper and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Broil briefly to warm the cheese, sprinkle the crostini with marjoram (I used dried because that’s what I had available, but fresh would probably be much nicer), and serve warm.
This recipe is taken from Deborah Madison’s fabulous Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.
friends help friends eat food 
These are the best appetizers ever, and I can tell that you make them with as much enjoyment as is shown in the pic on this post because they tasted like they were made with joy the first time I tried them. Simple, elegant, delicious.
Thanks so much, Jackie!