Tonight's frost warning prompted me to pick the last of the basil leaves from my 5 plants as I got out of my car. It will be a miracle if the plants aren't dead tomorrow. So I plucked all the nice leaves off that didn't get frost bitten last night. You can see some of them already got nipped last night. When I came inside I decided I would have a cocktail tonight while I washed dishes. I had some pre-mixed Cosmopolitans so I shook one up with some ice. I had purchased some Swiss cheese and ham on the way home along with a little box of Sesame flavored Melba toasts. 
I had melba toast, fresh basil, Swiss cheese slices, and a mostly empty jar of home made mayonnaise. A slice of Swiss cheese folded in three, placed on top of a melba toast that has just a tad of mayo scraped from the jar on it. The cheese is also topped with a smear of mayo to "glue" the tiny or torn basil leaves that I used to top the cheese cracker. Sounds really simple doesn't it? It is! And it was really, really good for a little nibble with a cocktail. A tray full of them at a party would make a beautiful tray and your guests will love these as a light, fresh tasting appetizer, with whatever your are serving as an aperitif! (I had three of them!) They would be wonderful with a red or a white wine, or even a glass of ginger ale!These days you can buy fresh basil most times of the year at the grocery store. Try these, you'll love them! I'm off to make more mayonnaise!
