Paper Crane Appetizer

# What You'll Need:

→ Cured Meats

01 - 3.5 oz prosciutto, thinly sliced

02 - 3.5 oz smoked turkey breast, thinly sliced

03 - 2.8 oz bresaola or pastrami, thinly sliced

→ Crackers

04 - 16 triangular whole-grain crackers (2 inches per side)

05 - 8 black sesame or poppy seed triangular crackers

→ Garnishes

06 - 1 small bunch chives

07 - 1 small carrot, peeled

08 - 2 tbsp cream cheese

09 - 1 tbsp black sesame seeds

# Directions:

01 - Use a vegetable peeler to slice the carrot very thinly, then cut a few slices into narrow strips for use as the crane's beak and legs.

02 - On a large serving platter, fold prosciutto and smoked turkey slices into sharp triangular folds, layering them to form a three-dimensional crane body.

03 - Fold bresaola or pastrami slices into triangles and arrange them fanned upward to represent wings in flight.

04 - Place triangular crackers beneath and alongside the folded meats, following the body and wing outlines to emphasize the crane silhouette.

05 - Use cream cheese to affix carrot strips as the crane's beak and legs onto the arrangement. Add chives to resemble tail feathers and wing accents.

06 - Sprinkle black sesame seeds to mark the eye location and across the wings for texture enhancement.

07 - Serve immediately or cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 1 hour before serving.

# Expert Tips:

01 -

It's the kind of dish that makes people pause mid-conversation to admire it before they eat it.
Takes just twenty minutes but looks like you've been planning it for days.
No actual cooking required, which means your kitchen stays calm and your hands stay clean.

02 -

Room temperature meat arranges better than cold meat; take your cured meats out of the fridge thirty minutes before you start folding so they're pliable and cooperative.
The cream cheese is more than glue—it's stability; don't skimp on it when anchoring your carrot pieces, or they'll slide around and break your composition.

03 -