Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

I always see great recipe ideas for appetizers, but hardly ever make them.  We don't have people over very often, and on the rare occasion that I make something to bring to someone else's house, I am hesitant to take a chance on a recipe I've never tried before.  So I've decided that every now and then we're going to make appetizers for dinner!  That will give me a chance to try out new recipes without the pressure of disappointing a lot of people if they turn out mediocre.

I think we are off to a good start with this one.  It's the classic combination of figs, goat cheese, and walnuts, except instead of fresh figs you use dried and add sugar, oranges, and rosemary to make a chunky jam on the stove top.  I loved the dried figs!  So sweet and delicious.  I ate several while preparing the other ingredients.  We made the full recipe and decided to bring the leftovers up to my parents house for Father's Day.  Everyone liked them!  Success!

To keep things light we rounded out the meal with roasted veggies from the CSA.  Works for us!  

Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

adapted from Cooking Light, September 2008

makes 20 servings (serving size = 2 bruschetta)

Notes:  Even if you are serving this to a smaller group, DO make a full batch of the jam!  You will want leftovers for spreading on toast at breakfast.  You can prepare the jam up to three days in advance and refrigerate.  Bring to room temperature and assemble the bruschetta just before serving.

1 1/4 cups chopped dried Mission figs (about 9 ounces)

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup coarsely chopped orange sections

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1/3 cup fresh orange juice (about one orange)

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

40 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette, toasted (about 8 ounces)

1 1/4 cups (about 10 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

5 teaspoons finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small saucepan, combine the figs, sugar, orange sections, orange juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce the heat so it's just simmering.  Cook for about 10 minutes, or until the figs are tender.  Uncover, cook another 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.  Remove from heat.  Cool to room temperature.

Preheat the broiler.

Top each bread slice with about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the fig mixture and then add about 1 1/2 teaspoons goat cheese on top of that.  Lightly press the walnuts onto the goat cheese (the original recipe says to just sprinkle them over the top.  Go ahead, give that a try and let me know how many actually stick!).  Broil for about 2 minutes or until the nuts begin to brown.  Serve warm.