Goat Cheese Baguettes

Hi Everyone! Hope your November has been off to a great start! I have a fun new appetizer recipe to share with you! I would be honored if you’d give this one a try at your Thanksgiving feast this year. Now I know many of you may be skeptical of the goat cheese but I promise that the other ingredients really tone down the flavor and these little guys are just out of this world!

This is an adaptation of a recipe that Danny and I learned at Adelinos Old World Kitchen here in Lafayette, IN. They offer cooking classes during the fall-spring and Danny bought me a couple for Christmas last year (not that I need any help, mind you! Just to ‘broaden my horizons’ so to speak. ;) When the class starts, there is a list of recipes that will be made that evening; we go around the room and pick one that sounds appealing and/or interesting to us. Danny was last and no one wanted this little bugger- my guess is because of the goat cheese! However, at the end of the class, we all had to go around the room and talk about the recipes we liked; this one was by far the class favorite and everyone said they couldn’t believe how much they enjoyed it!  As an added bonus, I’ve thrown in a homemade candied walnut recipe that you can use with this. I think it goes a long way so if you have the time to make them, do it! This recipe will not only impress your guests but develop their palettes along the way!

GOAT CHEESE BAGUETTES

What you need for the goat cheese baguettes:

French Baguette (you can make your own but I used store bought- take and bake variety)

1 cup goat cheese

~1/2 cup diced figs (this is about 7-9 whole figs)

~1/2 cup candied walnuts (recipe below- or you can buy them)

Honey

To make the goat cheese baguettes:

1. If you use the take and bake variety of the French baguette, go ahead and cook it to packaged directions. When it’s done, take it out and let cool for about 10 minutes. You can make the goat cheese mixture in the meantime.

2. Measure out about 1 cup of goat cheese and crumble it in a bowl.

3. Chop up your dates and walnuts, then measure out about 1/2 cup of each.   

 Add to the goat cheese bowl.

I know it looks strange but it tastes great!

4. Mix it up with a spoon and then pop it in the fridge while you go back to work on your bread.

5. Slice your French bread into 1-inch thick pieces. Place evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes at 350 degrees until the tops get nice and golden and crusty.

6. Take your goat cheese mixture out of the fridge and evenly place a scoop on top of your crusty bread.  (Side note, this mixture can be made up to a week ahead of time as long as you keep it covered in the fridge…makes this a really easy appetizer to throw together at the last minute.)

7. Place slices back in the oven and bake for another 7-9 minutes until the mixture is nice and hot.

8. As soon as you pull the bread out of the oven, drizzle each slice with a little bit of honey. 

I swear- you are not going to believe how amazing this is!!

ENJOY!

BONUS: CANDIED WALNUTS

What you need for the walnuts:

(Note, you don’t need this many for the recipe above but you can keep the extras to snack on-they are good!)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups raw walnut halves

To make the walnuts:

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lay walnuts out on a baking sheet in a single layer on parchment paper (if you have it). Bake for 5 minutes. As soon as you can smell them- they’re done! If not quite toasted enough, toast for 1 or 2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn-this can happen pretty easily!

2. Remove from oven and let cool.

3. Pour sugar into a medium saucepan. (Have your walnuts nearby, ready to quickly add to the pan at the right time.)

4. Cook sugar on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon as soon as the sugar begins to melt. 

Not quite done...

Keep stirring until all the sugar has melted and the color is a medium amber.

Perfect!

5. As soon as sugar is melted and the color is a medium amber, add the walnuts to the pan, quickly stirring and coating each piece with the sugar mixture.

6. Once the walnuts are coated with the sugar mixture, spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet, lined with parchment paper (you can use the piece you just used from toasting).

7. Use two forks to separate the walnuts from each other, working quickly. (It’s okay if they don’t all separate- you can chop them up later!)

8. Let cool completely.

Yummy!!

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