If something looks good on a blog, in a magazine, or on TV, I’ll drop everything (and I mean everything) to make a grocery store run for any missing ingredients and then rearrange the week’s menu to squeeze it in. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t.

I found these crostini in an old DVR’ed episode of Everyday Italian. They. Are. Fantastic. I’ll admit to being a goat cheese addict, but throw in sun-dried tomatoes and fresh thyme? I’m in – and adjusting my NYE menu to make room for a gigantic plate of these crostini.

If you have any leftover sun-dried tomato jam, get creative – this stuff tastes great on everything: burgers, turkey sandwiches, crackers, and omelets. I’m thinking of only making a half batch of Blackberry-Pinot Noir Meatballs for New Year’s so I can make a half batch of meatballs with the Sun-Dried Tomato Jam. Just typing that made me hungry!

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Goat Cheese Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam

Ingredients

• For the Sun-Dried Tomato Jam:
• 8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved (I used a package of 'sun-ripened tomatoes' - they aren't totally dried)
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• For the crostini:
• 1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices (I used ciabatta)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

Instructions

1. Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil (I just used additional olive oil), olive oil, onion, and garlic.
2. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
4. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes I cranked up the heat to speed it along). Remove from the heat and set aside.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
6. Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes.
7. Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.
8. Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Notes

Yields: ~24 servings

Everday Italian

Estimated time: 1 hour 15 minutes