Goatless Goat Cheese and Vegetable Bruschetta

After extensive research I have discovered that goat cheese is made from the milk of goats, not goats, making it a delicious meat-free choice. Unless, of course, you get a piece of a goat teet or something in there--then I don't think it can be considered vegetarian anymore. Plus, goat cheese give the appearance of sophistocation so the next time you go to the pool or park or something you can sit down next to someone and be all, "Oh, you're having string cheese today? How droll. We eat Goat Cheese on my side of the tracks." Then fan yourself importantly and invite yourself over to the commoner with the string cheese's house for dinner and offer to bring an appetizer. Now go get yourself some teet-free goat cheese and let's put on airs!

Note: This recipe makes A LOT of roasted vegetables--enough to serve vegetable bruschetta as an appetizer at a dinner party. Even if it's just you and the cat, make it all--we're going to use the vegetables you don't use for the bruschetta for something else later this week.

Here's what you're gonna need:

One of each of the following*:
green zucchini
yellow zucchini
large portobello mushroom (or a couple of shitake mushrooms)
red bell pepper
orange or yellow bell pepper
japanese eggplant
tomato (or 2 Roma tomatoes or a handful of cherry or grape tomatoes)
medium red or white onion

*I've found this is a great combination of vegetables for making bruschetta (or solving crime), but if you don't use all of them it won't be the end of the world. The important thing is to get a good mix of colors and flavors so you can show your friends and neighbors how sophisticated you are.

olive oil
balsomic vinegar

4oz plain goat cheese

1 whole wheat or multi-grain baguette

And here's what you're gonna do:

Chop all of the vegetables into 1/2 -1/4 in pieces, placing them in a large bowl as you go. Toss with enough balsamic vinegar to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste and enough olive oil to coat and toss again. Set aside on the counter to marinate for at least a half an hour, mixing the vegetables occasionally with your hands.

Preheat oven to 425.

Line a large cookie sheet with release foil. Spread the vegetables out on the cookie sheet, making sure they are all coated in marinade. Roast vegetables for 20-25 minutes, or until they are tender and the peppers are starting to brown around the edges. Remove from the oven, slide the vegetables and any marinade remaining on the cookie sheet back into the large bowl from before and let cool for at least five minutes.

While the vegetables are cooling off, slice as much of the bagette as needed for your crowd or lack there of. Cutting the bread on the bias allows more surface area to smother with goat cheese and toppings as well as reinforces the idea of your fanciness. Lay the bread out on a cookie sheet (the same one as before if you're a savvy non-dishwasher) and brush the tops with olive oil. Broil for about 5 minutes, or until lightly browned and toasty. For God's sake, stay in the kitchen and keep an eye on your bread or you'll light it on fire like I--I mean, someone I know named... Samy-- did last time I made bruschetta.

Now you have some deciding to do. Just how much bruschetta are you going to need here? You're going to want to pile vegetables high on the toasts, so err on the side of lots. Spoon as much of your vegetable mixture as needed to generously top your toast into your food processor or blender and pulse lightly for a few seconds. You don't want puree here--think very chunky salsa. Stow the rest of your vegetables away in a tupperware in the fridge for later this week--I'll tell you what to do with those suckers later. For now focus!

Spread a happy amount of goat cheese on each of your toasts and top with roasted vegetables. Drizzle on any left over juices/marinade for an extra foo foo touch. Now look how sophisticated you look! Can I get your number?