Toasted French Bread with Goat Cheese, Fresh Herbs and Artichokes

As seen on the Sonoran Living program.

Smelling these savory toasts baking will have everyone hovering over the oven. These make great appetizers on their own, or serve them beside a nice bowl of soup or a fresh green salad. Try adding other toppings such as prosciutto, black forest ham, black olives or shiitake mushrooms.

The fresh herbs I use are not always the same, but I have a few that I hope to always include, those are fresh garlic, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. If you have, add dill, lemon balm, edible flower petals, garlic chives and savory. Frankly, even if you just used garlic and one of the green herbs, this would still be fantastic!

Plant a few herbs in a pot or a flower bed to have when you need a few snips to liven up your cooking. Lemon balm, garlic chives and edible flowers are easy to grow, versatile and hard to find in the market so they are excellent choices to grow.

Ingredients:

8 oz.	goat cheese
4 - 6 oz	fresh herbed olive oil*
1 can, 14 oz	artichoke hearts in water, chopped up
optional	other toppings such as prosciutto, black forest ham or sautéed shiitake mushrooms
1 loaf	freshly baked sourdough or other good bread

* to make the Fresh Herbed Olive Oil.
Put all ingredients in a jar and shake well. Keep in the refrigerator for up to four weeks.

6 oz.	good quality extra virgin olive oil
¼ - ½ cup	chopped fresh herbs like, thyme, rosemary, garlic chives, savory, dill, marjoram, lemon balm, savory, edible flower petals (such as calendula or dianthus)
2 - 3	cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1/8 tsp	sea salt
Several "turns"	Fresh ground pepper (adjust to taste)

Method:

1. 1. Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
2. 2. Take the herbed olive oil out of the refrigerator to let the oil become liquefied again.
3. 3. Slice bread into preferred sized pieces and lay on baking sheet.
4. 4. Put goat cheese in a bowl and mash it up with a fork.
5. 5. Add the Herbed Olive Oil and chopped artichoke hearts to the goat cheese and stir to incorporate all the ingredients together.
6. 6. Spoon the goat cheese mixture on top of the bread slices. Add other toppings if desired.
7. 7. Bake in the oven until bread is crusty on bottom. About 15 minutes. Serve warm.