This easy and festive appetizer made with goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and basil is beautiful around Christmas and New Year’s, but delicious any time of the year.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the pointed tip of a garlic head off and place on a sheet of foil. Drizzle the cut garlic with olive oil, replace the tip and wrap the entire head in foil. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the cloves are soft and creamy. Set aside and let cool. Garlic can be roasted ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a week or two.
Place the log of goat cheese in a small oval baking dish with no more than a couple inches of space around the log. Drizzle some of the oil from the sun dried tomatoes on top of the cheese and put in the oven to bake for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is hot and lightly browned on the top. The cheese will spread as it bakes.
While the cheese is baking, remove the sun dried tomatoes from the oil and chop into 1/4″ pieces. Place in a small bowl. Chiffonade the basil and add it to the sundried tomatoes with a couple pinches of red pepper flakes. Mix the three ingredients together.
When the cheese is hot and slightly browned, remove it from the oven and spoon the tomato/basil mixture around the edge of the baking pan, like a wreath. Squeeze the roasted garlic over the top of the cheese. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and drizzle a little more of the sun dried tomatoes on top of the cheese.
Serve warm with baguette slices and if you are feeling festive add some chilled champagne.