Chris and I visited a goat farm yesterday. We saw baby goats as young as two weeks old, and full grown ones too. They were so cute but stinky (what do you expect from farm animals, right?). We then made our way to the farm’s gift shop where they had all sorts of preserves, farm fresh chicken eggs (yep, they had chicken on-site but they’re not the reason why we were there.), and cheeses made out of goat milk. We sampled a few of their cheeses and ended up going home with four different kinds.
One of the cheeses I got was a fromage blanc made out of goat milk, also known as fromage frais. For those of you who are not familiar with fromage blanc, the name means fresh cheese in French. It is a creamy soft cheese made with whole or skimmed milk and cream. Fromage blanc has the consistency of cream cheese and when it’s pure, it is virtually fat free. But cream is frequently added to improve the flavor (source: Wikipedia).
I served this cheese on a crostini along with some roasted cherry tomatoes and fresh thyme leaves. They were insanely good, easy to make yet looked impressive. So the next time you are looking for something easy to entertain with and pretty to look at, give this one a try. Bon appétit!
Ingredients:
- 1 (10 ounce) box of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup of olive oil + extra for brushing on baguette
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 small baguette, sliced
- 1 (5.5 ounce) container of fromage blanc (mine was made out of goat milk)
- fresh thyme, stripped and leave it whole
- fleur de sel
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place tomatoes in a small baking sheet. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil and sugar. Pour mixture over the tomatoes and toss tomatoes until they are coated. Flip all tomatoes until they are cut side up. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until tomatoes shrink up and burst.
In a separate baking sheet, place sliced baguette and brush them with olive oil. Place them under the broiler until slightly brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let them cool slightly. Spread fromage blanc on the baguette. Then top with roasted tomatoes and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and a little bit of fleur de sel.
Source: Fork and Vine
uni homemaker 
I’m always on the look out for new ideas for crostini toppings – this is definitely one I’ll be using soon!
Yay! 🙂 Thanks Sarah.
Nice experience Anne:).and i love goat cheese even with this great Bruschetta ….its delicious!!!
Thanks Massi! Always lovely to hear from you. 🙂
What a great idea for a starter or snack. Your photos are lovely! Will definitely give them a try tomorrow! Thanks for sharing. Xx Paula
Thanks Paula! Hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have. Thanks for stopping by.
These pics are drool-inducing! Um, the crostini pics that is. 😉 The kids were sure fun to watch.
It was drool inducing! And yes, the goats were a lot of fun to watch. 😀
Fresh cheeses from a farm. What a fun field trip!! 🙂
It was fun –love the goats! 🙂
Lovely! Roasted tomatoes and cheese are two of the best things you can put on bread. 🙂
I couldn’t agree more! 🙂
That looks beautiful! Such a great snack idea!
Thank you!
They’re bound to be delicious. My sis-in-law always has a goat on the farm for milk. I’m not sure if she bothers to make cheese as well (my sis-in-law not the goat). Sorry, that didn’t make sense.
It made sense. 😉 She’s lucky! Fresh milk daily –what a treat! You should visit her more often.
Brings me back to living in Florence and visiting Chianti. 🙂
So simple and elegant! Sounds delicious.
That crostini looks really great! I know I would love this!
Thanks Nancy! 🙂
Such a pretty entrée! This is the best way to savour really fresh cheese IMHO. Just cheese on toast.
Thanks Jayne!
Lovely photos, Anne! 🙂 Fresh fromage frais is amazing thing!
~Mila
Thanks Mila, I totally agree! 🙂
Lovely crostini.
Thanks Rosemary! 🙂
They look so appetising! Great photos!
Thank you!
I love creamy goat cheese with tomatoes..this easy recipe is not simple in flavor at all.
Thank you Danny! 🙂 The fresh goat milk cheese is fabulous, especially when it was milked and made on site! 😀
You are making me so jealous 🙂
You are so sweet for saying that. 😉
Mmm, yum! I’ve never had ‘fromage blanc’ before. I’m actually going to a Fromagerrie this weekend so i’m going to keep my eyes open :). Doesn’t food taste so much better when you pick it up at the ‘source’? What a fun outing!
-JulieC
I couldn’t agree more Julie! It’s so fresh it’s unbelievable! I almost got a dozen eggs there as well. But was there for the goats and the cheese.. not so much the chicken and the eggs. 🙂
Simple and delicious! What a treat finding fresh cheese at the farm! I would have a hard time choosing!
Thanks Jan! It was tough. My husband and I couldn’t agree so we both picked 2 each. 😀
I love roasted tomatoes and you can make them in advance as this would be a lovely appetizer for guests. There are so many different kinds of delightful cheeses made with goats milk that the mind boggles. I think you made the perfect choice for a lovely appetizer.
You absolutely can (roast in advance)! Thanks Bobbi for taking the time to comment! Hope you had a lovely Easter with your family. xx
Gorgeous recipe, gorgeous photos, gorgeous goats! Pinning this idea to try next time we have guests.
Thank you so much Claire, you’re too kind! 🙂 xx
They look so delicious and addicting too!
Thanks hon! Hope all is well with you. 🙂 The next time you come over, I’ll have to make this for you.
oh how fun! i just love goats..baby goats look like little puppies to me..:) your roasted tomatoes look just beautiful!…lovely post..sarah
I do too! They are so cute and rambunctious. Thanks Sarah for taking the time to comment. 🙂
The goats are so cute! The crostini is making me drool – it looks delicious.
Thank you so much Pam! 🙂
Mmmm now you got me!
Love goat cheese and your crostini look wonderful!
YUM!!! Now I’m hungry LOL
YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM! How amazing do these look! Beautiful and tasty!
Mmmmm these crostini look amazing! I love that you went to the farm to get your cheese. Wish I knew a farm around here that sells fresh cheese…
Your photos are so sweet…what a fun outing! I love serving this type of appetizers with a glass of wine to guests. As soon as we start harvesting tomatoes from our garden, I’d love to make this lovely recipe.
Thanks Allison! It was a fun day seeing the farm and the goats. The best part for me was sampling the cheeses. 😀
Fresh tomatoes from the garden would be even better! I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I have. Cheers!
These crostini look amazing. This is a great idea for an appetizer or snack, I love roasted cherry tomatoes, so good!
Cheers
Thanks Anto! 🙂
YUM. I’m having guests for dinner this weekend and I am definitely going to serve these!
Reblogged this on Haute Mom Living and commented:
sincerely delicious…made me a fan of goat cheese
Thanks! And thanks for the reblog!