Fresh Salsa & Roasted Almond Baked Goat cheese (on Sourdough Baguette Rounds)

I was going through my recipe hoard and found this one. (I haven't cooked from recipes in ages. I miss it a lot--Charles does too; occasionally he whines to be fed.) I swear I am like a bear. I wanna hibernate in a culinary kind of way come fall.

When I found this I remembered how I stole it from The Keg (well, intuited it from them, since I invented the recipe based on advice from my taste-buds.) And I also remembered it was really popular with company, so I'm glad I wrote it down, and maybe you will be too. :0)

Necessary Foodstuff:

Butter
Sourdough Baguette
Fresh Tomatoes
Bit o' Onion (white and Green)
Shallots
Splash of Vinegar (I love V.E. White Balsamic)
1 tsp Ketchup
1 clove or less (or more) Fresh Garlic
Italian (flat-leafed) Parsley
Basil
1/2 tsp or less of Chili Flakes (hydrated) or paste (tube at grocer's)
Salt & Pepper

Make slightly ahead (or well ahead) SALSA:

Very finely chop the tomatoes, shallots, onion (white and green), the parsley and basil.
Mix these and the remainder of the ingredients. Put in a strainer to drain the tomatoey water (concentrates taste & keeps your salsa from sogging your bread rounds.)

TOASTED SOURDOUGH ROUNDS:

Lightly butter and broil the sourdough rounds (I like mine sliced about a 1/4 of an inch thick and not too toasted... (so they don't hurt when you eat 'em, LOL) .

Set aside with a tea-towel over to keep warm while you bake the cheese. (If you want 'em really nice and warm, then just prepare the cheese and toasts ahead and bake one right after another.)

BAKED GOAT CHEESE (with roasted almonds):
You can use pine nuts in place of almonds; they're lovely.

One goat cheese (soft)
Almonds (raw & whole with skin)
Bit o' butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place the goat cheese in/0n an oven-proof dish (If it's suitable dish, you can serve on it to keep your baguettes and cheese hot.)

(You can do this step ahead of time to save on preparation time)
Chop the raw almonds. (a medium fine chop is great.)
Add a small amount of butter to a small frying pan. On medium-high heat, roast your almonds 'til they are nicely browned. Be sure to stir constantly and turn heat down if it seems too much (I am infamous as a high-heat cooker.) Lightly salt the almonds.

After your almonds have cooled (just enough for you to touch 'em) pour them over the goat cheese and pat them into it. (Overflow is just hunkydory.)

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or so ('til hot) :0)

I love to serve the toasts around the baked goat cheese with the the salsa at room temperature in a dish on the side. The mix of temperatures and textures is supremely satisfying.