Orange Maple Fall Bruschetta

This recipe takes about an hour to prepare (most of it hands-off time if you use a couple of time-saving ingredients), but it packs quite a visual punch and really tastes of fall. Maple glazed squash atop a toasted baguette with creamy goat cheese is comforting and cozy, and the pops of pomegranate and orange keep things interesting. It's substantial enough to carry cocktail hour on its own, but not so filling that your guests won't have room for dinner.You can make everything up to a day ahead of time; just bring the roasted squash and the goat cheese to room temp at time of service and make sure the toasts are in a sealed container so they don't get squishy. Generally, I’m not going to trumpet pre-packaged produce, but in this case it saves you about 40 minutes of hands-on time, which is huge if you’re a normal time-constrained human. Do it. Save the time.You will need:1 large or 2 small orange-fleshed squash (or a container of fresh, pre-cubed squash from the produce department)4 T olive oil4 T pure maple syrup1 orange1 t chili powdersalt and pepper to taste4 oz goat cheese2 oz cream cheese1 small handful fresh sage leaves1 pomegranate (or 1 container of pomegranate arils)1 baguetteSea salt to finish (optional)Preheat oven to 425F.Set out your cheeses to let them come to room temperature while you work.Peel and seed your squash OR buy the pre-cubed stuff in the produce department and save yourself 15-20 minutes (and the most work-y part of this recipe). I used delicata and red kuri, but feel free to use butternut, delicata, pumpkin, kabocha, carnival, or acorn (but not spaghetti squash).Dice into half-inch chunks. If you’ve gotten pre-cubed squash, make sure you cut it down to size. You don’t want giant squash chunks on your bruschetta; these are for utensil-free eating. Sprinkle the squash cubes with the chili powder and toss to coat.Add the olive oil and maple syrup to a bowl or lidded container. Zest the entire orange into the same container, then squeeze its juice in, as well. Add about a teaspoon of Diamond kosher salt (or half a teaspoon of standard kosher salt). Whisk or shake to combine.Drizzle about half of the oil mixture onto the squash cubes and toss to coat, then spread the squash cubes onto a sheet pan and roast in the oven for twenty minutes without moving anything around.After 20 minutes, flip the squash (I just use a spatula to kind of roughly toss it around), drizzle on a light touch more of the oil mix, and return the pan to the oven for 5-15 minutes, or until tender and browning on the edges. Mine was done in 10 minutes.While your squash roasts, cut your baguette into 1/4-1/2" slices and spread across another baking sheet. Brush the cut sides with the leftover orange/maple mixture, then add to the oven and set another timer for four minutes, when you will flip the bread.While the bread is in the oven, mix the goat cheese and cream cheese together with a fork or spatula until uniform. Set aside. (Note the pomegranate carnage around the countertop… if you get the pre-packaged arils this will not happen to you!)Flip the bread, then return to the oven for 2-4 minutes, or until the toasts start to brown on the edges. Pull them out and let them sit to cool.While the squash finishes roasting, chiffonade the sage. What on earth does that fancy word mean? It just means roll up the sage leaves into a cigar shape, then thinly slice across the short end so the sage ends up in thin ribbons. This will be your garnish for the bruschetta. I kind of cheat by stacking them and smooshing them together, but it really does make a difference in your final garnish. I did this with the sage on the left and then tried my best to cut the sage on the right super thin without first gathering it up. One looks markedly better.If you didn’t follow the time-saving advice (about 10-20 minutes!) and got a whole pomegranate, I recommend shucking the seeds into a bowl of water. This is a trick one of my Persian friends taught me—the membrane parts float to the top and the seeds sink to the bottom, so you can just fish out the membrane and presto, your seeds are clean.You can assemble this ahead of time by spreading each toast with goat cheese, topping with squash, then sprinkling on the sage and pomegranate arils-- or you can set everything out on a platter and let your guests make their own (I recommend making a few for the platter as "examples"). I finished mine with a little bit of flaky sea salt just for PIZAZZ.Enjoy your fall entertaining!