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1
Put dried mushrooms in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let stand 20 minutes. Pour mushrooms with liquid through a paper towel-lined sieve into a small saucepan. Transfer mushrooms to a cutting board and finely chop. Add vinegar, shallots, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and half of mushrooms to saucepan and boil mixture until it is reduced to 2/3 cup, about 10 minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Sauce can be served warm or at room temperature.
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2
Preheat oven to 400u00b0F with rack in upper third.
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3
Stir together remaining chopped mushrooms with softened goat cheese in a small bowl.
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4
Place a steamer basket in a 5-quart pot filled with 2 inches of water. Steam asparagus, covered, just until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer asparagus to a bowl of ice water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry.
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5
Halve asparagus crosswise.
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6
Arrange bread slices on a large baking sheet. Brush with some olive oil and bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
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7
Spread goat cheese mixture generously on toasts.
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8
To serve, place a toast in the center of a salad plate and arrange 4 or 5 stem ends of asparagus on each. Top stems with asparagus tips, arranging them perpendicular to stems. Drizzle asparagus and surrounding plate with vinaigrette.
