White Bean and Nut Butter Dip

Our neighbor-friends Stéphan and Patricia have been busy repainting their living-room these past few weeks. On Sunday they were finally done, so they rearranged the furniture, knocked on our kitchen window with the Ceremonial Wooden Spoon, and invited us over for a little newly-repainted-house-warming drink.

You just don't go to a house-warming party -- however improvized -- empty-handed, so we decided to prepare a few nibbles to accompany the bottle of champagne we knew they'd open. This seemed like the perfect occasion to try a recipe I had noticed in Trish Deseine's latest cookbook, called "J'en veux encore!". This new book has a focus on kids : dishes they'll enjoy, recipes you can make with them, recipes they can make on their own. No particular conclusion should be jumped to here, we have no plans to start a family as of yet : this cookbook is just chock-full of great ideas and beautiful pictures -- for everyone, not just parents.

The recipe I used here is a simple dip made by blending a can of white beans (drained) with lemon juice and peanut butter. It caught my attention because the flavor mix sounded great, and I loved how it used ingredients that you can easily keep on hand, to deal efficiently with dip-emergency situations. Of course, I couldn't very well just follow the recipe as written, so I made a few modifications, substitutions and additions : lime juice instead of lemon, sesame butter in addition to peanut butter, sun-dried tomatoes for color and zing, and a little chili sauce and Worcestershire sauce for spice and seasoning.

We ate the dip with little sticks of young carrots and cucumber, and it was a real hit : creamy, tasty and quite addictive. A little rummaging around the kitchen had also produced a little tin of foie gras from the Perigord, which we sliced and spread on toasts, as well as a package of mini boudins créoles, spicy blood sausages like they make in the french Carribeans, to be served warm. So we were able to admire the pristine white walls in truly excellent conditions.

And you have just been introduced to the magic concept of "apéro dînatoire" -- a pre-dinner drink with so many accompanying nibbles it simply cancels out dinner!

White Bean and Nut Butter Dip

- a small can (400 g) of white beans
- 1 Tbsp peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp sesame butter (a.k.a. tahini or tahina)
- the juice of a lime
- 4 sun dried tomato halves
- 2 squirts of chili sauce
- 2 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

Drain the white beans, reserving the liquid for later. In a food processor, combine the white beans with the nut butters and the lime juice. Blend until smooth. If you find the mixture a bit too thick, add a little of the reserved bean liquid until the desired consistency is reached.

Add the tomatoes and the chili and Worcestershire sauces, mix again. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Try not to overmix, it's nice if the sundried tomatoes remain in little pieces, not completely blended into the dip. Serve with little sticks of vegetables, toasts or crackers.

Shallot Parsley Dip

Our first Campanier order included a small head of cauliflower. I felt like eating it raw, and came up with this easy-breazy dip to accompany it. I wanted to eat a quick snack before joining Maxence at the movies, and this took me all of five minutes to whip up. This fresh and tasty dip can be eaten with veggies, or spread on toasted bread.

Be warned though, that as you sit down to watch the movie, your boyfriend may look at you suspiciously in the semi-darkness and ask : "Did you, um... eat onions?".

Nope. Shallots.

But thanks all the same.

Shallot Parsley Dip

- 1 C fromage blanc (or plain yogurt)
- one shallot
- 5 or 6 sprigs of parsley
- 1 tsp pumpkin oil (or other interesting oil, or olive oil)
- 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
- a dash of piment d'Espelette (or red pepper flakes)

Peel and chop the shallot finely. Rince the parsley and dry it with a paper towel. Pluck off the leaves (you won't be needing the stems, but do reserve them to flavor a soup or a stew), and chop them.

Pour the fromage blanc in a bowl, add the chopped shallot and parsley, the oil and vinegar, and a little salt, pepper and piment. Stir with a spoon until well combined.

If you can, it is nice to prepare it a few hours ahead, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and reserve in the fridge. This will allow the flavors to develop better. It is also mighty convenient.

Serve as a dip for vegetables or crackers, or use as a sandwich spread.

Truffes de Chèvre Frais

[Fresh Goat Cheese Truffles]

On Saturday night, we threw a little dinner party at home. A "little" dinner party for eight dear friends : Joseph (originally from Nashville but living in France, whom I met two years ago at an IT recruiting show -- we were struck by a sense of recognition, being equally bored to tears) and his wife Séverine, our almost neighbors Olivier and Anne, whom we had met at Joseph and Séverine's wedding last May, as well as Ulrich and Carine, whom we had met at Olivier and Anne's housewarming party, Ulrich being the friend who works with Pierre Hermé. Pictured here from left to right are Maxence, Carine, Ulrich, Séverine, Joseph, Olivier and Anne (Thanks for lightening up the pic, John! :).

We had the most lovely evening, and it actually wasn't as much work as it may sound : Maxence took care of the main course, and one of our friends (I'll let you guess who that was and wait patiently for the post about it) had kindly offered to bring the dessert.

This felt very unusual, since I'm usually more than happy to take on the whole caboodle, but I'll admit it's really nice that way too, once in a while! So my mission that night was to take care of the pre-dinner nibbles and the first course, and this is what I made to eat with the apéritif : mini balls of fresh goat cheese, rolled in various coatings.

As always in this kind of recipe, the limit is the sky on what coatings to use : rummage through your pantry, check your vegetable drawer or your herb garden, browse through your spice rack, and come up with your own personal selection of nuts, spices, chopped herbs, dried herbs and various seasonings. I used paprika, breadcrumbs and garlic powder, bicolor toasted sesame seeds, and herbes de Provence.

Anything more or less dry and more or less powdered will work. Just keep in mind that it should have enough flavor to shine through the goat cheese and compliment it, but not so much flavor that a full coating of it will choke your guests (unless of course this is your intention). For instance, if you want to use cumin or ginger or red pepper flakes, which is an excellent idea, do mix these with something milder, like dry breadcrumbs or a chopped herb or crumbled plain crackers.

Make sure the marbles are equal in size , choose coatings of different colors, and you will create the prettiest plate of amuse-bouches.

Truffes de Chèvre Frais

- 150 g fresh goat cheese
+ An assortment of coatings : depending on how powdered (paprika) or chunky (chopped nuts) the coating is, you will need anywhere from 1 tsp to 2 Tbsp of it to coat 10 truffles. Start small if in doubt.
- chopped fresh chives/basil/tarragon/mint/cilantro/dill...
- paprika
- herbes de Provence or other dried herbs
- toasted sesame seeds (black and white)
- dry bread crumbs and garlic powder/onion flakes/red pepper flakes/cumin/ground ginger...
- finely crumbled crackers or oatcakes
- chopped walnuts/hazelnuts/pecans/pinenuts...
- chopped slivered almonds
- <insert-your-own-brilliant-idea-here>

(Makes about 60 truffles.)

Prepare two large plates : one that will be used as the serving dish, the other to hold the truffles while they're being made. Prepare your coatings (chop/toast/pour) and reserve them in shallow ramequins or small plates.

The cheese is easier to work with when cold, so my advice is to work in three batches : cut out a third of the cheese, and reserve the remaining two thirds in the refrigerator.

Take a small spoonful of goat cheese, about the size of a hazelnut, and shape it into a marble by rolling it between the palms of your hands. Place it on the preparation plate. Repeat with the rest of the first batch of goat cheese. This should yield about twenty truffles. Wash and dry your hands, as they will be sticky with goat cheese.

Roll each truffle in the coating of your choice, making sure it is covered all around, and place it on the serving plate. You can group the truffles with the same coating together, or mingle them for a nice mosaic effect.

Repeat with the reserved goat cheese, in two batches. Cover the plate of truffles loosely with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Serve along with toothpicks, either in a (preferably cute) mini-jar on the side, or planted in each truffle. You could even make little skewers, planting the toothpick in a truffle then in a cherry tomato, a slice of carrot or cucumber, a piece of diced ham, a small piece of bread...

Coquillages Farcis Ricotta et Tapenade

[Ricotta Tapenade Stuffed Shells]

Last Tuesday, my sister Céline and I met for lunch. The plan was to eat at Rose Bakery, but it was closed for the holidays, so we went down the rue des Martyrs to Fuxia instead, a really nice Italian restaurant, hip yet friendly, where we had truly excellent salads. After that, we spent the afternoon strolling around the neighborhood, enjoying the unexpectedly sunny weather, and running various errands, which culminated in the buying of great fabric and crafts material at the Marché St Pierre, a huge discount fabric store at the foot of the Sacré-Coeur.

At one point, we went into a little store that the Fuxia people just opened, an Italian fine goods store and trattoria called Fuxia l'Epicerie. It’s open everyday till 10 pm, and sells a variety of Italian goodies (pasta, biscotti, condiments and the like) as well as freshly made antipasti and main dishes to go, which you can also eat at the small counter - comptoir de dégustation. Nice.

From one of the shelves, I distinctly heard a pack of conchiglie, big shell-shaped pasta, calling my name with their many little voices. Hmm, thought I. Stuffed shell pasta! Great finger food for the new year party! Back home, I took out a cookbook in which I remembered seeing something like this, but the recipes, though nice, didn’t appeal to me very much at the time (chicken-tomato, salmon-dill and ham-béchamel), so I made up my own.

Coquillages Farcis Ricotta et Tapenade

- 30 big pasta shells
- 250 g ricotta
- 100 g black tapenade
- 40 g pinenuts
- a little bunch of fresh herbs – I used parsley and cilantro

(Makes 30 pieces.)

In a large saucepan, bring some salted water to a boil, dump the pasta in, and cook the shells al dente, mine took about 8 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water to halt the cooking, and drain again. You can cook the shells ahead to assemble later, in which case it’s best to leave them in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from sticking together.

Prepare the fillings. Toast the pinenuts in a dry skillet, set aside. Wash the fresh herbs, dry and keep the leaves only (I've read that the discarded stems can be used to flavor soups or sauces). Set aside. Beat the ricotta with a spoon to fluff up a bit, leave the spoon in. Open the tub of tapenade and stick another spoon in it. Prepare a dish to put the shells on.

Assemble the shells : take a shell in your left hand, curled lip to the right, holding it open with the heel of your palm and your fingers. With your right hand, take a walnut-sized spoonful of ricotta, put it inside the shell, using the curled lip to scrape the ricotta. Add a hazelnut-sized spoonful of tapenade. Put one or two leaves of herb in, sprinkle a few pinenuts on top, and deposit the shell on the dish. The shells should be arranged close to one another to help them stay upright.

In addition to being pretty and intriguing, this is a great finger food, fresh and tasty. The flavor and texture combination is delicious. It’s also amusing, as you pass the plate around, to watch your guests assess the size of the shells, and opt for a one-bite or a two-bite strategy. Either way, the next step is likely to be an exclamation of delight.

Fuxia
25 rue des Martyrs
75009 Paris
01 48 78 91 64

L'Epicerie Fuxia
51 rue des Martyrs
75009 Paris
01 48 78 07 50

Marché St Pierre
2 rue Charles Nodier
75018 Paris
01 46 06 92 25

Sun-dried Tomato Polenta Squares

This recipe is from the apéro section of my cookbook "Mes petits plats 100% naturels". In France, apéritif (also called l'apéro) is the general term for the drinks and savory nibbles you offer your guests before dinner. It is also a widespread custom to invite people over just for l'apéro, which is a more casual way to entertain than a full-blown dinner invitation. French cookbooks often include a whole section devoted to that mini-meal. I particularly enjoy making amuse-bouches (or amuse-gueules), something about making a platterful of identical miniature cute bites really appeals to me (my Hello Kitty side, I guess).

Here's how to make these polenta squares.

Chop 6 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes (mine are packed in herbes de provence seasoned oil, so I'm careful not to take too much of the oil) and 6 leaves of fresh basil in small strips. Cook 120 g of instant polenta according to the package directions. Remove the saucepan from the heat, add the tomatoes and the basil, salt and pepper, and stir with a wooden spoon.

Spread the mixture in a lightly oiled square ovenproof dish (or use a non-stick dish) and use the spoon to flatten the surface. Make sure the basil and tomato bits are more or less evenly distributed. Put the dish in the fridge for about 20 minutes, so the polenta hardens a little.

Use a knife or a spatula to cut the polenta in squares (mine were about 1-inch squares, but they could be smaller too), and put the dish under the grill for a few minutes, until the surface is golden and slightly crispy.

This is really tasty : crispy outside, tender inside with the distinctive tang of sun-dried tomatoes. It also looks good, what with the yellow-green-red colors and specks of gold. Of course, you need to like polenta to enjoy them, but it seems to me that the polenta people sometimes object to is in its creamy form, so that wouldn't be a problem here. I prefer these squares to be served warm, but room temperature or cold would work too. I will definitely repeat this recipe, and what I will do next time is flip every square and grill again for a few minutes, so that they are cripsy on both sides. I will also chop my tomatoes in smaller bits for easier cutting of the squares : my chunks were a bit too large and sometimes got caught between two squares.

This recipe would lend itself to a lot of variations. Using non-instant polenta would certainly improve the taste (but not the ease of prep obviously), and it could be made in a round dish and cut in slices like a pie. Anything could be substituted for the tomatoes and basil : any vegetable and herb, cheese, bits of smoked ham, olives... and it could also be served as a side dish.