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ffwd: hummus
It’s hard to believe that this marks the start of the third year of French Fridays with Dorie. When I joined the group, that inaugural week, I had no idea what I was stepping into. I had been blogging for almost a year at that point. The people who read my posts were family, friends, and maybe some friends of family and friends. If anyone else was reading, they weren’t commenting, so I have no idea if they were out there, though I doubt it.
In October of 2010, I wrote my first post that was part of a collective effort. That first post was about gougeres. I was more than a little self-conscious, not knowing whether any of the other people in the group would read my posts, or even think they were worthwhile to read. I felt equally self-conscious leaving comments for these total strangers, even though we had the shared experience of making the same recipe.
Over the weeks, then months, now years, I got to know this geographically scattered group of home cooks. I feel a connection to these people though we’ve never met face-to-face. I enjoy the feeling of knowing there are other obsessive home cooks out there like me, who share the same passion of cooking and feeding family and friends, and for knowing some of these people. I like seeing what other kitchen ventures they take outside of the shared Friday recipe. I like being part of this community, even if it only exists in cyberspace.
And so, year three begins with hummus.
I’ve made my own hummus for years, usually using the recipe my mother gave me when I was in college. (Admittedly, in the past couple years, I’ve discovered Sabra hummus. I love the texture of theirs and haven’t made my own in a while, buying large tubs of it as Costco.)
Dorie’s recipe is very basic. The ingredients (all pantry staples for me) are pureed in the food processor, and there you have it. The main difference between this recipe and what I’ve made before is the absence of olive oil. Dorie’s recipe used only the reserved liquid from the canned chickpeas and lemon juice to thin the chickpea and tahini paste. Hummus sans olive oil tasted fine, so some calories can definitely be saved. I enjoyed the ground cumin that spices up this version of hummus.
To serve, I mimicked the Sabra hummus I mentioned before. I poured some extra virgin olive oil on top and sprinkled the bowl with pine nuts and a little smoked paprika for color. I served with another favorite new product (no, I’m not in marketing): Stacy’s pita crisps. I’m already a fan of Stacy’s pita chips, but these are thinner and I prefer their texture.
There’s not much else to say. This is an easy appetizer, obviously. I also enjoy hummus on a sandwich with finely grated carrots or other vegetables. This makes a big batch, so there’s enough left over to make sandwiches for lunch.
As always, we don’t post the recipes for what we make for this group. You can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. You can also see how the other FFwD bloggers’ hummus came out by following their links posted here.
Wishing all my French Friday friends a Happy Anniversary! Here’s to cooking along with in the year(s) ahead! Cheers! XOX
ffwd: endives, apples, & grapes
This week’s selected recipe for French Fridays with Dorie epitomizes why I joined this cooking group. Every week, I learn something new. Some weeks, it’s a new technique, some weeks, it’s a new twist on a familiar recipe, and some weeks, like this week, it’s a new combination of ingredients. Some weeks, what I learn is something I incorporate into my kitchen life, and some weeks, what I learn doesn’t make the cut.
What about this week? I’ll admit that on paper, the recipe was uninspiring. Endives, are OK in salad, but eating them cooked, caramelized, no less, with fruit, seemed downright weird. I gave it a try. Endives, apples, grapes, rosemary braised in butter. The ingredients sit on the stove to caramelize, get flipped over, and the same is repeated on the other side. It really couldn’t have been easier.
I used a seasoned cast-iron pan to do the work. I didn’t have the recommended salted butter, so used unsalted with a generous sprinkle of sea salt in the pan. My endive didn’t caramelize after 20 minutes, but I flipped it anyway. The second side did a bit better during its turn. I did flip the endive back over one more time, and let it sit while I finished preparing the rest of dinner, and it browned a bit more.
What about the flavors? Much to my surprise, it has promise. On the plus side, I liked the texture of the cooked endive. The caramelization and light fruit juices offset its usual bitterness. The grapes were the star of the show. They caramelized, they softened, they were delicious!
As for what needs improvement, the apple (I used a Fuji) didn’t really soften (the opposite problem I had with the poached apples a few weeks ago). I’m thinking smaller pieces would have worked better, maybe eighths instead of quarters. Also, the rosemary didn’t seem to impart any flavor to the dish. It was quite aromatic when I put it in the skillet, so I’m not sure why I couldn’t taste it.
Conclusion? I liked it much more than I thought it would. Chalk one up for FFwD as I never would have tried this recipe otherwise. As we move into to the season of heartier vegetables, I can see trying this again with a medley of other vegetables, like the winter squash suggested in Dorie’s bonne idée, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips. The list could go on. I might drop the apple, but the grapes are definitely a keeper.
We don’t publish the recipes for this cooking group, but Dorie already shared the recipe on Bon Appetit. You can also find it in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
For other bloggers’ take on this unusual recipe, check out their links here.
A Plateful of Happiness 