I think food should evoke good memories or make you feel good in some way – sometimes you don’t even know why a certain dish has an effect on you. Well for me as a chef it’s important to find out all those little things that might trigger the nerve in someone’s brain to have THAT particular experience.
(left picture: organic chickpea dip with sourdough flat bread)
(right picture: eggplant dip with Italian parsley)
Dips & Spreads
That “comfort” or feel good feeling seems to go with the whole category of dips and spreads. I love dips – and there are plenty of them: blue cheese dip for lightly fried chicken wings, aioli served next to that bouillabaisse spread over a crusty French bread, avocado smeared on some warm, soft tortilla wrapper. Maybe it’s the end of summer nostalgia too – dips seems to suggest gatherings, family, friends. You rarely dip on your own right?
Hummus days
I went through a period with my spouse Lori where we’d have one pint of hummus every other night with a sip of wine here and there since we were working into the wee hours -- she as a lawyer on trial and me as a chef to take the edge off another hectic day. Don’t tell me you can’t admit to late night snacking!
I’ve been working on a few recipes lately and came about some divine concoctions…
(cranberry bean dip with red wine)
Cranberry Bean and Red Wine Dip
(Recipe yields about 3 cups - plenty for a snack for 4)
1-1/2 cups cranberry beans
2 cups red wine such as Chianti
Salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
1 sprig rosemary (4-inch long)
1 pinch clove ground
2-4 dashes Tabasco
3 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola
1. Soak beans in water overnight or about six hours. Discard soaking water then cover with water and red wine in a pot. Cook beans on medium heat setting until soft then season with salt, pepper, cayenne, rosemary sprig, clove and Tabasco. On side of stove steep mixture 20 minutes or so
2. Discard rosemary sprig then pour mixture into a colander (save cooking liquid). Transfer beans into a kitchen blender then process until you have a puree texture and add canola oil (add saved bean cooking liquid as necessary to make a smooth textured puree)
Chef’s tip: serve dip with blue corn chips or a thin bread-wafer chip
(tofu with spinach dip)
Tofu & Spinach dip
(Recipe yields 3 cups - plenty for a snack for 4)
1 bunch spinach
2 tablespoons vegetable oil such as canola
1 pack tofu (4 ounces)
Salt, to taste
Cayenne, to taste
Fresh black pepper grindings, to taste
1. Put a dinner plate into the freezer
2. Rinse spinach with water then dry in a salad spinner. In a skillet cook spinach in vegetable oil on high heat setting. Spread cooked spinach over frozen temperature plate (in this way spinach will cool rapidly and retain green color).
3. In a kitchen food processor combine cooled spinach and rest of ingredients then mix until pureed smoothly.
Chef’s tip: serve tofu & spinach dip with rice crackers
Snacking memory
I remember eating nachos in a New York city SoHo bar on a cold winter Sunday afternoon -- a plate of tortillas distributed over a wide plate sprinkled with slices of seedless jalapeno – a tad spicy witch gave me a light tingle on the side of my tongue. All that was smothered with warm melting orange colored cheese. Was it any fancy cheese - no I don’t think so but believe you me it did the trick -- it was delicious. By the way the nachos were accompanied by a Bloody Mary with a terrific garnish - a thick slice of fresh cucumber a tiny spicy pepper and an extra large olive – to me that drink felt like eating “a liquid snack” on it’s own.
