In Dorie’s honor today, a group of Tuesday's With Dorie and French Fridays With Dorie bloggers got together and planned a spectacular meal using recipes from Dorie’s new book, Around My French Table.
I chose to make a couple appetizers from Around My French Table and here at our house, we had a healthy veggie feast with Dorie’s recipe for Hummus and her Cheez-it-ish Crackers. I loved both recipes. The hummus is great and I was even able to get all my boys to try it (some even ate more than just a “try”). It’s probably a good thing Kevin was teaching the night we did it, he would not consider the spread we had a dinner, but I fooled the boys and they were fine with it.
The hummus was super simple to make and had just the right amount of garlic and cumin (I used the full suggested 1/2 teaspoon). (I’ve been turned off by some hummus I’ve tried that seems to have more garlic than beans!)
Looks like a perfect party spread to me and it made for a perfect light dinner when all the boys wanted to do was eat so they could go back outside and play the new tetherball we got them. Of course, hummus just wouldn’t do, we had to get out the ranch dressing and salsa to go with the veggies and chips and crackers to please them as well.
These crackers are addicting and really good. You can see black specks in them because Dorie suggested using white pepper and I didn’t have any so I used black pepper. But it didn’t really matter, with the pepper and little bit of cayenne sprinkled in, I thought they had just the right amount of zip and were perfectly crisp, flaky and cheesy. I only made half a recipe, because if a cracker isn’t shaped like a little goldfish around here, it’s just not going to get eaten by most. So, I also hate to admit that after a couple days, I think I was the one who ate most of the half recipe. (Shriek.) Hey, I was celebrating, after all, Dorie’s birthday only comes once a year, right! I have just about every cookie cutter in the world, it seems, but I suppose I need to find me a goldfish cutter!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DORIE! IT’S BEEN A REAL TREAT BAKING AND NOW COOKING ALONG WITH THESE TWO GREAT GROUPS AS WE MAKE OUR WAY THROUGH YOUR GREAT BOOKS! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!
(If you don’t yet have Dorie’s books, Baking From My Home to Yours and Around My French Table, they are a great addition to any cookbook collection.)
Be sure to check out Dorie’s Virtual Surprise Party at Phe.MOM.enon!
