finer things club: birthday edition

an awesome finer things club meeting that was an excuse to use my christmas gift for andy (we just get each other things for the both of us. he got us an AWESOME camera, so it kind of puts my champagne ice bucket to shame).


above: crab dip that was a little lack-luster. (really, america? you spell it luster? you people should be ashamed of yourselves.) it was not [synonym for lack-lustre] in a panini sandwich, which i ate the crap out of the next day with some romaine lettuce, red pepper jelly, and some delicious tomato slices. photos coming up next.


had some fru-fru crackers and our favorite cheese, beemster aged gouda (2 yrs). this stuff just melts in your mouth and has crunchy cheese crystals that has this incredible ability to put you in an agreeable and affable mood immediately after returning home from a crummy day at work. thank you, universe.


below we've got, clockwise from top right, swedish meatballs (using the meatball recipe included last month... annnnnd now i'm just realizing that i forgot to include the recipe for the swedish meatball sauce, which i also freeze. okay, i'm making a mental list of ingredients and i'll hopefully post about that this week. sorry!), halved cherry tomatoes and green onions braised in balsamic vinegar (these were awesome), and store-bought spinach dip and artichoke parmesan dip that i topped with romano cheese and threw under the broiler for a minute.

hummus

i've had so many lack-lustre-yet-traditional batches of hummus, almost all by my own hand. it's too heavy, too cloying, and not transcendent in the least. i love the idea of adding smokiness and light, as it doesn't feel like you're eating nutty bean paste. it's got a better "eatability" when you've got another flavor floating around in there. the heat and vinegar from the tapatio / tabasco is perfect.



1 head roasted garlic (wrap garlic head + olive oil in foil, throw in oven when you're cooking something else, hopefully around 350 degrees)
2 cups chickpeas (soaked overnight, simmered for an hour and a half or until cooked)
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
big dollop of sour cream
chives or green onions
salt, pepper, chili powder (i used ancho), pinch of smoked paprika
tabasco or tapatio sauce

Finer Things Club meeting

baked mini tostadas


green onions, taco chicken, corn, garlic, topped with saffron sour cream, tortilla circles cut to fit into muffin tins.

Finer Things Club

Andy and I have become the founders and sole members of the Davis chapter of The Finer Things Club. it's a great excuse to buy fru-fru cheeses, drink champagne and wine, eat oddly-flavored water crackers, and overpriced, pristine fruit. we can't take credit for the amazing plastic glasses. those are all courtesy of a one barbara patton.

the crackers are spicy polenta-cheddar cracker from 101 cookbooks.