Beet-Pickled Deviled Eggs

There are two things that I always order if I see them on a menu: pretzels and deviled eggs. I don't mean like a baggie of pretzels, obviously, but a nice big soft one with mustard dip or maybe some beer cheese. And deviled eggs are self-explanatory. I love a creamy, tangy deviled egg. I will eat an entire order myself if I have to.

With this in mind, I've already posted a recipe for delicious, surprisingly easy pretzel bites, but I've never posted deviled eggs. I can't even remember the last time I made deviled eggs myself rather than just ordering them at a restaurant. The basic version is quite simple: the yolks are blended with mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar. But everyone has their own little touch, whether it's subtle like curry powder or something more interesting (the best ones I've had recently had salmon roe hidden under the filling and were topped with crumbled potato chips). I didn't want to post just any deviled eggs.

And so, I give you: Beet-pickled Deviled Eggs.

This genius twist on the recipe was not my idea; I got it from Pinterest, where photos of these neon-pink-edged eggs are, as you can imagine, rather popular. But pickling the eggs doesn't just give them color, it also imbues them with a tangy and sweet flavor that elevates them way above other deviled eggs I've had. And yes, they're also gorgeous.

I came up with my own recipe for the filling on these, and did add one unique touch that I'm pretty proud of: miso paste. The sweetness of the pickling brine really needs some additional umami flavor to balance it out, and the miso does this perfectly. I would definitely add it to a traditional recipe as well!

And while the eggs were pickling, I threw in some spring onions for Gibsons. Why not?

Beet-Pickled Deviled Eggs

For the pickling:
1 jar pickled beets
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. whole peppercorns
1 tsp. salt
6 eggs, boiled and peeled*

For the filling:
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. miso paste
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 dash salt

Combine all of the ingredients for the pickling solution in a large bowl or jar and stir well. Be careful, as the beet brine will stain! Carefully add the eggs. Try to bury them under the beets so that they are completely submerged. Any part of an egg not under the brine will come out a lighter pink than the rest. Let sit in the fridge for about 16 hours. The longer they pickle, the more of the interior will be pink. The flavor will also become more intense.

After the pickling is done, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and blot on a paper towel. Carefully cut them in half and remove the yolks, placing them in a bowl. Add filling ingredients and mash with a fork or beat with an electric mixer until very smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Fill egg halves with the filling using a pastry bag or frosting gun. Top with a little paprika and serve.

*I don't want to tell you how to boil an egg, but actually I kind of do. I tried the method recommended by The Kitchn and it was a disaster - I took off big chunks of the whites in the process. So I switched to this one and it was perfection: bring the water to a rolling boil, add the eggs straight from the fridge, and boil them for 12 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them in ice water for five minutes. Start peeling from the broader end, where the air pocket usually is. Voilà!

Pickling recipe adapted from The Kitchn.

Ricotta Toasts with Honey and Thyme

I love a good snack or appetizer with cocktails. When we have people over to our house, we usually stick to a simple cheese plate and some olives - it's classy and there's no real prep involved. If you're already making dinner for guests, there's often not enough time to spend putting together elaborate appetizers. So I get pretty excited when I find a recipe that's both quick to make and impressively tasty.

These ricotta toasts are based off of a dish that I had at Citizen Public House in Fenway. It seemed like it would be easy enough to replicate, so I wrote down the ingredients and have been holding onto them for a while. Now I can't believe I waited so long to make this. The recipe is so simple, but the result tastes utterly amazing. My husband and I positively gobbled these up after I photographed them.

I'm not including exact amounts below, because this is a very ad-libbed sort of recipe - how much you'll need depends on your taste and how much you want to make.

First you need to toast some slices of bread. You'll want bread that you can easily cut into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick. I used a sesame baguette from Iggy's, cut on a steep diagonal. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet and brush or spray them with olive oil. (Let me put in a quick plug for one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, this olive oil mister - perfect for things like this!) Put the slices under the broiler until they just start to turn brown - just a minute or two, and watch them carefully! Remove them from the oven and cut a garlic clove in half, rubbing the toasts with the cut side. Let them cool a bit.

Getting a good-quality ricotta is really worthwhile for this recipe. I love the ricotta from Maplebrook Farm in Vermont, which you should be able to find if you're in the northeast. Calabro is another, easier-to-find favorite of mine - it's really thick and creamy. Both of these are usually firm enough that you don't need to drain them, but if your ricotta is a bit liquidy, place it into a fine mesh strainer or some cheese cloth and let the liquid drain off into a bowl. It's best to do this for several hours or overnight.

Once your toasts have cooled, spread some ricotta on each of them - about a tablespoon, depending on the size of your slices. Drizzle them with honey, sprinkle them with a bit of salt and pepper, and top them with the fresh thyme leaves. And you're done! It's so easy and so, so good.

And don't limit yourself to honey and thyme - ricotta toast is an amazing blank canvas for toppings. Try pesto, tomato and basil, strawberries and balsamic vinegar, blueberries and honey, olive tapanade, even anchovies and capers if that's up your alley. Here are even more tasty ideas from Honestly Yum.

Ricotta Toasts with Honey and Thyme

1 baguette
Olive oil
1 clove garlic, sliced in half
Ricotta cheese
Honey
Salt and pepper
Fresh thyme

Preheat broiler to high. Slice bread on a diagonal, about 1/4 inch thick. Arrange on a baking sheet and spray or brush with olive oil. Broil for 1-2 minutes, until slightly browned. Rub each toast with the cut side of the garlic. Let cool slightly. Spread ricotta onto toasts. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle sparingly with salt and pepper. Top with fresh thyme.

Roasted Chickpeas

It's been a while since I posted a good bar snack or appetizer, and since I had some chickpeas left over after my Chamomile Pear Sour made with aquafaba, I thought it was high time for one. Roasted chickpeas are a genuinely magical snack. They're warm and crunchy and filling and actually good for you. And they're really easy to make. I kept hearing about how awesome they were but I assumed for some reason that you needed to start with dried chickpeas, which I never have on hand. I was quite pleased to find out that you can go from typical canned chickpeas to crunchy goodness in about an hour. Now my pantry is rarely without a can.

The first step to making this recipe is to drain, rinse, and dry your chickpeas. Be sure to save the liquid from the can if you want to experiment with some aquafaba cocktails! After rinsing the chickpeas in a colander, roll them around in a dish towel or some paper towels to dry them well. The drier they are, the better they'll roast. You may find that they start shedding skins as you dry them - that's fine. Just pull the skins off and discard them.

Next, spread your dry chickpeas out on a pan and drizzle them with olive oil, tossing them to make sure they're all well-coated. Sprinkle on some salt and toss them again. Then put them in an oven preheated to 400 degrees and bake them for about 30 minutes, stirring and tossing them every 10 minutes so they roast evenly. When they're done, they should be brown and crispy outside but still a little soft inside.

Once your chickpeas are ready, it's time to season them. I used smoked paprika and cumin on these, but there are tons of other great options: rosemary, curry powder, garlic, lemon... you can even go sweet and use cinnamon and sugar. The Kitchn, where I got this recipe, has lots of great suggestions. Sprinkle on your seasonings, give them one more stir, and serve them immediately - they're best when they're hot!

Roasted Chickpeas

2 15-oz. cans chickpeas
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and other seasonings (I used smoked paprika and cumin)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drain chickpeas (reserving water for cocktails, if desired) and rinse them well. Dry them thoroughly on a towel. Some of them may lose their skins; just pick them out if so. Spread them on a large baking sheet and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss well to coat the chickpeas. Sprinkle with some salt. Bake for about 30 minutes (I did 35), stirring and tossing the chickpeas every 10 minutes, until they have shrunken slightly and have become crispy on the outside. Add whatever seasonings you want to use and more salt. Serve them while they're still warm.

Recipe adapted from The Kitchn.

Pretzel Bites with Honey Mustard Sauce

Soft pretzels are one of my favorite bar snacks, but I always thought they'd be too complicated to make at home. Getting the dough to rise, achieving that perfectly browned exterior... I figured it was all better left to the experts.

Until one night last year when, alone in my apartment, I suddenly and inexplicably began craving soft pretzels. I figured I might as well look into how hard it would be to make them. And I found a recipe on Sally's Baking Addiction that promised easy, 30-minute soft pretzels. No mixer, five ingredients. It seemed worth a shot.

A half hour later, I was gobbling down warm, delicious (albeit oddly-shaped) soft pretzels and feeling thoroughly pleased with myself and the general state of the universe. As promised, they were simple to make and really good. After a couple more attempts to make anything resembling an actual pretzel, I decided I might achieve more picturesque results making bite-sized versions.

I was skeptical about the 30-minute claim when I saw that this recipe uses yeast; usually, when you add yeast to dough, you have to let it rise, sometimes for hours (which is why I have yet to make homemade cinnamon rolls, because I just can't wait that long for my breakfast). But I guess pretzels are pretty dense, so they don't need all that time. And other than that, there's nothing inherently difficult about making yeasted dough.

You begin the recipe by combining a packet of yeast with warm water in a bowl, stirring it until the yeast is dissolved. Add some sugar and salt, and then slowly stir in flour to form a dough. It will get pretty thick at the end, so I like to add the last bit of flour as I knead it. The dough is then divided into sixths, each of which is rolled out and cut into bite-sized pieces.

One of the things that gives pretzels their unique texture and flavor is a baking soda bath before they're baked. Boiling the pretzels briefly in an alkaline solution (lye is traditionally used) changes the texture of the crust and helps them brown. This isn't a complicated process; they're just boiled for 20 seconds in a water and baking soda mixture. You can technically skip it, but they'll be much less pretzel-like.

After the bath, the pretzels are brushed with beaten egg and salted. They bake for about 10 minutes. That's all that's standing between you and perfect, warm, delicious pretzel bites.

These pretzels are really at their best when they're fresh out of the oven. They're still good once they've cooled down, but nothing beats them when they're piping hot. I like to serve them with a simple honey-mustard sauce, but there are lots of possibilities there. They're a great appetizer or snack and go really well with beer or cocktails.

Pretzel Bites

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet of yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
~4 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
coarse salt

For water bath
9 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the warm water and yeast in a mixing bowl and stir until yeast is dissolved. Add salt and sugar and stir. Add three cups of flour gradually, one cup at a time. The dough will become very thick. Add another 3/4 cup flour, working it in until the dough is no longer sticky. If it's too difficult to stir, you can work in this flour and up to another 1/2 cup flour while you knead the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface (I use a large cutting board for easy cleanup) and knead it, adding more flour if needed. It should be nicely elastic and not sticky. Shape it into a ball and use a large knife to cut it into six pieces. Roll each of these pieces out into a rope about 20" long. You may need to lightly moisten your hands to absorb the flour and give the dough some traction. Cut the rope into 1-inch long pieces with a knife.

Combine 9 cups of water and 1/2 cup baking soda in a small pot and bring to a rolling boil. Add the pretzel bites a few at a time and let them boil for 20 seconds before removing them with a slotted spoon or spatula. Arrange them on the prepared baking sheet.

In a small bowl, beat the egg with a whisk or electric beater until it is smooth. Brush the beaten egg onto the pretzel bites and sprinkle them with coarse salt. Bake 10-12 minutes until nice and brown.

Honey-Mustard Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. honey
1 dash soy sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until smooth. Adjust to taste.

Pretzel recipe adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction.

Spiced Nuts

I love when you order a cocktail somewhere and they give you a little bowl of nuts or chips to snack on. I'm surprised more hip cocktail bars haven't embraced this tradition. If I ever had a bar I'd try and come up with some creative cocktail hour snacks like the ones I've posted here. Flavored popcorn is easy, cheap, and great with a drink. Another favorite of mine is sweet, spiced nuts. This recipe is particularly fitting in autumn and around the holidays. Despite what seemed to me like a lot of cayenne powder, they aren't terribly spicy; it's just enough to give them a bit of warmth.

You can go with any nuts you like for this recipe; I used peanuts, walnuts, and pecans. I definitely recommend including pecans, because they taste amazing with this glaze. Whisk the spices with the egg white in a bowl until everything is well combined. Then stir in the nuts and turn them well to coat.

Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, being careful to separate them as best you can. If they're touching while they bake, they'll be stuck together when they come out. You'll end up with a bit of liquidy glaze at the end that you can brush or pour over the nuts or discard.

Bake the nuts at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes and let cool. Then enjoy these perfect holiday munchies.

Spiced Nuts

1 1/2 cups mixed nuts (I used walnuts, pecans, and peanuts)
1 large egg white
2 tbsp. white sugar
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. cumin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients except nuts in a bowl and whisk until well mixed. Stir in nuts and coat thoroughly. Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Do your best to separate them so that they aren't touching one another (an admittedly sticky job). Bake for 15 minutes.

Recipe adapted from the spiced nuts in this recipe at Love & Olive Oil.

Caprese Bites

Yesterday I wrote about how excited everyone seems to be about fall, while I'm kinda wishing summer would stick around a bit longer. I think part of the reason is my little balcony garden, which is still growing and just beginning to really produce anything. Besides a handful of cocktails, I haven't used my herbs and veggies in much yet. I've got to get cooking!

With home-grown cherry tomatoes and basil in hand, making these Caprese Bites seemed like an obvious choice. A few fresh mozzarella balls and a quick balsamic reduction and you've got yourself an easy appetizer. It's really tasty, easy to eat, and pretty cute to boot.

And how did I make that awesome zig-zaggy drizzle, you ask? With one of these nifty deco spoons that my sister brought me from Paris. It takes a little practice, but they're not that hard to use.

Caprese Bites

Cherry tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella balls
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp. honey (optional)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

To make the balsamic reduction, pour balsamic vinegar into a saucepan. Heat on medium-high until it begins to simmer. Lower heat to medium-low. Add honey if desired (kind of depends on the flavor of your vinegar; I liked it best with a bit of honey) and stir. Allow mixture to simmer lightly, stirring occasionally, until it is reduced by half and/or has a syrupy consistency (about 10 minutes for me).

Drizzle balsamic reduction onto a serving plate. Assemble bites by spearing a tomato, a folded-over basil leaf, and a mozzarella ball on a toothpick. I cut off the very bottom of the mozzarella balls so that they would stand upright. Arrange the bites on the plate. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Balsamic reduction recipe adapted from allrecipes.com.

Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

I am so excited about this recipe. I've never even tried stuffed zucchini blossoms before, let alone made them at home. I've seen them on Italian menus before and wanted to taste them, but usually whoever I was having dinner with wasn't on board. Then I saw the big, yellow blossoms that popped open on my potted zucchini plants and I thought... why not?

I fear this will be more a record of the fact that I actually made this than a recipe for an easy, go-to appetizer for your next cocktail party. For one thing, zucchini blossoms are hard to find. If you are lucky enough to come across them at a farmer's market, they need to be used quickly or they go bad. The best way to get zucchini blossoms is to harvest them right off your own plants before you start cooking. And I know that's not an option for everybody.

But if you do manage to get your hands on some zucchini blossoms, and you're wondering what to do with them, I've got a recipe for you.

Usually only male zucchini blossoms are eaten, because they can't develop into squash. One male blossom is enough to fertilize a whole plant of female blossoms, so you can snip a few off without any ill effects. To prepare the blossoms, you need to untwist the petals, open them up, and reach down inside the flower to remove the stamen, which will be covered in pollen. It's easy to tear the petals, so you have to be careful. I tore a few and they were still easy to stuff, but then the stuffing leeched out while they were frying. Rinse the blossoms with water and gently pat dry.

You can do a lot of different things with squash blossoms, but the most typical recipe is to stuff them with cheese and fry them. I was tempted to try a baked version instead, because deep frying is a lot of hassle and not exactly healthy, but I figured if I was going to do this, I ought to do it right. I picked this recipe at Blogging Over Thyme because I liked the tempura-style batter. Sure enough, it has a light and lovely texture that doesn't overpower the flavors of the blossoms and the stuffing. And the blossoms do have a taste, reminiscent of zucchini but lighter. The stuffing itself is simple, just ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, and basil. I'm tempted to try some goat cheese next time, but I'm glad I stuck with something simple at first so I could taste the flowers. Season the filling with salt and pepper and use a pastry bag to pipe it into the flowers. Then you can twist the petals back closed.

The recipe recommends frying the blossoms in safflower oil, which has a higher smoke point than other cooking oils. We had some on hand for just this reason, so that's what I used. You could also substitute vegetable or canola oil.

A quick dip in the batter, a few minutes in hot oil, and voila - cheesy, tender zucchini blossoms. Eat them while they're still warm. This certainly won't be a recipe I'll be coming back to over and over again, but it was really fun to make this once. If my zucchini plants produce enough flowers, I'm definitely going to do it again.

Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

3/4 cup ricotta cheese
2 1/2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
3/4 tsp. lemon zest
8-10 basil leaves, sliced thin
salt and pepper, to taste
15-18 zucchini blossoms
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup seltzer (or regular water)
safflower oil, for frying

Remove stamens from blossoms and gently wash and dry them. Mix ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, and basil in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder. Slowly add seltzer or water, whisking to combine. The mixture should be roughly the consistency of pancake batter. Using a pastry bag, pipe the ricotta mixture into the blossoms, filling them but leaving enough room to twist the petals closed.

Fill a pan with safflower oil about 1 inch deep. Heat on medium-high to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Gently dip the blossoms in the batter, twisting them in the direction the petals are coiled to coat them evenly. Wipe off excess batter on the side of the bowl, again twisting the flower. Gently place into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown. Cook in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and let drain on a plate covered with a paper towel. Serve warm with basil leaves and lemon wedges.

Recipe adapted from A Beautiful Plate.

White Bean Hummus

Yes, I have a food recipe for you today, but don't worry - if you were dying for a cocktail, there's a slew of positively awesome recipes over at Feu de Vie's Mixology Monday roundup. I was pretty bummed not to have time to participate in this one (I had that pesky thesis to write), because the theme was Ice, Ice Baby. The idea was to create a cocktail that features a particular usage of ice, and the results are super creative. I particularly want to try the Coconaut Flaming Re-Entry from Nihil Utopia, because it sounds delicious and you get to light it on fire. Pete at Meticulous Mixing also discusses the secret to perfectly clear ice, something I eventually want to try to achieve. Check it out!

In the meantime, I hope you're hungry, because I've got a great a snack recipe for you: white bean hummus. I've always thought hummus was just "ok," but that was before I tried the homemade kind. My husband grew up next door to a woman from Cyprus who makes amazing Greek food, and her hummus positively blew me away. I asked her for the recipe, but she said there wasn't one. Instead, she had me over and showed me how to make it. I took careful notes. But when I tried to make it myself, it wasn't quite the same. I couldn't get it as creamy as hers. I always ended up with hard chunks of chickpea. Maybe I need a better food processor, or softer chickpeas.

Or maybe another bean entirely? I recently wondered if white beans might be more conducive to smooth, creamy hummus. And it turns out the answer is yes. This white bean hummus is everything I could have hoped for, and I didn't even use any tahini. It's easy and quick, and pretty healthy. I'm not usually crazy about counting calories (obviously, given how many cocktails I drink), but it was easy to do the math on this one: 1/4 of of the recipe is about 250 calories (most of that is olive oil). Plus whatever you choose to dip in it, of course. I sprayed a skillet with a little olive oil and heated a couple of flour tortillas until they turned brown. Once they cool they get nice and crunchy. But I also love it with cucumber slices.

White Bean Hummus

1 15.5 oz. can white beans/cannellini
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp. lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until very smooth. Taste and adjust garlic, lemon juice, or spices as needed. Transfer to a bowl and top with paprika, pepper, or another spice and chopped fresh parsley. Serve with veggies or flatbread for dipping.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis.

Rosemary Cheese Crackers

This is only the second snack recipe I've posted here, and so far they've both prominently featured rosemary; I swear this isn't going to be a trend. It's just that these crackers are really good. Yes, you have to roll out the dough, but it's worth it. It's definitely worth it. When GarnishGuy got home, he munched on a few and commented, "These are good. Where are they from?" It was one of my proudest culinary moments.

For this recipe, I started with a homemade Cheez-It recipe and tried to class it up a bit. I replaced half of the sharp cheddar with aged gouda, and I added a teaspoon of dried rosemary. The result is crispy, buttery, cheesy, oh-so-good little crackers that pair perfectly with a strong cocktail. I am absolutely making this my new default recipe when we have friends over for drinks. And the best part is that you can make the dough or even the crackers ahead of time and freeze them! They can be ready to eat in 20 minutes.

If you're used to three-ingredient cocktail recipes involving nothing but a shaker and a jigger, buckle up. This might get a little scary. First, you have to break out your food processer. I know, I know. Think of the dishes you'll have to wash! But stay with me here. It makes things easy. You combine all the ingredients in the food processer, and it does the mixing perfectly for you.

Next you form the dough into two flattened squares and refrigerate them for 30 minutes. This is so the dough doesn't get too warm while you're working with it. You need to keep the butter cold. I only made a half recipe this first go-round, so I stuck to one square.

After 30 minutes, pull out the first square of dough and roll it into something resembling a square that's 1/8" thick. I put down some flower, but the dough is really easy to work with and you don't really need it. Once it's rolled out, you want to cut your crackers. The recipe recommends using a fluted pastry cutter, but I didn't have one, so I just used a knife. I kind of like the neatness of the plain edges. A pizza cutter would be ideal for this task.

To keep the crackers uniform, I used a clean ruler that was the same width as my crackers. If you're more concerned about taste than looks, you don't have to be this precise.

You're going to end up with some raggedy dough on the ends that you can collect and roll out again. Repeat this until you don't have enough left for a decent square (or until you get frustrated and just smash it into something vaguely resembling a cracker).

Take a toothpick or something similar and make a small round indentation in the center of each cracker. This keeps them from puffing up too much, and also gives them the look of commercial crackers. Repeat this whole process with the second square of dough if you're making the full recipe.

You're almost there, but there's another step between you and baking these goodies. You want to put your crackers in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. This will make it easier to transfer them to the baking sheet and will help them bake appropriately. You can preheat the oven while they're in there.

When you've got them out of the freezer, lightly beat an egg white and brush it lightly over the tops. Sprinkle them with salt and transfer them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake them for about 14 minutes, or until they're puffed and slightly browned on the top and the bottom. I like to undershoot and check on them frequently. Let them cool on a cooling rack before serving.

And that's it! It may sound like a lot, but it was really not a difficult recipe considering how professional the results looked. And they are so tasty!

Rosemary Cheese Crackers

2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt, plus more for sprinkling
6 tbsp. butter at room temperature
3 3/4 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 1 3/4 cup)
3 3/4 oz. aged gouda, grated (about 1 3/4 cup)
2-4 tbsp. ice water
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Combine flower, baking powder, and salt in the food processer and pulse briefly to combine. Add butter and cheese and pulse until well-mixed. Add 2 tbsp of ice water and pulse to mix. Add more water if needed; dough should hold together when squeezed.

Remove dough from food processer and shape into two flat square. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the first square of dough and roll it out into a square 1/8" thick. Using a fluted pastry cutter, pizza cutter, or knife, cut the dough into squares about 3/4" on each side. Using the flat end of a toothpick or skewer, make an indentation in the center of each square. Repeat with the remaining square of dough.

Put crackers in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, until firm. In theory you should be able to freeze them indefinitely and pull them out when you're ready to make them. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once dough is firm, remove from the freezer and brush with the beaten egg white. Sprinkle with salt. Carefully transfer onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until puffed and slightly browned on each side. Let cool on a cooling rack before serving.

Recipe adapted from Food 52.

Rosemary Truffle Popcorn

Let's face it: cocktails are better with snacks. Cocktails are often served before dinner, and they're usually paired with appetizers so that your guests don't get totally schnockered before the meal even begins. GarnishGuy and I don't have a ton of dinner parties, but we'll have friends over for drinks on occasion. But the usual assortment of cheeses or snacks from Trader Joe's has gotten a little repetitive. I'd love to up our appetizer game without it getting too complicated.

Popcorn is a great snack because it's simple to make and can be easily embellished. I confess, I was actually shocked when I found out how easy it is to pop your own popcorn on the stove from plain kernels. It was like the first time I made whipped cream; I realized I could never, under any circumstances, go back to the pre-fab stuff. It's just too easy and delicious to do it from scratch. We also had a farm share that was giving us multiple ears of popcorn every week. (Yes, popcorn comes on an ear. I can't be the only idiot who didn't realize that for the first 20-odd years of her life.) I had a new favorite snack.

Before long, I was adding all sorts of different things to my popcorn: herbs, grated parmesan cheese, flavored oil, cajun seasoning. It's fun to play around with. But this combination is my favorite: rosemary and truffle oil. Most truffle oil is pretty expensive, but I found a cheap bottle by Monin in Boston's North End. Doing a little research, I found out that truffle oil is a polarizing ingredient among chefs; it's not usually flavored with actual truffles, but with a synthetically produced version of a compound that gives truffles their flavor. Apparently it's a poor representation of true truffle flavor. And I'm sure my cheap bottle is worse than most. But as someone who has never had an actual truffle, I'm quite happy with it.

Lately I've also salted the popcorn with a homemade truffle salt that we got as a wedding favor from some friends; if you've got some, use it. Once mine runs out, I'm going to have to get the recipe.

Rosemary Truffle Popcorn

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
1 tsp. dried rosemary
3 tbsp. truffle-flavored oil
1 tsp. salt, or to taste

Add oil and about 3/4 of rosemary to a medium-sized saucepan. Add popcorn kernels and shake to coat. Cover and put on stove at medium-high heat. Let the pot heat, shaking occasionally to prevent burning. In about four minutes, you should hear the first pops. Once this happens, begin shaking and swirling the pan constantly as the kernels pop. Occasionally lift the lid to vent. Continue until the popping slows and the pot is full. Remove from heat. Add salt and toss or stir to combine. Transfer into a serving bowl and top with remaining rosemary.