Quick fresh tomato sauce for pasta

4 large, ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt
lots of freshly cracked black pepper
rounds of goat cheese (optional)
fresh basil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the garlic gently for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over hot pasta with fresh basil and goat cheese.

Vincent's spicy apéritif dip

1 loaf French baguette bread
extra virgin olive oil
piment extra fort, moulu (ground cayenne hot pepper, like this one from Bahadourian)
nutritional yeast flakes

First, don't knock the nutritional yeast until you've tried it. Not sure how popular it is in the US, but it's very popular here - and with good reason. It's a nutty, rich taste that adds a great flavor to salads, breads and apparently... dips.

Pour a couple glugs of olive oil into a saucer. Add about 2 Tbsp of hot pepper and 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast.

Serve with pieces of bread, mixing the dip as you go and adding more of each ingrdient as needed.

Layered taco dip, made in France

Tex-Mex is one of the hardest cuisines to make in France, but this taco dip quenched a serious craving. Can be made up to a day in advance. Packs easily for picnics or pot-lucks. Dip in!

Layer 1:
1 lg can red kidney beans, drained
1-2 tsp taco seasoning OR ground cumin, if desperate
salt to taste

Using a stick blender or food processor, purée the beans and seasoning. Spread evenly in your serving dish.

Layer 2:
8-10 wedges of cream cheese, like La vache qui rit
1/2-3/4 cup either sour cream, crème fraîche or fromage en faiselle (drained)

Blend well using stick blender. Spread on top of bean layer.

Layer 3: 1 lg tomato, chopped

Layer 4: 1/2 onion, chopped

Then top with whatever sounds good to you! I used pitted black olives, sliced jalapenos and then some chopped fresh cilantro.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Cheryl's blue cheese dressing

1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup milk
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz Roquefort or other blue cheese

Blend all ingredients (except blue cheese). Crumble cheese into dressing, then stir. Refrigerate 24 hours before serving.

Kendra's hummus with roasted eggplant

Here's the recipe I make every week...and it disappears every week! It's super cheap and takes 5 minutes and is soooo good. My good friend Kendra gave me the recipe. It pretty much sealed the friendship :)

1 large can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1/2 tsp dried garlic)
1/6 cup water
2-4 Tbsp tahini (opt)
1 Tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
Lemon juice - start with 1/2 lemon and add to taste
1 eggplant, roasted and scooped from peel*

Dump. Purée with stick blender/blender/food processor. Dip.

* The eggplant is optional but SO stinkin' good. It's so creamy. Just wrap the eggplant in foil (well!) and toss it in the oven the next time you bake something. When it soft, it's done. Let cool completely in foil, then unwrap and add to hummus.

Black bean hummus

This recipe came from Cooking Light. We ate it with a garlicky chickpea hummus and the variety in tastes was great.

1 garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small jalapeño pepper, chopped
Dash of crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
Dash of ground red pepper

Place garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, black beans, jalapeño pepper, and crushed red pepper; process until smooth. Spoon bean mixture into a medium bowl, and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with ground red pepper. Serve with pita or tortilla chips.

Cilantro jalapeño tartar sauce from Willie Rae's

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon capers (or chopped dill pickle)
1 teaspoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño peppers, chopped
Zest of 1/2 lime

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, cilantro, mustard, capers, onion, jalapeño and lime zest. Adjust flavors to taste. Chill for 30 minutes.

Lemon & garlic vinaigrette

Mix this vinaigrette in the bottom of your salad bowl. Then add the lettuce and toss to coat.

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil or sunflower oil

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic. Add 1 Tbsp oil, whisking until completely blended. Add remaining oil 1 Tbsp at a time, being sure to blend thoroughly.

Makes dressing for 3-4 small side salads.

Dad's salsa

1 can tomato purée (10.75 oz)
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers with seeds
2 Tbsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp salt
garlic to taste

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer 30 minutes or until desired thickness. Keep refrigerated.

Mom's barbecue sauce

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
3 tsp mustard
garlic to taste
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp black pepper

Combine ingredients and let simmer 15 minutes.

Amber Dawn's guacamole

2 ripe Haas avocadoes (not sure if it's ripe or how to peel it? See here.)
2 tsp lemon juice, or to taste
Lawry's seasoned salt to taste

Optional add-ins:
chopped tomato
chopped onion

Cut avocados in half. Remove pit. Scoop out avacado from the peel, or gently pull away the peel. Put in a and mash well with a fork. Some people like theirs really smooth, but personally I like mine a little chunky.

Stir in lemon juice, seasoned salt, tomatoes and onions (optional). Serve immediately with tortilla chips or pita bread.

Mafé, or sauce arachide

This recipe was inspired by three things:

1. Sauce arachide, a spicy peanut-based sauce made with chicken from Côte d'Ivoire, the country where I grew up. On special occasions it is served with a variety of toppings.

2. Mafé, a peanut-based sauce made with beef and carrots from Sénégal, the country where we lived for two years.


Senegalese mafé (photo from insenegal.org)

3. Our vegetarian friends coming for dinner.

In many African countries you may be served a variation of mafé or sauce arachide made without meat, sometimes adding greens in its place. I'm not a big fan of greens (but will happily accept recipe ideas to try) so decided to make a meatless version combining the best of both sauces, the delicious carrots from the mafé and the spiciness and toppings of the sauce arachide.

1 onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small can tomato paste
2-3 cups peanut butter*
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp paprika
2-3 tsp Scotch bonnet hot sauce (to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oil

* If possible, use all-natural peanut butter without added sugar. Otherwose, you can certainly use 'regular' store-bought peanut butter. If you use crunchy, skip the additional peanuts.

Toppings
These are optional. You don't have to have all of them, but I really recommend the first five or six.

coconut, grated
tart apple, chopped
raisins
red onion, chopped
bananas, sliced
green onion, chopped
pineapple, chopped
green pepper, chopped
oranges, chopped
roasted peanuts

First, cook the carrots. Place them in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with water. Microwave on high for 4-5 minutes or until just tender. Set aside. Do not pour off the water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is translucent and soft, stirring frequently. Lower heat to medium. Mix in tomato paste, then stir in 2 cups peanut butter. Add seasonings and carrots with the water. Add more water if needed to make a soup consistency. Let simmer on low, uncovered, 10 minutes. Taste and adjust if needed.

If too peanut buttery, add more tomato paste - and v.v.
If not enough flavor, add more ginger and hot sauce, maybe a little salt..

Serve over hot, white rice and add toppings. Get creative! Be sure to have more hot sauce on hand for people who like it with a kick.

Roasted eggplant dip

Also known as Baba Ghanoush, this Middle Eastern dip is made from roasted eggplant and eaten with pita bread.

2 large eggplants (about 2 lbs)
3 Tbsp olive oil + a little more
2 garlic cloves, crushed
juice from one lemon
1/4 teaspoon salt
parsley

Rinse the eggplants and dry well. Rub with olive oil. Poke small holes into them so the steam will be able to escape. Place in a baking dish, then in a preheated oven at 475°.

Roast until very tender, about 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Once the eggplants have 'deflated' remove and let cool.




Scoop the flesh out of the dark skin. Combine olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt. Pulse with stick blender until the eggplant for a few seconds until smoother, but still textured.

Let the dip sit for an hour. Taste, then season with lemon juice and garlic as needed. Serve with pita bread, crackers, baguette or veggie sticks.

Amazing mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is one of the five French "mother sauces", which means that is it the basis for a range of other sauces including garlic mayonnaise or "aioli"

You will need:
- 1 egg
- 1 cup olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- a whisk, an electric hand whisk, a blender, mixer or food processor.

Good to know:
Mayonnaise is an emulsion (a mixture of two different liquids that do not usually combine together and they tend to separate immediately).

1. Beat the egg.
2. Continue whisking and slowly add small drops of oil, one at a time. If the oil is added too quickly, the two liquids will just separate.
3. The mixture will beging to emulsify, or thicken. Keep whisking!
4. Once thickening, you can add the rest of the oil a little faster.
5. Once all the oil has been whisked in, stir in lemon juice .and Dijon.

Bonus step: To make garlic mayonnaise (aïoli) add a clove of crushed garlic. Yum!

Serve with fish, roasted or grilled meats, over salads or an sandwiches. Okay, serve it pretty much anywhere.