Moral support is key to any new adventure.
Me, Mallory, and Mom
Lucky me – I had my mom and my best friend with me for my venture into the land of food service.
Mom actually walked in 5 mins before the party began with a dish to bake the Jacked Up Brie. The problem with starting out in catering (and being a minimalist when it comes to server-ware) is a lack of resources.
The second set of “appetizer-like” munchies was a white bean dip and endive boats.
No party is complete without a veggie tray and dips! The dip I made was a rosemary-laced chickpea dip that used rosemary-infused olive oil and Greek yogurt.
The best part about white bean dip is its simplicity – throw everything in the food processor and hit “start.” Lemon and garlic are must-haves in virtually any bean dip I make. They keep the Mediterranean spirit of the hummus and were perfect with the rosemary. You could use any olive oil here, but I liked the added punch of flavor achieved by using the rosemary-infused.
Next up were the endive boats. Theses were voted the second favorite food item of the night! It’s funny how the simplest things can be so good! Endive is a sturdy leaf perfect for creating bite-sized salads. (This dish was originally going to be a giant salad with arugula, but the hostess didn’t like the idea of a non-finger food.)
Into the boats went pumpkin bits (from a Sugar Pie Pumpkin I’d roasted and diced a few days in advance), pomegranate arils (I found whole pomegranates on sale for $2 each!), and goat cheese. After plating the boats, I drizzled them with a champagne-pomegranate vinaigrette. It was amazing how much of a difference the dressing made – it was just the right amount of tang to bring the flavors together.
I’ll be making these boats again for get-togethers at my house. With the lettuce base, the possibilities for filling are endless. These would make a great vessel for chickpea salads, tabbouleh, or even a deconstructed guacamole!
Rosemary Bean Dip
- 2 15 oz cans of garbanzo beans, drained
- 1/3 C plain Greek yogurt
- 3 T olive oil (I used rosemary-infused)
- 3-4 T rosemary
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- S & P, to taste
Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down sides and adding more liquid as necessary. Don’t be afraid to let the processor run for several minutes – it will only make the dip more smooth and delicious!
Makes 2.5 cups.
Pumpkin-Pomegranate Endive Boats
- Endive leaves
- Crumbled goat cheese
- Pumpkin, roasted and diced into even squares
- Pomegranate arils
- Champagne-Pomegranate Vinaigrette (see below)
Trim endives, separating leaves. Fill with goat cheese, pumpkin, and pomegranate arils. Drizzle with vinaigrette.
Notes:
– I didn’t include amounts since there wasn’t any real measuring going on, but 6-7 good-sized whole endives will make boats for at least 15.
– You could use any vinaigrette here, but I would recommend using one that is light in color if the boats will be on display for a while. A deeper color will stain the endive and make it less visually appealing.
Champagne-Pomegranate Vinaigrette
- 1/2 C champagne pomegranate vinegar (found at Whole Foods)
- 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
- Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 T sugar
- S & P, to taste
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.
***
Tomorrow is going to be the “greatest hit” food item. I’m a little in love with them.
What would your ideal endive boat be filled with?
Do you have the rest of the year off of work? I’m counting down the days ’til Friday.
The endive boats are so creative – and they look delicious!
I’m off the 26th and 2nd, but took off a couple more days too. 🙂
Ohh…I love bean dips….I actually used to hate rosemary..however, now I am starting to use it in tiny bits here and there and it actually adds a HUGE flavor to things.
Defrosting a lemon now and going to whip this up later today – Yum.
xoxo from Trinidad
Your descriptions of the food have my mouth watering! I think my “boats” would definitely be filled with the deconstructed guac you mentioned. YUM!
And yes, I’m off until 2012 after today! 🙂
Fantastic looking spread.
Pretty ladies, pretty spread of food. Fantastic presentation. Glad ot hear it went well!
Thank you! I can’t wait to do a ATL blogger potluck. 🙂
I actually love endive! I love making a salad with endive, walnuts, apples, and bleu cheese. Mmmm…
That’s one of my favorite combos – with a really goo blue cheese.
those boats are so pretty! i’ve never had endive!
Oh! You have to try it. It’s really good just chopped in a salad with arugula too.
Those endive boats look fantastic – I think a bit of cashew cheese would be the perfect sub to keep that same recipe and make it vegan. =)
For sure! That would be delish with the pumpkin.
I’m counting down the days til Friday too! I can’t wait. These items look amazing! I love the idea of using some greek yogurt in a bean dip. I’ll have to try that sometime! Can’t wait to see the biggest hit item tomorrow!
Oh my goodness the food is just getting better with each post.
And holy smoke you look just like your mom!
Thank you!! She’s a pretty lady. 🙂
Beautiful beautiful Laura! I wish I had been at this party, for real! You definitely have a bright food future ahead of you. I love how simple both of these dishes are to put together, yet so elegant and flavorful. Mmmm….I feel some New Year’s appetizers coming on!
I wish you could have too! Can’t wait to hear about your NYE creations!
You look exactly like your mom!
Everything sounds great! Especially the endive boats!
I was distracted this whole post because I read the title as pumpkin PORN instead of POM. I don’t know what that says about me! 😉
Porn, pom… same difference. 😉 Oddly, my mom was talking about porn tonight…
I can see how pumpkin, pom, & goat cheese would go fabulously together. I like goat cheese n’ butternut squash, so I bet it’s fairly similar.
What a gorgeous spread! I love the ingredients in the endive boats. Very cool!
wow! so gorgeous! I can’t even imagine how much work this all took- congrats!
Thank you! I will admit to not sleeping a lot… but much of that was nerves!
Laura, I agree the beauty of a bean dip is the simplicity of its preparation and your full-flavored version is no exception. Thank you for your lovely comment at my place and Happy Holidays to you and yours!
Thank you for stopping by! Happy holidays to you as well!
GENIUS to use rosemary-infused olive oil! I’m sitting here eating some of my own rosemary hummus and wishing I’d thought of that. 🙂
Those little boats are so pretty…I love the pop of the cranberries! I would fill mine with goat cheese…and cranberries!
They were pomegranates, but I bet cran would be good too! Maybe cran, goat cheese, and pecans? And a little rosemary garnish?
Laura, everything looks beautiful! I love endive boats with smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill and capers.
And… congratulations! You won our KidEats Cookie Giveaway! Email and let us know where to send the Ginger & White cookies!
Thank you! I love capers – bet that is a delicious combo.
I’m so excited about the big win. 🙂
Very pretty presentation, and I love the rosemary in the dip!
wow, you look so much like your mom! I love the rosemaryndip and the endive boats!
These endive boats look fantastic.
They would be great with anything!
I have a bacon tomato dip that these would be great for.
Even a salmon or tuna, or chicken, or beef salad could be stuffed into them.
The ideas are endless.
Something with finely chopped nuts…………….
Now if I could only get some endive!