MAY IT PLEASE THE PALATE: Party leftovers

By Nick Roumel It is the aftermath of my daughter's high school graduation open house. We had 90+ people visit us on a lovely late spring day. We also have 90 lbs.+ leftovers, so I don't have to go grocery shopping for about a month. The fun thing about these types of parties is that you'll never know what guests will eat, or not eat. The spinach pies were gobbled up. On the other side of the coin, let's just say that I've been eating two vegan sloppy Joes each, for lunch and for dinner, three straight days and counting. We featured a lot of edibles seeking dipraw vegetables, pita chips, crackers, and pretzels. We wanted to offer something besides the ubiquitous mayonnaise or sour cream based accompaniments usually found at these events. Never mind that sour cream and Mrs. Grass' French Onion Soup Mix, with potato chips, is the single best snack ever invented. We sought to offer something fresher than 1960s cuisine! My sister found these two dip recipes. They were both delicious and easy to make. I preferred the first, a curried bean dip that had a bit of a kick, from Todd and Diane, who call themselves the "White on Rice Couple"- a multi-cultural and multi-talented power couple with an impressive client list. The second offering is from Katie Barlow, the self-described "Veg Mom." You can whip up these two puppies in about five minutes each. Spicy Asian White Bean Dip www.whiteonricecouple.com Ingredients â?¢1 15oz can of white beans (rinsed) , I prefer the creamy cannellini beans â?¢1 Tablespoons olive oil â?¢1 teaspoon sesame oil â?¢2 teaspoons soy sauce ( or to taste) â?¢2 Tablespoons sriracha hot sauce or any spicy chili sauce, or one fresh thai chili â?¢1 large clove of garlic â?¢1/2 teaspoon curry powder â?¢1/4 cup of water (addition water needed if you need to make the dip smoother) â?¢1 Tablespoon lime juice â?¢crackers or fried crispy bread Directions In blender, combine all ingredients. Blend until smooth. Awesome Pea and White Bean Dip http://thevegmom.wordpress.com/ Ingredients 10 oz fresh or frozen peas 1 can white cannellini beans Juice from 1 lemon 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces 2 teaspoons cumin 1 clove garlic 1 teaspoon salt Instructions Place everything into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. These beautiful food blogs make me feel inadequate about my own, that has not been updated in over a year. But until my own demanding client list is satisfied with raw vegetables and spicy bean dip, that's probably the way it's going to stay for a while! -------- Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard, and Walker PC, a firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment and civil right litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for "Current" magazine in Ann Arbor. He occasionally updates his blog at http://mayitpleasethepalate.blogspot.com/. Published: Tue, Jul 01, 2014