In the last precious days of this summer, I headed to my local beach on a sunny afternoon with my mom and sister. Though it was numbingly cold at first, we were soon swimming comfortably along the shoreline. As we toweled off on a deck overlooking the water, a group of swimmers who my mom had met a few years ago mingled around us — the local swim pod. That day, a vast spread of homemade hors d’oeuvres crowded a bench on the deck, and people sipped champagne from thin plastic cups. The sounds of rapt conversation blended with the soft crash of the waves below. 

Food was a serious point of discussion among the crew. A barrel-chested Croatian pod member was soon urging me to submerge a piece of baguette into a creamy looking dip, which he had made by hand. I obliged. It didn’t take long for me to volunteer nearly half a baguette into the flavorful mix. I was hooked by its gentle complexity. As I indulged, he regaled me on just how the recipe was crafted. I will share his insights with you.

Note: In order to prepare this recipe, you will need a knife, a cutting board and a dish for serving. If you’re one to be concerned with presentation, the appearance of the dish is most aesthetically pleasing in a small, rectangular bowl.

Ingredients:

• 1 log of goat cheese
• ½ cup of olive oil
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 baguette
• Cracked pepper, to taste

Place the goat cheese directly into your serving dish and pour the olive oil over the cheese. Though the recipe should provide a good ratio of oil to cheese, make sure the amount of oil is moderate — you don’t want your cheese swimming.

Next, finely chop the garlic and rosemary and sprinkle it over the cheese. Grind fresh pepper on top of it all. Have a sliced baguette ready for dipping and you’ve made an impressive hors d’oeuvre. 

Enjoy responsibly with wine or champagne.

Email Jackson Kao at [email protected].