Rosemary & Olive Oil Pita Chips with Tuscan White Bean Dip

This is a fantastic appetizer that you might want to bring to one of your upcoming holiday parties. It feeds a crowd, it won't break the bank, it's easy to do, and it tastes amazing! Another nice bonus is that the chips can be made way in advance.

I'm warning you these chips are addictive, you won't want to move very far away from them. This is my friend Jean's recipe, the first time she made this she could hardly pry us all away to move on to the next course, in fact, we would have been very happy to continue munching on these.

The pita chips are nice and crunchy and flavored with extra virgin olive oil, a hint of rosemary and kosher salt.

The best way to store them is in a cookie tin between sheets of wax paper. They will stay crunchy and delicious for up to 3 weeks! I would recommend to make a bunch, you'll be glad you did, as they would be great with lots of other dips or condiments you might be making. In fact I have an upcoming post for another use for these, so stay tuned!

Here's the recipe: (Thanks Jean!)

First thing you do is soak some dried rosemary ( not fresh) in a bowl of extra virgin olive oil, you'll be using this mixture for brushing on the pita's. Let it soak for a good hour or so.

**1 15oz can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans.

**1/4 cup of fresh Italian parsley

**2T fresh lemon juice along with and the grated lemon peel of one lemon

**1 garlic clove

**salt and pepper

**1/3 cup of olive oil

Put everything in a food processor and stream in the olive oil until nice and creamy. So easy!

For the pita chips, buy a bag of fresh pita's, take each pita and cut them into long strips, you should get six to 8 strips per pita. Now snip off the tips to square them off, and separate. After separation you should have around 16 individual chips then per pita. ( see why I say it makes a ton!) Brush each strip with the rosemary olive oil mixture on the rough side of the pita, the inner side, place on a baking sheet, sprinkle with kosher salt and bake in a 400F oven for about 7-8 minutes, or until golden brown. Let them cool on a rack, then place them in your cookie tin for storage.

NOTE: I would suggest not to put any rosemary in the dip at all, just the parsley, otherwise it would be too overpowering, the freshness of the zest, lemon juice, parsley and garlic is a great compliment. Feel free to double, triple, or whatever the recipe. I made 8 bags of pita with 6 cans of beans for my son and DIL's baby shower!!!

Buon Appetito!!

Parmesan Cones with White Bean Mousse

For the last few weeks I've been on the hunt for appetizers unlike the usual ones I normally make, scouring through different cookbooks trying to find something different and elegant looking. Well I found what I was looking for, not only do these look good they taste even better!
Savory cones made of coarsely grated fresh Parmesan cheese that is specked with black pepper and filled with a mousse made of white bean, basil pesto, fresh lemon juice and olive oil.

I was going to make these for my son and DIL's upcoming baby shower but opted not to, because they're a little too time consuming for a large crowd, but for a smaller and more intimate dinner party these would be fantastic! Just remember to fill them right before eating so the cone stays nice and crispy.

Heres what you do:

Make a paper cone out of a 3 1/2" circle, sturdy paper, tape it and set aside.
Heat oven to 375F and on parchment paper trace 3 1/2" circles 3" apart. Have 2 baking sheets ready to go.
Grate about 3/4 cup of cheese on a metal grater, please do not use powdery fake cheese, it won't work!
Combine cheese and pepper together and spread a heaping tablespoon of cheese onto each circle, bake for about 5 minutes till melted and golden.
Remove from oven and after 1 minute gently remove with a thin metal spatula and shape it over your paper cone. Let them cool before removing. Repeat process. This recipe makes 10 cones.

White Bean Mousse

1 can of rinsed and drained white beans.
Basil pesto, (a couple of teaspoons). Taste it for flavor but be careful not to use too much you might turn the white bean color green.
A good squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Put this all in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy by drizzling in some good olive oil.
Spoon mousse into a ziplock bag and snip off a corner and pipe right into the cone, garnish with basil and serve immediately. Cones can be made ahead. Place in a tin with wax paper until ready to fill.

Happy Entertaining!