I use this recipe (more like a method, really) as a standard party offering, and it’s one of my all-time favorite snackers. I eat mine with flatbread, but it’s good to spread these combinations on sliced seedless cucumbers, too.

　　

Ingredients

serve 4 to 6 people

　　

Base

1 6-inch round Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs (available in the dairy case at most supermarkets)

　　

Toppers

1/4 cup prepared basil pesto

　　3 tablespoons olive tapenade

　　3 tablespoons sun-dried tomato tapenade

　　

Garnishes

Chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley

　　Crushed hot red pepper flakes

　　

Crunchy Draggers

Sliced English (seedless) cucumber (the one wrapped in plastic)

　　Sliced bell pepper

　　Celery sticks

　　Sesame flatbreads

　　

Step 1

Place the Boursin on a large plate. Spread a thick layer of your choice of basil pesto, olive tapenade, or sun-dried tomato tapenade all over the top of the cheese. Garnish is entirely optional, but for parties, you might want to throw a little chopped basil or parsley on the pesto or parsley and hot red pepper flakes on the tapenades.

　　

Step 2

Surround the cheese with any or all of the draggers. When you drag a piece of vegetable or a flatbread through the cheese, the sauce will slide away and combine with the cheese. YUMMO!

　　Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Get Real Meals