TIP OF THE DAY: For Fun & Excitement, Make Verrine Recipes
 Berries, pistachio sour cream and sweetened Greek yogurt. Photo courtesy Wallmonkey. |
Looking for some appetizer or dessert excitement? Make verrines (vair-REEN, in French). Verre is the French word for glass; verrine, which means “protective glass,” is an assortment of ingredients layered “artfully” in a small glass. Verrines can be sweet or savory: The idea is to layer foods that provide delicious tastes in small bites. In addition to serving up a variety of tastes and textures, verrines should have splashes of color for eye appeal (grape tomatoes, raspberries, herbs). The idea has been around for a long time, but in recent years has come back to prominence in France. While specialty verrine glasses exist, you most likely have vessels at home that will do the job just fine: juice glasses, rocks glasses, shot glasses, even small wine goblets. |
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And you don’t have to start big—you can hold off on the foie gras mousse, cubed Sauternes gelée (Sauternes [a sweet wine] in plain gelatin) and stewed rhubarb, topped with crème fraîche, candied apricots and chopped pistachios (we made this one last week). Instead, start by making the foods you serve every day more exciting by serving a verrine as a side. For example: |
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SWEET INGREDIENTS CHECKLIST This is hardly an exhaustive list, but it’s a good start for inspiration. |
 A classic verrine: different flavors of mousse, cookies and meringues. And the small size means portion control! Photo courtesy Payard. |
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VERRINE COOKBOOKS If you read French, there’s a larger selection. Here’s what we found in English, but we expect to see more as publishers catch up with the trend:
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