Douple Dipping

I love dips, but I find most of the grocery store varieties don't taste like real food.
That's why, on the weekend, I try to reserve time to make a few dips from scratch for nacho chips, toasted pita triangles, toasted baguette slices, and as a spread for portables.
Portables are what I call food that can be folded and taken with you.
I keep flour tortillas, Greek-style pitas, and sometimes leftover crepes on hand in my fridge for my portables any time of the week.
Crepes are the most irresistable of portables: warm a crepe up in a large fry pan, then smear on mayo, pesto, leftover chicken and swiss cheese slices and heat through. Fold the crepe in half, then in half again to make your portable.
In Paris, this is street food -- far more appealing than the ubiquitous hot dogs on offer in Toronto.
If I'm on the fly, I'll take a flour tortilla, smear on goat cheese and tapenade (I always have some on hand), heat through, then fold in half and then in half again for a deliciously simple portable.
Pitas don't have to be heated, though I'll often toast them lightly to soften them. Then I'll spread a leftover dip (artichoke is my favourite work horse here) add fresh vegetables (thinly sliced cucumber, red onion, tomato and lettuce) then fold the sandwich the way you would a cabbage roll. Good to go.
The variations for portables are endless, and they are ideal vehicles for leftovers, but the trick is to have really great dips on hand to give your portable a flavour boost.
Three favourites:

Pico de Gallo

Once you make a batch of pico de gallo you may have a hard time buying bland salsas from the grocery store again. I find a handful or two of cherry tomatoes work well here. Add half an onion (red onion is my favourite for this purpose), two cloves of garlic and a handful of fresh cilantro or flat-leafed parsley. The challenge here is to hand chop all the vegetables into uniform little dices. Toss them into a bowl and season with sea salt, ground pepper and the juice of two fresh squeezed limes. Let the flavours marinade for a few hours then bring out your favourite tortilla chips for the freshest, leanest, most delicious dip this side of the border.

I use pico de gallo leftovers with cream cheese smeared on half a flour tortilla then warmed up as a quesadilla. Pico de gallo can also top freshly grilled or baked white fish.

Artichoke dip

I like a full pantry, and I find a few cans of artichokes are always a saviour when I'm looking to make something flavourful in a hurry. My favourite use of canned artichokes is to make a warm dip of them. Toss the following into a food processor: a can of artichokes (without their juices), a smattering of capers, two cloves of chopped garlic, two chopped green onions, a quarter cup goat cheese or cream cheese, a quarter cup mayo, a quarter cup plain yogurt or sour cream, salt and pepper to season. Once pureed, this dip is perfectly fine cold but if you pour it into a glass pie plate, heat it for 15 minutes at 350 F then pour the heated dip into a bowl with chips for dipping you'll have a party hit on your hands. Leftovers are great to smear into sandwiches or any of the portables mentioned above. I've also been known to pour the heated dip over grilled salmon for added flavour.

Tapenade

I always have olives on hand. Green olives are my favourite but kalamata come in a close second. Making tapenade is easy if you have a food processor or the Magic Bullet, which I find works miracles with tapenade. The only issue is pitting the olives. You can pit the olives by taking a heavy knife, laying it on its side above the olive, then using your upper body heft to place enough pressure on the olive so it splits, making removal of the pit a breeze. But last year I finally invested in a good olive pitter which makes quick work of pitting but still takes time. I view it as therapy. I put about two cups of pitted olives into the magic bullet, add two cloves of chopped garlic, half a handful of capers and, if I have sundried tomatoes on hand they go in too. Drizzle in some olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and enjoy the tapenade as a dip for tortilla chips, a spread for crostini or any of the portables mentioned above.