French Fridays with Dorie: Don't be a Mustard Stick in the Mud!

I'm delighted when one of our weekly French Fridays with Dorie recipes provides just what I need for a gathering that week. I was a little ahead of schedule for this one, and made these Mustard Bâtons last week for Pammy's birthday cocktail party at the Pink Palace (her darling, pink, beach cottage here on the island).

Dorie confessed she was embarrassed to admit she resisted this recipe for years, thinking three simple ingredients couldn't possibly make something great tasting, and good looking too. I wasn't very enthusiastic about these Mustard Sticks either, who attempt to sound fancier by calling themselves Mustard Bâtons.

"Boy, those French. They have a different word for everything."

-Steve Martin

Along with Dorie, I've been convinced and converted.  However, if you're determined to be a mustard stick in the mud, the basic version, which is really quite nice, with only Dijon mustard, and an optional sprinkling of poppy seeds, can be transformed with different fillings and/or toppings to make it appear you've slaved in the kitchen longer and dirtied a few more dishes. If that's the case, Dorie suggests alternative fillings such as olive tapenade, roasted peppers, pesto, or sun-dried tomatoes.  

Unbaked bâtons can be kept in the freezer for up to two months, and then brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with poppy seeds, and baked while still frozen. It's nice to have a few hors de'oeuvres like this in the freezer when friends stop by and you want a little nibblet to go with a glass of wine.

The recipe calls for a package (2 sheets) of thawed, frozen puff pastry. Working with one sheet at a time, roll out the pastry to a rectangle about 12 x 16 inches, and brush 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard over the lower half of the dough, with the shorter side closest to you.

Fold the top portion over the bottom, covering the mustard, cut strips about 3/4 inch thick (a pizza cutter works well), and transfer to a lined baking sheet.

Glaze the strips with a light egg wash, sprinkle with poppy seeds, and bake for about 15 minutes at 400 F, rotating the baking sheets half way through.

These are best served warm, and are especially tasty with white wine or kir, the official aperitif of Dijon, which is made with a measure of crème de cassis (blackcurrant liqueur) topped with white wine. You can bet I'll be stopping by the liquor store on my way home for crème de cassis and a bottle of wine, so I can see if just two ingredients can be combined to make a great tasting and good looking cocktail.

The complete recipe for Mustard Batons is published on Dorie's blog, In the Kitchen and on the Road with Dorie, here. The New York Times also published it here.

Moutarde de Dijon (Mustard Shop in Dijon)

French Fridays with Dorie is an online cooking group dedicated to Dorie Greenspan‘s newest book, Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours. As members of the group, we have purchased the cookbook and cook along as much as we can. There is a new recipe each week, and we post about that recipe on Friday. We are asked to refrain from posting the actual recipes on our blog. The book is filled with stunning photography, and personal stories about each recipe, which makes it that much more intriguing.