French-Style Crudités with Blue Cheese Dip

According to this site, vegetables and dip in France are a bit different. The vegetables are often untrimmed - the carrots and celery have leaves attached, etc. Also, the vegetables are tossed with a vinaigrette before you dip them into a sauce. The vinaigrette makes a huge difference in taste - it adds another layer of flavor other than just the dip. Of course, it's a bit messier to eat, though the French wouldn't eat with their fingers anyway! If you don't want to make the vinaigrette from scratch, try tossing vegetables in your favorite dressing before serving with dip. And think outside the usual veggies: in addition to grape tomatoes, carrots, red bell pepper, and celery, I also used lightly steamed green beans, radishes, and sliced zucchini.

Crudités with Blue Cheese Dip

Assorted vegetables, cleaned and sliced (lightly steam cruciferous vegetables like green beans, broccoli, and cauliflower)

Vinaigrette

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon honey

Dash of grated shallot (maybe ¼ small shallot, if that) - I used a bit of grated onion

Salt and pepper

Blue Cheese Dip

3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

½ cup mayonnaise

½ cup crème fraîche (I used sour cream)

1 clove garlic, grated

Salt and pepper

1. Put all the vinaigrette ingredients into a mini food processor, and whirl until emulsified. (I shook the ingredients in a jar.)
2. Trim the vegetables as desired, and toss with just enough vinaigrette to coat.
3. Stir all the ingredients for the Roquefort sauce together, and decant into a decorative bowl.
4. Arrange the vegetables in a mason or jam jar or bowl, and serve alongside the Roquefort sauce.