
My organic farm share included the most beautiful radishes last week. They were a vibrant rosy red with a winter white center. Their stems were crisp and green, fresh and sturdy, just too lovely to slice off and forget.
On a beautiful white plate, these radishes looked quite at home. I served them as a last minute hors d’oeuvre along with a shallow plate of my favorite fruity olive oil and a spoon of sea salt. Guests dipped the radish in oil and then into the spoon of salt before chomping on them between sips of either Champagne or my husband’s ultimate Cosmopolitan (which I promise to write about soon).
Gourmands typically serve their radishes with butter and salt. Sometimes they pile them on a slice of bread, as fabulous food blogger Cook Eat Fret does here. I have tried to omit butter from my daily life, saving it for special occasions and my rare serving of fluffy pancakes. Olive oil is a great substitution – not as rich, but light and delicious.

Maggie, is chief tasting officer and founder of Eat Boutique. She started the site in 2007 as a way to highlight and celebrate the best pure, local and comforting handmade foods, and now sells unique and delicious handmade food in monthly tasting subscriptions and seasonal gift boxes. Fostering vibrant real world communities around food, Maggie now hosts Eat Boutique’s Local Markets, where she spotlights cookbook authors and undiscovered food makers. Maggie is a community evangelist with more than 15 years of Web community building and outreach experience, connecting millions via sites like Lycos, Tripod and TripAdvisor. She’s written for Time Out New York, the former I.D. magazine and Hip Paris, and created retail experiences for the largest floral and event design company in New England. Maggie regularly visits Paris and travels far distances to find the next great chef, farmer, food maker or host. You can follow her worldwide - and homemade - gastronomic adventures on Twitter at @mizmaggieb or @eatboutique.