
I needed some nourishment while planning holiday menus. The first two glasses of champagne helped, nourishing my soul but not my belly. I had a tub of hummus in the fridge but thought better of simply eating it straight from the tub. No fancy glass of champagne would permit eating directly from a plastic container.
I placed a few dollops of the organic hummus in a bowl, doused it with olive and fresh ground pepper, almost calling it a day. I remembered the smoked pimento spice I had acquired recently and started dabbing it all over the slickened mush. Added a few rye toasts and felt pretty good that my glasses, or now bottle, of champagne would approve!

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.