This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Sardine Rillette. A wonderful quick, easy little appetizer spread. I personally like sardines. Growing up, my mom doesn't like steak. If our family was going to have steak she opened a can of sardines, spread some butter on bread, and carefully laid the sardines side by side on top of the butter. We could join her, or eat steak. I always choose the sardines. There was something about the whole ceremony that appealed to me. When you open a can with a key, and carefully roll back the metal top, it has to be good! I know not everyone shares my love. This recipe is really worth trying to acquaint yourself with sardines.

The recipe calls for 2 cans of sardines, and other ingredients that you probably have on hand. A little cream cheese, shallot, some herbs, and juice of a lemon. Guests are coming? You can have this ready in less than ten minutes. I used chives. They're growing outside our kitchen door, and I try to use them whenever I can.

I was a Trader Joe's and found two kinds of sardines. Some in oil, and some in water. I bought a can of each to see what they were like. Sardines are much bigger now than I remember. I remember little guys about the size of your pinkie or slightly bigger. They guys are big (well, little but big) and packed in like sardines. Sorry, had to work that in somewhere! In one can, the sardines still had spines, so I pulled those out. I know they would have crushed, but just couldn't leave it in. Here are the two cans side by side.

Some chopping and snipping and the ingredients were ready to combine.

The sardines easily combined with a fork. The final preparation is a lot like a simple tuna salad. It would be really nice piped into the little puff, or a cherry tomato. Hope you'll give it a try!

Next Tuesday is a lovely lemon cake by Julia. Love lemons. Talk to you soon!