Kir..my new favorite cocktail!

I'm not notorious for being an extreme cocktail maker but this is officially my new favorite thing (I also love Lemon Drops and Margeritas) and it is absolutely simple...it is called Kir. Kir is a French cocktail (most often an served as an apertif), that uses a dry white wine and a creme de cassis liqueur. Depending on how sweet you like it use a teaspoon of cassis or more. I'm going to admit now though I didn't have any creme de cassis liqueur but instead used my framboise liqueur, did some research and this isn't that uncommon either, the drink was delicious. From what I can tell the usual measurements for this are 1/5 creme de cassis to 4/5 dry white wine. I used up my bottle of Pinto Grigio but the most often recommended wine for this Sauvingnon Blanc, but it must be a dry white wine. Many variations were made with other fruit liqueurs. When you use champagne it is called a Kir Royale.

Catoun

Well I was out with a friend today and I had suddenly a craving for the french provencal eggplant dip catoun (strangely enough I can find nothing on google for it). I had made it about five years ago based on recipe on the back of Vincent Van Gogh card that suggested provencal picnic foods ( I am now kicking myself for having used all the cards up). I served it at very fun tea party and I really liked it and in general had an agreement amongst guests that is was pretty good. Still I have made it since till today. Well I found the recipe card I had made for it and found in my usual over egotistical reliance on my memory/laziness that I had left out a lot of details still the recipe came out well so here it is:

Catoun

small eggplant

fresh garlic

olive oil

italian parsley

salt and pepper

-Roast eggplant over fire or in oven until charred and wrinkled (I pierced mine a few times with a fork).

-Peel eggplant and place pulp in bowl (I placed mine in the food processor).

-Mix with garlic*, parsley**, and olive oil*** (I food processed mine to creamy smooth consistancy)

-Add salt and pepper to taste

Put it in serving bowl, drizzled it with more olive oil, another grind of pepper, and a sprinkle of salt. I then dunked in toasted Kalamata olive bread. I am right day dreaming of it slathered on a pita bread with hummus, roasted bell peppers, and cucumbers.

*I used two cloves roughly chopped; next time just one clove

**I used a handful of parsley which probabley equals 1/4 cup

***I drizzled in the olive oil to my desired consistancy.