Doristas, we’ve been here before, when we were working our way through Around My French Table. And yet, there was still so much trepidation at the thought of this recipe making it into our monthly rotation that it sparked an entirely new posting theme for Cook the Book Fridays. This is the first of our “extra edition” entries – whenever there’s five Fridays in the month, our admins will pick a recipe that group members find challenging for an optional posting on the final Friday.
I have a feeling that that all worries disappeared with the first bite – rillettes made with fish are satisfyingly savoury comfort food and sardines are especially suited to this treatment. David’s version uses a little cream cheese along with the traditional butter and it would be hard to imagine enjoying it as much without that creamy tanginess. His recipe is similar to Dorie’s, but hers is full of fresh herbs, while his has the briny herbaceousness of capers. Both are wonderful and perfect for a Friday night in, after a busy week. Especially if there are cocktails involved. I should look into that.
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One Wet Foot 
I think Asians take to sardines, canned or fresh, rather well! We have no qualms with this! I like the cream cheese in this by David!
We loved this recipe too. The capers add a little spark to this. We had these with a glas of wine. Yep…it definitely worked!
I love your description of ” challenging recipes” for the extra edition phase. More like the
recipes we don’t think we are going to like. Just teasing, actually, this one was a good recipe
even when we made it for AMFT. Of course you must like sardines. Have a great weekend.
I love your description of the two rillettes and their differences! I think I normally use sardines packed in water for rillettes because they’re less fishy and I’m going to try that again with both recipes in a head-to-head battle (with wine and/or cocktails!) since I preferred Dorie’s recipe. Looks great, Teresa!
Yes I learned about rillettes in Dorie’s group. Seems like most people liked this one, I may have to give it a try.
Not everyone likes sardine; that’s clear. This sardine spread made with some cream cheese and capers elevate the flavor to the extent that most won’t find it objectionable. I’d consider this David’s recipe a success.
We love sardines around here, and using the spread as a sandwich filling is our favourite way of eating sardine spread, though we sometimes eat it with crackers too. We enjoyed this one a lot, served it with homemade bread. Will definitely make this again!
I love rillettes! I can see how it’s a dish that could make many nervous, but you’re quite right, Teresa, the salty tang is very satisfying indeed and a perfect pairing with an aperitif!
Most people liked this one, but I’m wondering if only the people who thought they would enjoy it participated this week (except for Mardi). I liked both David and Dorie’s versions, but need to plan a side-by-side test some time (or make a blended version).
Teresa, I made the sardine spread although I didn’t make Dorie’s. This did seem to be a more reasonable recipe for me. What’s not to like about a cream cheese/butter mixture. I also think the herbs softened the fishiness of this rillette. My friends did try this with a cocktail and loved it. I had one which was enough for me.
I was not brave enough to try this, especially since there would be no one to try it! I am inspired after reading everyone’s posts, mmmm- girls weekend is coming up – do I dare? Your spread looks great, and the bread looks very hearty.