What do to with leftover shmear

This was the dilemma I faced, when overly giddy at the thought of preparing a picnic for my B.Y.O.M. Meatpacking afternoon on the Highline, I prepared an over-abundance of ricotta spread. My usual solution for making use of dips, spreads, and the like is almost always a take on salade composee, French for "composed salads."

Don't shy away from your desktop: There's nothing fancy about a salade composee, other than its name. In fact, you'll find one on just about every neighborhood bistro, bar, or cafe in Paris. And that's just the place where I grew to love them. You see, here in NYC, we like to take our greens in a plastic bowl, have them chopped up and minced up in every direction known to the gloved hands on the opposite side of the counter, and then, we have presented to us, a mish-mosh of previously wholesome veggies. Not so on the Seine! The French consider it in poor taste to slice and dice your greens. I object in certain circumstances; such as, when I encounter an intimidatingly hefty leaf of romaine that I am expected to plunge into my mouth with one fell swoop. Non, non! But the French do have the idea right: Why not compose your greens into a purposefully-displayed arrangement on the plate, so that the diner can mix and match vegetables with each bite, and be actually able to identify each component while eating it.

And my hands-down favorite type of salade composee? Because there are many...is the chevre chaud. With this salad, basic greens are simply dressed alongside hearty homemade croutons of baguette, slathered with chevre (goat cheese), and broiled to meld bread and cheese together. As you make your way through mustard-laced leaves of lettuce, a bite of crouton both acts as a utensil, and an added, essential component to the composee, which you never new you needed.

Beyond chevre, you can top oven-toasted slices of baguette with just about any combination. These mini open-faced sandwiches can stand alone as a hors d'oeuvre, or can act as garnish for your salads, as I've done with leftover ricotta shmear. Your friends will be so pleased to find their bread already buttered, toasted, and ready for their first bite.

Salade composee with baby arugula, olives and sundried tomatoes
For the baguette base:
1 baguette, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
olive oil, salt, and freshly ground pepper

- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Dump baguette slices onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle generously with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using your hands, coat each baguette slice and spread out onto cookie sheet. The baguette slices should not be overlapping, so that each slice can brown.
- Toast in oven, turning once, for about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
* This can be done in advance, and stored in an airtight container.

For the dressing:
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper

- Whisk together and set aside. Taste for seasoning.

To assemble:
4 cups baby arugula (the portion in 1 store-bought container/bag)
good handful of nicoise olives, or olives of your choice
good handful of chopped sundried tomatoes

- Lightly dress greens in a large bowl. Check for seasoning. (That means try a leaf!)
- Spread ricotta mixture onto crostini, liberally. Sprinkle with chopped parsely, if desired.
- Assemble a portion of salad onto each plate. Garnish with crostini on the side.