In search of an idea for an appetizer or a snack? Consider the anchovy.

No? With a determined shake of the head, definitely no. At least that was my response recently when Franco offered me one of the concoctions he was putting together.

On the wooden cutting board in front of him on the table were a couple of slices of freshly baked Italian bread, a small jar of salt cured anchovies in olive oil, and a dish of cold butter. I watched with scorn as he cut the bread neatly into small sections, about two inches by two inches. Next, he very precisely shaved a thin layer off the block of butter and placed it atop one of the bread sections. Then he removed an anchovy from the jar, cut off an inch long section and put it on the top of butter shaving.

“Here,” he said, offering the strange stuff to me. “It's very sweet.”

“No,” I said, with that firm shake of the head I mentioned above. “Not hungry.”

Well acquainted with my reticence, a provincial reflex on guard 24/7, 365 ad infinitum in its post, courtesy of my Puritan-bestowed DNA, he insisted. “Just taste one.”

I did. I instantly asked for a second. And then begged for a third. He was right. It was sweet, and delicious.

I suggest you give the lowly anchovy a second chance if you have rejected it before. Try it. Probably you'll like it. Just don't eat too many. They're rich. And it is butter, after all.