Paris in the Spring

What a cliché. But I can't wait!

I haven't been to Paris in eight years. Eight years! We've lived in France for four years and we've never bothered to make the trip. My sister is coming to France at the end of April and we're spending four glorious days in Paris.
She wants to go to the Louvre and I want to take her to the Picasso Museum and to the Rue Cler market. And the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Musée d'Orsay and Spring restaurant and the Marais and the rue des Rosiers where I want to try the strudel at La Boutique Jaune de Sacha Finkelsztajn and have her taste the thickest, richest hot chocolate ever at Angelina on the posh rue de Rivoli.
And, and and...

I don't think four days will be enough.

CQ HQ July 2008: En vacances

With over a month gone by since my last post, I probably don't have to tell my readers that Cuisine Quotidienne is on hiatus for the summer!

I am in my hometown of Olympia, Washington until late August, enjoying cookies, bagels and seafood rather than foie gras, cheese and crusty bread.

I'm looking forward to catching up with your blogs this summer on a "read and comment" basis, without the pressure of trying to post myself.

I will, however, be blogging about this and that on And So Forth
and making an occasional post to La France Profonde.

I also have a redesign plan in the works for Cuisine Quotidienne, so I hope to see you in the fall with a new look!

Happy cooking and eating this summer.

A popover worth the wait

So, have you ever had one of those days when you do or learn or eat something so fantastic that you can’t wait to tell the whole world, and then by some cruel twist of fate, the whole world seems to conspire to shut you up? First, let’s say, you get a wretched sore throat, followed by a snotty, now-stuffed, now-dribbly nose. And then the hard drive of your computer up and dies, just like that,

Photo du Jour - La Bicyclette

Parked out in front of our little Épicerie.

Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

I think I want to marry these pancakes.  Or at least, I wouldn't complain if they were waiting for me each and every morning, in all of their pillowy glory.  I would  be willing to make that commitment.  Especially because they're extremely versatile.  I've made them several ways, just as Mollie Katzen suggests in her Sunlight Café.  First, try them just plain with only the addition of a bit of vanilla.  This way, they're happy to soak up pools of real Vermont maple syrup, which you should seek out over the pretend, carmel-colored stuff.  

Otherwise, you might add sautéed veggies  like a bit of red (or green, or orange!) bell pepper, fresh (or frozen) corn kernels, minced scallion and even jalapeño, depending on how you like to start your day.  If it's summer where you live, you should consider adding fruit: blueberries, blackberries, raspberries... The possibilities are endless, which in my book, makes for a very happy and healthy long-term relationship.

Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  Beat the eggs into the buttermilk and then beat in the vanilla.

Pour the buttermilk mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients.  Fold the mixture to combine with a rubber spatula so that all the dry ingredients are moistened.  Do not overmix.  

Heat a skillet over medium for a few minutes, then spray with nonstick cooking spray.  Using a 1/4 cup measure with a handle, ladle the batter onto the skillet.  

Cook the pancakes for around 3 minutes on the first side, 2 minutes on the second.  They should be uniformly golden brown.  You'll know when to flip when you start to see bubbles on the surface of the uncooked side.  Serve with your preferred toppings.

Notes:

*  Be sure to use the fine ground cornmeal, not the coarser sort used for polenta

*  For a savory version: omit the sugar, vanilla and melted butter. Sauté 1/4 cup bell pepper, 2 cups of corn kernals, 1/4 cup minced scallion and up to 1/4 cup minced jalapeño.  Sauté in olive oil for 10 minutes, then add to the batter along with the buttermilk mixture.

*  If you use frozen corn, defrost them before sautéing. 

*  Don't think for a moment that you have to reserve your maple syrup only for the plain pancakes.  You'd be surprised how tasty it is slathered on hot and savory cakes as well!

Easter!

Easter weeek-end in Paris! Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Easter Monday ... it's a weekend of celbrations.
Although Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the re-birth of Jesus Christ, it is also part of Western cultures.

In Paris, the pastry and chocolate shops have chocolate eggs a plenty!
There are also chocolate hens (which lay the eggs), chocolate bunnies (English tradition), and chocolate bells. Traditionally in France, bells bring the eggs and hide them for children to find them on Easter Sunday. Around the season I decoarte my table with semi-precious stone eggs I have bought over the years in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Brazil, and Uruguay. Every year for as long as I remember I have bought a chocolate egg for each one of my dear daughters and husband Jean-Louis. I have delivered the Easter eggs myslef in many different countries when the girls were living afar - or sent them with a special messanger when I was lucky enough t have a friend going to the place where my daughters lived.
Daughter Celine came from Amsterdam for Easter and she will get her chocolate egg tomorrow. MaryLaure will get hers by the end of the month .
Happy Easter!

Stashing summer’s last gasp

When I left Seattle this morning, the city was still tucked snugly under a heavy blanket of clouds. It’s been this way for a week or two now, with autumn beginning its slow, sad tease, sending in an advance guard of low gray clouds every morning and sneaking the daylight away earlier and earlier every evening. Six-thirty this morning found me at the chilly bus stop with my wet hair and full

Mango Maple Lassi

When is a smoothie more than a smoothie?  When it's a lassi, of course!  

I always order a mango lassi at Indian restaurants.  But they're dead simple to make at home.  I've given a little spin to the recipe, to capitalize on the beautiful jar of Vermont Maple Syrup I made off with from the farmers market.  

While not traditional, neither am I, so this lassi and I have that in common.   The other thing we have in common is that you're sure to enjoy our company.  You do enjoy our company, don't you?!

Mango Maple Lassi

Makes 1

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup milk (any kind you like)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

1 mango, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon maple syrup, or more to taste

Chuck it all into a blender and, well, blend.  Drink.  Smile.

A Sublime Sunday Lunch in the Sun

l'entrée - paper thin slices of zucchini and eggplant, the large one wrapped around Parmesan, arugula and cream, the other around Rocamadour cheese, served with Champagne
Pure heaven!


hot chihuahuas!



we were sitting in the sun in front of the three doors, but it got so hot that we had to move the table into the shade



le plat - cooking thinly sliced beef on a pierrade



the most sublime of all sauces - Béarnaise



some fantastic, smooth Faugères and a lovely Minervois la Livinière were enjoyed by all



le dessert - sabayon au fruits rouges


Yesterday we spent the afternoon in the company of our friends Jean-Pierre and Agnès, who made an amazing, delicious lunch. We were ready to take up permanent residence by the end of the afternoon.
A Sunday in the sun to remember!

Photo du Jour

Waiting for the fish to bite on the Canal du Midi.

Strawberry Cupcakes: Recipe

I have a cupcake confession. I made a LOT of cupcakes in order to get this recipe right. I ate cupcakes, fed them to Lee and even delivered them to friends. I have my sister to thank for testing the recipe who declared them a success with not only adults but kids. It happily passed the test with cupcake eaters from age 4 to 45 (but I'm fairly certain those over 45 will enjoy them too).

What did I learn from my cupcake trials and tribulations? I learned that by adding a little chopped fresh strawberry you get a lot of strawberry flavor. Baking with yogurt allows you to use less sugar and less butter and still get a sweet tender cupcake. It's not the healthiest cupcake in the world, but it's not too bad either. Once a cupcake gets too healthy it's nothing more than a muffin. I also learned that one person can only eat so many cupcakes before screaming "uncle".

cupcakes are fun to make, to share and to eat. cupcakes are not particularly fun to photograph. Unhappy with my first attempts, I turned to the world of pop art. My inspiration for this photo were the cake paintings by California artist Wayne Thiebaud. Eat them or just gaze longingly at them, I hope you enjoy them!

Strawberry cupcakes

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 large egg
6 ounces Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt (or any other fruit flavor of yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup fresh strawberries, diced

Frosting:
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 fresh strawberries, about 2 Tbsp. mashed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. With an electric hand mixer, beat the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the egg, Dannon® All Natural Vanilla Lowfat Yogurt and vanilla, blending until smooth.

2. Measure the dry ingredients into the bowl and blend, then fold in the strawberries.

3. Divide the mixture equally between the 12 paper-lined cupcake cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

4. Beat together butter, powdered sugar, and mashed strawberry in medium-size bowl until creamy and smooth. Chill frosting for 15 minutes or until thick. Frost cupcakes with a spatula. Keep cupcakes in the refrigerator loosely covered.
Yield: 12 servings

Enjoy!

READ MORE Over at the Dannon Kitchen is my post on Mother's Day.

FOOD + YOGURT + CUPCAKES

Photo du Jour - Onion Rouge

Sweet red onions from Toulouges, a Catalan town near the Spanish border, close to Perpignan.

Amazing. Five and a half years here and I've never seen these before!

(and no, they don't look red to me either)

Basic Pesto: Recipe

With Summer in full blast the scent of basil is in the air. At my house the most common thing to do with basil is make pesto. Pesto is an intensely herby sauce that with pasta makes a meal or is great dabbed on top of fish, swirled in soup, on pizza, crostini, or even mixed into mashed potatoes.

Pesto is traditionally made with basil, garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and pecorino cheese which is pounded into something that defies description. No good word exists to describe how glorious pesto is. Think about it. Paste? Goo? Goop? No. Even "uncooked sauce" doesn't do it justice.

While basil is abundant at the moment, I would like to suggest that actually there are several other good "pestos" that are not basil based. Last night I used arugula to make a lovely pesto with toasted walnuts. It was perfect over cheese ravioli. A cilantro pesto is terrific with fish or on quesadillas. A mint pesto is great with lamb or with white beans.

With a basic formula you can come up with a myriad of variations by replacing the basil and pine nuts. Try these combos:

Arugula & toasted walnuts
Mint & toasted almonds
Cilantro & cashews
Parsley & pumpkin seeds

You can also use a combination of complimentary herbs or greens like a bit of spinach with your basil or some chives with the parsley. Come to think of it there ought to be a pesto cookbook...

Note the proportions are approximate. Be flexible and make this recipe to the consistency you like best.

Basic Pesto
(makes enough for 4 servings of pasta)

2 cups basil leaves, clean and very dry
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
1-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino Romano, grated
1/4 cup pine nuts

You can pound the ingredients together in mortar with a pestle, but you can also make this easily in a blender or food processor. Add the garlic first and chop it up with about 1/2 of the basil. When blended add the rest of the basil and the olive oil. Blend the cheese and pine nuts last. Don't over blend or the garlic has a tendency to overpower. Store in the fridge with a thin layer of olive oil on top, wrap tightly with plastic wrap to help prevent discoloration.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onion Waffles with Smoked Salmon:Recipe

Sometimes what inspires me most is a cookbook. I read cookbooks like some people read magazines. Browsing, skimming the index, picking and choosing a recipe here, a recipe there. Like many cooks, I don't necessarily follow recipes to the letter, but I do get great ideas from them.

Right now I have a pile of cookbooks next to my bed. I am reading several by Paula Wolfert and several more by Nigella Lawson. I'm actually trying to decide if I want to purchase any of them. I check out cookbooks from the library when I can to live with them a bit and see how it goes. The one cook book I did purchase recently is "The Secrets of Success Cookbook, Signature Recipes and Insider Tips from San Francisco's Best Restaurants", written by SF Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer. It came highly recommended and I have to say I have not been disappointed.

One of the recipes that inspired me this week was the Caramelized Onion Waffle with Smoked Salmon and Radish Salad from Michael Bauer's cookbook. What appealed to me so much was the idea of a savory waffle. I have a buckwheat pancake mix but it's generally too earthy tasting so I try to doctor it by mixing it half and half with buttermilk pancake mix so using it for a savory waffle seemed like a terrific idea to me. My recipe is only similar to the original in that it combines caramelized onions with waffles, topped with smoked salmon. It is very easy and as you can see from the photo impressive to look at. Note: This recipe serves 3 but the proportions make this a very easy recipe to multiply.

Caramelized Onion Waffles with Smoked Salmon
Batter:
1/2 cup buckwheat pancake mix
1/2 cup buttermilk pancake mix
1 cup water
1 Tablespoon oil
1 egg (or fake egg replacement)
pinch of salt

1/2 onion, very thinly sliced or shredded with a mandoline
pinch of sugar

3 Tablespoons sour cream
1/2 lemon

10-12 slices smoked salmon (enough to cover your waffles)
Capers
Fresh dill (optional)

Cook the onion with a pinch of sugar in a lightly greased heavy pan over medium heat, until caramelized, let cool in pan off the stove. Whisk the batter ingredients together until combined but not smooth, until the lump just disappear, mix in the cooled caramelized onion.

Prepare waffle iron and use slightly more than 1/2 cup of batter to make the waffle. You want the waffle iron to be completely filled with batter, if a little seeps over the edges that's OK. Keep the finished crisp waffles in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve. While the waffles are cooking, make the lemon cream sauce by combining the sour cream, 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind and juice of 1/2 a small lemon. Top the waffles with slices of smoked salmon, drizzle with lemon cream using a fork, sprinkle with capers and chopped dill. Makes 3 waffles.

Enjoy!

La Fête du Fromage - November Round Up

November brought a trio of delicious cheeses from around the world for La Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.


An aged, unpasteurized goat’s milk cheese produced at the Bonnie Blue Farm in Waynesboro, Tennessee is Danielle's entry for this month's Fête. Head on over to her blog, Savor Culture, where you can read all about Tanasi Tomme which she describes it as having a firm texture, mild and "...non-threatening to goat neophytes."
Danielle also shares recipes and describes her adventures in home cheese making. I must try her ricotta!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah Gorgonzola! Magnificent Gorgonzola.
Nathalie of Spaced Out Ramblings indulges herself and our senses by sharing two versions of this famous Italian blue cheese - Dolce and Piquante (pictured below) - which have been produced since the year 879 and are currently stamped with the prestigious DOC label.
Nathalie had a bit of a challenge trying to keep her cat away from the cheese long enough to photograph and taste - and cook up some scrumptious Gorgonzola stuffed mushrooms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's Languedoc-Roussillon month at Croque-Camille and Camille was fortunate enough to find a Fromagerie in Paris who sold this distinctive Languedoc cheese, Cathare.
I've tasted this one and think her description is spot on! "...smooth and gooey, while the inside is just a bit firmer and drier. The cheese definitely has that goaty tang with a hint of chalkiness, but the flavor is full and rich."
It's great to know that these local cheeses are available in Paris and I look forward to reading about any other Languedoc specialties that Camille shares this month.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My entry for La Fête is another delicious French cheese - a succulent, runny fromage de brebis.
I tasted Le Lacandou last summer and was reminded of it last week when I drove by Sévérac-le-Château on my way home from visiting Betty in Aveyron.
This is a young cheese with a delightful grassy and fruity flavor. It comes highly recommended!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A most sincere thank you to all of you who continue to share your cheese tastings with us. Every month I look forward to seeing what my cheese loving friends around the world have to offer!


December brings us to the 12th Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
If you would like to join in, and I hope you do, please have your entries to me by December 13. The entire round-up will be posted on December 15.

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

Wild Mushroom Soup

I'm not sure when it started, but I've been harboring a love for wild mushrooms, and I'm happy to play around with new ways to prepare them. I decided to make a soup with mushrooms last night because it's starting to get frigid in Paris and I find that the best thing on a winter evening is a hot bowl of home-made soup.  Fortunately, this dish is extremely simple to make (as I find most soups are). 

Next time I make it, I will probably play around with the types of mushrooms I use, and I definitely think I will try making this with several different kinds of mushrooms (button, wild, oyster, etc.).  I hope this will at least provide a good starting off point for you, if not the final destination!  Eat while hot and please enjoy it tremendously.

Wild Mushroom Soup - serves 1

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup wild mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1 1/4-cup beef broth
2 tablespoons milk (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
2.  Add onions, and sautee until onion softens slightly, about 5 minutes.
3.  Add the mushrooms, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, and sautee until mushrooms have softened and just begin to crisp, about 10 minutes.
4.  Put in the garlic and thyme, and sautee one minute.
5.  Pour in the beef broth, and bring to a simmer; reduce heat to low, and cook gently for about 20 minutes more.
6.  Transfer soup to a blender or food processor, and blend for about 10 seconds.
7.  Return to the saucepan and heat gently; add milk if using.  Cook until hot, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Photo du Jour - Chèvre Drizzled with Honey

Locally made, fresh chèvre, drizzled with delicately flavored acacia honey.
This is one of the most sublime mélange of flavors that I have ever tasted.



Don't Forget! Get your entries for December's La Fête du Fromage to me by the end of today. (If you're running a bit late, I'll happily accept them tomorrow, too!)

Photo du Jour

Winter hydrangeas.

La Fête du Fromage - Cabretou

Yesterday I had a glance at my little book that contains the list (alphabetized of course) of each and every French cheese I have tasted thus far for la Fête du Fromage and realized that the number has now surpassed 100!

110 to be exact.

There are so many that I am completely and utterly smitten with; Langres, Tomette des Corbières and Tomme Périgourdine to name a few.

Now I have a new love. Cabretou.


Perfectly aged, and with a luxurious flavor to die for, Cabretou is made from pasteurized goat's milk and produced in the picturesque Ariège departément where it is matured in caves for 18 months.
This cheese is magnificent! Rich and substantial, with a gorgeous creaminess that I fell head over heels for. It has a dense, meaty texture and an ultra smooth flavor with no acidity whatsoever.
Cabretou has a very slight, tangy fragrance and a hard, amber colored rind that I cut away before eating.

We tasted it with a glass of Minervois white, and some white Gaillac would also be good.

Cookbooks and chocolate and spatulas!

The Menu for Hope campaign has been extended until December 31st, allowing you a little more time to give back and maybe win something wonderful. For every $10 donated, you earn one virtual raffle ticket to bid on a prize of your choice. At the end of the campaign, raffle tickets will be drawn and the results announced on Chez Pim.

If you got what you wanted this holiday season, think about the children of Lesotho, Africa, and help them get what they really need, healthy meals.

This year I am offering the Baker's Delight (prize code UW18) a fabulous baking kit designed for a home baker or professional pastry chef with brand new cookbooks, a selection of artisanal American chocolate and a set of silicone spatulas.

The package contains four of the years' best baking books:

* Chocolate Epiphany: Exceptional Cookies, Cakes, and Confections for Everyone by French pastry chef extraordinaire Francois Payard

* Baking for All Occasions by much loved author Flo Braker

* The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread: Cakes, Cookies, Bars, Pastries and More from New York City's Favorite Bakery, your source for bakery treats like Amy's signature scones, White Chocolate Cherry Chunker Cookies, Definitely Devil's Food Cake, Soft Brioche Rolls with Melting Chocolate Centers, etc.

* The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehensive Resource Guide for the Pastry Professional, an excellent reference guide for every kitchen cookbook shelf

It also includes four pounds of E. Guittard chocolate wafers, a top choice of professional bakers and chefs:

* One pound E.Guittard 72% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, this super-dark chocolate has a smooth mouthfeel and provides intense chocolate flavor. It’s the perfect choice when a dessert is unequivocally about chocolate – flourless cakes, molten chocolate mini-cakes or an unforgettable chocolate fondue.

* One pound E.Guittard 61% Cacao Semisweet Chocolate, the super-rich chocolate flavors last and last, with a refreshing chocolate finish. This chocolate is extremely popular with pastry chefs, and makes a great eating chocolate as well.

* One pound E.Guittard 38% Cacao Milk Chocolate, enjoy bold, rich, milk chocolate flavors with caramel accents, fresh dairy notes and a signature hint of cinnamon that set this milk chocolate apart from all the others. It’s an extremely versatile blend that can be used in recipes ranging from crème brulée to ganache.

* One pound E.Guittard 31% Cacao White Chocolate, this French-style white chocolate has a sweet, fresh cream flavor with nutty undertones and lingering hints of citrus and vanilla. It adds a balanced dairy flavor to any recipe, and stands alone as an extraordinarily smooth white chocolate with rich cocoa butter taste.

To use with your next recipe:

* A set of four silicone spatulas, perfect for mixing, scraping and folding, they won’t chip or crack and can be used can be used to stir extremely hot mixtures

The Baker's Delight prize package is worth nearly $200! A big thanks to Guittard for the chocolate, and to Clarkson Potter, Chronicle Books, and Wiley for the books.

To win this or other fabulous prizes:
1. Choose a prize or prizes of your choice from our Menu for Hope at Pim's site, the Baker's Delight prize is UW18
2. Go to the donation site or click on the Menu for Hope logo below, to make a donation.
3. Each $10 you donate will give you one raffle ticket toward a prize of your choice. Please specify which prize you'd like in the 'Personal Message' section in the donation form when confirming your donation. You must write-in how many tickets per prize, and please use the prize code. For example, a donation of $50 can be 2 tickets for EU01 and 3 tickets for EU02. Please write 2xEU01, 3xEU02
4. If your company matches your charity donation, please check the box and fill in the information so we could claim the corporate match.
5. Please allow us to see your email address so that we could contact you in case you win. Your email address will not be shared with anyone and no one but us will be able to see it.

Click here to donate:

For the US West Coast prizes specifically, please visit Matt at Matt Bites, the West Coast host (and food photographer extraordinaire.)

Sage-Stuffed, Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin over Lentil and Scallion Salad

Stuffing is so much easier than wrapping.  And when it comes to pork tenderloin, I have a go-to method that always brings rave reviews.  It involves dried fruit that thickens and sweetens with roasting, and a little love from the skillet before being tossed into the oven.  Simple.

This is a similar method, because you stuff the loin with sage rather than bothering about halving it, wrapping it, and tying it, all needless effort in the end.  Although on second thought, there is some wrapping involved, but it's of the prosciutto variety, and is as much effort as an afterthought.  Besides, this time of year, you might be all wrapped out.  Anyway, a stuffed tenderloin is much like a gift, with that little something special hiding inside, flavoring the meat on the sly.  

The recipe, from Fran Warde's Food for Friends, is meant to serve 8 and calls for 2 pork tenderloins.  In this apartment, we only have two, so I halved the amount of meat.  I did, however, make the original amount of lentils.  The recipe, once the dressing is tossed with the lentils and red peppers, produces a delectable salad, just as good chilled as at room temperature, which I find provides a perfect light lunch after a more involved (but not too involved) dinner.  The recipe calls for brown lentils, but I used the French green lentils I had in the pantry.  They take a bit longer to cook, but not much, and they maintain more of their firmness.  Below, you'll find the recipe as I made it.  

Sage-Stuffed Pork Fillet with Lentils and Scallion Dressing

1 pork tenderloin, about 14 oz.

Leaves from about 1 1/2 of those packages of sage, or from a large bunch

4 slices prosciutto

1 1/2 cups French green lentils

1 bunch of scallions, sliced

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 tablespoon red wine

1/2 cup sour cream (fat free, if you like)

1 lb can roasted bell peppers, drained and sliced (particularly good if they've been kept in a vinegary seasoning)

Bunch of chives, chopped

S/P

Oven preheated to 350

Trim the fat and the silver skin from your tenderloin.  Slice the tenderloin in half horizontally in the middle.  With a paring knife, pierce each tenderloin lengthwise through the middle, then rotate the knife 90 degrees and pierce again, making an x.  Insert the handle of a wooden spoon into the slit and roll it around a little, opening up the pocket you've just made.  Into this pocket, stuff the sage.  Do this on each piece of tenderloin.

Season the tenderloin with salt and pepper, then wrap in the prosciutto slices, which will stick all on their own.  In an oiled roasted pan, place the tenderloin and cook for 35 minutes.  Allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting in.

In the meantime, prepare the lentils.  Cook the lentils in simmering water for about 30 minutes (they'll maintain some of their bite), then drain.  In a bowl, mix the scallions, oil, wine and sour cream.  Add the bell peppers to the lentils.  Serve with the tenderloin plated on top of the lentils, a bit of scallion dressing spooned over the top, and a generous sprinkling of chives.  Alternately, you could mix the scallion dressing in with the lentils, which is what I suggest doing with any leftovers.  Enjoy!

Missing Ron

We have lived in France for over four years now and Ron has come to visit us from New Orleans seven times.
Yes, seven.
It would have been eight, but he met us in Lucca last autumn instead of coming to France.

His next trip is booked for November. Yahoo!!!!

I've been thinking about him a lot lately as I went to New Orleans exactly one year ago for his surprise birthday party. Don't worry, Ron, I won't say which birthday...



Last year he came in March the two of us flew to Dublin for a couple of days on a cheap Ryan Air flight from Carcassonne. This was taken in some pub after many (too many?) pints.




Mardi Gras day 2007


In a piazza in Lucca





At his surprise birthday party last May


We love you Ron!
November can't come soon enough!

Photo du Jour - Creative Storage

A charming, handmade broom, tucked into a tree trunk in Zagreb.

Educating Peter: Book Review

Here's the thing I hate about wine, the attitude. You know what I'm talking about. Wine should be something we enjoy and yet it easily slips into something that intimidates instead. Of course it's not the fault of the wine. It's the people who write about it, sell it and pour it who use it as a weapon against the unsuspecting. I haven't actually met any intimidating winemakers, although it may just be a matter of time.

In my quest to learn more about wine I have been attending wine events, reading up on wine but mostly tasting, as you might imagine. Reading about wine sounds like the most boring thing in the world, but as with anything else if the the writer is talented the subject turns out be fascinating. Two recent books have utterly delighted me in this regard--Lettie Teague's book Educating Peter and Rick Kushman and Hank Beal's A Moveable Thirst Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country. They actually have quite a bit in common. Both are conversations between a wine novice and an expert.

In Educating Peter How I Taught a Famous Movie Critic the Difference Between Cabernet and Merlot or How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert, wine expert and executive editor at Food & Wine magazine Lettie Teague teaches her friend film critic Peter Travers about wine and lets him ask all the silly questions and make all the silly mistakes that put novices like me at ease. Teague is gentle and kind and knowledgeable and just the kind of the friend you'd want taking you by the hand. She has an enthusiasm for wine that helps coax her Chardonnay-loving pal into a wider appreciation of wine.

Whether she's explaining the proper temperatures for serving wine or the importance of oak it's always in a pleasant down to earth manner. The book explores wines from many of the major wine-producing regions of the world. Along the way you get tasty little snippets of Hollywood gossip like John Irving's favorite wine or the celebrity connections to Santa Rosa--sorry you'll have to read the book I'm not telling!

This book is a delight and a real asset to anyone like me who wants to learn more about wine without feeling like they are in school again.

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my review of A Moveable Thirst, an equally charming book.

Inside the Kitchen--more blog entries

Just a quick note to say, I'm not the only food blogger here at Inside the Kitchen. Check out SF Gourmet's posts for more perspectives when you get a minute.

FOOD + INSIDE THE KITCHEN

Trofie al pesto, with drama and a departure

I may be a crybaby, complete with a mortal fear of needles and a dread of loud noises, but I’m nobody’s drama queen. I like to think of myself as remarkably rational, finely calibrated to operate at a nice, even keel. That’s not to say, though, that I don’t like to spice things up every now and then with, say, a little spontaneous weepiness on public transportation, or maybe a good bout of

Brussels Sprouts with Brown Butter & Hazelnuts Recipe

If Lee had to choose one vegetable for the rest of his life, it would be brussels sprouts. Winter is not my favorite time of year when it comes to fresh produce, but I have to admit, it is partially redeemed simply because it's brussels sprout season.

Like so many other vegetables, brussels sprouts benefit from roasting. They turn brown and the textural contrast of tender and chewy with a bit of crusty crunch is ever so satisfying. When it come to flavor, brussels sprouts are very mild when roasted and can go in many delicious directions. I like them with salty capers, olives and olive oil or with bacon and balsamic vinegar or with chili flakes and parmesan. Think of them like a slightly sweet canvas to paint with flavor. For Thanksgiving I worked on a variation of brussels sprouts with brown butter and hazelnuts. The combination was good, yet missing something. Acid. Just a bit of zesty lemon peel gives this dish the boost it needs.

When making something with brown butter it's important to use regular unsalted butter, not European style butter. It's the milk solids that brown giving food a toasty nutty flavor. You can cook in brown butter or just drizzle it over your finished dish. Either way it's a nice change of pace from my go-to favorite flavorful fat--olive oil.

There are lots of expensive specialty butters available in the store these days. For cooking I sometimes use organic butter, other times European style butter, but either way I prefer to use butter from cows not treated with the synthetic hormone rbST, such as Challenge Dairy butter. Challenge Dairy is currently sponsoring a sweepstake where you can win an all-included luxury vacation getaway to Mountain Sky Guest Ranch in Montana’s Paradise Valley, just North of Yellowstone National Park. Enter before December 31, 2009.

Brussels Sprouts with Brown Butter & Hazelnuts
Serves 4

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts (not roasted), chopped
Scant 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Rind of one lemon, finely grated

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place butter in a small saucepan and carefully heat over medium heat until the butter is melted, browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. In a large bowl, toss brussels sprouts and hazelnuts with the browned butter, salt and pepper. Place brussels sprouts mixture in a single layer on a non-stick sheet pan (or sheet pan lined with foil or a Silpat). Transfer to the oven and roast for 10 minutes. Toss and continue roasting until the sprouts are tender and browned but not mushy, about 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and toss in a large bowl with lemon rind. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

I Feel Like We Should Have Thrown a Party...

As of last Friday, we have officially been in France for FIVE YEARS!

"saying, what other amazements / lie in the dark seed of the earth, yes"

A resolution on writing:
I’m trying to remember that feeling exactly, that feeling I had after leaving the Nan Goldin show at Galerie Yvon Lambert. I felt as though I’d been somewhere far away. I had let myself be wrapped up in the music she’s using (a uniquely uplifting snippet from Godspeed You Black Emperor!) for her “Honey on a Razor Blade” slide show, and I was half in love with her brazenly

Photo du Jour - YES!

...but no, I can't tell you what It was.

Taken in Paris. Has anyone ever seen this sign and knows what It is?

Photo du Jour - Cognac

We're currently tasting our way through the great Cognac houses. Be back Saturday!

Why do YOU cook, Carol Blymire?

Carol Blymire brings a new level of commitment to food blogging. You think cooking through Mastering the Art of French Cooking was impressive? That's nothing. Carol cooked her way through the French Laundry cookbook and documented it on her blog, French Laundry at Home, and is now cooking her way through Alinea at her follow-up blog, Alinea at Home.

Carol shares her adventures and her food and reading how friends and neighbors react to her creations makes me feel like I'm right there with them. There's a good chance I may never cook from either of those books, but I am a vicarious observer and long-distance appreciator of every dish and every post.

"I cook because I'm adopted. Stay with me; I know it might sound weird, but trust me, it's true.

Study after study shows that when babies who were adopted reach adolescence and adulthood, they have greater difficulty connecting with others on an intimate, trusting level.

When I was born in the late 1960s, newborns were placed into foster care or in an orphanage for a few months before being placed with their family. That means newborns who were put up for adoption at that time were separated from the only human being they've ever known moments after being born, then again, months later, from their foster mother or caregiver at the orphanage. So, while most babies spend their first three months developing their sense of trust by merely being able to stare into the same parents' eyes from the moment they were born, people like me have stared into many eyes, heard many voices, and had some fractures in learning how to build trust and intimacy. It can be done -- and my relationship with my family is incredibly loving and close -- but, we have to work harder at it.

The one constant in all that change among all those different people who loved me before my parents got the chance to, is nourishment. No matter who cared for me, no matter whose eyes I stared into, those people fed me. And, I don't think it's merely a coincidence that when I was three months old, my parents brought me into their home for the first time on the night before Thanksgiving, so that my first meal with my new family took place on a day when food is celebrated and honored the most.

It took some time and perspective to understand it, but I now know and cherish that, for me, food is the singularly constant language of love and caring I know. It's why I sometimes get teary at restaurants -- when chefs and cooks share their craft, their passion, their hands, and their work with me, it speaks to me in a way that it might not with others. Especially having recently been diagnosed with celiac and not being able to eat gluten -- having someone cook something for me that won't make me sick has taken my gratefulness for nourishment to a level that is nearly indescribable.

But the question was not "why do you eat" or "why do you write about food," it's "why do you cook?" I cook because, for me, it's the most honest way for me to show my love. I don't throw big dinner parties and invite people I barely know; in fact, I'm actually pretty selective about who sits at my table, and why. Whether it's new friends I want to get to know better, old friends I've known my whole life, or having my family come for a Sunday dinner, the best and most trusting, honest way I show my love and affection is to have you eat something I've made. It might be something it took me all day to make, or it might be something I threw together at the last minute -- the how is not important, but the why is. The people with whom I share the food I make should be able to hear, feel, smell, touch, and taste my care, my respect, and my love of not just the food, but of them. That's why I cook -- not just because I know how to, but because I love to feed the people I love having in my life."

La Fête du Fromage - Valençay and Cantal Entre-Deux

I need to make a list.

While standing at the fromagerie counter last week and surveying the vast array of cheeses on offer I spent an astonishing amount of time thinking to myself, "have I tasted that one? I don't remember...how about that one?
Damn, I need to make a list!"
The poor woman behind the counter.

After much consideration (and reflection on the fact that I must have short term memory loss) two very different looking and tasting cheeses were chosen for this week's Fête du Fromage.

Cantal entre-deux and Valençay

Cantal entre-deux is one of the five AOC granted cheeses that come from the mountainous Auvergne region of central France. The "entre-deux" means "between" as there are three ages of Cantal; young, entre-deux and vieux. Young, mild Cantal is aged for 1-2 months, entre-deux is aged for 3-6 months and the strongest tasting ,vieux more than 6 months. Cantal is considered one of the oldest cheeses, having been mentioned by Pliny the Elder around 2000 years ago. It is made from raw cow's milk and has a sweet, fruity flavor and creamy, smooth texture. It is extremely enjoyable, not too strong, but not too mild either.
Fruity, red wines such as Gaillac are a good match.

Valençay is another fetching little pyramid shaped cheese with a salted, ash covered, bumpy rind. Made in the Loire Valley from raw goat's milk, it was granted AOC status quite recently, in 1998. It's flavor was tangy, mild and nutty with subtle hints of citrus and the texture was supple and smooth. All around delicious!
Drink a white Valençay or Sancerre or a light red wine with this one.