All about Savoy Cabbage

Savoy cabbage is the prettiest cabbage of all, with its fantastic crinkly leaves and its contrasting dark on pale color palette. Only a few outer leaves are dark green and quite so textured, inside it is creamy and pale. Despite its rugged appearance it's actually very tender and sweet. Best of all, it cooks quickly and easily and it doesn't have the sulfur odor so distinctive in other cabbage; just don't over cook it. Savoy cabbage is named for the Savoy region, a medieval duchy on the border of Italy, France and Switzerland. But I think we should call it by its lovely Italian name, cavolo verza. Now that's the name of a star!

Savoy cabbage is high in vitamin K, vitamin C and fiber. It's also a very good source of fiber, manganese, folate, vitamin B6, potassium, and omega-3 fatty acids. Heads of savoy cabbage are so large it's a good idea to have several dishes in mind when you purchase or harvest it. Because it is so tender, don't shy away from using it in salads. Just use salt and a vinegar or lemony dressing to help it wilt.

I like just about all cabbages, but savoy cabbage is my favorite and not just because it is so beautiful and healthy. The sweetness of savoy cabbage makes it a wonderful foil for rich and salty foods like duck confit, bacon or sausages. But because it is naturally mild and sweet, it is equally delicious as a bed for mild white fish or seafood. It can be cooked or used raw. It can be braised, roasted or boiled, and it's very easy to saute it in butter, olive oil or bacon fat. It can be used in preserved recipes like kimchi or sauerkraut.

Here are some ways to use savoy cabbage:

* Steam and serve with fish, or wrap the fish in the leaves and steam

* Saute it with boiled potatoes, garlic and onions

* Stuff the leaves with rice or potatoes and ground meat

* Add to minestrone

* Make sauerkraut

* Make kimchi

* Saute with bacon and spaetzle

* Use in borscht

* Shred it with carrots and seaon with apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt to make cole slaw

* Saute cabbage, bacon and onions then toss with egg noodles

* Combine with sliced sugar snap peas and a creamy dressing in slaw

Pappa al Pomodoro: Recipe

Tuscans are infamous for being stingy. But when it comes to food that's not necessarily a bad thing. They are experts at cooking beans and even make a delicious soup called "cooked water" that is chock full of vegetables and topped with an egg. While living in Florence, I learned to make pappa al pomodoro, a typically Tuscan version of comfort food on the cheap. Thanks to Derrick over at Obsession with Food for hosting IMBB25 Stale Bread which reminded me of this dish that I love and hadn't made in ages (and just happens to use stale bread).

Pappa is "pap" or baby food. But imagine a thick soup that is infused with ripe tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, basil, and flavored with extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese. Pappa al pomodoro is classically Italian; it's not about fancy technique, but simple, excellent quality ingredients. Not only is it easy to make but it's easy to procure the necessary high quality ingredients practically year round.

While you can make it with fresh tomatoes, it's much easier to use canned tomatoes, and save yourself the hassle of peeling them. There is no definitive version of this recipe, if you want to add more garlic, more basil, red chili flakes, go right ahead. Just use the best quality ingredients you can. And whatever you do, don't confuse pappa, with papà (dad) or il papa (the pope)!

Pappa al Pomodoro

1 loaf stale bread, preferably Tuscan style or country bread, ripped into small pieces and soaked in water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 leaves of basil
28 oz can peeled tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup tomato paste
2-3 cups water, as needed
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add celery, carrots, onions, garlic and basil. Cook vegetables over medium-low heat until soft but not brown, about 10 minutes. Smash the canned tomatoes or squeeze to break them up and add along with their juice and the tomato paste. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the bread and the water to the tomato sauce. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thick. Add the remaining olive oil and taste. Serve with shredded basil, grated parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Because the cheese is salty, add salt and pepper at the table.

Enjoy!

FOOD + !MBB25

La Fête du Fromage - le Carré du Vinage

The various cheeses from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region have garnered mixed reviews during the course of my tastings.

The bright orange Boulette d'Avesnes was acrid, harsh and too in your face, while Bergues tasted like, well, for lack of a better description, air.  Le Cameau was a hit, but Le Cados was a miss.  Maroilles was a nice enough cheese and melts beautifully into a delicious sauce for pork, and smelly Vieux-Boulogne was spectacular and utterly memorable.  


Le Carré du Vinage, an unpasteurized cow's milk fromage férmier, has officially cured my ambivalence toward the cheeses of this region. It is unbelievable!

The sticky, washed rind of le Carré du Vinage releases a heady aroma that doesn't try to hide the fact that this is a very strong, intense cheese.  Its flavors are multidimensional;  mushroom and nuts, yeast and salt, fruit and spirits.  I love it and hope that one day I have the opportunity to meet Thérèse Marie, the fromagère at the farm, and congratulate her on a job well done.

This cheese would pair will with either beer or a white wine from Alsace, such as Riesling. 

49 degrees

Before I begin, I feel that a warning of sorts is in order. I understand that some of you people, especially the ones on the East Coast, are having a heat wave? Is that right? Well, if so, you might consider clicking away right now, because what I am about to say will have almost no relevance for you. Sorry.That said, here goes. Today, June 9, it is 49 degrees and raining. I woke up and

I considered lots of blog posts for this week, but when it came right down to it, starting with the following intriguing introduction, one blogger won me over completely.

"I revisit some of my favourite childhood memories through food and song. It is with each passing Christmas, I grow more sentimental to the traditions my family once continued from generations before, traditions that have since been lost."

So I give you my pick for posts of the week, the first three installments of One Whole Clove's Christmas in Quebec.

Part 1 Homemade Baked Beans

Part 2 Casse Croute

Part 3 Sucre a la creme

Not only are her first three posts wonderful, but she has vowed to continue with her series right through until the holiday arrives! I do hope you'll bookmark the site and come back for the rest of what promises to be an outstanding series.
Bravo Sarah Lou!

Still hungry?

Last year I questioned the Eat Local Challenge with a rather controversial post (check out the comments to see what I mean by controversial). This year, bored to tears after reading a particularly tedious Eat Local post, I began thinking about what makes food dull.

(For the record, I don't think ALL Eat Local posts are tedious, just some of 'em. And I'm not anti-Eat Local, it's just not for me.)

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my take on how to take all the fun out of food.

FOOD

Heirloom Tomato Salad - 1st course de luxe

Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes....it's finally the season to enjoy une tomate vrai (a REAL tomato). I love tomatoes. You love tomatoes. We all love tomatoes, don't we? Well, most people do anyway - I'm highly suspicious of people who say they don't like tomatoes, generally speaking...I mean, what's not to love? I think that the real problem with people who don't "like" tomatoes is that they've never really tasted a home-grown fresh-from-the-garden, drip-all-over-your-mouth-when-you-bite-into- it, kind of tomato!

So, tonight when I was preparing dinner, it was a great pleasure to honor our table with les tomates d'éte (the summer tomatoes). Real tomatoes. You know they are real when you can easily peel the skin off with a knife. And that's the preferred way to eat them, according to my dad. I quite agree.

Heirloom varieties I found in Paris: Ananas (yellow) , Noire de Crimée (dark), Sicilienne (red)

This salad is as simple as it gets. Find a great tomato from your local farmer's market, garden, or neighbor. Make sure it's not been refrigerated since that'll ruin a tomato (my opinion). Peel. Then, slice. In any sense you like (horizontal, vertical, in quarters....). Drizzle a high quality, fresh olive oil on top. Sprinkle with fleur de sel & piment d'espelette (or smoked papkrika). Add some basil, and buffalo mozzarella cheese if you want to die & go straight to heaven.


The rest is all in the tasting. Enjoy the explosion of taste in your mouth. (This is what summer tastes like!) I suggest that you have a good loaf of bread next to you...so that you can mop up all of the tomato juices that will end up on your plate! But if not, I think it's quite OK to drink the juice....it's certainly OK by me.

It comes around only once a year....summer that is, along with all of its fresh tomatos. Enjoy it while you can! Every day, if possible.




/dma

The Joys of Marmiton.org

Saturday I bought a turkey hindquarter (cuisse de dinde) at the local supermarket and Sunday, I was of course faced with what to do with it. A quick look through some of my cookbooks didn't do the trick, so I searched for recipes on Marmiton. This wonderfully practical and cheery website is my favorite online recipe source, and it didn't fail me: I had a choice of a number of turkey hindquarter recipes, and opted for "Cuisse de dinde et sa symphonie de légumes au four."

The recipe, which basically consists of little more than plopping the turkey in a baking pan and surrounding it with eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices, was indeed a big hit, as simple and delicious as the writer promised. Since tomatoes are out of season, I spruced it up with sun-dried tomatoes and red bell pepper.

If you are able to read French and interested in truly useful recipes, I highly recommend this site. It does have an English version, Let's Cook French, but for the moment only a few hundred recipes are available on it.

Photo du Jour

Barrels of olives at the Olonzac market.

The local Lucques are so delicious! Perfect to nibble on with a Kir or a glass of Muscat.

Vasque Table

What about a red vasque tablecloth? The table in the picture, dressed with a typical vasque tablecloth, invites Christmas!

The tablecloth was purchased in Saint Jean de Luz, near Biarritz, in the French Vasque region.

Cutlery is in silver, in a classic pattern. Forks are set in the English way, that is, pointing down. The knife-rests (pose-couteau) are in ivory and were purchased by our host when he lived in Africa - and trading ivory was authorised. The glasses come from his family, and are typical 1930.

In the table center, a photophore, or candle in a stain glass like tumbler.

Merci Jacqueline!

Restaurant Chez Miocque in Deauville, France

It would be remiss of me not to write about another highlight of last week's trip to Deauville which was dinner at Brasserie-Restaurant Chez Miocque. I can't pronounce the name very easily, but I can easily recommend going there. Without a doubt.

Before I go any further, let me apologize upfront for not having a single picture to share. (Bad blogger!). I was totally engrossed in the evening itself, and the one and only picture I took turned out ridiculously blurry. I'll blame it on the after dinner Calvados! And on all the laughing going on that night!

We went there for lunch last year and it was very good. Had to go back, but especially so when our friend Ulla relayed her story from the night before. She arrived one day earlier than we did, and befriended the owner Jacques that night. So when we arrived on Monday night around 9:30pm for dinner, Jacques greeted Ulla and therefore us, like family. Already acquainted with Ulla, Jacques turned his attention to Robbin & I & asked where we were from. To my response "Chicago", he said, "Very, very cold". I totally agreed, but had to add, "yes, but warm hearts!". He surprised me by giving me a high five! That made me laugh. Our night was off to a fun start!

Let me try to describe this character Jacques. (He seems like a character to me. From a book or movie. A real interesting sort.) Yes, his name is tres, tres francais. His accent is adorable and he is fluent in english. Here's a man that enjoys life. Or so it seems to me. He smiles naturally & gracefully. I'm not sure his age, but it's bound to be in the retirement bracket. He's been in this business forever, and will forever be. The inside of the place is lined with photographs that date back decades. He's in every single one of them, accompanied by the rich & famous. I'll bet he's friends with each & every one of them, too. I can imagine how the place must be abuzz during the Deauville film festival. It's mostly such a crowd that fills the photos on the walls.

The food there is classic french fare. It's the kind of thing I love, especially when somebody else prepares it well! I could not resist an escalope of veal in a mushroom cream sauce, along with the garlicky sautéed potatoes. The red wine we had was very good, even if I can't remember the name. We had eaten & drank well, but I was really dying to try the tarte tatin. I noticed the women next to us enjoying a piece with a scoop of ice cream, and I imagined that a brasserie-restaurant like Chez Miocque must have a great rendition. There are tarte tatins....and then there are tarte tatins. This fell into the latter category. The three of us shared a piece. We ordered cream with ours. Ulla jokingly suggested to the waiter that the three of us really liked cream & please bring a big bowl. I thought we might get whipped cream, but what arrived was a big bowl of creme fraiche epaisse! It's kind of like a sour cream. Robbin, Ulla & I dug our spoons into the cream even before the apple pie! OMG - we were in cream heaven. This is where the best cream is produced (in the world, if you ask me!). That apple tart had been nicely caramelized as it should be & the underneath pie crust had been light & fluffy & crispy, just like I like it. Our waiter came by to check on us, by now it was getting past 11pm. We raved about it & said we had to sample a 2nd piece. None of us were hungry really, but we did need another bite so that we could taste more of that cream! (Kidding, the apple pie tasted so good that we felt like we "needed" to share just one more piece.) Our waiter said to us in all seriousness, "In this region the way we do it, is we pour the cream on top & let it slide into all the nooks & crannies". (I'm paraphrasing here, but this was the jist of it). And that's exactly what we did. Instead of each of us putting a spoon of cream on our plates & tasting a little pie with a little cream, we slathered it on. Completely. And then dug in. Those guys sure know how to eat a tarte tatin!! It was mighty fine. I'm still thinking about it to this day...

Our waiter couldn't believe we ate the entire "saucier" (gravy boat) full of cream. We then realized that they brought us an over sized bowl of cream, thinking we couldn't possibly eat it all. We sure showed them, didn't we, girls?! Oh la la....we really just couldn't help ourselves.

If that wasn't enough, Jacques, with his entourage around him in the enclosed terrasse seating area, signaled something to the waiter. The waiter quickly arrived at our table with 3 generous snifters of Calvados. We raised our glasses to Jacques & gave an "air toast" to him in his direction, which he reciprocated in kind. We were silly with elation. Having eaten well, laughed a lot, and now feeling the affects of the Calvados starting to arrive, we finally had to call it a night. We were the last customers inside. Jacques & his clan were still out on the terrasse. We talked with them a bit more, and finally said good bye. That's when we realized it had started to rain. Again, Jacques gave a secret signal code to the server guy, and seconds later, he arrived with 3 generous & extremely sturdy umbrellas. We were touched by his thoughtfulness, and offered to come back the next day to return his umbrellas. He said, "No, they are for you to keep". That Jacques sure has a generous heart. And that's how come the food at his restaurant tastes so generous too, in my opinion. This is the kind of place that could become a habit. A Deauville ritual. Jacques, if you are reading this, merci mille fois! You're the best!

Address:

Chez Miocque
81, rue E. Colas
14800 Deauville
02.31.88.09.52

:/dma

Konfekt, Norwegian Chocolate and Coconut Oil Truffles

This here? This is my favorite new discovery. These are amazing. I'm pretty sure I didn't even make them quite right, and I'm still in love. They make the three-day search through NYC to find coconut oil totally worth it. This is one of R's family holiday recipes, which his sister sent to me. She's the one who's in charge of them every Christmas, so admittedly R had no idea what we were doing. But he was impatient to start popping them in his mouth. These were the treats he used to steal from his parents' basement, where they were kept cool before Christmas. He has pretty much not changed at all.

These candies are basically balls of chocolate, the chocolate melted with coconut oil, and then mixed with marzipan, bits of licorice and tiny balls made from cutting up gumdrops. It sounds cloying, but somehow all of those bits of candy totally work together. One thing that makes Norwegian Konfekt so unique the use of coconut oil in the chocolate. Normally when we make a ganache, we mix chocolate with heavy cream, but the coconut oil adds a wonderful flavor that you shouldn't miss just because it can be a bit hard to find.

Whole Foods is supposed to carry it, but was out when I went. I ended up finding my jar at a kind of health food store on the Upper East Side called Health Nuts (on 2nd between 63rd and 64th, if you need to know). Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so look for it in a jar in the US, although it comes in sticks the way butter does in Norway. It's also less expensive than butter in Norway, but we're not so lucky here, and a jar can run up to $12 in NYC at least. Also, do not confuse coconut oil with coconut butter. Coconut butter is made from both the oil and the meat of the coconut, and will not at all work in this recipe. At Health Nuts I discovered there are various version of coconut oil, much like olive oil, and it comes in virgin and extra virgin varieties. I used the virgin variety, which is meant for medium heat.

I say that I didn't quite make this recipe correctly because the coconut oil separated a bit from the chocolate. But that doesn't really matter, at least if you're not a purist, because the oil turns white as it cools, which is festive with the chocolate, and it still tastes wonderful. So, I mean, you could worry about it if you wanted to, but I don't. One last note on ingredients, R's sister called for candies that when translated from the Norwegian are called 'jelly tops.' I'm pretty sure we would call them gumdrops, but R and I used Swedish Fish. Swedish Fish, aside from the fact that they aren't actually Swedish (I don't think) are not recommended because although delicious, they're far too sticky to chop and just want to glop together. If you find that your jelly candy of choice is having the same problem, spread the bits out on a cutting board or plate and refrigerate/freeze them so they can be added to the chocolate without sticking together.

You're going to cut the marzipan, licorice and jelly candies into really small pieces. We found that it was actually quicker to just pull them apart with your fingers into tiny pieces, because everything tended to stick to the knife. You want the pieces small enough so that each ball of chocolate will have several pieces of candy in it.

Norwegian Konfekt
A Family Recipe

250 grams bittersweet chocolate (we used part bittersweet part semisweet, which you could also do)
4 tablespoons strong coffee
250 grams coconut oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
A tube of marzipan, cut into really small pieces
A large handful of liquorice, chopped into teensy tiny bits (actually, it's easier to just break them apart with your fingers than to chop them, since they tend to stick to the knife)
Another large handful of gumdrops or other such jelly candy, also cut or pulled apart into really small pieces
Yet another handful of almonds, blanched and ground

Beat together the egg and sugar until the mixture is foamy and the color is light yellow. Set aside.

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. As soon as it melts remove from the heat and let it cool to room temperature so it will hopefully not separate from the chocolate.

Melt the chocolate together with the coffee, either in the microwave or over the double boiler. Add the egg mixture and mix until combined. Slowly add the cooled coconut oil (which will still be liquid) and mix.

Add all of the candy pieces and mix to evenly distribute them throughout the batter. Arrange mini candy paper cups on a cookie sheets, and using a teaspoon fill each cup. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the top. Transfer the cookie sheet to the refrigerator and refrigerate until the chocolate sets.

Photo du Jour - Fromage

A beautiful, perfectly ripe Chaource that we enjoyed on Christmas.

Pepping up a Pasty Vegetable

I hope this lovely cauliflower wasn't the result of some mad scientist manipulating GMOs, but I couldn't resist it. My family loves cauliflower, but our favorite dishes -- gratin de chou-fleur and cauliflower soup -- tend to be on the pale side. This isn't so bad the first night, but I feel they make terribly pasty leftovers.

I was intrigued to see how this purple specimen would hold up to being cooked as a gratin.



After pre-cooking the cauliflower in boiling water, my hopes were dashed -- it was looking a bit on the grey side. I continued with my regular recipe, adding bechamel sauce and grated cheese, and put it in a colorful dish in case further cooking took away even more of the purple coloring. But au contraire, the baking seemed to bring back the violet tones that had momentarily disappeared.


By the way, the vegetable tasted identical to regular white cauliflower. I can't wait to try it in soup.

Sunday Reading

A little time, a little brine, and you've got yourself some home cured olives.

I love to see our little corner of France through the eyes of others.

Simply making me drool.

I think I need to go redecorate and reorganize my home now. So inspiring!

Such a wicked sense of humor! I love her. And her Letter to Summer is spot on.

The perfect purple scarf.
The perfect purple prune studded and Armagnac infused autumn dessert.

Asheville First Impressions

A few years back my mom told me I would love Asheville, North Carolina. So when the kindly folks in Asheville invited food bloggers to town, I cleared my schedule and got on a plane. Driving in from the airport the sight of lush green slopes and a rushing river lulled me into relaxation. Maybe I could find the mountains as appealing as the ocean...?

So far I've found that the town itself is funky and fun and has a small scale that makes it feel accessible and friendly. Discovering glimpses of art deco architecture at every turn is a pleasure and so is the sense of culture here. Food, crafts and even the bluegrass performers playing on the street all seem tied to region in a way that is in harmony with the surroundings.

After only three meals, my greatest regret is that clearly, I will not have enough meals in Asheville! The cuisine here is eclectic, but there are some real standouts using local products--fresh trout, stone ground grits, sweet potato salad, goat cheeses and more. It turns out my mom was right. I do love Asheville. I'll share some highlights soon. Stay tuned.

FOOD + ASHEVILLE

My Dirty Little Secret

Our Christmas meal was a big success this year. I tackled and mastered fresh sautéed foie gras; I roasted a plump free range chicken and simmered a silky sauce for it; and I cooked frozen Brussels sprouts and chestnuts! Yes, one of the stars of my repas de Noël was a dish made entirely from frozen ingredients-- and nobody seemed to notice the difference.

Frozen foods seem to have more class in France than in the USA, where TV dinners and Bird's Eye mixed vegetables may have tarnished their reputation for good. I take advantage of the fabulous choice of frozen ingredients available at the Picard frozen food store, a specialized chain that has brought les surgelés to amazing culinary heights. Most of my friends, especially those who work, do the same.

Photo du Jour - Black Bumblebee

A violet carpenter bee enjoying some fragrant jasmine flowers.

This is an impressive looking black bumblebee that lumbers clumsily around the garden. It has beautiful, iridescent, violet colored wings and is about three times the size of a regular bumblebee!
Don't be afraid though. It may look scary, but this is a very non-aggressive bee.

Joining the club: Seattlest

Sometimes details escape me, such as when I’m engaged in heated battle with a virus. For example, I have—until today—completely forgotten to announce, dear hungry reader, that you can now also find me and my writing over at Seattlest, a sibling of New York City’s illustrious group blog Gothamist, San Francisco's SFist, Paris's Parisist, and the rest of the -ist gang.I'll be contributing weekly

Meet Ayun Halliday

I discovered the talented not to mention hilarious Ayun Halliday only recently when she added my blog to the list of links on her blog and we traded some emails. On vacation in London or "holiday" as the Brits say, I read her latest book Dirty Sugar Cookies subtitled culinary observations, questionable taste. If you are looking for a book to make you laugh out loud, embarrassing yourself in front of strangers on a plane this is it.

Having grown up in the 70's and 80's there was a lot I could relate to in her stories of a well-spent youth. The format of the book is much like the Ruth Reichl trilogy of autobiographies, each chapter concluding with a recipe. Her recipe instructions are a hoot. For example, she begins her recipe for Vietnamese sandwiches by instructing you to: Grate a fat carrot. Sprinkle it with 2 tablespoons of seasoned sushi vinegar and then give it some privacy. Slice half a cucumber movie star thin...

It's hard to share how funny the book is without giving away the punchlines. Suffice it to say that Ayun's Australian Pizza Incident which takes places in Indonesia is about the funniest thing ever. Having enjoyed a Four Seasons pizza that included broccoli in Budapest (since when is broccoli a season??) I think she's really on to something. Perhaps her next book could be Pizzas Around The World.

Ayun is in the midst of a virtual book tour. This seems to mean that bloggers interview her remotely. That's all well and good but as long as we're going virtual, let's eat instead. In addition I've created a virtual version of "find-something-to-eat-in-a-strange-kitchen", read on for more...

Kicking off our virtual event, Ayun and I share our ideal day of meals:

AMY: I'm having a proper British fry up for breakfast, my version is two poached eggs, (yes I know they are supposed to be fried) toast, grilled tomato, sausages, British bacon and "chips" (fried potatoes). No beans! This was so good in London I'm still obsessed with it.

Whenever I go away on a trip I come back craving Mexican food. For lunch chilaquiles with salsa verde at Sanborn's in Mexico City.

AYUN: Your breakfast fry up sounds pretty good for lunch, but I don't want to rob you of the pleasure of trying a taste off each other's plates by copying everything you're having. I'd go for the shrimp paste grilled on sugar cane at Doyers restaurant in Chinatown, but I've mentioned that dish so many times here on the cyber road that it's going to be hard to disabuse people of the notion that I'm a major shareholder in the joint, so... goddamnit, you got me in the mood for Mexican food and now I can't think of anything else! Okay, wait, I know. I'll go to some restaurant in the French countryside and I'll go in the early 1950s, on the advice of my friend, Julia Child, who can steer me toward the menu's stand out dishes. I don't need Julia to tell me that I'll start out with a dozen raw oysters on the half shell, and I'll wash them down with a wonderful sparkling wine, something I'd never drink in real life. And I'm going to end with chocolate mousse and then some skanky-smelling cheese that's older than my children put together.

Okay, I'll have your lunch for breakfast, and I'll eat it at Frida Kahlo's house. I'm going to have two large cappuccinos with that, because I need to keep my energy up for the final week of the virtual tour.

AMY: For dinner, a plate full of papusas filled with cheese and zucchini from my favorite secret spot in the Mission district. I'll write about it someday, I promise.

AYUN: I'll hold you to that, but wait, no snack? Come on, let's at least have some edamame, salted up good. It'll be like English teatime, but Japanese, with beer.

Now back to dinner - again, I'm hearing the siren call of your Mission district, but I gave myself a hankering for Japanese too, so let's go to this restaurant that my friend Noriko's mother took me and Greg to when we were in Tokyo for the Japanese production of Urinetown. We had more than a more than a dozen courses, all exquisite, all of which featured tofu (or yuba, a by-product of the tofu making process). We were there as Japan was gearing up for its annual plum blossom festival, so we had these little fairy goblets of plum wine, and a beautiful milky soup in which tofu cut and dyed to look like plum blossoms floated. (Did I mention that we're in a private tatami room, and every ten minutes or so the waitress will slide the shoji screens open to serve us the next course, shuffling around on her knees? Yes.) I will let the chef and the tourist authority of Japan decide what we should be served, but let's try and convince them that we're very important food writers from America, the kind of important that should be comped, because I don't think we're going to want to see this bill. Then, on our way back to the ryokan (what am I talking about, the Imperial Hotel), let's stop off under the J Rail tracks for some yakitori. I have to have the eggplant, but you should have the chicken.

AMY: Many of Ayun's stories involving herself as a child or her own kids reminded me of my years as a babysitter. During that time I used to play a kind of game, challenging myself to cook something interesting with whatever was on hand in a strange kitchen. In a virtual extension of this game, Ayun provided me with a handful of her top favorite ingredients or whatever happens to be in her fridge from which I will concoct a recipe or menu.

AYUN: You're on, lady!
Golden Boy Brand Fish Sauce
Nishiki Rice
Brown Rice
Cascadian Farm Frozen Peas
Frozen Eel
Sushi Vinegar
dried Thai chilies
chiptole peppers
poblano peppers
rice noodles
avocado
baby spinach
ginger
garlic
rapsberries
fig jam
and pretty much any seasoning your heart desires plus milk, seltzer, staples, and a supply of noxious allegedly organic items for the children's lunch boxes

AMY: Wow! If I was your babysitter I'd seriously think about bringing a bag lunch. But your list does intrigue me. It makes me think of a Burmese salad. You know the type with little piles of crispy garlic and stuff that you sprinkle over spinach leaves?
Here's how I would approximate that with your ingredients:

Burmese Style Salad

3/4 cup peas (this is supposed to be split peas but let's just be creative, shall we?)
3/4 cup peanuts (if you have them otherwise skip)
3/4 cup fresh ginger slivered into very skinny matchstick
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar
3/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut (if you have it otherwise skip)
2 tablespoons sesame seed
1/3 cup mild flavored oil
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 cups finely shredded raw spinach
1/4 cup sliced poblano chili, sliced into very thin strips
1/3 cup slivered onion
2 limes or 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Place ginger and vinegar in a small bowl, then cover and chill at least 2 hours or up to 2 days; drain and discard vinegar.
In a large frying pan over medium heat, cook coconut stirring often until crispy and golden brown, about 4 minutes; pour out and set aside. Repeat with sesame seeds, cooking them 3 to 5 minutes.

Add oil to pan. When oil is hot, add peas and stir often until slightly crispy, 12 to 15 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Believe it or not fried peas are pretty tasty! Repeat with peanuts, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add garlic to oil in pan and cook, stirring often, when lightly golden, scoop garlic from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels, reserving the oil. Let oil cool. Stir fish sauce into oil; set aside.

On a platter, arrange ginger, coconut, sesame, peas, peanuts, garlic, spinach, chilies, and onion, in separate piles. At the table, pour oil mixture over salad, squeeze limes on top, and mix ingredients. Makes 6 nibble servings.

AMY: As for my pantry it's rather empty at the moment, you'll have to contend with milk, yogurt, bananas, carrots, scallions, eggs, butter, blue cheese and bread plus some bacon in the freezer. Any ideas? (you can use all the staples you want--flour, jam, ketchup, chutney, potatoes, onions, you name it, just assume I have it).

AYUN: Is there someone special you'd like to invite for brunch? Because I've got two recipes in the book that ought to free up some pantry real estate for you. You can use the scallions, blue cheese, milk, eggs and bacon in the Quiche that follows the Gnawbone Camp chapter, though I'd cut that blue cheese with something milder like, I don't know, Monterey
Jack and don't really roll the dough out on a rotten log. I was just being a smart aleck. Flip a couple of chapters ahead and make Post Coital Pancakes with the butter, eggs, milk and yogurt. Fancy them up with the bananas. Hell use a carrot instead of a wooden spoon, keep your staples for the long cold winter ahead and throw the bread out the
window for the pigeons. Et voila!

AMY: Ayun, how did you know my bread was stale and suitable only for pigeon consumption? That or french toast...

And so concludes our virtual blog tour date. Don't forget to check out Ayun's book. This link will let you take a sneak peek.

FOOD

Where did these veggies go?

I have never met a small kitchen appliance I didn't like, and I have quite a collection of various cooking devices. A few of them don't get used that often, but there is one which helps me out on a regular basis, especially when I have a few different vegetables to mix together...can you guess what machine I'm talking about?

La Fête du Fromage - Le Saint-Domnin de Provence

Why I love French cheese reason #191; le Saint-Domnin de Provence.
A cheese so divine that it deserves to be named after a saint.

Imagine a cheese that is lusciously creamy and meltingly soft on your tongue. It tastes slightly bitter and peppery with hints of tangy citrus and mild mushroom that linger on and on. All these flavors are then rounded out by the intriguing, almost imperceptible but not quite, essence of lavender.

I wish I could describe it more adequately.
Instead I'll just insist that you come to France and try it for yourself, because I don't think they export this heavenly little fromage.

Ok, I'm done extolling its virtues. Now on to the facts.

Le Saint-Domnin is produced on a small farm, Le Petit Jabron, located in the shadow of Mont Ventoux. The family produces several kinds of unpasteurized fromage de chèvre from their herd of 230 goats which graze amongst the olive trees and lavender fields of the Haut-Provence.
Its unusual name comes from from a 12th century chapel near the farm that is situated on the ancient pilgrimage route of Santiago de Campostela.

A classic wine pairing would be a Sancerre from the Loire Valley, but I think this lavender infused cheese would also pair well with a light red.

Indian Spiced Potato Wedges

These are good. Really, really good. And easy.
Really, really easy.

I can't even look a jar of mango or peach chutney without a burning desire to roast up a big batch of these Indian Spiced Potatoes, which are basically big, oven roasted french fries that have been smothered in ghee and Indian spices.

Need I say more?


about to go in the oven


Indian Spiced Potatoes
serves 4
inspired by a recipe from The Australian Women's Weekly

2 pounds potatoes
2 ounces ghee
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel and halve each potato lengthwise, then cut each half into two or three wedges.
Combine potatoes with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
Place potatoes mixture on a large, non-stick baking dish and bake, turning occasionally, about 15-20 minutes, until browned and tender.

I baked you a cake

Wow. I’m not sure what to say today. I sent off my revised manuscript at 9:30 this morning, and judging by the mess around our apartment, my entire brain went with it. Just now, I retrieved the mail from its slot by the front door and discovered that, apparently, when I paid the bills last week, I didn’t put stamps on any of the envelopes. Consequently, they all came back today, like a small

A Polite Introduction to Jamie Oliver

 

Jamie Oliver.
I remember when his Naked Chef series first hit America. People thought he was so cool, so hip. So very British.

Me, I just couldn't get past his informal, chatty demeanor and those expressions:  Cracking. Lovely jubbly. A glug of olive oil. A knob of butter. A swig of vinegar. Whack it in the oven.  Brill.
Jamie just didn't do it for me.  His cooking style was too imprecise and too unconventional.  I was used to watching the very professional, composed Mario Batali in Molto Mario and the serious Lidia Bastianich in Lidia's Italy. 



Since moving to France I've had the chance to become better acquainted with Monsieur Oliver. All of our British friends have at least one of his cookbooks and he seemed to be everywhere at once;  in America, Spain, France, doing TV ads, and all over the Internet.
And even though he seemed to be a decent enough chef, I was still a bit skeptical.

Then last summer I saw a recipe for Rigatoni with Sweet Tomatoes, Aubergine and Mozzarella in a friend's copy of Jamie's Dinners and decided that I had to try it before the fresh eggplant, basil and tomatoes disappeared until the following year.

Wow!  What a dish!  Rich with vegetables, studded with garlic and onions and smothered in gooey cheese.  I thought it was really, really delicious. 

I've made it several times since then, yet every time I forget to take a photo.  That's been a real problem of mine lately. 
So here's the original photo that I took last summer (made with with purple basil and pipe rigate), which doesn't really do this dish any justice, followed by the much more appetizing photo from the book. 

Glad we finally met, Jamie.

Rigatoni with Sweet Tomato, Aubergine and Mozzarella
by Jamie Oliver
serves 4

This is a dish I’ve had many times in Italy, on the Amalfi coast. It’s one of those dishes that tastes like home - it’s comfort food, and it makes you feel good. The interesting thing about it is that the cow’s-milk mozzarella is torn up and thrown in at the last minute so that when you dig your spoon in you get melted, stringy bits of it - a real joy to eat. You can eat this as soon as it’s made, or you can put it all into a baking pan with a little cheese grated on top and reheat it as a baked pasta dish the next day, if you wish. - Jamie Oliver
 

• 1 firm ripe pink, black, or white aubergine (eggplant)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
• Two 14-ounce cans good-quality plum tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 fresh or dried chilies, chopped or crumbled, optional
• bunch fresh basil, leaves ripped and stalks sliced
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 pound rigatoni or penne
• 7 ounces cow’s-milk mozzarella
• 1 piece Parmesan cheese, for grating

Remove both ends of the eggplant and slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then slice these across and finely dice into 1/2 inch cubes. Some people prefer to season their eggplant with salt and let it sit for a while in a colander to draw out the bitterness, but I don’t really do this unless I’m dealing with a seedy, bitter eggplant. This dish is really best made using a firm silky one.

Now, put a large saucepan on the heat and drizzle in 4 to 5 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. When it’s hot, add the cubes of eggplant, and as soon as they hit the pan stir them around with a spoon so they are delicately coated with the oil and not soaked on one side only. Cook for about 7 or 8 minutes on a medium heat.  Then add the garlic and onion. When they have a little color, add the canned tomatoes and the balsamic vinegar. Stir around and season carefully with salt and pepper. At this point, if you wanted to give the dish a little heat you could add some chopped fresh or crumbled dried chilli, but that’s up to you. Add the basil stalks, and simmer the sauce nice and gently for around 15 minutes, then add the cream.

While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add the pasta, cook according to the package instructions until it is soft but still holding its shape, then drain it, saving a little of the cooking water. I like to put the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in with a tiny bit of the cooking water and a drizzle of olive oil and move it around so it becomes almost dressed with the water and oil.

At this point add the lovely tomato sauce to the pasta. By now the eggplant will have cooked into a creamy tomatoey pulp, which is just yum yum yum! Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. When all my guests are sitting round the table, I take the pan to the table, tear up the mozzarella and the fresh basil, and fold these in nicely for 30 seconds. Then very quickly serve into bowls. By the time your guests start to eat, the mozzarella will have started to melt and will be stringy and gorgeous and really milky-tasting. Just lovely with the tomatoes and eggplant. Serve at the table with a block of Parmesan cheese and a grater so that everyone can help themselves.

Frozen Yogurt Fad Strikes Again!

I'm not sure how it happened, but suddenly frozen yogurt is all the rage again. It appeared out of the blue, much like cupcakes did. The problem is the same as it was back in the late 80's and early 90's during the last frozen yogurt boom, it's being marketed as "healthy." In fact, the chain Pinkberry was just in a lawsuit over whether or not the product was really yogurt at all.

Pinkberry is so popular in Los Angeles and New York that people stand in lines and risk parking tickets just to get some, and it has spawned the entrance in the American market of other frozen yogurt chains, including Red Mango, from South Korea. I haven't tried either, but I was curious, so curious that when I saw a sign for Tuttimelon in the Outer Sunset, I had to have some. Notice the similarity between Tuttimelon and Pinkberry?



I had my serving of it plain, which is not the way most people order it. You can get it with all kinds of fruit toppings which looked pretty fresh to me. I liked the sour tangy flavor. It wasn't as creamy as what I remember from years ago, but it was good. Even plain. The downside? While being promoted as healthy, a small serving is 5 ounces and supposedly that is 2 servings. Say what? That's like telling people to share a little bag of chips. It ain't gonna happen. While Tuttimelon frozen yogurt has no fat, the small cup has 150 calories, which may be healthier than some frozen treats, but isn't exactly health food. So go ahead and enjoy it, but don't believe all the hype and do check the nutrition info of whatever brand you try.

Tuttimelon
2150 Irving St @ 23rd
Mon-Thu, Sun 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 11:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.

Reflection on French Cheese

In my last post for Growers and Grocers, I report that consumption of French cheese , especially the raw milk variety, is declining.

Personally, I have noticed evidence of this trend. First, a surprising number of families never buy cheese à la coupe, or cut to order, although supermarkets do offer this service. They just pick up a hunk or two of industrial or ready-wrapped cheese.

Second, doctors seem to be alerting more and more patients to the possibility that they may be allergic to dairy products. Food allergies weren't discussed much ten years ago in France. Now a lot of my friends are "trying to cut out dairy products." I can't speak with any authority on this medical subject, but it can't be good news for the cheese industry.

In addition , lighter meals are becoming popular, especially for evening entertaining, and this often means eliminating the cheese course.

Finally, the French are decidedly drinking less wine, and can only hurt cheese consumption. Cheese often accompanies a last glass of wine -- or two -- during a dinner party. If the guests don't drink the wine, they won't eat as much cheese.

Photo du Jour - Minervois Wine

La Livinière's winemakers hosted a great wine and tapas evening last night.

In addition to wine, charcuterie, moules frites and duck breast sandwiches (not exactly my definition of tapas, but we're in France, not Spain, so I guess it's more loosely defined) the evening offered live music by a very traditional brass band and a separate dance floor complete with a modern, Mararena-playing DJ and flashing disco lights.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.

Four By Four Meme - All About Moi

I was tagged for this Four By Four Meme by the lovely Kate in Gascony about three weeks ago and am just now finding some time to sit and think about the questions and my answers.

I had to alter a couple of the questions a bit. Kate's What’s the 4 best and worst things about living on a boat? questions don't apply to my landlocked life, so I looked at Rosa's questions (who tagged Kate) and substituted one of hers.
Ok, here goes...

What four things do you love most about living in France?

1. The outdoor markets. I love them! I love getting to know the vendors, the bustle and sights and sounds. I love watching the markets change with the seasons.


2. The appreciation of food and wine.
3. There's always something new to experience
4. Discovering the beauty and charm of each new region and place that I visit in France

What four most memorable jobs you have had?

1. Taking care of the animals in a pet shop
2. An au pair near Angoulême
3. A personal chef
4. Selling antiques at a shop in New Orleans

Four quirky things about the way I eat (and drink)

1. Leftover Thai green curry is one of my favorite breakfasts
2. I don't like sour cream or mayonnaise (unless it's homemade)
3. I like to put popcorn in a glass of milk, get it all soggy, then eat it with a spoon (my mom taught me this!)
4. When I go to the States I find that I like to eat chips and salsa. All. The. Time. It's weird!


What are your four favorite foods?

1. Oaxacan mole
2. New Orleans BBQ shrimp
3. Huckleberries
4. Thai curries

Four recipes you cook all the time?

1. pasta with amatriciana sauce
2. jambalaya
3. lemon tart
4. soups

Four people who I'd like to participate in this meme.

1. Robyn at Lick Your Own Bowl
2. Ms. Glaze in Paris
3. Nicole at Pinch My Salt
4. La Belette Rouge

The Father of American Gastronomy

"I like a well-tailored plate of food, and I want things to look and taste like what they are. I detest cooking that masks one flavor with another, and I dislike fussy presentations that don't respect the identity of the ingredients. A tomato is a tomato not a rose. Noodles are noodles, not birds' nests or baskets."

Yup. The correct answer was b. James Beard.

I only have one of his cookbooks, The New James Beard but I turn to it often. Endless Feasts: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet includes two articles about James Beard, one about his early years and the other about his later years. Both are worth reading, filled with colorful quotes that give you a wonderful sense of what Beard was like as a person, as a teacher and as a chef.

Congratulations to contest winners Marcy, Rob and Craig!

Pimientos de Padrón

Warning:  These are highly addictive.  And every so often you get a really hot and spicy one. 
Which definitely adds to their appeal.


Pimientos de Padrón
adapted from a recipe in Saveur magazine

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ pound washed and dried pimientos de Padrón
salt - I use sea salt

1. Heat 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

2. Add 1/2 pound washed, thoroughly dried pimientos de Padrón and fry, turning often, until soft and beginning to brown around the edges, 15–20 minutes. Transfer peppers to a bowl and generously season with salt.

Serves 6 - You've got to be kidding!  I would say this amount serves only 3-4.  Or only 2 pimientos de Padrón addicts like me.

Cuisine Catastrophique

For my fellow expat readers, how do you face up to cooking during your busiest times? And what do you cook?

Pour mes lectrices françaises, comment arrivez-vous à cuisiner pendant cette période de l'année si chargée? Et que cuisinez-vous?

For me, this was a week of cuisine catastrophique.

May and June are insanely busy times in France: every club, association, school, workplace and group of friends feels it has to schedule some end of the year soirée or évènement. There are also kids' performances: dance recitals, plays, concerts. It used to be enough just to go to my own childrens' "spectacles"; now my kids want to go to all of their friends' too. Rather than doing two round trips to Rodez for a total of 72 kilometers, I often stay and "enjoy" these shows myself.

In this flurry of activity, cuisine of any sort goes right down the drain. I didn't cook one meal I was proud of this week -- my crowning glory was turning some leftover rice into a traditional French salade de riz. Ready-made dishes from Picard , which had been absent from our table for months, reared their tempting head.

This all makes me wonder how other working women in France deal with this busy time of year. Do tell! Dites-le-moi!

I Love Days Like These - A Trip To Albi

exterior of le Palais de la Berbie


Friday I took a little day trip to Albi to meet a fellow expat blogger. Another Washingtonian! Almost everyone I've met through this blog has been from Washington - a strange coincidence?


The first leg of the journey took me through the Montagne Noire, on a twisty, turny, full-of-hair-raising-hairpin-turns-road to Mazamet. (Thank god I was driving, if I'd been a passenger I would have been hurling!) The temperature plummeted as I drove through the dense, dark forests and the warning signs for deer and sanglier kept me alert. There were several tempting sites along the way but I wasn't sure of how long the trip would take and I didn't want to be late to pick up Betty at the train station in Albi at 11:50.

Just after Mazamet came my first glimpse of rolling green pastures and black and white cows. I passed a sign telling me that I was in Roquefort country then another for the village of Lautrec, home of the famous, delicious pink garlic and the ancestors of the painter, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, who was born in Albi.



The rest of the trip went smoothly and Betty's train arrived on time. Our lunch reservations at the Restaurant Stéphane Laurens wasn't for another hour so we parked the car and headed straight for les Halles so I could see what kind of cheese was available.


exterior of les Halles -
and the interior


a great selection at La Fromagerie - it was difficult to restrain myself, though I did buy three kinds

Lunch was excellent! The restaurant is a beautiful space and the food was well presented and delicious. We didn't linger though, as our time in the city was to be short. A bit of exploring was in order!
Betty used to live in Albi, so I had a built in tour guide. She led me to a secret little square that was full of old doorways, through medieval passageways and to the 13th century cloister of Saint Salvi.


the cloisters



a quiet place


Back through the pedestrian streets that were filled with shoppers popping in and out of little boutiques, to the gardens behind the Palais de la Berbie which overlook the Tarn river. They were heavenly. The sun was shining over the city and it was a peaceful spot to take in the ambiance of Albi. The red brick buildings reminded me of Lucca and I became very enamored with the place.

the gardens




the Tarn river and Albi's other shore


Betty in the gardens


The day flew by and soon I was dropping Betty off at the train station and back on the road, this time taking the Autoroute through Toulouse - the same amount of driving time as the picturesque road that I took to drive there, but much less tiring.

Albi was well worth the visit. I wasn't expecting to find such a delightful, friendly city and I plan on returning soon.

Merci Betty! It was a wonderful day!