Photo du Jour

"Will you get that camera out of my face, I'm trying to sleep!''

On routine, with tears, taste buds, and chickpea-tomato soup

Alright, I admit it: I’m kind of boring.I love routine. I’ve never been good at change—which is to say that I’m actually rather bad at it. My poor, long-suffering mother can attest to this: during college, I called her at the beginning of each and every quarter, sobbing and sniveling incoherently about my new schedule and new classes and the end of life as I knew it. I’m also the girl who took

That cloud

Hi, all.This note is to say that I’ve had to postpone my reading this Sunday, April 18, at the Ballard Library in Seattle, and that I’m going to be away from this space a few days longer than I expected. My grandmother is not doing well, and I’m making an emergency trip to Oklahoma to be with my family.You would have liked my grandmother. She was a devotee of rare roast beef sandwiches and red

FRENCH TOAST RECIPE YouTube Video VIDEOGULP !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zyJT-PiqUAendofvid
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FRENCH TOAST RECIPE YouTube Video VIDEOGULP !

GULP - French Toast - Do you really know how to make it? - France dish -

HOMEMADE VIDEO French toast RECIPE - FRANCE Cooking

Selection YouTube video Videogulp !
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Weight Loss Tips

News flash! Americans eat too much and that's why they're fatter than the French. I was just reading a news article about a study that was done where portion sizes were compared in restaurants in the US and in France and it turns out that portions in the US are bigger! No shock, really. Then standing in the supermarket line yesterday I also read a cheesy tabloid article on a woman who lost over a 100 pounds on a diet she designed herself. And what was this diet you might ask? She limited herself to 2-4 servings of vegetables per meal, 3 servings of protein and a similar amount of complex carbohydrates. Eliminated sweets and snacks other than fruit, at least I think that's what I read.



Lately a number of people I know are on the Atkins diet, the Zone diet or some version of those diets and the thing that strikes me is how complicated they are. No combining certain foods, measuring portions, counting carbs, and the end effect I think is the same. If you are paying more attention to your diet and limiting portions you are likely to lose weight. Never mind what you're eating.



I once went on a diet before I got married and for the most part it was about choosing healthy options and eating four small measured meals versus three big ones. It worked. What didn't work for me was switching to low-fat versions of favorite foods. Since the introduction of low-fat foods, Americans have continued to gain weight. Mostly low-fat foods aren't very satisfying and and when you eat something that doesn't satisfy, it leads to eating more and more and more. Also low-fat isn't necessarily low-calorie and taking in lots of calories, well, scientists seem to think it leads to gaining weight.



So here is my tip for losing weight--do like the French, eat fabulous food and just try not to eat too much of it. I know it sounds easy and maybe it's not, after all the study also pointed out that if larger portions of good-tasting food are put in front of humans we tend to eat it all, even if we aren't hungry. But in my opinion being on a diet is as much about paying attention to how much you eat as it is to what you eat. So skip the diet and just pay a little more attention.

ITALIAN RECIPE PASTA FUSILLI WITH TOMATOES AD OLIVES YouTube Video VIDEOGULP !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z96Q3zLiDYendofvid
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ITALIAN RECIPE PASTA FUSILLI WITH TOMATOES AD OLIVES YouTube Video VIDEOGULP !

GULP - How to cook Fusilli with Tomatoes and Olives - Italian dish -
HOMEMADE VIDEO ITALIAN FOOD FUSILLI PASTA RECIPE - ITALY Cooking

Selection YouTube video Videogulp !
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Don't know what to do for ... (2)

I think I made a tasteful dinner last night! We were meeting good friends who live abroad and who were in Paris only a few days! This year, my Christmas colors are "Red and White", so that set the way I dressed our table.
I want to share with you the menu as we are all getting ready for special meals during the Holiday Season and you may be shrt of ideas! This menu will be perfect for the holiday season, it's pretty rich ... but unforgettable. The pictures of the dishes presented here come from my website and you can get the recipes by clicking on the pictures below. In fact, that's why the chinaware in the pictures is not the same as what I used last night , which was "strictly" red and white - but I forgot to make the pictures: > Chestnut Veloute with Foie Gras THis chestnut veloute is thick, rich, and delicious. > Duck Breast a la plancha I served the duck with white beans.> Chocolate Lava Molten Cake by Deborah Coupey Deborah's cake was a killer! THank you for the recipe!
We started with a glas of Champagne and then served a 2000 Saint Emilion (Bordeaux) wine, rich in texture, nose, and color.
Bon appetit!

Photo du Jour

The fig trees are stark and bare now.

Potluck Posts 12/31

December started out chilly with a quick weekend in Montreal and ended back in San Francisco after a glorious week on Oahu. There was lots of good food in both places, stay tuned for more details!

Some of my favorite posts on the Epicurious blog were about cognac and brilliant (non-alcoholic) bubbly beverages. I also ran an interview with Elizabeth Andoh, author of the gorgeous book Kansha. One of my more popular posts was my best tips for making macaroni and cheese.

Speaking of tips, my somewhat controversial post on travel tips ran on Between Bites, there was also Dorie Greenspan's shopping guide to Paris (you'll want to bookmark it for your next trip!). Last but not least I also had a piece about the sweet treats you can eat in Louisville.

Finally I have some big news to share, as of January I will be the San Francisco editor of BlackboardEats.com. I hope you will poke around the site and sign up for great restaurant deals in Los Angeles, New York or San Francisco as well as the "everywhere" edition. I will continue blogging here and there.

Happy New Year!

This week three sweet treat posts caught my eye. I hope they don't make you crave frozen yogurt, fresh mangoes and doughnuts, but if they do, take comfort. You are in good company.

First Lulu loved Manhattan, then London, and now Bombay. Who can blame her when mangoes are in season? Check out her gorgeous photos and post combined with descriptions of my favorite fruit. Not every trip to the market yields perfection, sometimes just a little taste of what's to come...

Jennifer has a refined palate so it's no surprise the best post about the much hyped Pinkberry comes from her at the Hungry Hendonist. She even managed to sneak in some photos. I love all things sour, including yogurt, so I can't wait to get a taste. Hey Pinkberry, how about opening up a shop in San Francisco?

All the talk of doughnuts made me end up trying some very unsatisfying ones at a new restaurant in town that I think needs a little more time to iron out the wrinkles. But the eggbeater post on doughnuts almost makes me think I should try to get over my fear of frying. In truth I just wish Shuna would make them for me.

FOOD

Photo du Jour

A demistasse of dense, rich espresso. I couldn't get enough of these in Milan!

This Week's TO DO List

1) Go to the Mairie for this year's letter stating my validity as a resident in France. As usual, my Carte de Séjour is late. It expires today and there's no indication that the new one will arrive any time soon.

2) Drop off 5 liter cubie (a plastic jug that holds 5-10 liters of wine) at neighbor's to be filled with his fantastic, 100% Cabernet rosé. If he's not at home I'm to leave it on his windowsill between the flowerpots and he'll fill it and bring it to our house.

3) Tuesday market in Olonzac. Must go early to avoid the August crowds.

4) Price paint for the bedroom. This involves driving to Olonzac, Lézignan and Narbonne or Carcassonne to BricoRama, Brico Marché, Monsieur Bricolage and Tridome. It could be September by the time I find the color I want at the price I'm willing to pay.
Doesn't €60 for 2.5 liters of wall paint seem rather exorbitant?

5) Order 6 cases of Domaine Coudoulet Viognier.

6) Do something with all of these tomatoes. I need my kitchen counters back.

7) Teach kitten to use the stairs so I don't have to keep carrying him upstairs to the litter box.

8) Go to the bank to find out why they haven't moved money from our account in the States to our account in France yet. This normally takes 1-2 days. When I went in last week after 3 days, they shrugged and said, "it's August, c'est les vacances, check after 7-8 days." Unfortunately the direct debits due to come out of the account this week don't know that it's August.

9) Invite summer friends around for a drink before they head back home.

Recent Production

Things have been just a bit hectic lately and I haven't had time to post as many things as I'd like. At least I can share a few photos from the kitchen activities:

Ravioli production: squid ink & egg pasta with tomato filling

Cod filet, gros langoustines, ravioli, ginger froth & fennel -- before & after addition of bouillibase broth

Mini muffins: lemon poppy seed

An "everything" bagel...hits the spot every time!

Tarte au chocolat

Spring's Bounty Salad

Strawberry Gaspacho (sweet-savory)

Bon Appétit!
:/dma

Gnocchi with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and Pecans

Well, it's official. Autumn is definitely my favorite season.
Twenty years ago I would have said summer and ten years ago I most likely would have voted for spring. (never been smitten with winter)

Now, it is autumn. No doubt.

The temperature is usually perfect - not too hot and not too cool - and the light turns this gorgeous golden color that I find absolutely stunning. When the sun shines through the leaves on the plane trees they shimmer in beautiful shades of pale green and amber, and the colors in the vineyards range from honey to deep orange to bright crimson. It is seriously gorgeous.
My camera gets an intense workout in October and early November!


Another reason to celebrate autumn; Brussels sprouts are back! And we love them.

This is a hearty dish that offers a scrumptious mix of flavors. The gnocchi and bacon are rich, the sprouts are golden and caramelized (I can't resist anything once it has been caramelized!) and the pecans add a nice crunch to the dish.


Gnocchi with Caramelized Brussels Sprouts and Pecans
serves 4 hearty appetites

• 2 ounces thick cut, smoked bacon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic gloves, smashed a bit but left whole
  
• 2 pounds Brussels sprouts, outer leaves trimmed and larger sprouts cut in half
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pound gnocchi
• 1/4 cup reserved pasta water
  
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans, chopped
  
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1. In a skillet large enough to hold the Brussels sprouts in one layer, heat the olive oil to medium and saute the bacon with the garlic cloves until the garlic is lightly browned and the bacon is crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside and discard the garlic cloves.
2. Raise the heat to medium high and add the sprouts to the pan, stirring to coat evenly with the olive oil. Leave the sprouts to cook undisturbed in a single layer for about five minutes, until they develop a deep brown, caramelized color. Stir to allow the other side of the sprouts to brown as well. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of water and stir well to loosen any caramelized bits on the bottom of the pan. Cover and reduce to a simmer.
4. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to boil for the gnocchi and cook according to package directions.
5. Test the sprouts for doneness by piercing with a sharp knife; they should be al dente, not mushy. Add more water and cook longer if needed. As soon as they are done, scoop the gnocchi out of the water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan with the Brussels sprouts.
   
6. Stir in the bacon, chopped pecans and thyme and turn the heat to high to thicken the sauce. Add a bit of reserved pasta water if necessary.
   
7. Taste for seasonings.
   
8. Serve and enjoy!

Struan, Peter Reinhart's Reputation-Making Bread

If you're like me, you rue those electronic e-readers not necessarily because you're sentimentally attached to the physical book (although there is that as well), but because they make it a lot harder to surreptitiously see what people are reading on the subway. If you're a can't-mind-your-own-business kind of subway rider like I am, and if you'd been sitting next to me on the six train the other week, you would have seen me nose-deep in Peter Reinhart's (of The Bread Baker's Apprentice fame) first book, a slim little paperback called Brother Juniper's Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor. And if you were a member of the general population, you would probably have thought 'what a weird girl.' What can I say. I do my best reading on the subway.

The book, as I mentioned Reinhart's first, is from an era in which he was known as Brother Peter Reinhart because of his membership in the Christ the Saviour Brotherhood. He founded the famous, but now sadly defunct Brother Juniper's Bakery in Forestville, California with his wife in 1986, as an offshoot of the Brother Juniper's Restaurants run by the brotherhood. Bread quickly became the focus of the bakery, and by Reinhart's own admission this unique, and until them somewhat forgotten Struan, became a major draw.

While each chapter of the book is dedicate to a musing on some aspect of bread-making followed by a recipe (with titles like 'A Note on Yeast and Salt' and 'On Not Cutting into Bread Too Soon'), part one ends with a chapter called 'And Then There Was Struan,' as though the mere mention of the bread says it all. According to Reinhart, Struan is a Scottish harvest bread, made of all the various grains gathered in the autumn. It also makes the most fabulous toast, and would go smashingly alongside a bowl of autumn soup. As a measure of how good it is, this recipe makes three loaves and R had the brilliant idea of freezing two of them. No sooner where they chilled than we had polished off the first and were ready to rip into the second. And then the third. It's slightly sweet with brown sugar, moistened with buttermilk and chewy with a slew of different grains, none of which overpower.

I'm sending this to Susan for her weekly Yeastspotting. If you love bread, check it out.

Peter Reinhart's Struan
Adopted from Peter Reinhart's Brother Juniper's Bread Book

7 cups bread flour
1/2 cup uncooked polenta
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup wheat bran (try Bob's Red Mill)
4 teaspoons salt, sea if you have it
3 tablespoons active dry yeast, bloomed in 4 tablespoons lukewarm water, or 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup buttermilk
About 1 1/2 cups water plus 4 tablespoons that are lukewarm, depending on conditions when you're making your bread
3 tablespoons poppy seeds for the top
1 egg beaten into 4 cups of water for the egg wash

Put the yeast in 4 tablespoons of lukewarm water and let it stand until it bubbles, if that's the kind of yeast you're using. In a large bowl, combine the flour, polenta, oats, sugar, bran, salt and yeast. Whisk together to mix. Add the brown rice, honey, buttermilk and one cup of water (leave aside the extra 1/2 cup for use while kneading). Squeeze the ingredients together with your hands until the dough comes together as a ball.

Sprinkle some flour on a clean surface and turn the dough out onto it. Clean out the bowl, dry it, and set aside. You'll have to knead this bread for about 12-15 minutes because of all the grains. It will lighten in color and stop looking like porridge as it comes together. The dough should be a bit tacky and light golden, but not sticky when you're done kneading.

Put the dough back in the now-clean mixing bowl and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Put the bowl in a warm place for the dough to rise until doubled in size. This should take about 1 hour.

Cut the dough into three equal sections and form into loaves. R wasn't here when I made this bread, so I don't have pictures of the process of forming the loaves. But if you're unsure of how to do it, this About page has instructions and pictures. The only thing is that while the instructions there say to roll the bread out with a pin, you can simply use the heels of your hands to push from the center of each section out to flatten it. Put each loaf into a greased bread pan that's 9" x 4 1/2" x 3", seam-side down.

Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg wash and shower them with the poppy seeds on top. Cover the loaves and allow them to rise until the dough mounds over the tops of the pans. Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 45 minutes. The bread is done when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom and is a golden brown in the crust. Allow the bread to cool completely for 40 minutes before cutting into it, as it continues to cook even after being removed from the oven.

Photo du Jour

A graceful, curved doorway in the Charente.

Mocha Banana Bread: Recipe

I read recipes like a scientist would, imagining the results in my head. Like a scientist I also tweak the ingredients and techniques to come up with different results. I rarely follow recipes word for word anymore. Perhaps I'm a mad scientist since I start with solid recipes then I veer off in my own direction. I guess this also means my kitchen is really my lab.

Reader comments (that I find with recipes on the internet) allow me to be historian in addition to scientist, to see where things went well, where they didn't and make changes accordingly. The only problem is, I don't always know those making the comments well enough to trust their comments. Is it possible they didn't follow the directions? Do they have radically different tastes than my own? Who are these people passing judgment on someone else's recipes?

In looking to develop my own version of banana bread, I started with some cookbooks then moved on to the internet. I found that banana breads are fairly easy to make and recipes abound. Some are high in fat others practically fat-free. Some are dense, others cakey. Some are super sweet others less so.

"Try adding a shot of espresso to your banana bread or cake batter the next time. It really improves the flavor (if the combo sounds odd, remember that bananas and coffee beans are both tropical fruits!)"

That was the reader comment from fellow blogger and pastry chef, David Lebovitz that inspired this cake. Well, banana bread actually. If tropical flavors work well together why not throw in a few more? Namely vanilla and cocoa. The result is a mocha flavored banana bread. Perfect with a cup of cocoa or coffee. I hope you like it as much as I do!

Note: My other favorite comment was one that said not to mind the crack running down the bread, that's a sign the bread has baked properly.

Mocha Banana Bread
makes one loaf

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened (half a stick)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons coffee or 3 Tablespoons water plus 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, pecans, cocoa nibs or combination
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk or sift if the cocoa is lumpy.

In a large bowl combine sugar and butter; beating with a mixer at medium speed until well creamed, at least two minutes. Add eggs and beat well. Add banana, vanilla, and coffee; beat on low speed until blended. Add flour mixture; combine just until moist. Stir in walnuts; spoon batter into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack before attempting to slice or bread will crumble.

Enjoy!

For more traditional banana bread recipes, check out
Simply Recipes Banana Bread
Bunnyfoot's Vegan Banana Bread

FOOD + BREAD

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

I keep hearing that it's autumn now, all the magazines say so and school has started again, although technically I suppose the calendar has not quite caught up.  But here in NYC, it still feels a lot like summer.  We had a near-90 degree day this week, after all.  Still, I love autumn and honestly I'm quite ready for it.  So I don't mind bringing a little of that season in even when the weather is not quite cooperating.

I was flipping through (I'm a little embarrassed to say) Food & Family magazine which I've been getting free in the mail since my college days when I was so intimidated by cooking I avoided lighting up the stove altogether.  Normally this is not quite my type of thing, too many processed products being dumped into a pot. But they had the idea for twice-baked sweet potatoes, so I must give credit where credit is due.

Actually, I thought these were some serious grub.  But, and it might sound obvious, you must like sweet potatoes, and not just have the kind of tolerance for them reserved for those once-a-year dishes.  You have to really like them, otherwise, don't bother.  This is more about the idea than the recipe, since I didn't really measure.  Use what you like in the quantities you prefer. 

Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes (I may have had yams.  I have yet to really understand the difference)

A little cream cheese, just enough to make it a bit creamy

A dash of milk (any kind you wish)

Some brown sugar

A bit of cinnamon

A handful of walnuts (or pecans, or...)

Set the oven to 425, cut your sweet potatoes in half, and lay them cut side down on a foil-lined cookie sheet.  Bake for around 30 minutes, until they are soft.

Scoop out the centers into a bowl, leaving the skins intact. Mix it up with all of the other ingredients and then dump everything back into the potato skins. Bake another 8 minutes or so until everything is heated through.  Enjoy!

Who Am I?

No, my name isn't really Loulou.

(obviously there are a few of you who already know this...)

When I started this blog I wanted to remain anonymous for several reasons, but as each year passes those reasons become less and less important. So I've decided to dispense with all of this cloak-and-dagger business.

But before I tell you, there are the questions: Why Loulou? Why Chez Loulou?
I get asked this a lot.
First, Loulou is a name that I've always loved. Growing up I liked my first name, but always wanted something more unique, something with more flair.
Then, when we moved to France, my husband and I decided to take "French" names/alter egos as a joke between us, and it just kind of grew from there.
I am Loulou and he is Bruno. (Not to worry though, we still use our real names in our day to day lives. I don't go around introducing myself as Loulou or anything. I'm not that weird.)
And when I decided to start a blog back in January of 2006, I chose the name Chez Loulou on a whim. Simple as that.


Oh yeah, my real name. Hi, I'm Jennifer Greco.
Nice to meet you.

Kona kampachi Ceviche: Recipe

I know, it's February and I ought to be singing the praises of cabbage and turnips but frankly I'm not in the mood. The sun is shining, the weather is warm and I feel like celebrating with something tropical and refreshing. I need a break from Winter. Right now. And ceviche is just the ticket.

Knowing that the ocean's resources are rapidly being depleted, we should all be concerned with the sustainability of our seafood. The problem with seafood harvested in the wild is that it has the potential to drop below sustainable levels. You probably know what has happened to cod populations and tuna may not be far behind. Also in some instances the pollution and chemical levels in wild fish is not very healthy. On the other hand some farmed seafood practices can lead to pollution and disease which can harm wild populations. There is no hard and fast rule. In some instances we should buy wild, in other instances farmed seafood.

Kona Blue, the company that produces Kona kampachi was founded by two marine biologists who wanted to find a way to raise fish that would be healthy for the the ocean, the fish and for human consumption. For me, tilapia is mealy and bland though inexpensive and sustainable. While Kona kampachi is relatively expensive, it's worth every penny. Similar to a type of Jack or Kahala, it's high in healthy fat, has fantastic moist firm texture and luscious flavor. While it is not local, the company is looking into different locations around the world to minimize shipping distances and lower cost.They are also working to help establish organic standards for farmed seafood.

I've had the chance to try this fish cooked and raw and while it's good cooked, it's just amazing raw. I hesitate to give a recipe for ceviche because you really should make it to taste. This is how I make it, but by all means, add, subtract, experiment and make something yummy. I tried it with red chile flake, with yuzu kosho and with a combination of both and it was delicious every which way. Chilling the fish to make it easy to dice.

Kona kampachi Ceviche
makes 2 cups

1 cup Kona kampachi, diced (about 6 ounces)
3/4 cup corn, cooked (fresh or good quality canned or frozen)
1/2 avocado, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (or more to taste)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used a blood orange olive oil for more flavor)
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes, fresh chile, yuzu kosho or combination.

Gently combine all the ingredients and allow the fish to marinate for at least 10 minutes. Serve with plenty of tortilla chips.

Enjoy!

Head. Feels. Like. It's. Going. To. Explode.

And I'm so stuffed up that I can hardly breathe.

All I wanted to get done today is the post I've been working on about the fantastic, rich Civet de Lièvre that I made last weekend with the hare our neighbor gave us.

Instead I'm going to lie on the couch and drink hot tea and try to get the crammed-with-cotton sensation out of my brain so I can think and type coherently.

Until then...

Seattle(st)’s Best Egg Nog

Over at Seattlest, I’m revealing the age-old secrets of my family’s egg nog recipe, passed down from my maternal great-grandfather J. P. Hartt. This is the stuff of legends, dear reader, and it’s been corrupting the youth of my family for generations. We’ve never been a video-camera kind of gang, but our one family gathering on tape, the Christmas of 1987, is now famous for my (then)

The last hurrah, II

Alright, world. Today I have just three words for you, and I hope you’ll remember them, because it’s important. They are brown, and buttered, and corn. They’re what you’ll be having for dinner tonight, if you know what’s good for you. I certainly hope you do.Of course, now that I’ve said that, I should admit that I won’t be having any, I fear, but you shouldn’t let that stop you. It’s just

Photo du Jour - Old Wine Press

Part of the 19th century wine presses in the cellars of le Château de Perdiguier.

Favorite Things: Sonoma Syrup Co. Vanilla Crush

Vanilla is intoxicating. It has a warm, relaxing bouquet that is heady and lush. A pantry staple it is traditionally combined with chocolate but it also rounds out citrus flavors and even provides a counterpoint to seafood. Like saffron, vanilla is so labor-intensive to harvest that there is no way to get it cheaply, if you want the good stuff. Vanilla orchid blossoms bloom only one day a year and have to be hand-pollinated then they take around nine months to mature. After being picked, by hand of course, they are bathed, wrapped in blankets, dried in the sun, sweated and fermented. Whew!

Vanilla comes from the exotic locations of Madagascar, Mexico and Tahiti. Madagascar Bourbon vanilla is rich and sweet, the beans thin. Mexican vanilla is smooth and rich, but very rare these days. Tahitian vanilla beans are thick, dark and more aromatic, but less flavorful.

So which one should you buy? Easy. Sonoma Syrup's Pure Vanilla Bean Extract "Crush" of Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla with vanilla bean seeds. That way you pretty much get it all. The flavor, the scent, and the texture. An all natural product with no added sugar, it's so good it just won the Sante magazine Gold Star Award (in the March/April 2006 edition).

How come no one thought of combining Madagascar and Tahitian vanilla before? I can't say. While I sometimes hesitate to share products with less than wide distribution, now through the end of the month you can purchase this fabulous vanilla online for only $11.50 for 8 ounces. That's half off the regular price and a steal if you ask me. A bottle that size will last you a very long time. Go. Get some.

FOOD + VANILLA

A weekend in Geneva.

Last Friday afternoon I headed for Geneva, Switzerland, where I spent a wonderful weekend with very good friends. Geneva is 320 miles (500 km) from Paris, it can be reached in only 3 1/2 hours thanks to the marvellous French High Speed Train (TGV). The weather at destination was gorgeous, blue sky and 76 F. I have been numerous times to this very international city, therefore I did not go with a list of "must-see" things and I let my hosts organize the outings. The region around the Leman lake is a well known wine producing area, and last weekend was a very active one as the grape harvest took place. During the grape harvest the scenery is always beautiful! The orderly vines loaded with heavy and generous grapes were beautiful to look at. We stopped at one place that announced: "Grapes for free" and strolled in the vines admiring the stunning beauty of the landscape - and eating the sweet free bounty!
Saturday the weather was as beautiful too, and my hosts had the best plans I could expect!

Sailing on lac Leman was new to me, so I promtly accepted the invitation! Lac Leman is in the border of France and Switerland - I am sure you all know Evian water, bottled on the French side of Lac leman. After sailing, a night walk in the old city was also a welcome option. No cars, a gentle breeze, a bit of music, people gazing and strolling, cafes and restaurants with tables outside, the premises to a good time were thus reunited. We walked into a brasserie to have a little something to eat. I had a plate of Viande de Grisons, a cold cut typical from the canton of Grisons, in Northern Switzerland. Viande de Grisons is made with lean beef ternderloin that is seasoned, compressed, and kept for several weeks in very cold temperature (almost freezing), before being cured in the fresh air. As you can easily guess, it was a way to preserve beef throughout the cold winter.My friend, an "habitue" of this brasserie, ordered a good red Chamoson wine - with lots of character! It is made with Humagne Rouge grapes, a variety that grows also in the Rhine. On Sunday we drove along the lake, from little town to little twon, and bumped into a "brocante" where the items were very different from the ones one finds in Paris. Here, used clothes are everywhere. I stopped to have a look at this black velvet jacket - I had a very similar one 10 years ago that I loved! What about buying a bell for your cows? Or a scale, or old chairs, new tables, a model sailboat, chinaware and more. The stroll was so delightful that I did not want to leave .... A bientot Geneva!

What's Happening Here in France

Seems like I haven't written about France much lately. And I've hardly cooked a thing in three weeks, so there hasn't been much to write about that either. I was looking forward to settling back in to "life in general" here in our little village when a call came Monday afternoon from my sister in California. Our mom had been checked back into the hospital Sunday night and was needing surgery as soon as they could get the raging infection in her body under control. I'll spare you the details, but she's been sick for a couple of months and was in the hospital two weeks ago, but it looked like everything was ok. It wasn't.
Surgery took place last night, everything went well and she should be heading home from the hospital Sunday or Monday. My sister is going there today to help and I'm heading back to Spokane, Washington on Tuesday morning to be there when my sister has to go home.
So, "life in general" is being put on hold until I return on the 19th of March. I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that I have to head back across the pond. Another 20 hours of airplanes and airports. Merde.

Until Tuesday I plan on getting over the virus I contracted last week either on the airplanes, airports or in New Orleans and enjoy some cooking!
I'm making dinner for six tomorrow night and want to try either a coconut chicken curry or a chicken and potato curry recipe that I found on Hooked on Heat and some vegetable side dish with cauliflower.
Spring is definitely in the air which means driving at night is a toad obstacle course. They're out and trying to mate and they're all over the place! The almond trees are in bloom and the bulbs are coming up. We're looking forward to asparagus and strawberries and sitting outside in the sun.

Instant Potato Gnocchi: Recipe

It should come as no surprise that I never jumped on the low-carb bandwagon. How could I? My idea of heaven is a big plate of potato gnocchi smothered in tomato sauce and with a slight crust of baked Parmesan and unctuous mozzarella. You've got to admit, a gratin of gnocchi is awfully enticing.

Gnocchi has pretty much been my nemesis. I just can't seem to make them as light and fluffy as they are at my neighborhood Italian restaurant. I've tried the packaged varieties. Yuck. I've tried mixes with some success. And I've tried countless recipes--baking the potatoes on a bed of rock salt, steaming the potatoes, fanning them. And then it dawned on me, if the problem is getting the potatoes dry enough, why not start with actual dry potatoes? Instant mashed potatoes! I bought a box and started experimenting.

I wish I could say that this recipe is entirely original. But I got the idea in my head and promptly found I wasn't the only one. On the internet there are a whole host of versions. But this is how I made it. They may not be as divine as truly homemade, from scratch, at my neighborhood trattoria, but they were pretty darn good!

Instant Potato Gnocchi
serves 2 -4 (main course/first course)

1 egg
1 Cup instant mashed potatoes
1 Cup flour
1 Cup boiling water
pinch salt
1/4-1/2 Cup flour for rolling the dough

Beat the egg in a large bowl. Mix in the instant potato flakes. Stir in the salt and about half of the flour. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon. Mix in the rest of the flour and combine well. The dough should be very sticky.

Place the dough on a floured board. Break the dough into four pieces. Roll each piece in the flour, making a long snake shape. Cut into gnocchi using a knife or a pastry scraper. Roll the gnocchi off the back of a fork to make a slightly concave shape with indentations. Toss finished gnocchi into a bowl with flour to keep them from sticking together.

Cook in boiling water until they float. Drain and serve with tomato sauce. Or bake the cooked gnocchi with sauce and cheese.

Enjoy!

Moules Marinières

This is one of the easiest recipes.

Plump, juicy mussels in a white wine, garlic and shallot sauce. Plenty of French bread to soak up the sauce. A glass of the remaining white wine.
Perfection!




Moules Marinières
serves 4

extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 pounds live mussels, rinsed and debearded just before cooking
handful of chopped fresh parsley
black pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium low heat.
Sauté the shallot and garlic until translucent.
Add the wine and boil until reduced slightly.
Add the mussels, cover, and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the mussels open, then cook for an additional minute.
Remove from the heat, evenly divide the mussels among 4 shallow soup bowls, sprinkle with parsley and black pepper, and pour the cooking juices over all.
Serve immediately.

Orange Juice and Olive Oil Cake with Pine Nuts

One more from Tessa Kiros's Apples for Jam.  Her recipe makes two 8 1/2 inch cakes, and they are the picture of simplicity.  For me, the batter was rather thick as I folded in the egg whites, almost elastic.  It turned out to be quite a nice snacking cake, and although Ms. Kiros suggests giving one to a friend (which is actually what I did) I can also imagine it as a lovely layer cake sandwiching a coating of citrus curd.  

Orange Juice and Olive Oil Cake with Pine Nuts

4 eggs, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup olive oil

3 1/3 cups flour

1 heaping teaspoon baking powder

Zest of 1 orange

1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (Kiros suggests 4 oranges, but I found 3 to be sufficient)

1/2 cup pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 350, grease 2 8 1/2 inch springform pans with olive oil and flour.  Whip the egg whites until they're firm, then whip the yolks with the vanilla until they attain some body and become foamy.  Whisk in the sugars, then gradually add the olive oil, mixing well.  Add the flour, baking powder, orange zest and juice and beat until the batter becomes smooth.  Gently fold in the egg whites.  

Divide the batter between the two pans and sprinkle the top of each with the pine nuts.  Bake for 35 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool before serving.

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I'm going to be out of town for a few days.  I'll be back in the middle of next week, hopefully with some interesting food discoveries from Norway.

Like winter and warmth

Hi, friends.I’m writing this from Oklahoma City, from my old bedroom in my mother’s house, where I used to, as a teenager, write gushy poems about 18-year-old boys with sideburns. I had a real thing for 18-year-old boys with sideburns. I don’t anymore.I now have a thing for whiskey-soaked dark chocolate Bundt cakes. They hold their liquor better. Among other things.I can’t talk for long today,

Contest Winners & New Book of Middle Eastern Food

Congratulations to Elissa, Joan and Alison. The answer was indeed LOVE.

"One's eating shows one's love"

I found this quote in Claudia Roden's wonderful cookbook, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food. This is a gorgeous book and if you are looking for a very comprehensive type of Middle Eastern cookbook I strongly suggest you buy it. Of course I am not the first to recommend it, it was originally published in 1972 and hailed by James Beard as "a landmark in the field of cookery".

One of the lovely features of Roden's book is that she includes quotes, fairy tales, ancient cookbook recipes, anecdotes and stories from Nasr-ed-din Khoja. For those not familiar with Khoja, these delightful fables give you a romantic version of the Middle East sadly missing these days. A scholar and a trickster Khoja's tales are funny and endearing. There are many sites that also share these tales you can find some here and here.

Here is a typical one:

A beggar knocked on the Khoja's door and said, "Allah has directed me to this house for a good meal."

"I am sorry, but you have the wrong house," replied the Khoja. Then pointing to a nearby mosque, he continued, "Allah lives over there."

Thank you to everyone who participated and for those who did not win, I am happy to announce you will have a second chance to win a copy of The Language of Baklava next week over on Bay Area Bites where there will be another contest next Wednesday. Stay tuned...

Photo du Jour - Bells

Bells perched on the top of an 11th century church in the Minervois.

All so pretty

Hello, hello.I can’t stay for long, but I just had to pop in. I had to thank you for all your words of wedding wisdom last week. You’ll be happy, I think, to know that things are much better - much calmer - around here. It’s not that there’s any less going on, really. Our wedding is 12 days away, so there are plenty of things to do. It’s just that this week’s things are much better than last

Photo du Jour

Smiling dragonfly.

This little fellow/gal was making these loud clicking sounds while I was out in the vines yesterday, snapping some photos.
I heard a noise but couldn't locate the source as its vibrant green color blended in with the grape vine leaves. It wasn't timid at all and let me get quite close to take its photo.