CQ HQ May 2008

I didn't even get around to writing CQ HQ for April, but I have really enjoyed writing my CQ posts lately, after February's period of soul-searching and doubt.

As I look back over the last few months, I have some positive points to report:

1. Readership -- or at least page viewing -- is way up on CQ. In fact, it has surpassed my truest blog love, La France Profonde. Someone pointed out that this is normal, because there is a lot more interest in French cooking than in the Aveyron department! Oh well...

I'm not a big stat-follower, but it is still encouraging to see an upswing of interest in this site -- and it has led to more enthusiasm for the posts I write. So if FP comes from my soul, CQ is finally starting to come from the heart.

2. I joined a bloggers' network, Foodbuzz, a while back. I honestly don't go to it enough or use its social networking function, but it is a perky food site and I recommend you take a look. They have come through with an early promise to fund some redesign on my cooking blog, and that will be taking place over the summer. And I have just taken in FOUR BIG DOLLARS of advertising income from them for January. Hey, that's a Starbucks coffee this summer in the USA, right? (Although not in France where I recently learned on a trip to Paris that Starbucks drinks run at almost 5 euros -- I can imagine the chagrin of American tourists paying for their Starbucks fix under the current exchange rate!)

3. I have let go of the pressure to post often to CQ, having decided that a well-developed post once a week may be all I can handle for the moment, and is more pleasant to write than "posts just to post."

So basically, I'm looking forward to cooking since spring has finally sprung here, I'm planning on posting perhaps less often but well, and I can't wait for Madeline's redesign over the summer!

Cheers!

How I hit the hard-ball stage

A couple of well-meaning readers have recently inquired into the foundations of my relationship with food, or, more succinctly, the origins of this thing I call Orangette. As the following amply demonstrates, such seemingly harmless questions can be downright dangerous when combined with an afternoon of digging in the archives, both online and off. What follows comes to you straight from a

Contest Winner

The object of my affection? What is made from sugar, water, pistachio, hazelnut, almonds, coconut, carrot, and citric acid?

Answer: Cezerye also spelled cezeriya

Cezerye is a type of lokum or Turkish delight. It is rumored to have aphrodisiac properties but if so, it's only managed to make me fall in love with eating it!

Two Turkish bloggers have written about it, check out their posts at Yogurtland and Rustic.

Congratulations to the winner, Raedia!

FOOD

Medjool:Restaurant Review

In the Mission district of San Francisco there is no shortage of good places to eat. Valencia street between 16th and 22nd in particular, is a culinary corridor. You can choose from Indian, Nuevo Latino, Italian, Vietnamese, Spanish, Mexican, American, Japanese, Chinese, Vegetarian, Vegan--you name it. Some of the City's most interesting restaurants are there, interspersed with hip boutiques, bars, cafes, music stores and furniture shops.

But Mission street is another story. Just two blocks away, Mission is still a street in transition, though there are a few gentrified spots, including Minako, Cha Cha Cha, Bruno's and one of my favorites, Foreign Cinema. And now there is Medjool. Medjool consists of a cafe, restaurant and bar. Just a couple of doors down from Foreign Cinema it is yet another "small plate" style place. But here the prices are reasonable, topping out at $12 for a fish or steak plate. The interior is kind of swinging 60's meets Middle Eastern--lots of rich orange and gold tones and Aladdin-style lamps.

This week Medjool hosted it's opening night party and it was full of politicos. Mayor Gavin Newsom, supervisor Tom Ammiano, and the gonzo political columnist Warren Hinckle along with his sad-faced basset hound were in attendance. But aside from the speeches and congratulations and even, would you believe ribbon cutting? there was food. Being passed around were deliciously soft mini pita pizzettas with olive, red pepper and feta, perfectly cooked harissa crusted hangar steak kebabs, and pita crisps with a black bean hummus. The least successful bites were the endive filled with tabouli salad and grilled shrimp and skewers of chicken with an almond pomegranate sauce. Also on hand were platters of hummus and baba gahnoush which were both quite tasty and tangy. While it's not fair to judge a place on opening night alone, it is a wonderful space and the food I tried would certainly encourage me to return.

Medjool
2522 Mission Street (between 21st and 22nd Streets)
San Francisco
Phone: 415.550.9055

Cafe: Continuous Service
7am-6:30pm Monday- Friday,
8am-3pm Sat. & Sun.

Restaurant & Lounge:
6:30-10pm Monday- Friday,
until 10:30pm Fri. & Sat.

Bar:
5:30pm-1:30am
Bar Menu Served: 10pm-1:30am

Plate Lunch, Redux

When you come to Hawaii, you have to try a plate lunch. Plate lunches are the ubiquitous "blue plate special" in Hawaii. They consist of some kind of protein like breaded chicken or pork cutlet, beef teriyaki, fried mahi mahi, etc., two scoops of white rice and one scoop of Hawaiian style macaroni salad (which is about equal parts macaroni and mayonnaise!). While tasty, filling and relatively inexpensive, usually somewhere around $5, traditionally they are not very healthy and not very fancy. But that's not always the case. In fact, plate lunches can be healthy, and sometimes surprisingly sophisticated.

Many take out places and drive-ins are offering a choice of brown rice and green salad in addition to the standard white rice and mac salad. There are healthier choices of protein as well, even a fast food chain like L & L Drive Inn now offers "Healthy Plate Lunches" with garlic shrimp, garlic ahi or mahi, salmon patties and grilled chicken.

In Honolulu there are chefs with experience cooking at fancier restaurants who own more casual spots that specialize in plate lunches, offering amazingly fine food for the price, though don't expect table service and anything fancy in terms of presentation. Every time I come to Hawaii I seek out these hot spots. Here are three that that I recommend trying:


First off, Kahai Street Kitchen. Located in an industrial part of Kalihi right across the street from my beloved Ethel's Grill, this take out place has only 2 tables so like most customers you'll probably want to pick up your meal and enjoy it elsewhere. Check out the daily specials online. I had the Hong Kong Stuffed Chicken and it was filled with shiitake mushrooms, lup chong or Chinese sausage, dried shrimp, peanuts and sticky rice. It was outstanding, a perfectly balanced dish and a very large portion that I couldn't finnish in one sitting. I ordered it with salad, no rice and it cost $7.75. My only disappointment was in the salad dressing which didn't taste homemade.


Nico's at Pier 38 is located next to the Honolulu Fish Auction building and there is plenty of parking, though like Kahai Street Kitchen you'll need a car to get there. While there is no indoor seating, there are lots of outdoor picnic tables, some with a view of the harbor. My top pick is the Fried Tuna Belly which comes with two large pieces of ahi topped with a special lomi tomato salsa. This portion for $8.40 easily served 2 people. It was excellent and definitely worthy of a sit down restaurant.

Kaka'ako Kitchen also serves up gourmet lunch plates. Tucked away in the back of the Ward Center Shopping center you'll typically find a line of people waiting to order. I particularly like their salads, like the Ahi Chop Salad, with fresh Nalo greens, crunchy noodle strips and rare chunks of seared tuna, but the prices are a bit higher here and the salad is about $11. Baked goods are really good here though frankly portion sizes have drastically shrunk in the past year or so.

Savoie Raclette

Back in Paris we have recreated the Alps atmosphere with a Raclette. Raclette is the name of a traditional dish. Long ago, the large half cheese was put close to the fireplace, and the melted cheese would be scrapped (this its name, raclette from "racler") and served on a plate. The traditional garnish for this melted cheese is dry raw ham, boiled potatoes, pickled cornichons and onions. The dish was served in restaurants and the manipulation costy, as one person had to be next to the cheese watching it melt. Then came the infrared raclette appliance, which reproduced the fireplace, and had a stand to hold the cheese. In the '80, the most used Raclette Grill was introduced - as I recall Italians from the Aosta valley used it first. Raclette lovers said it will never work, that people would not trade a fire melted raclette for the round little Teflon pans ... time has proved them wrong! This is the way raclette is served everywhere now. The round grills allow a convivial atmosphere everybody enjoys.

A white dry wine from the Alps blends perfectly well with this dish.

Katie's Colors

I must admit I have less "thyme" for food blogging these days...but I have been doing plenty of cooking!

This is partly due to my subscription to Thyme for Cooking, the excellent menu planning service offered by fellow food AND expat blogger Katie...

Here's to you, Katie -- and your great zucchini gratin above!

Marion Nestle on What to Eat

This past weekend I was treated to a Spring Breakfast by the Bay with Marion Nestle, a benefit for CUESA (CUESA operates the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market). It was a most delicious breakfast but I'm not going tell you anything about it because the main attraction was really hearing Marion Nestle speak.

Marion Nestle is the author of What to Eat, (just now out in paperback) Food Politics, and Safe Food. She is Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University. She has strong links to the Bay Area having received her BA, PhD and MPH from UC Berkeley, she also spent a decade on the faculty of UC San Francisco's School of Medicine.

This past Saturday she talked about her latest book What to Eat and how it came to be written after people kept asking her, what should they be eating? She thought the answer was simple enough until she began visiting supermarkets. From the moment she walked in she saw the flowers and produce and was aware of how stores try to keep consumers shopping as long as possible and buying as much as possible. The romance begins from the minute you walk in.

Her visits to supermarkets proved to be very confusing and she described using a scale and a calculator to try to understand how much products actually cost. Romaine lettuce for example was to be found in 7 different forms in the produce section--packaged, organic, conventional, etc. She wanted simple answers to questions like was the food in the store genetically modified, and was organic worth the price difference, but answers proved impossible to find.

While most of what she talked about was not new information, the way she wove it together was very new. For example she talked about how many things are frustrating in our lives and how we feel we can do nothing about big issues like the war in Iraq or terrorism. But we can have an impact on the food we eat and what we buy. She talked about how the school food movement, the animal rights movement, the slow food movement and the organic movement are all coming together to form a new consciousness about food that seems to be sweeping the country.

How can we see an improvement in the food we eat? Many factors need to be addressed--she pointed to the fact that the FDA only inspects 1% of food coming into the US, that we produce much more food than we should be eating, and that the pressure on big food companies to sell more to please shareholders are all impacting our food choices. Her belief is that food marketing aimed at children crosses an ethical line and should be limited. She also believes that smaller portion sizes will help curb obesity in adults as well as children. But ultimately she pointed to election reform as necessary to counterbalance the influence of big companies in government. What to Eat has been on my reading list for a while now, and after hearing Dr. Nestle speak, I am even more eager to read it. You can read some exerpts from the book here. A special thanks to Alison for the invitation to breakfast.

FOOD

La Fête du Fromage - Chèvre Frais

Our local market boasts a hairy, wild looking guy who shows up in his battered van every week selling locally made chèvre and fresh eggs. He is actually very sweet and approachable, and yesterday gave me an extra piece of cheese as un petit cadeau. Needless to say, I'm enamored.

His little buttons of goat cheese are sold in four stages of affinage;
frais, mi-frais, mi-sec and sec. Over the last year I have tasted the frais and the mi-sec, so this week I decided to bring home one of each and do a little taste test.



The plump, snowy white chèvre frais is fresh, milky and tangy tasting. Fresh as in green grasses and tangy as in sour and citrusy. Its texture is fluffy and light, and it crumbles rather than slices when cut into.
This is the kind of chèvre that deserves to be drizzled with honey or served with a spoonful of fruit confiture. I can also imagine it spread thickly on a slice of rustic olive bread.



The chèvre mi-frais is also crumbly and is the tiniest bit chalky. Surprisingly, it is the mildest of the four. Its tangy and sour flavors are much more mellow than the chèvre frais and there is no hint of goatiness. It has a wonderful, rich mouthfeel and a sweet, milky flavor.



My favorite of the four is the chèvre mi-sec. It is the essence of a perfectly ripened, well balanced fermier goat cheese. It is very finely textured and quite chalky and the flavor starts out delicate and soft, then opens up into a rich, mildly salty and perfectly "goaty" goat cheese.



The most mature, smallest and wrinkliest of the four, chèvre sec, was my least favorite. It seemed too sour and ripe and overly infused with barnyard, goat flavors. The hints of mushroom and herbs were nice, but the other flavors took over. This cheese is buttery smooth and dense and I'm sure it has some fans. Just not me.


Along with the cheese taste test, I did a wine pairing taste test. Neither the Minervois red nor rosé worked with any of these chèvres. But the Vin de Pays d'Oc white from our local co-op, les Trois Blasons, was fantastic!



Just a reminder: Join me for the 8th Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event in May, please have your entries to me by May 13. I'll post the round-up on May 15.

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

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

Good Day Sunshine

A big thanks to all who braved the rain and came out to see me in my "guest baker" role in the one-woman show "I Look Like An Egg, But I Identify As A Cookie". I had a great time and enjoyed chatting with folks after the show, over cookies of course. This was the second time I saw the show and it's really a great slice of life. You don't have to be Canadian, gay, Jewish or even from the Bay Area to laugh at Heather's view of the world.

This week is a crazy busy one for me, but I look forward to posting a restaurant review and a new recipe here as well as another Take 5 interview over at Bay Area Bites . Meanwhile if you haven't yet read last week's Take 5 with Jarrett Byrnes of Food Porn Watch, do check it out.

Oh, and here's to daylight savings time. Bring on the sun!

cheers,

Amy

Oh goodness here we go

It’s awfully quiet in here.If you’re there, dear reader, welcome to the beginning.That’s right, Molly’s blogging! As I'm already learning, you have to take yourself pretty seriously to do this. For as long as I can remember, whenever someone has asked what my pet peeve is (honestly, I'm kind of averse to the idea of pet peeves, but that's another story for another time), I’ve replied, “People who

Mostarda: Recipe

I spent a year living in Europe, and six months of that was in Italy. Having eaten a lot of Italian food, I like to think I understand it, perhaps just a little. In fact, whenever I try to recreate an Italian dish I think back to earlier versions that I've eaten. What was it that I liked about it? What was the essence of the dish?

In all my time in Italy, I don't remember trying mostarda. It's not surprising really because the most well-known versions come from Veneto, Lombardia and Piemonte. Most of my time was spent in Tuscany. But I still think I understand mostarda, just a bit. It's like an Italian chutney I suppose. Don't make the mistake of translating it as "mustard". Mostarda does have a little bit of mustard in it, but it's really a combination of preserved fruit in syrup with a bit of a kick. The kick comes from mustard oil, mustard essence, dry mustard, mustard seeds or some combination thereof. Other ingredients include sugar or honey, wine, vinegar and sometimes citrus juice.

When I am developing a recipe, I often look for several variations then strike off on my own. The recipes I found for mostarda varied greatly--some used dry fruit, others fresh fruit. Some cooked slowly others cooked quickly. Some had lots of mustard, others barely a pinch. My own experiment lead me to this conclusion: Mostarda is very forgiving and can easily be made to your own taste. You can taste as you go and make changes. Here's how I made my first version. Please note all amounts are approximations. I'm including the links to the recipes that influenced my own recipe. Mario Batali's version at the Food Network, one from About.com's Italian Food section, Food and Wine's recipe and a particularly tedious thread on eGullet on the subject.

My Mostarda
makes about 3 cups

1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
6 small apricots cut into quarters
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 cup white wine
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons light mustard seeds
1 Tablespoons dry mustard powder

Place the dried fruit in a non-reactive saucepan and barely cover with water. Add the sugar, wine and vinegar. Simmer very gently for 10 minutes. Add the fresh fruit, mustard seeds and mustard powder and continue just barely simmering for another 10 minutes. The fruit should hold it's shape but be supple and moist. Taste for seasonings. Add more water or wine or mustard as you wish. The finished product should be somewhat thick and syrupy. Serve with pate, charcuterie, cheese, or a boiled dinner like bollito misto. Store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

READ MORE Over at Bay Area Bites is my take on the Ultimate Food & Wine Pairing

FOOD

On The Road Again

Subscribers to the Cooking with Amy newsletter already know that I am going out of town for a few days. In fact I'm heading up to Oregon to see some Shakespeare plays in Ashland and up the coast to visit with my adorable niece and nephew. As usual, I will try to post from the road, but no promises!

In the meantime you can read my interview with the wine director and sommelier of hip new restaurant Jack Falstaff over at Bay Area Bites today. And I've also refreshed and rearranged some the of the links on the left hand navigation. If you click on the rating sites, Blog Top Sites or Top 100 Bloggers you may discover some other sites of interest, you never know!

cheers,

Amy

Reason Three: Coffee on every Corner

Forget what you've heard about a "nice cuppa" and the British obsession for tea-time. And forget old horror stories about British coffee. Call it rampant globalization if you like, but London has wholeheartedly adopted the coffee culture. I found coffee on every corner, and Londoners were much more likely to be guzzling java on the sidewalk than lingering over high tea. The city must have at least as many Starbucks, and Starbucks wannabes, as Seattle.

I know Starbucks exists in Paris now, but there is nothing equivalent here in La France Profonde. I'm not saying there should be, but I admit that I enjoyed boosting my energy level with a few lattes and mochas in London.

Potluck Posts 10/17

If things have seemed a little quiet around here, it's because I've been busy traveling, writing and developing recipes. Since many of you have asked, each week I will be sharing links to recipes and posts I have written. Thanks for your interest and enjoy the Potluck Posts!

Last month I was in Switzerland and this month I had a quick trip to Wisconsin to visit cheesemakers and dairies and to eat cheese; my thanks to the trip sponsor, Wisconsin Cheese. You'll be hearing more about the trip and my discoveries soon. For now, let me just say, it was wonderful. Those kohlrabi are from the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison, Wisconsin, and the picture is in honor of one of my new friends, Greg of Sippity Sup, who I met on the trip.

In between my trips, I had the pleasure of hearing the very inspiring chef Rene Redzepi of restaurant Noma speak. My post on Rene Redzepi and Noma, is on EpiLog. Also on EpiLog are my posts on Savoring Sichuan Peppercorns, Hot Fresh Cookie Cookbooks, Preserving Heirloom Tomatoes and Wine Tasting Snacks.

Meanwhile on Between Bites at Frommers.com, you'll find my post on Half Moon Bay for the Day.

Recent recipes I developed for MyWinesDirect are a super easy and delicious Pork Tenderloin Crostini with Camembert and Cranberry Sauce that pairs with an elegant Crianza Spanish Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon and a Three Cheese Manicotti.

UPCOMING

Look for my post on Harold McGee's latest book, The Keys to Good Cooking here, on Tuesday, October 19th.

My Next Birthday And A Fun-Filled Afternoon

Telling you this little story means I'm revealing my age, something I'm told a proper French woman should never do.
What the hell, I'm not French yet...

My 40th birthday is coming up this February. (feeling myself break out in a cold sweat - I know it shouldn't bother me, but it does - more about my emotions surrounding my upcoming birthday later)



Where was I? Oh yes.
Turning 40 for a woman usually means that exciting event we all look forward to - The Mammogram.



Wednesday afternoon I had the pleasure of spending two hours in a clinic, waiting to meet Sophie. And no, that's not the name of the doctor.
This lovely machine pictured above is Sophie. How do I know that it's name is Sophie, you might ask? Because "her" name is written in green across the top of the machine. Seriously. Just enlarge the photo and you'll see.

So I have to ask...
Why give it a female name? Is that supposed to make me feel better while "she" is smashing my boobs between "her" two compressor plates?

Just wondering...



A side note: It was painless and absolutely necessary. Ladies, don't put off having your mammograms!

How To Eat:Cookbook

I was very fortunate to grow up in a household of eaters. My family genuinely enjoyed food, and still does. My parents grew fruit and vegetables and even raised chickens for a while. No one was a picky eater and we all ate dinner together every night. My mom did the cooking in those days and she was a fabulous cook. She even baked bread and canned fruits and vegetables and made jams. Later after my dad retired he took the lead in the kitchen. While his style is different than my mothers, he's also a talented and creative cook.



So often I meet people who have a difficult relationship to food. Their parents were not good cooks. They didn't enjoy each others company at mealtimes. They battled weight problems or health issues or childhood traumas that has lead to a diminished experience of food today. So who is the cookbook author for these sad folk? Nigella Lawson that's who.



Nigella Lawson not only loves food but wants to spread the joy. Her joy is of eating food, and being a home cook is a necessity and a pleasure. Her cookbook How to Eat: The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food is not just a "how to" but a "why bother" for those who perhaps never have bothered. Challenging conventional wisdom in regards to cookbooks, Nigella divides her recipes into sections such as basics, cooking in advance, one and two, fast food, low fat and weekend lunch. While those of us who love to cook might think this way about our recipes, it's refreshing for a writer to actually organize a book this way.



Another element of this book that makes it unique is the attitude. Or lack thereof. Nigella has long proclaimed she is not a chef, and recipes such as the one that intersperses the instructions to "draw your bath" in between making the pasta and the sauce, loosen the strict rigidity of by-the-book cooking. While some of her recipes are particularly British like Treacle Tart, mostly they reflect the way we cook and eat today--buying the best products we can, in season and cooking them to bring out their best rather than to impress. If you've been looking for a book that will show you how someone cooks things in real life as opposed to a restaurant or a test kitchen, this is your book.

Foodie BlogRoll

Jenn, the Left Over Queen has created a fabulous, growing list of foodie bloggers called, appropriately, The Foodie BlogRoll.
The list has introduced me to some great new sites, so have a look or ask to join!

La Fête du Fromage - Séchon de l'Ardèche

This petit chèvre packs a serious punch!

When I choose this little cheese at my favorite Fromagerie in Narbonne, the woman behind the counter told me, actually it was more of a warning, that it was a very dry and strong cheese. "Oui, oui, d'accord," I replied, thinking, bring it on lady, I'm no cheese virgin.

Well, she was right to give warning.

Séchon de l'Ardèche may look like an innocent, little, wrinkly goat's cheese, but it surprisingly potent!
In a really, really good way.


The Ardèche is a rural département in southern France that is known for its rugged, natural beauty, stunning scenery, chestnuts, charcuterie and an AOC goat's cheese, Picodon de l'Ardèche.

Séchon de l'Ardèche is like Picodon on steroids.
Again, in a good way.


The slightly moldy, edible, dry rind breaks open to reveal a brittle, crumbling cheese that has an earthy, tangy and rather goaty aroma. The flavor is rustic and extremely rich and peppery.
The texture -wow! - dense and very, very chewy. It completely coats your mouth with its rich, full texture and flavor.

For those who don't appreciate strong cheeses or "goaty" chèvres, avoid Séchon de l'Ardèche. If you're like me however, and adore them, this is one to try!



Some red Côtes-du-Rhône or white Crozes-Hermitage would be good matches with this piquant cheese.

Basque Piperade in Santa Monica ...

Since I arrived in Santa Monica, California, I have been trying restaurants, as Jin Patisserie, Fig, The Border (Mexican), Houston's (burgers), Don Antonio (Mexican) ...I have been going to the gorgeous beach I see from my living room window (so tempting!), I have been strolling along Ocean avenue under the Los Angeles tall tall palm trees ... and not doing much cooking, though I have been to the Santa Monica market at least once a week, mostly getting fruit and ingredients for salads.
But all is not summer laziness. Last night I prepared a Piperade, a basque dish.PIPERADE BASQUE
Ingredients (serves three):
1 green bell pepper, in slices or stripes
1 white onion, sliced
1 lb ripe tomatoes peeled and cut in four
4 free range eggs, beat with a whisk
1 garlic clove, peeled
6 slices of Serrano ham (in Paris I use Bayonne ham)
3 + 2 Tbsp Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste (In Paris I use Piment d'Espelette)

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a medium frying pan, add the garlic, peppers and onions, let cook over low heat until soft. Add the tomatoes, let cook 10 more minutes, season to taste. Clean the pan.
Beat the eggs, add the vegetables, rectify seasoning.
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in the clean pan. Add the eggs and vegetables, and proceed as with scrambled eggs.
Serve with the ham (in France the ham is cut a bit thicker and I pass it in a hot frying pan before serving)

Bon appetit!

Completely Inauthentic, but Very Tasty Achari Paneer

There are some picky eaters around here, and I am not one of them (which leaves only one, since the dog certainly isn't picky).  But if there is one word that will make R stop, mid suspicious complaint about the strange stuff I've piled on his plate, it's "Indian."  As in Indian food.  I can get absolutely anything by him if I use a little fenugreek and cumin.  Handy.

And speaking of fenugreek (also called methi), it's a spice I only recently discovered, but I swear I could burry my nose in a bag of the stuff and just breath deeply all day.  Is that strange?  Perhaps, but to me fenugreek smells almost like caramel at first, before it gives way to a spicy headiness.  In powdered form, it's a beautiful golden color.  Powdered gold.  

Traditionally, at least as far as I can tell, achari paneer is a preparation of fresh cheese (the paneer) which is coated in a mixture of spiced tomatoes and onions.  I increased the amount of both tomatoes and onions, and made it into a kind of chunky salsa in which little balls of paneer where heated through.  I also adopted some of the ingredients according to what I had on hand, and what was easy for me to get.  And let me tell you, the sauce was delicious.  The smell was almost as good.  Since then, I've been obsessively trying to figure out what else I might douse in my new favorite condiment, after I double or triple the recipe below.

So to Indian food purists, I'm sorry.  This is not real achari paneer.  For those who love Indian flavors, I think you'll enjoy this mixture of masala spices, tomato and onion.  It's single pan cooking, done in a matter of minutes, and with a few spices, is easy to produce in an American kitchen.  Enjoy.

Achari Paneer

Quite a bit adopted from Good Tempered Food by Tamasin Day-Lewis

Sunflower oil for the pan

2 pinches of mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon of ground fenugreek

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

1 small onion, chopped

1 small tomato, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 cup paneer, rolled into little bite-sized balls between the palms of your hands.

salt

sugar

lemon juice

cilantro

Heat the oil in a pan over medium to medium-low heat.  Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the mustard seeds and allow them to pop.  This will only take a moment, and once they're done, add the onion, fenugreek and cumin.  Cook until the onion is brown, then add the tomato.  Cook down for about 10 minutes.

Add the chili powder and coriander and continue cooking for a couple of more minutes.  Drop in the balls of paneer, making sure they are coated with the mixture.  Add salt, a pinch of sugar and a little lemon juice to taste.

Top with some fresh, chopped cilantro and serve.

Notes:

* For the paneer, you can also use a good cottage cheese that's been drained of excess moisture.  To do this, fold a piece of cheese cloth over a bowl and put the cheese in the cloth.  Either hand the cheese wrapped in the cloth over the sink, or  put it over a sieve propped in a bowl.

*  Or you can make your own paneer by following the recipe here.

More leeks!

So I have been using the leeks I brought from Sologne. Yesterday I made a Leek Gratin: easy and delicious!
You need:
4 leeks
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
1 cup soft cream cheese
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp curry (optional)
sea salt to taste.

Heat the oven over medium heat (350 F).
Remove the dark green part of the leeks and wash very well. Cut in slices. Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the leeks, lower the heat, and let cook about 6-7 minutes.
Mix the eggs in a bowl, add the curry, soft cheese and milk.
Remove the leeks from the heat, let cool a few minutes and add to the egg mixture. Taste and rectify seasoning.
Butter (or oil) and flour a pan (I use bread crumbs instead of flour).
Pour the leeks in the pan, bake in the oven about 25 minutes.
Remove and eat warm, with a salad. It's an easy full meal!

Marinated Lamb Loin Chops Recipe

It's traditional to serve leg of lamb or a crown roast for special occasions, but there are other cuts of lamb that are perfect for any old time, like lamb chops. Lamb loin chops are low in fat and an excellent source of protein, vitamin B12, niacin, zinc and selenium. Best of all, lamb loin chops are super easy to prepare. You can grill them, broil them or cook them in a skillet in just minutes.

Sometimes simpler is better. There are recipes loading lamb chops up with ingredients such as herbs, bread crumbs, mustard and blue cheese or smothering them in rich wine sauces studded with dried fruit. But for a weeknight meal, you really can't go wrong with marinated lamb chops. My basic marinade uses balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce. I like Worcestershire sauce because it has lots of umami and boosts the mild yet meaty flavor of American lamb. Because they are so tender and succulent, I serve just one 4-5 ounce loin chop per person.

The American Lamb Board has proclaimed February to be Lamb Lover's Month. In celebration, they sent me some fresh lamb chops and I put together an easy recipe that is great for when you don't have much time on your hands. I served my lamb loin chops with some delicata squash drizzled with maple syrup, a big spinach salad with blue cheese and pecans and some long grain red rice.

When it comes to pairing wine with lamb loin chops, you have many choices, while Syrah is considered a classic match, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon can work too, depending upon the preparation. You can find more lamb recipes on the American Lamb website...or find a silly t-shirt on the Fans of Lamb site.

Marinated Lamb Loin Chops
Serves 4

4 lamb loin chops, about 4-5 ounces each
3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Combine the lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar in a bowl or jar. Place the chops in a zip top plastic bag and add the marinade. Squeeze out as much air as you can and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes but no more than 2 hours in advance of cooking.

Remove the lamb chops from the marinade and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Let chops come to room temperature (about 20-30 minutes).

Heat cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Drizzle chops with olive oil and cook for 3 minutes per side or until medium-rare (145 degrees). Remove lamb chops from pan and let sit loosely covered with aluminum foil for 5 minutes. Alternatively you can broil the chops for 3 minutes per side, then allow to rest.

Enjoy!

Filet Mignon with Red Onion and Tarragon Relish

It occurred to me while making this, that I've made two dishes from Jerry Traunfeld's The Herbfarm Cookbook and both included tarragon.  Which is significant, because I don't cook with tarragon much.  It doesn't seem to have quite taken this country by storm.  As I was chopping the herb for this recipe, I thought it smelled like vanilla.  But as anyone who's tasted it knows, it thinks of itself as anise's more sophisticated older sibling, sharing that same distinctive essential oil tasting of licorice, but combining it with an herbal headiness and mouth-awakening spiciness.  All of this from one little herb.

When buying tarragon, you should look specifically for French tarragon, as opposed to Russian tarragon, which is not as potent in flavor but is easier to grow.  The Russian type will have lighter colored leaves which will be longer, even over two or three inches.  If you can get the good stuff, you'll be rewarded.

And about this dish, I know there's a recession, and so what am I doing preparing filet mignon at home.  I mean seriously.  But these steaks (and several more cuts, actually) were Christmas gifts from my family.  Lucky little girl.

If you're not interested in steak, R ate the leftover relish on potatoes and they would be a unique, assertive addition to a sandwich.

Filet Mignon with Red Onion and Tarragon Relish

Olive oil for the pan

1 large red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh tarragon

Pepper

2 - 4 filets mignon

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil for the pan

For the Relish

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add the onion, sugar and salt. Cook until the onion is soft, but not brown, stirring often. This should take about 5 minutes. Add the red wine and allow the liquid to gently simmer until evaporated, stirring often. About 5 - 10 minutes.

Add the vinegar and tarragon, stirring briefly. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside.

For the Steaks

Season both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper. Don't hold back, do this like you mean it. Heat the oil in the pan over high heat until the oil starts to smoke. Carefully place the steaks in the skillet using tongs, and cook on the first side for about 4-5 minutes. Flip once that side is a deep brown. Continue to cook on the other side until done to your preference. This was about another 3-4 minutes for me (medium rare).

Transfer the steaks to a warm plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

To serve, mound the relish on top of each steak and enjoy.

Notes:

* Remember to bring your steaks to room temperature before cooking so that they heat evenly.

Photo du Jour - An Aveyron View

A view over Bozouls, in Aveyron.

What to do next

Well. After all the baby beets and fancy farro and salmon straight from the boat, I think you’ll be somehow pleased to know that our diet for the next ten days consisted of a lot of French fries, and beer, and Frosted Mini Wheats. I should also mention the Newman’s Own Arrowroot Alphabet Cookies, and the one night that we ate salt-and-vinegar potato chips, cornichons, and an oatmeal cookie for

Totally Pumped up Mac and Cheese

I never really grew up eating much mac and cheese as a child. Not from the box, and my mother never made it. I went through something of an obsession with the mac and cheese at Noodles & Company during college, Noodles being part of that phenomenon of mid-level fast-ish food restaurant chains so popular in suburbia and nowhere to be found in NYC (I don't think).

I've been planning on this particular mac and cheese since Easter, back when I had a bag full of leftover ham. Leftover ham meant to go into this mac and cheese. But I put it off, and put it off, and we snacked on the ham, sneaking bits out of the bag furtively every day until it was gone. And the mac and cheese never made. So I have to admit to you right now, that I've committed quite a sin by leaving out a titular ingredient. I left the ham out of what was supposed to be a Mac and Ham and Cheese, from a book actually called Ham. I wouldn't even post about it except that it was still incredible. I didn't even miss the ham, although I don't doubt for a moment that it would have been a beautiful addition. But with artichoke hearts, mustard, mango chutney and two cheeses, it was hard to really miss anything. All I can say is that if you leave out one of the three main ingredients, and the result is still pretty sublime, well, you're going to want to make this one, that's all.

You can bake it up in a nice large casserole, that would be the easiest and most cook-friendly way to go. But, and this is the only time I'll ever reference a math concept, I prefer a high crunchy, burnt cheese to ooey-gooey cream ratio. I want lots of crusty bits on the sides of the pan, and lots of crusty bits all over the top. So I baked it in little individual casserole dishes which finished off for about 2 minutes under the broiler. We're pretty serious about our burnt cheese around here.

Mac and Cheese where there should have been Ham
Adopted from Ham: An Obsession with The Hindquarter

4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk - I used 2% and you can use anything but skim
12 ounces Gruyère cheese (uumm, Gruyère)
1 pound smoked, wet-cure ham, chopped. It's okay if you inadvertently leave this out. It will still be delicious (but I'm sure the mustard in the recipe plays really well with the ham)
One 15 oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and kind of squeezed with your hands to get out some of the extra liquid
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mango chutney
1 1/2 teaspoon minced dried tarragon (or a tablespoon if you can find it fresh)
12 ounced dried ziti, cooked for about 5 minutes and then drained. Don't cook it for the full time specificed on the package, because they're also going to be baked
1 ounced grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for sprinkling on the top

Oven preheated to 350F, with a wrack in the center.

Make a roux by melting the butter in a large pot over medium heat, then whisk in the flour. Whisk every once in a while until the mixture is off-white, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the milk and continue to whisk until the milk starts to thicken slightly. My stupid burner turned off (because I have a crappy rental kitchen) and I didn't notice, so I think I ended up whisking for about 10 minutes in total once I realized and turned it back on. But you should be fine with around 5 minutes.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in the rest of the ingredients except the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and the pasta. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the ziti.

Pour the mixture into either a large casserole dish or individual gratin dishes or a large, shallow pyrex dish, or a combination of the three. Sprinkle the Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top. Bake for about 35 minutes if it's in a large casserole of pyrex, and for about 20 minutes if it's in smaller dishes. If you're as crazy about burnt cheese as we are, heat up the broiler and give it about 2 minutes in the broiler, but watch it closely so that it doesn't go from "uuumm, burnt cheese" to "this cheese is no longer edible."

Turkey Drumsticks Braised in Cranberry Sauce:Recipe

When you love Thanksgiving as much as I do, you want it to prolong it. One year instead of the traditional Thanksgiving feast at my parents house, we ended up at someone else's house. All was well and good until the following day--no leftovers! One of the best ways to relive the joy of the holiday is by eating a nibble of what you had the night before. So I suggested a second night of Thanksgiving, much like many Jewish holidays that are celebrated two nights in a row. "Who would come?" asked my mother. "We have a turkey" said my father and with that I made a few calls and the first second night of Thanksgiving was born.

Now that I am married, Lee and I spend at least part of the holiday weekend with my parents and part of the weekend with Lee's family. So two nights of Thanksgiving has become the norm for us. But I don't know whether I will ever host Thanksgiving at my house. Our apartment is too small, we only have four chairs and in any case it would be a serious break with tradition.

Cooking a whole or even half a bird for two people is not such a great idea. Too much turkey for two people to eat. My solution is to either roast a turkey breast and feast on turkey sandwiches and soup or to cook turkey legs. Cooking turkey legs mean that both Lee and I get the skin and dark meat we crave. Turkey legs can also be stewed or braised much like a lamb shank until the meat melts off the bone. This week we will have a cranberry relish (the raw one with oranges recipe right on the package) garlic mashed potatoes and probably brussels sprouts. If you want to make Thanksgiving stretch out into next week, consider doing the same. Here's my recipe for braised turkey drumsticks (apologies to Mark Bittman who I stole the idea from)

Turkey Drumsticks Braised in Cranberry Sauce

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 turkey drumsticks
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium onion peeled and sliced
1 cup stock or water, or more as needed
1 can of cranberry sauce, smooth or chunky

Heat oil in deep skillet or casserole large enough for turkey legs to fit comfortably. Turn heat to medium high add turkey legs and cook for a minute, brown on both sides (they will brown unevenly, because of their shape), sprinkling with salt and pepper. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft. Add 1/2 cup liquid and cranberry sauce. Bring to boil, cover and adjust the heat for to a simmer. Cook about 1 1/2-2 hours, checking every 30 minutes and adding more liquid if necessary, until meat is very tender. Taste sauce, and add more salt, pepper, if necessary.

Fork It Over:Book

Imagine that you are a professional food writer. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, might be to eat at Alain Ducasse's restaurant Le Louis XV ten times in five days. Perhaps you'd prefer to be sent undercover in search of famed celebrity chefs at places like Spago, Chez Panisse, Olives, Emeril's Delmonico or Babbo ? Oh and you should check out the food as well. Or for a more down-home experience, how about eating at as many wood-smoked barbecue joints as you can find east of US 1 in North Carolina in four days?



Only one person that I can think of has really accomplished each of those Herculean tasks and then some--Alan Richman. You may have read his columns and articles in GQ, Conde Nast Traveller or Bon Appetit magazines. Now you can follow along on his culinary adventures in a recently released collection of his writings, Fork It Over The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater .



If you aren't familiar with his writing, let's just say Richman is unabashedly opinionated, controversial and passionate about food. He's also an eleven time winner of the James Beard Foundation award. You may not always agree with him but you're bound to enjoy reading about his globetrotting to places like France, Italy, and even Cuba.



Most entertaining are his humorous pieces such as his investigation into early bird dinners in Florida or his experiences infiltrating Paul Bocuse's culinary school in Lyon. Richman is at his best when writing about the things he feels strongly about and not getting too political or caught up in his own personal nostalgia.



Courtesy of HarperCollins I have several copies of Fork it Over which I will send out out to the first five people who can correctly answer my trivia question:



What pastry from Vienna made a big splash at the 1889 Paris World's Fair?

Pretzel, Croissant, Cheese Danish or Sacher Torte



Post your answer in the comments section and be sure to include your email. I will contact the winners to arrange delivery of the books. Please note: members of my immediate family are not eligible to win.

Whole Wheat Mini Pizza: Recipe

In an attempt to eat more whole grain this year, I've switched to whole wheat versions of products I used to buy in more refined form. I buy whole wheat pasta, whole wheat tortillas and whole wheat bread. It's important to make sure wheat bread is whole wheat or you can look for the Whole Grains stamp introduced by the Whole Grains Council (an excellent source of whole grain information), otherwise you may not be getting all the benefits. If you didn't already know, whole grains help reduce the risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, diabetes and help with better weight maintenance. Three servings a day is considered optimal and switching to whole wheat is a good way to do that.

Whole wheat bread is a no-brainer but when it comes to using whole wheat pasta and tortillas I've had to rethink how I cook. Whole wheat pasta has a rougher, rustic style that works particularly well with chunky or nutty sauces and not as well with cream-based or smooth sauces. I like it with broccoli, tomatoes, olives, with a sesame or peanut sauce or a sauce that has bread crumbs or toasted nuts and olive oil.

Whole wheat tortillas are best when crispy, not soft. Both quesadillas or mini pizzas are a fantastic way to use whole wheat tortillas. Lately I have developed a couple of recipes using little rounds of whole wheat tortillas as a crust. I punch out rounds using a biscuit cutter but you could even cut them in quarters if you like. Toasting them in a 400 degree oven on a baking sheet works great. Top them with whatever you like for a thin, crispy crust mini-pizza snack. They are quick to make, tasty, healthy and absolutely delicious. They even look pretty good, don't you think?

Whole Wheat Mini Pizza
serves 2

2 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup grated cheese (whatever you like that melts)
1/4 cup vegetables such as olives, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms or a combination
2 Tablespoons meat (crumbled sausage, bacon, cooked chicken, etc.) optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut 4 rounds from each tortilla. Place them on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until slightly crisp. Top each round with cheese, a sprinkling of vegetables and meat if desired. Return to the oven until cheese has melted, about 3 - 4 minutes.

Enjoy!

Inside the Kitchen--Opening Night Dinner

www.flickr.com

Say what you will about hotel dining, but cooking a meal for 250 diners of this caliber was an impressive feat. Speaking with my charming dining companions the verdict was clear, the scallop dish was a favorite. And how challenging to perfectly sear scallops and cook them so they were not rubbery or undercooked? Oh sure anyone could do that for 10 or maybe even 20 but for 250? The deceptively simple prep with potato mousseline, jus de veau demonstrated that Julian Serrano can make the classics sing.

Kudos to another chef with San Francisco roots, Bradley Ogden. Sure, just about everyone makes a braised beef dish these days. But Ogden's sous vide flat iron beef with celery root, trumpet royales, and herb salad was fresh with hints of ginger and a richness enhanced with butter and Guinness.

Hats off to the sommeliers who rose to the occasion pairing wines with challenging dishes like a super sweet white chocolate dessert and artichoke soup! Now if that isn't a test for a sommelier I don't know what is.

This was a dinner where plating was done in front of our eyes. Part theater, part fine dining and all around entertaining. Cheers. See you tomorrow!


FOOD + INSIDE THE KITCHEN

Photo du Jour - Café

Fermé.

Le Hong Kong in Cognac

Two things lured us back to Cognac; Cognac (of course) and Chinese food.
A strange combination, I know.

After almost six years in France, the best Chinese restaurant we have found in this country is, of all places, smack dab in the center of Cognac.

We met the owners of Le Hong Kong on our first trip to the Charente almost five years ago. A drive into town for some Cognac tasting serendipitously led us to this charming restaurant where we feasted on dishes such as Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Steamed Shu-Mai, Chinese Five-Spice Duck Breast, Chicken with Black Mushrooms and Fried Rice.

We vowed to return.


The dishes that come out of the chef 's kitchen are authentic and fresh, exactly the kind of Chinese food that we have yet to find down here in the Languedoc. Add to that the warm welcome you receive from the owners, comfortable seating and a nice dining room, the surprising addition of sushi to the menu since our last visit (yes, I know it's not Chinese, but when it is this fresh and delicious, who cares!), and you've got yourself the recipe for a perfect restaurant.



We gorged ourselves silly ate here twice on our trip last week. In three days.
Hopefully that will keep us satisfied until our next visit.


Restaurant le Hong Kong
15 boulevard Denfert Rochereau
16100 Cognac
054 536 8925

Photo du Jour

Vivid colors of summer.

How to endive

Formal education is useful, I guess, and so is a good upbringing, but all I really need to know I learned in France. Let others write odes to kindergarten; I owe it all—or a lot of it, at least—to Paris, plain and simple. It was there that I had my first taste of love, sweet, delicious, and doomed. It was there that I learned how to live with a family of strangers and, later, how to live alone.

Thomas Keller Recipes: Whipped Brie

When we were back in the states last month, my mom gave me as a gift The French Laundry book by Thomas Keller. What a perfect gift! I've been happily trying out the recipes (instead of looking for a job which is what I'm supposed to be doing...).

I came across this one. It's a simple & very creative way to work with brie. The only real requirement is that you should use a good quality brie - that's of course easy to do here in France. Brie de Meaux is the way to go, purchased at our nearby fromagerie (cheeseshop). Also, you need a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Then, it's as easy as cutting off the rind, whipping it up till it's a fluffy consistency, toasting baguette slices and adding whatever you like to the plate -- a salad of roquette (arugula), a roasted fig (seeing as it's the season and all), etc, etc. I can't wait to try it with pomegranite. Wouldn't that be great in the salad? Or how about served with some purée de fruit sec (purée of dried apricots, dried figs, dried plums, and roasted hazelnuts)....hummm.

Blanquette de Veau

Let me begin this post by saying that I'm not a huge fan of veal. I just feel guilty about eating it.
And I'm not even going to touch the whole "politics of veal" subject...which these days seem to have been replaced by the politics of foie gras. Don't people care about the baby cows anymore?

Husband adores veal. He waxes lyrical about the Veal Milanese he used to enjoy in Italian restaurants in New York, so on the rare occasion that we go out to lunch and veal is on the menu, he always orders it.

Recently, I had moment of weakness.

Living in France changes the way you look at meat. Wild boar, frogs, gizzards, glands, feet, brains, hare, snails...all of it is celebrated and enjoyed with reckless abandon.
I also find that while waiting patiently in line at the butchers and watching what every one else is buying can be incredibly inspiring. I stand there and scroll through recipes in my head, imagining savory pots of bubbling Coq au Vin, rich Boeuf Bourguignon, rustic Cassoulet, garlic studded Gigot d'agneau...

So I'm at the butcher's one day and the price of nice looking, healthy-sized chunks of blanquette de veau was incredibly reasonable. I stared at them and stared at them, debating the purchase.
The line was long so I had plenty of time to argue with myself.

In the end I just gave in and bought a kilo.

And finally made Blanquette de Veau.


This recipe is my adaptation of Dilled Blanquette de Veau from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins.
Dill is one of the few herbs that I absolutely cannot stand the taste of, but I liked the look of the recipes, so I 86'd the dill and added bay leaves and fresh thyme. And a bit of minced parsley sprinkled over at the end.

Blanquette de Veau
serves 6

• 12 tbs (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 pounds boneless veal, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 8 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 scant teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 fresh sprigs of thyme
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 3 cups diagonally sliced peeled carrots (sliced 1/8 inch thick)
• 3 cups coarsely chopped onions
• 3 to 4 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons freshly minced parsley
  

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Melt 8 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy flameproof casserole or Dutch oven. Add the veal and cook over medium-low heat, turning frequently, until opaque but not browned, 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Stir 3 tablespoons of the flour together with the nutmeg, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the veal. Continue to cook over low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes. The flour and veal should not brown.
4. Add the carrots, onions, thyme, bay leaves and enough stock to just cover the meat and vegetables. Raise the heat to medium and bring just to a boil. Then cover the casserole, transfer it to the oven, and bake for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Remove the casserole from the oven and pour the stew through a strainer placed over a bowl. Reserve the solids and liquid separately, discarding the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
   
6. Return the casserole to medium heat, and melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter in it. Sprinkle in the remaining 5 tablespoons flour, and cook over low heat, whisking constantly, for 5 minutes.
7. Whisk the reserved cooking liquid slowly into the butter and flour mixture, and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes.
8. Whisk in the cream and additional salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Return the veal and vegetables to the casserole, and simmer to heat through, about 5 minutes.
   
9. Transfer to a deep serving dish, sprinkle with the minced parsley and serve at once.

Have to admit that even though I loved this dish -really loved it - I've yet to buy veal again. Stupid guilt.

.

Photo du Jour

Our village church that often has laundry hanging to dry on clotheslines strung between the buttresses!

Working for a temp agency specializing in Restaurant work

I started doing temp work recently as a way to continue working professionally, while at the same time, allowing me to search for a good job fit. I stopped waiting for the perfect job to fall into my lap (silly dream!), and started seriously looking for a position in the right kitchen, meaning one doing cuisine gastronomique, having a good team, small restaurant, respectful environment. I know I'm asking for a lot. And, I'm a little more discriminating these days on what I'm accepting....which not surprisingly is extending my job search time line!

Temp work seemed like the perfect solution. It's been kind of a strange experience to say the least, but that's not to say it's negative. Not at all. First, let's just say that doing this in a foreign language is a challenge....but, OK, my french has improved enough to receive a work contract from the temp agency. They tested me out on my first job - I guess to see if I'd show up because the job itself wasn't interesting at all. I only did mis en place all day, however, it gave me entrée into an Alaine Ducasse bistro/restaurant. Another reason I wanted to do temp work is to see other professional kitchens and their organization. I was impressed with this one: good lighting, lots of work space, and good control of ingredients. A good point of reference.

Every job I go to throws me into a different adventure. Certainly variety is one of the benefits of doing temp work, but you also need to be extremely flexible to handle whatever situation you're thrown into! Let me tell you about my last few days....

Well, I think I'll have to do another post on my adventures with a top traiteur (caterer) in Paris. I just got home from work, and don't have the energy to put any more words together coherently. I'm exhausted after working 10.5 hours straight...

So, à bientôt (see you later),
dma

Stavanger Herring

My husband is from Haugesund, Norway, a town famous for its herring which is abundant in its coastal waters. So when I was choosing recipes that would be representative of his region, herring was on the list from the start. This recipe, from Norwegian National Recipes by Arne Brimi and Ardis Kaspersen is called Stavanger Herring, named for a town not far from Haugesund. I've been to Stavanger twice, and experienced one of the most miserable ferry rides of my life to get there one year in January! It's a pretty quiet place, really, but charming. In Haugesund, however, herring is such a part of the cultural fabric that they host a herring festival every August, in which the town builds a huge table which is then loaded with different sorts of herring, free for the tasting (and I've heard, smuggling for later enjoyment). I've never been, but it's on my list, and I think, given my undying love for the stuff, a good reason to plan a trip back some August.


However, the salted herring that would be used in a herring salad such as this is not as easily accessible in New York City as I thought it would be. I figured with The Lobster Place at Chelsea Market I was sure to find some. When that failed, and neither the first market at Whole Foods nor the market at Grand Central came through, I started getting a little desperate. So rather than starting with salted herring (which, by the way, if you plan ahead, you can order from The Nordic House), I bought three jars of herring in wine and vinegar and decided to give them the same soaking treatment I would have used for the salt herring.

In either case, you should soak your herring in water over night, changing the water when you think of it. If you manage to find whole salted herrings, you'll also need to debone and deskin them. If you're not as well prepared and using jarred, you can skip straight to the dressing.

Stavanger Herring (Stavangersild)
From Arne Brimi and Ardis Kaspersen's Norwegian National Recipes

6 salted herrings, deboned, deskinned and filleted (or, failing that, 3 small jars of herring in either wine or vinegar), soaked overnight in fresh water
3 hard boiled egg yolks, cooled
1/2 teaspoon mustard
Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons oil plus more for consistency
1 tablespoons vinegar, plus more for consistency
2 teaspoons sugar
fine chopped parsley for garnish

Place the herring on a serving dish. In a separate bowl, mash the egg yolks with a fork, then add the mustard and a few grindings of pepper. Stir in the oil and vinegar a little at a time until it reaches a smooth and shiny consistency. I ended up using about 3 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons vinegar. Mix in the sugar, then pour the dressing over the herring and toss together. Garnish with the parsley and serve with a flatbread (such as this one) and potato salad (like this one).