The Non-Desperate Housewife

The tastiest salmon dish

2017-04-17T17:05:00.000-04:00

Along with my latest video, I have listed here what is needed for this wonderful meal, which is as tasty as it can only be healthy. There is really no recipe, just get one half or whole salmon, preferably red sockeye (make sure it is wild caught) and season it with freshly crushed black, white, pink and green pepper; some salt, some lemon slices, chopped black olives and top with chopped dill. Drizzle with the best olive oil you find and bake on a 360F oven for 15 minutes.

For the sauce, mix equal parts of mayonnaise and plain yoghurt (I used skir in the video as that's what I had that day in my fridge), and a finely chopped garlic clove. Mix in some Madras curry to taste. Serve on top of the salmon. Keeps in the fridge for quite a few days.

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it belongs to that genius Mexican chef Monica Patiňo. You can check her out on her Facebook page, and if you ever go to Mexico city, you just MUST visit her restaurants.

Click here to watch the video.

Bon appettit!!

Dinner cruise aboard Les Bateaux Mouches

2017-01-09T15:47:00.001-05:00

When it’s Saturday night in Paris the possibilities are endless. One can go to the theatre, the movies, dancing, the Opera… and also take a breathtaking dinner cruise on the Seine. This can also be done during the day time, but the city is magical at night, and this experience is simply a MUST for every visitor, at least once in their lifetime.

I am in total agreement with the notion that Paris, as a city, cannot possibly take a bad picture. At night, this concept gets emphasized tenfold. Notre-Dame illuminated, the Eiffel Tower scintillating during the first five minutes of every hour, the ghosts of the ancient Pont Neuf, the Louvre pyramid… one cannot stop oohing and ahhing all the way through dinner.

There are a few companies that provide this sort of entertainment. I chose the Bateaux Mouches following the recommendations of some local friends. The company was created at the end of WWII by Jean Bruel, who at the time devised a new glass boat for visitors to the city to view it in all its glory whilst crusing the Seine. It is an experience I shall cherished for the rest of my life. You should book your table quite in advance (at least 90 days or so), especially if you will be travelling during high season, like the summer or during the Christmas holidays like I did.

There are two sets of menus to choose from, one higher end than the other. I chose the more modest one, called Prestige. It seemed quite delicious and not overtly expensive.

You will eat on this boat. A lot, so I suggest going with an empty stomach. It’s a 3-course menu, plus appetizer and cheese, and 2 types of wine. I had a whole table for myself, by the huge glass window-pane. I sat down and allowed myself to enjoy the feast.

First came the appetizer, along with the house champagne called Castel Mouche, not too dry, not too sweet. Quite good actually. I could have drank several glasses, but I didn’t, as I knew there was more coming. The nibbles were s couple of courgettes amuse-bouches and some grissini with a dipping sauce. We were still docked at this time.

For when started moving, I chose the Vol-au-vent for my starter, filled with a mixture of escargot, garlic and parsley. It didn’t look like a Vol-au-vent should, but the taste was what mattered and it was truly tasty, although not well-presented. This was my favorite dish of the whole meal.

For the main course I chose the Filet of sea bream seasoned with basil, broccoli puree and parmesan cream. A simple, yet quite tasty dish. Very tender fish, which matched perfectly with the puree and the sharper cream. It was paired with a Chablis.

As we were around the Institut du Monde Arabe, the cheese course arrived. A slice of Reblochon and a Camembert.

At this point, I was fully stuffed. I could barely finish the cheese, but dessert was coming! I chose the Coffee mousse dome, served with a crème anglaise and some coffee - espresso.

I was glad I had to walk back about half hour to the place where I was staying. I needed it! The cost of the dinner was 99€. Certainly not extremely expensive for a memory that will last a lifetime. Overall, the dinner could have been better, but it wasn’t bad, just too simplistic at time for my taste. Highly recommended.

The Champagne Diaries - Part 3: A visit to Les Halles in Troyes

2016-07-14T13:47:00.003-04:00

The last installment of my Champagne Diaries related to my trip to that region involved visiting the local market. In France, any central city market is referred to as Les Halles (or "The Halls"). Reminiscent of the famous Les Halles of Paris, I visited the one in Troyes, which was just as well, as I was in serious need of exercise after my gourmet meal at La Mignardise (read all about that post here).

I thought I'd let the pictures speak for themselves.

The entrance to the eponymous market.

Truffle-stuffed quails.

Farm-made Chaource, one of the local cheeses of the region.

An assortment of home-made farm cheeses, made by the local fromager.
The smallest ones are no bigger than an olive.

Farm-made yoghurt, with flavours as exotic as Pear Vervena
and Tangerine-Almond.

Charcuterie at its best: from left to right, paté de foie, fromage de tête and boudin noir.

Vegetables of the highest quality. No preservatives here!

A rare sort of mushroom which intrigued me to no end. I would've loved it
in an omelette.

A tomato-anchovy tart that just made me want to dive into it.

Freshly caught fish. From bottom to top: sardines from
Brittany, sardines from Provence and anchovies.

More fresh fish: clams scallops and oysters. All in
their shells.

Hare and peacock! Still with their skins and feathers on respectively.

Merchants offer all kinds of products, including ready-made meals, like the soufflés and seafood
vol-au-vents in this picture.

Supreme-quality Charolais beef.

Ready-to-prepare rabbits.

Partridge and pheasant.

Home-made rabbit terrine and smoked slab bacon.

My first visit to a French market left me absolutely dumbfounded. It is certainly not for the faint of heart, yet the exuberance of it all consumes you. Dare to visit one, and marvel in person.

The Queen of Four Kingdoms... and foie gràs

2016-04-18T20:28:00.001-04:00

I did some leisurely reading during my vacation, and since I’ll be stopping by Reims again later on in the year, I thought a novel that would illustrate the allure and mystique of the Middle Ages would certainly put me in the mood. French Royalty has a history as full of debauchery and bloodshed as there has ever been one. Deep in the throes of the Middle Ages, amidst war, plague, extreme weather and hunger, monarchs and aristocrats lived lives of luxury, enrobed in silks, taffetas and furs, adorned with priceless jewels that were passed on through generations. It is in this world that HRH Princess Michael of Kent anchors her first novel of what she named “The Anjou trilogy”. It is not the first book I read by Princess Michael, but it is the first fiction one, and I must say, the book is as beguiling as its author.

The story centers about the reign of Charles VI “le folle”, and his insecure son Charles VII, but it is told from the point of view of the astute Spanish Princess, Yolanda de Aragón, the renowned “Queen of the Four Kingdoms”. When Yolanda left her native Zaragoza in NE Spain, it was to marry Duke Louis II of Anjou in Provence, a claimant to the throne of Naples. Louis II was also cousin of the then current French King, Charles VI. The story develops around Yolanda’s influence in the world of the King and of his heir, the future Charles VII, the King whom Jeanne d’Arc helped, but got nothing in return other than a horrific death; and whose mistress, Agnès Sorel, gave birth not only to 3 illegitimate daughters by the King but also to the concept of the royal mistress in itself; and who also died a very bad death. One can speculate Charles VII was indeed cursed, and anyone who came near him would have a fatal dénouement. Personally, I find that the King’s insecurity, due very much to his upbringing, and which the novel delves into, had much to do with the conundrum of death that seems to have surrounded him.

The story begins with Yolanda’s betrothal. Quite a long one this one – 9 years, after which, Louis II of Anjou came home defeated and without the throne of Naples. On the eyes of Princess Michael of Kent’s, she made a good marriage and she and her husband lived a happy, although quite unstable life. What with Louis having to consistently attend last minute councils in Paris due to King’s ill health (it is now thought he suffered from epilepsy), and his own fixation with winning back his Kingdom in Naples, Yolanda was left to care for their 5 children and their magnanimous landholdings throughout France.

But Yolanda also had enormous power and influence over the future Charles VII, whom she nurtured as her own, and to whom she gave Jeanne d’Arc and Agnès Sorel, for two very different, yet very strategic reasons. All of this, for the Kingdom of France, a Kingdom that did not give her much in return.

Faye Dunaway looks regal and plays a masterful portrayal of Yolanda de Aragón

in the blockbuster movie “The Messenger”

She did live a life of luxury though. With several palaces in the Loire valley, as well as the one in Tarascon in Provence, the households could feed (and usually did) an army. Princess Michael takes us into the aristocracy’s preferred method of transport at the time – boats, and describes idyllic picnics by the river. Yolanda’s palaces used to entertain constantly, and the kitchens had staffs of 30 or more.

Early on in the novel, we are privy to the beginnings of the wonderful tradition of foie gràs, as when she first arrives at her castle in Angers, she is offered a tasting by the Chef, of goose liver. The cook explains that the geese are brought up in the farm, and then “the dogs chase them to make them run and the alcohol enters their bloodstream – especially the liver – before they meet their end” (pg. 39). He also admits to mixing ground almonds into the final preparation.

Foie gràs is something I have loved ever since I can remember. I have my mother to thank for having introduced me to it at a very young age. Notwithstanding the controversy that surrounds its production, in France it is found all over, and any good épicerie stocks it or even offers their own. One brand I discovered back in the 90’s is LaComtesse du Barry. Just like the name it is associated with, the maison offers the most delicious assortments of foie gràs, either fresh or canned. I used to be able to order them online, but since the new customs regulations, the only way to bring them is in your suitcase.

My favorite are the flûteaux de jambon, which are none other than duck foie gràs rolls, saucisse-style, wrapped with the very best ham. They used to make only one version, but they now offer two, both with cooked ham, but one with extra special jambon de Bayonne. It is this latter one I had as a special treat these past few days, and the one that reminded me of Yolanda’s story with her cook.

Although I doubt the company makes their geese run after giving them alcohol these days, this is a wonderful delicacy, which can be served with a simple green salad or a side of green beans, and quite a few toasts for spreading or just making your own canapé. A chilled Sémillon blanc or a dry rosé will pair perfectly for a relaxed, luxurious holiday lunch or picnic. You can also make one of the cocktails I suggested here, especially the Sunset Rosé.

The flûteau in all its glory, enrobed in its own gelée and duck fat.

Alternatively, you can lounge in your own backyard and have your own private moment of indulgence while having this sumptuous feast and reading The Queen of Four Kingdoms. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed by either.

Valentine's Day simplicity - and elegance

2016-02-22T11:44:00.002-05:00

Sometimes one just needs to take a shortcut in order to impress. Although I certainly do not advocate doing so on a daily or even a weekly basis, it is important that once in a while, we do minimal work in the kitchen – or even in the running of the household, simply to enjoy ourselves and our loved ones. This was the case for Valentine’s Day this year at my house, when we were just too busy and too tired in order to have a more formal meal.

First, grab your pasta. Make it a special one though. I had some strangozzi al tartuffo (a not-too-thick, not-too-thin pasta flavoured with black truffles). I cooked them till “al dente” (the only way to eat pasta for me), tossed them with some unsalted butter, opened a small jar of sliced black truffles and sprinkled them throughout. I then added some shavings of the best, 22-month aged Parmeggiano and served them. It is quick and astonishing way to impress with minimal effort.

For dessert, go the package route. Not the supermarket package route though. Williams-Sonoma has the most utterly delicious Red Velvet Molten Lava Cake kit, which will make you shine like no other as the pièce de resistance of your romantic dinner. The kit contains enough mix for 8 mini cakes. I used individual ceramic soufflé dishes to cook them. Just add some butter to melt the chocolate chips, then add them to the red cake mix, along with water and a spoonful of white vinegar. I do recommend doing as the package suggests and add a teaspoon of cream cheese in the center of each cake. Once one cuts into it, the inside will spill out with some white cheese, providing for the full effect of a red velvet cake.

Presentation is just as important. Topped with whipped cream and fresh

mint, the dessert becomes a show-stopper.

We also did have some cold days recently. In keeping with the red theme so typical of this month, how about a twist on the classic hot chocolate? I found this recipe through the Aldi 2016 Calendar, and I must say is the best homemade hot chocolate I’ve tasted so far. The whipped cream with cream cheese gives it enough stability so it does not melt immediately. It is very rich, and a dessert in itself. Serve it with some nice chocolate shortbread or dipping biscuits.

Red Velvet hot chocolate with cream cheese whipped cream

Ingredients for 2 or 3 servings:

2 cups whole milk
3 cups heavy whipping cream, divided
2 tsp. white vinegar
2 ½ tsp. Mexican vanilla extract, divided
1 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp. baking cocoa
1 tsp red food colouring
½ tsp salt
2 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, 2 cups of heavy cream, vinegar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, sugar and cocoa powder. Simmer over medium heat, whisking till smooth. Add the red food colouring, salt and heat through.

Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Slowly beat in the vanilla and remaining heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Pour the hot chocolate into a glass and topped with the whipped cream. Garnish with coloured sugar or crashed candy canes.

We didn't go the the Westgate Smoky Mountains Resort, but their glass cups
fit our hot chocolate perfectly.

The French tradition of Foie Gràs for the Holidays

2015-12-20T12:49:00.001-05:00

If you’ve been reading my blog lately, you probably noticed the inspiration from my recent trip to France. The experience has enlightened me beyond what I expected. In preparing for my next trip (hopefully for the next holiday season), I am trying to keep the same pace I had whilst in that country, both activity and diet-wise. It was incredible to me that after indulging as much as I did I returned home with 4 pounds less and a lot of gusto for life itself.

This way the French have for living life to its fullest directed me to my next read, a book that I have been wanting to get my hands on for a few of months now, ever since I started following its author’s YouTube channel. I am speaking about Lessons from Madame Chic – 20 stylish secrets I learned while living in Paris, by Jennifer L. Scott.

Scott went to Paris as an exchange student in her early 20’s and stayed with whom she calls “Famille Chic” for 6 months. During that time, she became a woman of sophistication and style. It is true, Paris – and France in general – gives you that. Art is everywhere in that city, and I’m not just speaking about museums. The way ordinary people dress, conduct themselves, eat and approach life in general is a true inspiration that everyone else should follow. Walking through the streets of Paris one feels the power of beauty on every level, from its buildings to the view of the Seine, and the shop windows of the food stores that look like jewelry stores. The French truly know how to live life to its fullest and make every day living into an art form.

My copy of "Lessons...", all tagged to facilitate
easy reference.

Lessons from Madame Chic is divided into 3 main sections, each containing several chapters:

Part 1: Diet and exercise
Part 2: Style and beauty
Part 3: How to live well

Although for some the book will provide enlightment from one page to the next and one chapter to the other, I personally found the concepts in the last section about “joie de vivre” the most important and influential ones. Things as simple as using your best china every day and not just for special occasions, dressing comfortably but presentably even when at home and valuing quality over quantity are quite a revelation for the consumerist society in which we live today. Perhaps it comes from having lived through two world wars that left the country with a mentality of valuing the present and only producing its best, but if one truly thinks about it, it becomes quite obvious that the only intelligent way to live life is on this level.

When I came from France, my luggage was at the maximum weight allowed for the plane before one must pay a penalty. It was full of… you guessed it – food. Not fresh food mind you (although I know people who bring certain items and I must confess, the concept intrigues me enough to further explore it), but quite a few cans of foie gras, condiments, books and different accoutrements all related to arts of the table. I almost bought no clothes.

There is nothing like a good foie gràs, paired with the correct glass of wine, that says one is truly enjoying the moment. So for my birthday, which happens to coincide with the holiday season, that is exactly what I did. I opened one of the cans I bought at Fauchon, that quintessentially high end gourmet store in Place de la Madeleine. And nothing better than auspiciously sampling their luxurious goose foie gràs Alsatian style, I thought, in anticipation of next year’s trip to that region (and others. Stay tuned!)

The foie gràs from Strasbourg is not, I must say, like that of Périgord (I prefer the latter). Still, goose foie gràs is goose foie gràs, and as a delicacy, it is one that I appreciate profoundly. There is a certain kick in its flavour, albeit slight, which leaves a happy note on the tongue. This demure sharpness makes it perfect to be paired with a glass of the classic Trimbach Gewűrtztraminer 2012. The minerality of the wine, combined with a slight sweetness makes the foie gràs shine without overpowering it and its round, whole finish gives the proper closure for each bite.

I chilled the foie gràs for 2 days in the coldest part of the fridge, and took it out about 15’ before serving. I topped it with just a few grains of rose pepper and served it on rye toast. I also had a canapé simply topped with crème fraîche and salmon roe. The whole celebration was intimate, luxurious and delicious from the gastronomical standpoint.

Keeping in mind Jennifer L. Scott’s adage in “Lessons from Madame Chic”, I used my best holiday china, showing Rudolph in the background, and laid the table with a red satin cloth. The candle is Forest Herb, from a store called Terrain. It gives a light scent of pines mixed with fresh herbs, subdued yet refreshing in the likes of a quiet pine forest.

Although my birthday dinner was intimate, it was undoubtedly chic, and it gave me a private feeling of luxury that I will cherish always and look forward too for more pleasurable moments. And yes, Happy Christmas.

A book to cherish: The Little Paris Kitchen

2015-04-05T16:40:00.001-04:00

It is not always that I review cookbooks. They are, in fact, probably the most time consuming books one can write a review about. For one, the reading might be tedious (unless there is a storyline along with the recipes), and secondly, the recipes need testing.

What attracted me to this British young woman with Asian looks was not just her lovely television show, but the concept she came up with: living in Paris, she invited people to her tiny flat and cooked for them. A sort of mini restaurant with ultra-personalized service. The rest, as they say, is history.

Rachel in her tiny Paris kitchen

British by nationality, Rachel Khoo has both Asian and European roots. Her father, a direct descendant of the Khoo Kongsi clan, immigrated to Britain in 1968, where he met Rachel’s mother, Austrian by birth. The Khoo Kongsi clan were wealthy merchants in 17^th century Malacca. Recently, Rachel took a trip to Malaysia, filming new footage for her T.V. show and also to do research on her roots.

In The Little Paris Kitchen, her first book in the English language, she gives 120 simple recipes that are all Parisian classics. Navarin d’agneau printanier, Gratin Dauphinois, Quiche Lorraine, Steak tartare, plus three ideas and detailed instructions on how to shuck oysters and a killer Mousse au Chocolat, Poires Belle Hélène, Mont-blanc and Ĭles Flottantes. Her recipes are simple and one can expect results as the book promises them, something not always the case with cookbook, as I have learned. The book is divided into:

v Everyday cooking (quick recipes for a meal at any time. Loved the Salade de figues et foies de volailles.

v Snack time (or le goûter, as the French call it. A pick-me-up for mid-afternoon).

v Summer picnics (recipes for Spring. I’m reproducing one below).

v Aperitifs (terrines, patés et les huîtres, including 3 variations on the classic mignonette).

v Dinner with friends and family (recipes to linger over with a crowd).

v Sweet treats (what would French cuisine be without the ubiquitous pièce de resistance).

There also a couple of appendixes with some basic recipes for sauces (both savory and sweet) and stocks, as well as cooking measurement equivalences and the author’s favorite foodie supply places in Paris. I have tested several of the recipes in the book and loved all of them.

Rouleaux de salade Niçoise are a crisp alternative

for a Springtime aperitif. You can use her recipe as a

base for your own.

I made my own variation on the Navarin d’agneau printanier and used veal osso-bucco instead, thus transforming it into a sort of Blanquette de veau (which recipe is also included in the book). I used veal broth for the cooking instead of the suggested water. After two and a half hours in the oven, my cast iron pan produced flake-away tenderness in the meat, accompanied by seasonal vegetables like carrots and peas.

The Gratin Dauphinois, an astonishingly simple, yet flavorful dish, is reproduced admirably. We had it along with the blanquette.

A tasty French classic is the Quiche Lorraine, from North-east region of the same name. Innumerable variations of this dish exist, but my biggest surprise was to find out that the original recipe does not include cheese, just some very good bacon and that staple of French cooking I always like to keep in my fridge, crème fraîche. I’m including the recipe here turns out the crumbliest dough. I cannot overemphasize the use of the best bacon you can get your hands on. I found one by La Tienda, cured from Spanish “pata negra” pigs and cut it into lardons, which you can get here.

Rachel Khoo’s Quiche Lorraine:

Ingredients for 4 to 6 portions:

· 6 Tbsp soft butter

· 1 tsp sugar

· Pinch of salt

· 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

· 2 eggs, separated

· Ice-cold water

For the filling:

· 5 oz. lardons

· 4 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

· 1 ¼ cups crème fraîche

· 1 tsp salt

· Pepper

Preparation:

Using a wooden spoon, beat together butter sugar and salt until soft and creamy (do not overmix!). Mix in the flour followed by the egg yolks and 2 Tbsp. of ice-cold water. Bring together to make a smooth ball, adding a little more water if the pastry is too crumbly, kneading only as necessary. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before using. Roll between 2 sheets of parchment paper until it is ¼” thick, and use to line a 10” pan that is at least 1 ¼” deep. Brush the pastry with egg white. Refrigerate while preparing the filling. Pre-heat the oven to 350F.

Meanwhile, fry the lardons in a nonstick frying pan until golden brown, then lift out with a slotted spoon and leave to cool on paper towels. Lightly beat the eggs and egg yolks in the bowl, add the crème fraîche and seasoning, and continue to beat until mixed together. Scatter the lardons in the pastry shell and then pour in the egg mix. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the filling looks golden brown and set. It can be served either warm or cold. A crisp friseé salad goes marvelously with this, along with a glass of Beaujolais.

I have a killer sweet tooth, and her desserts are all classics done the easy way. Poires Belle Hélène make for stunning presentation and are a cinch to make.

My favorite dessert of all time is, however, Mousse au Chocolat. This book includes probably the best recipe on this dessert I have come upon. It starts with a base of chocolate crème pâtissière. I have found a way to make it even richer and darker, using dutch processed black cocoa powder, currently sold through the King Arthur Flour catalog. The crème will turn out a threateningly black colour but fear not. The key to the ultimate Mousse au Chocolat starts with this step.

Rachel Khoo’s Mousse au Chocolat:

Ingredients for 4 to 6 servings:

· 2 Tbsp soft butter

· 1 ½ oz. cocoa nibs, plus extra for serving

· 2 egg whites

· ½ cup confectioner’s sugar

· A couple of drops of lemon juice

· Pinch of salt

· 5 oz. dark chocolate (65% to 70% cocoa), finely chopped

· Scant 1 cup of heavy cream

· 1 ½ cups chocolate crème pâtissière (recipe below)

Chocolate crème pâtissière:

Ingredients:

o 6 egg yolks

o ½ caster sugar

o 1/3 cup cornstarch

o 1 Tbsp black cocoa powder

o 2 cups whole milk

Preparation:

Bring the milk to a boil and switch off the heat. Mix in the cocoa powder.

On a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until light and thick, then whisk in the cornstarch. Pour the milk in a slow stream onto the egg mixture, whisking vigorously all the time. Return the mixture to the pot and whisk continuously over medium heat, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom to prevent burning. The cream will start to thicken, once it releases a bubble or two, take it off the heat.

Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming and refrigerate overnight.

Preparation:

Brush 4 to 6 glass ramekins with soft butter. Add some cocoa nibs and roll them around the sides and bottom until evenly coated.

Put half the egg whites into a clean glass or bowl, add the confectioner’s sugar all at once, along with the lemon juice and salt and whisk until snow white. This technique makes for fool proof meringue. Add the rest of the egg whites and continue whisking until the meringue forms stiff peaks.

Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie and separately whip the cream into soft peaks (this is important, we do not want overbeaten cream!)

Bring the crème pâtissière at room temperature and beat to remove any lumps before stirring in the melted chocolate. Mix in one third of the meringue, then gently fold in the rest followed by the whipped cream.

Divide the mousse between the glasses and chill – ideally overnight, but if you cannot wait, at least a couple of hours (the book says 1 hour, but my experience suggests 2 is better). The only drawback (or not), is that this mousse should be consumed within 2 days due to the raw egg white used in its preparation.

This is a must-have tome in your French cooking library. It is mama’s cooking with a modern twist and, purporting the fact that its author used to work in the fashion business, it is also lavishly illustrated with full colour photography, with Rachel wearing the cutest dresses.

Steakhouse of one's dreams

2015-02-19T15:12:00.000-05:00

Ever since fellow blogger and fervent Disney investor Joshua Kennon wrote with praise about his visit, I have wanted to go to the Yachtsman Steakhouse. This restaurant, which opens only for dinner, is located within the Yacht Club Resort, in the Epcot area of Walt Disney World.

Because I am local to the area, I have been around Epcot a few times, yet it required the use of my faithful GPS to arrive at the place. The resort is themed as a typical Maine yacht club. The entrance to the restaurant is not grandiose, and the décor and general ambiance are quite unassuming, yet the quality of the food offered is prime, and the service efficient. One can hardly expect this to be a high-end restaurant by its looks, especially by the way the clientele dresses (I think Disney should emphasize the importance of dress code even more for this place).

The restaurant’s main dining room faces the pool area of the

resort, and showcases an especially made, wooden chandelier.

The window theme just above gives the feeling of typical Maine

construction close to the seashore.

When I arrived I was asked to wait for a few minutes while my table was getting ready in an area facing a frigorific with prime cuts of meat aged to improve flavor. If I wasn’t very hungry at the time, the view certainly woke up my taste buds.

My first choice was an aperitif plate of a most excellent charcuterie. The selection consisted of a bacon-wrapped boar terrine, which was cooked to perfection with pieces of aged Gouda, dried cherries and pistachios. It was flavored with ginger, mace and clove, which gave the terrine a unique balance of sweet and savory, all wrapped in heavenly smoked bacon.

There was also a truffled sucling pig pie, very much as it is traditional in England, baked in pastry and served with little cubes of port gelée. The gelée homogenized the dish together within the mouth, providing the perfect measure of flavor, whilst each and every component could still be identified. Perhaps my favorite was the warm lardo toast, served on sourdough and garnished with arugula, pickled onions and parmesan shavings. Lardo is an Italian specialty, where the fat of the pig is hand-rubbed with salt and cured with spices (in this case peppercorns and rosemary), and then aged. The Yachtsman’s ages theirs for 2 months, and the result is the best lardo you would try out of Italy.

The Spanish style chorizo had large chunks of pork, heavily spiced with pimentón (sweet Spanish paprika), garlic and cumin, and reminded me of the likes of my mother, who always had some at hand to snack on. The one thing I did not find it quite belonged on this selection was the beef merguez sausage, an African specialty which is not really charcuterie (charcuterie to me is always pork, pork and more pork). Yet everything else was so good, it did not deter to the excellency of the dish. Grainy mustard and pickles were succinctly placed as accompaniments, as well as the warm bread basket and butter with roasted garlic to make a proper amuse-bouche. I chose a dark ale to wash down all that amazing goodness!

The bread basket comes with a slab of salted butter and half a roasted garlic.

It was perfect to pair with the charcuterie plate.

Since this is a steakhouse, the main course was, of course, steak. The menu offers several prime cuts at an also very prime price. I went for the biggest one, a 16 oz. Boneless Rib-Eye, perfectly charbroiled to medium-rare. It was topped with a touch of Point Reyes blue cheese butter and served with a halved bone with richly exposed marrow which, in turn, could be perfectly sucked up by imbibing the sweet brioche herbed roll it came with. Very few times I have had meat this good, and so well accompanied and perfectly served. It was undoubtedly a succulent dish, yet it was not heavy. The waiter poured me a glass of Château Aney Cabernet, but there are also exclusive wines like Caymus to accompany the excellent cuts of meat served. I chose this light red that was more herbal than fruity, somewhat creamy and quite unobtrusive to the flavors of the meat.

The desserts are presented as a composite. I tried two. The apple profiterole had no sugar added, and it was light and fruity and everything a dainty dessert should be. The profiterole had the texture almost of a macaroon, with a floral apple mousse inside. It was surrounded with caramel apple crunch, alongside a quenelle of chopped rosy apple and a tuille made out of Cheddar cheese. The latter provided the cheese note to the end of a heavy meal, without actually having eaten any cheese. Small drops of chocolate and raspberry sauces framed the dish as in a painting.

My second choice just had to include some chocolate, particularly after such a rich meal. Again, a perfectly light dessert of a single rectangular slice of chocolate cheesecake, topped with chocolate ganache and accompanied by a purée of Asian pears and a quenelle of butter walnut ice-cream.

Undoubtedly, the Yachtsman’s Steakhouse is a restaurant to talk about. The service is quite competent. Waiters recommend dishes diligently and they know how to pour wine to taste it first. One can tell they are gourmets themselves. You should take anyone there who you want to impress, but also knows how to savor the indulgences of a good meal. I cannot overemphasize reservations, which should be made well in advance. You won’t get in otherwise.

Oysters and a life of crime

2015-01-18T18:51:00.002-05:00

Police procedurals have never been my cup of tea. I much prefer a cozy type mystery with an amateur sleuth such as Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. However, because I am presently into an all-things-Paris mood, I couldn’t pass an opportunity to read a culinary mystery set in that city, even if it is a police procedural.

Capucine Le Tellier is a papa’s girl, coming from a bourgeois Parisian upper-class family, married to a high-profile gourmet and restaurant reviewer (who ostensibly sports the same name as the book’s author), she could have a glamorous life, just as her husband repeatedly tells her, full of caviar and comfort, but chooses instead the dark world of “la crim” in the streets of Paris.

The intrigue in The Grave Gourmet centers about corporate espionage, when the president of world-renown car manufacturer Renault is found dead in one of Paris’ most famous restaurants: Diapason. Diapason and its Owner-Chef Jean-Basile Labrousse sound very much like the now defunct “Le Divelec”, a famous restaurant that for decades delighted Paris with a uniquely crafted menu of fish and shellfish. The restaurant became even more notorious when Chef Jacques Le Divellec created the famous lobster press in conjunction with silversmiths Christofle. The piece works in exactly the same way as a duck press, which extracts the blood and juices from a duck carcass to be transformed into a delicate elixir of a sauce for duck à l’orange, but in this case, it does the same for a lobster carcass. Consummate gourmets would know that a proper lobster sauce requires the crustacean’s carcass for eximious flavor.

Jacques Le Divellec and his lobster press

The plot is no short of red-herrings in this novel, sometimes too many of them, which made it necessary to do a second reading. It will also prove definitely useful to have a map of Paris at hand, as a car chase through the Bois de Boulogne and into Paris’s chic 7ème arrondissement take the reader into a frenzy of streets and roundabouts.

Capuccine’s investigation is dizzying to say the least, and the book does not offer many culinary options, as I would have expected in a culinary mystery. Mainly, the victim dies of saxitoxin, a poison found in spoiled shellfish that causes paralytic death. The medium were, apparently, oysters, which were served in the form of a sorbet in-between meals to Prèsident Delage during his last dinner at Diapason.

Oysters have always been considered a chic hors d’ouvre. They should be consumed in Autumn and Winter and they pair wonderfully with a chilled glass of champagne. Ideally, they should be gulped along with water inside the shell and may be a few drops of lemon. To make them more special, why not try the classic mignonette. Basically, a simple sauce made of red wine vinegar, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar dissolved into it, then add a very finely chopped shallot. Spoon a minimal amount on top of the oyster then let the cool flavor slide down your throat. Follow by a sip of your best champagne, and tell me you’re not in heaven.

Perrier-Jouët champagne is ideal to accompany oysters. It has a hint of fruityness without being totally dry.

In a typical French brasserie, oysters can sometimes be served warm. The following alternative is very savory without being overpowering, something we should always strive for when eating oysters. Their flavor must always prevail.

Huîtres chaudes:

Ingredients for 20 oysters:

· 3.5 oz finely chopped shallots

· 1 Tbsp. of butter

· 2/3 cup crème fraîche

· Freshly ground white pepper

· ½ tsp. curry

· 1 Tbsp brandy

Preparation:

Shack open the oysters (preserving the water), leaving them in the lower half of the shell and

discarding the other half. Put the shallots with the water from the oysters in a pan, add butter and reduce by half.

Heat the broiler.

Add the crème fraîche to the sauce, season with white pepper, curry and brandy. Reduce by a third while stirring.

Arrange oysters on a plate and make a bed with coarse sea-salt or brightly coloured gravel stones (the latter will make for a very appealing presentation for a cocktail party). Spoon some sauce on each shell and brown the oysters quickly for a few minutes under the broiler until they are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Yet another option to serve oysters had me a bit skeptical at first I must admit, due to its slightly Mexican twist. After all, anything Mexican means spices and chili, something oysters shy away from. However, I need not have worried. The Aleppo chile just adds the necessary hint of flavor without being spicy, and the chile oil rounds up a mouthful of soft vinegary flavor that washes away the day’s worries.

Oysters with saffron-pickled cucumbers and Aleppo:

Ingredients for a dozen oysters:

· 1 cup white wine vinegar

· 1 cup water

· 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

· 1 Tbsp. Himalayan pink salt

· 2 tps granulated sugar

· ½ English cucumber, two opposite sides peeled and cucumber sliced into ⅛-inch strips, stacked and then sliced crosswise into ⅛-inch matchsticks

· 2 pinches saffron threads

· 2 tps. finely chopped fresh dill

· 2 cups coarse salt or coloured gravel

· ½ teaspoon Aleppo chile

· Chile oil

Preparation:

First pickle the cucumbers: In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring the vinegar, water, garlic, salt and sugar to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the cucumber matchsticks and saffron. Transfer the cucumbers and the pickling liquid to a bowl and set aside for 1 hour at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, preferably overnight.

Transfer 2 tablespoons of the cucumber pickling liquid to a medium bowl. Drain the chilled cucumbers (save the pickling liquid for another use) and toss them with the reserved pickling liquid and the dill.

To a medium bowl, add the salt and enough cold water to create the consistency of wet sand; or spread a bed of coloured gravel. Shuck the oysters and nestle each one into the salt or gravel bed. Top each oyster with some of the pickled cucumbers and pickling liquid and finish with a pinch of Aleppo chile and a few drops of chile oil.

For either of the last two ideas at your next oyster party, a nice cold beer will do. In honour of the true French brasserie, I prefer either Belge or French beer. Salut, to a life of crime and scrumptious eating!

A cake fit for a Queen

2014-12-25T16:06:00.000-05:00

Birthdays, I find, should always be about receiving pleasure. The ultimate pleasure. To me, nothing brings more pleasure than chocolate, especially when it is the best, most refined European chocolate made into a dense, unique, cake. It is the philosophy of one of New York’s best chocolatiers, Maribel Liberman.

Liberman, a native of Honduras, understands good chocolate when she tastes it. She owns an exquisite store in New York City called MarieBelle Chocolatier. And as someone who understands the importance of a good piece of chocolate, she also finds that “life is all about the pleasure and happiness we find in food, art and beauty”.

Until I became a fan of all things French, I couldn’t picture beauty as being present in food. The French excel at this. Everything from the packaging to the way edibles are presented, the thought placed in creating and enjoying meals, the quality of the ingredients, and the sharing of those experiences is conducive to beauty. Beauty inspires art, and chocolate was the venue, this birthday when I turned 45, for that inspiration.

The treat for my birthday was a Marie Antoinette Vintage Truffle Cake, made by this chocolate house that also creates artfully illustrated chocolates, raw cacao confisseries, signature ganaches and decadent hot chocolate mixes.

I ordered the cake through Dean &Deluca, but it is also available through the company’s website. The cake honors Queen Marie Antoinette of France, who adored the chocolate pastilles that then chemist to the French Crown, Debauve & Gallais, created for her so she could swallow unpleasant tasting medicines. Marie Antoinette adored chocolate, and this cake, which comes packaged inside a box simulating an ancient book, includes a poem in her honor, and her chocolate:

She stares with puzzle at her treasure book

She can’t help but wonder

What the story is all about inside

She flips the cover

And to her surprise:

A mysterious dark slab

With a rich golden chandelier

Simulating the entrance of a Palace

How amazing!!!

He contemplated her with joy

As she closed her eyes as if

She was going into a trance

He was the man she loved

But at that moment

He took a second place

People warned her that one

Becomes a prisoner of obsession

She held the slab and took a first bite

Melting cream in her mouth she screamed

OH… CHOCOLAT!!

Indeed, the Marie Antoinette Vintage Truffle Cake is like biting into a truffle. It is quite small, about 6.5” by 4.5”, but it compensates in richness. The truffle cream chocolate lies on top of crisp chocolate wafers, so when one bites into it, there is also a certain crunch. It is decorated with the image of an antique chandelier, faintly showing out of a sprinkle of gold glitter, and to my surprise, it did not fade throughout the life of the cake.

I recommend a rich, dark shot of Italian espresso to accompany this luscious dessert. And of course, a trip to this chocolatier is de rigueur during a visit to New York City.

After the cake is consumed (which will not take long, believe me), the simulated case can be used for storage of cherished secrets – love notes, valentines, etc.

A small piece with a cup of strong espresso is all this cake needs. It should be cut in triangles as shown here.

You will get 8 portions.

A cozy Thanksgiving

2014-12-01T16:45:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is the most celebrated holiday in the American calendar. That is because mostly every family who lives in the United States participates in the holiday in some way, regardless of religion or race.

But what is the essence of Thanksgiving? Beyond the eating and the shopping, it is the foremost way to celebrate the harvest, and send hopes into the void for a future bounty one. I like this latter idea of Thanksgiving. Since I moved to Florida, over 20 years ago now, I especially enjoy the Autumn. Once the last days of August hits I seem to become alive, and the smells of the new season come alive in my kitchen as well.

From the entertaining point of view, it is the ideal time of year. The fruits of the harvest invite a varied sort of cooking, and the chillier weather makes for wonderful get-togethers and cozy moments.

This year I decided to by-pass the ubiquitous turkey and made an Argentinian classic – carbonada. This version is by Chef Guillermo Calabrese, one of Buenos Aires top chefs, who started his career at the famous Gato Dumas Restaurant in Recoleta. I remember eating at this trendy restaurant in the 90’s. It was a mixture of refined Argentine specialties with a touch of French cuisine, in an ambiance that was stylish without being presumptuous.

The carbonada is a fulfilling dish for a cold day, not unlike the weather we were lucky to have for Thanksgiving. It is served inside an acorn squash, making for a beautiful presentation. Although it takes some time to prepare, it beats the long hours of the turkey and proves for a dish full of the typical flavours of Fall for which you will be remembered.

Argentine Carbonada in acorn squash:

Ingredients for 4 servings:

4 small acorn squash (about 6” in diameter)
4oz unsalted butter
3oz sugar
¾ cup milk
3 small corn stalks
Corn oil, as needed
12oz plain rice
1 medium yellow onion
2 small white onions
3 green onions
1 red pepper, chopped
1pd veal, cut in cubes
1 can tomatoes
3.5oz white wine
Salt and pepper to taste
5 oz veal stock
3.5 oz dried apricots
1 Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp cumin
2 bay leaves
½ Tbsp sweet paprika
¼ grated goat cheese
More salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Wash and dry the acorn squashes. Cut the tops, which will be used as covers, clean and remove the seeds, and cut small incisions on the inside with a knife.

Coat the insides of the squashes with softened butter, dust with sugar and bathe with a bit of milk. Place on an oven plaque and bake at 380F for 25 minutes. Check halfway to ensure the squashes are not disintegrating. They should only be partially cooked at this point.

Cut the corn in smaller pieces, blanche and reserve. In a separate saucepan add about 2 Tbsp of corn oil and sauté the rice no longer than 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reserve.

In another saucepan with 2 more Tbsp oil sauté the onions, previously chopped. Add the pepper, the meat (make sure you clean all the fat) and brown. Add the tomatoes and deglaze with the wine. Season and cook until the alcohol evaporates.

Add the rice, the veal stock, dried apricots and season with sugar, cumin, bay leaves and paprika. Cook for 15 minutes on high. Fill the squashes with this stew and bake for another 25 minutes at 380F. Sprinkle with a nice grated goat cheese. I chose a Spanish one from La Mancha, flavored with paprika, which you can buy HERE. It mimicked the flavor of the pieces beautifully. Serve with corn cobs on the side.

A tablescape inspired by the colours of Autumn

After such a nice main course, the dessert had to be just as memorable. And maybe a bit more patriotic. I find nothing more authentically American than cheesecake. Thanks to the Martha Stewart magazine, I became aware of a uniquely crafted maple syrup, infused with Tahitian vanilla and Egyptian chamomile. As soon as I saw the recipe, I ordered it immediately.

This is a very rich, creamy cheesecake, ideal to have with some strong Earl Gray tea.

Maple-Walnut cheesecake:

Ingredients for 8 to 12 servings:

Crust:

· 9 Graham crackers

· ¾ cup black walnuts

· 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

· 4 Tbsp melted unsalted butter

· Pinch of fresh nutmeg

· Pinch of salt, ideally Himalayan pink salt

Filling:

· Four 8oz packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

· ¾ Noble Tonic 02 Maple syrup, available HERE

· ½ cup granulated sugar

· 4 large eggs

· 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

· ½ cup heavy cream

· 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

· ¼ tsp maple extract

Preparation:

Fill a roasting pan halfway with water and set on a rack in the lower third of the oven (this will ensure a very moist environment for the cheesecake to cook into); position another rack in the middle and pre-heat to 350F. Wrap the outside (bottom and side) of a 9” springform pan with foil.

To make the crust, pulse the Graham crackers in a food processor a few times until crushed. Add the walnuts and brown sugar and continue pulsing until finely ground. Add the melted butter, nutmeg and salt and pulse to combine. Press into the bottom and about 1” up the side of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is golden, about 10’. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.

For the filling, beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until nearly smooth, about 1’. Add the maple syrup and granulated sugar and beat until smooth, about 2’ more. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Increase the speed to medium high and beat in the flour, heavy cream, lemon juice and maple extract until the filling is smooth and silky, about 1’.

Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Transfer the cheesecake to the oven, placing it on the middle rack, directly over the water bath. Bake until golden and set around the edge but still jiggly in the center, about 45’ to 1 hour. Transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until cold and set, preferably overnight. Let the cheesecake sit at room temperature 20”, the run a thin knife around the edge and remove the springform pan. Serve and enjoy!

L'art du pain

2014-09-28T19:26:00.000-04:00

The French and their bread are a case apart. One can spend hours debating on the subject of bread with French people. It is just as important to them as wine is.

In France, pairing the proper bread with one’s food is something taken very seriously. Rye bread is the only one eaten with oysters, while breads made with lemon or aux hèrbes are reserved for fish. Pastries, such as tea cakes or cookies, are mostly consumed for the mid-afternoon treat called le goutier and are rarely eaten in the morning.

Originally, bread was the staple food of the peasants. It was not until Louis XIV’s reign that bread started to be refined into what is known today as the ubiquitous baguette, and all its extensive varieties. In the 18^th century, the aristocracy decided that the pain de campagne was a bit too heavy for their stomachs, and the refinements of flour in order to produce white bread began.

Bread was one of the main causes of the French Revolution. Following a bad harvest, the government decided to raise the price of cereals. This meant the common folk were not only deprived of the beautiful palaces and glamour the aristocracy enjoyed, but were now also going to starve. The people revolted, and the rest, as they say, is bloody history – literally.

Kirsten Dunst uttering the famous line “let them eat cake” in a

still from “Marie Antoinette”

Another still from “Marie Antoinette” showing beaucoup du pain!

When Marie Antoinette uttered the famous “qu'ils mangent de la brioche”, it was indeed an insult to injury to the already starving populace. She could only keep her head for another four years after that.

Nowadays, in Paris alone there are about 35,000 bakeries, which produce about 3.5 million tons of bread per year. When it comes to baguettes alone, it is estimated that 10 million are sold each day. In France, it is illegal to put preservatives into the bread. Hence one must buy it every day. I remember the practice was the same in Buenos Aires (where I was born). One would go to the almacén within one’s own neighborhood to get the bread for the day.

This is unfortunately not the case with bread in the United States, where generally, the bread is very bad. One can find excellent bread in any bakery in Europe, or even in the supermarket. But in the U.S., unless one goes the extra mile to find it, all there is available is what I call “plastic bread”. It is chewy like gum and has no crispness at all. An insult to the art of baking bread really.

Luckily, and thanks to the local farm-to-table movement, there are a few places where one can go for just the right amount of goodness when it comes to bread. I am speaking, of course, of The Olde Hearth Bread Co., a local bakery with a stall at the most excellent East End Market. They also sell their products over the weekends at the Windermere and Maitland Farmers Markets. They supply the top local area restaurants and premiere hotels… and I have their breads all over my freezer at home too. For me it is de rigueur, every 2 to 3 months, to place a large order and stock up on their wonderful bounty.

Here’s what I got this last time I went, starting at the top right hand corner and then clockwise:

- Croissants. Their plain croissants are the best ones I’ve been able to find in Orlando.

- Fougasse a l’oignon. Small breads with onion, ideal for substantial sandwiches to go on a picnic for instance.

- Ficelles. Two small baguettes to laden with butter and preserves for breakfast in the morning. For more details on the French breakfast, go here.

- Chocolate boule. Yes. This is a pain the campagne made with chocolate and either dried mango or dried cherries. I prefer the mango. Toasted with a slab of cold, salted butter and a cappuccino, it is my weekend treat.

- Pain de mie raisins. Smells like the holiday season already. Great toasted with some butter but even better for French toast.

Not pictured, but also worth trying, are the specialized baguettes aux figues and noisette (ideal for a great cheese plate), as well as the brioche challah loaf, which makes an ideal dipping bread.

I’ve always longed to visit famous bakeries in Paris, but for now, I am happy I have The Olde Hearth Bread Co. for my monthly supply of bread.

How to clean copper

2014-03-30T00:30:00.000-04:00

At the end of 2013 my husband and I moved into a new house. It was a daunting, albeit highly positive, stepping stone. Used to living in a small apartment for a number of years, the vastness of our new abode presents new decorating and maintenance challenges every day. It was also the reason for my two month hiatus from blogging. I should have plenty of material under my present circumstances.

I have always been a lover of copper for kitchen utensils. The material is undoubtedly the best for cooking and baking, copper being the best conductor of heat. And who can deny the glistening of egg whites beaten in a bowl of solid copper.

I own several pieces of copper, from saucepans to cookie cutters, so in order to keep them shining I decided to try an idea I once heard from Laura Calder in one of her cooking shows. It is a paste of all-purpose flour, coarse salt and white vinegar. The salt works as a scrubber and does not dissolve, while the vinegar works its brightening magic. The flour is mostly a binding agent. The results were excellent... at the beginning.

Before...

...and after

This what they looked like after a few hours:

So obviously not a good choice. I came back to my old time favorite Copperbrill, a product created by French copper manufacturers par excellence, Mauviel. Undoubtedly, this the product to go for.

One of my mixing bowls. Results that last.

My coveted KitchenAid got new highlights

It's worth noting that copper will acquire a slight patina with time. This is not only encouraged but beautiful. Nevertheless, a product like Copperbrill will ensure that your copper utensils always look their best.

A unique mold... and Seed cake

2014-03-16T17:36:00.000-04:00

In continuing with my exploration of kitchen tools the French kitchen, I have come across a unique cake mold, recently offered by Williams-Sonoma.

This rectangular cake pan offers the peculiarity of a lemon-shaped top, ideal for any citrus-flavoured recipe. It is made of solid cast aluminum and its non-stick coating ensures easy unmolding. I like to keep my eyes open for interesting molds to add to my collection, and I just couldn’t resist this one. Always be on the lookout for accessories to add to your kitchen tools, and in time you will develop a set tailored to your own style of cooking and baking.

But beyond the ubiquitous citrus loaf, I went a – curious – step further and decided on a classic Victorian recipe – Seed cake. I became aware of its existence watching an episode of the Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series, “At Bertram’s Hotel”. During one of the sumptuous teatimes, Ms. Marple is offered this cake by one of the waiters. But Jane Marple is hesitant in accepting the offer, until the waiter tells her it is indeed the “true” seed cake, a specialty of the house, for which the pastry chef has had the recipe for years.

Seed cake was the typical Victorian teacake. Sometimes it was also eaten as a snack before turning in to help aid digestion, as caraway seeds are known for their soothing qualities. After some research, I came up with Mrs. Beeton’s recipe, a true testament to the history of British teatime.

Victorian Seed Cake

Ingredients:

225 gr butter
225 gr cake flour
175 gr caster sugar
2 Tbsp caraway seeds
3 eggs, whisked
1/4 cup brandy
Tad ground mace
Grated nutmeg to taste
50 gr chopped candied citrus peel

Preparation:

Cream the butter along with the sugar. Add the sifted flour.

Add the mace, nutmeg, caraway seeds and chopped candied peel and mix well.

Pre-heat the oven to 325F and grease the pan.

Stir in the whisked eggs and then the brandy. Beat for about 3 minutes, until very smooth and with no lumps.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for about 1 ½ hours, until a skewer comes out clean when tested and the cake is well risen, firm and golden brown. Once cold, it can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.

This is a very moist cake. It also freezes well, and I can’t think of a better way to satiate bedtime munchies, along with a hot cup of herbal, lemony tea.

A tool to have in your kitchen: Moulinette

2014-02-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

The right tools are essential to successful performance in your kitchen. The French excel at this of course, and have invented dishes to satisfy every possible accoutrement.

This weekend I tried two recipes that require the use of a moulinette or food mill. I was able to get my hands on, after much searching and comparing, one of the best moulinettes on the market, made by European manufacturer Paderno. Made entirely of stainless steel, it is used in major restaurants. It is the secret to wonderfully creamy soups, sauces and preserves.

I admit it is pricey, but it is a tool that will last forever and you will find yourself using it more and more.

The first recipe I tried was from fellow Francophile Laura Calder, who found it in an old recipe notebook: Confiture de carottes – or carrot jam. Yes, you heard right. Carrot jam. It is as delicious as it is unusual and so simple to make. Keep it in mind for the next time you need to make a nice house-warming gift. It should be eaten with slices of baguette or bâtard bread smothered with slabs of cold, salted butter.

Confiture de carottes

Ingredients:

1 pd. peeled carrots
Water, as needed
2 cups sugar
Zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2
10 whole chopped or slivered almonds
2 Tbsp. Cognac

Preparation:

Slice the carrots and put them in a saucepan along with the water until they are just covered. Boil until very soft, then run through the moulinette to puree. Put the puree back into the saucepan and add the sugar, the lemon zest and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Cook until “glassy” and “jammy”.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the almonds and Cognac. Cool and spoon into a sterilized jar. Keep in the fridge.

The other recipe I tried was a soup. What with the cold winter we are having here in Florida, a nice creamy pea soup is a welcome meal any time. This recipe is classic of a typical French brasserie. It even carries the name of the trendy 6^th arrondisement – Saint-Germain-des-Prés. It freezes wonderfully, so make double the recipe and stock up!

Pureé Saint-Germain

Ingredients:

15 oz. split peas
2 oz. lardons
1 cup veal stock
1 bouquet garni: thyme, leek, bayleaf, celery
Freshly ground pepper
½ cup butter
Croûtons and crème fraîche to serve

Preparation:

Soak the peas for 2 hours in cold water, then drain and boil in 4 cups of lightly salted water, skimming off the foam. When the peas are ready, drain (keeping half the water) and sieve through the moulinette.

Sauté the lardons in a pan, removing the grease. Add the sieved peas, pour on the veal stock and the liquid and add the bouquet garni. Simmer for 15 minutes at a very low temperature.

Remove the bouquet garni, season with pepper and pour the pea soup into a preheated tureen or serving bowl, stir in the butter and add the crème fraîche and croutons separately upon serving.

Local French dairy products

2013-10-20T15:01:00.003-04:00

One of the major challenges to French cooking I have found here in America is the fact that dairy products that are unpasteurized are not allowed. I grew up on unpasteurized milk, cream and all sorts of “not allowed by the FDA” products, like so many other millions of people around the world and have never had a problem. Raw dairy builds the immune system up like crazy, making for strong bones and a general healthy outlook.

So here are the best dairy products I could come up with so far, if you want to cook like a true French person (as much as we can on this side of the world):

From left to right:

“Natural by Nature” pasteurized heavy cream. Unlike most cream, this one IS NOT ultra-pasteurized, which means it is boiled only once, and not at very high temperature, which makes for a much more stable and thicker product.
True whole milk en bouteille de verre, also by “Natural by Nature”, which is sold at Whole Foods Market. It is so thick that you can collect up to 2 tablespoons of cream at the top of the bottle when you open it.
An excellent option for butters are the French ones from Poitou, a region suited to the rearing of goats. All the dairy from this part of France is extra rich and creamy. This “Sèvre Belle” is slightly salted. Ideal for the baguette and petit noir of the morning.
Whenever I can, I buy a 1-pound roll of salted and unsalted butter at my local Farmers Market. The one underneath the French butter comes from an Amish farm in Wisconsin from grass-fed cows. You can actually taste the difference.
For a bit more flavor, especially for ice-cream or a creamy dessert, nothing beats goat’s milk (see the cream leftover inside the bottle). Also available at Whole Foods.
The Vermont Creamery makes an excellent crème fraîche, one of the staples of French cooking. Their cheeses are also quite imaginative and creamy.

A very good recipe to use two of the products above is a panna-cotta. I suggest using the goat’s milk for the vanilla portion and the whole cow’s milk for the chocolate one. It can be done with one or both flavours, and although it may seem lengthy to prepare, the majority of time required is for refrigeration. The dessert can be made up to two days ahead and will keep for another two in the fridge. It is an ideal end for a rather light dinner, of fish for example, as it tends to be filling. The measurements are good for 4 servings.

La panna-cotta au chocolat, vainille e crème de violette:

Ingredients for the vainille et crème de violette panna-cotta:

3 Tbsp. cold water

2 ¼ tsp. unflavoured gelatin

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 cup half and half (combine half cup of cream and half of milk from “Natural by Nature” brand)

½ cup sugar

3 Tbsp. crème de violette liqueur

¼ Tahitian vanilla bean, scraped

Pinch of salt

Ingredients for the chocolate panna-cotta:

1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream

1 ¼ tsp. unflavoured gelatin

2 Tbsp. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 ounces finely chopped quality dark chocolate, 70% cacao

For the whipped cream topping:

¾ heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp crème de violette liqueur

A drop or two of violet food colouring

Small pieces of chocolate for decorating

***Preparation* *for the vainille et crème de violette panna-cotta:***

Pour the cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, half and half, sugar, lavender and salt over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine strainer and into a measuring cup with a spout. Stir in the crème de violette and the vanilla seeds, followed by the gelatin mixture, stirring until the gelatin has completely dissolved.

Divide among 4 individual serving glasses and bring to room temperature, then place on a flat surface in the fridge and refrigerate overnight.

Preparation for the chocolate panna-cotta:

Once the vanilla layer has been set, it’s time to make the chocolate one.

Pour ¼ cup of the whipping cream into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let sit for 10 minutes. Place the bowl into a larger one with hot water and stir mixture until the gelatin has completely dissolved.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining cream, sugar and salt just to a boil and remove promptly from the heat. Whisk the chocolate until completely incorporated and smooth.

Add the gelatin mixture until well combined, pour it through a fine strainer and into a measuring cup with a spout. Let sit until it reaches room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Divide among the chilled vanilla-crème de violette panna-cotta layered glasses, cover with plastic wrap and let chill in the refrigerator overnight.

To prepare the whipped cream topping:

Make this 2 hours before serving. Add the crème de violette liqueur to the cream, stir and let sit in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 1 hour – the longer it sits, the better the flavor.

Chill a mixing bowl and the metal whisk/s to be used to beat the cream for 15 minutes prior to mixing. Add the cream with a drop or two of colouring and beat until it forms a soft peak.

Top each dessert with a dollop of cream and a piece or two of dark chocolate.

"Our" French Café

2013-10-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

I have bought pastries at My French Café ever since my good friend David Moore recommended it on his group Wine Lovers & Adventurers. They are, without doubt, one of the best options for French patisseries in Central Florida. Owners Avy and Morgane Bendavid open their venture last fall, but they never imagined the success they’re enjoying.

This past weekend I decided to eat in and tried their “Little France” crêpe – typical ham, cheese and béchamel. It was tasty and very filling; however, I was disappointed. It was an American crêpe, not a French one, made too thick and served with a salad. In France, the batter would have been cooked into an extra thin crêpe, and the filling would have been enough but not overpowering like this one was.

The macaroons however, are spectacular. Two round, fluffy meringue sides, about 2” in diameter. There is a pistachio-blackcurrant version with raspberries, crème chantilly and a solid chocolate ganache center. All the macaroons come with a vial of sauce – in this case blackcurrant – to be dispensed over the top or even inside of the macaroon, to counter-balance the sweetness. If there ever was a perfect balance of flavours, this macaroon exemplifies it beautifully.

My French Café is the only place in Orlando so far where I could find the classic French Opera cake. Rich and with the typical accented taste of coffee, it pairs wonderfully with a strong espresso or a glass of brandy.

The Mille-feuille is a cake best eaten just an hour or two after it is made. My French Café can make it by special order in big size to impress your guests after an elegant dinner.

There is also the Paris Brest, a dessert created in honor of the cycle race that it is named after. It consists of a wheel-shaped pate choux pastry filled with almond cream and topped with slivered almonds. Especially fulfilling at tea time.

They also do catering and can make your favorite cake in larger sizes. Just imagine the ohs and ahs from your friends when it’s time for dessert!

Eating with Ann Mah

2013-09-16T21:04:00.002-04:00

As a parody to Julia Child’s scholarly written work Mastering the art of French cooking, Ann Mah has written her own story of life in France, one of an American diplomat’s wife that makes me dream of what could have been for me, had my parents not died when they did and I’d achieved that dream of becoming a diplomat myself. The dream of living in Paris, or even in France for that matter, is an elusive one for most of us, yet when one really wants it, anything that can get you closer to it is worth holding on to.

Ann Mah’s story is that element (read her blog here). Set in Paris, with some travels within France – the Auvergne, Burgundy, Provence, Alsace - that she mainly took to overcome a year of solitude when her husband was posted to Iraq during his then current assignment in Paris. They had another 2 years after that in the City of Light, which they used productively to buy their own pièd-a-terre, while indulging in French food and culture.

This is a very lovely memoir with a recipe typical of the region written about at the end of each chapter. To me, the best one is that of aligot, which sadly I cannot make at home as the main ingredient, a cheese curd by the name of tome fraîche, is not found in the US; but one to go on my bucket list of things to try when visiting France. The story of her visit to Aveyron is also the crown jewel of the book, providing a cozy, comforting end to a year of stories as an ex-pat foodie in France.

Being an inveterate Francophile myself, and currently trending the way Parisians cook and live, I found her recipe for bavette aux échalotes a nice take on my entrecôte Vilette (see my recipe here). The main difference is the cut of meat used. Whereas for entrecôte one would use ribsteak, for the bavette one uses skirt; which is a thin, rather fibrous cut. It makes for an incredibly tasty piece of meat. You may accompany it with the ubiquitous frites (recipe also here), a fresh salad or even some warm legumes. Of course when in France, serve it with aligot. This recipe serves 2.

Bavette aux échalotes:

Ingredients:

1 skirt or hanger steak, about 12 oz. trimmed of fat and patted dry
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. sunflower oil

Sauce:

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
4 large minced shallots
1 ½ Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Sprig of fresh thyme
½ cup beef stock

Preparation:

Trim the steak of any excess fat and season it with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. It must be sizzling hot. Place the steak in the pan and cook for 2 minutes, until the underside is seared and browned. Turn the steak over and cook the other side for about 50 seconds. Bavette is thin cut, so it cooks quite fast. The best way to eat this dish is medium-rare, so do not overcook! Transfer the beef to a warm plate and cover loosely with foil in order to keep it warm.

To make the sauce, heat 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the same skillet used for the steak. Add the shallots and sauté over medium heat for 7 minutes. Add the red wine vinegar, thyme and beef stock; bring to a boil. Cover and cook until the shallots have softened and the liquid has almost disappeared. Swirl in the remaining Tbsp. of butter and add any juices released from the meat. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning, adding a few drops of vinegar if needed.

Slice the steak against the grain into thin strips. Serve with the shallots spooned on top.

Le petit déjeneur parisienne

2013-08-10T18:05:00.001-04:00

So how do Parisians start their day?

Simply and efficiently. Just a café au lait, or a straight espresso for some, taken at the counter of their favorite spot on their way to work, along with a croissant or a slice of baguette with creamy butter (made with true unpasteurized cream yes!) and very good preserves. In this succinct version of a breakfast, we have 3 elements worth contemplating. For starters, the coffee.

Most of the coffee drank in France is from the very strong, robusta variety, which hails from Ethiopia. This is a truly strong roast. If you live outside of Paris (or even outside of France as is my case), you may experience this very effective pick me up with Lavazza’s Crema e Gusto espresso roast, which is made of a blend of 70% robusta beans.

It is the ideal blend to be brewed in the typical French press cafetière.

The Bodum Chambord French press brews
2 to 3 cups of coffee.

This particular way of starting the day reminds me very much of the confiterías in Buenos Aires – which for a very good reason is called “the Paris of South America” – serving “le petit noir” (as it is known in Paris) or a “café con leche”, along with a “medialuna” (our croissant), a great antidote against the cold mornings of the porteños.

This more relaxed version of the Paris breakfast, along with
a glass of grapefruit juice, is more of the weekends

Croissants and baguettes in Paris are one of the quintessential trademarks of the city. Paris has this culture du pain, and hundreds of different ones are made in its local boulangeries. I have found some very good croissants in Orlando at a place called Croissant Gourmet, in Winter Park. Their croissants are double the size of the ones from Paris or Buenos Aires, and the best ones are the almond croissants. Truly scrumptious and fulfilling, they leave one with no need for sustenance until dinner. For plain, scrumptiously fluffy croissants, Rosa at the Windermere Farmers Market has the best ones I’ve managed to find so far. You can get her croissants, excellent sourdough boules, baguettes with kalamata olives et al, every Friday from 9:00 to 14:00 hrs.

Rosa’s baguette with kalamata olives is the perfect

complement to home-marinated chèvre.

Best almond croissants in Orlando

My other local good place for French patisseries and breads is My French Café, where plain croissants are a bit more normal in size, yet are crispy golden brown on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I love these with some salted butter and very good preserves, either from Bonne Mamman, Hédiard or some extra special Confiture à la Ancienne. I managed to find one online cooked in cauldron from The Frenchy Bee

The baguette is the Parisian bread par excellence, and people generally buy 1 every day, sometimes queuing in front of their favorite boulangerie for the prized loaf. A very good baguette should be crispy and golden on the outside, with an interior that is cream in colour and soft. French bread tastes good because it is fresh, made every day, and contains no preservatives. I am always appalled by how long a loaf of bread lasts here in the USA, making for less than tolerable flavor and a true abortion of the good principles of bread-making. In France, it is illegal to use preservatives in the bread or dairy (or anything for that matter); hence products last less, but had incredible flavor and natural properties.

One the best boulangeries in Paris are those of Jean-Luc Poujauran (which now caters exclusively to high end restaurants), and that of the Poilâne family. The latter now ships breads directly to the United States. If one is willing to pay, Poilâne will send some very expensive, although very fresh bread right to your door by next day air.

After a fulfilling, yet not so heavy, breakfast, Parisians grab their écharpes, fasten their trench coats, and head on to work. No snacking till lunch time.

Bonjour Paris gastronome

2013-08-03T23:10:00.000-04:00

The gastronomy of France has always delighted and intrigued me at the same time. For a country that is as vast as it is interesting in this way, I thought about embarking on a deep study of each of its regions, as the only possible way to get immersed in the spirit of the true French cuisine, wine industry and hospitality in general. (It’s a hard job, but somebody’s gotta do it!).

The French are a passionate people. They feel strongly about almost everything, from politics to fashion, and food is no exception. One can be invited to dinner at someone’s house and the topic of conversation, during the whole soireé, would be the food eaten that evening. Is the wine appropriate for the cheeses served? What about the bread and how it paired with the entreé? Should the dessert have been lighter or heavier? These are all questions that the true gourmets – and gourmands too, why not? – ask themselves all the time, and to which they all enjoy providing different, and more refined answers every time they’re pondered.

The best place to start a tour of gastronomic France seems to me none other than its capital itself and the region immediately surrounding it. Paris, the City of Light, of lovers, passions, luxury, splendid architecture, the city I aspire to move to one day, is the first focal point for my gourmet adventure.

Paris is an ancient city. In it one can find the marks of all the different times the city has lived through, ever since it was first conquered by the Romans in 52 BC. When the Parisii (the first inhabitants of Paris) lived in it the city was called Lutetia.

The Parisii were Gallic people who lived in the area known today as the Ile de la Cité. They were hunters and used the Seine river for trade and exchange. After the Roman Empire conquered the land, Lutetia’s outlook was forged as a true Roman city with public baths and a forum. Christianity took over the land when king Clovis, the first of the Merovingian kings, converted to the religion. Thus the pagan ways of the Parisii were eliminated. I first came accross Lutetia’s name in a fragance immortalized by parfumier Houbigant that came out in the 80’s - Lutèce. Its advert at the time read “the perfume for days of gold and sapphire nights”. I find there is no better way to exemplify the essence of Paris.

The paradox of Paris:

For all that it is consumed in it and all that the city turns out gastronomically speaking, Paris produces nothing (Restaurants of Paris, Knopf guides, 1994, 52). The city however, receives produce and ingredients from all over the world, which are then sold in hundreds of markets throughout. Rungis, the biggest market in the world and precursor to the old Les Halles, is the major wholesale supplier for Paris’ many restaurants and individual sellers. One can only buy at Rungis with a special business license, but anyone can go and watch. Later one can stop at one of its many excellent restaurants for a truly gourmet repàs.

Abundance of produce at Rungis Market

Just like Rachel Khoo says in the introduction to her series “The Little Paris Kitchen”, the world generally finds French cuisine as difficult and fussy to prepare, something to be considered only for special occasions. Yet Parisians eat very simple, uncomplicated food day in and day out. Long are the days of the 20 course meals in places like Le Procope or L’Tour d’Argent of yesteryear.

As I immerse myself in the local discovery of the gastronomic Parisian culture, I intend to live like a Parisian where I currently reside in Orlando. If nothing else, just to use it as a preparation for my first visit to Paris in the near future. Join me in my next post to see how a Parisian would start her day.

Cooking with chocolate... and Lady Arianna

2013-06-23T20:15:00.001-04:00

Chocolate is my perdition. If I could eat some every day, I would. Sadly, I have come to realize that after turning 40, it adds to my waistline tremendously if I have it for a few days in a row. However, I do try and have some every week. These days there are tons of mysteries – my other favourite genre after food writing – that are set in the gastronomic field and include recipes. My latest discovery are the Regency mysteries starring Lady Arianna Hadley and Lord Alessandro Saybrook, penned by Andrea Penrose (which I briefly mentioned here)

I came upon these series browsing at my local Barnes & Noble, and after reading the blurb of the books, I instantly came to like them. The first installment, entitled Sweet Revenge, introduces the reader to both characters as the golden couple of future adventures to come. Arianna, disguised as a Chef inside the kitchen of a prominent society lady, is seeking revenge from the injustices done to her father, the late Lord Hadley, who was forced into exile after a dubious gambling scheme in England. Her plans appear thwarted, to say the least, when the Prince Regent of England succumbs during dinner after tasting one of Arianna’s chocolate creations.

It is here when war hero Lord Alessandro De Quincy, the Earl of Saybrook is called to investigate under a special service to the Crown. The pair run into quite a scheme, similar to what is known as the South Sea Bubble, which was, quite literally, the first big financial meltdown of the world.

There are several books and online resources about the South Sea Bubble so I will not go into detail here. A website I found quite informative is http://www.thebubblebubble.com/south-sea-bubble by economic analyst Jesse Colombo. Suffice it to say that the scheme came into being after the war of Spanish Succession, where Britain was granted exclusive trading rights with the Spanish colonies in America and the West Indies. The South Sea Company was created to assume Britain’s war debt, and almost everybody in the country bought stock into it, on the premise of outstanding returns based on the (expected?) existence of innumerable amounts of gold and silver in the colonies.

A stock certificate from the South Sea Company

Of course, such existences were grossly overrepresented, and when the British government just could not hold their finances together any longer, the bubble popped and stock prices plummeted out of control. The South Sea Bubble holds great historical significance as a case study into the movement of the financial markets and the principle of greed. Andrea Penrose’s novel, although a cozy mystery, is also a scientific book with thorough research of the subject.

The other part of the book that is of much interest to me is the chocolate trivia and recipes that precede each chapter. You see, Alessandro De Quincy had a Spanish grandmother, not only that, but one who loved chocolate so much she kept a diary about it, full of recipes and history. Since the Prince Regent appeared to have been poisoned by chocolate, Lord Saybrook is the only one that has true knowledge of the new product, hence to making him the ideal candidate to investigate the crime.

Of the 25 recipes offered, so far I have selected 2 which have left me very fauvorably impressed. The first one is a cake, very rich, and goes fantastic with a strong demi-tasse accompanied by a liqueur. It uses spelt flour, a grain from antiquity. It is this ingredient that gives it a unique rusticity.

Chocolate Espresso Spelt Cake

Ingredients:

¾ cup unsalted butter, European style, softened, plus additional for the pan
¾ cup unsweetened Dutch processed cocoa powder, plus additional for dusting pan and cake
1 cup boiling hot water
1 ½ Tbsp. instant espresso powder
1 ½ tsp. Mexican vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
14 Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 cups spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
1 cup packed Moscovado sugar
2 large eggs

Preparation:

Stir together boiling hot water, espresso powder, vanilla and baking soda in a bowl, then add dates, mashing lightly with a fork. Soak until liquid cools to room temperature – about 10 minutes.

Put oven rack in the middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 9” springform pan, then lightly dust with cocoa powder, knocking out the excess.

The batter before going into the oven

Whisk together spelt flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Beat together butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until just combined. Beat in the date mixture (batter will look curdled), then reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, a bit at a time, mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into the springform pan, smoothing top, and bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove side of pan and cool it on rack. When almost cool, sprinkle with cocoa powder. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.

The second recipe is for a delicious mousse with an Asian twist. It is as simple as it is dense.

Mocha Mousse with Sichuan Peppercorns

Ingredients for 4 servings:

¼ tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 ½ tsp ground coffee beans
4 oz 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 large egg whites
1 Tbsp sugar
Whipped cream for garnish

Preparation:

Grind the peppercorns with mortar and pestle. Bring cream, coffee and pepper to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for 30 minutes. Strain liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids.

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl. Stir in the cream. Let cool slightly.

Beat the egg whites with the sugar using an electric mixer until they just hold off stiff peaks. Fold into the chocolate mixture gently but thoroughly. Spoon the mousse into pots or glasses and chill at least 3 hours. Serve with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Apicius - the great ancient gourmet

2013-05-02T21:45:00.001-04:00

When it came to entertaining, nobody did it like the Romans. The books of Apicius are the oldest ones we know regarding the history of recipes and cooking techniques. They date from as far back as the time of Christ, and provide valuable insights as to how cooking and gastronomy started.

Scholars are at odds as to whether Apicius was one or several persons, and as to whether the book that we know as De Re-coquinaria was written all at once or it is actually a compilation, put together over several years. The romantic side of the story attributes the collection of ten books to a Marcus Gavius Apicius, a notable gourmet that lived in Rome during the reign of Tiberius. This Apicius used to dine on fresh crayfish, and a famous anecdote claims he took sail towards the coast of Africa on a whim, in search for the coveted crustaceans when they were not available in Rome.

The notable Roman entertained almost constantly and, although possessor of great wealth, upon noticing one day that his fortune would more than likely not allow him the pleasures of such dining extravagances until his final days, he decided to commit suicide by overeating. I’d say that for any gourmet, this is the ONLY way to go.

There are several translations of the books of Apicius. The one I read is the first one ever translated into English by scholar Joseph Dommers Vehling. Although the recipes are vague and not a single one of them gives any clue on measurements, learning about the ways the Romans prepared their food has been an enlightening experience.

Take, for instance, the way used to slaughter animals. In one of the recipes for chicken, the slaughtering is described as raptum. This has to be the cruelest way of killing an animal, which means none other than pulling it to pieces while it is still alive. Romans believed that suffering increased the quality of taste in the meat. Nowadays, of course – and thank God - we know the opposite to be true, as suffering only adds stress and makes the meat harder. One can only imagine the bestiality that took place in Ancient Rome, not just for entertainment purposes but over day to day living.

In general, Romans seemed to believe suffering, on all levels, added a new dimension to life, which somehow made it worth living. Hence the brutality present in all aspects of their lives, from killing slaves and throwing the bodies into fish ponds in order to fatten the mullets and eels living in them, to the invention of methods like crucifixion as punishment for crimes.

But going back to the cooking, we see that spices like cumin and black pepper were omnipresent. Also mulled wine and broth, which were used for sauces and rouxes. A combination of ingredients that intrigued me was one of fennel, dry mint and vinegar, so I decided to try it in a salad.

I made it quite simply, and no recipe is required. Just slice some fennel in thin strips, sprinkle about a tablespoon of dried mint over it, then season with red wine vinegar. It’s refreshing and proves to be a nice digestive for something heavy as a lamb roast, with which I served it. I also topped it with a dollop of crème fraîche seasoned with ras-el-hanout, a special Moroccan spice mix, which added yet another dimension and paired magnificently with the Moroccan-style lamb.

Murder, murder and more murder...

2013-04-15T13:11:00.000-04:00

I have a huge library. It is intrinsic to me. Whenever I’ve been, in all the places I have lived, books are the first thing that I start accumulating, even before clothes, or food! Culinary mysteries are one of my favorite genres. Since I am in a culinary state of mind lately, I selected as this week’s read Appetite for Murder by Francophile Cecille Lamalle (http://www.amazon.com/Appetite-Murder-Culinary-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/0446607622/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1336794783&sr=8-3).

Ms. Lamalle is a cook, food editor and recipe developer, and her familiarity with the food industry is palpable almost from the beginning of the story. Set in Van Buren county, in the outskirts of Albany, in New York state, Appetite for Murder is an interesting compendium of culinary secrets, ephemera, even recipes, of the first kind; all wrapped up in a nice, juicy mystery.

The first thing I noticed about the story is the abundance of characters. So much so, that half way through the book, I had to start over because I no longer knew who was who and what their part in the story was. There is, of course, our Frenchman Chef and amateur sleuth Charles “Charly” Poisson. Original from the Jura mountains in France - the land of les vins jeune - he now owns “La Fermette” (or "The Farmhouse"), an upscale restaurant that, although labeled first class by everyone in the story, as well as the review that precedes it, I find quite ordinary in its menu choices. Apple and pecan pies for dessert, sandwiches à la Americaine (not the nice French baguettes made with succulent country paté and fresh vegetables), hamburgers and just simple Gravlax in a French restaurant?? I would not consider “La Fermette” as a high end dining establishment for one minute, especially if one thinks of the original "La Fermette Marbeuf" in Paris, a restaurant that appears to be the model for Ms. Poisson's.

The original La Fermette Marbeuf. Who wouldn't want to dine here?

Ms. Poisson serves this menu following the suggestion of his favourite customer, an interesting character belonging to the mob by the name of Walter Maxwell, in order to make a living. Sad, I must say, especially because no respectable Frenchman would sacrifice the quintessential food qualities and rituals of France to merely fit in anywhere, especially among banal gangsters in America. Nonetheless, Ms. Poisson runs a highly profitable business.

Narrative-wise, this is one is a confusing, albeit rather entertaining, book. There are several different events taking place at the same time. The first body is found by Charly himself, one day in early October, while on a hunt for oyster mushrooms, which he would later use in a most excellent soup (and one which I intend to try this coming Autumn). He finds the body of a very well-dressed woman, wearing an expensive Hermès scarf, buried in the rich humus of his land. But this is not the only case currently on the curricula of the small Van Buren County Police. Someone has been burning the barns of the local farmers, one by one, for the past several months, and the Police still do not have a clue on who the arsonist is. Then one of Charly’s customers, a rich lady by the name of Honoria Wells, gets attacked – twice, once by her money-hungry boyfriend and later by… someone who shoots her while lounging in her living room. This same sniper targets our French Chef as well – twice, but he miraculously escapes.

View of the bar area, which presumably was the inspiration for Charly Poisson's restaurant.

In the meantime, a mischievous child is murdered, the barn burnings continue, and a cleaning lady disappears. Is it all connected? Ostensibly so. And the interesting part is, that unlike in most mysteries, the reader is shown the culprit from the moment the crimes are committed. The reason one is compelled to continue reading is for the pure pleasure of seeing the characters come to their own realizations about the events in the story and, mostly, for the delightful leçons de la cuisine imparted by Charly throughout. His favoritism for Bach flower remedies, his chewing of garlic for a strong heart and other eccentricities our Chef has make this an engaging book.

I decided to test the recipe for Salmon Rillettes, which I came to find was sloppily written. Properly made though, it makes for a very nice appetizer. I chose to serve it in my Emile Henry terrine, which I found at a discount in Williams-Sonoma, and considerably added to its presentation glamour. For 4 to 6 servings gather:

Ingredients:

1 pound skinned salmon fillets, very finely chopped
1 Tbsp. vodka
1 1/2 Tbsp. dill, chopped
Pinch of brown sugar
Sea salt to taste
1 large shallot, finely chopped
Dash or two of Tabasco sauce

Preparation:

Steamed the salmon fillets for 8 minutes, turning them once at half time. Then chop them and combine with remaining ingredients, tossing gently with 2 forks. Press into a terrine dish and let the flavours marry in the refrigerator 5 to 6 hours, or preferably overnight. Serve with rounds of toasted baguette and butter. A crisp Chablis accompanies this appetizer very well.

Now if I could only be the consultant for that menu…

Macaroons from Pavillon Ledoyen

2013-04-13T22:50:00.000-04:00

The word macaroon means different things to different nationalities. Whilst in America we could care less as to whether it is macaroni and cheese or cheese and macaroni, Europeans take the matter of food very seriously. Case in point, the macaroon.

There is the Italian variety and the French one, the latter one being the one of interest for this post. French macaroons are less dense and a lot more airy than Italian ones. They’re basically made of meringue and have a creamy filling in-between, which can be anything from a fruit jam to a creamy mousse (ganache). They are served at the end of a meal as petit fours secs, as accompaniment to coffee.

The Parisian bakery Ladureé is credited with the creation of the French macaroon. As such, they should be on your MUST VISIT list when in Paris. In the meantime, we can have these delicacies directly sent to our door via Pavillon Ledoyen, a purveyor of all things gourmet, also located in Paris.

Pavillion Ledoyen opened in 1791 as a restaurant. It passed through a number of owners, even overcoming a fire in 1848. Eventually, the brand grew to what it is today, shipping French delicacies all over the world for those who do not have the good fortune of living in Paris.

I was lucky enough to receive a box of their classic collection, which included both fruity and creamy flavoured macaroons in all the colours of the rainbow. Presentation is important for the brand, as the red box in which the macaroons arrived demonstrates. It makes them an ideal hostess gift (one that will make you look totally “non-desperate”). We tasted them with a nice espresso, freshly ground and brewed. Our favorites were the coffee, chocolate and citrus flavours, closely followed by the blueberry and pistachio. The strawberry one was the least favorite as the jam seemed too stiff; however all flavours had the dreamy, airy texture a proper French macaroon should have, and they melted in our mouth in a couple of bites, as will you.

Enjoy your happy coffee moment!

Nigella's first book was on pasta

2013-03-24T18:39:00.000-04:00

The first time I heard about Nigella Lawson was when I watched her program Nigella Bites on the Style Network. Instantly, I took a liking to her. She was witty, polished, modern and oh so British. Her posh accent and vocabulary were enriching in itself, and the way she presented her cooking, quite unique. She reminded me a bit of Doña Petrona, the great Argentine cook that was just as witty and wrote THE elementary cookbook for the Argentine housewife.

I remembered how her production team admired her after becoming a widow relatively early in life, and succeeded making it on her own whilst pulling her strings with two very young children in tow. The idea conveyed was of a struggling, lonely housewife with almost no recourse other than her wit. Although I’ve no doubt that the woman went through a difficult time (she admits to have suffered from depression at the time), she was hardly ever in a financially desperate situation.

Lawson is the daughter of ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer during the Thatcher government Nigel Lawson, and Vanessa Salmon, a socialite and heiress to the magnanimous J.Lyons & Co. catering empire. Although her childhood was a bit difficult due to her parents’ disagreements and subsequent divorce in 1980, she shone academically and graduated from Oxford University.

A composite photo from 1965, showing a glummy Nigella to the left, with father Nigel,
deceased sister Thomasina and mum Vanessa, ever the great organized hostess.

She became a journalist and wrote for prestigious publications, such as The Observer, The Telegraph, The Times in the United Kingdom and Gourmet and Bon Appétit in the

United States

. It was during this time that she met her first husband, also journalist John Diamond, and the father of her two children Cosima and Bruno. They married in Venice in 1992, and Diamond died of throat cancer in 2001. I still have recordings of Nigella Bites with him on it, sitting at the table with guests during a meal and unable to eat anything because of his terrible disease. I thought at the time how cruelly ironic life can be, having a wife who is a famous cook, along with a disease that’s killing you, but also in the meantime, precludes you from tasting anything she makes. Shortly after Diamond’s death she started dating art collector Charles Saatchi. They married in 2003 and have been together ever since.

Lawson’s enjoyment for cooking came about from her mother, who loved to entertain and cook, being who she was, the heiress of such a large food-related organization. Unlike Nigella though, her mother suffered from eating disorders. This may have been the cause of her rather early demise at the age of 48 due to liver cancer. In a recent interview with the Daily Mail, she declared her relationship with her mother was less than ideal: “I never thought I could please her,' she said. 'She was funny, but depressed and so sensitive to noise.”

Still, being the daughter of such entertaining-loving mother obviously influenced her life. Her first book, How to eat, was published in 1998 and sold 300,000 copies. But contrary to what most everyone believes, this was not her first written contribution. I consider her very first work one called Il museo immaginario della pasta, which she co-wrote with Pier Luigi Bassignana, a curator and contributor to various technical Italian publications. The collectors’ tome was written to commemorate the First World Congress on Pasta, which took place in Rome, between the 25^th and 28^th October, 1995.

Lawson wrote for the book an essay entitled “A food with divine origins”, in which she traces the origins of pasta offering surprising revelations. For instance, who would have thought the Arabs played a prominent role in the development of pasta? Lawson reveals how the food was eaten in ancient Persia and appeared in the cookery books of medieval Islam. She also delves into the history of badly cooked pasta, emphasizing the fact that this food should never be overcooked but always “al dente” and with a small amount of sauce, as opposed to drowning in it.

The amount of pasta shapes and sizes shown in the book is amazing, and has appealed to an esoteric taste like mine. Recently I found some colourful pasta at my local Homegoods called “monumenti”. They are just that – monuments and buildings of Italy in your plate. It was very important, like Lawson suggests in her essay, not to overcook these shapes, as they would otherwise disintegrate very easily. I found 4 minutes were more than enough, and I served them with an excellent Ligurian pesto topped with freshly grated Parmesan, and piece of cheese bread. Simple, yet elegant comfort food to have while sitting cozily in front of the T.V.

But who can claim they do not love pasta? As far as Nigella’s first true written contribution to the world of cookery books, the English used to associate the word “pasta” with macaroni. Here in America, macaroni and cheese is a classic, but for me, the best recipe for this dish does not come from Nigella, or from any American cook, but from a compatriot of hers, model turned celebrity chef Lorraine Pascale. She makes a heavenly Glam Mac & Cheese, which elevates comfort food to a new ideal, that of the gourmet one. This dish has it all – the meatiness of the pancetta and the aromas of the fresh herbs combined with the yummy cheeses, whilst offering the comfort of pasta. I encourage you to try this tasty recipe, which will have you licking your fingers to no end. The amount makes four generous servings.

Glam Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

340g macaroni
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
80g pancetta, diced
1 small handful of fresh thyme leaves
3 scallions, trimmed and finely sliced
100g breadcrumbs
1 handful of chopped parsley

For the cheese sauce:

· 3 Tbsp butter

· 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour

· Pinch of ground nutmeg

· 1 tsp mustard powder

· Generous ¾ cup milk

· Scant 1 ¼ cup of heavy cream

· 200g dolce latte or Gorgonzola cheese

· 115g Parmesan cheese, grated

Preparation:

Cook the macaroni in a large pot of boiling salted water. They need to be cooked to just under what you would normally do, as the pasta will be cooked again in the oven. Drain, then return to the pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Fry the pancetta in a medium skillet over gentle heat until it starts to brown and crisp up, then add the scallions and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and add its contents to the pasta.

For the sauce, put the butter, flour, nutmeg and mustard in a small pan set over medium heat and cook until the butter has melted. Mix the milk and cream together in a pitcher and add a little to the flour and butter in the pan, stirring well. Keep adding the milk mixture, bit by bit, stirring well each time. This will prevent the sauce from going lumpy. Resist the temptation of putting all the milk in at once, since you will be left with clumps of flour floating on the surface. Should this happen, take the pan off the heat and whisk it like crazy – it should make all the lumps disappear. Make sure you get the spoon into the corners of the pan, as stray mounds of flour often lurk there. Once the sauce has fully come together, turn up the heat and boil for a minute or two. The sauce will thicken considerably. Once this happens remove it from the heat and add two thirds of both the cheeses to it while it’s still hot and combine well. It may be a bit lumpy, but that is fine. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add to the pasta mix. Stir everything together and spoon into a shallow casserole dish or 4 individual ramekins. This latter option is my favourite, as I then have the freedom to freeze part of the preparation at this point in the recipe.

Once ready to eat, sprinkle the top with the thyme leaves, the rest of the cheeses and the breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese starts to bubble and the topping goes crumbly and brown. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot.

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La panna-cotta au chocolat, vainille e crème de violette:

1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream 1 ¼ tsp. unflavoured gelatin 2 Tbsp. sugar Pinch of salt 2 ounces finely chopped quality dark chocolate, 70% cacao For the whipped cream topping:

¾ heavy whipping cream 2 Tbsp crème de violette liqueur A drop or two of violet food colouring Small pieces of chocolate for decorating Preparation for the vainille et crème de violette panna-cotta:

Pour the cold water into a small bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin.

In a medium saucepan, heat the cream, half and half, sugar, lavender and salt over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil, about 5 minutes.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture through a fine strainer and into a measuring cup with a spout. Stir in the crème de violette and the vanilla seeds, followed by the gelatin mixture, stirring until the gelatin has completely dissolved.

Once the vanilla layer has been set, it’s time to make the chocolate one.

Pour ¼ cup of the whipping cream into a small heatproof bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let sit for 10 minutes. Place the bowl into a larger one with hot water and stir mixture until the gelatin has completely dissolved.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the remaining cream, sugar and salt just to a boil and remove promptly from the heat. Whisk the chocolate until completely incorporated and smooth.

Add the gelatin mixture until well combined, pour it through a fine strainer and into a measuring cup with a spout. Let sit until it reaches room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Make this 2 hours before serving. Add the crème de violette liqueur to the cream, stir and let sit in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 1 hour – the longer it sits, the better the flavor.

Chill a mixing bowl and the metal whisk/s to be used to beat the cream for 15 minutes prior to mixing. Add the cream with a drop or two of colouring and beat until it forms a soft peak.

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1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream

1 ¼ tsp. unflavoured gelatin

2 Tbsp. sugar

Pinch of salt

2 ounces finely chopped quality dark chocolate, 70% cacao

For the whipped cream topping:

¾ heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp crème de violette liqueur

A drop or two of violet food colouring

Small pieces of chocolate for decorating

***Preparation* *for the vainille et crème de violette panna-cotta:***