May 31, 2004
Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes
[Herbed Frogs' Legs]
A lot of the things the French are notorious for eating, like frogs' legs or snails, kidneys or horse meat, aren't really that common in everyday food. In the case of frogs' legs, I personally tasted them for the first time just a year ago, in a three-star restaurant no less, during a week-end getaway in the Perigord.
And then a few weeks ago, while shopping at my Picard store, I noticed that they carried frozen frogs' le...
"Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes" continues »
May 29, 2004
Compote Rose
[Pink Compote]
I've always been a great fan of tart and acidic things. I also love the French word for this special combination of tastes, "acidulé", which perfectly conveys the idea of something colorful and tingly and refreshing. As a child, my favorite candy were the ones that gave your tastebuds shock therapy -- I remember with particular fondness those little flying saucers made of pastel wafer paper, filled with a pink powder that tickle...
May 28, 2004
Mini Paper Cups
You know how sometimes, you'll be reading a cookbook or a cooking magazine, and a recipe will call for a specific piece of equipment? And all of a sudden you just have to have that thing, right that minute? Even though this is the first recipe you've ever laid eyes on that mentioned it? Because you can just feel, deep inside of you, that it will make your life better?
Well, this is exactly the story of my mini paper cups.
In no way can I be ...
May 27, 2004
The Pasta Salad That Rhymed With O
[a.k.a. Tomato Chorizo Pistachio Pasta Salad]
Pasta salads are one of these things I start to crave all of a sudden, when the weather gets warmer. As I've mentioned before, I usually bring my own food to work, and pasta salads are great portable lunches : they're quick to make, they get better as they sit, and they are an easy way to fill up on starch, protein and veggies in one tasty dish.
They're also an excellent companion for lunch on a ...
"The Pasta Salad That Rhymed With O" continues »
May 26, 2004
Tomates Confites
[Slow-Roasted Tomatoes]
I've been wanting to make my own tomates confites for a while, especially after eating and tremendously enjoying the semi-dried tomatoes I posted about recently.
And then in the tranquility of a Sunday afternoon, I spotted a few roma tomatoes lying lazily on our kitchen counter, getting contentedly riper and riper, quite unaware of what was coming to them. I took them by surprise, and condemned them, I'm afraid, to a ...
"Tomates Confites" continues »
May 25, 2004
Pain Chocolat Orange
[Chocolate Orange Bread]
I bought this loaf of bread at the BoulangEpicier the other day. I've mentioned that store before, and it continues to be a favorite of mine : whenever I'm in the area I make sure to stop there, to buy some bread or grab one of their pricy but mind-blowing sandwiches.
I have also adroitly albeit heavily hinted at my neighbor Patricia, who works close by, that it was really perfectly okay to surprise me with a little ...
"Pain Chocolat Orange" continues »
May 24, 2004
Soupe de Châtaigne au Chorizo
[Chestnut and Chorizo Soup]
This recipe comes from the book "Mes Petits Plats Préférés", by Trish Deseine. She is definitely one of my favorite cookbook authors : her recipes are simple but inventive, and I love her personal and friendly voice. She is also the author of my all-time fave cookbook "Je veux du chocolat!", which I've mentioned in the past. I recently met her at the signing of her latest book, titled "J'en veux encore", and was del...
"Soupe de Châtaigne au Chorizo" continues »
May 23, 2004
Riz au Lait à la Framboise (IMBB4)
[Raspberry Rice Pudding]
Most of you know by now about Is My Blog Burning?, the collaborative food blogging event, in which food bloggers post a recipe on a particular theme on the same day. Well, today is the 4th edition, hosted by Pim, and the theme this time is "Around the World in a Bowl of Rice".
As I have come to expect on such occasions, my mind has been a battlefield for the past week, as ever-growing throngs of widely different ideas...
"Riz au Lait à la Framboise (IMBB4)" continues »
May 21, 2004
The Biggest Speculoos in the World
Speculoos are a specialty from the North of France and Belgium. Originally baked as a treat for St-Nicholas' day, those thin, crunchy little cookies, flavored with spices, are baked in long rectangular molds that form a pattern on them : a saint's figure or, more commonly nowadays, the brand name. They are baked year-round now, and are widely available in supermarkets all over France.
There are many versions of the recipe, some calling for cin...
"The Biggest Speculoos in the World" continues »
May 20, 2004
Semoule de Chou-Fleur aux Fruits Secs
[Cauliflower Semolina with Dried Fruits]
Forenote : in the US, the term couscous is used to mean the North-African wheat pasta, shaped like very small beads. The actual name for this is, in fact, semolina -- "semoule" in French. Couscous is the typical North-African dish which includes steamed semolina, as well as vegetables and grilled meat.
I made this recipe using a head of cauliflower I got in my Campanier basket. The poor thing had been ...
"Semoule de Chou-Fleur aux Fruits Secs" continues »
May 19, 2004
Eating Out in Madrid
On Saturday, after walking around Madrid and engaging in a little healthy food shopping, we went home for a much-deserved nap, and didn't go out again until 9 pm, for a pre-dinner drink.
In Spain, people eat late. And I do mean late : we Parisians have a tendency to be late diners as well, but they take the concept to a whole new level. As we drove into the city it was 9:30 pm, going on 10, and the restaurants were all empty, with a waiter or...
"Eating Out in Madrid" continues »
May 18, 2004
Food Shopping in Madrid
Maxence and I spent just spent a lovely week-end in Madrid, visiting friends of ours who live just outside of the city with their two little girls. We were lucky enough to arrive just as the weather was changing from drab to splendid, making it possible to enjoy the big garden, the pool (okay, the sight of the pool, the water was far too cold for me), and the barbecue.
On Saturday, after a long walk around the city center and a delicious turro...
"Food Shopping in Madrid" continues »
May 17, 2004
Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise
[Raspberry Yogurt Cake]
Gâteau au Yaourt is a staple in French home baking : it is very easy to make and I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like it. Its particularity is to call for a pot de yaourt (a tub of yogurt), and to use the empty pot to measure out the rest of the ingredients. This no-scale recipe is a notable exception to the French usage, in which quantities are measured by weight rather than volume.
It is very popular with kids...
"Gâteau au Yaourt à la Framboise" continues »
May 14, 2004
The Potato Brush's Grand Debut
Due to overwhelming popular demand, I hereby present, drumroll please... the unbelievable, the phenomenal, the incredible... Potato Shaped Potato Brush! [Loud applause]
It is small and it is cute! It's a she and she is shy! Please reserve The Brush your warmest welcome! [Roaring applause]
An amazing con artist, she was discovered by our talent scout, hidden in a basket of confusingly similar brushes!
Shaped like a potato, she'll scrub your p...
"The Potato Brush's Grand Debut" continues »
May 13, 2004
The Rolls Royce of Potatoes
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is not just any old potato. No no no. Oh, no. These are Bonnotte potatoes, from the island of Noirmoutier, just South of Brittany. Noirmoutier potatoes, which benefit from copious rains imbued with sea salt, are considered to be the best, and the Bonnotte variety is the cream of the crop.
I bought a kilo of these last week at the Salon Saveurs, for 4.80 €. The guy at the stand, unlike most of ...
"The Rolls Royce of Potatoes" continues »
May 12, 2004
Le Ventre de Paris
Le Ventre de Paris, translated into The Belly of Paris, is a novel written by Emile Zola in 1873. It is the third of the twenty novels of his naturalist cycle of books, Les Rougon Macquart. The series is about two branches of a large family and their members -- the rich and powerful Rougon, and the poor and miserable Macquart -- whose lives intertwine from the middle of the 18th to the late 19th century.
Each novel focuses on certain nodes of...
"Le Ventre de Paris" continues »
May 11, 2004
Rhubarb Jam : What it Says about You
And here you thought, ingenuously, that a bunch of rhubarb was just a bunch of rhubarb.
But no. A bunch of rhubarb, or any other delightful but fleetingly seasonal fruit, is in fact a test that life puts before you. Think Cosmopolitan meets Jean de la Fontaine : are you a grasshopper or an ant?
The grasshopper will enjoy the rhubarb now, and make a compote, a cake, a crumble, a tart, a pie, a buckle, a grunt, a cobbler, or hey, maybe even a...
"Rhubarb Jam : What it Says about You" continues »
May 10, 2004
Salon Saveurs : my Loot
Last Friday, I attended the Salon Saveurs, a food show held at the Espace Champerret in Paris twice a year. To make a happy event happier, I was blessed with the company of five other food enthusiasts and C&Z readers -- Amy, Pascale, Alisa, Ethan and Isabelle.
We were all delighted to make each other's acquaintance, and it was really great to explore the halls together, getting all excited about the same things, gesturing wildly to the rest o...
"Salon Saveurs : my Loot" continues »
May 9, 2004
IMBB4 : Around the World in a Bowl of Rice
The fourth edition of Is My Blog Burning?, the one and only distributed food blogging event, will be hosted by Pim. The theme this time around is "Around the world in a bowl of rice", and the idea is -- you guessed it -- to cook a rice dish!
Entries should be posted on Sunday, May 23rd, two weeks from now. Check out the details on Pim's blog, and take a look at the previous events' entry list :
First edition : Soups
Second edition : Tartines
...
"IMBB4 : Around the World in a Bowl of Rice" continues »
May 7, 2004
Chocolate Dipping Fork
I keep a running list of tools I absolutely need and must acquire at all costs. I'll admit that this list tends to be much longer than reasonable, and completely out of proportion with the capacity of our kitchen or the actual utility of said tools.
But hey, some girls buy shoes, I buy kitchen toys! (Well, shoes too, but I'm trying to make a point, here.)
This "fourchette à tremper" is an item I recently crossed off my list. It is what choco...
"Chocolate Dipping Fork" continues »
May 6, 2004
Les Petits Suisses
[Little Swiss Cheeses]
Un petit suisse, literally "a little Swiss", is a fresh cow's milk cheese that's shaped like a small cylinder.
The story, I gather, is that it was originally invented in Normandy in the 1850's, at a dairy farm owned by a Madame Hérould. One of her garçon-vachers (an employee who tends to the cows, literally a cowboy), who was from Switzerland, suggested she enrich her cheese with cream, like they did in his home country...
"Les Petits Suisses" continues »
May 5, 2004
Confiture de Fraises au Poivre Noir et à la Menthe Fraîche
[Strawberry Jam with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint]
This is another one of the jams I made last summer, during my jam-making spree.
The recipe comes from a great little book by Christine Ferber, the Jam Fairy, simply titled "Mes Confitures". After a section with tips and techniques, which is kept nice and short, Christine goes on to share over seventy of her recipes.
They are organized by season, and I find this clever and wonderfully suited :...
"Confiture de Fraises au Poivre Noir et à la Menthe Fraîche" continues »
May 4, 2004
Cranberry Banana Bread
I had read about this recipe a little while ago on Mariko's blog. She credited Melissa for it, who had herself gotten it from Wilson's Farm in Lexington, MA. I'd always wanted to make a banana bread but never had, and the addition of cranberries sounded great. A few months ago, my grocery store was selling cranberries, very uncharacteristically I might add, and I had bought a basket with this bread in mind, and frozen it until the occasion aros...
"Cranberry Banana Bread" continues »
May 3, 2004
Fèves Fraîches
[Fresh Fava Beans]
I'd never had fresh fava beans before, so it was a pleasant surprise to discover some in my Campanier basket this week. I decided to have them for lunch the other day.
Boy, do those little guys like to play hard-to-get!
What you initially have are those large, fat, green pods, that look a lot like giant green beans. I had quite a bunch of these.
When you tear one of the pods open, you can see that the inside is lined wit...
May 2, 2004
Salon Saveurs : wanna join us?
The spring edition of the Saveurs food show starts in Paris next week. I will be there on Friday at 12:30, accompanied by Amy, a C&Z reader since the early days, and Pascale from C'est moi qui l'ai fait.
If you are in Paris and available on that day and time, how about joining us? Drop me an email if you'd like to come, and we'll arrange to meet!
Salon Saveurs
When : May, 7 to 10, 2004
Where : Paris Espace Champerret
Métro : Porte de Champerr...
"Salon Saveurs : wanna join us?" continues »
May 1, 2004
Mon Cahier de Recette
[My Recipe Book]
Six or seven years ago, I started a little recipe book. At that time, I still lived at my parents' and hardly ever cooked, except when they were away, and then there would be the obligatory calls to my mother for the recipe to gratin de courgette or quiche lorraine, and how do you cook potatoes again?
I bought a spiral notebook with three sections, and neatly labeled them "Salé", "Sucré" and "Divers" (savory, sweet and miscel...
"Mon Cahier de Recette" continues »