April 8, 2005
Fraises au Sucre et Eclats de Fève de Cacao
[Just a little something to keep you happy while I busy myself madly at work, playing firefighter on a work project gone horribly awry.]
Write down some of your favorite ingredients on small pieces of paper. Put them all in a jar, pick three at random (no cheating!) and see if you can come up with a recipe to make the most of your trio.
Sometimes it does not work at all, but sometimes you get: a chicken stew with fresh figs and almonds, zucchini stuffed with polenta and mint, a tuna and lentil salad in a coffee dressing, chocolate and cilantro bread pudding, a chilled leek soup made with fermented milk and toasted walnuts...
Or, as pictured above: strawberries sprinkled with unrefined sugar and cacao nibs. Simplicity and complementarity in both taste and texture, just the kind of prize you can hope for in this little cooking-inspiration game...
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Comments (11)
Permalink | Posted by clotilde in Cakes & Desserts
Good luck with your project! Je compatis...
Posted by Estelle on April 8, 2005 3:22 PMInteresting idea. But probably better if you have a friend write down his/her favorite ingredients, if only because if I did it, I bet my picks would all be relatively complimentary and it might not be such a challange to figure out what to do with, for example, oil cured olives, anchovies, and, say, carmalized onions. Anyway, sounds like a fun game!
Good luck on your project.
Posted by RP on April 8, 2005 6:58 PMquick desserts... I love strawberry fool , but I need a greek yougurt! Great site, makes me miss south of France very much!
Posted by schatzli on April 8, 2005 11:53 PMHi, I'm a new visitor to your website and I have to tell you how fantastic it is to see someone so passionate about food! Cool and interesting idea about the random ingredients! Keep up the great work, Clotilde and congratulations on your recent bloggie awards!
Posted by quinn on April 9, 2005 12:51 AMEggs, chocolate & peaches...
Posted by Kolya on April 9, 2005 11:33 AMEasy - chocolate mousse, from the recipe book I have since I was 10 years old. It only uses Chocolate & eggs for mousse. Peaches under mousse = perfection. I would hollow my peaches out a little to use as edible bowls for mousse & serve the extra bits on top.
Hmmm... now I have to see if I have enough chocolate. This game has made me hungry.
This could be dangerous. I like a plethora of things, so I could potentially end up with a fine meal containing chocolate, black olives, and brie. Um, ew.
Posted by Holly on April 10, 2005 3:24 PMI live in Berkeley, and just bought some Giuttard cacao nibs from a lovely candy-making and cake-decorating supply store here called Spun Sugar. Yesterday I had a barbecue with friends to celebrate the beautiful weather and picked up a flat of strawberries for a ridiculously low price. It wasn't until I got home and had both items on my counter in front of me that I remembered seeing this recipe. My friends loved it! My partner now refers to the nibs as the "cocaine of chocolate."
Thank you Clotilde!
Posted by feste on April 10, 2005 8:57 PMmy favorite is strawberries with sugar and ground cardamon(sp?)
Posted by Jay on April 11, 2005 1:28 PMAn addendum: I recently spooned this mixture over crepes stuffed with creme de marron and topped with a little sweetened rum sauce. Divine!
Posted by feste on April 12, 2005 6:55 PMare you saying that fermented milk is on your list of favourite foods??
Posted by clementine on April 13, 2005 12:06 AMOther than that, I love the food combinations- I think I may well playt this game next time I'm needing inspiration!
Love love love this idea :) I think I shall convert it to a party game for a picnic or potluck. That dish looks beautiful.
Posted by mingerspice on April 28, 2005 11:18 AM