April 24, 2006
Soupe aux Orties
[Nettle Soup]
How often do you get to cook with a hostile ingredient? Sure, you could hurt yourself with pretty much anything -- drop a head of celeriac on your toes, rub your eyes after chopping chili peppers, stab yourself with a carrot -- but nettle leaves are actively belligerent. Stinging you is their life calling, it is what they were meant to do, and you can hardly blame them. Wolves will be wolves, nettles will be nettles.
And so it i...
"Soupe aux Orties" continues »
April 17, 2006
Hot Cross Buns, Take II
If you have a book to write, I recommend hiding out for a few days in the comfort of a mountain house, preferably in a region where spring is a bit tardy, so the weather will make it easy for you to stay in and type. For fresh air, throw in a few healthy walks to spot the first daffodils (the mist will also make your hair nice and wavy) and a few morning visits to the market. For distraction, a daytrip to Munster and Colmar, and lots of reading...
"Hot Cross Buns, Take II" continues »
April 12, 2006
Ganache Sandwich Cookies
I am not very good at falling asleep. Once I manage to drift off I sleep soundly till morning -- which is a blessing, no doubt -- but it can take a while before I achieve that state of blissful nothingness. However much I try to relax before bedtime, my mind is reluctant to let go of the day's activities, and seems to take the head-hits-pillow event as a signal to start whirring up again, and brainstorm on whichever problem needs solving, which...
"Ganache Sandwich Cookies" continues »
April 10, 2006
L'Aide de Cuisine
[The KitchenAid]
I have given in to the demon of temptation, and I can tell you this: it is poppy red, it weighs twenty-two pounds, and it comes with a dough hook, a flat beater, a wire whisk, and a stainless steel bowl (which conveniently doubles up as a kitchen mirror).
After so many years of lusting and wishing and yearning, resisting the urge because a stand mixer is not exactly cheap and counter space is a scarce commodity, I finally cav...
"L'Aide de Cuisine" continues »
April 4, 2006
Soupe de Betterave, Pâte d'Anchois aux Noix
[Beet Soup with Anchovy-Walnut Paste]
I went to the market on Saturday morning, walking at a brisk pace up the boulevard in the shy sunlight, stopping by the bank to deposit a check (aren't you glad to know), and reaching the stands about a minute after the greasy smells of potato pancakes had reached me -- how anyone can be tempted by these is beyond me, but the guy who sells them seems to do quite well, so perhaps I'm just not his target aud...
"Soupe de Betterave, Pâte d'Anchois aux Noix" continues »