February 2007 Archive

February 27, 2007

Compotée d'Echine de Porc au Cidre

[Cider-Stewed Pork Loin Blade Roast] I find cuts of meat confusing. I find them confusing because the terminology straggles from the technical to the vernacular and back again, because readable diagrams are few and far between, and because the matter only gets murkier when you try to juggle French and English terms used in different countries. ...

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February 23, 2007

Chips de Pita au Zaatar

[Zaatar Pita Chips] Zaatar is a popular spice blend in Middle-Eastern cuisines -- those of Syria and Lebanon in particular --, made of thyme, toasted sesame seeds, sumac, and salt. (Note: The Arabic word also means simply "thyme", and is sometimes transcribed as za'atar, zahtar, or zatar.) As with all generic spice blends, the flavor profile of...

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February 20, 2007

Betterave Crapaudine

[Crapaudine Beet] It is a common misconception that the wintertime opposes the hurried cook with a dearth of ready-to-eat vegetables that could be prepped and dressed in under five minutes. But what of endives and young winter greens, what of radishes and kohlrabi? What of lemon-squeezed mushrooms, what of thinly sliced fennel and cabbage, what...

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February 16, 2007

Book Update, Part VII

If you have been keeping an eye on the moblog, you may have noticed that I have just taken a lightning trip to NYC. The main reasons for this trip were to brunch with Adam in Brooklyn and to buy a mosquito helicopter for Maxence, but I also managed to squeeze in a series of meetings and work sessions with my publicist, to prepare for the upcomi...

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February 9, 2007

Le Fondant au Chocolat de Tante Amélie

[Aunt Amélie's Smooth Chocolate Cake] None of my aunts are named Amélie, I thought I should make that clear from the start. And if I am to explain the origin of this recipe, I will need to rewind the tape back to early January, when French food writer Thierry Roussillon asked if I would answer a few questions for one of the interviews gourmandes...

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February 5, 2007

Crème de Feta à la Tomate

[Tomato Feta Dip] Every once in a while I get the sudden impulse to hop on a stool and spring-clean my pantry. The urge strikes with no warning, often at the most inconvenient moment, and I get pulled into the task like those cartoon characters who slip a finger into a spinning cogwheel. I will be looking for an item that time has pushed to the...

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