March 2007 Archive
Brioche Façon Pain PerduCha Soba, Concombre et Tofu
Gratin de Pâtes, Noisettes et Lardons
Honeycomb: Now What?
Le Kumquat Corse
Petit Salé aux Lentilles
Salade de Mâche, Endives et Betteraves
March 30, 2007
Le Kumquat Corse
[Kumquat from Corsica] I wrote a little ode to the Corsican clementine last winter, but it turns out one shouldn't flatter a citrus too much, lest it rest on its laurels and the following year's crop be a disappointment. All was not lost, however, on the citrus front: the maltaise orange from Tunisia was honey sweet and remarkably juicy, and a ...
"Le Kumquat Corse" continues »
March 27, 2007
Petit Salé aux Lentilles
[Cured Pork Shoulder with Green Lentils] If you had told twelve-year-old me that a Sunday morning, fifteen years later, would find me cooking this dish, I would have laughed so hard I might have choked on my petit suisse. Petit salé aux lentilles is a splendid specialty from Auvergne in which cured pork is slowly cooked and served with lentils....
"Petit Salé aux Lentilles" continues »
March 20, 2007
Cha Soba, Concombre et Tofu
[Green Tea Buckwheat Noodles with Cucumber and Tofu] So verdant is this dish that it could have been my contribution to Saint Patrick's Day. But because the French don't really celebrate it (unless they happen to find themselves at one of the Irish pubs on boulevard de Clichy) and because my father's name is Patrick, March 17th is simply that: m...
"Cha Soba, Concombre et Tofu" continues »
March 15, 2007
Honeycomb: Now What?
When I was in New York City a few weeks ago, my flight landed in early afternoon on a Saturday. By the time the cab dropped me off on the sidewalk of my hotel it was mid-afternoon, and clean sheets and a plump pillow were a tempting proposition, but I resisted. The only anti-jetlag strategy that has ever worked for me is to fight sleepiness and s...
"Honeycomb: Now What?" continues »
March 12, 2007
Salade de Mâche, Endives et Betteraves
[Mâche Salad with Endives and Beets] As the weather in Paris becomes increasingly springlike -- hello daffodils! come sit by me on the kitchen counter! -- I thought it was high time I illustrate the point I recently made about salads and the ones that carry us through to the end of winter (however mild ours has been). The original motive for th...
"Salade de Mâche, Endives et Betteraves" continues »
March 7, 2007
Brioche Façon Pain Perdu
[French-Toasted Brioche] After a main course of cider-stewed pork served with pasta gratin, this is the sweet note on which my last dinner party ended. Inspiration sprung, again, from my recent meal at Le Caméléon, where the Amaretto cherry pain perdu was enchanting. In its most basic incarnation, pain perdu -- literally "lost bread" -- is stal...
"Brioche Façon Pain Perdu" continues »
March 2, 2007
Gratin de Pâtes, Noisettes et Lardons
[Pasta Gratin with Hazelnuts and Lardons] Inspiration came from a recent meal at Le Caméléon, during which one of my dining companions ordered a jumbo foie de veau (veal liver). It appeared, a stately Pasha in a mantle of reduced vinegar, with a side of gratin de macaroni au Parmesan served in one of those miniature cast-iron cocottes that are a...
"Gratin de Pâtes, Noisettes et Lardons" continues »