June 29, 2010
Roasted Lemon Zest Powder
Kitchen recycling is my favorite hobby.
So many food scraps can be put to good use with just a little time and flair*, and the satisfaction is immense when I feel I'm using my supplies to the max -- making chilled soup from pea pods, pesto from radish tops and croissants aux amandes from day-old croissants, using the whey from mozzarella in bread dough, parsley stems in stews, and the rinds from hard cheeses in soups.
Today's trick is one I'v...
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June 25, 2010
How To Tell When Meat Is Done
A few weeks ago, I read Tara Austen Weaver's book The Butcher and the Vegetarian, a memoir in which she writes about being brought up as a vegetarian and the challenges she faced as an adult, when she had to start cooking meat for herself to try to recover from a serious health issue.
It's a very good read, witty and honest, and even for readers like me, who don't share her dietary background or meat-handling angst, there are a lot of elements ...
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June 22, 2010
Pasta with Tetragon
My first brush with tetragon -- a.k.a. New Zealand spinach, warrigal greens, sea spinach, and a few assorted nicknames -- took place six years ago: Nicolas Vagnon, the chef of the now long defunct La Table de Lucullus, had invited me to join him on his Saturday morning market run at the marché des Batignolles and hang out in his teeny kitchen afterward, watching him cook for the handful of customers who had come to lunch that day.
Among the th...
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June 17, 2010
[Edible Idiom] Tourner au vinaigre
Vinegar barrels photographed by Rebecca Bollwitt.
This is part of a series on French idiomatic expressions that relate to food. Browse the list of idioms featured so far.
This week's expression is, "Tourner au vinaigre."
Literally translated as, "turning to vinegar," it describes a situation or a conversation that's taking a bad turn and may get ugly. It can be likened to its English cousin "going (or turning) sour."
Example: "Il a vite chan...
"[Edible Idiom] Tourner au vinaigre" continues »
June 15, 2010
Yves Camdeborde's Sablés
Menu Fretin is a young French independent publishing house that specializes in culinary books*. Considering the teeny size of the organization, and how crazily difficult it is for an indie to carve a space for itself among the Goliaths of publishing, its book list is impressive, featuring daring projects that straddle the old and the new.
Menu Fretin has published such historical gems as an augmented edition of Alexandre Dumas' Grand Dictionna...
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June 10, 2010
Two Treats for Bread Bakers
Bread baking is one of those activities that can quickly become obsessive, like knitting or playing red dead redemption. It's not really something you can remain casual about, not if you want to improve your skills, so you find yourself combing through forum discussions, bookmarking blogs and websites, buying books -- anything to satisfy your thirst for knowledge and inspiration.
I say it's fine to embrace such a harmless obsession -- unless y...
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June 8, 2010
Radishes in Soil, Noma-Style
I first heard about Rene Redzepi's Copenhagen restaurant Noma when I attended the 2008 edition of the Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville, a gastronomic event during which high-profile chefs from France and beyond are invited to cook live on stage.
He has since received many more accolades as the herald of a refreshing and talented new wave of Scandinavian chefs. His forager's approach seems to celebrate nature at its most generous, yes, but a...
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June 3, 2010
Rhubarb Tart with Lemon Verbena
I am rhubarb's most adoring fan.
Throughout the season, in the spring and then in late summer, my weekly market run includes a big bunch of blushing stalks that I'll cook promptly, once home, into a compote* I'll eat for breakfast (with a gurgle of homemade kefir) throughout the week.
While compote is my standard use for rhubarb, I love it in a tart, too, and that's what I decided to serve for dessert last week, when we had friends over for d...
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June 1, 2010
June 2010 Desktop Calendar
At the beginning of every month, I am offering C&Z readers a new wallpaper to apply on the desktop of your computer, with a food-related picture and a calendar of the current month.
Our calendar for June is a picture of my macadamia maple granola, which makes a splendid topping for yogurt and stewed fruits, and is featured in my cookbook in the Creamy Mango Ricotta recipe.
Instructions to get your calendar are below....
"June 2010 Desktop Calendar" continues »