April 5, 2011
Chinese Marinated Pork Ribs
In the very early days of 2011, I was invited to lunch by a blogger-friend*. In preparation for the meal, she said two promising things: "I hope you like Chinese food" and "Come hungry."
In her pretty apartment filled with lovely things to look at -- postcards and drawings and old vinyls and slim books with soft covers -- she treated me to a cornucopian spread of Chinese dishes, all of them family recipes from her mother's kitchen.
Among thes...
"Chinese Marinated Pork Ribs" continues »
March 2, 2011
Chicken in a Bread Crust
I attended the Omnivore Food Festival in Deauville last week, a three-day event during which chefs from France and way beyond hop on stage and do live demos. This was the sixth edition and I've only missed one since it started, but this year was extra special for me because I'd been asked to host the pastry chefs' demos in the sucré auditorium.
I had a blast meeting such talented individuals, from Bubo's Carles Mampel to Noma's Rosio Sanchez b...
"Chicken in a Bread Crust" continues »
January 25, 2011
Salt-Crusted Chicken
I was recently interviewed for the website of French publisher Larousse, and one of the questions was, "What is it that appeals to you in a recipe?" I replied that I was drawn to recipes that a) were simple, b) featured flavor pairings that were sure-footed (and optionally unusual) and c) gave me the opportunity to learn a new technique.
All three qualities are united in today's recipe, originally found in Yves Camdeborde's fantastic little bo...
"Salt-Crusted Chicken" continues »
April 13, 2010
Lamb and Orange Khoresh
A favorite from the archives, this post was originally published in April 2009.
I know little about Persian cuisine. I do know it is a multifaceted one, that its flavors are refined and its roots run deep, but I have never been to an Iranian restaurant nor an Iranian home -- though now that I think about it, one of the Middle Eastern groceries we went to in California may have been Iranian -- so this Persian stew (that's what khoresh means) wa...
"Lamb and Orange Khoresh" continues »
September 22, 2009
Slow-Roasted Shoulder of Lamb Rubbed with Rosemary, Anchovy, and Lemon Zest
A favorite from the archives, this post was originally published on November 2, 2007.
I say, one can never have too many recipes for lamb shoulder.
A versatile cut, the lamb shoulder, one that can be grilled, stewed, braised, or here, slow-roasted.
This dish was born out of a typical moment of greenmarket frustration, which I shall get off my chest just now.
A few Saturdays ago, I was waiting in line before my organic butcher's stall. Immed...
"Slow-Roasted Shoulder of Lamb Rubbed with Rosemary, Anchovy, and Lemon Zest" continues »
March 24, 2009
Miso Glazed Flank Steak
I only ever buy meat from Mathieu, my butcher of choice at the organic greenmarket on Saturday mornings. I used to stop by every week and get enough for two meals or so, but the line is so long these days -- word must have gotten out that his stuff is good -- that I had to change my strategy: I go less frequently, buy a little more, and freeze the extra. (On the weeks that I don't buy meat, I get eggs directly from Mathieu's wife, Laure, who st...
"Miso Glazed Flank Steak" continues »
March 3, 2009
Spicy Cabbage and Chicken Stir-Fry
I've recently read a collection of stories by Lara Vapnyar called Broccoli and Other Tales of Food and Love. The six stories in this pretty volume talk about Russian immigrants to the United States, and use the revealing lens of food to show how they adapt to their new lives. Stories about migrants never fail to move me, and perhaps also because I was very fond of my Russian coworkers when I lived in California, I thought these particularly poi...
"Spicy Cabbage and Chicken Stir-Fry" continues »
October 7, 2008
Orange and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
Why is it that no one ever told me about the pork tenderloin?
Has everyone been cooking pork tenderloin all this time, licking their lips and giggling covertly as I fought to make other cuts palatable, trying my best to prevent them from turning out dry, and grey?
Oh, it's not that I haven't been happy with my pork experiments, not at all. Looking through the C&Z archives, I've found five recipes involving our pink friend -- a cured pork sho...
"Orange and Rosemary Pork Tenderloin" continues »
November 17, 2007
Rognons de Boeuf, Cèpes et Oignons
[Beef Kidneys with Ceps and Onions]
Squeamish eaters, avert your eyes, and let me direct you here, here, or perhaps here.
For the others, those who don't blanch at the mere mention of the words "tripe" or "beef tongue," those who own a dog-eared copy of the nose-to-tail bible* or have it on their wishlist, here is the dish I made last weekend with the beef kidneys I'd bought from my organic butcher -- an entirely uneventful visit this time, 1...
"Rognons de Boeuf, Cèpes et Oignons" continues »
August 1, 2007
Birthday Chicken
I normally host a big birthday bash every year, or at least that's what I've done the past four summers, inviting friends, old and new, to celebrate the fact that it is late July and the weather is nice and Paris is empty and I'm a year wiser.
But this time, no.
I was a little bummed to break from this young tradition, for I really do enjoy these parties, but the past few months have been a whirlwind, I feel I haven't had a moment to stop and...
"Birthday Chicken" continues »
April 11, 2007
Braised Lamb Shoulder with Flageolet Beans
[Epaule d'Agneau Confite et Flageolets]
Spring lamb is the traditional centerpiece of Easter Sunday menus in France: the agneau pascal symbolizes the sacrifice of the innocent, and the breeding cycles mean it is at its best this time of year, conveniently enough.
My family isn't religious at all and the only thing we've ever commemorated at Easter is the invention of chocolate, but because Catholic traditions are so deeply rooted in France, t...
"Braised Lamb Shoulder with Flageolet Beans" continues »
March 27, 2007
Cured Pork Shoulder with Green Lentils
[Petit Salé aux Lentilles]
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. The "splendid" part was hard for us kids to grasp when presented with the school cafeteria's take on it: sickly p...
"Cured Pork Shoulder with Green Lentils" continues »
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.
Can't we all be friends and agree to cut and name meat in the same fashion? May I suggest the creat...
"Compotée d'Echine de Porc au Cidre" continues »
January 28, 2007
Jarret de Veau Braisé à la Cuiller
[Spoon-Tender Braised Veal Shank]
May I introduce to you my new favorite dinner party recipe, a recipe of the sort hosts and hostesses ardently wish for, a recipe that requires minimal effort and produces spectacular results?
Yes, I thought that might interest you.
The recipe in question is a recipe for veal shank that one braises for three to four hours in sweet white wine (vin blanc moelleux), surrounded by a benevolent court of onions and...
"Jarret de Veau Braisé à la Cuiller" continues »
October 30, 2006
Rôti de Porc au Chou Rouge Epicé, Pommes et Pruneaux
[Pork Roast with Spiced Red Cabbage, Apples, and Prunes]
I don't normally buy meat at the farmers' market: I have a good neighborhood butcher that I like -- his name is Mario, what's not to like? -- and my usual crop of fruits, vegetables, cheese, and flowers is usually so bulky in my rainbow-colored basket (a birthday gift from my neighbors) that it leaves room for little else, especially if I want to make it home with my shoulder still in it...
"Rôti de Porc au Chou Rouge Epicé, Pommes et Pruneaux" continues »
October 3, 2006
Muriel's Chicken
Cookbook writing guidelines tell you that naming a recipe after someone is not a good idea: it doesn't tell the reader much about the ingredients or the process, the reader doesn't know this person, and frankly, the reader doesn't really care. This is all true of course, but I have a certain fondness for those recipes that sound like they were found in some old handwritten recipe book -- la Carpe farcie façon Hortense, le Boudin du Père Thibaul...
"Muriel's Chicken" continues »
August 29, 2006
Osso Buco
Complaining about the weather is a national sport in France, but as is true of most sports -- except perhaps for swimming -- I am not very good at it. I have generally adopted the maxim, "Don't worry about the things you can't control," and while I will do the chit-chat thing with taxi drivers and random people seeking shelter under the same awning as I (before I suddenly remember that all my windows are open and have to run back home under she...
June 14, 2006
Magret en Croûte de Lavande
[Lavender-crusted Duck Magret]
As promised, here is the recipe for the main course in the flower menu I created for the French edition of ELLE (issue #3154, June 12, 2006). My thanks to Catherine Roig for allowing me to reproduce the recipes here. The picture above is a shot of the magazine page: the food styling is by Valérie Lhomme, the photography by Edouard Sicot.
Where does one find lavender flowers? The important thing is to use unspray...
"Magret en Croûte de Lavande" continues »
December 19, 2005
Mijoté de Boeuf aux Légumes Racine
[Beef Stew with Root Vegetables]
I've noticed that my cooking is most often vegetable-driven: I will buy fresh veggies at the market or at the produce stall, and then decide what fish or meat will complement them -- not the other way around.
On Saturday morning I returned from the farmers' market with a basket of mostly root vegetables, not such a surprise in December: tiny spuds with a skin so thin you feel they should wear chapstick, youn...
"Mijoté de Boeuf aux Légumes Racine" continues »
October 19, 2005
Sandwich au Foie Hâché
[Chopped Liver Sandwich]
The gehakte leber featured in this sandwich was purchased from a yiddish bakery in the Marais, called Florence Finkelsztajn. I was tipped off on their chopped liver by a fellow food enthusiast, and had to buy some when I walked by the store yesterday. The service was stiff and frankly contemptuous, which I've sadly come to expect from this little rue des Rosiers area, but I was prepared to bear it for a bit of chopped ...
"Sandwich au Foie Hâché" continues »
August 29, 2005
Brochettes d'Agneau au Thym
[Lamb Skewers with Thyme]
It's strange how much more comfortable I am around vegetables than meat. Vegetables are familiar, safe and easy to work with. I never run out of things to do with or to them, I know how to choose them, how they're supposed to feel in your hand, how long they keep and how they react to various treatments and seasonings.
Meat, on the other hand, is a much more mysterious matter. Different breeds, different cuts, differ...
"Brochettes d'Agneau au Thym" continues »
August 11, 2005
Pied de Porc Vinaigrette
I was at the charcuterie yesterday to buy a few slices of jambon de Bayonne, an air-dried cured ham from the French Basque country.
Une charcuterie, for those who have yet to be introduced to this delightful concept, is a store that makes and sells all manner of goods derived from our friend the pork (ham, sausages, pâtés, rillettes...) and a wide variety of other prepared dishes (from salads and quiches to choucroute garnie and boeuf bourgui...
"Pied de Porc Vinaigrette" continues »
May 19, 2005
Souris d'Agneau Confites, Sandwiches de Polenta Grillée
[Braised Lamb Shanks, Grilled Polenta Sandwiches]
...and this is part III of the dinner I served on Saturday, when I was (at long last) given the opportunity to meet Derrick and Melissa, dear friends from the Blogosphere now happily upgraded to dear friends from the Real World.
After a lively chat going in ten different directions -- we were so excited to finally meet, where were we to start? -- over a nice appetizer of crostini and anchoïade...
"Souris d'Agneau Confites, Sandwiches de Polenta Grillée" continues »
April 12, 2005
Chicken & Zucchini
We all need easy and healthy meals that can be whipped up in very little time (and even less planning) for a week-end lunch or a weeknight dinner, without sacrificing taste or feeling like you're slapping ready-made stuff together. So I thought I'd share the very very simple lunch we had last Saturday.
I'm sure you've noticed how the way you cut your vegetables affects their taste, giving them different textures and causing them to cook in dif...
"Chicken & Zucchini" continues »
December 6, 2004
Mijoté d'Agneau aux Kumquats et aux Pignons, Petit Gâteau de Polenta
[Kumquat and Pinenut Lamb Stew, Little Polenta Cake]
Last week, I had my parents and my sister over for dinner. It had occurred to me that the four of us met most often at my parents', and that it was high time I return the invitation, lest they start to wonder why they couldn't benefit from at least some of the good manners it had taken them years to inculcate in me.
Just a few days before that dinner, I was right in the middle of that excit...
"Mijoté d'Agneau aux Kumquats et aux Pignons, Petit Gâteau de Polenta" continues »
October 24, 2004
Pounti Auvergnat (IMBB9)
I was particularly enthused, a few weeks ago, to read that Derrick was hosting the 9th edition of Is My Blog Burning? and that the theme he had set was terrines.
Reason number one : Derrick The Talented is one of my absolute favorite food bloggers, I am always in awe of his uncompromising approach and his ambitious endeavours. His was among the first food blogs that ever existed, and An Obsession With Food is one of the two or three blogs wh...
"Pounti Auvergnat (IMBB9)" continues »
August 7, 2004
Terrine de Viande à la Ricotta
[Ricotta Meat Terrine]
I have a file of recipes I've clipped out from the numerous cooking magazines I read. When I'm trying to come up with a menu, this is my number one source of inspiration : I like leafing idly through the colorful pieces of paper in all shapes and sizes, I like the patchwork pattern they form, and how as a whole they reflect my cooking tastes and interests.
And somehow, since I often go through that file, I've gotten to...
"Terrine de Viande à la Ricotta" continues »
May 31, 2004
Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes
[Herbed Frogs' Legs]
A lot of the things the French are notorious for eating, like frogs' legs or snails, kidneys or horse meat, aren't really that common in everyday food. In the case of frogs' legs, I personally tasted them for the first time just a year ago, in a three-star restaurant no less, during a week-end getaway in the Perigord.
And then a few weeks ago, while shopping at my Picard store, I noticed that they carried frozen frogs' le...
"Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes" continues »
April 9, 2004
Pounti
When we were at the Marché d'Aligre the other day, I noticed a charcuterie with a sign that said : "Ramenez votre pain et je réalise votre sandwich avec mes produits fermiers." ("Bring your own bread, I'll make you a sandwich with my farm products.") I thought the idea excellent : a truly outstanding sandwich is made of the best ingredients on the best bread, and it is quite rare to find a vendor who has both. I also liked the fact that this ch...
March 5, 2004
Nuggets de Poulet et Frites de Légumes Racine
A Take on Chicken Nuggets and Fries.
My sister Céline came to have dinner with us the other night. She has recently started working for a major French car company, and part of the integration process for new hires is to go through four weeks at one of the factories, working the line just like the other workers. This is a trying experience to say the least (a loss of 6 pounds, a large bruise on the hip, a swollen and bandaged wrist - how's that...
"Nuggets de Poulet et Frites de Légumes Racine" continues »
February 16, 2004
Chicken Udon with Cabbage and Parsnip
The other night, we had two friends over for a casual dinner : Marion, a friend of mine from university, and Marwane, whom Maxence has known since junior high. Being on a Japanese food kick induced by Maxence's recent successful forays, I decided to make some kind of udon dish topped with stuff. That seemed reasonably doable (I mean, how ambitious does that sound?) with the various ingredients we happened to have on hand.
In particular, I use...
"Chicken Udon with Cabbage and Parsnip" continues »
February 6, 2004
Which Came First Donburi
And this is the delicious main course that Maxence concocted for our dinner party this past Saturday! The recipe is from the same "Cooking Class Japanese" cookbook as his last cooking stint. I have taken the liberty to rename the dish though. Well, yeah, if I don't cook, I have to at least do something!
In the book, the recipe is called "Chicken and Egg on Rice", but the original witty Japanese name is "Oyakodon", meaning "Mother and Child Don...
"Which Came First Donburi" continues »
January 27, 2004
Sauteed Ginger Beef and Cabbage
As much as I love to cook, it is sometimes very nice to have your boyfriend say, on a lazy Sunday afternoon : "you know, I think I'd like to make dinner tonight". Though usually more of a whip-it-up-by-instinct kind of cook, on this occasion he takes out the Japanese cookbook he bought in London, picks a recipe, makes a list, goes shopping, comes back and starts working.
Very much aware of my slight tendency to meddle, I steer clear from the k...
"Sauteed Ginger Beef and Cabbage" continues »
January 12, 2004
Boudin Blanc Truffé aux Noisettes, Deux Purées de Pomme
[Truffle Hazelnut Boudin Blanc, Two Mashes]
Boudin blanc is a soft sausage, made with white meat (usually chicken or veal) enriched with pork or veal fat, cream, eggs, flour and mie de pain (the inside of a bread loaf), finely mixed and well seasoned. It is traditionally a Christmas dish, but in Paris you can pretty much find it in charcuteries year round. For my greatest pleasure, as it has to be one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. It ...
"Boudin Blanc Truffé aux Noisettes, Deux Purées de Pomme" continues »
December 28, 2003
Escalope de Foie Gras Mi-Cuit, Poire Pochée, Toast de Campagne
[Scalloped Foie Gras Mi-Cuit, Poached Pear, Toasted Rustic Bread]
Christmas eve this year was spent just the four of us : my parents, my sister and myself. A week before, having come to my parents' on a weeknight, my mother and I had brainstormed over an after-dinner cup of tea, and we had come up with the Christmas menus. My mom having taken care of the grocery shopping, the afternoon of the 24th found us preparing the dinner together, in bet...
"Escalope de Foie Gras Mi-Cuit, Poire Pochée, Toast de Campagne" continues »
December 22, 2003
Filet de Boeuf, Compotée d'Echalottes, Rattes au Romarin
[Roast Beef, Shallot Compote, Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes]
While planning for our Saturday night dinner, I conducted a little research to find out what was best to eat with Baptiste's bottle of St Julien. My sources were comfortingly unanimous. Red meat, roasted, was the card to play. I chose to roast a filet de boeuf, a very tender beef cut, and serve it with a shallot compote and roasted rosemary potatoes. The meat was promptly ordered at o...
"Filet de Boeuf, Compotée d'Echalottes, Rattes au Romarin" continues »
December 8, 2003
Brochettes de Poulet, Ananas et Gingembre
[Ginger Pineapple Chicken Skewers]
This was the main dish for our dinner party on Saturday. I got the inspiration from a recipe in the excellent cookbook "Mes petits plats 100% naturels" by Catherine Mandigon and Patricia Riveccio, which I recommend wholeheartedly : the recipes are amazingly unusual and tempting, and everything I've cooked from it so far has been a success. The original recipe calls for pork, but I used chicken breasts instead...
"Brochettes de Poulet, Ananas et Gingembre" continues »
October 31, 2003
Boudin Antillais, Purée Maison
Last week-end, as Maxence was walking up the rue Lepic, he was lured into one of the many inviting charcuteries (a charcuterie is a store halfway between a butcher's shop and a deli). The boudin antillais was tempting, so he bought four small ones. Boudin antillais (a twist on boudin noir) is a specialty from the Antilles, the French Carribeans. They are blood sausages, made with bread, peppers, milk, onions, rhum, various spices and, well, por...
"Boudin Antillais, Purée Maison" continues »
October 25, 2003
The Paradoxical Duck Confit
Thursday night, on a whim, we asked our neighbors Stéphan et Patricia over for dinner, and I prepared the kind of dish that epitomizes the French paradox * : duck confit.
Back in July, Maxence and I spent a lovely extended week-end in the South-West of France, visiting his grandparents in Gourdon and driving around the incredibly beautiful countryside. On our last day, as is becoming the tradition, we indulged in a shopping spree at the Canar...
"The Paradoxical Duck Confit" continues »