Pissaladière (à ma façon)
makes one 9” tart
what you need:
2 tablespoons olive oil
20 ounces sweet onions (i.e., Vidalia), sliced ¼” width
1 fresh sprig of thyme, stripped
2 pinches kosher salt
⅓ cup Muscat, Sauterine or Verjus
14 olives noires de Nice (or black oil-cured olives with the pits removed and olives halved)
12 anchovy fillets packed in oil (optional to rinse)
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted Read the rest of this entry »
out of the salad bowl and turning up the heat:
Belgium endive au gratin
Rarely do Americans cook endives. Rather, we consume them raw, usually in a salad or as a passed hors d’œurves. However, sometimes you just have take things out of the salad bowl. I say that with great affection thinking of someone I met who primarily eats salads and rarely ventures out culinarily (at least on his own). This week’s simple pleasure goes outside the endive salad bowl and turns up the heat with a Belgium endive au gratin. Read the rest of this entry »
beet Napoleon
makes 4-6
what you need:
6 red beets (to roast)
6 golden beets (to roast)
healthy snacks that will not send you back to 2011
part 2: chia chips and soybean hummus
“It’s a chia…it’s a pet…it’s a chia pet.” Rumor has it that chia seeds are le tendence (the “in” thing) in food right now. However, thanks to my brother, who sang that 70’s jingle selling chia pets (sprouted chia seeds on an animal-shaped moss forms), when I think of chia seeds, I think of chia pets. Today is my brother’s birthday. Thinking of him, trying to be trendy (save your laughter), and unable to escape the song he “planted” in my consciousness, I arrived at this week’s simple pleasure: chia chips with soybean hummus.
soybean hummus
makes 1 bowl
1 cup frozen soybeans, pods removed
1 small clove garlic, minced
⅛ teaspoon piment d’espelette
⅛ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley, minced
⅛ cup (1 ounce) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon tahini paste
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt (and to taste)
freshly ground pepper (to taste)
réveillon !
It is a New Year’s Eve party in your mouth: herbed fresh oysters on sea salt, papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies), and smoked salmon roulades
The weather in Paris is chilly with a slight rain that is here one moment and gone the next. However, the winter weather matters to no one and it certainly does not keep Parisians indoors or off the streets (or slow them down for that matter). The city is lit, seasonally decorated, and Parisians are out in droves buying truffles, pâté de foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon, and Champagne … lots of Champagne and pink seems to be particularly popular this year. Celebration is in the air. This week’s simple pleasure is three appetizers that will give you more reason to celebrate: herbed fresh oysters on sea salt, papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies), and smoked salmon roulade. Sent from (rainy) Paris, with love.
smoked salmon roulade
makes 12
what you need:
12 slices smoked salmon
12 thin slices cucumber
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced capers, rinsed
lemon juice (optional)
kosher salt (to taste)
12 small skewers, cocktail toothpicks (or chives) Read the rest of this entry »
papillons au Roquefort
(blue cheese butterflies)
makes 12 (or more depending upon size of bread)
what you need:
1 small wedge of Papillon Roquefort (or other quality blue cheese)
1 small loaf of quality raisin and nut bread
6 teaspoons good honey (and as needed) Read the rest of this entry »
pommes sur canapé :
Mont d’Or fondu avec pommes de terre
(Mont d’Or fondue with fingerling potatoes)
I like to play with words almost as much as I like to play with food. “Pommes sur canape” is my own jeu de mots (play on words). In French, pommes (or pommes de terre) means potato while canapé is French for both a couch and an appetizer. Accordingly, “pommes sur canapé” means both “couch potato” and “potato appetizer.” I thought of this silliness as I placed my annual order for the seasonal treasure Mont d’Or and it is the combination of the two that brings us this week’s simple pleasure: Mont d’Or fondu avec pommes de terre (Mont d’Or fondue with fingerling potatoes). Read the rest of this entry »
hee hee hee…straight from the witch’s cauldron:
roasted date mummy fingers & harvest tajine with a haricots verts broomstick
The belated chill in the air makes us crave fall flavors and cold-weather cooking. This week we combine the comfort of oven-prepared food with Halloween fun. Tajine, a cooking vessel shaped like a witch’s hat (as well as a popular Moroccan stew) was the inspiration for this week and it is the blending of a witch theme with Tajine-inspired flavors that give us this week’s simple pleasure(s): roasted date mummy fingers and a harvest tajine with a haricots verts broomstick. Read the rest of this entry »
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