ceries aux lavande et thym
(cherries poached with lavender and thyme)
serves 6-8
what you need:
24-30 firm, ripe red cherries, stems removed (pits reserved)
2 cups water
2 tablespoons of lavender flowers (tied in cheesecloth)
4 tablespoons superfine sugar
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 piece of lemon peel
summer peach mousse with crushed almonds and rose biscuits
serves 4-6
what you need:
mousse
1 ½ pound fresh diced (yeelow or white) peaches, peeled and pits removed
3 ounces granulated sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 gelatin sheets
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
garnish
crushed roasted almonds (as needed)
crumbled rose biscuits (as needed)
soupe de pêches au gingembre frais
(peach “soup” with fresh ginger)
serves 8
what you need:
sorbet
2 cups fresh peach juice from yellow peaches
3 cups chopped ripe yellow peaches
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon fresh ginger zest
peach soup
4 beautiful white peaches, cut into 8 wedges
3 cups fresh peach juice from yellow peaches
garnish
melange de pain d’épice (as needed) or ground cinnamon
pink and/or golden sanding sugar
crunchy chocolate and espresso almond cookies
makes approximately 3 dozen
what you need:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup finely chopped bittersweet (70%) chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)
1 large fresh egg
¼ cup almond meal
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cocoa powder (with alkali)
1 tablespoon black oynx cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup roasted crushed almonds
¼ cup crushed quality coffee beans Read the rest of this entry »
gâteau au yaourt (à ma façon)
(yogurt cake with strawberries and whipped Grand Marnier yogurt cream)
makes one 8” cake
what you need:
cake
½ cup + 1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 fresh egg yolks
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons orange blossom water
1 cup unbleached King Arthur cake flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup nonfat Greek yogurt (I use Fage 0%)
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 fresh egg whites
hungry no more: The Hunger Games Menu
Peeta’s nut and raisin bread with Prim goat cheese
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Rue dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing
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Katniss’s rabbit (or chicken) chasseur
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Roasted blackberries on a vanilla pod bow with vanilla seed ice cream
and fresh violets for Gale
Impossible for me to resist. I love food. I love books. The title is The Hunger Games. Coincidentally the book (part of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins) is a fad among tweens and teens and it was race with my eldest daughter to see who could finish the book first. She won. We both loved the book and the food references throughout sent my creativity into orbit. However, the power of this book goes beyond the ability to encourage a child’s love of literature, it can also encourage them to eat good food (unbeknownst to them), and as I quickly turned the pages, this week’s simple pleasure, a Hunger Games menu, was born.
“Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor.”
“Gale holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it, and I laugh. It’s real bakery bread, not the flat dense loaves we make from our grain rations.” (page 7)
roasted blackberries on a vanilla pod bow with vanilla seed ice cream
and fresh violets for Gale
serves 4
what you need:
3 cups firm blackberries
4 fresh vanilla pods (and/or 4 wooden skewers)
1 pint quality, real vanilla ice cream (or Greek yogurt)
organic fresh violets (as needed)
kitchen string (as needed) Read the rest of this entry »
Celebrating spring and the
sameness of our ingredients:
rose water and saffron pistachio ice cream
I have Persian neighbors and friends in both Los Angeles and Paris. Soon (March 19 in Los Angeles, March 20 in Paris) the Persian community will celebrate Nowruz. Nowruz is not a religious holiday but it celebrates the first day of spring and the beginning of the Iranian calendar new year. Although my gardeners pruned my roses to the nub, this week a singular rose burst open as if it was announcing the onset of spring, and I thought of how rose water is used in both Persian and French cooking. From this rose bloomed this week’s simple pleasure just in time for Nowruz: rose water and saffron pistachio ice cream.
hungry in love: a Valentine’s Day menu to make your heart skip a beat
I often say that I know I am in love if the thought or sight of that person inspires moments of complete abandon of time and self. I use the example that if I were greeted at the airport by that person, even if the separation was brief, I would instinctively, and without hesitation, run to him, forgetting my surroundings, and the moment would only be interrupted by TSA asking me if the bags scattered twenty feet behind me, are mine. I tell my children that if you do not instinctively feel that way about the person with whom you have chosen to spend your time, then you did not choose correctly because anything less is existing; not living. I have done both. There is something to be said for following your instincts.
Harriet Van Horne wisely said that “cooking is like love [and that] [i]t should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” I agree and Saint Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to reinforce that notion. Inspired by thoughts of culinary seduction, the desire to spoil those we care for in a thoughtful, sincere way yet keeping in mind the practical demands of a mid-week busy schedule, this week’s simple pleasure is a Valentine’s Day menu that has a little something for everyone. Read the rest of this entry »
Super Bowl parties and a touchdown dessert:
chèvre and grapefruit panna cotta
In my experience, both as a guest and as a caterer, there are two truths about Super Bowl parties. The first is that the food served primarily consists of hand to mouth heavy foods that involve meat, sauces, and dips (chili is allegedly the favorite). The second is that throughout the game, the guests tend to break off into groups and the division is generally gender based. The gorgeous weather and the markets filled with citrus inspired me to bring a little lightness to your Super Bowl plates with something all party guests will enjoy, no matter the room they end up in, and so chèvre and grapefruit panna cotta, is this week’s simple pleasure. Read the rest of this entry »
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