just hungry, getting spicy, and going nuts:
spiced rosemary pecans
Innocent comments, taken out of context or just plain misconstrued, can lead to life’s awkward, sometimes funny moments. It is one of those moments and a party favorite recipe that bring us this week’s simple pleasure: spiced rosemary pecans.
It was a first date and he was a brave man. He was brave because he not only
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.
It is just the way I see things; baby spring vegetable
and Puy lentil salad
Spring is my favorite season. Budding bulbs and blossoming trees bring a sense of renewal and the promise of a fresh start. Returning to my apartment from my baguette run, I was filled with anticipation. Partly, because I could not wait to slather apricot jam on this airy piece of crispy goodness I clutched in my hand, but also because the morning air was filled with the smell of narcissus, daffodils, and hyacinths. The corner florist had opened their doors. Spring has sprung and the evidence was artfully presented in round baskets for shoppers to take home and bring a little bit of spring indoors (even if the radiators were still turned on). I stopped and as I looked at the displays this week’s simple pleasure was born: baby spring vegetable and Puy lentil salad. Read the rest of this entry »
gone in 60 seconds, expiring in 15 minutes,
and a new house cocktail for Oscar:
(freshly squeezed) blood orangetini
I was writing a menu for a martini party when someone told me that a particular “racy” song reminded him of me. We thought that the song was from the movie soundtrack Gone in 60 Seconds which was about the rapid thievery of cars. Now, I do not know if his allusion was making light of my love of cars with a minimum 369 torque or my relationship flight-risk behavior, but it is not important and we were wrong about the song coming from that movie anyway. However, the “Gone in 60 Seconds” reference made me think of my father telling me that the “nutritional benefits of orange juice are gone in 15 minutes after you squeeze the orange”, vanishing as rapidly as the cars in that movie. So there I was, writing a menu, thinking of fast cars, then my favorite car, then the actor known for driving that car (but not the reason I like it), then his cocktail of choice (“shaken not stirred”), and within 60 seconds I came full circle in my thoughts which culminated in this week’s simple pleasure just in time for your Oscar party: a (freshly squeezed) blood orangetini. 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 »
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 »
beet Napoleon
makes 4-6
what you need:
6 red beets (to roast)
6 golden beets (to roast)
green salad with mustard frill, watercress and pea tendrils
serves 4-6
what you need:
1 handful red mustard frill
1 handful green mustard frill2 handfuls mesclun
½ cup watercress, stems removed
1 handful trimmed pea tendrils
Valentine’s Day champagne apéritif with rose syrup and lychee purée
makes 5 apéritifs
what you need:
1 bottle very cold champagne (or prosecco)
1 ¼ cup lychee purée (from fresh or canned lychees)
1 tablespoon rose syrup
granulated sugar (as needed if using fresh lychees)
rose petals (as needed for garnish)
how to:
duck bacon and praline tenderloin roulade with whipped
crème fraîche horseradish
serves 2-4
what you need:
1 ½-2 pounds beef tenderloin, centercut
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
praline crust
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
⅓ cup granulated sugarwater (as needed)
1 ½ teaspoon fleur de sel
½ cup chopped duck bacon (or applewood bacon, trimmed)
2 teaspoons minced Italian parsley
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 tablespoon olive oil
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