two countries. many kitchens. one table.
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
when you just cannot give away a sandwich:
pan bagnat au cadeau
On a few occasions, despite my most sincere intentions, the execution of that intention goes completely awry (usually ending in funny story). It is the recall of two such incidents, both involving the gifting of a sandwich, that inspired this week’s simple pleasure: pan bagnat au cadeau (sandwich in a giftbox). Read the rest of this entry »
pan bagnat au cadeau
makes 4
what you need:
sandwich
1 loaf quality pain de mie (or sandwich or olive bread)
12 ounces (320 gr) canned tuna packed in olive oil, drained, oil reserved
20 beautiful, ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
¾ cup rough chopped fresh sweet basil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced Read the rest of this entry »
a one year anniversary and life is just peachy:
summer peach mousse with crushed almonds and rose biscuits
Paris is historical, inspirational, and romantic. For many people, it is bon goût (good taste) in all meanings of the word – gastronomically, artistically, architecturally, in fashion – to name a few. For me, my red chef shoes bring me here time and time again and the magic never dulls. One year ago I finally found an apartment in this city which I fell in love with so many years ago. It is this anniversary which inspired this week’s simple pleasure: summer peach mousse with crushed almonds and rose biscuits.
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)
white asparagus as large as logs and lighting your fire:
roasted white asparagus with browned butter
(asperges blanches rôti au beurre noisette)
Greetings from Paris where it is raining off and on but quiet as the tourists have not yet arrived and the children are still in school. The calm before the storm. It is business as usual and joyfully I am left to pick up where I left off and nothing here – the daily urban Paris life that I so love – has changed except for the market displays. Every market, from the neighborhood and open air markets to the Casinos (grocery stores), is prominently displaying end of the season white asparagus. They cannot be ignored. It is a combination of these hand-picked treasures and a cover of a Door’s song which inspired this week’s (very) simple pleasure: roasted white asparagus with browned butter (asperges blanches rôti au beurre noisette).
roasted white asparagus with browned butter
(asperges blanches rôti au beurre noisette)
serves 4-6
what you need:
4-6 large white asparagus (or 12 smaller asparagus)
olive oil (as needed)
kosher salt (as needed)
freshly ground white (or black) pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1-2 teaspoons fresh orange juice
1-2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley Read the rest of this entry »
venez avec moi en Normandie: Omaha Beach,
a war approach to food, and making the most of a peach
This last week marked the 68th anniversary of the day the Allies landed in Normandy, France: D-day, June 6, 1944. En route to the D-Day sites, the flags of the Allied forces are flown along the roads and posted everywhere from public buildings to the windows of the small country farmhouses, particularly in the month of June. You cannot come to Normandy and tell me that the French dislike Americans.
My uncles fought in World War II. My father is also a war veteran. I read and re-read Stephen Ambrose’s book D-Day and Cornelius Ryan’s The Longest Day. I have seen Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers more times than I can count but I have always wanted the touch the ground we landed on 68 years ago. One summer after teaching classes in Normandy, I finally did. The inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure, soupe de pêches au gingembre frais (peach “soup” with fresh ginger), was my journey to Omaha Beach. The recipe is in a companion post but before you go there, venez avec moi en Normandie (come with me to Normandy): Omaha Beach.
LM
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
family traditions of easy summers in Provence:
Pissaladière à ma façon
Every summer I travel with my daughters to the southeast of France. We stay in the same quaint port village, about 15 minutes from Nice. Year after year we celebrate summer with the same families. The children catch little fish and crabs in the clear blue ocean and chase one another in the fields of wild herbs and lavender. The adults gather over a bottle of Provençal rosé produced nearby and discuss what has gone on throughout the last year. We pick up where we left off and not much changes except the height of the children. It has become a family tradition. Summer is just around the corner and we will be in back in France very soon. However, my head and palate are already there and as I was sitting in the never-ending Los Angeles traffic, I was whimsically thinking of Provence and that morning daydream inspired this week’s simple pleasure: Pissaladière (à ma façon). Read the rest of this entry »
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