Mother’s Day 2015 (recipe: tarte Tatin)

May 10th, 2015

chef morgan

Mother’s Day 2015

Forgiveness & (So-called) Mistakes
&
Tarte Tatin

Each year in honor of Mother’s Day I write a personal recipe for life inspired by and for my daughters accompanied by a food recipe relevant to the message. This year it is about forgiveness and so-called mistakes. The correlating recipe is the infamous French Tarte Tatin. If you would like to skip directly to the tarte Tatin recipe you may do so by clicking here. The fact that this post is technically posted after-Mother’s Day, well, forgive me. 

warmly,

LM

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Mother’s Day 2014

May 9th, 2014

 

chef morgan a table

Mother’s Day 2014

“Rising to the Occasion”

&

your favorite chocolate soufflé

Each year in honor of Mother’s Day I write a personal recipe of life inspired by and for my daughters accompanied by a family (food) recipe relevant to the message. This year it is about soufflés and “rising to the occasion” that phrase we so often hear. The recipe is for a classic chocolate soufflé and you can find it in the following post. If you would like to skip directly to the soufflé recipe you may do so by clicking here, otherwise read on.

To all mothers I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day (Joyeuse Fête des Mères).

warmly,

LM

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chocolate lava cakes with heat

February 11th, 2014

cooking from the heart and giving with generosity
la Saint Valentin 2014

chocolate lava cakes (with a little heat)

chef morgan lava spoon 2

“Happy and successful cooking doesn’t rely only on know-how;
it comes from the heart…
and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life.”

— Georges Blanc, chef of Georges Blanc restaurant in Vonnas Read the rest of this entry »

tartelette aux figues

September 21st, 2013

chef morgan fig tartlet

what is a fig to do ?

tartelette aux figues
(fig tartlets) 

Fig season in the U.S. is short, but sweet. They always seem to be here at the same time we are transitioning from Summer to early Fall with its demands of work and school. I like to think that the change in the market is giving us a sweet treat to ease the craziness of our schedules. Along with figs, the markets are filled with varieties of grapes and the early harvest of apples and pears. Heirloom tomatoes are disappearing with the sun.

chef morgan figs

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holiday eggnog crème brûlée

December 15th, 2012

 DSC00250

holiday eggnog crème brûlée

 serves 4

what you need:

custard

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup lowfat eggnog 
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
½ cup (4 ounces) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon brandy
5 fresh egg yolks Read the rest of this entry »

holiday chocolate tree

December 6th, 2012

holiday tree of chocolate (sapin de Noël au chocolat)

celebrating the season with chocolate


holiday tree of chocolate
(sapin de Noël au chocolat)

I could not believe my eyes when I saw holiday decor in the Los Angeles stores before Halloween. While I understand the excitement, that two month vendor jump on the holidays does not exist in Paris. In Paris, the holiday decor does not go up until the first week in December (with the exception of certain tourist streets such as the Champs Élysées) and it stays up until the Epiphany (January 6). This week the pine trees have arrived. There are no Christmas tree “lots.” Instead, the corner florists and grocery stores sell them and the decorated trees are beginning to embellish store fronts, hotels, and apartment buliding lobbies. The gardienne for our apartment building put our lobby pine tree up yesterday. Covered in white flocking with white ornaments, it is a welcome sight and smell coming in from the 40 degree (Fahrenheit) chill and it was the inspiration for this (very) simple pleasure: holiday tree of chocolate (sapin de Noël au chocolat).

paris christmas trees

paris christmas trees

 

 

 

 

 

 

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chocolate holiday tree (sapin de Noël au chocolat)

December 6th, 2012

chocolate christmas tree

chocolate holiday tree 
(sapin de Noël au chocolat)

 makes one 1 tree

what you need:

1 pound bittersweet chocolate (or milk chocolate)
4 cups cereal (corn flakes or puffed rice) 
~ 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted (as needed)
powdered sugar (as needed) Read the rest of this entry »

kabocha pie with flaky chestnut crust

November 15th, 2012

 

kabocha pie with flaky chestnut crust

THANKSGIVING TIP:
Try to make your desserts the day before Thanksgiving (use Thanksgiving day to cook/finish the things that have to be done that day…gravy, the turkey). In fact, to spread out your workload,
the pie crust and the filling can be made separately at least two days before Thanksgiving and stored in the refrigerator.
Combine the crust and filling and bake the pie the day before Thanksgiving. 

serves 4
makes 1  pie crust large enough for a 12” tart pan

what you need:

flaky crust
½ ounce chestnut flour, sifted
11 ounces unbleached all-purpose King Arthur flour, sifted Read the rest of this entry »

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Fruit, Neruda and enjoying the silence

October 3rd, 2012

fresh autumn figs with balsamic caramel, fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds

Fruit, Neruda and enjoying the silence:
fresh autumn figs with balsamic caramel, 
fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds

Fall fruit reminds me of Pablo Neruda. Actually, his writing and in particular, the compilation of selected poems (translated by Stephen Mitchell) entitled: full woman,fleshy apple, hot moon. How wonderful is a man who appreciates both the honest curves of women and the beauty of seasonal fruit and can artfully write about both. 

 

figs pears and grapes

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fresh figs with balsamic caramel, fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds

October 3rd, 2012

 

 

fresh autumn figs with balsamic caramel, fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds  

fresh figs with balsamic caramel, fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds

 

 serves many happy people

(makes approx. 11 ounces caramel sauce)

  

fresh autumn figs with balsamic caramel, fleur de sel and pomegranate seeds

 

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