Finally, I've finished reading cover to cover the first of my Christmas cookbooks. My kids gave me lots of them and it's going to take me a while to get through them all. I began with A Platter of Figs by David Tanis, published in 2008. Tanis has worked with Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in several capacities over the last 25 years. Right now, he spends half the year in Paris, where he writes and hosts a private dining club, and half the year in San Francisco, where he continues chef duties at Chez Panisse in collaboration with long-time colleague Jean-Pierre Moullé. There are 24 menus in A Platter of Figs, six for each season. How best to explain David's attitude towards cooking? "Simple cooking meant to illuminate nature’s perfect simplicity" was a quote I read someplace. There are no long lists of ingredients, just simple recipes and fabulous flavors. This hazelnut sponge cake was lovely. The hazelnuts are not ground finely, so there is a flavor-filled chewiness with each bite. I served it with a coffee-flavored sweetened whipped cream, but kept thinking I'd have loved some caramelized fruit with it. Maybe pears. But I contained myself and kept it simple. Hazelnut Sponge Cake From A Platter of Figs by David Tanis Ingredients: 1 pound shelled hazelnuts 8 large eggs, separated, room temperature 3/4 cup sugar Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons cake flour, matzo meal or dry bread crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt Method: Preheat oven to 400. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet for 10 minutes until the skins blister and hazelnuts are toasted. Place them in a tea towel and rub them together to remove skins. When they are cool, coarsely chop them in a food processor. Line a 10 inch spring form pan with a circle of parchment or butter and flour the pan. Set aside. Lower oven heat to 350. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add the zest, lemon juice, flour, salt and hazelnuts and mix well. Beat the whites until stiff. Add 1/3 of them to the batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining whites. Bake the cake in the 350 oven for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 325 and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack before unmolding. Serve with fresh fruit and slightly sweetened whipped cream or just some lightly sweetened coffee flavored whipped cream, which is what I did.
Alfresco entertaining has never been as popular as it is today. Here are a few simple recipes that are packed with protein and veggies, full of flavor, and easy to tote to the great outdoors.
Marion calls this recipe magic. She's right. When it's all cooked, there's custard in the center. This is an old recipe...from the 30's actually..... and as I've mentioned before, I'm slowly working my way through Marion's marvelous cookbook, The Breakfast Book. While we like cornbread, I've only made the old fashioned kind: muffins or those wonderful cornbread sticks made with bacon grease. This cornbread is an entirely different cup of tea. With this one, there's cornbread on top and cornbread on the bottom with a lovely creamy center. Marion's only instructions were to serve it warm so I did some investigating. Most people served it for breakfast with maple syrup poured over it. Or honey. Almost everyone seems to think in terms of breakfast or brunch. But I read one blog that suggested serving it with grilled meat, cutting down on the sugar a little, which you could do, but it's really not all that sweet to begin with. I liked that idea. However you choose to serve it, it's definitely a recipe worth trying. I just couldn't bring myself to pour maple syrup over it so I took my first mouthful plain. And loved it. Then I took another mouthful with a little honey. Liked it that way too....but not quite as well. I didn't want it sweet (because I'm so accustomed to corn bread as savory?) so that night, I reheated it and served it for dinner alongside some grilled meat. It made a fine side dish as it's rich and really doesn't need anything else, even butter. Besides, everyone wondered how the heck that custard got in there! I didn't say this was low calorie! Whole milk AND heavy cream. Yikes! Custard-Filled Cornbread From The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham Ingredients: 2 eggs 3 tablespoons butter, melted 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups whole milk 1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar 1 cup flour 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup heavy cream Method: Preheat the oven to 350. Butter an 8 inch square baking dish that is 2 inches deep. Put the buttered dish in the oven to heat up while you make the batter. Beat the eggs a little and add the melted butter. Beat well. Add the sugar, salt, milk and vinegar and beat well again. Sift the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and baking soda together and add to the egg mixture. Mix just until the batter is smooth with no lumps. Pour into the heated dish and then pour the cup of heavy cream into the center of the batter. DO NOT STIR. Bake for 1 hour until golden brown. Serve warm.
A spicy Southern side dish everyone will love! If you don't like spicy or aren't sure of your audience, you may want to dial it back to 3/4 cup of jalapeño (approximately 3 jalapeños).
Well, it’s spring break month in South Florida. We are under siege- which is sweet for Florida’s economy but the driving is hell. A1A is bar...
Whoa! Brace yourselves....a healthy recipe coming your way today! I saw this in Martha Stewart Living magazine and tore it out. It's a nice side dish, good flavor, nicely flavored with curry and the only complaint I had was it was just a little bit dry. Have you made it? Would love to hear about your results. Perhaps I was just expecting this to be more like a moist meatloaf and it's supposed to be on the dry side. What do you think? Curried Lentil and Rice Loaves From Martha Stewart Living, September 2013 Ingredients: 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for loaf pans 2/3 cup white rice, preferably short-grain 2/3 cup green lentils, picked over and rinsed 1 sweet onion, such as Vidalia, finely chopped (about 2 cups) 2 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 2 cups water 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, drained, rinsed, and mashed 2 medium carrots, grated (about 1 cup lightly packed) 3/4 cup tomato puree 1 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt 2 large eggs, lightly beaten Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 mini loaf pans or 1 standard loaf pan with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang; brush with oil. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice, lentils, onion, and curry powder. Cook, stirring, until fragrant and toasted, about 3 minutes. Add water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and lentils and rice are al dente, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Transfer to pans; bake until tops are golden brown and firm, about 1 hour. Let cool at least 10 minutes.
Finally, I've finished reading cover to cover the first of my Christmas cookbooks. My kids gave me lots of them and it's going to take me a while to get through them all. I began with A Platter of Figs by David Tanis, published in 2008. Tanis has worked with Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in several capacities over the last 25 years. Right now, he spends half the year in Paris, where he writes and hosts a private dining club, and half the year in San Francisco, where he continues chef duties at Chez Panisse in collaboration with long-time colleague Jean-Pierre Moullé. There are 24 menus in A Platter of Figs, six for each season. How best to explain David's attitude towards cooking? "Simple cooking meant to illuminate nature’s perfect simplicity" was a quote I read someplace. There are no long lists of ingredients, just simple recipes and fabulous flavors. This hazelnut sponge cake was lovely. The hazelnuts are not ground finely, so there is a flavor-filled chewiness with each bite. I served it with a coffee-flavored sweetened whipped cream, but kept thinking I'd have loved some caramelized fruit with it. Maybe pears. But I contained myself and kept it simple. Hazelnut Sponge Cake From A Platter of Figs by David Tanis Ingredients: 1 pound shelled hazelnuts 8 large eggs, separated, room temperature 3/4 cup sugar Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons cake flour, matzo meal or dry bread crumbs 1/2 teaspoon salt Method: Preheat oven to 400. Roast the hazelnuts on a baking sheet for 10 minutes until the skins blister and hazelnuts are toasted. Place them in a tea towel and rub them together to remove skins. When they are cool, coarsely chop them in a food processor. Line a 10 inch spring form pan with a circle of parchment or butter and flour the pan. Set aside. Lower oven heat to 350. Beat the egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add the zest, lemon juice, flour, salt and hazelnuts and mix well. Beat the whites until stiff. Add 1/3 of them to the batter to lighten, then fold in the remaining whites. Bake the cake in the 350 oven for 15 minutes, lower the temperature to 325 and bake an additional 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack before unmolding. Serve with fresh fruit and slightly sweetened whipped cream or just some lightly sweetened coffee flavored whipped cream, which is what I did.
Looking for Hemingway's Paris? This Hemingway Tour Paris visits the sites related to Hemingway in Paris like Michaud's Paris & Café des Amateurs
Finally...I got around to making this dish when my daughter was home last month. I saw it ages ago on one of Giada's Food Network Shows and...
When my kids were young, I would press leftover rice into patties and fry them until they were crisp. Nothing fancy, because with three kids under three, I did things as simply as possible in the kitchen. Once in a while, I made a quick fried rice from a recipe given to me by a lovely Chinese woman who became a friend during our Air Force years. More recently, I've made leftover risotto into cakes and fried them à la Ina Garten. And now I've come across another way to use rice leftovers: an omelet. This dish is served for one or two as a main course, with some extra goodies tucked in. Leftover rice (sticky rice is best), peas, scallions or shallots, and eggs. Fresh ginger, if you have it, and any other veggie additions in the fridge you want to use up. You bite into the soft omelet and surprise! There's the crunchy sticky rice in the center. Sprinkle some soy sauce on top. Yum. Crispy Fried Rice Omelet From Dinner, A Love Story blog by Jenny Rosenstrach Ingredients: canola oil (I added a touch of butter for flavor as well) 2 tablespoons minced scallions or shallots 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced 1 small garlic clove, minced shake of red pepper flakes (to taste) 3/4 cup leftover rice, preferably sticky Chinese takeout 3 – 4 eggs 2 teaspoons soy sauce handful frozen peas (to taste) Method: Preheat broiler. Add a little oil to a cast iron or nonstick skillet set over medium heat. Add scallions, ginger, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook about 1 minute until everything is soft and fragrant. Add rice and spread out in one layer, turning up heat a bit. Don’t stir for about a minute so it gets nice and crispy. Stir again, turn over and wait another minute. It's important that the rice is crisp and brown. Meanwhile whisk together eggs and soy sauce and add peas to egg mixture. Turn heat down to medium-low and pour egg mixture over fried rice, tipping the pan so the egg distributes itself evenly over the rice. Cook until underside is crispy, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a broiler and bake another 3 minutes or until egg looks golden and bubbly on top. Serve with a drizzle of soy sauce and a green salad. For two.
Looking for Hemingway's Paris? This Hemingway Tour Paris visits the sites related to Hemingway in Paris like Michaud's Paris & Café des Amateurs
This recipe was adapted from Simple Vegan Blog, Vegan Cheese Recipe
Making a starring appearance in Hemingway's memoir A Moveable Feast, La Closerie is the stuff of literary legends. Baudelaire, Balzac, Wilde, and Sartre were also regular patrons. Have a drink at the Bar Hemingway before dining on the leafy terrace. (La Closerie des Lilas, 171 Boulevard du Montparnasse, 75006.) 5 x 7 for $55 9 x 12 for $95 Editions are strictly limited to 365 copies, and each annotated print is a beautiful reminder that our days are numbered.
Patrick Radden Keefe profiled the late chef and star of “Parts Unknown,” in 2017. “I travel around the world, eat a lot of shit, and basically do whatever the fuck I want,” he said.
Ernest Hemingway Quote from A Moveable Feast | Wall Art | Literature | Literary Quote | Print | A3
If you’re looking for a new way to top your pasta (or chicken), this wild mushroom tahini sauce is what you’re after. It’s bursting with rich, earthy, and bright flavors as the mushrooms, tahini, vinegar, and lemon zest sing in unison. Top this luscious sauce over trumpet-shaped noodles to keep the party going!
My favorite cozy weeknight soup made in 30 min! Loaded with tender tortellini, sausage and kale! And it's so easy!
North Brooklyn Farms is a pop-up oasis of kale, tomatoes, and eggplants growing in a former parking lot near the Williamsburg Bridge in the shadow of a def
No matter if you're throwing a holiday party or just having a lazy night in, a Vegan Charcuterie Board (aka Vegan Snack Board) is an easy and fun appetizer or main course. Gather round and sample a variety of vegan goodies like veggies, dips, hummus, nuts, fruit, and more.
