brunch deux
Next up is the recipe that my sweet sister, Sloane, made. It’s one of my favorites!
A few of the other guests brought recipes that have already been featured here on the blog… for instance, Peggy made THIS great salad that I wrote about back in September 2009. And Peggy’s fabulous sister, Terrie, made a beautiful platter of roasted asparagus that was generously topped with crumbled goat cheese, crispy bacon, and lemon. Regretfully, I didn’t get a picture of either Terrie’s asparagus or Peggy’s salad, (you can go to the link above to see the salad). But thankfully I did snap a lovely picture of gorgeous Peggy!
January 6, 2012 No Comments
festive duck
First things first - Happy Birthday to my BBF, Jennifer Markett, who lives in Illinois! I LOVE YOU! And if you were here with me, I would be serving you this wonderful duck strudel! xoxo
Pictured above is my collection of authentic vintage French confit pots. Pretty, aren’t they? Duck confit has been a preservation method, for cooking and keeping duck in its rendered fat in France, for centuries. It results in supremely tender, moist, and extremely flavorful duck. You can then sear the duck legs in a hot skillet and serve them as is, or shred the meat and add it to salads, or into the delicious and festive strudel recipe I have for you below.
One of the great things about this strudel is that you can assemble the entire thing a month in advance and freeze it. Pop it in the oven for your Christmas celebrations and impress your guests! It is out of this world glorious!
A sealed glass jar of confit may be kept in the refrigerator for up to six months, or several weeks if kept in a reusable plastic container. To maximize preservation, the fat should top the meat by at least one inch. As the fat turns solid, and prevents any air from reaching the meat, so basically the confit technique is a way of hermetically sealing the meat. The cooking fat acts as both a seal and preservative and results in a very rich taste.
I have been collecting authentic confit pots from France for a while now. Before refrigerators, the pots were used to “refrigerate” the confit. The entire inside of the pot is glazed and the glaze drips decoratively down the outside rim of the pot. The rest of the outside of the pot is left unglazed. The pot was filled with the duck and sealed with the fat. The pot was then buried in the cold mud and the unglazed outside of the pot would soak up that coldness and keep the duck confit perfectly chilled until ready to dig out and use.
The amount of duck confit used in this recipe is small, only 4 ounces. So instead of going to the trouble to make my own confit, I purchased a leg quarter from Chef Vincent Guerithault of the famed Vincent’s on Camelback. Call ahead, and Chef Guerithault will happily sell you some too. Or you can make our own duck confit, I’ve included a recipe from Epicurious.com at the bottom of this post. It is not difficult, just time consuming. You will need to salt the duck for at least 24 hours before beginning and you have to render duck fat from the duck skin, which I have posted about before. The link on how to do that, is there in the recipe too. But if you just purchase the confit, you can get going on the strudel recipe…. right now!
December 3, 2011 1 Comment
boletus edulis
The boletus edulis (botanical name) is beloved around the world for it’s firm texture and distinctive flavor. It is known as Cèp in France, Porcini in Italy, Penny Bun in Britain, Steinpilz in Germany, and King Bolete, or just King in the United States. In most stores and restaurants, you’ll find them called by their Italian name, porcini. At the market you will most often find them dried in little bags. In France and Italy, they are sold not only in bags but often in bulk at the outdoor markets.
If you see them fresh in the grocery store at a reasonable price, snatch them up, they are a wonderful treat. You can grill them, make them into a delicious sauce, even into a mushroom stew. Or just call me and I’ll help you put them to good use!
August 25, 2011 No Comments
living high on the hog (or turkey)
Here is the recipe I made yesterday on the Valley Dish, especially for Memorial Day weekend. (And here is the LINK if you would like to watch it online.) PLEASE don’t be scared off by the long laundry list of ingredients. There are six different condiments/toppings for your sliders, and each one is very easy to make, you can do as many or as few as you like. Seriously, when I say easy, I’m talking about slicing a couple tomatoes, drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and chives, that’s easy! Or laying slices of bacon on foil, sprinkling with rosemary and pepper and tossing in the oven, super easy! And I guarantee your family and friends will be impressed, Enjoy!
May 28, 2011 3 Comments
tri-tip
On Sunday I taught a demonstration cooking class as part of a bridal shower. It was a lovely afternoon with 21 delightful ladies and a beautiful bride-to-be. This was our main course. P.S. Thanks to my own lovely daughter, Marissa, for assisting me! xoxo
[Read more →]
February 8, 2011 1 Comment
Gâteau
A gâteau (pronounced ga-toe) is a French cake, often specifically a sponge cake. 1. a rich or fancy cake. 2. food baked or served in the form of a cake.
After my Wednesday appearance on Valley Dish, I had a stack of about 30 herb crêpes left over. Crêpes freeze very well, so a dozen were wrapped, labeled, and frozen for future use. Fortunately, I had seen this, just the Sunday before, on my favorite daily shopping website; One Kings Lane:
Spinach Gruyere Crepe Gâteau 
This savory cake is a work of genius. It is 6 inches in diameter and features a seemingly endless stack of delicate crepes, each layered with classic flavors – aged Gruyere cheese, tender onion, and spinach. This is rich, soul-satisfying fare, with an absolutely stunning presentation. $65 Retail; One Kings Lane price $45
That inspired me to make my own version with the addition of luscious duxelles. (Duxelles is a finely chopped mixture of mushrooms, shallots, and garlic sautéed in butter, and reduced to a thick mixture with cream. Often used as a stuffing; notably, beef Wellington, or as a garnish.)
An alternative smoked salmon gâteau (much quicker and easier) is at the bottom of the post. Either version makes a perfect light dinner, lunch, or brunch dish.
January 21, 2011 3 Comments
Christmas poem and pasta
Although I didn’t feel like making dinner on Monday, I ran into Trader Joe’s with only, “Make pasta for dinner.” on my brain. I was instantly inspired upon sight of a bag of sliced crimini mushrooms. From there the recipe developed in my head as I put heirloom tomatoes, arugula, two linguini flavors, and Fontina cheese in my cart.
But I have to admit that I find it immensely difficult to make dinner on the nights leading up to big holidays. All my focus and attention is currently pinpointed on Christmas Eve mass and dinner. Next, on Christmas day breakfast, gift opening, and dinner. All that makes it feels nearly impossible to care about the “now’. I am well aware that that is not the way to live life, but making the holidays special is just what I, and most of you, do.
So, for you – and for me, I post a little poem and this pasta recipe, both of which I created just for the holiday hustle and bustle. I’m far to frazzled and scatter brained to finish the last 10 stanzas. Here is a LINK to the original poem, please feel free to add some stanzas of your own. And if no one steps forward, maybe I shall get back to it later!
“Twas the Monday before Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was focused, not even the mouse.
The “to do” lists were sitting on the counter with a nasty glare
In my hopes that someone else would please do them with care.
The husband and children were kick’n back in their Keds
While visions of the perfect Christmas danced in their heads.
And mama in her panic, bustling here and there with her map
Wondering how everything would happen without ever getting a nap!
When out in the kitchen there arose such a bang and a clatter,
Mama continued getting dinner on the table as if nothing else mattered.
Away to the shops and markets she went in such a dash.
Doing her best to get it all done in time for each camera flash.
The family was ever confident as they watched her go, go go,
That this Christmas, like all the rest, would be everything and mo’
When what to all wondering eyes should appear,
But another “perfect” Christmas- full of joy, love, and cheer!”
December 21, 2010 5 Comments
lost and found
The title should be more like “forgot and found”…
Last weekend when Marissa’s friends came up from Tucson, she and I made a grocery run to Food City for inexpensive Mexican food items. I found such a great price on poblanos that I purchased ten of the delicious and versatile peppers. I used 2 last weekend and placed the rest in one of the refrigerator’s produce drawers… and promptly forgot about them. After discovering them yesterday, I quickly roasted, peeled, and seeded all eight. Two were used for these enchiladas and the remaining six will be put to go use in tomorrow’s post… stay tuned! [Read more →]
August 7, 2010 1 Comment
smart kids
I am always amazed at how open and accepting kids can be. Even after teaching them to cook for 15 years, they continue to surprise me. This past four weeks of classes we’ve had Pizza Day, Bread & Sandwiches Day, Greek, Mexican, and Caribbean Days…. and for the last day of each week, Vegetarian Day. Do you know which “Day” a majority of the kids look forward to most? Yeah, veggie day! Parents, you should be proud – I know I’m mighty proud of them!
Soft lavash bread is a great vehicle to use for vegetarian dishes. You can find a six-pack of it at Trader Joe’s. And just as with yesterday’s recipe, you need to be sure to seed the tomatoes and then drain them to prevent this thin crust from becoming soggy.
June 27, 2010 No Comments
wild
A few days back, my teen students had their graduation lunch and chose quiche as one of their buffet menu items. Since our time to cook on graduation day is a bit more limited, I made the crust dough ahead and refrigerated it so that when the kids arrived they could roll out and blind bake them immediately. They then proceeded with the recipe, making the filling, baking the filled quiche, and then going back to the beginning to make the crust dough, so they had the experience of actually making the recipe in its entirety. So what’s the point of me telling you all that back-story? The point is, I then had two disks of dough in my refrigerator – hence my utter brilliance in making these lovely wild mushroom tarts for Father’s Day to go with our Steak au Poivre.
You will notice from the photos that I decided to make three rectangular tarts, while the recipe instructs to make a 9-inch round tart. That is because I had two sets of dough and I also knew that with my limited freezer space – two long ones would fit much better than a big old round one. I have to say, in general, I really do like the rectangle pans better than the round. You never have to worry about the center of the crust becoming soggy and they are easier to cut and to serve. So if you enjoy making sweet and/or savory tarts, you might consider investing in this great size and shape too.
Now, as for the wild mushrooms, use whatever type you like. Costco sells a large container of wild mushroom mix and also a large bag (as you’ll see pictured here) of dried shiitake mushrooms. And just about all grocery stores sell small packages in either their produce or gourmet sections, as does Trader Joe’s. That reminds me, when do you suppose Costco and Trader Joe’s are going to start paying me for all the free advertising I give them here?!? Wishful thinking… love ‘em both anyhow!
June 25, 2010 No Comments
