...Introducing my sous-chef...

Bird used to enjoy hanging out on my shoulder when I cooked.
Now she prefers listening to albums or eating snacks.
I still consider her my main sous-chef, though, as she's cooked many a dish with me.

Bird is almost three and a half.
I found her in a pet store on a cold November day.
She was hanging upside down from her cage - squawking like mad - while her brothers and sisters just kind of chilled.
I found myself standing on the street hailing a cab with a parakeet, cage and bag of birdseed in my arms, thirty minutes later.

Bird's favorite albums: "The Blueprint" and "Talkie Walkie"
Bird's favorite snacks: arugula, spinach and homemade honey glazed apple peel
Bird's favorite dance: the side shuffle, followed by the hustle or electric slide - depending on where you're from in the good ol' U.S. of A.

...Blue Taters...

We had our hebdomadal dinner party with Maître Ferguson last night - made steaks, mashed blue potatoes and garlic spinach. Hitchcock would have been pleased.

The purée sparked up a fierce political debate, however, when M. Ferguson insinuated that québécois potatoes were inferior to those of Idaho and P.E.I. Apparently it's common knowledge that P.E.I.'s and Idaho's are way better? Come on now...if it's from Québec it's got to be good.


**This is a peeled blue potato. Tastes just like a regular potato.
I read up on the blue patates after dinner. Sources say that unlike white or yellow ones, they are full of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants keep your body's cells happy.



Our meal was accompanied by this "Séléction Ferguson".
"Cruz de Piedra", Granacha 2003, from the Calatayud vignobles found in the mountains between Madrid and Zaragoza.
At 14 degrees, this (on the sweet side) wine packs a punch. A fine catch.
Thanks Matt.

...Renoncules...

Genus name: rananculus asiaticus
Song I hear when I see them: Duke Elllington's "The Star-Crossed Lovers".

...Unpasteurized Business...

I love it when the cheese department at the grocery store decides to have a sale.
It's like I'm ten and just heard the ice cream truck.

When I saw this "Brillat-Savarin" with a "SPECIAL" sticker on it, I almost climbed over the counter to give the cheese lady a hug.

Butter is churned cream. This cheese tastes a lot like butter.
It's got a super velvety crust and is extremely rich and smooth on the inside.
I suppose it's like butter...minus the churning process.

This cheese has been around since the 1930s.
A man named Henri Adrouet created it.
He named it in honor of the famous 18th century food writer, Brillat-Savarin.
Beautiful story, no?

...Sometimes...My...Groceries...Make...Me...Happy...

Tonight's ingredients: penne, pancetta, onion, tomato, parmesean, olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a few black olives.

...Cocoa, oh, oh...

It's been a while...
I hope this year of the dog is treating you all very well.

So here's a little something I dug up out of the vaults.

There's a little candy shoppe in Paris that goes by the name of "La Bonbonnière de la Trinité".
They make sweets.
What kinds of sweets?
A family of chocolates (to whom belongs an out of the ordinary truffle, that I'd like to shout out at the end of this post), caramels, mints, fruits confits and a slew of other earthly delights...
They've been making them since? Since 1925.
So 1925 doesn't make them quite as old as Maiffret or Fauchon, but, then again, neither one of them are by any means...seniors of Acamapichtli.

Acamapichtli was the first ruler of the Aztecs (1376-1396).
He would have called chocolate, 'Nahuatl' (bitter-water), because the Aztecs liked to drink their cocoa. They enjoyed solid chocolate, too.
Calling it 'Xocoatl', and making it by grinding together cocoa beans with sugar, they produced a chocolate, that once in your mouth, would become granulated in texture. Nothing like the solid chocolate we are accustomed to today, which owes its smoothness to the incorporation of emulsifiers.

Today the Oaxacan tradition is kept alive in Mexico, by artisans, and on the native island of Don Corleone by chocolate company, Bonajuto.
I had the fortune of trying some Xocoatl Bonajuto during the summer of my twentieth year - back when I was working at that deli.
Having always fancied a sandy consistency (pears, halvah, cream of wheat...) the discovery of xocoatl was like the mardi gras for my young palette. If I had any reason to merit an impresario, and Bonajuto were in the business of sponsoring people, for sure, I'd like to be on their team.

As for "La Bonbonnière de la Trinité" and their truffle...
Imagine encased in a millimeter thin shell, a silky blend of dark chocolate.
When you bite into it you hear a little pop, and then, wait, you don't understand what's going on cause the synapses in your brain are telling you that the rest of the truffle isn't solid. What?!
Remarkable.

Proust's grandmother used to make madeleines.
My grandmother used to make truffles.
Truffles are surprisingly easy to make.
I'll post the recipe up for you soon.
Until then...

La Bonbonnière de la Trinité
4, Place d'Estienne-d'Orves
Métro: Trinité

...My Grandmother's Truffle Recipe...

225 gr. of semi-sweet chocolate (equivalent to 1 box of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate)
2 tsp. cream
75 gr. butter
2 egg yolks
cocoa powder for dusting

1. Over a bain-marie, melt chocolate and butter.
(A bain-marie is when you take a saucepan, fill it with water and place a bowl/pan over it to slow cook the bowl's/pan's
contents).

2. In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks and cream.

3. When the chocolate and butter have melted, remove from stove and incorporate egg yolk/cream mixture.

4. Add extracts and/or spices to the chocolate (e.g. cinnamon, garam masala, vanilla).
At times my grandmother would add a capful of Grand Marnier.

5. Allow the chocolate to chill in the fridge for an hour.

6. Remove from fridge and allow to soften. This should take about 15 mintues.

7. Mold chocolate into balls and dust with cocoa powder.
My grandmother would always put a toasted hazlenut in the center of hers.

8. Distribute to loved ones.

...ChaudChaudLeVinChaud...

Mulled wine. Vin Chaud. Here's what you'll need:

1 bottle of red wine (an inexpensive one will do the trick)
cinnamon (1 or 2 sticks)
cloves (4 or 5)
the peel of half of an orange

The thing is, you can really use any spice you like.
Anise, slices of ginger, black peppercorns,
allspice, etc.

Preparation:
Combine your wine, zest and spices in a saucepan.
Simmer for atleast 15 minutes (over medium heat).
Strain and serve.
Add sugar and any ground spices you fancy.

...One for Hubbard...

Tried my first Mint Julep tonight. All I can say is this: get your hands on one if you can. Cause it has got to be one of the most refreshing, soothing, finest cocktails/nightcaps ever.

Here's where I had my One Mint Julep.
They serve all kinds of night wines and cognacs, and are a strictly jazz playing, hush hush, queen anne chair, cigar smoking kind of place. Very cozy...

Le Café du Passage
12, Rue de Charonne - 11ème
Métro: Bastille

...ChouChouChoucroute...

Love a choucroute.

Choucroute= sauerkraut topped with a hock, saucisse de Strasbourg, slab of bacon and a few potatoes. Everything is cooked in white wine or Alsatian riesling. The sauerkraut is tangy, the meats salty, their juices sweet – a veritable fiesta of flavors and textures.

People have been enjoying it since the 15th century. It's from the region of Alsace.

A recipe for choucroute.

...Pass the Spatula...

E. Dehillerin. They've been around since 1820 and, from what I understand, big chefs, pâtissiers, and homemakers love them.
They've got all kinds of tools to make delicate pastries; copper pots large enough to seat one person, comfortably; a very extensive line of knives...
In fact, two people came in the shop looking for knives this afternoon: a chef, and a student of the Cordon Bleu. The chef bought this super obscure meat slicer (darnit, i don't remember the name) that he'd been unable to find in other shops, and the student, the knife she needed in order to pass one of her exams.
I spent a little over two hours rummaging around the place and hawking this cherry red Le Creuset tarte tatin dish. One could easily spend the day there. I don't think they'd mind, either.
They make these lovely boxwood spatulas, too.

E. Dehillerin: Le Spécialiste du Matériel de Cuisine
18, rue de Coquillère
Metro: Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre

...Breakfast at Cartier's...

...Lamb roast the fireplace way...

Cousins and I made dinner last week. We roasted a leg of lamb in the fireplace and made gnocchi.
We used this clockwork spitjack from the 18th century - quite the ingenious device.
Three hours later...juicyfalloffthebonetastiness.

...Merry Christmas Everyone...

A gift from the sea.

...Kousmichoff knows about the top-shelf...

Today I stopped by Kusmi Tea to do some christmas shopping. The Kousmichoff story: In 1867 they set up shoppe in St. Petersburg (where they supplied the czars of Russia with tea) and later moved here in 1917 – reckon the bolsheviks had something to do with that. Since then, they've nestled in the back of a small courtyard off a busy avenue in the 17th. A simple foyer with shelves holding over 20 different varieties of tea and a room with a cash register make this place remarkably low-key...considering the legacy.

You can find Kusmi teas in Montréal at “Folie en Vrac” on Mont-Royal, or at “La Vielle Europe” on St. Laurent. However, “La Vielle Europe” has samples to smell, and seeing as a tin of 125 g does cost the small fortune of $15 (luckily you only need about one teaspoon per pot) better to go there. "Anastasia" and "Troïka" blends are delightful.

Watercress: The poor man's bread.

I found this beautiful bunch of watercress in a little grocery store yesterday, and did a little research when I got home.

A remarkable source of vitamin C (as well as other vitamins and minerals), watercress is thought to be (amongst other things) a cure for baldness, an aphrodisiac and an excellent remedy for hangovers. Back in 19th century England watercress was commonly eaten for breakfast between two slices of bread or alone as the "poor man's bread". For more insightful tidbits about watercress...

The Aligre Market, Paris.

Back in France for the holidays visiting mom, pops and company. This morning we all hoped on the metro and made our way to the Marché Aligre near the Gare de Lyon (open 7 days a week) to seek out oysters. While we were there I took a photo of some mâche (lamb's lettcue) thinking I would blog about its many virtues. But then, well, I caught sight of some pretty irresistible looking carrots basking in the warm winter sun – some beautiful lychees from madagascar; prosciutto di parma; olive oil from algeria, italy and france; dorade rose and coquilles st. jacques from normandy; boar legs; etc, etc, etc – and started clicking away. As for the oysters, well, leave it to the camera to run out of juice. Hundreds of people, vendors shouting out prices and telling clients that vitamins will bring them beautiful children. Enough said.

The Royal Butternut

Butternut squash. One of the finer names of the produce section? I think, yes. My fourth year of university had me making this from about November until February. It goes without saying that (it being in my fridge all the time) a bit of experimention came about on the degustation side of things as the winter months rolled by. Example...I would put toasted bread with goat cheese on the soup one day, add cream to it another, add some left over rice and parmesean to it the next. This recipe is versatile. Enough said.

What you'll need: About 2 liters of homemade stock (using my interpretation of vegetable soup stock or any of the thousands of soup stock recipes that exist on the internet) or the kind you buy at the supermarket. You'll also need a large butternut squash (or two smaller ones) and a blender.

Preparing the butternut:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Cut your butternut squash in half (lenghtwise) and discard its seeds and filaments.
On a baking sheet, pan, whatever, place the butternut squash skin side up so that the orange part of the squash is lying face down on the baking sheet. Poke some holes through the skin using a fork and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife slides through the squash with ease.

Preparing the soup stock:

I'm back and ready to type away this recipe once and for all. I apologize for the delay. So really, as long as you cook your vegetables well (before adding water to them) and allow them to simmer for about an hour, you're in business. This is by no means the best vegetable stock out there, but it requires minimal ingredients, so it's good for when you don't have lots lying around the kitchen. You can add almost anything too it as well. Try dressing it up with some boiled potatoes and leeks, or cauliflower, or a whole bag of carrots if you're not a lover of the butternut.

What you'll need:

6 carrots, chopped
5-6 celery stalks, chopped
2 large onions or 4 small ones, chopped
3 whole garlic cloves, peeled
tbsp. salt
black peppercorns (optional)
bay leaf (optional)

Materials:
A large pot (something that can hold 4 or 5 liters)
A blender

Once you’ve finished chopping up all of your vegetables take about 1/4 c. of olive oil and add it to your pot.

Place pot on stove and set to medium heat. When the oil is hot add the carrots to the pot. When they have softened up a bit add the celery, then the onions and whole garlic cloves. Feel free to pour in more olive oil if you find that the vegetables are starting to stick to the bottom of the pan (I'm pretty sure I end up using about 1/3 c. of olive oil in total...if not more) if they burn/caramelize a bit, don’t fret, this will add loads of flavor to your stock. When you’re vegetables are well cooked (should take about 30 minutes or so) add enough water to cover them completely and then add about 2 or 3 cups more. Throw in your salt, black peppercorns, bay leaf.

Cover your pot and allow everything to simmer (low-medium heat) for about an hour. After this let your pot to cool off for about 10-15 minutes. Then, take all of the contents from the pot (minus the black peppercorns and bay leaf) and liquefy in the blender. Empty all of your blended stock into a large bowl.

When your butternut squash has finished cooking remove it from the oven, allow it to cool and peel away the skin. Put about a quarter of the squash into the blender and pour in some already blended vegetable stock. Pour these contents back into your pot. Repeat this step until all the butternut squash has been incorporated into the stock. Then add salt and pepper to taste, some cream, and enjoy.

Fresh Out The Kitchen

Sweet and cinnamony delights are these. Recipe. They don't mention this, but try adding some cinnamon, cardamom, allspice or what have you to the dough. Freeze the left over dough and enjoy all winter long...

Hot Chocolate for MyMainSqueeze.

You may wish to add more or less of the ingredients listed. I never use measuring utensils in the kitchen so the following quantities are a rough estimate. Also, you may choose add some coffee or espresso to your hot cocoa for extra zip.

1 c. of milk you enjoy
1 1/2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 dashes of ground cinnamon
1 dash of jamaican allspice

*Over a medium setting heat your milk in a saucepan.
*In a mug or bowl combine cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon and allspice.
*Pour some milk from your saucepan into your mug or bowl. With a fork, beat the milk and powder together until all clumps have been obliterated.
*Right before your milk comes to a boil pour the rest of it into your mug. Give it a stir and enjoy.

Mambo Miam Miam

This dressing tastes especially good on arugula/roquette.

Equal parts of sesame oil and rice vinegar.
Pinch of salt.
Two pinches of sugar.
Put all ingredients in a glass jar and shake up.

** If you like a thicker dressing add more oil than vinegar.

Cornbread

My friend Kim doesn't hang out in the kitchen much because she's convinced that she has no skills when it comes to cookery, but the truth is...she makes the meanest cornbread in the State of Michigan. She's in Spain right now living an adventure, so I can't offer you her recipe. However, I will give you the Joy of Cooking's rendition because everyone needs to have atleast one cornbread recipe in their life.

3/4 c. flour
1 1/4 c. corn meal
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder ( I only use 2 tsp.)
2 tbsp. sugar
3/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
2-3 tbsp. butter, melted
1 c. milk

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400ºF.
In one bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, beat the egg and combine it with the melted butter and milk.
Combine all of the ingredients together.
Pour the batter in to a greased pan or muffin tray.
If you use a pan the cornbread should take about 20-25 minutes to bake.
If you use a muffin tray they should take a little less time to cook (10 minutes), so keep an eye on them.

Remedy Numero Uno

I have a friend named Liz. She's the queen of the home remedy. Two years ago she started making this potion. Ever since many of us have been overcoming the occasional cold and flu by using it. If you drink it before bedtime, after soaking in a very hot bath, you should feel better come morning. I haven't taken an aspirin/tylenol/sudafed tablet in two years. This is really an all-purpose concotion to be enjoyed during the colder months of the year and/or whenever your system is down.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

1 ginger root
1 lemon or lime
Some honey (optional)

HOW TO MAKE THE POTION:

Slice up atleast two-inches of a ginger root. "More is better" in this case, so chop, chop.
Fill a saucepan with water.
Your stove set to high, bring the water to a complete boil.
Then, reduce the heat of your stove's element to medium temperature.
Throw in your pieces of ginger. Allow them to simmer for about 30 minutes.
Squeeze the juice of one lemon or lime into a mug. Add a spoonful of honey to the mug, if you like. (Brandy if you're restless).
Pour some of the simmered ginger juicein to your cup and enjoy.

*The left over simmered ginger juice may be refrigerated and reheated for another time.

Macaroooooooooons!

Following this recipe, in about thirty minutes, tops, you should have a lovely bunch of macaroons. This recipe makes about 30 quarter sized treats.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups of shredded coconut (unsweetened coconut is best, but if the grocery store only has sweetened coconut, no worries)
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or if you have a vanilla bean handy, cut it in half and use its seeds). Or you might try adding a crushed cardamom pod.)
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 cups condensed milk
2 egg whites (beaten until you have a stiff foam)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In one bowl, combine the coconut, salt, condensed milk and vanilla extract together.

In a separate bowl, fluff up your egg whites until you have a stiff foam.

Then, fold the egg whites in to the coconut mixture. By folding, I mean, mix in a chunk of the fluffed egg whites into the coconut mixture, gradually and gently. The egg whites are what help maintain the macaroons' pillowyness. If you beat the egg whites into the coconut mixture you will end up with flat macaroons.

Then, grease a non-stick cookie sheet with butter.

With your hands, make little balls from the batter and place them 2-inches apart from one another on the cookie sheet.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes. Leave the oven light on and check intermittently. Take them out when golden brown.

Take the cookie sheet out of the oven. Remove the macaroons from the pan. They will be sticky and lose their shape when you try to remove them from the sheet, but fret not, you can reshape them with your hands. Allow them a few minutes to cool down.

** If you have time you could try dipping the bottoms of them in melted chocolate (once they have finished cooling) to achieve a more show stopping result.

Ginger Is Good For Your Stomach

I used to work in a deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan called Zingerman's. During my lunch break I would often eat one of their Ginger Jump-Up cookies for dessert. Tasty. Long story short, late one night, when I should have been studying I did a bit of tinkering around in the kitchen to create a cookie that is almost as tasty as the real thing.

Bowl One, Combine:

2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp. ginger (powder form)
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. baking powder
For those that LOVE ginger, chop up some crystalized ginger and incorporate the bits into the flour/leavening/spice mixture.

Bowl Two, Combine:

3/4 cup butter, SOFTENED (I usually leave the butter out to soften a few hours before making the cookies)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg (beat it before you add it to the butter and sugar mixture)
1/3 cup molasses

Combine the ingredients of bowl one with those of bowl two.
Roll dough in to a kind of log and put it in a plastic bag.
Chill the dough for atleast one hour.
Then, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it out. You can use a floured wine bottle or something of the sort – instead of a standard rolling pin. I myself have been using a Perrier bottle.
You can use the rim of a glass as a cookie cutter if you don't have conventional ones.
Roll the cookies in sugar and bake them for 10-12 minutes, in an oven of 350º F.

Interesting...

Poires Belle Hélène

You should consider playing a little Offenbach on your stereo if ever you decide to make this recipe as it owes its name to Helen of Sparta - the protagonist of his operetta "La Belle Hélène". Offenbach, a virtuoso of the cello and composer lived in Paris during the latter half of the 19th century. Sources say that this dessert was very popular around 1865. It's quite likely then that he would have indulged in the dessert, himself. Very interesting...

The pears:

• 6 firm pears
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 cups water
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 lemons

The chocolate sauce:

• 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cups water
• 1 Tablespoon brandy

Serve with vanilla ice cream


Preparation:

1. Cut one of the lemons in half. Peel a pear, leaving stem intact and rub immediately with the cut lemon.
2. Working from the bottom, scoop out the seeds and membrane using a vegetable peeler. Repeat with
remaining pears.
3. Pare the zest from the other lemon and then squeeze out the juice.
4. Cut the vanilla bean in half. Combine the water, vanilla bean, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan.
5. Heat the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, then bring it to a boil.
6. Remove the pan from the heat; add the whole pears. Cut a piece of parchment paper the same diameter of the saucepan.
Dampen it and place it on top of the pears to keep them submerged while poaching.
7. Simmer the pears over low heat until tender. About 25-35 minutes, depending on ripeness. Let the pears cool in the
poaching liquid.
8. Melt chocolate in bowl. Place this bowl over a saucepan of boiling water (this creates a double boiler).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the brandy.

Drain the pears well and place one in the center of each of 6 chilled serving plates (put them in the freezer for 15 minutes or
so. Arrange 3 or 5 small scoops of ice cream around the pears or place the pears on top of the ice cream. Gently spoon the
chocolate sauce over the pears.