...LoVe SToRies...

Like opening a chest of sunken treasure.

La Cabosse d'Or
Read about how the shop came to be...
It's a bit like the LU story.

BuCHE de NoEL

I found these guys while perusing the net for a Bûche de Noël recipe. Couldn't read their instructions, so I went and consulted with Martha.
Happy Holidays...

aLL tHE trimMinGS

ComingSoon.

Scoured the whole of the United States looking for the TASTY Pizza pie.

The results coming soon.

OfficialBrooklyn.

Mini Pumpkin Pies

Pâte Brisée:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp. granulated white sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/8 to 1/4 cup ice water

Combine all dry ingredients together. Work in butter. Slowly incorporate ice water. Roll into a ball, cover, and place in fridgedaire for 30 minutes. Grease pie molds. Roll out dough. Place in molds. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 F. Remove from oven. Allow to cool. Pour in pumpkin filling.

Pumpkin Pie Filling:

(Mix all ingredients together in a blender, or manually in a bowl)

3 eggs

1, 15 oz. can of pure pumpkin

1/2 cup 35% cream (or evaporated milk)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

Bake pies at 350 F for 20-30 minutes. Ready when you pass a knife into filling and it comes out clean. Allow to cool. Serve with whipped cream.

GasTronomiC suiCide

Marco Ferreri made "La Grande Bouffe" (The Big Dinner/Meal) in 1973. It's a Franco-Italian production that includes some of the best from both worlds: Marcello Mastroianni, Philippe Noiret, polenta and crêpes suzette. The story goes...four friends lock themselves away in the villa of an aristocratic, vieux-garçon (played by Philippe Noiret) to eat until the death. They eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat; become lonesome; invite some ladies to their table; eat some more; and then, dip into some serious debauchery. Even though Fauchon prepared the dishes for this film, all I wanted to eat by the end was some be bim bop. As you may well imagine, there's quite a bit of social commentary running throughout this cinematic number, including, but not limited to the ever so famous saying: You are what you eat.

Umrao Jaan

I sat and cried with fifty or so women at the premiere of J.P Dutta's rendition of Mirza Hadi Ruswa's epic tale of the Lucknow courtesan, Umrao Jaan, last night. The theme song (Agle Janam Mohe Bitiya) says: "Oh God. What did I do? Please do not let me come back as a daughter, again." Umrao Jaan is the distant cousin of Gaspara Stampa. It's a sumptuous production: the costumes, dances and music are...wheww...incredible. I've had the soundtrack on repeat since 8 o'clock this morning.

Rime d'Amore XLIII

Dura è la stella mia, maggior durezza
è quella del mio conte: egli mi fugge,
i' seguo lui; altri per me si strugge,
i' non posso mirar altra bellezza.
Odio chi m'ama, ed amo chi mi sprezza:
verso chi m'è umìle il mio cor rugge,
e son umìl con chi mia speme adugge;
a così stranio cibo ho l'alma avezza.
Egli ognor dà cagione a novo sdegno,
essi mi cercan dar conforto e pace;
i' lasso questi, ed a quell'un m'attegno.
Così ne la tua scola, Amor, si face
sempre il contrario di quel ch'egli è degno:
l'umìl si sprezza, e l'empio si compiace.

- Gaspara Stampa

And now, a word or two on movie snacks in India:

They sell everything from Pizzas and burgers to Indian snacks - dahi vada, chaat, papri chaat, lasagna, rolls (you know, kebabs wrapped in a paratha). These are at the multiplexes. The standalones (a dying breed) have things like jhaal muri (spicy/hot puffed rice with onions etc), the snacky stuff like chaat etc.

- S. Sen, Calcutta, India

DoMesTiC BliSS

Domestic bliss is a Kitchen Aid stand mixer. This isn't the souped up version (that one is a jaw-dropping $545.00) but it will still respond to the command of "bippty boppity boo." And did I mention that you can get one in any color that falls within the visible spectrum?

As Normal As Apple Pie

My friend asked me to bake her a classic American style apple pie for her 25th birthday, something I'd never made before. Seeing as she'd taken care of my bully in the 7th grade (in a most regal way I might add) I was in no position to persuade her into chocolate cake. And so I hit the bookstore and scribbled down A to Zs recipes. The one I leave you with is a conflated number I threw together from the 20 some recipes I consulted. I learned that the success of the apple pie is in the dough and that if you poke it, brush it with egg and freeze it for atleast 15 minutes before baking you should achieve outstanding results.

I got to use my friend's old fashioned oven, too. It was like I'd just been handed the keys to a white, Citroën Traction and when I opened the door...Charles Trenet was playing.




The Dough (it's almost shortbread-like):

2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
dash of cinnamon
splash of vanilla extract
lemon zest

***Knead all of these ingredients together. If the dough is crumbly and dry, keep adding milk or cold water. Then roll out your dough (on a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, or if you're like me and don't have one, use a wine bottle) until it's about a 1/4 inch thick. Butter your 9-inch pie dish. Place dough in dish so that the surfaces are well covered and poke with fork. Then, take an egg, beat its white and brush it onto the dough (you will use the yolk to glaze the top part of the pie's dough before placing it in the oven). The egg white acts as a kind of barrier between the cooked apples and the crust, so that the latter doesn't become soggy during the baking process. The place the pie dish in the feezer. Leave it in for a minimum of 15 minutes. Now your dough will not shift size during baking. Keep the remaining dough. You will only have to roll this dough out, place it on top of the pie and brush with egg. You can make petal-like incisions into the top layer of dough and create a flower pattern or make any designs you like.

The Pie-Filling:

6 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and chopped
1 lemon, its juice (lemon zest, optional)
1 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. brown or white-granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4. tsp. clove
1/4 tsp. allspice

Set oven to 400F. Combine all of these ingredients in a bowl. Pour into frozen pie shell. Cover with remaining dough. Cut out your pattern of choice. Brush with egg yolk and place into oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 15 minutes and serve with vanilla ice cream.

thE 2 GoLiGHtLyS

"Breakfast at Tiffany's" was supposed to star Marilyn Monroe. Word is, Capote couldn't stand Audrey Hepburn and had written the character of Miss Golightly with Norma Jeane in mind.

When I came across this photo of Miss Hepburn it reminded me of the time my friends baked a batch of Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies. The introduction to their recipe says it better than I possibly could.

It's a sumptuous cookie I'm sure both Golightys would have enjoyed...

soOiSHi

In Japanese, oishii means delicious and I'd have to agree that this blog is, indeed, quite tasty. There's also So Oishi Tokyo to visit. From what I gather, the mastermind behind So Oishi lived there for the summer. You'll be able to catch some live footage from a Daft Punk concert, some beautiful photographs of the Tokyo fish market and many other things oishii.

claFoutiS

In France we eat a lot of these for dessert or in the morning for breakfast. A clafoutis (pronounced kla foo tee) is made by placing fruit in a pan and covering it with batter that would otherwise have be used to make crêpes. It doesn't call for any fancy ingredients and can be prepared in under 15 minutes. *Watch out for cherry clafoutis; it may make you weak in the knees.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. flour
1 1/4 c. milk
2/3 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsps. or tbs. vanilla, rhum, cointreau or grand marnier
pinch of salt
3 cups of the fruit of your choice ( I used little plums for this one)

How to make a clafoutis:

Set oven to 350 F degrees.
Prepare your fruit. Pit and slice if need be (it's common to not pit the cherries in France).
Mix all of the liquid and dry ingredients together in a blender for about a minute on its highest setting.
Getting air into the batter will create a fluffier end result.
Take a round baking dish that is 1 1/2 - 2 inches high and about 8 -9 inches in diameter, butter and flour it.
Arrange your fruit on the bottom of the dish in a pattern or just leave them any which way.
Take the blended batter and slowly pour it over the fruit.
Place dish in oven and bake for about one hour, or until a knife comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Allow to cool.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Enjoy.

Many thanks to Jean for the first Ketchup Kid banner, ever.

5 A.M. At tHe WaFFle hOusE

A warm cup of good morning, waffles, eggs, bacon, toast and grits at the Waffle House make for one of the most monumental breakfast experiences the highway can offer. We stopped into one in Ohio on our way back from Indiana. If you're ever roadtripping through the U.S. and see that yellow and brown sign, pull over...






Other breakfast spots of note:

1) Northside Grill, Ann Arbor, MI (for the bacon, eggs and tasty hashbrowns)
2) EATS, Los Angeles, CA (outdoor seating that looks out onto a golf course, you feel like you're in Caddy Shack)
3) Barney Greengrass, NY, NY (for the bagel and lox)

Favorite Montréal breakfast spots:

1) McGill Pizza (for the Special: 2 eggs, bacon or sausage, potatoes, toast, coffee, and a small glass of orange juice)
2) Beauty's (for the bagel and lox)
3) Moe's
4) Restuarant Lamarche, 804 Roy (corner with St. Hubert). They offer cretons and baked beans with their breakfast special.
***Any place that has an all-day breakfast

TheTastySnicket.

When in Japan make sure to stock up on Marie biscuits.
They are tastiest with a cup of green tea.
I usually eat them about an hour after gorging on oooodles of that tasty Uni.

LeXinGtOn, KeNTucKy.

julePs & GreEn tOmaToeS

A friend and I headed south for Kentucky last weekend. She needed to escape the doldrums of work life and I needed to get my hands on a mint julep. A pit stop in a motel and a few hours later, we found ourselves in Lexington at the tourist office inquiring about horse races, best places to camp and...where to find a mint julep. We'd miss the races (which take place in April and October) but could still have a drink, according to the two ladies from the office. In fact, they were so thrilled that we try some while in Kentucky that phonecalls to local hotels and restaurants quickly ensued. And that's how we ended up at DeSha's Restaurant greeted by the entire staff about an hour later. By 11:30 a.m., we had a julep in one hand and a fork to indulge in some fried green tomatoes in the other. That's when we learned that mint juleps are a bit like egg nog (in that they are seasonal) and are enjoyed during Derby season, in principle, when they are served in silver cups with lots of crushed mint. So while ours weren't the most authentic...we did learn a thing or two about bourbon.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A BOURBON?

Bourbon must be made from corn and must be aged for at least two years.

TASTE-TESTING BOURBON?

Drinking a bourbon with something made with or from corn will help bring out its natural aromas and flavors. We had cornmeal battered fried green tomatoes with ours...but, cornbread may be an excellent thing to eat while taste-testing different bourbons. And, a little side note: fried green tomatoes are not made from unrippened red tomatoes, but rather a unique variety that always remain green. Green tomatoes(the kind you find in the south) are a bit tarter than regular red tomatoes and have a bit of a lemony taste.

According to DeSha's bartender, Ronnie, Kentucky's finest bourbon is a bottle of 20 or 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle. At $60.00 a shot or $250.00 a bottle, it's supposed to be the smoothest and most incredible of all bourbons. People sign up on the Van Winkle waiting list every year, as well, as there are only about 900 to 3,000 bottles available per bottling season. The next one is scheduled for Spring 2007. I've already started putting away a dollar a day.

...piCniCpiCniC...

On Murray Hill way up in Westmount with the first lady of J. Shiek, Miss Julia S., for a picnic, yesterday. On the menu: sandwiches of camembert, basil and tomato, followed by a dessert of yellow watermelon (enjoyed in the company of dear friend, Charlie the squirrel) and some mineral water straight from the springs of Bergamo.

***All items were carried from Atwater station, to the 24 bus, to the top of the hill in J. Shiek beach party bags. All goods arrived in pristine condition.