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THANKSGIVING TIPS - Cranberries
2007-10-29 20:04:00
Countdown To Thanksgiving The Short (dis)Order Cook, blogging on The Essential Rhubarb Pie, got me to thinking. She's all worried because she's hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. She'll be fine, I know it, but, aaahhh, the sweet apprehension of youth! I remember when I, too, was new at this... Now TWENTY!!! years later, I feel as if I could cook Thanksgiving dinner with one hand tied behind my back. I'm not bragging (well, I guess I am), but my ease comes, not from being the greatest cook on earth, but from doing it for all these years. I've had my disasters. And, no, I'm going to list them now...I'm not crazy...but the thing about Thanksgiving is that there is SO MUCH food that one imperfect dish or another isn't going to be noticed in the onslaught of food to come. I'm going to post some of my favorite Thanksgiving tips or recipes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving (in addition to regular posts). It won't be an exhaustive list, but I guarantee that taken togethe...
More About: Tips , Cranberries , Hank , Cran

About That Applesauce
2007-10-28 18:13:00
I strongly urge all applesauce lovers to try Ina's Homemade Applesauce . Actually try the version that I made. I'm calling it Baked Applesauce, which is a better description of what it is and it is superb. It has everything a good applesauce should have - sweetness, bit of tang, and imperceptible citrus note from the orange juice and rind (that Ina is a genius). The orange juice adds some zing, the lemon some zest. Plus cooking it in the oven does save many moments of stirring and looking and worrying - definitely not Ina's style and I could save a few worry lines myself.I did change a few things: I couldn't bring myself to add the butter Ina called for and I thought the allspice was unnecessary, and I added only a 1/4 cup sugar, which is 1/4 cup more than I usually add. I WAS nervous about leaving the apples in such big pieces, but I was glad I did. The whole thing cooked down so completely that I probably could have left the apples whole. In that heavy pot, in that hot oven and...

A Friend To The Rescue
2007-10-27 21:25:00
Well, in my hour of need, I should have known that I could count on A, my longtime adored friend and companion on many Parisian sojourns. She has agreed, on her next visit state-side, to lug a jar or two of my beloved Maille mustard. I have warned her to PACK it and not carry it, but, experienced traveler that she is, she needed no such advice. The best part is that it will be soon...in just a few short weeks. The rendezvous between my mustard and me will take place at Thanksgiving. It will be wonderful to see A again, don't get me wrong, but soon...soon, I'll have the mustard that I've pined for. Its gorgeous yellow piquancy will be in my hands. I'll feel its power in that heavy crystalline jar. And I'll pull off the wrapping and put my nose close and inhale its heady, spicy scent... I guess at the end of the day:Do yourself a favor and take a little break and watch this. Dionne and Stevie, Luther and Whitney...it just doesn't get any better. Love you, A.
More About: Friend , Rescue

Ina Is Bewitching
2007-10-27 05:55:00
Barefoot Contessa with Ina GartenHalloween for Grownups Chocolate Buttercream CakeEspresso MartiniHomemade ApplesauceLoin of Pork with Fennel and GarlicString Beans with GarlicTo get the recipes: Click here Ina has friends coming over for a trick or treat dinner and Miguel is doing the table.She's making a fabulous Halloween cake, which will be a chocolate cake with an orange buttercream. For the cake, Ina creams together 1/2 lb. butter with 1/2 cup each of white and brown sugar until light and fluffy. She sifts together 2 1/2 cups flour (with a nifty 2 cup measure), 1 1/2 cups cocoa and baking soda. She readies 3 eggs, breaking them into a separate bowl, so if there is a problem, she doesn't ruin the whole cake. Smart move.She mixes buttermilk, sour cream and vanilla with 3 tablespoons of brewed coffee. She mixes the dry and wet ingredients into the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry. That looks like an amazing cake. Ina greases and flours a half sheet pan. The bat...
More About: Witch

The Sweet Stylings Of Giada And Something A Bit Strange
2007-10-25 00:50:00
Everyday Italian with Giada De LaurentiisChocolate Tasting PartyGiandua SouffleChocolate Espresso BelliniPanini with Chocolate and BrieTo get the recipes:Click hereIn the shadow of my recent defeat, I see that Giada is hosting a chocolate-only party. It's ok, I'll be strong and try to make it through the show. We see her serving chocolate dishes to her guests. Then we return to her usual cozy chair and back into the kitchen. Thank goodness there was no snapping or kicking of legs. Giada is making a soufflé with a wonderful Italian invention of hazelnut and milk chocolate - Gianduja. That's how I spell it, anyway. She exclaims that "the combination together is astounding". We don't usually hear such hyperbole from Giada, so I'm really paying attention to this recipe. In the top of a double boiler, she mixes butter, vanilla, sugar, and, in lieu of ground hazelnuts, Frangelico, which makes "a nice smooth filling." She stirs it until melted. Off the heat, she stirs 3 oz. of milk c...
More About: Sweet , Strange , Tran , Some

MAILLE - The Mustard Of Kings And The King Of Mustards!
2007-10-22 19:24:00
I have no idea if that's true - that kings use Maille, I just know that MY particular jars of Maille mustard had assumed the same importance in my sick mind as the crown jewels would to a royal. Listen to what happened... I warn you that this story shows how demented I really am about culinary matters.I had read somewhere that you should always bring back jars of Dijon mustard from Paris. Not fancy schmancy gilded or crock-potted jars, just plain old jars from the supermarket. Why? Well, just look at the color. It's much yellower than our Dijon. That means that it's much fresher and much HOTTER. It has a real zing. It tastes the way it was meant to taste when those Dijonnaise folks made it. And so I was delighted when I stopped into a little market by my hotel that had (reasonably priced!) heavy glass jars of Maille mustard. AND you could use them as drinking glasses when they were empty. I was thrilled. I started imagining H, who usually says nothing about my cooking - wait, tha...
More About: The King , King , Kings

I'm Back, But I Have Just One More Thing
2007-10-20 21:17:00
to say about Paris. Ok, maybe one or two.Of course, it would be hard to forget the riveting description of my last, LAST trip to Paris, where my Kir met an untimely end on a hard sidewalk, but remember that cafe?And what was in the background? Well, it was always my dream to drink Cognac with H, sitting in that very cafe on a gorgeous night with the Eiffel Tower in the background. Finally, on our last night in Paris, I corralled him down the street and there we sat, Cognac in hand (well, he had a beer, but I didn't care).Even as the cognac, it was actually Armagnac, burned my throat, and I could feel a hangover headache coming on and my left arm was getting a bit damp from the sprinkle of rain coming down off the side of the awning..still, it was perfect. Hand me the Eiffel tower, strong liquor, Paris, oh, and H...and I'm happy. I guess that's really not much of a trick. The challenge is to keep that feeling going...while driving on Route One, shopping at a strip mall for discoun...
More About: Back , Thing

And The Winner Is...
2007-10-20 16:53:00
NOT ME, or NOT I, if you prefer. Any which way, I came up short, but that's ok, because a truly amazing recipe won the Stop the Traffik chocolate competition at R Khooks blog.Thank you to all my supporters and I'll be working diligently until the next competition to come up with a winning recipe. And the good news is that I've discovered a really fabulous brand of fair trade chocolate, so I can feel just as good when I buy it, as when I eat it.
More About: Winner

When Is A Rug Not A Rug?
2007-10-20 04:10:00
When it is a magnificent tapestry at the Manufacture des Gobelins. A and I saw some gorgeous tapestries at the Gobelin Museum, where you can also take a tour of the workroom (in French, but English brochures are available) to see how the weavings are made. Below is a Miro that was made into a tapestry. Am I allowed to like it more than the original painting? Here are a couple other pretty ones: It was a fascinating place to visit: H and I had a wonderful dinner at Le Pichet (68, Rue Pierre Charron, 75008 Paris Tel : 01 43 59 50 34), with a colleague and his wife. They were lovely, and I'm afraid I concentrated more on the company than the food. It was great, though. I started with thin, thin, thin slices of smoked fish and then moved on to a filet of salmon served on a bed of lentils from Le Puy. We had 2 desserts at the table, a cake like pastry with lots of nuts, beautifully presented and a little chocolate cake garnished with a splendid Cape Gooseberry.

Montmartre Without Sacre Coeur? Sacre Bleu!!!
2007-10-17 18:10:00
A and I went to Mont martre. My aim was to visit some crazy little museums and NOT go to Sacré-Coeur . Not that I don't appreciate Sacré-Coeur, but I wanted to prove that there was more to Montmartre than that beautiful landmark, whose best part, anyway, is seeing it from all over Paris. As I was studying the map, I saw the big Montmarte Cemetery (Antoine Carême is buried there). Near it is little cemetery called Cimetière St-Vincent. That was our starting point. And because we went to the Lamarck-Caulaincourt metro stop, we avoided a major part of the massive hill in Montmartre. We did have some hilly moments and we still had to walk DOWN, but we avoided the worst part. Here's where we walked to get to the cemetery. Finding the cemetery was not easy. But after walking ALL the way around its tall stone walls, we found the entrance. Is it weird to take pictures of a cemetery? Skip them if it gives you the willies. I thought parts were very interesting. On the actual stones and to...
More About: Bleu

Just So You Know...
2007-10-17 15:30:00
If Pinkberry takes over the world, I'm leaving.

The Good News And The Bad News
2007-10-16 00:15:00
I'll start with the bad news, which these pictures illustrate. A and I were walking around the Marais and we spied a Pinkberry wanna-be in Paris. Yes, it's true. It's called myberry and it is a fairly precise copy of that tasteless trendy trash in LA. How do I know? Because I peered in the window and saw all the same soggy toppings of fruit and read the sign. I couldn't bring myself to get any. You may recall that I detested the stuff. Anyway, there were SOME people in Myberry's, but not crowds lining up, so perhaps the Parisians have kept their taste buds in tact. The Good News ? A lovely dinner with colleagues of H's at a very good, little restaurant off of George V called Les Bouchons de François Clerc. Bouchon means wine cork, and the restaurant is known for its reasonably priced excellent selection of wines.The setting is a somewhat more formal than a normal bistro, but there are some quite exciting things on the menu. I started with a Remoulade de Papaye Verte, Anguille ...
More About: Good News , Bad News , The Good