Alsace
By Ann | November 15, 2011
Is everyone bilingual in Alsace? On a recent trip there, I heard shopkeepers and restaurant owners switching between French and the local dialect, Alsacian, snapping from one to the other without batting an umlaut.
Alsacian is etymologically close to Swiss German — I heard lots of ja, ja, ja, mixed with the occasional ça va — which is fitting for this rich and diverse region situated on the French border with Germany.
A misty fog accompanied my journey, adding a poignancy to a landscape that has experienced losses from many, many wars, and traded hands many, many times.
And everywhere, from the village of Obernai to the vineyards outside Andlau, I saw autumn leaves.
The vines pictured above, by the way, produced the wine in this photo: beautiful, flowery whites with a brisk, mineral finish. I loved the elegant, long-necked bottles, too.
And though I’m saving tales of choucroute for my book, I can tell you I saw (and ate) cabbage. Lots and lots and lots of it.
In fact, choucroute turned out to be the perfect fuel for a chilly stroll along the canals of Strasbourg’s Petite France.
Then again, so did a glass of pinot gris accompanied by a tartine prepared tarte flambée-style — that is, bread spread with crème fraîche, bacon and Munster cheese, and broiled until melty and crunchy. It was, one might say, the perfect blend of French and German.
P.S. Check out a few more of my photos here.
For wine tasting:
Marc Kreydenweiss
12 rue Deharbe
Andlau
tel: 03 88 08 95 83
For tarte flambée tartines:
L’Epicerie
6 rue du Vieux-Seigle
Strasbourg
tel: 03 88 32 52 41
Topics: Mastering the Art of French Eating, Voyages | 8 Comments »
Cooking the books
By Ann | November 10, 2011
Bonjour, mes amis! A few weeks ago, I asked you to name your recent favorite cookbooks. I was excited to hear your suggestions, and I’m even more thrilled to share them. Here’s what you’re cooking from these days:
Rhino75: Am currently working my way through Signe Johansen’s Scandilicious, Dan Lepard’s baking bible, Short and Sweet, and Glynn Christian’s How to Cook Without Recipes - which has some interesting stuff on flavour trails, etc.
Me: I love hearing from Brits, because their cookbook suggestions are so fresh and different! These three books are a perfect example. I’m fascinated by Scandilicious, which is written by a young Norwegian cook and has exotic (to me) recipes like Bergen fish chowder, or cardamom cake. I’m always drooling over Rhino75′s tweets about the soda bread or farmhouse loaf he’s whipped up from Dan Lepard. And as I become more experienced in the kitchen, I’m also becoming braver. Glynn Christian’s book sounds like an excellent way to hone my improvisational skills. PS. Check out Rhino75′s new baking blog, Bear with a Wooden Spoon, with gorgeous photos of his latest creations!
Brassfrog: I can’t live without 660 Curries: The gateway To Indian Cooking by Raghavan Iyer. This is a veritable encyclopedia of spices, methods and recipes. Want cabbage and peas? There are three different recipes. The same with cauliflower. Lots of tips, hints and tricks. Spice blends and spice suppliers.
Camille: Miss Masala is a constant favorite.
Voie de Vie: I recently picked up 50 Classic Curries by Manisha Kanani (I really want to make great curry!).
Me: I’ve been an Indian cooking addict ever since I discovered Miss Masala by Mallika Basu (she also has a terrific blog). I can’t wait to experiment more, especially with 660 Curries, which I recently bought for my dad based on Brassfrog’s suggestion. Thanks!
Sherry: In my dreams, I’m working my way through the Essential Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy, which was a wedding gift, and makes me hungry whenever I see it on my shelf.
Jeanne: The cookbooks I return to the most are Chez Panisse by Paul Bertolli and Alice Waters and The Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy.
Me: I just discovered that The Essential Cuisines of Mexico is a compilation of three Diana Kennedy books: The Cuisines of Mexico, The Tortilla Book, and Mexican Regional Cooking. With over 300 recipes, it sounds like the volume for Mexican cuisine. I would love to cook from this book! I am curious, however, if the ingredients are too specialized and/or hard to find?
Camille: Super Natural Every Day is a real winner. I just bought two more vegetarian cookbooks for my brother (Mollie Katzen’s Vegetable Heaven and Plenty by Ottolenghi).
Jeanne: On my to buy list is Plenty by Ottolenghi as Camille mentioned. I saw it last weekend in Anthropologie and it is beautifully illustrated.
Terry: My most recent discovery is Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book. It is a reference book really, but with great recipes too.
Me: I love vegetarian cooking, especially for weeknights. Super Natural Every Day sounds like it has great, new ideas for using whole grains and different vegetables (I would love to try her chanterelle tacos). I have to confess that I’m not a fan of Plenty. It’s beautiful, but I found the recipes inaccessible and fussy. I’d love to hear your experiences with it. I love the idea of Jane Grigson’s book, which offers romantic vegetable lore and recipes. Sounds right up my alley!
Katia: My absolute favourite cookbook is The Cook’s Companion by the quintessentially Australian chef Stephanie Alexander – it starts with a wonderful section with the basics (like pizza dough and stock), then is broken down into sections by main ingredient and by alphabetical order – starting with “abalone”, “apples” and “artichokes and cardoons” to “yabbies and marron”, “yoghurt” and “zucchini and squash”. There are recipes for everything from classics (like lemon tart or chicken noodle soup or fig and rum chocolate truffles) to modern Australian recipes (tajine with quince, or pasta with wild fennel and sardines).
Voie de Vie: My two favorites (of the half dozen cookbooks on the shelf): Joy of Cooking and Patricia Wells’s Bistro Cooking.
Lindsey: Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis. It’s not old, it’s not particularly original, but I’ve made some amazing meals from it so it’s become my trust Italian bible!
Camille: Everything I’ve made from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert has gotten rave reviews.
Me: I love hearing about your tried-and-true cookbooks, the ones you know will never let you down. I can’t wait to explore your favorites, especially Everyday Italian, which I know my husband will appreciate as an Italian food fan(atic). I’ve been looking for a companion to Lydia’s Italian American Kitchen (another great book).
Ann in SF: I have a book titled The New Joys of Jell-O, copyright 1973. A classic with chapter titles like Centerpiece Desserts, Salads That Help Make the Meat, and Things You Never Thought Of. I guess it’s just another form of aspic, Lots of groovy pictures too.
Lindsey: I love Rachel Khoo’s Pâtes à Tartiner which is really easy to follow. Also, who doesn’t want to make their own Nutella?
Anne: The one I made using Tastebook that compiles recipes from a group of friends with whom I cooked once a month in Paris.
Me: I love your more unusual suggestions, too! What holiday is complete without a jello salad mold? Homemade Nutella from Pâtes à Tartiner sounds divine, especially since the bottled variety is full of evil palm oil. And, as a prodigious recipe collector, I’m checking out Tastebook tout de suite.
Thank you for sharing your favorite cookbooks, mes amis! I had so much fun discovering them.
Topics: Cooking the Books, Livres, Recettes | 4 Comments »
Home sweet stir fry
By Ann | November 8, 2011
When my husband went away for the weekend, I planned three days of abstinence and industry for myself. I would humor the workaholic in me (so often ignored) and write late into the night. And I would indulge the hypochondriac in me and eat only healthy foods for his entire 72-hour absence. I prepared my garments of sack cloth.
Which precisely explains how I woke up on the couch at 1.30 am with the TV blaring a Gilmore Girls marathon, and a half-filled bottle of wine lolling recklessly on the floor. In the bathroom, I tried to ignore the throbbing pain at the base of my neck as I peeled the contact lenses off my eyes.
The next morning I surveyed the kitchen. Dots of sesame oil glistened against the shiny black surface of the stove, a bottle of Sriracha left sticky rings on the counter, a pile of pots colonized the sink like urban sprawl. Slowly, the night came back to me: the need to relax after 12 hours in front of the computer. The impulse to cook something fast. The resulting noodle stir fry eaten with just-one-more glass of wine in front of just-one-more episode of sugary girl-pop TV.
At least I’d had the wherewithal to store the leftovers in the fridge. Turns out, they were the perfect way to nurse a hangover.
Ginger noodles
I hesitated before offering this recipe because it’s so simple it’s almost facile. But then I thought, I love simple-almost-facile recipes, especially for busy weeknights. This is a dish I make when I don’t have a lot of time to cook. Or, clearly, when I’m tipsy.
Chicken and marinade:
1/2 lb chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxin wine (or white wine)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
For the vegetables:
1 1/2 tablespoons neutral oil (canola or sunflower) (divided)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch root ginger, peeled and minced
1- 1.5 lbs napa cabbage (or other sturdy green vegetable: broccoli, leeks, cabbage)
1 teaspoon chili sauce (optional)
5-6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups water
1 teaspoon sesame oil
500 grams/1 lb long noodles
Serves 4
For the chicken: Cut into thin slices and mix with the marinade ingredients. Allow to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
Chop the napa cabbage (or other green vegetable) into small, bite-sized morsels. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the noodles.
Heat a skillet or wok over high heat and add a 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Add the chicken with marinade and cook, tossing constantly until the meat is cooked through. Remove to a separate dish. Clean the pan.
Reheat the pan and add the remaining oil. Add the garlic and ginger, stirring until fragrant. Add the napa cabbage (or other vegetable) stirring to combine. Quickly, add the water, soy sauce, and chili sauce, combine, lower the heat and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to the package directions.
When the vegetables are cooked, add the chicken, heating everything through. Add the drained noodles to the pan, stirring to combine with the sauce, which will be very liquid. Taste, adding more soy sauce if necessary. Drizzle with the remaining sesame oil.
Topics: Home, Recettes | 12 Comments »
Bookmarked recipes
By Ann | November 3, 2011
My cookbook collection takes up almost six bookshelves, yet I still find myself hoarding recipes online. More often than not, you’ll find me with my MacBook on the kitchen counter, exposed to all manner of drips and drops, as I touch the mousepad with buttery fingertips. I thought I’d share a few of my tried-and-true favorites from hither and yon, all recipes worth endangering your laptop for…
Matzoh balls — The fall months mean cold — in more ways than one. When I have a scratchy throat and that weird feeling on the roof of my mouth, the only thing I want to eat is chicken soup. This Bon Appétit recipe produces genuine light and fluffy matzoh balls that my husband claims rival those of his Jewish grandmother. A few recipe notes: I’ve never chilled the dough overnight (though I’m sure it would help) and I don’t make the matzoh balls mini (because I’m impatient). Also, don’t cook the matzoh balls in the soup — they suck it all up, leaving you with no broth.
Pie crust — It’s pie season! Apple! Pumpkin! Pecan! After years of sticky dough frustration, I’m still not very good at rolling out a crust. But a few years ago, I did find the perfect pie dough recipe, from this New York Times article by Melissa Clark. Her secret ingredient is leaf lard, but I get chest pain just thinking about cooking with pork fat. Instead, I use the all-butter recipe and, if I’m baking an apple pie, I make the cheddar crust variation. Adding cheese to the dough makes it wonderfully pliable and easy to handle.
Buttermilk biscuits – Here’s a simple, not-too-buttery recipe for easy biscuits. If I have leftover dough, I cut it into individual biscuits and freeze it; sometimes I use it as a topping for chicken pot pie.
Stuffed pumpkin – Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for pumpkin stuffed with bread, cheese and other delicious things has traveled round the internet and back again. I’m just another fan who has made and loved it.
Thai green curry — A few days ago, Chez Loulou tweeted about Thai green curry and shared this recipe from The Young Thailand Cookbook. I ran to the Asian store to buy coconut milk, lime leaves, curry paste, and all the other ingredients necessary. The resulting green chicken curry made me weep with both spice and happiness. Do you ever feel like a recipe has changed your life? I can’t wait to experiment some more with this one, adding tofu or shrimp dumplings. Recipe notes: I added more chilies (because I like it spicy), and used those teensy Thai eggplants instead of peas. I also added a squeeze of lemon juice at the end — I think the curry benefits from the balance of sweet, spicy, tart and bitter.
What recipes have you bookmarked, mes amis? I’d love to try them!
Topics: Recettes | 12 Comments »
Les Buttes-Chaumont
By Ann | October 31, 2011
Ever since I moved to Paris, I’ve wanted to flâner in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, a leafy aerie in Paris’s northeast corner. Well, after three years here, I finally made it last weekend.
En route, I stopped for a big plate of Chinese potstickers at Croque Camille’s beloved Restaurant Raviolis, and a coffee at Le Mistral, and then it was off to the park to walk it all off.
Built on a former gypsum and limestone quarry, the park ripples with cascading hills that offer views from various highs and lows. The groves of trees planted on different levels make you feel like you’re lost in a sylvan wilderness.
And then you catch a glimpse of something (like the Sacre Coeur), and in a blink you remember all over again where you are.
Oh, yes. It’s Paris.
Topics: Flâner, Paris | 7 Comments »
L’Ambassade de Bourgogne
By Ann | October 27, 2011
After recent trips to Burgundy, I’ve become an amateur (fan) of Burgundy wine — that is to say, I am wildly enthusiastic though I know very little about it. A bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.
And so, I was recently delighted to discover L’Ambassade de Bourgogne, a new, pocket-sized bar in Paris devoted to the wine and products of Burgundy. The menu offers a bevy of Burgundies by the glass in both red and white (4-16.50€), from both the Côte d’Or and elsewhere in the region. Regional snacks are also on offer, including jambon persillé (a terrine of ham seasoned with parsley) and gougères (cheese puffs, unfortunately served cold). There are also plates of charcuterie and cheeses — with selections to accompany red or white wine — including the region’s famous fromage: Epoisses, Chaource, and Citeaux.
The staff is friendly, patient and generous with their (considerable) knowledge. And the ambiance — with its marble-topped tables and Thonet chairs (the kind I covet) — feels relaxed and intimate, the kind of place that could turn an amateur of Burgundy into an expert, providing, of course, you drink enough wine.
L’Ambassade de Bourgogne
6 rue de l’Odéon, 6e
tel: 01 43 54 80 04
Topics: Dining Out and About, Paris | 3 Comments »
El Bulli on film
By Ann | October 25, 2011
El Bulli, the Holy See of post-modern, molecular gastronomy, closed in July. All hail El Bulli. In case — like me — you never had the chance to travel to Roses in Catalonia (just south of the French border, on Spain’s Mediterranean coast) a new documentary presents a year in the life of the restaurant.
El Bulli: Cooking in Progress starts in the culinary laboratory in Barcelona as Ferran Adrià and a small team of chefs fiddle with vegetables, liquid nitrogen, pressure cookers, juicers and vacuum bags, in their quest to create new dishes. It then moves to the Costa Brava, documenting the restaurant’s annual opening (El Bulli opened for service only six months out of the year), and capturing the kitchen’s tension and concentration.
The film does little more than observe its subjects: Adrià and his two faithful head chefs, who seem to gleam under a perpetual sheen of nervous sweat. The true star of the show — and the only character that’s developed — is the food. We watch a plate take shape from idea, to experimentation, to success — success that is defined by the approval of just one person: Adrià.
With little dialogue and no interviews or narrative — and with a running time of 1 hour, 48 minutes — this is a movie that could appeal to only the most dedicated of food voyeurs (of which I am one — I was fascinated from the first shot). As the movie ended, I felt like I’d actually eaten a meal at El Bulli; I left the theater with the same over-stimulated, overstuffed, skeptical bewilderment as one of Adrià’s diners. El Bulli: Cooking in Progress is a long, unguided glimpse into the process of a culinary wizard — one who may or may not be from Oz.
What do you think of molecular gastronomy, mes amis? Was El Bulli “the most influential restaurant of our time” (as proclaimed by Time magazine)? Or was it another case of the emperor’s new clothes?
P.S. Watch the trailer above and see additional clips on the film’s website.
P.P.S. Do you have El Bulli fatigue? This hilarious Slate article talks about the IAAEBP (“I ate at El Bulli piece”) and gustatory one-upsmanship.
Topics: Food and Film | 4 Comments »
Cookbooks
By Ann | October 20, 2011
I love, love, love cookbooks. I love new cookbooks, which present fresh ideas, techniques and flavor combinations. I love old cookbooks, which are like time capsules, a window into the domestic lives of another era. Browsing a used bookshop in Beaune last week, I couldn’t resist the two charming volumes above.
And then, I got to thinking — what are your current favorite cookbooks, mes amis? What are you cooking from right now? What recipes do you return to again and again? What books do you hope to purchase or receive as gifts? I’d love to hear your latest finds!
Topics: Cooking the Books, Livres | 17 Comments »
Fall foliage in Burgundy
By Ann | October 18, 2011
Last week I went to Burgundy for a few days. Though the purpose of my trip was to eat research boeuf Bourguignon — I’m saving tales of wine-braised beef, garlicky snails, and liquid Epoisses cheese for a chapter in my new book – I also spent a lot of time driving (over 620 miles in four days!) and marveling at the tints of gold, bronze, and red creeping across the leafy landscape.
Yes, mes amis, fall has arrived — at least in the wine region known as the Côte d’Or.
Further south, on the Charolais plain, things are a little greener, with some hints of rust. By the way, those white dots in the distance are the region’s famous Charolais cattle.
I first visited Burgundy in March 2010 when the weather was decidedly snappier. I was delighted to return under more clement temperatures — and to stay again at the Villa Louise, a cozy hotel in Aloxe-Corton (a village ten minutes from Beaune), with red-and-white stitched quilts and a ragtag black cat.
I remembered the kitty from my last visit and, judging from his interest in me at breakfast, he remembered me, too — or at least the scraps of ham that I surreptitiously fed him under the table.
When you eat boeuf Bourguignon for four days in a row, you have to plot the rest of your meals very carefully. Happily, the kind ladies at the Villa Louise indulged me, preparing light breakfasts of whole wheat toast, homemade jam, and baked apples, which allowed me to spend the rest of the day indulging in braised meat, runny cheese, buttery mashed potatoes…
…And wine, wine, wine and more wine.
Villa Louise
9 rue Franche
Aloxe-Corton
tel: 03 80 26 46 70
Topics: A year in a French market: Autumn, Voyages | 10 Comments »
Household gods in Pompéi
By Ann | October 14, 2011
Wandering through a new exhibit on Pompeii at the Musée Maillol a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but imagine life as an ancient Roman housewife. Hundreds of objects from everyday life are on display, from perfume bottles and heavy-linked woven gold necklaces, to heart-shaped cake tins and terracotta vessels used to store garum, a salty fermented fish condiment similar to today’s Vietnamese fish sauce.
One of the most poignant aspects, to me at least, were the statuettes of household gods found in the lararium, the small shrine present in every home. There were two types of domestic guardian spirits in ancient Pompeii: the Lares, who protected the house and everyone in it (including slaves), and the Penates, who looked after the welfare of the master and his family.
The Lares were linked to their physical location — if their family moved, they stayed behind. The Penates, however, were linked to the family, following them hither and yon.
As someone with an itinerant lifestyle (which I’m writing about here), I would love to collect my own Lares and Penates, one god to guard over our current home, the other to travel and protect us as we move around the world.
Pompeii: An Art of Living runs until February 12, 2012.
Musée Maillol
62 rue de Grenelle, 7e
tel: 01 42 22 59 58
(Middle photo from ecormany; bottom photo from mmarftrejo.)
Topics: Home, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »