France
A flaky croisssant to go with monsieur's chicory-flavored café au lait? And for lunch, madame, you are proposed a Salade Gésiers (okay, so that's a 'confit' of gizzards but it's très delicious) followed by a free-range-egg omelette of fines herbes you grew in your window box and a glass of Pomerol from your new favorite wine store. Monsieur et Madame can be as French as La Marseillaise.
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Pea Vichyssoise - 18 Aug 2010
King Louis XV of France, being convinced that someone was trying to poison his food, accidentally invented Vichyssoise. Apparently, he made his servants taste everything before he ate it and his favorite hot leek-and-potato soup eventually arrived at his place setting, cold.
Nonsense. It was invented in New York, in 1917.
Try this contemporary version with peas. read more...
Yogurt - the good stuff - 15 Jul 2010
I'm in despair over American yogurt. It seems that any old fat-free white dairy solution can be called yogurt. Do its eaters know what they're missing? read more...
Butter - a good fat if it's good butter - 2 Jun 2010
We make such a fuss about fat. Like everything else, don't have too much of it and aim for the best. Good butter is sometimes worth paying more money for. Read "Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes" by Jennifer McLagan to feel better about it. read more...
Baguettes the French like - 2 Jun 2010
With grilling and picnic weather now in, a meal al fresco can be made or broken by your choice of bread. A bad baguette is almost as bad as that squish-flat-between-forefinger-and-thumb Kleenex bread. But there are some good ones around. read more...
A salty tale - salt explained - 19 May 2010
The salt debate is hotting up again with doctors concerned about its responsibility for any number of diseases from hyper-tension to obesity calling for salt consumption to be lowered. The FDA is planning legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in processed food.
But salt is probably the single ingredient to emphasize flavor inherent in meat, fish and vegetables. Where would chefs be without it? They throw fistfuls into boiling water before cooking.
Salt is like any other 'evil' ingredient such as butter: use it in moderation. It falls loosely into two categories, the salt you can cook with and the salt you 'finish' with, sprinkling it over the cooked food. For the finishing, buy the best you can afford. If you can't try before you buy, this list might help you define what will appeal to your palate. Because no two salts are the same. read more...
Asparagus - just so much grass... - 28 Apr 2010
Asparagus, like tomatoes, are a vegetable that really should be eaten only in season and from a pick-your-own supplier. But outside France and England, there aren't too many of them. Still, when spring, it's proper season comes, make the most of it. For starters (forgive the pun), try Todd Gray's Equinox Restaurant recipe for asparagus soup. read more...
Chocolate - dark secrets - 23 Apr 2010
Think of chocolate and you think of Belgium, Switzerland, France. Or your thighs. Of course you might now think of David Edwards' Le Whif (see the article on the Home page). But if you'd prefer the real McKoy, here's all you need to know. read more...
Christophe Marque - Chef of Cafe du Parc - 8 Apr 2010
If the cost of the Euro is preventing you from traveling to France, get your food fix at Café du Parc. When Christophe Marque came from Paris in March 2007 to head the Cafe du Parc, the first thing he had to do, between the lunch and dinner service, was learn English. These days he's fluent - albeit with that seductive 'Franglais' accent that makes women melt - and concentrating on bringing France to Washington. read more...
Fish: Roasted Cod with Sauteed and Braised Sunchokes - 8 Apr 2010
Christophe Marque, chef of Cafe du Parc's recipe doesn't have to be limited to the winter season when sunchokes are in the markets. Substitute young potatoes for these gnarled roots and the recipe extends through the year. read more...
Pork or Duck Rillettes - 8 Apr 2010
Rillettes are a South-West-France spread of meats simmered slowly in herbs and wine then shredded and packed into preserving jars to make a rough country paté to eat with good strong bread and a munch of cornichons - those tiny French cucumber pickles that aren't suffocatingly sweet like Bread & Butter pickles. They can be made with pork, rabbit, goose or duck - or a mix of all four. Make them in quantity and pot them up in Le Parfait kilner jars or Mason jars and you'll have an instant treat for unexpected friends any time of year... read more...
Cakes - to order or make beautiful - 10 Mar 2010
Baking cake for a celebration, cupcakes for school or work? Or need someone else to do it for you? Here's all you need to keep you in cake. read more...
Apple Tarte Tatin - 10 Mar 2010
This French classic gets a contemporary make-over from Michelle Poteaux, co-owner and co-chef at Bastille. Easy to do - though perhaps not quite as beautifully as professional pastry chef Michelle has done - it's a star at any party year round. read more...
Olives - 2 Mar 2010
All olives begin life green. After that, it gets complicated. With so many varieties available, here's a breakdown of the most common to help you avoid the pits... read more...
Simon Njiki-Nya - chef of Bistro Lepic - 16 Feb 2010
Bistro Lepic is the kind of neighborhood restaurant Parisians are used to on every street corner. The waiter recognizes you if you come more than once. The food is honest and well-priced. And you're not pushed to gobble and go. While many Washingtonians rush to the new crop of French brasseries downtown, Bistro Lepic has been a quiet magnet on Wisconsin Avenue for the past 15 years, drawing those who know that there's more to a French menu than steak frites and mussels done six ways. read more...
Christmas - dreaming of a different one & where to buy the ingredients - 9 Dec 2009
"Christmas comes but once a year and when it comes it brings..." Uncle George (who'll take over the single malt whiskey if no-one stops him), Aunt Mavis (who's just decided to turn vegetarian), and all their dreadful children. It's enough to drive you crackers.
Give Christmas a new sparkle and celebrate someone else's - with Britain's Christmas crackers, Italy's Omino di Neve, Switzerland's Zimststerne, Jamaica's West Indian Black Cake and more... read more...
Walnut oil - 11 Nov 2009
Take a tip from the cooks of France's Perigord region: invest in a bottle of walnut oil. A small one - it doesn't keep long, and store it in the dark. But you'll be glad you did. A vinaigrette made with it will lift a salad into another stratosphere. read more...
Mushrooms - fall favorites - 21 Oct 2009
As fall arrives in Russia, Poland, Germany, Italy and France, the woods rustle with mushroom hunters. Within days of a rainfall, the undergrowth will be popping with delicious free food. Take care, though, that you know what you're picking. I read a Russian news agency report when I was a Moscow correspondent that a particular mushroom was now officially edible, so long as you boiled it once, tossed away the water, boiled it again in a fresh supply, jettisoned that, then fried it in butter. Which by my reckoning made at least three very sick testers before they found the safe formula. read more...
Bernard Grenier - Owner-chef of Bistro D'oc - 21 Oct 2009
Bernard Grenier opened Bistro D’Oc after leaving La Miche in Bethesda. Eating there is an extension of any summer holiday in France and a comfort when the cold weather sets in. read more...
Fish - fresh or not so fresh? - 14 Oct 2009
Once upon a time, fishmongers would cut fish to order from whole fish, so the customer could be sure, by the clarity of its eyes, the firmness of flesh and the color of its gills, of the freshness of the fish. Not any longer. Now that it's generally sold ready-filletted, you've only your nose to rely on. Use it. read more...
Barbara Kafka's Crème Anglaise in 6 minutes - 9 Sep 2009
Crème Anglaise is such a seductive, soothing vanilla sauce wonderful with fall fruit tarts and cobblers, it's tempting to ignore the dessert it coats and just eat this perfect custard. Cookbook writer and regular New York Times food pages contributor Barbara Kafka has a brilliant short cut to perfect Crème Anglaise that you don't need to stand over fearfully to prevent it from curdling. It's one of two good reasons to invest in a microwave. (The other is heating milk to froth for coffee...) read more...
It may be sacrilege to say so, but I did have a moment's wonder at Julie Powell dedicating a whole year to cooking out Julia Childs. Life is surely too short. But I admired her staying power. Most cookbooks contain only a handful of recipes you actually want to tackle - though heaven forfend that I should level this criticism towards Mastering the Art of French Cookery.Anyway, here's someone who really slackened my jaw. Meet Todd Wilbur, who spends his time to trying to recreate food made by the industrial giants. He wants to cook Krispy Kremes just like the factory. He wants to clone Big Macs, Yoo Hoo chocolate drinks, and dozens more junk foods, to taste just like the real (or unreal) McKoy.
Papaya and lime - natural partners
Chew On This: The FDA - eggs on its face
Hey, mixologists! An organic whisky's coming!
Two women to watch
Monster ice cubes
Jelly - the jewel-like vogue dessert
Jelly - the new old dessert
My favorite markets - Wagshal's Delicatessen
Supermarkets bring the farm in
Chew On This: The water diet!
Gluten - what is it?
Chestnut flour products for the gluten intolerant
Chew On This: Eat dark chocolate twice a week!
Pea Vichyssoise
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