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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Duck & goose - 12 Dec 2011
Duck and goose, full of dark flavor, make a sumptuous Christmas change from chicken and turkey and their carcasses provide a rich soup stock. read more...
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel - 12 Dec 2011
This is one of those glamorous recipes you pay a fortune for in high end restaurants which, according to Christophe and Michelle Poteaux, owners and chefs of Bastille, who make it, turns out not to be too difficult to do. (And no objections to the foie gras, if you please, until you address how battery chickens that are eaten far more frequently are raised.) read more...
Walnut oil - 12 Dec 2011
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. And it adds a festive zip to holiday season salads! read more...
Chocolate Truffles - 1 Dec 2011
It's always a treat to be given a home-made food gift from a good cook. Trent Conry - one time chef of 401 then Ardeo - has three sumptuous chocolate recipes for food presents any time of year but especially the holiday season, that even a modest cook can tackle fearlessly. read more...
Foie gras and confits - 6 Nov 2011
I've just come across this video of Dan Barber of the Blue Hill Farm complex and restaurant in upstate New York. Please give it a look, whether you're a foie gras fan or violently opposed. read more...
The Butcher's Block by Robert Weidmaier - one of my favorite markets - 10 Feb 2011
Robert Weidmaier's favorite pantry supplies are all on sale at his Butcher's Block in Alexandria. Even better, Weidmaier, owner and chef of Marcel's, Brasserie Beck and now Brabo and The Tasting Room next door to Butcher's Block, A Market, has filled his meat counter with a splendid selection, from an exceptional pork belly to veal cheeks and the more familiar cuts of beef. read more...
Bread flour unscrambled - 10 Feb 2011
Which flour bakes the best bread? First, know that a grain of wheat has three parts: the endosperm which is the central source of the starch, accounting for 85 percent of the grain. Next to it lies the germ, accounting for only 2 percent. But it's the most positive element. It's the 'seed' that grows new wheat plants and it contains most of the whole grain's protein, vitamins and oil. Plus, pretty much all the flavor lies in the germ. Both of these are covered by the protective outer layer of bran. read more...
News to chew on for charcuterie lovers - 10 Feb 2011
I'm almost happiest, eating out, sitting at a bar counter with a glass or three of good wine in front of a plank of charcuterie. It was one of the things I missed about Europe when I first arrived in the capital. Not just the word but the concept drew blank stares.
Now, though, some area chefs have become specialists in making their own, Robert Weland at Poste for one. For others, read Zora Margolis' excellent article in Flavor Magazine read more...
Christmas - dreaming of a different one & where to buy the ingredients - 15 Dec 2010
"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. (Even more so, now that Health & Safety gnomes are debating whether that banger should be removed from 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...
Halibut with Fanny Bay Oysters, Sauternes and Blood Orange Reduction - 3 Dec 2010
The secret of this recipe from Yannick Cam, owner-chef now of Bistro Provence in Bethesda. This recipe comes from his time as owner-chef of Le Paradou. It's a festive dish for this time of year, its secret in balancing the tartness of the citrus fruits against the unctuousness of the Sauternes and the butter in the sauce, and of course serving it with fish of prime freshness. read more...
Ansonia Wines - a new corner of old France - 3 Dec 2010
Duck down off 18th Street NW and into the half basement at No. 1828 and you’ll find yourself in the old wine cellar of an ancient French castle. The retail outlet of Ansonia Wines doesn’t look like that, of course. It’s a small, modern, airy, winerack-lined room. It just smells like an ancient wine cellar. read more...
Lobster bisque - 23 Nov 2010
Jamie Leeds' recipe for Lobster bisque is worth breaking the bank for. A celebration deserves a fine dish. You can easily feed eight and if you follow with a good salad and well-chosen cheese, it's all you'll need for a feast. read more...
Pan Dulce - 8 Sep 2010
Katsuya Fukushima, of Jose Andres' minibar and Café Atlántico, takes classic French toast and by changing the bread to brioche, putting Chihuahua cheese from Latino markets between the slices and adding cinnamon to the egg custard, gives it a Latin American twist. read more...
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...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
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