Cooking on my mind

Artist Simon Beck must really love the cold weather! Along the frozen lakes of Savoie,France, he spends days plodding through the snow in snowshoes, creating sensational patterns of snow art.

I, on the other hand would rather stay home and cook.  While I appreciate what he does and cannot imagine the patience he has, being out in the cold that long is frightening.

In order to cook, one must shop.  We are so privileged to be living in an area where all the food is locally grown, fresh, no preservatives and delicious.

I have taken pictures of my favorite places to shop in my town.  The vendors are so sweet and lovely, it makes shopping a pleasure not a chore.

Salade de Chevre Chaud

I truly love this goat cheese salad and I add a magic ingredient to it, not traditionally used.  It is onion confit and it makes all the difference in the world.  Toss mixed greens with your favorite vinegarette dressing and put on a plate.  Top it with two or three small slices of baguette, onion confit and goat cheese. It may become your favorite too.

To make the onion confit, slice two onions and sauté.  Add 1 teaspoon sugar, pinch of salt, pepper and thyme.  Add a dash of balsamic vinegar after the onions are nicely browned.  Cook until there is no liquid left in the pan.  Be sure not to burn the onions,just make them dark brown.It should take about 15 minutes.   Yum......

Darling measuring cups

Kitchenaid Tangerine Mixer

Button candy colour mug set

From Taste Inspired's Blog comes this lucious recipe for Sweet Potato Fries.  They are delicious.

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, about 1 lb, cleaned and partially peeled

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

final sprinkle of paprika

2 tbs cilantro, loosely chopped

directions:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the potatoes in 1/2 inch thick slices. Rinse the potatoes thoroughly with cold water. Let dry on a dish towel. Place the potatoes in a bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, and sprinkle with the cumin, salt, and pepper. toss to coat evenly.

Enjoy.....

Bon Appétit

A Bientôt

Audrey

Lunch for friends

My friend Margaret Ryder, Dallas, is the most amazing floral artist.  I love the way she decorated this doggie. She does beautiful and unusual arrangements for your dining table too.

If someone asked me what my very favorite meal is, I might say roast chicken.  Having been a vegetarian for so many years, when I  roast a chicken it is also cooked with lots of vegetables.  Okay, I do eat more of the veg than I do the chicken but my guests seem to love the whole thing. This gorgeous chicken was roasted with about six different vegetables and then they were tossed over the whole thing.  The picture tells it all and the recipe follows.

I served it with sautéed mushrooms and dhal bat, a combination of rice, shallots and lentils.  All the recipes follow.

Recipe for roast chicken

Season the inside and outside of the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.  Paint it with some olive oil, I use my hand as the paintbrush. If your family likes the giblets, just place them into the cavity of the chicken and roast them all together.  Living here in France, the giblets are loved by all.  They even make a Périgourdine salad which uses them.  That's for another time. 

Into a very hot oven, place the chicken in a covered roasting pan.  Add cubes of eggplant, chopped celery, carrot rounds, sliced onions, either sun dried or just raw tomatoes and mushrooms.  You can use any vegetable you prefer but the total should be about 2 cups. Circle the chicken with the vegetables.  Don't cover the chicken with the vegetables until ready to serve or the skin won't brown. Add two cups of chicken stock and cook on high heat for 45 minutes.
  
Remove cover and finish cooking in a semi-hot oven until chicken is nice and brown, maybe another 45 minutes depending on the size of the chicken. You might have to add additional water or stock as there should always be a bit of liquid on the bottom.

When chicken is finished, place on serving platter with vegetables scattered on top and cover with foil for about 15 minutes so juices will sink in.

Add 1 cup of white wine to the drippings in the pan and reduce by half.  This should take 15 minutes.
Pour over the vegetable covered chicken.

A few years ago I trekked in the Himalayas and  Dal Bhat was a staple for us.  It is typically cooked in Nepal on a daily basis and is the center of the meal.  Poultry and meat is very scarce in Nepal and we had very few fresh vegetables as well so we ate a lot of rice and lentils.

Recipe for Dhal Bat


Plain Rice (Bhat)
2 cups rice 
4 cups (1 lt) water
1 tsp butter (optional)
Cook rice in the litre of water until done.  Or you can used instant rice, it tastes fine.

Lentils (Dal)
1½ cups lentil (I used canned and they are just fine)
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
3/4 cup diced shallots sautéed
Salt to taste
Sauté shallots in butter, add seasoning and lentils.

Mix the Bhat with the Dal and Voila, there you go.

The perfect roasting pan

Yotam Ottolenghi's new book

If you are not yet a fan of Ottolenghi cooking, I believe you will be.  He is amazing and so are his books.

Unique Vintage style apron

How cute you will look in this darling apron.  Even if you never wear an apron while cooking, this one is irresistible.


From About.com comes this recipe and photo of Wine Poached Pears, the perfect ending to your meal.


Ingredients:

4-6 Peeled, Cored and Sliced Pears (recommend Bosc or Anjou)
1 1/2 cups of red wine (recommend Zinfandel, Shiraz or Merlot)
3/4 cups of granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice (can also add lemon zest if desired)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
Preparation:

Combine all ingredients, except pears, and bring to a boil. Once the wine mixture is boiling, turn heat down to a simmer and add the pears. Simmer pears for 10-12 minutes and then turn pears and simmer for an additional 8-10 minutes - until they are tender and are easily poked through with a fork. Remove pears and let them cool. Boil wine sauce until the liquid has been reduced by half. Pour sauce over pears and serve with either marscapone, crème fraiche or Devonshire cream.

I have tried this recipe and it is delicious.

Square white plate

Perfect for serving those beautiful red pears.

Enjoy......

A Bientôt........