July 30, 2005
NPR Interview
This morning on NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, they aired an interview of me by Scott Simon, recorded yesterday from the BBC studios in Paris, in which we talk about baguettes and a nectarine gratin!
And the segment is available online ......
July 28, 2005
Salade de Courgette et Poulet au Vinaigre de Framboise
[Zucchini and Chicken Salad with Raspberry Vinegar]
Ever since I served raw zucchini sticks with my anchoïade a few weeks ago and experienced a private tastebud epiphany, I have felt it my personal mission to let the world know how incredibly delicious and subtly sweet zucchini tastes in its most natural simple naked state.
It is best to keep this treatment for the freshest zucchini, slender young things with smooth skin and firm flesh that f...
"Salade de Courgette et Poulet au Vinaigre de Framboise" continues »
July 27, 2005
The Day I Turn 26
Well, I am happy to announce that as of 5 o'clock this morning, I am officially 26 years old!
Proud and delighted, ever-so-grateful for this past year and the many wonders and joys it has brought me, I am hopeful that the year ahead will be just as fabulous, and excited to discover what it holds.
I intend to spend the day at a deliciously leasurely pace, doing exclusively what I feel like doing, wearing my favorite dress of the moment, paint...
"The Day I Turn 26" continues »
July 25, 2005
Panzanella
Authenticity can be a fine line to tread when it comes to cooking. Dishes and recipes originate in certain parts of the world and are often deeply rooted in local traditions. But then people emigrate, they travel, they adopt, they adapt, they improvise, and the same dish gets recreated in a different kitchen at a different time, with the same name but a completely different face.
Naturally, food and recipes are meant to be played with and buil...
July 21, 2005
Fraises des bois du jardin
["Wild strawberries" from the garden]
One of my wildest dreams is to one day have a garden, a vegetable patch and an orchard. Oh, and a pool too, but that's off-topic. In the meantime, I have to settle for windowsills and small balconies on which Maxence, who is The Official Gardener around here, plants and pampers a lush jungle, making the absolute most of every square inch of space and railing. I have little patience for that kind of thing, ...
"Fraises des bois du jardin" continues »
July 19, 2005
Gratin de Nectarines à la Noisette
[Hazelnut and Nectarine Gratin]
In French, a portrait chinois (literally "Chinese portrait") is a kind of riddle in which one person tries to guess a famous person's name by asking a set of questions and working by analogy: if he were an animal, what would he be? And if he were a flower, a city, a song, a color, a movie? Since this is incredibly difficult -- I mean really, if Charles de Gaulle were a flower, what the heck would he be? I'm tell...
"Gratin de Nectarines à la Noisette" continues »
July 18, 2005
Dip Fromage Frais et Coriandre
[Fresh Cheese and Cilantro Dip]
Last Saturday we organized a little impromptu dinner party at our place with our dear neighbor-friends Stéphan and Patricia, and our new neighbor-friends Ligiana and Peter. Ah yes! Didn't I tell you? We have new neighbors! They moved in a few weeks ago and now occupy the apartment just to the left of ours. A little welcome note slipped under their door, an invitation to join us for drinks and nibbles, and voilà!...
"Dip Fromage Frais et Coriandre" continues »
July 15, 2005
Salade de Blé Tendre, Courgette et Abricot
[Soft Wheatberry Salad with Zucchini and Apricots]
I am a great lover of all things grain. Quinoa, bulgur, kamut, buckwheat, barley, amaranth, millet -- each of them nutritious, filling and tasty in its own personal way (although they all seem to be indifferently described as "nutty" on the package, or un goût de noisette in French). I also love that most of them can be traced all the way back to ancient civilisations -- you know, way before i...
"Salade de Blé Tendre, Courgette et Abricot" continues »
July 13, 2005
Soupe de Cerise, Tuiles Noisette et Romarin
[Swimming Cherries, Hazelnut Rosemary Tuiles]
I have a new piece appearing today in NPR's weekly Kitchen Window column. The recipe I am sharing this time is for a chilled cherry soup that you can serve with hazelnut rosemary wafers, a variation on the typically French tuile.
The metric measurements are below.
(Previous contributions to Kitchen Window:
- Artichoke and Goat Cheese Mille-feuille,
- Asparagus Confit with Almonds and Rosemary,
- ...
"Soupe de Cerise, Tuiles Noisette et Romarin" continues »
July 11, 2005
The Cook Next Door: a Meme
As my trusted friend the Webster tells us, a meme is "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture". In the blogosphere, a meme can be a questionnaire about a particular theme -- your tastes in music or books, 100 things about you, etc. -- that you reply to on your blog and pass along. Nicky started such a meme just a few weeks ago called the cook next door, giving us all a chance to talk about the hows...
"The Cook Next Door: a Meme" continues »
July 8, 2005
Food and the City: Food Shopping
Besides eating out at restaurants, what is the other capital dimension through which to explore a city and its food scene? Food shopping! Show me your grocery stores, and I'll try to guess how you eat at home when no one's looking, how you cook and how you feed your friends.
As in all other respects, New York did not disappoint. I loved the hyper-luxurious Dean & Deluca in Soho (rarely have I seen such a beautiful -- and insanely pricey -- st...
"Food and the City: Food Shopping" continues »
July 5, 2005
Food and the City: Only in NY
When I left for NYC armed with a highly enthusing list of suggestions, recommendations and must-eats, I was determined to make the culinary most of my stay. But in a city such as this, it can certainly be an overwhelming mission statement: where do you start, what do you choose, where do you go? As often in the trickier situations of life, forethought and discernment are key. A mental list was drawn in which I gathered my priorities, and among ...
"Food and the City: Only in NY" continues »
July 4, 2005
Food and the City: Ethnic Restaurants
And let me open this week's program with more food memories from my trip to New York City, introducing a handful of ethnic restaurants. (Apologies for the not-so-great picture, I only had my phone with me when I encountered this arepa!)
Dim-sum @ Golden Bridge
I will start with a sore disappointment and just get it out of the way. Maxence and I love dim-sum, the kind that comes on a cart wheeled around by little ladies through a loud ballroom...
"Food and the City: Ethnic Restaurants" continues »