French Home Cooking in the Suburbs of Paris

10 Jul

I feel lucky. I feel very lucky. I feel very lucky to have just spent the last week in the suburbs of Paris, France with a lovely French family. A lovely French family who gave me a bed to sleep in at night, a clean shower, and home-cooked meals. Let’s just say that I have eaten well this past week, eaten well with great company (and don’t forget about the wine!!).

Let us start from the beginning, shall we? I have a friend, her name is Alex (pictured below on the right). Alex is from France.


Alex and I worked/lived together last summer (2009). We worked together in Berkeley, California at a cooking camp for children.

This summer (2010) I went on a 3-week Euro-trip where I spend my last week with Alex and her family in Paris, France. Actually, they live right outside Paris in a town called Vincenne. Just before I arrived, Alex was at her family’s country home where she picked fruits and made jams with them: rhubarb, cassis (black currant), groseille (red currants), apricot, apple, raspberry…

Groseille (red currant) jam

Apparently Alex and her family have NEVER had to buy jam before. They always make it in abundance with the summer fruits from their country home. And every morning they eat their jam on a toasted baguette. What a life, eh?

Rhubarb jam 

Speaking of rhubarb, check out this piece of rhubarb:


It is huge! And green! Totally different than the rhubarb that I am familiar with back in the states. I have made rhubarb jam before, it was red. Their jam is green. “C’est la vie.”


Pictured below is Alex’s mom, Catherine. She is making rhubarb jam and she is literally the queen of her kitchen, my taste buds can attest to that:


Alex recently celebrated her 22nd birthday. Bon anniversaire! (that means “happy birthday” in French). Of course we had to celebrate with good food and good drinks. We had a multi-course meal with a bottle or two of wine for each course!

This multi-course meal, however, was as simple as can be. It all started with fresh scallops. During the winter months, Alex’s family buys fresh scallops, shucks them, and freezes them. Her mom defrosted these scallops over-night in milk so that they would not dry out or smell. A sprinkle of oil in a hot pan with a dash of fresh garlic, sauteed two minutes on each side and these babies are done! Accompanied with a fresh baby spinach salad, I found such joy in the hot/cold, soft/crunchy balance of foods. Mmm summer!


Next, we had a little somethin’ called “tarte tatin,” which is sort of like an upside-down tart. Typically, you see a tarte tatin for dessert, made with fruits such as apples. But Catherine prepared a savory tarte tatin with a confit of ratatouille-style vegetables, topped with slivers of fresh Parmesan cheese.


And with every great meal there is always fresh baguette…


Now lets talk dessert. I sat with Catherine as we picked through a big bucket of fresh red currants, separating stem from fruit.


We were adding these currants to a fresh fruit crumble. Rhubarb and red currant crumble. No sugar was added to the fruit. I couldn’t believe it. Seriously? Yes, why add sugar when you can just taste how good the fruits are as is?


Topped with a pastry crust: 200 grams each of flour, ground almonds, sugar, and butter.


Pat it down and Voilà! We added a little special touch to the crumble by making the number “22” out of the pastry.


And after it baked, the currants just exploded over the pastry top and all that was left was this special “22.” Yum-o! I love the tart fruit mixed with the sweet pastry crust. Really just so simple and not too much sugar.


Now, last year when Alex came to Berkeley, she made this cake that I have since dreamed about all year long. This cake is of the chocolate variety. It is called Fondant au Chocolat and is the best darn chocolate cake I have ever tasted. It only works if you use very good chocolate. There is only about 2 tablespoons of flour in the whole cake. So easy to whip up and so quick to bake. The key is timing and temperature of the oven. Oh how I adore this cake.


Alex’s mom probably could have prepared the cake with a blind-fold on and one hand tied behind her back. It was like a little dance watching her bake with such easy and joy.


Let us meet dad now, yes? Everyone, meet Emmanuel. The wine connoisseur, the grill master, the cheese aficionado, the jokester. This man knows everything and more about French wine. We even tasted a very special red wine that is supposed to be eaten ONLY with really good chocolate (yes, we drank this wine with our fondant au chocolat). Below, Emmanuel grills pork and lamb on the rooftop of their flat.


What a beautiful summer evening, the perfect night for another perfect meal…


Roasted potatoes, perfectly browned…



Special French salt called “fleur de sel.” It’s great for sprinkling as a final touch to any dish…


On my last night in France, Alex hosted a barbecue for friends. On the menu was a simple tabouleh salad: cucumbers, tomatoes, couscous, lemon juice, olive oil. There was also a salad with fresh sliced tomatoes, hericot vert (French green beans), and feta cheese.

Prepping the tabouleh
Tabouleh Salad
Hericot vert, tomato, and feta cheese salad

Alex made a lovely fruity rum cocktail with fresh orange slices and vanilla beans:


And then the meat…chicken and ribs. Dude.

Poulet (chicken)
Alex at the grill
Meeeeeaaaaaat!


Wow, what a week. I really admire Alex’s family for not having “snack” foods around. Not even cereal or oats or crackers. Everything was fresh. Lots of yogurts, fruits, cheeses, and everyday more baguettes appear. After every meal, I would “cleanse” my palate with strong French cheeses. I miss those cheeses already!

Until next time, Paris!

Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with an Almond “Crust”

15 Jun


I dread packing. My heart is already beating faster than it should. I made a list so that I do not forget anything even though, knowing me, I will forget something. I have clothes and shoes and toiletries splayed on the floor. Oh goodness, shoes. I always bring more shoes than I need, but somehow I always convince myself that every pair is necessary.

I’m going on a trip if you haven’t noticed. I’m going on a Euro-trip: London, Amsterdam, Lucerne, the Rhine Valley, Innsbruck (Austria), Italy, France. Whew, I’m exhausted already. I leave tomorrow and I will be gone for one month. Aside from my packing nerves, I am extremely excited. FOOD, beautiful architecture, new culture, history, language, people…

As a final baking hurrah before I depart from my kitchen for a month, I made a cake. Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with a Sliced Almond “Crust”. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s newest cookbook. He was inspired to make the cake when Niloufer Ichaporia King came to work with him at Chez Panisse to prepare a traditional Parsi New Year’s feast. Lebovitz claims that out of all the “authentic and wonderfully aromatic Indian food” he tasted, this cake was his favorite dish (granted, she enrobed the cake in a sheet of gold leaf…).


Cardamom is my favorite spice. I love it in everything from savory to sweet (cardamom ice cream is just divine!). The spice gives off a nice sweet, feminine, sophisticated vibe, which, well, I think fits my vibe. Oddly enough, at the same time, when I think of cardamom, I imagine some older men sitting around on a hot evening, smoking and having a few drinks…?

The cake calls for whole cardamom seeds. A friend brought me back some pods from Israel so I opened the pods and crushed the seeds using a mortar and pestle. Immediately I could smell the sweet spicy seeds. Just a rough crush will suffice.


The pistachios brighten up the batter with their nice green hue. The cake would be lovely served with some fresh apricots (or you could poach them in a little water, sugar, and wine).


Pistachio-Cardamom Cake with an Almond “Crust”

makes one 9-inch (23-cm) cake; 10-12 servings (**I used a springform pan and it worked fine)

from David Lebovitz’s Ready for Dessert

TOPPING:

2 tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted, it doesn’t really matter here)
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cups sliced almonds, preferably unblanched

CAKE:

3/4 cup shelled unsalted pistachios
1/4 cup plus 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cardamom seeds
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To make the topping: melt 2 tablespoons butter in a 9-inch round cake pan set directly on the stovetop over low heat. Once melted, remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon sugar evenly over the melted butter, then add the almonds, tilting and shaking the pan to distribute them evenly. Set the pan aside.

3. To make the cake: in a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulverize the pistachios with the 1/4 cup flour until as finely ground as possible. Transfer to a small bowl.

4. Crush the cardamom seeds in a mortar and pestle or seal them inside a sturdy plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Add the crushed seeds to the pistachio mixture and stir to combine. Set aside.

5. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl by hand), beat together the 1/2 cup butter and 1 cup sugar on medium speed until very light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely incorporated.

6. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir it into the butter-egg mixture. Stir in the pistachio mixture just until combined.

7. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan by dropping 4 or 5 mounds on top of the almonds. Carefully spread the batter into an even layer, trying not to disturb the almonds. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help it loosen from the pan. Invert the cake onto a serving plate. Let cool completely.

SERVING: This cake will keep for up to 4 days at room temperature, well wrapped. It can be frozen for up to 1 month.

>Chocolate Cupcakes Big and Small with Assorted Frostings and Toppings

14 Jun

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Above you can see the traveling cupcakes. I carefully placed the little frosted cakes into a nice tupperware and boarded an airplane from Los Angeles to San Francisco. 5 twenty-something men and myself successfully gobbled these up by the next day.

Chocolate cupcakes. VEGAN chocolate cupcakes (one would never know they were vegan, especially with all that buttery frosting on top!).


Peanut butter frosting.

Peanut butter frosting atop of a chocolate cupcake with:

  • crushed oreo cookie crumbs **NOTE: I used mini oreos
  • with chopped candies (chocolate covered espresso beans and peanut butter cups and m&m’s…) **NOTE: Trader Joe’s sells mini peanut butter cups which are perfect for these cupcakes
  • with chocolate sprinkles
  • with a swirl of Nutella spread
  • with a dollop of jam


Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles.


The cake part makes a LOT of cupcakes. I got 14 big ones and 24 babies (remember, the babies will take less time to bake…think 10-12 minutes instead of 20-25).
***NOTE: click on the links above for the recipes…

>Buttermilk Pie With Warm Berry Sauce

5 Jun

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Get ready. This pie is the real deal. It all begins with the crust, and WOW is this a crust. Butter + buttermilk +a little flour, sugar, salt. Uh. Yeeeeaa. And it doesn’t stop there…the filling entails more butter, more buttermilk, and a little bit of love. Drizzled (or in my case, slabbed on…) with a hearty tinge of berry sauce (heat jam + a bit of liquor), it all seems to good to be true.

Actually, I especially liked the pie the following day after it had been in the refrigerator all night; all of the flavor really got to settle in and it was nice and cold–it seemed more like a cheesecake this way.

Over the years, my math skills have gone down the drain, and I was never that great at geometry to begin with. One of the most difficult tasks for me now as a baker is cutting a tart or pie into even pieces. In a professional food setting, I would have to plate every slice of pie exactly the same size. Your average tart or pie would probably be cut into 9 slices. 9 is a tough number. I have to draw a diagram so that I remember how to cut. Finding the center is also very challenging for me. For tarts baked in a tart pan, I have also resorted to counting the number of ridges per slice (8-9 ridges equal one slice). Goodness, I have a headache now!

When I am in a more casual setting, I just let everyone slice for themselves (or, if I am the one slicing, I just do a rough eyeball). I don’t need anything fancy (In my family, we tear our bread loaves rather than slice; it’s just more fun that way). There are always those who just want a little sliver of pie, and those who want a slice the size of my head, so I just stand back and let them do their thing.


Anyhoot, this pie is so rich that it feels so light. I’m kind of floating right now (or maybe I just have too much CA sunshine running through my veins). Either way, come on over for a slice of pie, it’s my treat.


Buttermilk Pie with Warm Berry Sauce

recipe from Joythebaker.com


Buttermilk Pie Dough


2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk, cold

Cut butter into 1 inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.

Sift together the flour and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Sifting eliminates lumps and aerates the mixture, making the dough tender and lighter. Add the partially frozen butter and the salt. Mix on low speed for 2 minutes, or until the butter is reduced to the size of broken walnut meats. Stop the machine and by hand pinch flat any large pieces of butter that remain.

Turn the mixer on low speed and add the buttermilk all at once. Mix until the dough comes together, about 15 seconds. The dough should be tacky, but not sticky, and still rather shaggy.

Remove the dough from the bowl and quickly form into a rough disk. Wrap in plastic. Try not to overwork the dough. Chill for at least 1 hour before rolling out. At this point the dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 weeks. For freezing roll the dough into sheets and wrap them in airtight plastic film first.

Roll the dough out into about 1/8th inch thickness. Transfer to a pie plate and stick in the freezer (or fridge) while you prepare the filling.


Buttermilk Filling

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 stick melted butter, slightly cooled

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extrct

1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell

Beat eggs slightly. Mix sugar and flour well and add to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter, mixing well. Add buttermilk and vanilla extract. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (my pie took about 1 hour and 15 minutes) until the custard sets. Tip: the custard will still jiggle a bit in the oven even when it’s set. Just make sure that the middle does not jiggle a lot more than the sides. That means it needs more time.


Berry Sauce


1/2 cup berry preserves (I used raspberry jam p.s. it had seeds, which I like because it adds a fun little crunch. If you prefer seedless, by all means go seedless!)

1 Tablespoon Chamborde liqueur, also considered orange liqueur or a bit of Triple Sec

Pour the preserves in a saucepan and arm on medium heat, stirring constantly with wire whip until smooth. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Let cool slightly and drizzle over pie.


**Just a shout-out to Joy: After hours and hours spent baking her recipes and perusing her blog, I decided to start my own blog a year ago. She has truly been an inspiration for my baking, my writing style, and my sense of well-being. I thank you again and again and again Joy! (Below is a photograph of Joy, on the right, and myself at a roof-top picnic that she put together for her and her fellow blogging friends/readers last year.)

>Double Vanilla Cupcakes with Rainbow Sprinkles

27 May

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Why are sprinkles so much fun? At work, I make donuts with glaze and rainbow sprinkles. This brings me back to my childhood. As a kid, the donut dipped in glazed and smothered with sprinkles used to be my favorite. I have many memories of swinging by the local donut shop after school.

Another childhood memory involving sprinkles…when my family would go out for ice cream, I would get a chocolate dipped cone with sprinkles (some call it a “clown cone”), but NO ice cream. Is that crazy or what? I wanted the cone, I wanted the chocolate, I wanted the sprinkles, but eh, I didn’t need the ice cream. Oy. Crazy town, tasty town.

A friend once told me that he imagined the walls of my bedroom to be strewn with cupcakes. That there was always just a platter of freshly made cupcakes ready to be eaten.

Well, I made some cupcakes. I made some cupcakes with a whopping amount of frosting and of course, with rainbow sprinkles on top. The sprinkles add a nice crunch the the sweet, soft frosting and the mini cake below.


The best cupcake that I ever had: I used to stage (fancy word for intern) at a restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA called Spago. I was staging on the savory side–peeling and mincing garlic and shallots, weighting out chanterelle mushrooms, slicing baby carrots on the vias, and shaving cheese onto freshly made and plated pastas…The chefs were always trying to feed me, I had to taste everything (boy oh boy was this fun!). One day, someone handed me a cupcake. It was a buttermilk cupcake with pink frosting. I had to scarf it down quick because I had to get back to work, but wow. I took a bite of the cupcake, a little cake, a little frosting, all in one bite. Wow. I will forever remember this cupcake. I have yet to re-create it. One day, one day…

For now, I whipped up a quick batch of cupcakes for my friend’s graduation.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting
from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

1 cup all-purpose flour

a scant 3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup whole milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or use a handheld beater and beat on slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined. Gradually pour in half of the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated. Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth. Just a few minutes. Do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing between the 12 cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons whole milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixer speed to low. Combine the milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture. Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes. If you find that your frosting is getting to warm in the summer months, stop beating and set in the fridge for a few minutes. Once chilled, hook the frosting back up the the mixer and beat once more until you reach the desired consistency.

**NOTE: I did everything by hand. That is another option.

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