GINGER COOKIES AND A HAPPY SOLUTION

There have been times when, whether I was making dinner for my family, or preparing for friends to come to a dinner party, I just didn’t “feel” it. I was tired, usually a state I don’t like to admit to, but it happens to everyone. A normal person would just resort to pasta; not me. […]
Fig Leaf Ice Cream

I discovered something amazing the other day. It is simple, and I might have found it a long time ago but it took me awhile to inhale, reflect, discuss, then finally make and taste. Oh my. What we have all been missing for so long!
Lamb with Mashed Potatoes, and the Best of 2018

I flew over mid-December to teach a couple of classes in Portland, which exhibited huge support (Merci, Portland) for the fine points of French cooking. Fiona flew in from her home in Utrecht, Holland, and Joe followed on her heels from Annapolis, Maryland. Yes, we are spread all over the map, so occasions to be […]
Caramel Sauce

This is a dessert sauce everyone swoons over. It is rich with caramel flavor, bright with salt, and so good you’ll want to lap it up from a teacup. I love to use it with grilled pears and pound cake, or over just about any ice cream. You’ll find many uses for it, too, and […]
APRICOTS AND CREAM SHORTCAKE

APRICOTS AND CREAM SHORTCAKE – – Fruit:: apricots (pit removed, sliced into 6ths, 500g), vanilla sugar, For the shortcake:: all-purpose flour (130g), plus 2 tablespoons cake flour, salt, baking powder, sugar (70g), unsalted butter (chilled, 3 oz.; 90g), heavy (non ultra-pasteurized cream, 250ml), For the Crème Fraîche:: heavy (non ultra-pasteurized cream, 250ml), vanilla sugar (ground […]
Poulet Vallée d’Auge – Chicken with Calvados, Cider, and Apples

My son, Joe, is visiting from the U.S., spending more time here than usual as he writes his senior thesis. I’m enjoying watching him work, our conversations roiling around the vagaries of writing and inspiration, the beauty of fine sentences that all too often end up on the cutting room floor, born as they can […]
Beets – the Least Loved Vegetable

I can’t count the number of times I’ve presented a menu to a cooking class with a beet recipe in it, and gotten looks like I was proposing a final walk to the gallows. I proceed with a lightness of being, however, because I know what will ensue, which involves almost heavenly transformation. That’s because […]
Chicken Pot Pie a la Francaise

I heard whispers of desire emanating from the kitchen, as my children were discussing what they wanted for dinner. Tart came out on top. Since neither yearns to cook, they turned to me, plaintive looks in their eyes. I live to please, and what could satisfy this particular desire better than Chicken Pot Pie? […]
Summer Tomato Tart

What is the difference between a tourte, a torte and a tart? When it comes to summer tomatoes, there is a difference. A Tourte is usually double crusted, quite high and savory. Here in Normandy we are luxuriating in the hottest summer since 1940. For us, this means that summer produce like eggplant and zucchini, […]
Comté – the Queen of French Cheese

This is not my opinion, this is fact. Comté is THE Queen of French cheese on the French table. It’s no wonder. Made with milk from the brown-spotted Montbéliard and the russet-coated French Simmental, Comté is the perfect combination of sweet, creamy, herbal, nutty, and exquisite. I have just returned from the land where Comté […]