Apple Honey Tart
I live in Normandy, land of apples and pears, and everything made with them – from Tarte Tatin to Rosemary Apple Tart, to Apple Charlotte, to apples as vegetable, appetizer, seasoning. I’m an expert with apples, and everything I make with them is a point of pride for me. But never have I had such […]
Poached Eggs
What is more wonderful than a poached egg? Many things, perhaps, but not when you’ve been traveling, or you’re in a hurry, or your child has a performance and you’ve got one hour to make and serve a decent meal. Or really at any time at all when you want something delicious and fast. That […]
From the Farm
It’s school vacation, again. Every six weeks French students have a two week break, and parents adjust. I used to think this was insane but I’ve come around. When I see how hard students work, a two week vacation every six weeks begins to make sense. Most French families I know pack up their […]
California Dreamin’
As I sit and look out the window at the sunny terrace, the sunny pool, the sunny green hills beyond that, for all the world, look like Umbria, I feel a million miles away from home. I’ve signed books at Chino Farm and Warwicks in La Jolla, and taught an amazing private class in Rancho […]
Truffle Weekend – New at On Rue Tatin
Truffles, the black diamonds of the Périgord. I have never seen so many as I did last weekend, emerging from the clay-ish red soil, sitting on the kitchen counter, sifting down atop freshly sautéed foie gras, grated into tender butter, folded into slow-scrambled eggs, layered with creamy cheese. The occasion was On Rue Tatin’s first […]
Helping Hand
So many different organizations do so many great things around food and farming. Here is a short list of places where you can donate. Mercy Corps – “Mercy Corps works with families to ensure quality inputs, a good crop yield and a fair price at local markets. Mercy Corps also makes sure that more […]
Food and Focus
I was reading a piece in the International New York Times by Anand Giridharadas, and a phrase caught my eye. He likened the current moment in the U.S. to the Biedermeier era in Germany (1815-1848) when political participation was suppressed and people turned inward. “What will our grandchildren think of the extraordinary inwardness of […]
Tasty Turkey – Visions of Hatay
Thanks to a wonderful event called Mediterranean Culinary Days (admirably organized by Adnan Sahin, the president of the Anatolian Folk Cuisine Association), I spent three days in Antakya (Antioch), a city in the province of Hatay, in Anatolia. There, the wind blows with abandon, sweeping this busy, cacaphonic spot free of dust. With a bustling center that […]
Simple Spring Dish
Rain pounds down outside; flowers and herbs are growing, but haltingly; it’s the most tumultuous May I can remember in all my time in France. Farmer’s tear out their hair at the cold night temperatures which stunt growth, yet they’re thankful for the rain after near-drought in early spring. So what about the produce? Well, […]
Rural Paris, Rural France
I went to the Salon d’Agriculture in Paris last week, what I think may be the world’s largest “state fair”. Thousands of farmers, sausage makers, ham-curers, honey collectors, bread bakers and more assemble at the Porte de Versailles to vaunt their wares and their regional pride to more than 700,000 people. Perfect specimens of cattle, […]
