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. […]
This Summer in Normandy
First and foremost, summer classes at On Rue Tatin will be spectacular! The garden is ready to burst into color already; the fruit trees have gotten their winter trim, and I’m testing and re-testing recipes for you to try out in the kitchen. As you make your plans, you should know this is a BIG […]
Tarte Tatin
Every time I make Tarte Tatin I think about my time as an apprentice in the kitchens at La Varenne. There, Chef Albert Jorant taught us pastry. I worked with Chef Jorant on a book, too, putting my hands in the photographs of his pastries. It was here that I learned the fine points of […]
New Season; New Classes
I keep waiting for spring and finally, today it knocked on the door. I know, officially it’s been here since March 21, but nothing about the world has felt springy. The temperatures have been so cold nothing will grow which means market offerings are skimpy; the skies have been roiling with winter clouds that threaten […]
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 […]
Finishing Up the Perfect Salad
Now you’ve washed the lettuce and made the Classic Vinaigrette. All that’s left is tossing the lettuce leaves, and this video shows you how to do it perfectly. You think it’s a slam dunk, and it is. But there’s a method, of course, in the French Kitchen!
Terroir
I taught a class yesterday to a group of American university juniors that included a discussion of terroir, that term everyone uses and, I am beginning to suspect, few understand. What makes me say this? The total blankness on the face of my smart students as I dove into the subject. Eventually one spoke up. […]
