Salade Niçoise Authentique
Salade Niçoise, how we all love this blend of potatoes, green beans, lettuce, tomatoes, anchovies, tuna and…WAIT !!! STOP!!! Do not EVER tell any self-respecting Niçoise that you like your Salade Niçoise with potatoes, green beans, lettuce, or tuna and anchovies at the same time. This will make you an outcast and possibly consider you a […]
Cap Ferret and the Grill
I just had my spring sojourn at Cap Ferret, a narrow, sandy peninsula across the bay from Arcachon, on the southwest coast of France. Cap Ferret is the height of relaxed chic, the Cote d’Azur in blue jeans. I discovered it by accident, because a friend of mine has a family home there, […]
Amuse-Bouches, the Art Of The French Welcome
Amuses in the kitchen The amuse-bouche is the French answer to an appetizer. It can also be called “mise-en-bouche,” or literally “put it in the mouth,” and when I was growing up we called little pre-meal delicacies “hors d’oeuvres.” This latter term seems to have disappeared from the culinary lexicon which is a shame, since […]
Truth in a Tomato
What a week. My eldest, Joseph, was home briefly to accompany my youngest, Fiona, to college. There was packing, unpacking, parties, hellos, goodbyes, car trips and ocean swims. Amidst it all, I was feeding everyone. One night I set a plate of tomatoes on the table, dressed simply, with finely sliced shallots, extra-virgin olive oil, […]
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, […]
Tomatoes and Apples
I love shoulder seasons like this moment of autumn. Tomatoes are still hanging on the vine and full of sweet flavor; apples are literally dropping from the tree, and pears are ripe, aromatic, lush. We’ve got new autumn turnips, their skin so fine it almost peels off, and potimarron (kuri squash), those harbingers of short […]
Eggplant
Eggplant is the most luxurious vegetable I know. There is something about its texture, particularly when oven-roasted, that transports to exotic places where dreamy color, wealth, flavor abound. It is gorgeous from inception to full growth, its taut, shiny purple to creamy white skin almost silken in texture over its voluptuous flesh that just waits […]
Happy Classes and Summer’s End
It’s been a whirlwind of classes in Louviers and Paris for the last many weeks, and recently in one of my favorite U.S. cities, Asheville. Each class is so different and so unique, depending on those who come to participate, the nuances of the season and the ingredients, the choice of dishes, the location. I […]
