Rhubarb and Mom
What’s the best thing about spring? I know, everything. But if you focus, bring it down to the details and ignore radishes, then it’s got to be rhubarb. And one rhubarb plant (which over the years becomes two, then three, then…) will supply enough rhubarb for a family of three, plus the neighbors. My rhubarb […]
Chocolate Chip Cookies, With a Difference
My daughter is coming home for spring break so the refrigerator and the cupboard need to be stocked, because wherever she is, a small crowd follows. She loves chocolate chip cookies, because I know already that after the hugs and hellos, her eyes will wander to the cookie tin. These, however, aren’t just any chocolate […]
Strawberry Shortcake from the Grill
There are two things at play in this recipe for French strawberry shortcake from the grill. One is my brand, new, fancy Weber gas grill that has taken pride of place in my back courtyard. Two is my darling daughter Fiona’s predilection for loving and not eating animals. Sometimes she is flexitarian, but mostly she […]
Grilled Chicken with Spicy Rhubarb
Naturally, the French cook has a way with this fleeting gift of spring. Typically, it is wrapped in buttery pastry, pureed and put under a meringue, atop ice cream, blended with cream, cooked in syrup. Here, I’m inspired by the French fascination with sugar syrup to turn rhubarb into a sweet, zesty sauce for […]
Flourless Chocolate Cake from the Grill
Baking a cake over the coals? Quelle idée. But pizza bakes perfectly over blazing charcoal, so why not biscuits, or rhubarb pie, or even a flourless chocolate cake? As any good French chef would do, I headed straight for the flourless chocolate cake, set it over the coals, closed the cover and held my breath. When I […]
VOTE
VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! And then go home and make some….quince paste!
Nutmeg Logs
Its’ almost Christmas, but there is time for one last cookie recipe, and here it is. These little treasures are a tradition in my family and I’ve made them every year since I can remember. They’re quick and they fill the air with their nutmeg scent. Waste no time – get into the kitchen so that, […]
Yogurt Cake Re-Visited
I have a dinner coming up, and I want to make a delicious but simple cake for dessert. I considered plenty of options and settled on an old favorite, Yogurt Cake. This, as those of you who have read On Rue Tatin, is a cake I discovered one day at my son’s school during a […]
Scallops and Vanilla?
Yes. It’s a combination made somewhere near heaven. It came about through serendipity. A friend stopped to visit, and brought with him a large, heavy bag of scallops in the shell. (He’s a fishmonger). I had lightly salted butter in my fridge along with (unusually I admit), the seeds from half a vanilla bean that I […]
Cooking Among the Stars
Cooking and teaching French cuisine in Los Angeles is more fun than I could have imagined! For one thing, I’m in the home of Cathy and Steve Arkle high on the hill in Studio City, and the view from the kitchen over San Fernando Valley stretches to heaven. The mornings are overcast and cool and, […]
