Archive for September, 2007 « Previous Entries

You Say "Flatbread;" Soif Says "Farinata"

Thursday, September 27th, 2007

No matter how many “small plates” I order at Soif, I always include the farinata — the luscious little chick-pea flour lovechild of a crepe and a pizza crust. Similar to a French socca, it’s cooked to order and arrives at the table piping-hot. Usually perfumed with fresh sage, last Sunday’s version sported fresh basil. [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: Chocolate Challenges

Tuesday, September 25th, 2007

Those tidy little dishes in the first picture? They’re the “Before.” No way are you seeing the “After.” Suffice it to say that my previous proclamation about always filling souffle dishes to the rim should be ignored with this recipe — unless of course you want to make them for a luau [...]

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Under the Saratoga Moon

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Now *this* is the way to cook a whole pig/lamb/ox/water buffalo: on a sturdy grill with a rotisserie that actually turns and an experienced pro standing nearby. (Contrast with the lamb-on-the-beach July entry on this blog.) The resulting roast pork was just one course of a splendid wine harvest dinner I attended [...]

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Manresa Does Tomatoes, continued:

Friday, September 21st, 2007

I always harbor a little guilt when I eat bunny, but the next course — a rabbit daube with basil surrounded by a tomato vinaigrette and garnishes of new zealand spinach — was so good that I banished mental pictures of Peter Rabbit and Thumper. The following dish was the only one [...]

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Tomatoes Triumphant: A Special Dinner at Manresa

Thursday, September 20th, 2007

On Tuesday evening I treated my tastebuds to a tomato orgy and they’ve been thanking me ever since. This tomatoes-in-every-course feast had four of us swabbing out plates with bread crusts — a reaction that won’t surprise anyone familiar with the cooking of Manresa’s chef David Kinch and his staff and the [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: Lemon Souffle Gratineed

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

I know. I know. This photo is DARK, but I wasn’t about to mar the candle-lit Friday night ambience at Bistro Elan with a camera flash. Yet this little souffle was so amazing, I had to capture its image.Fresh huckleberries were nestled between two layers of lemon souffle and then a crackly [...]

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Mmmm: Meatball Sandwich

Monday, September 17th, 2007

No, I did NOT eat this entire sandwich. but I could have. The piece I *did* consume could serve as a Platonic ideal for sandwiches — moist meat, sauteed onions, fresh basil, roasted red pepper sauce, provolone cheese and arugula. The layers of flavor and freshness of ingredients were typical of the [...]

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Almost-Autumn Galette

Friday, September 14th, 2007

I hope the rotten little squirrels who snarfed every single fig from our tree are now rolling on the forest floor in gastro-intestinal agony. Fortunately, local farmers’ markets are rich with figs at the moment, so after a recent foray I was able to make one of my favorite quick desserts: a [...]

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Mad about Majolica

Thursday, September 13th, 2007

I have this tiny little food-related addiction, aka a passion for pottery. To me, sliced tomatoes look more delicious when served on a green majolica platter, madeleines more evocative of France when piled onto a Quimper plate, even olives more appealing in a little terra cotta tapas dish.Amongst my favorite pieces are the fruit and [...]

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Souffle Tuesday: How Not to Write a Recipe

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007

Seduced by a gorgeous photo in “Gourmet’s Menu Cookbook” and my immoderate affection for leeks, I decided to make the book’s hazelnut and leek souffle. I quickly discovered that the actual recipe was ridiculously vague about the main ingredient: “Chop finely 10 trimmed leeks (let’s not even go into the grammatically incorrect [...]

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