panino con trippa alla fiorentina

Last time that I had a tripe sandwhich was in Philly; This one, in Florence, was melt-in-your-mouth tender and delicious, cooked with tomato and seasoned with chilli pepper on a simple bun.

les marchés ouverts

I love open-air Parisian markets -- and it's nice to be staying in a place where I can cook. There were also sardines, which I think will be wonderful with fennel and leeks. All those artichokes were only 2€, which would be unimaginable in Chicago.

chicken fat

Once you have started frying eggs in rendered chicken fat, it is hard to go back. This was destined for a sandwich with tomatoes and Pecorino Romano. Delicious.

tacos

Long day workwise and had not eaten by 8pm, so I figured that I ought to. I was craving tacos, but there are not any great taquerias near my house, and I already had onions, cilantro and jalapenos: I bought a couple of bone-in breasts (I refuse to buy skinless chicken breasts) and ground them up whole on the coarse setting running the skin through as well (in a meat grinder that is at least fifty years old but works perfect). I toasted cumin seeds, peppercorns and dried cayenne peppers and then ground them up. I heated a bit of water in a sauté pan (I trick I learned making the Thai dish laab), added some salt and the ground chicken and then stirred in the spice mixture and cooked until it was done and the liquid was mostly gone. Heat your (corn) tortillas as normal and serve with cilantro, onions, and jalapenos. The jalapenos are perfect for muggy weather and the allergies associated therewith, and even grinding your own meat, this only takes minutes.

Julia Child, August 15, 1912 - August 13, 2004

I grew up watching Julia Child on WGBH Boston and her approach to cooking led to a lifetime of me being excited about food and all things culinary. Here are a handful of adventures from the last few years:

• Clafoutis aux pêches: a pear custard.
• Lapin au saupiquet: marinated rabbit with prunes.
• Julia Child's phenomenal and simple haricots verts with lamb or with rabbit.
• Hollondaise sauce: on eggs Florentine.
• Gratin de pommes de terre aux anchois: a delicious potato gratin.
• Gigot rôti: roast leg of lamb.
• Poulet à l'estragon: chicken with tarragon.
• Roast chicken: Julia Child is the reason that I can make a great roast chicken.
• A Bastille Day party: mini vol-au-vents (bouchées), foies de volailles à l'estragon en aspic (chicken liver pâté in aspic), gâteaux St-Andre (walnut cake), tartes aux framboises.
• Comfort food: biftek sauté au beurre, pommes Anna, champignons sauté à la bordelaise, chou frisé à la vapeur.
• The best pound cake I have eaten: quatre-quarts.
• A simple soufflé. And another.

RIP, Julia.

clafoutis aux pêches

This is Julia Child's basic recipe for clafoutis (from Mastering the Art..., but I subsituted amaretto for vanilla and brandy) with sliced peaches and sour cherries that have been soaking in rum for the last year. The sour cherries, being on top, caramelized and had wonderful flavor. The peaches needed no peeling or preparation: simply sliced, they were great. This is probably my favorite clafoutis of those that I have made.

raspberry tart

The crazy weather this spring and this summer has done terrible thing to crops like sour cherries, but at least the raspberries are doing okay.

gazpacho for the heat wave

Another heat wave is on its way to Chicago, so I'm stocking up on Gazpacho. My last recipe came out of things I had from the market, and this is only slightly modified: 4 large tomatoes, an orange and a red bell pepper, a cucumber, a head of garlic, a red onion, a splash of vinegar, a half bunch of cilantro, salt, freshly ground cumin and pimentón de la Vera dulce, a smoked Spanish paprika. Lastly I added a dose of very good olive oil (maybe a third or quarter cup?), which really rounds it out and makes a difference since it isn't cooked. (This had to be done in two batches in a standard 14c food processor). Makes about two liters.

risotto (without arborio)

I started making risotto and after sautéing onions and having already chopped the asparagus, I realized that I was put of arborio rice. Japansese short-grain rice made for a great substitute, and Grüner Veltliner made for a great base to start the risotto (the broth was chicken-based otherwise).

too hot for real cooking

At 97ºF (36ºC), it is too hot to cook. Naturally, I have time to cook for the first time in months, but can't get myself to do more than blanch asparagus (good stuff too, it's from the local farmer's market).

Blanch asparagus, drop 'em in an ice bath. Drain them and toss with paper-thin spring onions and lemon juice. Top with parmesan and tuna and finish with a nice fruity olive oil.

It's very refreshing. Especially with an almost effervescent vinho verde.

banana cakes

Dan Lepard's banana bread recipes are pretty great (Dan Lepard is the Guardian's dreamy baker-writer); this is the first one, which is akin to a pound cake. It's very moist and has great texture. Beating melted butter, sugar and flour sounds like an odd process (and does not resemble the traditional method for pound cakes) but the result is truly wonderful.

The second recipe, a ginger banana bread, is really great. It uses whole wheat flour, muscovado (I used brown sugar instead) and candied ginger. Below is the first try; the second time I beat it a bit more which I think more fully hydrated the whole wheat flour — I also let it sit for about five minutes before going in the oven — these two things gave it a really great texture. It's a perfect afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

 

seared lamb and endive

I don't cook as much as I used to, sadly. (Oh, grad school!) But sometimes I get around to it, such as seared lamb rib chops and endive (with potatoes). This came out really well. Lots of garlic and rosemary were used, and the rare lamb and seared endive pair very well.