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.

lapin au saupiquet

Lapin au saupiquet: rabbit marinated in vinegar and stewed in wine, finished with prunes cooked in stock, butter and brandy. The sauce/gravy is probably one of the best I have made... ever. So delicious. We started with shaved fennel salad and ate the rabbit with parsley potatoes. Finished with a plum-frangipane tart. This is from vol. II of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1970).

birthday

I started with my favorite cake, a génoise, and with some fresh peaches and raspberries from the farmer's market and some various creams — whipped and bavarian (pastry cream and more whipped cream) — I made myself a pretty satisfying birthday cake.

Odd Bits

I haven't been this excited about a book in a while. Yesterday I turned thirty, and today this arrived in the mail. Perfect birthday present to myself. (Now I just need to make time for some head cheese making).

Moreover, Tongue with salsa verde and potato-radish salad? Yes, please. Beef heart tartare? Swoon. Finnish blood pancakes? Tripe in Calvados? I can't wait.

Another great work of culinary writing and creation by Jennifer McLagan.

frangipane apricot tart

The farmers market near my house has had the most wonderful stone fruits from Michigan; last week was sadly the final week of sour cherries so my caneton Montmorency fantasy will have to be fulfilled next summer as the last few weekends have been oppressively humid and the idea of roasting a duck in such conditions was less than desirable (meanwhile, I have some sour cherries saved in rum and others in Luxardo, which should make for some great late-summer cocktails). I decided to make a frangipane tart; above is the prep for a basic flaky pastry, which doesn't need to be pre-baked as the frangipane — a divine almond-butter-egg mixture — bakes into a cakelike consistency and the excess butter drains nicely out of the false-bottomed tart pan (and hopefully not onto the floor of your oven).


Setting up the tart I almost wished that I had made a fresh tart with pastry cream as the color was so vivid. The plums were very ripe, a rich vermilion, and the apricots were perfectly firm and smooth.


I glazed the tart with apricot jam; the upper edges of the apricots are perfectly caramelized and the frangipane firm but moist.

black raspberries

Pretty excited to have found black raspberries from Michigan at the farmer's market near my house (I don't think I ever saw these when I lived in Massachusetts). They are a bit too good to do anything but eat on their own.

leek-asparagus quiche

The key to a great quiche is cream, not milk. I cooked ½ lb. sliced leeks in water, salt, and butter until they were soft and the water had mostly cooked off. I added ½ lb. sliced asparagus stalks and cooked that for a minute or two. That was added to 3 eggs, 1½ c. cream, some nutmeg, pepper and shredded emmenthaler and poured into a partially-baked crust. I topped it with the asparagus tips and cooked it until it was set and just starting to brown. Chervil on top was a great touch.

pâté de campagne

Last time that I made pâté de campagne I didn't have a source of caul fat, that gorgeous membrane surrounding the internal organs. This time, living in Chicago, I did. Above is the terrine with a caul fat lining ready to be packed with the pâté mixture. As with last time, pork liver was hard to find and I substituted (veal liver this time, beef liver last time).

The caul fat held everything together beautifully and the pâté was firm, moist and delicious. (This is, once again, a mostly-faithful following of a recipe of Jennifer McLagan's). I served this with chervil, Colman's mustard and cornichons.

finally, asparagus

Finally found fresh, local(ish) asparagus -- not being in Western Massachusetts this spring has been tough. All it needed was sautéeing with an anchovy, garlic, capers and some white wine. Toss with pasta, top with parsley and parmesan.

tarte tatin aux poires

A tarte tatin made with pears and cardamom. Baked at 400º for 15 minutes or so, then lowered to 350º until done. That temperature to start seems to get the best crust - this crust is a basic all-butter pie crust, the butter just barely incorporated, allowing for a perfectly flaky crust.

lamb shanks

This was very simple but really quite great. The lamb shank is actually a Jamie Oliver method of stuffing lamb shanks with butter and herbs and then baking them in foil with leeks, carrots, white wine and olive oil. I liked the simplicity of the method and the flavor was really incredible. It took just under 2½ hours. I served them with potatoes and Julia Child haricots verts, where they are blanched, pan-dried, then tossed in butter and parsley. It really is the best way - they stay crisp and bright.

endive and cress

My new favorite salad: julienned endive, watercress, lemon juice, olive oil.