For me there’s no surer way to revisit the past than the sense of taste, so I decided to create this favorite of my youth, which I found in a box of ancient recipes from my beloved grandmother. My first bite took me back to a small town in Brittany and golden mornings by the sea. I doubt you’ll have a similar reaction, but my guests made short work of the dish in the photo above. Click below for the recipe.
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Had a few hours last weekend before a lunch date, so I started my Christmas cookie assembly line. Managed to bake about a hundred cookies, featuring oatmeal (with figs instead of raisons) and chocolate chip (heavy on the butter!) The only downside starting this early is that my husband has already been responsible for some shrinkage of the inventory.
Having been invited to a Hawaiian themed dinner, where each guest was responsible for bringing one of the courses, I decided to resurrect a tart I’d made many years ago in France—Tarte a la Bourdeloue, or Pineapple and Cherry Tart. Here’s the recipe:
This is one of my favorite summer appetizers, very easy to make. I buy fresh beets and cook in a pressure cooker for 20-25 minutes. When cold slice into quarter inch thick pieces and combine with a layer of the best goat cheese (not too hard consistency). As an added but totally optional extra, I topped the pyramid in this photo with a piece of tomato confit (peeled, deseeded and baked for 2.5 hours at 250 degrees). Add a light vinaigrette, a spring of parsley or dill and voila, a simple and deliciously refreshing summer starter.
I’ve rarely created a dessert that disappears as quickly as these easy to make Lemon Squares. Mix 4.5 ounces of unsalted butter and one third cup superfine sugar in an electric beater until fluffy. Add one cup of sifted flour. When well mixed press into a shallow 8 x 12 baking tin. Cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm. Now beat 4 eggs and 1 cup of sugar until light and fluffy, and stir in a quarter cup of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of lemon zest. Sift together a quarter cup of flour and a half-teaspoon of baking powder and gradually whist into the egg mixture. Pour onto the base. Bake for 20 minutes, cool, dust with powdered sugar and serve cold. Then eat one quickly before they’re all gone.
A trip to Paris must include a visit to Laduree, famous for their impossibly delicious macaron cookies. I’ve been trying to make these for a while, and I finally cracked the code with the help of I Love Macarons. Written by a Japanese pastry chef, this charming little book offers foolproof recipes for the creation of perfect macarons. Americans tend to think of macaroons as soft coconut cookies. French macarons couldn’t be more different. They are very delicate meringue cookies that are slightly crispy, slightly chewy, and very tender. Made of egg whites, sugar and almond paste, with a variety of fillings, they melt in your mouth, creating the most intoxicating taste sensation.
Friends who enjoy my recipes have requested one of the all-time greats: Quiche Lorraine. To create the dough put 1 and a half cups of flour in a bowl, open a space in the center for 10 tablespoons of butter and mix lightly with your fingers. When the mixture has a sandy consistency add a cup of water. Knead quickly until smooth, then let rest for 2 hours. In a pan melt 1 tablespoon of butter, add 7 ounces of diced Canadian bacon, cook lightly and put to the side. Using a whisk mix 4 egg yolks, 8 tablespoons of crème fraiche, a cup of milk, and a pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Roll the dough and put into an 11 inch mold with a detachable bottom that you have buttered and dusted with flour. Place the bacon on the bottom and then add the egg mixture. You can also add grated Swiss cheese (the real stuff from Switzerland), either to the egg mixture or the bottom of the pan. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Serve hot with mixed greens and tangy lemon/olive oil dressing.
Some friends invited themselves over this past weekend and I needed an easy, quick and delicious treat to serve for afternoon tea. Hazelnut cookies came to the rescue. In an electric mixer beat 2 sticks of unsalted butter, one cup of hazelnut flour, ¾ of cup of pastry flour, half-cup sugar, and a pinch of salt. Mix at low speed until smooth. Add one egg yolk and mix again. Now shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, grease a large baking sheet, and roll the dough to ¼ inch thickness. Cut out the cookies using a 2 inch cookie cutter, put on the baking sheet one inch apart, and bake for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. These rich and buttery cookies disappear like magic.
Profiteroles never fail as a holiday dessert, so here goes: Put one cup of water, a stick of butter, a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt into a pot. Bring to a boil and add ¾ of a cup of flour. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough coheres and doesn’t stick to the sides of the pot. Add four eggs one by one, stirring vigorously after each egg. The mix must be soft but hold together. Cover a cookie sheet with a layer of butter and flour and put the mix into a pastry bag. Squeeze about one inch of mix onto on to the pan for each pastry, called a choux. Cook at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. When cool remove the choux and keep on the side. Melt one cup of dark chocolate. When melted add 3 tsp. of butter or light cream to make the mixture more liquid. Cut the choux in half delicately and insert a small scoop of vanilla ice cream inside. Put on dessert plates and drizzle the melted chocolate on top with a spoon. Guaranteed to elicit “oohs and aahs!”
