Waffles... I occasionally make them on weekends when several people are usually around for breakfast. I will either make a traditional American Waffle or Cornmeal Waffles that have a grittiness to them that I like (recipe HERE). Yeast-raised Waffles have been on my "must make" list for some time, and finally today, I did! When I came across the New York Times article, Waffle and a Wink, the French Way by Dorie Greenspan (April 2002), I knew I had found the perfect yeast-raised waffle recipe.
It certainly didn't hurt that the recipe was French -- that's always a plus in my mind. But what I found irresistible were the ingredients of crème fraîche and kirsch. And even better, I had both in my kitchen (get the crème fraîche recipe HERE).
Dorie Greenspan's article on Parisian waffles mentions that the French do not eat them for breakfast, but for afternoon snacks purchased, many times, from vendors on the street. Also, you will not find the French drizzling maple syrup onto their waffles, opting instead for powdered sugar and jam, whipped cream or Nutella.
And this is how I ate my waffles today -- dusted with powdered sugar and placed briefly under the broiler. My husband took his waffles with whipped heavy cream and blueberries. With nothing more than the powdered, confectioners' sugar, I absolutely loved them! The addition of crème fraîche to the batter gives them a subtle tangy-sweetness. I'm hooked...
... and already thinking about inviting friends for a breakfast of Yeast-Raised Waffles; sans maple syrup, bien sûr!
My daughter just booked an eight-week trip to Paris, without me -- Je n'arrive pas à le croire! I'm sure she will be eating a French waffle occasionally, and I know I'll hear all about it.
adapted recipe from "Exquises Pâtisseries Pour les Fêtes" by Christophe Felder
ALLOW 90 MINUTES FOR RISING
• 1 cup milk, warmed
• 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup crème fraîche (or heavy cream)
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon Kirsch
• Powdered, confectioners' sugar
1. Combine milk and yeast; let rest for 3 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and sugar; add salt and vanilla, and whisk again.
2. Put flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour the milk mixture, followed by the egg mixture into the center well of the flour; add the crème fraîche. Whisk the liquid ingredients together, then start incorporating the flour into the mixture. When combined, add the melted butter and whisk until smooth. Stir in the kirsch. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set batter aside to rise for 90 minutes.
3. Preheat an electric waffle maker. I used a Belgian waffle maker with deep grids. Spread grids with batter and heat for approximately 2 1/2 minutes. I found that these waffles browned for me faster than other waffles I have previously made. Adjust time accordingly.
4. Once removed from the waffle maker, dust with powdered sugar and place waffles, in a single layer, under your oven's broiler. Broil until the sugar just starts to caramelize. Watch closely. Enjoy -- these are delicious.
Makes about 14 waffles • Bon Appetit !
TAKE a LOOK:
Enter a patisserie in Paris, and you will most likely see chouquettes -- little choux pastry puffs. Chouquettes have no pastry cream or whipped heavy cream filling like a larger choux pastry Cream Puff will have; just a little sprinkling of very large, coarse sugar. And, chouquettes are addictive! They are not sold individually, but by the bagful, making it easy to pop one of these little gems into your mouth while wandering the city.
And why don't I make them at home more often? It took me less than an hour from start to finish. Easy-peasy -- and the most basic of ingredients.
Valentine's Day idea: Make the chouquettes, minus the coarse sugar sprinkles on top; after cooling, slice in half and sandwich a small scoop of ice cream between. Place several on a plate or in a bowl and drizzle with chocolate sauce; Voilà, you've got Profiteroles! They never fail to impress.
• 50 g of unsalted butter
• 125 ml water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• pinch of salt
• 75 g flour
• 2 large eggs
• chouquette sugar or pearl sugar
1. Combine the butter, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat and pour all of the flour in at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together and forms a ball.
2. Place the dough into the bowl of an electric mixer and let cool for 2 minutes. Turn on the mixer and add the eggs, one by one, until totally incorporated. You will have a nice, shiny dough.
3. You can either drop small mounds of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet, or use a *pastry bag with a 1/2-inch tip. You should have enough dough for approximately 25 chouquettes. Make sure to leave space between the dough mounds so they have room to expand and puff up. Take the coarse sugar and press grains gently onto the top of each chouquette.
4. Bake on the middle rack of a preheated 425˚F oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375˚ and continue to bake for another 10 minutes. You want the chouquettes to be golden brown and dry. Take out of the oven and pierce each chouquette with a toothpick or wooden skewer to let the steam escape.
* A finger dipped in cold water can smooth the top of the choux mounds before baking.
TAKE a LOOK:
I am going to tell you something that you may not know -- I am happiest when I'm in my kitchen baking. You're not surprised to hear that, you say -- I do, after all, have a blog called Passions to Pastry. But I loved baking, or at least the concept of a bakery, at a very young age; before I even knew how to bake. I remember when I was about seven years old, searching our property and my aunt's next door, for the perfect "retail outlet". This would be a huge, hollow tree with a large hole in the trunk. I would stock my pies, tarts, cakes, and cookies inside the tree and sell to hungry customers through the walk-up window (i.e. hole). I can still remember my total and utter disappointment at not being able to find anything that met my specifications. To this day, if I ran across the perfect tree, I would probably entertain serious thoughts of setting up shop.
I've never told my husband about this either, but I don't think he'd be the least bit surprised. He's always asking me (with great trepidation) what's going on inside my little head. (Oh... he knows me well, and also knows from experience that he will be roped into becoming an accomplice to any plans I have brewing.)
Today I was able to spend an entire, happy day in my kitchen baking. These are buttery, brioche-like rolls infused with vanilla (take note of the tiny black specks of vanilla seeds in the yeast dough above). Spread with the easily-made fresh strawberry jam, they are quite a treat.
Before baking, the yeast rolls are brushed with milk and sprinkled with sugar. I used strawberry sugar, purchased at G. Detou on my last trip to Paris, but coarse or pearl sugar would be suitable substitutes.
Vanilla Cloverleaf Sweet Rolls with Strawberry Jam
adapted from bon appétit | April 2012
THE DOUGH:
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, * plus additional if needed
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature, plus 1/2 tablespoon melted
ASSEMBLY:
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons coarse or pearl sugar
• Strawberry jam (recipe follows)
1. Heat milk in a saucepan on top of the stove, or in the microwave in a 2-cup, heat-proof container until warm (110˚ - 115˚). Add 1 tablespoon sugar and the yeast. Whisk to blend. Let set for about 5 minutes, until foamy. Add the eggs and whisk to combine.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the flour. Pour in the milk mixture and stir briefly to combine. Add the 1/2 cup softened butter, one piece at a time, mixing well after each addition. When all of the butter has been incorporated, mix on medium-speed for 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix/knead the dough for about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and shiny. * My dough was extremely sticky, probably due to my large eggs being VERY large. I used an additional 3 tablespoons flour, adding 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough was not as wet, but still soft, and was no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.
3. Brush a large bowl with a portion of the 1/2 tablespoon melted butter and place the dough in the bowl. Brush the top of the dough with the remaining butter and cover with plastic wrap.
4. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until double in size. (If you would like to make the dough one day ahead, prepare through step 3 then refrigerate. When your are ready to proceed, remove from the refrigerator and let rise in a warm, draft-free location for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until double in size.)
5. Using the additional 1 tablespoon melted butter, brush the cups of a 12-cup muffin pan. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly-floured work surface, roll half of the dough into a 12-inch log (cover remaining dough with plastic wrap). Divide the rolled log into 6 equal pieces. Take one piece and divide into 3 equal portions. Roll each portion into a small ball by cupping your hand over the piece of dough and rolling it against the work surface. When you have 3 small balls, place them together in a muffin cup. Repeat with the remaining 5 pieces and then the remaining log.
6. Cover the muffin pan loosely with a large piece of plastic wrap (I brush some butter onto the plastic to prevent sticking) and place the pan in a warm, draft-free location. Allow the dough to rest for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough rises slightly more than 1/2-inch above the rim of the muffin pan.
7. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Brush the tops of the rolls with the milk and sprinkle with the sugar. Place the muffin tin on the center rack of the oven and bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed and golden brown. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve with the Strawberry Jam (recipe below).
The rolls may be baked, cooled completely, and stored in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to one month; thaw at room temperature and reheat in a preheated 350˚F oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
STRAWBERRY JAM
• 1 pound fresh or frozen strawberries, hulled and quartered
• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, halved, cored, and coarsely grated
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1. Combine strawberries, grated apple, and sugar in a 2-quart sauté pan. Cook over medium-low heat, crushing the strawberries with the back of a spoon, until sugar is melted. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens; about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice, and let cool. Strawberry Jam can be kept jarred and chilled in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
TAKE a LOOK:
• The winner of Minette's Feast was Kate. Thank you to everyone who left a comment for the book giveaway!
I just made Julia Child's Charlotte Chantilly aux Fraises, a recipe from Julia's classic, best-selling book, Mastering The Art of French Cooking. What better way to celebrate a book giveaway of Minette's Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat, than to make a French dessert? Minette's Feast by author Susanna Reich is the first-ever children's book written about Julia. I am so excited about this book, and so very excited about giving a copy to one Passions to Pastry reader! All you need to do is write a few words in the comment section of this post by the end of the day August 1st -- Tell me your favorite Julia Child recipe. Tell me about your cat! How about a favorite meal, here or in France? Or, just say "hello". A winner will be chosen through a drawing and is limited to U.S. residents only.
read the PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE BOOK below...
100th Anniversary of Julia Child's Birth
Celebrated with Delicious New Picture Book about the Beloved Chef and her Cat
"Julia Child, the celebrated chef, author and television personality, would have turned 100 in 2012, and eight years after her death, she’s more popular than ever. Her demonstration of how to make an omelette has been viewed more than 1.5 million times on YouTube, she’s been portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie Julie and Julia, and her 1961 cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, is still a bestseller. Now, kids can get to know the iconic chef in an irresistible new picture book, Minette’s Feast: The Delicious Story of Julia Child and Her Cat (Abrams Books for Young Readers), written by award-winning author Susanna Reich and illustrated by New York Times best-selling illustrator Amy Bates. It’s the first-ever children’s book about the beloved chef.
Minette’s Feast takes place in Paris, France, where Julia and her husband Paul lived in the late 1940’s and adopted Minette, the first of their many cats. In a picturesque old apartment one block from the River Seine, Julia cooks while Minette catches mice. Even after Julia enrolls in the Cordon Bleu and becomes a kitchen virtuoso, her cat prefers mouse! Will Julia ever be able to whip up a meal that will entice Minette?
Publishers Weekly gave the book a boxed review, calling it "cozy," "lyrical," "playful," and "charming," while Horn Book writes that "Reich has a storyteller’s instinct for entrancing incident and a poet’s gift for sound and sensory detail." The book has also received starred reviews in Booklist, School Library Journal (a "feast for the senses"), Shelf Awareness ("delectable"), and Kirkus, which raves, “A fine recipe for pleasure. Magnifique!"
This delectable and hilarious story will delight not only kids, but foodies, Francophiles, Child fans and cat-lovers, too. The playful, poetic text is peppered with quotes from Child’s letters and memoirs, and illustrated with watercolors that perfectly capture both Minette’s antics and the warmth and charm of Julia Child and the City of Light. With author’s note, bibliography and glossary."
And now, the recipe...
 I made Charlotte Chantilly aux Fraises with my prized French Biscuits Rose de Reims, carried home from Paris in my luggage. I lined my French Charlotte Mold with the biscuits, filled the mold with whipped eggs, heavy cream, and strawberry purée, and held my breath as I unmolded the chilled dessert the following day. It was a drop-dead beautiful Charlotte, and I probably stood a little too long gazing at my achievement when I noticed the biscuits ever-so-slowly shifting. I ran for a ribbon, but when I returned to the kitchen my Charlotte had (gasp!) collapsed into a pile of soggy biscuits. (I think this is why I see so many Charlottes tied with a bow.) Sigh... The cream and strawberry filling was too good to not make another attempt, so I took the few remaining biscuits from their bag and lined an individual soufflé dish, scooped filling into the center, and chilled -- really chilled (in the freezer) -- the rescued Charlotte. It was also beautiful when unmolded, although on a much smaller scale. When I make another large Charlotte in the future, I will have a ribbon near-by to wrap around the biscuits (or possibly use gelatin in the filling, as is done in many of the French Charlotte recipes I have read). Bon Appétit!
click "read more" below for the recipe
Back in the 70's when I lived in Missouri while attending the Kansas City Art Institute, followed by two years in New Jersey where my husband took a job just outside of NYC, and finally the past 26 years in St. Paul, Minnesota, I have been visited almost every year by Renate -- a childhood friend from my hometown of Amana, Iowa. I look forward to these reunions. Not only do I get to see Renate and hear about what she's been doing lately, but also because I take a break from the every day -- which means I get out of my kitchen. During a visit in April, Renate and I spent a morning at an antiques flea market and an afternoon at a craft fair. We also spent a lot of our time dining out at different restaurants in different parts of the Twin Cities. In fact, we stopped at a local "French Bistro" three times -- one time eating dinner at the bar, another time lunch in the dining room, and the third for appetizers and drinks on the patio. On one visit we both had a bowl of French Onion Soup, which led me to ask... Why don't I make this more often? When Renate returned home and I was again spending the days in my kitchen, the first thing I made was a big pot of French Onion Soup. And for the recipe, I turned to Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, of course.
Another Paris Moment, I'd have to say...
Recipe from Julia Child | Mastering The Art of French Cooking
"The onions for an onion soup need a long slow cooking in butter and oil, then a long, slow simmering in stock for them to develop the deep, rich flavor which characterizes a perfect brew. You should therefore count on 2 1/2 hours at least from start to finish." J.C.
FOR 6 to 8 SERVINGS
• 1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced yellow onions
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon oil
• A heavy-bottomed, 4-quart covered saucepan
Cook the onions slowly with the butter and oil in the covered saucepan for 15 minutes.
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar (it helps the onions to brown)
Uncover, raise heat to moderate, and stir in the salt and sugar. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes stirring frequently, until onions have turned an even, deep, golden brown.
• 3 tablespoons flour
Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 3 minutes.
• 2 quarts boiling brown stock, canned beef bouillon, or 1 quart of boiling water and 1 quart of stock of bouillon.
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or dry white vermouth
• Salt and pepper to taste
Off the heat, blend in the boiling liquid. Add the wine, and season to taste. Simmer partially covered for 30 to 40 minutes or more, skimming occasionally. Correct the seasoning.
Set aside onion soup, uncovered, until ready to serve. Then reheat to the simmer.
• 3 tablespoons cognac
• Rounds of hard-toasted French bread, spread on one side with grated cheese and sprinkled with drops of olive oil. Browned under a hot broiler before serving.
• 1 to 2 cups grated Swiss or Parmesan cheese
Just before serving, stir in the cognac. Pour into soup cups over the round of bread, and pass the grated cheese.
TAKE a LOOK:
I have stacks of baking books throughout my house. There's not enough room in my kitchen for all of them, so they spill into the living room, the sunroom, and even my bedroom. The majority of the books are French themed, ranging from exquisitely-crafted pastries to rustic French Provencal desserts. Baking French sweets gives me a much-needed connection to France; a place I'm just not able to visit as often as I'd like. So... here's Another Paris Moment. The dessert I made for our second "Dinner-by-the-Fire" was Les Financiers aux myertilles.
Financiers are small French cakes, usually made from ground almonds. Traditional financiers are made in small rectangular molds, meant to resemble a bar of gold. This recipe by Nick Malgieri uses round tart pans instead. Flavored with the grated zest of one entire lemon and studded with blueberries, this is a great little dessert with fresh, bright flavors -- perfect for spring.
:: Financiers aux Myrtilles
Recipe by Nick Malgieri
SERVES 9
• 3/4 cup ground almonds
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon (organic)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tablespoon rum
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pint blueberries, or raspberries
• Sliced almonds for finishing
• Nine 3 3/4-inch or 4-inch tart pans, coated with a non-stick spray
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the ground almonds, flour, sugar, and lemon zest. Mix until combined.
3. Add the butter and continue beating for 2 minutes.
4. Stir rum and vanilla into egg whites, then add to flour mixture in two additions. Beat for 2 minutes after each addition, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
5. Fill each tart pan with 2 ounces of batter, then sprinkled with blueberries and sliced almonds.
6. Bake for 35 minutes. Unmold and serve with whipped cream.
* I believe the financiers are best eaten the day they are made.
TAKE a LOOK:
Photographs of Paris taken on my trip last September
Oh... I miss you, Paris!
TAKE a LOOK:
I've always loved the combination of bread and chocolate -- and I know I'm not alone. For breakfast as a child, I dipped my mother's Iced New Year's Pretzel Bread into cups of steaming hot chocolate. Later, when I moved from the Amana Colonies to Kansas City, Missouri to attend school, I frequented a French bakery on the Country Club Plaza to purchase their chocolate croissants.
Patricia Wells introduced me to the afternoon ritual of French school children stopping by the patisserie for a Pain au Chocolate in Time for Snacks, a September 1988, New York Times Magazine article. I have been using the recipe it provided ever since. The combination of bread and chocolate is common everywhere -- how it is done, is where it differs.
Ferran Adrià's Bread with Chocolate and Olive Oil is a Spanish take on the snack -- grated chocolate on top of toasted bread.
When I made my Egg Bread the other day, I knew that one of its uses would be Adrià's Bread with Chocolate, Olive Oil, and Salt. The addition of olive oil (this is where you want to use the really good stuff) and sea salt (again, pull out the Fleur de Sel if you've got it) took it over the top. I am so crazy about this! What a great Valentine's Day breakfast this would be! • really good coffee
• freshly squeezed orange juice
• bread with chocolate, olive oil, and fleur de sel
Bread with Chocolate • Olive Oil • Fleur de Sel
adapted from a recipe by Ferran Adrià
• good artisan-quality white bread, sliced (or my Egg Bread)• bittersweet chocolate, coarsely grated• good quality extra-virgin olive oil• fleur de sel or sea salt• Either toast the bread slices on both sides in a preheated 325˚F oven, or do as I did -- use your toaster. Once the bread is toasty-brown, sprinkle generously with the grated bittersweet chocolate. Drizzle the chocolate covered bread with the extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the fleur de sel. Easy, isn't it? ENJOY!
TAKE a LOOK:
Paris, and all that I experienced in that amazing city, is still heavy on my mind. It is able to inspire me like nothing else... and, with Paris as my focus, I just hosted a dinner for six which included our friends next door. I was joined on this last trip to Paris by my neighbor Debbie, and this dinner resulted in a French collaboration between the two of us.
Never one to return from Paris empty-handed, I did some shopping while in France; how could I not? I brought back the Francoise Paviot paper napkins in the photo below, knowing they would be perfect for a dinner such as this. I also had an apron on my shopping list, but when I saw a "Blouse Laborant" (a stylish lab coat hanging next to the doctors' scrubs, of course) at MONOPRIX, a French store that I refer to as France's TARGET, I thought -- This is it! (Sorry, no photos of me in the lab coat...). But the best things I always bring back from a trip to Paris and France are the experiences I had, and the photos (this time numbering 1000). The best memories from this trip -- the food!
I hope you enjoy the party...
• Piscine Bocca
• French Cheese Platter
• Roquefort Soufflé
• Risotto with Sea Bass and Orange Oil
• Hazelnut and Mandarin Salad
• Cream of Cauliflower Soup with Parsley Oil, Almonds, and Carrot-Ginger Sorbet
• Almond Cream Apple Tart
Of the six courses that were served at my dinner, only two of them were not directly influenced by meals I had eaten in Paris -- the Hazelnut and Mandarin Salad and the Almond Cream Apple Tart. With music by Jazz de Paris playing in the background (CD purchased while they were performing at the Sunday morning Rue Moufftard street market), we began the evening with a French Cheese Platter, consisting of a Comté and a triple crème that Debbie purchased at Fromagerie Barthélémy, 51 rue de Grenelle on the Left Bank. We served the cheese with Piscine Bocca, a Prosecco and strawberry drink we had (several times) at La Bocca Della Verita on rue du Sabot. (I made ours with Monin Strawberry Sirop added to the Prosecco, altho' the drinks in Paris were likely made with sweetened, puréed strawberries).  Debbie took a cooking class with Olivier Berte in his home kitchen (which Debbie would highly recommend to anyone wanting to take a cooking class while in Paris), and for our dinner's second course, made the Roquefort Soufflé that they made together there. It was perfect -- a light, moist and creamy interior with a nicely browned top. < Debbie with her beautiful Roquefort Soufflé. (photo taken on my husband's phone)
Following the soufflé, I prepared a risotto similar to the one I had eaten at l'Epi Dupin. I did not photograph the risotto with orange oil and red snapper my last night in Paris (didn't have my camera), nor did I photograph the risotto with orange oil and sea bass that I made for my French dinner (imperfect conditions: too dark and too busy). The sea bass was fresher and considered the best buy of the day at Coastal Seafood, so it became a substitute for the snapper. The risotto at l'Epi Dupin was the creamiest I have ever eaten, and I actually used heavy cream in the preparation of mine. The risotto was followed by a green salad with hazelnuts and mandarins from the Zuni Café Cookbook; refreshing after the rich risotto dish.
The Pièce de Résistance for me was the Chilled Cauliflower Soup with Parsley Oil, Almonds, and Carrot-Ginger Sorbet. I had this as my first course at l'Epi Dupin. Perfect, first of all, for the warm September, 80+ degree day -- it was a chilled soup! But it was the combination of tastes and textures that made this so appealing and so GOOD! You can't even imagine... There are several steps involved in creating all the parts to this soup, but you can start several days ahead, as I did, so when you finally are ready to serve it, it goes together in a flash. I made the soup (without the addition of the cream and the egg yolks) a week prior to the dinner and froze it. Three days before my dinner, I transferred it from freezer to refrigerator. The morning of the dinner I heated the soup, added the cream and egg yolks as the recipe called for, then chilled the soup until it was served that night. The parsley oil was made 3 weeks in advance and kept in a jar and refrigerated (Just be sure to pull it from the refrigerator at least an hour ahead of when you'll need it so the oil can come to room temperature). The Carrot-Ginger Sorbet was made 4 days before the dinner and stored in a container in my freezer. Toast some slivered almonds in a pan on top of your stove the day before you plan to serve the soup. Keep them in a small, air-tight container.
PARSLEY OIL | adapted from a recipe by Patrick Ponsaty
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the parsley and lightly fry for about a minute, infusing the oil with the parsley. Let rest until cooled somewhat and purée in a blender. Strain the parsley oil into a glass jar. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks. Bring back to room temperature before using.
CREAM of CAULIFLOWER SOUP | adapted from The Fundamental of Classic Cuisine by
The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate
• 2 heads cauliflower
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 leeks, white part only, finely sliced and well-washed (about 5 ounces)
• 3 ounces unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 2 quarts plus 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Wash, core, and chop the cauliflower. Set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a stockpot over medium heat. When hot, add the leek and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for several minutes, or until the leek has sweated its liquid but has not taken on color.
3. While stirring, sift the flour into the leek-butter mixture, and fully incorporate. Remove from the heat and set aside about 10 minutes, or until cooled slightly.
4. Place the stock in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, skimming off any foam or particles with a metal spoon. Remove from the heat and, whisking constantly, add the hot liquid to the leek mixture.
5. When well blended, return the stockpot to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Immediately add the reserved cauliflower and return to a bare simmer. Simmer, stirring occasionally with a wooden spatula to ensure that the bottom does not stick or burn, for about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. If at any point the cauliflower sticks or scalds, remove the cauliflower from the heat, transfer the soup to a clean pot without scraping the burned portion into the new pot, and return it to the stove. Do not allow the soup to continue cooking once it sticks or burns.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and either pass the soup through a food mill or purée it in a blender. Once processed, pass through a chinois into a clean saucepan. (I do not own a chinois, but used a very fine strainer instead and slowly pressed through all of the puréed soup into a bowl. It is a slow process, but the results are a silky-smooth liquid). This is the point I poured the soup into a container and froze it for several days. Once defrosted, I proceeded with the last steps.
7. Place a saucepan with the cauliflower soup over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the heavy cream and bring to a simmer.
8. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons cream and the 2 egg yolks. Whisk in some of the hot soup to temper the mixture before whisking it into the simmering soup. Taste, and if necessary, season with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
CARROT-GINGER SORBET | recipe from Peggy Lampman • AnnArbor.com
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped orange zest, plus fresh squeezed orange juice to equal 1/2 cup
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 cups carrot juice (available at Whole Foods)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1. Mash orange zest with 1 teaspoon of the sugar to release the orange oils.
2. Combine orange and carrot juices. Stir in ginger, orange zest and remaining sugar and let stand until sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes. Stir well and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 2 to 4 hours.
3. Pour into an ice cream maker and prepare according to manufacturer's directions.
4. Store in a container in the freezer.
TO ASSEMBLE
• Ladle the chilled Cauliflower Soup into bowls. Drizzle with Parsley Oil, sprinkle with some Toasted Almonds, then add a scoop of the Carrot-Ginger Sorbet. Now, watch everyone's eyes light up when they taste this incredible soup!
DESSERT -- Almond Cream Apple Tart
• la fin •
TAKE a LOOK:
I love my dog. The French love their dogs. I have never had one person in France tell me "no" when I ask if I can photograph their dog. Isn't this a sweet little guy, hanging out on rue St. Paul in the Marais?
If French dogs are not shopping with their owner...
waiting for their owner...
questioning their owner...
strolling through the market with their owner...
or manning the shop with their owner...
well, then... they are probably relaxing at a café with their owner.
Ahh.... the feel of the wind blowing through your fur while driving down rue St. Dominique on La Rive Gauche.
I have the feeling this dog leads a very nice life in Paris.
I think many dogs lead very nice lives in Paris.
I'd like to request being a Parisian dog in my next life.
He seems happy.
I am certain the French would not subject their dogs to this kind of humiliation.
My Pipi won't even smile for the camera. Is it really that painful?
Oh Pips... you just have to wear the triceratops costume for a few hours on Halloween! That's it! I'll put it away after that. You never have to strap this to your head again! Promise.
TAKE a LOOK:
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