Melon Gazpacho August 19, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Melon Gazpacho 2015-08-19 14:32:19 Print Ingredients 2 cups fresh basil leaves 4 whole cloves 2 whole star anise 1 bay leaf 1/3 cup sugar ½ t. kosher salt 1 plum tomato, peeled, halved, seeds removed 3 cups 1” pieces chilled melon (about 1 pound) 2 cups 1” pieces chilled peeled cucumber ¼ cup fresh lime juice 1 red Thai chile or Serrano pepper, thinly sliced kosher salt & freshly ground pepper mint for garnish Instructions Bring basil leaves, cloves, star anise, bay leaf, sugar, salt and 1 ½ cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 10 minutes; strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve into a medium size bowl. Set aside and cool completely. Puree basil syrup, tomato, melon, cucumber, lime juice, and chile in a blender until very smooth. Taste and adjust, re-seasoning as necessary. Divide gazpacho among bowls. Garnish with mint if desired. By Kelly Sears Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Too-Easy-For-A-Recipe Tomato Ideas August 19, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Cherry Tomato and Roasted Garlic Bread Spread For a delicious spread, place a branch of cherry tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and snipped fresh herbs in an oven-safe serving dish. Roast in a 400° oven just long enough to slightly wilt the tomatoes. Spread on toasted bread. Baby BLT Spread toast points with mayonnaise and top with Roma tomato slices, arugula, and bacon. Heirloom Salad Arrange a variety of sliced heirloom tomatoes on a platter. Drizzle with olive oil; sprinkle with snipped chives, sea salt, and pepper. Boursin Bites Cut bite-size pear tomatoes in half; top with Boursin cheese and snipped basil. Tiny Tarts Fill mini phyllo shells with a spoonful of Brie and top with chopped, seasoned tomatoes. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes and serve immediately. Hot Kebabs Thread cherry tomatoes, pitted Kalamata olives, and cubed Halloumi cheese or feta on metal skewers. Grill over medium heat until warmed through. Creamy Tomato Sauce Puree 2 parts chopped tomatoes with 1 part plain yogurt plus lemon juice, salt, and dill to taste. Serve on grilled salmon. Tomato Toss Mix hot cooked pasta with chopped seasoned tomatoes tossed with olive oil, garlic, and chopped basil. Top with grated Parmesan. Cool Stuffed Tomato Fill hollowed-out tomatoes with colorful pasta or rice salad. Salsa Snack Combine chopped tomatoes, green onion, pineapple, red sweet pepper, jalapeño pepper, lime juice, and cilantro. Serve with quesadillas. Beefsteak Salad Arrange slices of tomato and grilled steak on a plate. Top with red onion slices, blue cheese, crumbled bacon, and balsamic vinaigrette. Pesto Bites Fill hollowed-out cherry tomatoes with pesto. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
Edible Paris by Amy Patterson August 14, 2015 by Jill Foucre 2 Comments Unlike the water line that was turned off at our rental apartment days before our arrival (rendering our kitchen virtually useless), my eyes unleashed a slow but steady stream of tears after leaving a bordering-on-perfect meal chez l’Ami Jean two days before we left Paris. Our month in the city of culinary delight was coming to a close. I spent my collegiate junior year studying and stage-ing in Paris. Rewind twenty years and the younger version of myself yearned to be French. I wanted to leave my seemingly ordinary life behind and effortlessly blend into the mysterious aura of a foreign city. Slip into a black leather jacket, tie a scarf nonchalantly around my neck, attempt to smoke a cigarette with finesse on the chairs spilling out from a café. As much as I tried, opening my mouth belied my cultural identity. Fortunately, an unwavering continuum of emotional ups and downs in the city steadied out on the highs and I did not want to leave. My love of France and most notably its cuisine had settled into my soul; the well still runs deep. This time, I wanted to share “my” Paris with my husband Gage and seven year old daughter Lily. My focus was not on being French; after several more years dans ma peau I am not apologetic about where I was born, just an unapologetic Francophile. Gage magically intertwined business with family vacation to make a month long sojourn a reality. rue des Tournelles We found an apartment in my old neighborhood, the Marais. After ma petite famille criss-crossed Paris on foot for a month, we all agreed that our location on the rue des Tournelles bordered on perfection. Despite our kitchen issues on the rue de “has everything you could ever wish for” our apartment was comfortable with the added bonus of doors opening out onto a terrace. Punching in our security code, we all felt distinctly Parisian disappearing from the street into our courtyard; for a month a little slice of the city was our own. The street is hemmed in by picnic-perfect Place des Vosges to the west and the boutique shopping artery rue des Francs Bourgeois to the north. To the east, a seat at a café, feather-light Lebanese falafels or the awe-inspiring market beckon on the roads that radiate from Place de la Bastille. Morning croissants aux amandes and a lunchtime baguette jambon beurre were secured just to the south at the boulangerie on rue Saint Antoine. Our street itself offered bistros that would become familiar and welcoming favorites. Serendipitously, my two friends in Paris each lived within a five minute radius à pied. Perusing la carte As in anywhere that I travel, cuisine is the ideal milieu to intimately explore a city. Autour de la table, we simultaneously taste a bite of the culture and contemplate our day. Months of delectable anticipation allowed us to plot out our culinary adventures. I scoured food blogs, referenced notes from past trips, jotted down advice from helpful Francophiles and refined it with the help of my equally-as-enamored-with-edibles friend Landi who has luckily been working in Paris for over two years. Our first meal was a sort of culinary baptism to the spirit of French food. We ordered saucissons secs and were presented with an enticing assortment on a huge communal wooden tray – only to be taken away when you had sliced to your heart’s content. Alongside was a generously sized glass jar filled with cornichons and pearl onions to be plucked out with wooden tongs. We tried and failed to envision this scene stateside, where everything seems overtly sanitized. We enjoyed with pleasure and washed it down with a regional wine. Macarons Gage tracked our steps with the pedometer on his phone. We passed sixty miles (or should I say one hundred kilometers!) after our first week. Not one second thought of a heavenly Jacques Génin pistachio caramel, a scoop of Bertillon ice cream, or a Pierre Hermé macaron passing our lips sailed through our minds. I imagine that would be very un-French anyway. Navigating culinary Paris is made easier armed with key French phrases, a smile, and the indispensable A-Z of French Food: Dictionnaire Gastronomique. In a land populated by regional specialties a menu can be daunting even to those familiar with the native tongue. After a lapse of many unpracticed years, my French is faltering but serviceable and my ear was filled with a flurrying mystique of unknown words but we managed each day with relative ease. The service was warm and generous; they would proudly elaborate chef’s specialties or provide insight on the menu. I can safely confirm that the stereotype that Parisians are rude is a myth. The only time service chilled was when we were alongside (again – a stereotype) an obnoxiously loud and rude American making not a single effort with a simple bonjour or merci. In the kitchen at l’Ami Jean A month all to quickly emptied the contents of its seemingly endless bucket and a lifetime of gastronomic experiences still await. We decided to embrace comforting French fare despite the mercury increasing as our departure loomed. We visited l’Ami Jean our first week and were still reminiscing a spot-on meal and warm attention from the chef and staff. We returned for lunch and were delighted once again with a table next to kitchen where Lily curiously watched the chef attend to each plate with passionate precision. We ordered a bottle of crisp white Burgundy and settled in for our treats. A dazzling entrée of sautéed chanterelles and an orzo tinted with squid ink topped with mi-cuit saumon arrived. The chef eyed Lily watching him prepare octopus; as we finished our first course a plate with a gently curled tender tentacle surrounded by smoky eggplant and blueberries arrived for our curious onlooker. We transitioned to a bottle of earthy red Bordeaux and our plats followed: succulent Veal Cheeks, 7-hour Beef Shoulder and Basque Chicken in its jus accompanied by sweet baby carrots and the creamiest potato mousseline. A generous help-yourself bowl of their signature rice pudding “grand-mere” made its appearance with little bowls of whipped salted caramel cream and candied pistachios. Sweet and salty; heaven and tears. My family Masquerading my eyes with big sunglasses, we walked the age-old streets of Paris back to our apartment. The currents of melancholy and nostalgia and were swelling up to the surface. Vintage memories intermingled with freshly minted time with my family swam through my head. It was going to be difficult to leave this magnificent city, rhapsodized and chronicled by thousands of souls, yet again. We have just returned chez nous in Glen Ellyn. The waterworks have abated, but I still stem the flow of a rebellious tear. To ease my adjustment home, I will challenge myself to recreate the sublime food in my freshly appreciated American kitchen: a perfect baguette (I have my eye on the beautiful Emile Henry baguette bakers); a cumin scented Moroccan tomato sauce, a pistachio panna cotta topped with raspberry coulis… The colorful stacks of Le Creuset enamelware that line the shelves at Marcel’s will surely encourage a smile and I am already anticipating a glorious stinky selection of fromage at Marché come fall. My hope is that the souvenirs of a remarkable month spent en famille will leave as much as an impression on Lily as Paris has had on me. Perhaps just not tinged with as many melancholy tears. Au revoir, Paris.
Poached Halibut with Sweet and Spicy Eggplant Relish August 7, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment Poached Halibut with Sweet and Spicy Eggplant Relish 2015-08-07 09:50:07 Print Poached Halibut in Herbed Vegetable Broth kosher salt & pepper 1 T. Marrakesh No. 6 spice blend* Four 1-inch-thick halibut steaks (6 to 7 oz. each) 4 to 6 cups vegetable broth Eggplant Relish 6 plum tomatoes 3 long Chinese or Japanese eggplants or 2 medium globe eggplants (about 2 lbs) 1 1/3 cups extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup honey 3 garlic cloves with skin, lightly crushed 3 rosemary springs 4 springs lemon thyme 6 sage leaves ¾ cup sherry vinegar salt and freshly ground pepper 2 T. Marrakesh No. 6 spice blend* For the Halibut Sprinkle the spice mixture, salt and pepper all over the halibut and rub lightly so it adheres. Let the fish sit at room temperature for about an hour. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 225°F (skip this step if stovetop poaching). Measure the thickness of the halibut steaks and add the same depth of broth to a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan. Heat over low heat until the broth reaches 120°F, 2 to 3 minutes. Put the halibut steaks in the broth in a single layer and immediately transfer the pan to the oven (alternately, poach stovetop, keeping broth just below a simmer). Poach until a few small whitish droplets rise to the surface of the steaks and the fish near the bone maintains a trace of transparency, 25 minutes. Transfer the halibut to a wire rack to drain for a few minutes. Remove the skin and bones before serving. For the Relish Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Cut a small X in the end of each tomato and drop them in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes form the boiling water, drain, then submerge in ice water until cooled. Peel, core, and seed the tomatoes then cut into a small dice. Peel the eggplants, halve them lengthwise and cut each crosswise into a large dice. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the eggplant and sauté over medium high heat until browned all over, about 5-7 minutes. Add the honey and cook over high heat, stirring 3-4 minutes. Stir in the crushed garlic and herbs. Deglaze the pan with the sherry vinegar, stirring up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper and the Marrakesh spice blend. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook the eggplant, stirring frequently until softened, another 5-7 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a dish and add the diced tomatoes to the skillet. Cook the tomatoes over medium low heat, stirring frequently for 10 minutes. Discard the garlic and herb stems and season to taste with salt and pepper. Place the eggplant on a platter, pour the tomatoes and any accumulated liquid on top and serve. Notes *La Boite Marrakesh No. 6 spice blend sold at Marcel's - or substitute garam masala By Kelly Sears Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/
Grandma’s Old Shoebox by Cherise Slattery August 7, 2015 by Jill Foucre Leave a Comment When I was a kid, I loved Thursdays. It was the night Grandma came for dinner. Mom would clean the house until it sparkled, and something special would be in the oven. My brother, sister and I would have to change out of our “play clothes” and back into our “school clothes” before Grandma got done with her weekly set at the hairdressers and arrived at our house for dinner. Grandma would always bring something fun for us. If she stopped by after school it would be with giant sprinkle cookies from the bakery uptown. If she spent the night we would wake up to grapefruit doused in sugar with a cherry in the center. On St Patrick’s Day we could expect her to show up with green bread to have with our dinner. Grandma always made food fun. So when it was time to get Grandma a birthday present, food naturally came to my mind. What do you get a Grandma, about to turn 80, who has everything? After considering the typical box of chocolates, the idea hit me! She had been mentioning how difficult it was getting for her to read her collection of hand written recipes. Most were written in pencil, on old index cards, and were kind of hard to see, even for the rest of us. My present for Grandma was going to make cooking easy and fun again, without the frustration of not being able to see if it’s a teaspoon of this or a quarter cup of that. I snuck into her cabinet and stole her old shoebox full of index cards…hoping the whole time that she wasn’t going to get an urge to make that old Pig Pickin’ Cake that she needed a recipe for! I set about to organize, and then type, Grandma’s vast assemblage of recipes. That’s where the fun began! These were not just recipe cards, these were a glimpse into her life. A bank statement from 40 years ago with the recipe for Pecan Tassies written on the back. A receipt from my own mother’s wedding reception! A recipe for Shrimp Di Jonghe with somebody’s five digit phone number scribbled in the margin. Who can even remember when phone numbers were only five digits? And why did Grandma have literally eight different recipes for Key Lime Pie? But my favorite of all was Grandma’s personality written in every instruction. See recipe below; you’ll understand! Thanks for cooking up so many happy memories Grandma! Grandma's Pecan Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting 2015-08-05 13:18:21 Print For Frosting 4 T. flour 1 cup whole milk 1 cup butter, room temperature 1 cup sugar For Cake ½ cup butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1 t. vanilla 2 cups flour ½ t. baking soda ½ t. baking powder ½ t. salt 1 cup sour cream 1 cup finely chopped pecans For Frosting Cook flour and milk in saucepan, over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Let paste cool. Blend together butter and sugar. Add paste and beat like hell. For Cake Cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in pecans. Spread into two greased and floured 9 inch round baking pans. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely. Frost with Grandma’s Whipped Cream Frosting. If desired, sprinkle cake with toasted pecans. By Rosella Regan Marcel's Culinary Experience https://www.marcelsculinaryexperience.com/