Kitchen Conundrum

French Fridays: Salted Butter Caramel-Chocolate Mousse-David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

by

Salted Caramel Chocolate Mousse-3178Last week I was in London for a quick trip with the family.  We did as many of the touristy things as we could during the short, four days that we were there.  We needed more time for certain, but we enjoyed the time we had and it was a good “taste” of the city for the kids.  Of course, we also ate well during our stay; a fabulous lunch at Yotam Ottolenghi’s Soho restaurant, NOPI, and a delightful, vibrant brunch at Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich’s Honey & Co. were just two of the highlights. I tend to plan our sightseeing days around where we will be eating!

While my husband and son went to a museum, the girls and I had a grown up, afternoon tea party at Fortnum and Mason’s Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon. We had the full experience with scones, finger sandwiches, pastries and individual pots of tea.  It was such a sweet time to spend with just them. I hope it’s a fond memory they will have for a long time.

Now we are home, unpacked and the last of the laundry is finally done. The pictures have been uploaded and a photobook of our family trip is on the way.

Now all I need is a nap!  And some Salted Butter Caramel-Chocolate Mousse!

This week’s recipe from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen is wonderfully simple to make and can be eaten as is or dressed up with whipped cream and berries. Your choice. It’s heavenly either way!

In his headnote, David says there isn’t much to say about this, and he is right. It’s salty, buttery, caramel(y) and oh, so chocolatey!  It hits all the right notes for a perfect dessert.  It’s best served in small pots because a few bites is all you need to satisfy even your biggest sweet tooth!

If you try this at home, be aware, it includes raw eggs, so if you or your guests are sensitive to that, keep it in mind.

This week’s recipe can be found on page 258. For details on recreating this and other recipes, check out the CookTheBookFridays site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

MyParisKitchenDavidLebovitz-269x337

 

 

 

 

Follow the group on Twitter @ctbfridays

#cookthebookfridays #mypariskitchen

Visit the Facebook Page: Cook The Book Fridays

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links to my Amazon Associate’s account. This means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using these links.

 

French Fridays: Dukkah-Roasted Cauliflower-Cook The Book Fridays-David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

by

MyParisKitchenDavidLebovitz
When I saw that the French Fridays with Dorie group had just started cooking from David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen, I knew I had to join right in, I just couldn’t resist!  It’s one of my favorite cookbooks and not just because I adore David, or because it’s features my home away from home, Paris, but it’s truly one of the best cookbooks I own.  And I own many!

The book holds a prominent spot in my kitchen bookshelf, set apart from my other cookbooks that live in the den library. It sits alongside some of my most beloved and used books, The Perfect Scoop , the Silver Palate Cookbook and Aglaia Kremezi’s Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts to name a few.

I actually just bought a second copy to use for this cook the book challenge because I want to keep my signed copy in good condition (I’m a dork that way!).  I know that since I will be using it even more often now, its pages will be become receptacles of splashes and stains, drips and drops, and they will be torn and tattered in no time- the sign of a well-loved cookbook.  I’ve been quite good about keeping it nice until now but I don’t want to take any chances!

Luckily, the group is only recreating just two recipes a month, a much more manageable regimen for me than a weekly recipe.  Life is hectic.  Finding time to shoot and edit photos or to write anything (outside of my professional life) has been a real challenge this past year. (As you can see by the lack of postings here on KC.)  But I should be able to handle two posts a month!

This week’s recipe is Dukkah-Roasted Cauliflower (p 224). Since the group just started last month, I went back and made the last two recipes as well-Steak with Mustard Butter and Fries (p 206), and Winter Salad (p 98). What a terrific dinner we had!

Dinner began with a winter salad, a beautiful white salad made of Belgian endive batons and coated with a pungent, creamy Roquefort cheese dressing.   Endive is a member of the chicory family, which I really like sautéed.  It also includes radicchio, escarole, and my nemesis leafy green, frisee.  I absolutely hate frisee.  I pluck it out of every salad and leave it jumbled like a pile of barbed wire on my plate.

I am not particularly fond of raw bitter greens.  Cooking them mellows their sharpness and, in my opinion, makes them edible.  Raw, I prefer peppery arugula and lite delicate lettuces such as butter greens or baby spinach.  This was actually palatable due to the copious amounts of the Roquefort dressing I made to coat it.  I was actually a little disappointed that I only bought one. The dressing is now being used as a dip for carrots and other cut up vegetables. Yum!

Winter Salad

Winter Salad (Recipe in My Paris Kitchen)

Steak frites is such a simple and quintessential Parisian bistro dish.  Adding to the meat a hint of smokiness with a chipotle chili powder and topping it with a compound butter made with a sharp Dijon mustard transforms it into a highly flavorful, mouthwatering experience. This was served with a heaping side of freshly made, crispy French fries. The best thing is to save a few to mop up the leftover meat juices and tangy, buttery sauce.

Steak with Mustard Butter and French Fries

Steak with Mustard Butter and French Fries (Recipe in My Paris Kitchen)

Lastly, we also had Dukkah-Roasted Cauliflower.   Dukkah is a warm, aromatic Egyptian spice blend made up of nuts (mostly hazelnuts but can be made with almonds, pistachios, other nuts, or a combination thereof), sesame seeds, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds.  The blend can be purchased in some gourmet and ethnic markets, but it’s incredibly simple to make at home. Quickly toasting the nuts and spices draws out their fragrance and gives them an earthy flavor that is often not like the character of the raw spice.

Using a mortar and pestle, or a quick whirl of a food processor, the mixture can be ground into a fine powder or left with coarser chunks of nuts and seeds. It’s a versatile blend with many uses- mix it with olive oil for dipping flat breads into or sprinkle it on hummus,  tahini or yogurt. You can also dust it on vegetables for roasting; it is delicious on squash, zucchini and especially cauliflower.

Dukkah Roasted Cauliflower

Dukkah Roasted Cauliflower (Recipe in My Paris Kitchen)

 

For details on recreating these recipes, check out the CookTheBookFridays site and see others who are also cooking the book-

You can also buy the book here:

MyParisKitchenDavidLebovitz-269x337

 

 

 

Follow the group on Twitter @ctbfridays

#cookthebookfridays #mypariskitchen

Visit the Facebook Page: Cook The Book Fridays

 

Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links to my Amazon Associate’s account. This means I receive compensation if you make a purchase using these links.

Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours Cookbook Review

by

Lamb Tagine

Welcome to January! Hope you have all had a nice long break and are ready to start the new year. I spent most of my break going room to room in my house emptying closets and drawers, making bags for donation and bags for garbage. I purged quite a bit and still feel I could make one or two more rounds and will probably spend a few more weekends doing so. It’s amazing how much you accumulate!

In purging, I also culled my cookbook collection down to a mere 206 books. But of course, this leaves several emptyish shelves which I am sure will be filled again as so many terrific books came out last year that I am still in the process of acquiring. (But, I am trying to purge a few more in the process as well. Must keep a balance you know!)

One book that arrived recently is Ruth Barnes’ Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours.  The title is was what drew me in. I love Moroccan food and hoped that this book would guide me in making traditional fare at home.  Like so many home cooks, the author, Ruth Barnes,  is a busy spouse, parent, and professional who cannot spend all day in the kitchen preparing complicated meals. Her goal was to make the cuisine accessible to the home cook. In the book she shares tips and techniques for preparing Moroccan classics like bastilla, lamb with apricots and prunes (my re-creation above), and chicken with preserved lemons, as well as more familiar dishes like baba-ganoush, baklava, and kebabs.

The recipes have been quite simplified and she identifies several common ingredient substitutes and breaks down the complex spice combinations so often found in Moroccan cuisine into manageable formulas. What is left are such easy recipes that anyone can make these dishes in their own home.

I made the Lamb Tagine with Apricots and Prunes. It’s a fairly quick “stew” that doesn’t require a lot of preparation but figure about 2 hours and 15 minutes total cooking time-so it’s better for a weekend dinner than a midweek meal.  I hardly expected the kids to like the flavors but was pleasantly surprised when they all did- even my pickiest eater. While not so pretty to photograph, the dish tasted very good and I would make it again. I served it with a side of Israeli Couscous that was cooked in beef broth with sauteed onion.

Lamb Tagine with Apricots and Prunes
 
Print
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Cuisine: Moroccan
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 3 tbs. olive oil
  • 3 lbs boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp freshly grated ginger
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • ½ bunch cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1½ cups low sodium beef broth
  • 3 tbs honey
  • 1 cup dried apricots
  • 1 cup dried, pitted prunes
  • 1 tbs sesame seeds, for garnish
  • ½ cup walnut halves, for garnish
Method
  1. In a cooking tagine or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and brown the lamb on all sides. Remove the lamb to a platter.
  2. Saute the onion for about 5 minutes until they begin to soften. Return the meat to the pan and add the cinnamon, ginger, turmeric cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the beef broth. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in the honey, apricots, and prunes and cook for a further 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the lamb ad fruit from the tagine and place on a serving tagine or platter. Spoon the sauce over the meat and fruit.
  6. Garnish with the walnut halves and sesame seeds.

I would consider this book to be a good entry level experience to the flavors of Morocco and one that would fit any home cook just learning about Moroccan foods.  You can buy it here on Amazon:

Ruth Barnes Sharing Morocco

 

Disclosure: Thank you so much to the Lisa Ekus Group for sending me this copy of  Sharing Morocco: Exotic Flavors from My Kitchen to Yours by Ruth Barnes. Recipe reprinted with permission.