Cook the Book Fridays Archives

French Fridays: Ham, Blue Cheese and Pear Quiche and Fattoush-David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

June 3, 2016 by Renee

The past weekend I played catch up with some cooking and recipe testing that I’ve wanted to do for the past few weeks. Somehow, I missed a week of posting for Cook The Book Fridays, but it was for a good reason. Last weekend we joined Jackie Gordon, aka The Diva That Ate New York, on a Wing Crawl of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. It was a beautiful day and we walked and ate wings (and chicken) at several different locations.

Starting at Blue Smoke, the group devoured some Smoked Alabama White Wings. These chicken wings, slathered in a white BBQ sauce, were juicy, tangy and all sorts of good! It was going to be hard to top these, but on our third or fourth stop, we had, what I thought were the best wings of all, the Hickory Smoked, Jerk Rubbed Wings with Lime from Duck’s Eatery. I ate mine and I ate Ari’s, and could have eaten several more. The spicy jerk rub with a squeeze of lime made them seriously, finger licking yum! Check out my Instagram to see photos of all the delicious wings we tried.

We only made it to six or seven of the fourteen stops that were planned along the way, but I now have a list of new places to try and I am determined to go and eat more wings and other things!

So, this week, I have two recipes that I made from David’s book. The first, Tart Salées Au Jambon, Au Bleu, et Aux Poires (Ham, Blue Cheese and Pear Quiche) is a rich, creamy quiche that’s made with cream cheese, bits of salty ham, tangy blue cheese and a pear. The crust is made with corn meal and lends a slightly sweet note to the dish. It’s best to use a fine ground corn meal so it doesn’t feel too gritty to the bite. The recipe only calls for one pear and it’s is barely noticeable but it does add another layer of texture. I probably would add a second pear because it pairs so well with these flavors!

The addition of cream cheese takes this quiche to another level of decadence. It’s incredibly rich so you really only have to eat a small slice to have your fill. David notes that you could also use bacon instead of the ham, and that would also give you a bit of a nice crunch. The eggy filling also goes really well with fresh, chopped herbs such as tarragon.

I realize that blue cheese is an acquired taste and while I am a big fan, not everyone in my house is. Therefore, I have frozen half of the quiche to take to work for lunches and I’ve been eating the other half all week long.

The quiche goes perfectly with the second recipe from David’s book, Fattoush.

Fattoush is nothing more than a mixed salad with herbs, toasted, day old flat bread or pita and a generous sprinkling of Sumac on top. The addition of mint to lettuces is one of my favorite salad surprises. It’s so fresh and bright. David’s recipe also includes an addictive lemon vinaigrette which will have you using any leftover pieces of bread to wipe your bowl clean. This salad has made me feel, at least, a little better about eating such an indulgent quiche!

This week’s recipes can be found on pages 155 and 116. 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:

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

May 10, 2016 by Renee

Last 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:

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: Artichoke Tapenade and Rosemary Oil – David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

April 3, 2016 by Renee

This week, for French Fridays, the cook the book recipe could not be any easier. These are what I would normally call “non-recipes” because they are so simple and quick, you could make them last minute if unexpected guests arrive. Just a quick whirl of the blender and a food processor and you will have a sophisticated appetizer to serve to anyone who comes through the door.

First, we made oil infused with rosemary which was used to drizzle over the toasted bread and the finished artichoke tapenade. The piney rosemary creates a lovely, fragrant oil that can be used in many ways; drizzled over pasta or vegetables or used to flavor meats and poultry. It can also be used as a base for salad dressings or marinades. Infused oils are great to keep on hand to add that “je ne sais quoi” to many of your dishes. Plus, they made terrific gifts, especially when in a pretty bottle tied with string.

I learned something new with this tapenade. Apparently, tapenade can not really be tapenade without the addition of capers. The very word for capers, comes from the Provençal word tapenas. So here, when I made a black olive-lemon tapenade, it wasn’t actually tapenade but rather just a very tasty dip. The regular black olive tapenade I made in that post was correctly tapenade though. So I got it half right!

And for this recipe, I definitely got it right! It was excellent. Not only did we enjoy it with a toasted baguette, but we slathered it on the grilled chicken we had for dinner as well. I think this one will be added to our list of standard “breads and spreads” platters that we enjoy all year around.

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:

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.

Here, I am having a little fun taking photos of the artichokes.

“The artichoke above all is the vegetable expression of civilized living, of the long view, of increasing delight by anticipation and crescendo. No wonder it was once regarded as an aphrodisiac. It had no place in the troll’s world of instant gratification. It makes no appeal to the meat-and-two-veg. mentality. One cannot attack an artichoke with knife and fork and scoff it in three mouthfuls. It is first for admiration, then each leaf has to be pulled away for eating and dipped in sauce. When the leaves have gone, there is still the fibrous tickley choke to be removed before the grey-green disc- the bonne bouche- can be enjoyed.”

– Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book