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Chicken Lady Chicken and Raw Vegetable Slaw – David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

July 18, 2016 by Renee

Chicken Lady Chicken-3384I love a good roast chicken. My favorite recipes for chicken always start a couple of days in advance. Whether it’s brining or marinating them, if you buy your chicken on Friday and cook it Sunday, then you can use the leftovers during the week. That is, if you have any leftovers! I can usually scrape enough off the carcass for a few servings of chicken to toss into a salad or just a midnight snack.

David’s Poulet Crapaudine Facon Catherine has an exceptionally crispy skin and the marinade is incredibly flavorful. We used the last little bit of Sriracha we had in the pantry (need another bottle STAT!) along with the honey, wine and soy sauce to create a deliciously sweet and spicy bath for the bird to hang out in for the weekend. The marinade would also be great to use for boneless/skinless breasts or thighs that you grill too. I can certainly see this being added to our roast chicken repertoire.

The technique of spatchcocking a chicken cuts the cooking time down. It exposes more “flesh to the fire” as they say and the skin crisps up in no time while keeping the bird moist inside.  We use our cast iron pan for roasting chicken, but we always add a little oil to the bottom so that the chicken skin does not stick. No matter how hot the pan is, the skin will stick if a little oil isn’t used. And the skin is one of the best parts, so you don’t want to leave it behind in the pan!

David suggests a side of Raw Vegetable Slaw to go with the chicken, which is really just a mixture of any of your favorites that you may have around, topped with a tangy, garlicky dressing. We had some broccoli and carrots so I tossed them together, but I can see devising several different combinations and adding nuts, and fruits to the mix as well. But for this time, I kept it super simple.

Raw Vegetable Slaw-3412

This week’s recipes can be found on pages 173 and 96. 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

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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.

Filed Under: Eat, Kitchen Sink, Cook The Book Fridays- My Paris Kitchen, Cookbooks, Poultry, Sauces, Dressings and Condiments, Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged With: Cookbook, David Lebovitz, My Paris Kitchen, Slaw, Vegetable, chicken, garlic

Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts by Aglaia Kremezi

November 29, 2014 by Renee

Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts
Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts may be Aglaia Kremezi’s best cookbook yet. Or, at least it’s my favorite! I’ve been taking this book to bed with me each night this week, devouring every word and making lists of ingredients to add to my pantry and recipes to try.

The book, a collection of simple, fresh vegetarian dishes comes from Aglaia’s home kitchen on the island of Kea and features beautifully shot photos by one of my favorite photographers, Penny De Los Santos. I love looking through the pages and seeing familiar dishes we made, places we visited and people that I met during my weeklong stay on Kea at the culinary school run by Aglaia and her husband, Costas. It brought back many wonderful memories.

A few weeks ago I was honored to be invited to Aglaia’s book launch luncheon at Bustan, a pan-Mediterranean restaurant here in NYC. It was so lovely to see her again.  The chef, Israeli native Efraim (Efi) Nahon, recreated several dishes from Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts as well as introduced us to some items on their menu. It was a truly fabulous meal.

Bustan Menu

Bustan

Bustan Lunch

Aglaia tells us that she is not really a vegetarian but she ate very little meat growing up as it was saved for once or twice a week and for special occasions due to its price and availability. She mainly ate vegetables that were grown in her family’s garden. These recipes that she shares are the same ones she grew up with. They aren’t new, faddish or in style. They are the traditional, regional dishes that have been around for years and they correspond to the healthy, vegetarian cooking that is now popular.

The book provides detailed ingredient descriptions and preparation techniques that will make the most of your garden or farmers’ market fare so there will be as little waste as possible. She also provides wonderful head notes with stories about each recipe and alternative variations for several. There are even menus to help you plan seasonal dishes and an extensive sourcing listing. It’s an invaluable resource for Mediterranean cooking.

At Bustan, one of the dishes we tried was the Pseudo- Moussaka with Spicy Tomato Sauce, Walnuts and Feta. This dish, with the warm rich flavors is perfectly balanced with sweet and spice. I loved this flavorful dish and I had to made this recipe first. It was just as good as the one at the restaurant and although there are several steps to follow, it was quite easy and now that I’ve made it once, it can be easily recreated. Half of the walnuts could easily be replaced with chopped meat to make a non-vegetarian version.

Medirerranean Vege Feasts -1

Medirerranean Vege Feasts -3

I also made the Roasted Cauliflower with Musa’s Zahter Relish. Roasting cauliflower is such a great technique as it maintains a slight crunch and intensifies the nutty flavor. The Zahter Relish is like a dressing or sauce that you drizzle over the cooked vegetable. It’s incredibly bright and savory and we decided it was quite like a Chimichurri sauce and would also be delicious over a steak and other grilled or roasted vegetables. Aglaia also suggests adding a bit of white wine to it and serving it over fish. How wonderfully versatile!

Medirerranean Vege Feasts -4

For the mezze course, I made the Grilled Feta, Tomato, and Pepper with Olive Oil and Oregano (Bouyourdi) and the Garlic Spread known as Skordalia. I was quite generous with the garlic cloves and certainly warded off evil for at least several hours. They made great accompaniments to the roasted red pepper sauce, olives, and fresh hunks of country bread that we ate with them.

Medirerranean Vege Feasts -7

Medirerranean Vege Feasts -6

For lunch on Thanksgiving day, I also made the Crispy Cheese Pie (Lazy Woman’s Pie) a variation to the cheese pie made by Balkan women in their wood ovens. We needed something while cooking the traditional fare and this was a quick and easy preparation of feta, ricotta and herbs in a phyllo crust. It’s such a great lunch that I’ve frozen half to take slices with me to work next week with a side of salad greens.

Lazy Womens Pie- Crispy Cheese Pie

There are so many more recipes in the book that I am looking forward to making. Some, I’ve made before, like the Flourless Almond Cookies from Kea and the Spinach and Cheese Pie and a version of the Stuffed Summer Vegetables with Rice, Farro and Pine Nuts. But there are so many that I need to try. I’m excited for each of them.

I see Mediterranean Vegetarian Feasts as one of my favorite cookbooks and plan to use it often and I’d recommend it to anyone vegetarian or not.

 

*This post includes my affiliate links to Amazon where you may buy the book.

Filed Under: Kitchen Sink, Cookbooks Tagged With: Aglaia Kremezi, Cookbook, Vegan, Vegetarian

David Lebovitz’s new book, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories Giveaway

May 14, 2014 by Renee


My Paris Kitchen ImageAh, Paris! What can I say? It’s my favorite city -sorry New York, I love you too, but Paris is my home away from home- and one of my favorite people lives there- he’s a fabulous (and famous) cookbook author, blogger and pastry chef.  In his newly released book, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories, David Lebovitz transports us all to his Paris and the Paris that I love.

David is a brilliant and humorous storyteller who uses his very vivid and descriptive writing to take you along on his journey. You feel as though you are with him as he goes in search of the perfect kitchen sink during his new flat renovation or as he ventures to the local market to choose fresh produce for the day.

You’ll travel all around the beautiful city and end up back in his kitchen where he creates the recipes themselves, though not strictly Classic French cuisine, but wonderful international renditions including a Moroccan Lamb Shank Tagine, Spiced Meatballs with Sriracha Sauce and even Tabbouleh. There are some classics too, not to worry- duck fat is never far away (duck fat cookies? Hello!), but, this cookbook is as much a cultural experience as it is a culinary one. As David explains, cuisine in Paris isn’t just classic bistros, although there are an abundance of those too, but the landscape is changing and cuisines such a Mexican or Pizza are taking hold as well. Some of the best hamburgers I have ever eaten were actually in Paris. The book highlights many of these changes and features a wonderful collection of recipes spanning his ten year residence.

Filled with beautiful photographs and wonderful stories, My Paris Kitchen is both memoir and a cookbook. Much like David’s blog, the writing is conversational and light hearted. One of my favorite pages in the book describes his concept of “cooking ou pif” or cooking by the nose. It’s not supposed to be strict and stringent, it’s okay to change up recipes and try new things.  Like I always say, cooking should be fun, it’s not a mystery! Just enjoy it!

Tasting Table NYC held a cocktail party Monday night to celebrate the release of David Lebovitz’s new book, My Paris Kitchen: Recipes and Stories and I was so honored to be invited to attend.

While David signed books and met with guests, trays of canapés were passed and a small buffet comprised of dishes and desserts inspired by the book were served. There were several delicious bites to be had; my favorite among them were the mini Croque-monsiers (pg.137) (Fried ham and cheese sandwiches) and the Terrine de canard aux figues (pg. 113)  (Duck terrine with figs).  The Vietnamese caramel ribs (pg.187) were also incredible, but I think they are best eaten with people you know because they are a bit messy and they make you want to lick your fingers clean!

In addition to David’s wonderful company, the guests were also granted a special treat- tastes of an extremely high quality Comté ‘Cru des Sapins’ by Marcel Petite, an affineur in Jura, France.  This cheese was so good I had to stop myself from eating too much. It was perfectly balanced, with a strong but not aggressive taste- rich like caramel and butter with toasted nuts but also slightly sweet and fruity on the finish. The texture was creamy but firm and it went perfectly with the raw vegetables and Le grand aioli (pg. 145) on the table. It is a cheese that I will certainly attempt to track down as I’d love to have a bit more!

The cocktails and Champagne flowed and I definitely ate too much, but it was well worth it! Everything Tasting Table NYC prepared was delicious and a true testament to David’s wonderful recipes.

Now for the fun part- the Giveaway!

Each guest also received a book to take home (after being signed, of course!) which means that I now have two copies. As much as I love his cookbooks, it makes no sense for me to hoard two copies.  So, I am giving away my original copy to one lucky Kitchen Conundrum reader.

All you have to do is comment below as to why you’d love the book and one winner will be chosen by random.org on Wednesday, May 21, 2014. You have until 11:59pm EST on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 to enter.

Good Luck!

The Small Print (BE SURE TO READ IT!)

Open to U.S. residents over the age of 18. Winners will be contacted by email and/or twitter after the giveaway ends. Winner has 48 hours to contact me with shipping information. If winner doesn’t leave twitter or email address or if the winner does not contact me with shipping info, winner will forfeit and another winner will be chosen. If you have any additional questions – feel free to send me an email!

Filed Under: Kitchen Sink, Contests, Cookbooks Tagged With: Contest, Cookbook, David Lebovitz, Giveaway, My Paris Kitchen

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Today’s harvest. Just a few carrots to go with a Today’s harvest. Just a few carrots to go with all the tomatoes we keep getting!!! #summergarden #growyourownfood #vegetablegarden #vegetables
It’s been way too many years since I’ve been t It’s been way too many years since I’ve been to @teaandsympathynyc  We went today for lunch and it was as wonderful as it always has been. Proper sausage rolls, fish and chips and their amazing sticky toffee pudding in custard. We even stopped in next-door for Crunchies. I need to go back and have afternoon tea again. #teaandsympathy #nyc #oldschool #westvillagenyc #westvillage #memories #england #englishtea #english #uk
We have so many tomatoes from the garden so my wor We have so many tomatoes from the garden so my working lunch is a French classic. Tomato tart with Dijon mustard and a little Comte/Gruyere mix. #workfromhomelife #tomatoes #growyourownfood #thanksdavid 😊
Smoked a pork shoulder and a beef planche this wee Smoked a pork shoulder and a beef planche this weekend. Served with an apple slaw and baked beans. It’s not pretty but it’s good BBQ. #smokedmeat #tragergrills #meat #pork #pulledpork #porkshoulder #beef #bakedbeans #appleslaw
Of the four out of five suitcases that arrived hom Of the four out of five suitcases that arrived home from France with us, I am so happy the one with the butter and cheese made it! The fifth suitcase took a few extra days. A little cheese in the afternoon to celebrate. From @fromageriedulouvre #tommedesfleurs #comte  #ossauiraty #cheese #paris #france #frenchcheese #frenchbutter #lucky #luggagewoes #airfrance
Croque Monsieur with Rosé after a stop to City Ph Croque Monsieur with Rosé after a stop to City Pharma to stock up on French beauty products. All that shopping makes one hungry.  #croquemonsieur #rosé #wine #vin #summer #citypharma #paris #france #beauty #deuxmagots
I spy… the obligatory Eiffel Tower photo. Are yo I spy… the obligatory Eiffel Tower photo. Are you really even in Paris without one? #Paris #France #driveby #quickshot
Oh hello, Paris. Nice to see you again. #parisfr Oh hello, Paris. Nice to see you again. 

#parisfrance #paris #france #drivinginparis
Last night as part of dinner we made one of my fav Last night as part of dinner we made one of my favorite summer salads- a peach, mozzarella di bufala, and tomato salad. Normally it’s the bits of cheese and tomatoes that are the treat, but the peaches were incredible-so sweet.  By the end we were just picking the peaches out. Good thing I bought several just to eat too- peaches from Spain and France, white, pink and orange. #peaches #salad #summer #summereats #mozzarella #buffalomozzarella #mozzarelladibufala #summersalad #stonefruit #yum #goodeats #spain #france #peche
Moules frites. With rosé, as you do. #normandy #f Moules frites. With rosé, as you do. #normandy #france #lunch #youjusthaveto #mussels #moulesfrites #yum #goodeats #seafood #beachlife #coastalliving #summer
Today we went to the beach and tonight we had the Today we went to the beach and tonight we had the traditional English roast for dinner at The Presbytere. Do you see the size of that Yorkshire Pudding? Incredible! And it was filled with the most luscious and velvety gravy. Again, every course was perfect.  For dessert we had the same as last night- zucchini cake and a white chocolate cream over crumbles and gooseberries. I really need to get these recipes! They had live music as well and we enjoyed the outside garden once again.  #normandie #normandy #normandietourisme #dinner #englishroast
Not to be missed! Had such a terrific dinner at Th Not to be missed! Had such a terrific dinner at The Presbytere last night, the new restaurant by Chef Edward Delling-Williams. The beautifully converted building is situated near the estuary of the Sienne where some ingredients are foraged. We sat outside in the breezy sea air and it couldn’t have been a more perfect evening. We drank Spritz’s and Pimm’s while we perused the menu. Though described as a gastro pub, the food is truly on another level, where fresh, local ingredients are highlighted. We shared starters of pork rillettes with a lightly smoked onion powder, a thick slice of house made lamb terrine served with a tangy walnut, English pickle and prune catsup, and a plate of simply marinated red peppers, all served with a generous basket of perfectly crusty bread with a soft, chewy center. For our mains, we debated over the whole fish and wished we had more people with us for the leg of lamb to share but in the end we chose the veal, thin slices served rare over fresh green beans with a deeply developed reduction sauce, as well as a plate of green and yellow zucchini served with a house made ricotta, apricot purée, chervil and a hint of mint. Each bite was better than the one before. We shared a bottle of Petit Chablis and the delightful, friendly sommelier confirmed that we couldn’t go wrong with our choice.  She was right! Fruity, light and delicious. Dessert is always my favorite part of any meal and the courgette cake (zucchini) was divine. A dreamy, light cream cheese frosting adorned this soaked, dense, sweet cake filled with bits of zucchini and carrots. I make zucchini cake (bread/muffins) often and nothing I’ve ever made even compares to this one. We also shared the white chocolate cream over a sweet crumble. It was such a pretty and light dessert. The staff made us feel so welcome and right at home from start to finish, an experience not to be missed and we can’t wait to see what else Chef has in the works. P.S. We are headed back tonight for the traditional English Sunday roast with the kids. Stay tuned!! #normandy #france #manche #bassenormandie #normandietourisme #restaurant #dinner #goodeats #edwarddellingwilliams
What a great way to wake up! Les demoiselles. Very What a great way to wake up! Les demoiselles. Very lite pastry with custard inside. #notadougnut #france #normandy #boulangerie #breakfastinbed #cafe #coffee #weekendvibes #sotired
The factory store was not open. Which is actually The factory store was not open. Which is actually a good thing for my wallet- for now. 😂 A quick trip to the lovely village of Villedieu Les Poeles to meet the train from Paris and lunch of galettes. #normandy #copper #copperpots #want #france #manche  #manchetourisme #gallettes #lunch
Today, we had an amazing lunch near to Granville. Today, we had an amazing lunch near to Granville. While we awaited stores to reopen we explored a little and found this gem of a place! What a beautiful setting and fabulous menu! The restaurant is part of a farm, La ferme de la Chèvre Rit. We sat outside in the sunshine and shared a demi bottle of clairet and a planche  with some of their homemade chèvre and terrines and meats. Then we had a salad with the most delicious pain d’épices topped with a lightly grilled chèvre and balsamic. We also had the basil risotto which was delicious and had just the perfect amount of cheese. Dessert was a delightfully light but rich chocolate molten cake with sweet cream and caramel and a crème brûlée. We wish we could have stayed for the whole afternoon. We will definitely have to go back again. #lestablesgranville #granville #lunch #normandy #bassenormandie #bassenormandietourisme #salad #risotto #chocolate #cremebrulee #thankyougooglemaps
First breakfast in France. It’s good to be back First breakfast in France. It’s good to be back here. #normandy #france #painauchocolat #chocolatecroissant #homeawayfromhome
It’s a two cocktail kind of night. Mojito and G& It’s a two cocktail kind of night. Mojito and G&T. #rum #sevenupmojito #hendricks #gin #cocktail #adultbeverage #roevwade #womensrights #voteblue
Britakakku. A Finnish summer cake made with layers Britakakku. A Finnish summer cake made with layers of cake, meringue, a whipped yogurt cream and fresh berries. It may look a mess but it’s quite tasty! Only two layers here but I’ve seen them quite tall! #britakakku #finnish #finnishfood #pastry #berries #summerfruit #summerdessert #dessert #summer #cake
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