Renee - Author at Kitchen Conundrum

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:

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: 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: Croque Monsieur – David Lebovitz’s My Paris Kitchen

April 17, 2016 by Renee

“A grilled ham and Swiss, please.” No, this not your typical, lowly, grilled ham and cheese sandwich. This sandwich becomes, oh, so much more, when Frenchified.

The Croque Monsieur is, by far, the most popular and most quintessential of Parisian bistro fare after the roast chicken and steak frites. The sandwich consists of thin slices of ham and gooey Gruyère nestled between hearty slices of country bread, and slathered with a creamy béchamel sauce. You can turn it into a Croque Madam by topping it with a sunny side up egg. Serve it with a side of leafy greens, and you have a quick meal-so French in its simplicity and sophistication.

In Paris, pain Poilâne is the bread of choice. With good reason. Their beautiful loaves provide a slightly crunchy yet chewy crust with the hint of sourdough and a tender middle. After a few days (if it lasts that long!) the crust grows firmer and the sourdough becomes tangier making it the best bread for flavorful tartines or breakfast toasts with jam and butter.

Poilâne’s main shop is on the rue du Cherche-Midi, in the heart of the 6th arrondissement, and is always one of the first places I visit when I am there. I can’t resist picking up a whole loaf and one (or three) of their divine, buttery, apple tartlets.

In NY, I am lucky enough to have several terrific bakeries to choose from when I am in need of a good bread. Two such bakeries are located on opposite ends of Manhattan. Orwashers (http://www.orwashers.com/) is on the upper east side and Pain D’Avignon is on the lower east side (http://www.paindavignon-nyc.com/). Despite these distances, separated only by a subway ride, I am lucky in that I can pick up bread from both bakeries at my favorite food market, Fairway on the upper west side.

I love the bread from Orwashers and many of their loaves come wine- and beer-infused, which is really interesting and fun to pair with different cheeses and meats. They do have many traditional bread recipes as well, and while they are also famous for their massive hand filled doughnuts, their black and white cookies are the best in the city. (IMHO) But you do have to make the trek up to their store to enjoy those!

If you find yourself on the lower east side, hidden away in the Essex St. Market, you can find the first retail outlet for Pain D’Avignon. Long before this shop opened, Pain d’Avignon had been supplying prestigious NYC eateries like Eleven Madison Park and Momofuku with bread from their wholesale bakery in Long Island City. Their sourdough breads and croissants are truly terrific.

For this iteration of the Croque Monsieur, I am making one sandwich from each, a Pain D’Avignon Sourdough and an Orwashers pain de campagne. They both had different levels of sourdough flavor; the Pain D’Avignon was much more like a SF sourdough and lighter in color and texture while the Orwashers’ pain de campagne had more crumb and a grainier texture. Both are just right for making this amped up grilled cheese!

The béchamel for this recipe is made with a dash of cayenne pepper instead of the traditional nutmeg but you can also add a dash of nutmeg if you would like. Just be careful not to add too much salt as the ham is also salty.

A few years ago I received Panini press and it’s been sitting in my basement pantry for quite a while so I pulled it out, cleaned it off and used it for the first grilling of the sandwiches. In the recipe, David doesn’t just say to brush the slices with butter, he says to brush them without restraint with melted butter. And that’s exactly what I did!

Once the sandwiches were golden brown and toasted, I moved them to a cast iron skillet for final cheese melt under the broiler.

The first bite, the crunch of the crust, the buttery toast, the oozing cheese and béchamel and the salty ham, it’s what grilled cheese dreams are made of. At least, French ones.

This week’s recipe can be found on page 137. 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.