Kitchen Conundrum

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

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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:

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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.

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

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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!