On the Road: Homecoming Spareribs and Raw Cheesecake

Hello from Teaneck and New York! Oh, it's so good to be home. Back. Home. Whatever. New York for me is like plugging in - I get a unique jolt of energy, recharge my batteries. I suddenly feel like doing five things at once. I talk faster. Lunch in Paris is officially on the road for the next month - New York, Melbourne, Sydney, San Francisco - so instead of trips to my Parisian butcher, I'll be scooping up carrot cake with cream cheese frosting at the Magnolia Bakery and a super drippy hamburger with fried onions at Five Napkin Burger.

Augustin only threw up twice on the plane. The first time, he hit the lovely gay guy with a camel colored ascot and a monogram on the cuff of his shirt. I'm sure this gentlemen would have preferred to sit next to the hot fashion guy with the director's cut glasses across the aisle. Instead he was stuck next to me, and Mr. Vomit.

Homecoming dinner - as usual - was spareribs and chow fun from Empire Hunan. They are on my parent's speed dial. Into the city yesterday for lunch with my agent and a meeting with my publisher. NY makes me feel like such a working girl - break out the shoulder pads. The reviews of the book are starting to come in, even thought Lunch in Paris doesn't hit the stores till next week. It's not quite real yet. From conception to dust jacket, it represents three industrious (and charmed) years of my life. Here's the latest review from USA Today. You'll be able to follow the reviews, events and updates as they come in on the Facebook page - stop by and become a fan.

New York makes me hungry. I'm always walking by something I haven't eaten in a long time - like one of those street cart sausage and pepper sandwiches that sends a cloud of luscious greasy perfume 30 feet in all directions.Last night I had dinner with a dear friend, an editor at ArtNews magazine. She and her boyfriend have been following a mostly raw food diet - and as I'm game for anything, foodwise - I couldn't wait to hear all about it. As soon as I got there she pulled out a Ziploc bag of the most fabulous homemade granola, made with millet, groats (wonderful word, groats), sunflower and pumpkin seeds and grated apple - all stuck under the dehydrating machine, which looks like a larger version of my childhood Easybake oven.
We were going to make the Chicken Tagine with Two Kinds of Lemons from the book - but the pull of NY takeout culture and the lure of a fridge full of fresh veggies steered us toward a big spinach salad instead. My friend did make a raw dessert - the most luscious looking chocolate "cheesecake". The filling is made with soaked nuts and cocoa, ground and whipped to such a fine consistency that it resembles cream cheese. It was the crust that truly wowed me - a moist crumbly mixture of raw cocoa nibs, raisins and nuts that had a more satisfying bite than any Oreo cookie crust I've ever tasted. I could only finish half a piece - the nutty richness was palpable in every bite - but if this is fad diet food - sign me up.

A Winter's Tale

Ok, I fess up. I haven’t been out of the house in 4 days. Sick as a dog and holding my son at arm’s length to avoid giving him whatever I’ve caught. He doesn’t seem to mind. He’s recently discovered his feet and is much more interested in grabbing them than me. Yesterday G. heroically hit the streets for sushi and a DVD of Ocean’s 11. I briefly considered going out myself, but knew I would meet our neighbor, I’ll call her Camille, in the hall – and I wasn’t quite prepared (in my snotty sniffly state) to be confronted with her admirable example– some might call it the gold standard – of casually but perfectly coiffed French womanhood.

Weeks like this are when the freezer gets cleaned out – when we are down to our last container of frozen lentils of indeterminate date. The best of the stash was last week’s daube – a long simmering dish of beef cheeks, red wine and chestnuts – to which I added the juice and the peel of a good size navel orange.

With a recipe like this, the goal is twofold – one, to leave the oven on all day cause it’s so frigid in the apartment. As G. is often (but not always) too kind to point out, this is all my fault – for refusing to change our lovely but drafty old-school Parisian windows. Two, to fill the apartment with a mulled wine aroma that makes me feel like I’m in a chalet in Chamonix and not digging for my migraine medicine in the back of the linen closet and using a roll of toilet paper instead of a box of tissues.

I first tasted this particular daube at jewel box of a restaurant in our neighborhood, La Mamere au Piano – there are only 10 or 12 tables, and if you move your chair out at the wrong moment, you risk getting a flan de courgettes in your lap. But the food is thoughtful and well prepared, an iteration of the “grandma’s cooking” phenomenon that has been sweeping Paris these past few years.

Braised dishes are dead simple – variations on a theme. All you need is one decent pot with a tight fitting cover. I have become deeply attached to my cherry red Le Cresuet. Brown the meat, sauté your base veggies, add the wine or stock, herbs and spices – and sit on the whole thing for a couple of hours. Even better if you leave it to cool overnight. Or freeze it for a day when you can barely get out of bed.

Daube with Beef Cheeks, Chestnuts, Red Wine and Orange

I normally make my daube with garlic and a bit of tomato – but I think it this is set to become my new favorite – the gelatin in the beef cheeks thickens the sauce – the orange doesn’t sweeten - just makes the whole thing smell like heaven.

3 good size beef cheeks – chuck, brisket or other braising cut will work (3-4 lbs of meat)
Coarse sea salt
Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 navel orange (preferably organic) the peel taken off in two large strips, then cut in half
1 bottle of full-bodied red wine – a busty Cote du Rhone is my choice
1 bay leaf
8-10 sprigs of fresh thyme – or about ½ teaspoon dried.
1 large jar of whole roasted chestnuts, 12-16 oz.
1 pounds of small turnips, trimmed and left whole (optional - but great)

Preheat the oven to 325F.

In a large Dutch oven, brown the meat well on all sides, season generously with sea salt. Remove the meat and set aside. Add a bit of olive oil to the pot, add the onions and orange peel. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until just beginning to color. Add the wine and put the meat back into the pot with a bay leaf and the thyme. Squeeze in the juice of your navel orange. Tuck most of the chestnuts around the meat (save a few for garnish). Bring to a boil. Cover, and transfer to the oven for 3 ½ -4 hours, until the meat is fork tender. If adding the turnips, add them about an hour before the end. I usually put the daube out to cool on the windowsill and serve it the next day.

Slice the meat on the diagonal; serve with egg noodles, polenta or simply a loaf of crusty bread.

Serves 6

King for a Day

There are days when I walk by my local boulangerie with a sigh and say “I could never make that.” Mais si. To paraphrase the words of our esteemed President: Yes I can.

This past Sunday we were invited to a Galette party – to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. The traditional cake is a dense almond cream called frangipane, tucked between two layers of puff pastry. Inside the cake is hidden a tiny figurine – la fève – originally a broad bean. He who finds the fève is king for a day – paper crown and everything.

I was expecting a store bought version, but when we arrived – G. colleagues were mounding a freshly whipped bowl of almond cream into the center of the puff pastry. I’ve experimented with frangipane over the years – everyone from Eric Keyser to Lenotre – too sweet, too slippery, too something. Finally, with eternal thanks to Virginie – I have a recipe for the ages. Light, not overly sweet, laced with rum – I’m sure it will be wonderful as a base for summer fruit tarts as well. I’ve left the recipe in grams – so you’ll have it that much sooner. As soon as I get around to making it at home, I’ll post the conversion.

I’m thinking seriously of making myself a paper crown – just to have one on hand in case of emergencies.

Galette des Rois

2 sheets of puff pastry, they are circular in France, yours may be rectangular – can’t hurt
100 grams of salted butter, if you can find it with sea salt crystals – so much the better
100 grams of granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp dark rum
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
150-180 grams of ground (powdered) almonds
2 teaspoons of powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 410°F

Whip the butter until soft and airy. Add the sugar and cream the two together until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, whisk to combine.

Break the third egg into a cup, stir lightly. Pour ½ of the 3rd egg into the batter. Put the cup with the remaining ½ egg to one side. Add the rum, vanilla and almond extract to the batter, whisk to combine. Then add enough ground almonds so that the batter will hold its shape when mounded on the pastry – it should be just thick enough so that it doesn’t ooze all over the place like a B-movie blob.

Line a large cookie sheet with wax paper. Unroll your bottom sheet of pastry. Put the frangipane on top, spreading it into a thick layer with a spatula, leaving a 1 ½ -2 inch border all around. Place the other sheet of puff pastry on top. Add two teaspoons of powdered sugar to the ½ egg in your little cup . With a pastry brush, use the egg wash to seal the edges – you can crimp them as well. Brush the top of the galette with the egg wash as well. Make a small hole in the center of the top crust for the steam to escape. Being careful not to pierce the pastry, you can carve the traditional pinwheel design.

Bake at 410° for 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 315° and bake for a further 10 minutes. Cool for 15 or 20 minutes before serving. Make yourself a silly paper hat.

Serves 8-10

This Little Piggie Went to Facebook...

As I was walking by the butcher today, I took my nose out of my scarf long enough to notice an unusual number of whole piglets. Yes, piglets. Piglets roasting, piglets dangling. Piglets, piglets everywhere. When I asked why, the butcher told me that tomorrow is Noel Orthodox – Christmas in the Orthodox Church. Good to know.

While I was snapping my little photo, Madame behind the counter asked what it was for. Turns out she loves to read in English and took the blog address. This seemed like a good time to mention that I had a book coming out in which their shop plays a significant role. Learning to hold your own at the butcher is a Parisian rite of passage. “Deboning” was not part of the standard vocab in my highschool French class. One of the butchers bears a striking resemblance to Matt Dillon. Yum.

In honor of my recent flying leap into the 21st century, you can now become a fan of Lunch in Paris on Facebook. The page will list events (Brooklyn Kitchen on Feb 6th, anyone?), and even as we speak, there is a fascinating discussion on the virtues of ugly vegetables.You can also follow along on Twitter, because I’m sure at least some of you think about food as often as I do…

Out With the Old...

Happy 2010 everyone! It still sounds a bit science fiction to me. Where's my jetpack?

Every year between Christmas and New Years I do such a quantity of shopping and cooking - that come January 2nd, I feel like I could sip nothing but flat ginger ale through a plastic straw till March. Every year I try to outdo myself - but it’s often the last minute experiments that become the year-round keepers.

Thanks to my mother-in-law’s rather elevated taste in beverages, in the aftermath of the holidays I am always left with 2 or 3 half empty bottles of champagne. I keep it around (re-corked) and use it in place of white wine in my recipes. Whenever I do, something simple and extraordinary happens. I become a better cook.

I get it – very few people outside of France have leftover champagne hanging out next to the Diet Coke in the fridge. (Come to think of it, I’ve never seen my mother-in-law drink a Diet Coke). So think of the following recipes as a good excuse to buy some. Next time you have something to celebrate, open the bottle before dinner, pour a glass for the cook (essential, I think), use a splash in the recipes, stick a cork back in and drink the rest with dinner.

I used the end of one bottle to cook the fish we had on Christmas Eve. My mother in law suggested that I wrap the sea bass in parma ham, the meaty flesh of the fish stands up well to pork – I’ve done the same with andouillette sausage, but the ham was even better – it crisped up in the oven, clinging to the bass like a second skin. I stuffed the fish with parsley and added a handful of green olives flecked with herbs de provence. The champagne was an afterthought, poured in the bottom of the dish to keep the fish from drying out in the oven – but as the ham rendered its fat and the olives crinkled in the heat, the champagne became the base for a wonderfully complex sauce – no bite, just a bit of sparkle.On Christmas Day, I used the end of bottle number two to add a bit of acid to a creamy root vegetable soup. The champagne had just enough dry wit to balance out the mellow sweetness of the parsnips and butternut squash.

So just when you thought the season for special occasion eating was over – here’s a mini-menu to keep in mind. Valentine’s Day anyone?

Parsnip, Carrot and Butternut Squash Soup with Champagne

It is terribly important to use good quality veggies for this soup. My mom tried it with watery supermarket carrots and white wine and found it “blah”. If you can, try to find “dirty” carrots – those that have been harvested and buried in sand.

1 pound carrots (preferably “dirty” or organic (3 large), very thinly sliced
1 pound parsnips (2 medium), very thinly sliced
1 ½ pounds of butternut squash (about half a large squash), diced
1 onion, diced
5 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
½ cup (plus a splash) champagne
4 cups chicken broth
1 ½ cups milk

Prepare the vegetables. Heat the oil and butter in a large stock pot. Add onion, sauté for 4-5 minutes until beginning to color. Add carrots, parsnips and squash; stir to coat with oil/butter. Cover with the lid ajar about an inch, and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the veggies are sweet and tender.

Add the champagne – it will sizzle off pretty quickly. Then add the chicken broth. Using a hand blender, puree the soup. Add the milk and blend a second time for good measure. I add an extra splash of champagne at the end for kicks. Serve piping hot with crusty bread and oozy cheese.

Serves 6 as a light meal, freezes beautifully

Sea Bass with Parma Ham, Green Olives and Champagne

For Christmas I made this with 3 large bass for 6 people (that’s smallish French portions as part of a multi-course meal. If I was making it again, I think I might use smaller individual bass, just because they look so spectacular served whole. It is important that you ask your fish monger to scrape the scales off the fish – or do it yourself with a regular dinner knife (scrape against the grain) – you want to be able to eat the crispy parma-wrapped skin.

3 large bass, gutted with the scales scraped
Coarse sea salt
Handful of flat leaf parsley
8 slices of parma ham, sliced paper thin
Good handful of green olives with herbs
Splash of champagne

Heat the oven to 410° F.

Rinse the fish thoroughly, removing any stray scales with your fingers. Place the fish in a shallow casserole dish. Sprinkle the inside of each fish with sea salt, and stuff with a few springs of parsley. Wrap each fish with a 2 slices of ham, leaving the head exposed. Scatter the green olives on top. Pour a good splash of champagne in the bottom (about a ¼ inch), bake for 30 minutes until the skin is crispy and the flesh is firm and opaque down to the bone.

Serves 4-6