I was served this snack at the Inn at Little Washington, and it’s in one of O’Connell’s cookbooks. It made for a nice finger food.

Blue cheese? Delicious! Smoked blue cheese? Mmmmm.

From the Bistro Croix Rouge in Paris comes a Norwegian (read: smoked salmon) tartine:

Simple: bread, butter, salmon, capers, and lemon juice.

Sorry for the next one being so dark. This was inspired by Dorie Greenspan, short ribs (my own recipe), a purée of celery root and potato, and green beans. The beans were flavored with morels, garlic, and truffled balsamic vinegar.

Here’s a little bean documentation after they were blanched but before they went for their final warm in the oven:

Also from Greenspan’s book Around my French Table is this chocolate mousse cake à la Michel Rostag:

I’m looking forward to being fed by someone else soon. As true to my name, it was a messy affair.

To those I added a third “course,” a little recipe of my own invention. My dad bought white asparagus at the supermarket. He does not eat any asparagus. So, I had to come up with a way to cook it (not my favorite, as it snaps easily and requires peeling). So first, we had this salad.

On top of herbed greens, I placed cooked, and “pickled” white asparagus. After cooking in salted water, I let them rest (without an ice bath) in a lemony vinegar. It soaks it up, making a quick pickle of the vegetable.

The greens were tossed with a dijon-based dressing made with some bacon fat. Bacon lardons covered everything, along with some sautéed mushrooms. Topped with chives.

The onion soup by Keller takes a long time; you cook down your onions until they are very dark brown, like weak coffee.

I went all out and made the mornay sauce and used the fried egg on top to make a croque madame.

Inside I amped the fat level by using Saint André cheese instead of plain swiss.

This Thanksgiving I was in charge once again and decided to skip the turkey. I am not the biggest fan of this bird, nor all the “tricks” one has to do to add moisture or flavor. So I came up with what I think was a more satisfying menu for our day of thanks.

Lunch Course

We started just past noon with a soup, butternut squash soup with garlicky shrimp.

This recipe was based on several I’d made in the past; it included:

• 2-way cooked butternut squash (1/2 roasted, 1/2 cubed and sautéed with the vegetables)
• 1 leek
• 1 onion
• 1 apple
• sage
• 2 carrots
• homemade chicken stock
• 2 bay leaves
• brown butter (swirled in at the end)
• shrimp, sautéed in butter and garlic
• freshly ground nutmeg
• salt/pepper

The key here is the texture of soup; I like to blend it once it is cooked through (45 minutes after the broth is added), and then through a fine-keyed strainer (I didn’t use the plunger but simply a large wooden spoon). Instead of adding fried sage leaves, I added sage a few minutes before blending. The sage and brown-butter additions were learned from my flirtation with Thomas Keller’s version from Bouchon.

Dessert

One of my most memorable editions of Gourmet was their 2006 Thanksgiving edition from November. It had so many good recipes; one I had never made was the one for the macadamia nut and coconut tart. You can find it in the Epicurious app for iOS.

First step was to make a pie crust. I used a a 70/30 mixture of butter and shortening, as per their recipe. I used the food processor which makes it easy. It goes into a 10-inch tart shell pan with removable bottom.

The filling is not unlike pecan pie; roughly chopped, toasted macadamia nuts join coconut and brown sugar and eggs. It puffs up slightly, then falls when it comes out.

Beef, not Turkey

I have found in Richmond the best source for prime beef is Belmont Butchery, where we obtained a 2 rib, 6 pound prime ribs of beef roast.

Okay, it weighed more, but I figure it was 6 pounds with the bones. I salted and peppered it, in addition to studding the fat side with garlic before roasting.

I roasted it to about 125-127 degrees and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Three Sides

• Green Beans with Orange-Ginger Glaze
• Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Crispy Shallots
• Yam-Yukon Gold Potato Gratin with Smoked Paprika and Cayenne

Among my favorites was the brussels sprout dish, too from the 2006 November Gourmet. Thyme and garlic scents the dish, and for mine, I used a pair of horn mushrooms and chantarelles.

The green beans use orange zest, ginger, and orange juice, and butter. Simple. Salt and pepper.

The gratin came from a recipe from Food 52. At first, I saw this recipe for a more classic pommel dauphinoise, but then since my dad likes sweet potatoes, I went for this one instead. It was good.

In all the meal was successful. Here are two more highlight photos:

and the dessert,

Happy Thanksgiving!

The recipes are simpler than those in The French Laundry, and tonight I made

• Butternut Squash Soup and
• Frisée aux Lardons Salad with Egg

Nothing extraordinary, except the little extra touches that make Keller’s recipes sublime.

Vinegary shallots made the salad great; the brown butter swirled into the soup was the right touch, along with the scent and aroma of sage leaves and fresh nutmeg-spiced crème fraïche in the center of the soup.

A friend today inspired me to eat healthy for dinner; she shared the fact that she’s been eating salads for dinner, with chicken. So, this was born. I am not sure I took every precaution to make this low-calorie.

We roasted a chicken last night, and I used the two-fork method to shred the remaining chicken which took the top of the salad. A bag of mixed salad greens with a balsamic-Dijon mustard quick dressing set the stage for other favorites:

• homemade garlic croutons
• roasted red pepper
• Hanover tomato
• beets
• blue cheese
• asparagus

I definitely liked the result. The addition of protein and a those crunchy, garlicky croutons make this a substantial meal.

That didn’t mean that I didn’t get the later temptation to dig-into my “Salty caramel” ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid.

1. Saucisses espangoles et crevettes
2. Soupe au pistou
3. Crêpes à la sauce aux fraises

Appetizer

Okay, the French titles make it sound rather fussy. The first course was an opener focusing on protein, here chorizo from Spain and garlicky shrimp over a bed of creamy Parmesan polenta with piperade - a peppers and tomato stew.

This drier version of chorizo excuses a fragrant smell of smoked paprika, to which I do what? Add more! The EVOO and natural rendered fat are the perfect medium for adding in marinated shrimp (marinated in EVOO and garlic, black pepper). I use a coarse-grind of quick-cook polenta, and in addition to chicken stock as the medium, I add a little cream and parmesan cheese.

The piperade I made for a future recipe, as it’s time consuming to make well. I took several red peppers, onions, a green anaheim chile pepper, and fire-roasted whole (canned) tomatoes and cooked them for sometime until their flavors had melded. This recipe always calls for piment d’espellete which I can never find; so I used a triple-threat combination of paprika, red chile flake, and cayenne to mimic the mystery flavor.

Anyhow, it was very flavorful, and made the dish elevate to 5-star status for my dining companions.

The Main Course

Yes, the main course was a soup. I’m always passing over this recipe and finally took Dorie Greenspan for a run and tried her version of a hearty vegetable soup with a homemade pesto swirled in at the end. I served this with rosemary rolls (rosemary was one of the herbs included in the soup). It was really good. I thought it would be minestrone, but it was something different. Well received.

Onions and garlic start the party; then a broth is added, then layers of vegetables. Zucchini, tomato, beans, dried pasta, and more came to the rescue… and even corn!

I made a pesto from the standard ingredients (basil, garlic, pine nut, parmesan, EVOO, and even a little parsley). It gets added to your bowl at the table.

The Dessert

My guests bought me a crêpe pan for my birthday in August, so I felt obliged to make that the dessert. Okay, I already owned a crêpe pan, and I returned theirs… but still… any excuse is a good one to make crêpes.

I took the boozy Greenspan route and used her recipe for sweet crepe batter that adds rum and Grand Mariner. Lemon zest. No sugar, either. I found the batter worked well enough, but I preferred my own recipe adopted from Thomas Keller’s for savory crepes. The texture was simply different. But alas, these were still good.

I acquired an organic version of Nutella at Whole Foods - and used that as a basic stuffing. Atop that, I made a strawberry sauce using fresh strawberries, Grand Mariner, sugar, and butter, that had first been turned into a caramel. It still maintained strawberry texture but with a cooked, and consequently concentrated, flavor. Win-win. 5 stars for each course.

Cooking a steak is a simple meal preparation, and in this case, I matched it with French green beans and mushrooms. The star ingredient is a sauce, which helped glaze the mushrooms and in a further reduction, mounted with butter, the steak.

Ingredients

• shallots
• garlic
• herb (terragon)
• peppercorns/salt
• cabernet wine
• beef stock
• EVOO, butter
• 2 mushrooms (crimini, porcini)

The sauce starts with 40/60 beef stock and red wine. Reduce! When it’s mid-way through, we add some aromatics, like black peppercorn, some of the rehydrated porcini mushrooms (I only found the dried variety), a garlic clove, mashed, and an herb of choice. Strain this when you reach the desired consistency. From the picture, you can see the almost-stickyness of this sauce, which had been mixed with a little butter at the end.

The green beans get parboiled in salted water before cooking at the end in butter, shallots, and garlic. I added some aged balsamic sea salt. The mushrooms get sautéed with the same shallots and garlic, but are cooked until they burnish with color, and then I added a lighter-mixture of the reduction sauce. I reduced it with the mushrooms until it was sticky, and seasoned the ‘shrooms with pepper and salt.

It was a delicious preparation, without having to buy/make a demi-glace or do much except start the cooking process with making a reduction.

He makes the layers using real-butter puff pastry, baked for almost 50 minutes between two sheet pans (use parchment or silpats).

For the last 5-7 minutes, you cover the layer with corn syrup to create an impenetrable barrier.

This is the first time I made it, but in all actuality, it wasn’t hard. Assembly was okay. The most challenging part was making the pastry cream (a custard with cornstarch).

You let the pastry cool, and then get ready to cut your three slices.

Use a serrated knife; and start piping-on the pastry cream.

The pastry looks dark, but that’s the color it was in the cookbook, too.

By the time it’s served, you’ve got raspberries in the top layer, and you can garnish with powdered sugar or even chocolate sauce. I did both.

Before serving, here’s a shot of the side-view. It was great.

Find Bouchon in a 2-cookbook set on Amazon.

Me: “Why does something not taste good?”

He said, “No… it’s absolutely perfect…”

And from across the table, “This is the best chicken I’ve ever eaten… whoa.”

So, this is the secret of my chicken success. And this doesn’t mean there’s only one way to do this, but it’s my way. And it is good.

1. Use a good quality bird. I chose a free-range, Kosher bird. Kosher means it has been brined, which si a step I’d rather not have to mess with.
2. Keep it simple. Put aromatics in the cavity (in my case, thyme and lemon), and salt and pepper the bird liberally.
3. Tie it up. A trussing needle is not required.
4. Roast at a high temperature (475 or 500 degrees F) for roughly an hour. You want to get a temperature of about 155 degrees before taking it out to rest.
5. Wait.
6. Carve the bird in serving pieces.
7. Ladle-over the secret sauce.

Each time I do variations on the “sauce,” but there are always a few common ingredients. Shallot, garlic, lemon juice, fresh thyme, and butter. This time I also added a wine-stock reduction. Dijon mustard. Pour this over the carved meat, and serve. Sop-up the sauce with baguette. Don’t bother with potatoes or starchy vegetables. Go French.

I roasted cauliflower, after coating it in olive oil, salt, and pepper for 45 minutes. I then broke it up into small pieces, and mixed it with canned (and rinsed) garbanzo beans. Slice up baby tomatoes, add those. Mash a clove of garlic into a paste with salt, and add that to a bowl to make a dressing. Chop parsley, and add it to the dressing bowl. Same with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and an egg yolk.

I dressed some greens with my lemony dressing after blending it with a whisk and olive oil. I topped it with dressed vegetables, and then took pains to tuck-in slices of speck (smoked prosciutto) into the salad.

I have to say this salad was delicious.

I might make a few changes for next time…

• Could heat be added, by tossing the almost-done cauliflower with a curry spice mixture 10 minutes until they were done?
• Could I soak the beans and cauliflower in the dressing for a longer period, so when warm, they absorb more of that flavor?
• Might I add a little red onion?

This dish was inspired by what I had around and what I remembered looking good in a recipe online or in a cookbook. Doesn’t matter where it came from… sometimes you have to forge your own path towards deliciousness.

The day before, I made a syrup out of Shiraz wine and powdered sugar, which was what the cut strawberries were eagerly bathing in, in the fridge. Cleaning out the refrigerator today, we found some puff pastry, which I baked off, coated in egg and sugar.

To finish, we whipped some cream scented with vanilla and with more powdered sugar. Simple, but tasty, for sure.

Yet, I’m a fan of tomatoes and with our own easy access to our Hanover tomatoes, this soup can be a treat. You may also decide to make your gazpacho from a single heirloom variety, and of course, you can adopt tomatoes that are not typically red.

I featured a gazpacho recently here on the site, one inspired by some more tame flavors — a soup we might even call more French than Spanish. I’ve had gazpacho laced with cilantro and chunky, almost like a salsa. But my inspiration is leaning to a more complex, subtle flavor profile. This only works when you’re using really good produce.

The other aspect is texture. I like a gazpacho with a smooth flavor, but thick, too. It should be creamy, yet cold. How is this done?

Gazpacho, Take 2

• variety of ripe heirloom tomatoes
• red and yellow bell peppers
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Salt/Pepper
• cucumber, seeded
• herbs (parsley, basil)
• crustless-bread
• red onion
• garlic cloves, smashed
• vegetable stock or filtered water
• mustard ice cream (optional)
• sherry vinegar

So, here’s the thing… I didn’t measure much of anything to make this recipe. But I like tomato to be the dominant flavor, so I obviously used more of those. Peel your peppers with a vegetable peeler; you won’t remove 100%, but the peel is more difficult to digest. Core your tomatoes, peel the cucumber before de-seeding. (A spoon works wonders here, after the cucumber is split into two halves.)

I want my soup smooth. So I processed it in batches in a food processor. With each volley of tomato, pepper, salt and cucumber, I added some bread and some of the onion. Buzz… buzz… buzz… make it smooth! Through the feed tube, pour in some of the broth or water, then the EVOO. This soup is as much about the bread and the EVOO as it is the other things… you’ll give he soup a velvety texture and help to emulsify the soup, too.

I found the texture a little lumpy, and some stuff didn’t get well-chopped. Time for step 2.

Filter the gazpacho through a sieve. You’ll get the watery part to pass through, and taste this for seasoning. Then, re-process the chunky stuff. Re-integrate the two parts, and taste again for seasoning. If anything, I go light on the salt here because I plan to garnish each bowl or mug with salt and pepper.

It’s best to refrigerate the soup for 12-24 hours. Stir before serving, and you have a few choices for garnish.

I used the left-over mustard ice cream described by Patricia Wells in her Paris, the Cookbook. It’s a nice cold, creamy addition to the bowl. The cream has no seasoning, so it tends to wash out the salty-component. I garnished the top with Maldon salt and a lot of fresh-cracked pepper (my only addition this time for heat). I have found in the past if you want to use heat, try some hot sauce while making the soup.

Bon appétit!

While gazpacho is a cold soup, I don’t like to serve it “cold cold.” Leave it out of the refrigerator for an hour before service.

This recipe is published because I think it’s not about exact proportions (you can’t record in a recipe how flavorful the tomatoes are, or how big they are, or how much liquid they give off). My hunch is that gazpachos are not precise in origin, it’s a quick mixture of various vegetables in a savory/sour/salty mixture that’s fresh and rustic. But this is an excellent type of recipe for discovering your own palate and taste preferences. If you want to change the texture, you can use bread croutons instead of using bread as a thickener. Or, if you like cilantro and spice, you can do that. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end instead of the sherry vinegar. Add coarsely chopped tomatoes for texture. Add chive oil. The possibilities are endless, really.

The recipes are not simple, but there is much to learn about making excellent cuisine.

I chose three recipes. Let’s go in reverse order.

Sorbet

The recipe takes 2 lbs of fruit, 1.25 cups of sugar, and a little acid. I mixed half strawberries and blueberries.

While some recipes call for corn syrup, or even a sugar syrup, Keller’s is simple. Mix everything up in the blender. If you have a Vitamix or Blen-Tec, no need to strain. I have a Cuisinart, so I strained.

Then put the mixture in your ice cream machine.

I used lemon, but lime would have equally been well. I cut back on the sugar, and added a squirt of honey for the flavor.

The color and flavor were superb.

Cod with Pipérade

Keller calls for oil-poaching some cod fish, at 6 oz. per serving. You flavor some EVOO in thyme and garlic for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. I found my thermal/laser thermometer was excellent for grading the temperature.

Meanwhile, the complicated part is to create a pepper dish which acts as a base, called pipérade. It’s a mixture of an onion/tomato base (long cooking time), roasted red and yellow peppers, and a little spice. This mixture gets further cooked-down with vegetable stock.

The fish gets poached in oil for about 14-15 minutes. Take out the aromatics first, and regulate the temperature between 120-140 degrees F. I thought it was a mistake, but it really works.

The pepper part took a long time; I am sure there is a shortcut method, but the depth of flavors was outstanding. I brought me back to my lunch at Au Bascou in Paris where I enjoyed pipérade over eggs.

Salad with Asparagus

I roasted the pencil-thin asparagus with EVOO, salt and pepper for about 7 minutes at 450 degrees. Then I immediately put them in a mustard-vinaigrette to sit, then refrigerated them.

I used the left-over dressing to dress some greens, put the asparagus on top, and then shaved parmesan cheese over the top. Delicious. The warm asparagus soak-up some dressing and give them real flavor.

Don’t follow the instructions.

Use the bottom. Take it out, and be prepared for the consequences.

The first recipe is something I made up, based on the idea of an Italian frittata or a Spanish tortilla. It’s my recipe, so I am calling it a frittata.

Frittata ala Messy Chef

The idea here is to use up left-overs. I didn’t do that, but it was still easy to make and economical, to boot.

Serves 2.

• one onion
• one chorizo sausage, sliced into about 6-7pieces on the bias
• 2 cloves garlic
• tomato paste from a tube
• white wine
• EVOO
• grated parmesan cheese
• one Yukon Gold potato
• salt, pepper
• 4 eggs, whisked
• milk or water

The recipe can be expanded in a larger pan to serve more people.

First, cook down the onion until it’s medium-brown in EVOO. Rusty, really. If needed, slow down the process with a splash of wine. Add, and cook in the fat, some tomato paste, to color the onions. Cook them for as long as you have time.

Remove onions, reserving fat. Dice the potato into small chunks and brown these for about 5 minutes in the oil. Remove, and then crisp-up the sausage.

When the sausage has taken-on color, add the garlic, chopped, then the onion/potato mixture. Cook down now on a low heat for about 10 minutes… everything will be cooked through. Season liberally.

Mix the eggs together with a few tablespoons of milk and/or water, and pour into the pan, after raising the heat back up.

Cook, to set the bottom. Cover with the cheese, and complete the cooking of the eggs under the broiler.

Let it cool in the pan (non-stick is best) for about 8 minutes, the slide onto a plate for cutting like a pizza.

The other recipe I have is a classic, a decadent but really delicious sauce for enjoying asparagus of all thicknesses.

Asparagus with Hollandaise

• asparagus, ends chopped, and bottom halves peeled
• salted, boiling water
• top-grade butter (with 2 yolks, you could go from 3/4 stick to 2 sticks, depending on how much you need; I used 3/4 stick to serve two for ample sauce)
• lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks
• tarragon leaves
• salt
• cayenne pepper

Prepare the asparagus, and either steam them or boil them for about 6 minutes until bright green. Salted water is key here.

Remove to a plate to dry while you prepare the sauce.

In a blender, place the egg yolks, cayenne, salt, lemon juice to taste, and tarragon leaves. Mix on few pulses. In a sauce pan, melt butter; get it really hot (but don’t brown it!). Pour the hot, melted butter into the top of the blender with the blade running. This will create an emulsion, cook the egg yolks, and you’ll have thick, delicious Hollandaise. (Thank Julia Child for her ingenious blender method).

Bad bacon? Perhaps.

But I had so many interesting dishes I wanted to make after making a run to the library for some cookbooks.

For a salad, I wanted something light. I thought about making scallops on a bed of lettuce, but we took a more Italian direction, with my garlicky croutons, salami, and more. I dressed it lightly, but used mustard as a base.

The real star was a gazpacho. I had watched Laura Calder make one this Saturday, and she did the crouton thing on top. But then Patricia Wells, in her The Paris Cookbook, talks about gazpacho, too, and using a special touch she discovered one hot July afternoon. Her soup was adorned with a canelle of Dijon mustard ice cream. She even includes the recipe.

I liked the coolness, but would have preferred more Dijon. Note for next time.

Some fool on TV told us not to cut our basil, but instead tear it into our food. Yuck, big chunks of basil in a cold soup is nasty. Chiffonade it up, my friends.

The recipe takes into account adjustments for a more pungent ice cream.

Gazpacho Soup MessyChef Style

(Don’t make a mess in your kitchen like I did, bumping a side-shelf of sticky Asian condiments onto the floor from inside the refrigerator, with broken glass.)

Ice Cream

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tbsp. sharp Dijon mustard

Warm the milk to around 160 degrees, then mix into the yolks. Add the yolks back into the saucepan, and stir, heating to around 170 degrees. I use a thermal/laser thermometer which makes this process easier to do.

Strain yolks mixture into a clean and cool bowl, add in cream and mustard, stir to cool. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Make into ice cream following your manufacturers instructions. Makes about enough ice cream for 4-5 bowls of soup.

Soup

• variety of 6 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 cucumber, de-seeded
• 1 red pepper, peeled and cut into large wedges
• 4 Tbsp. EVOO
• salt, to taste
• basil
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 4 cloves garlic (2 for croutons)
• 1/2 cup tomato juice or veggie stock
• EVOO and garlic croutons (red pepper flakes)

Chop ingredients in a food processor, and strain through a sieve. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Once ready to eat, take the soup out to take the chill off, taste for seasoning.

Garnish with homemmade croutons, made by toasting torn Italian bread in EVOO in a hot pan with salt, 2 split garlic cloves, and red pepper flakes.

I would put the basil in with the soup instead of using it as a garnish; alternatively, you can chop it in little ribbons and use it as a garnish.

Put a dollop of the ice cream in the center of each bowel. The ice cream really keeps the soup cool, and I know would work well in hot weather.

Despite the Spanish nature of this dish, I felt the simpler recipe here, gilded with Dijon ice cream, was a French “translation.”

My own creativity finds many outlets, from writing in blogs like this one, to making new sounds on the piano, and yes, my creativity has more recently flowered in the kitchen. A dream of mine would to take on Julia’s early profession, and host cooking classes. Think about what folks like Patricia Wells is doing now, between her home in Provence (using Julia Child’s own oven), and in Paris. She of course has far more skill and culinary experience than I have - which is why she can command 4-figure fees for students who come from the US and beyond to cook with her.

But it isn’t too soon to start thinking about what you’d like to do in retirement, is it? Or if you lose your job?

Tonight’s dinner was one such example, a compromise even.

“You like steak. I am not hungry, I only want a salad.”

Steak salad.

The big flavor profiles were from the dressing, crumbled blue cheese, and red onions. A really delicious heirloom tomato was in the mix too, with baby salad greens and herbs.

I seared a filet mignon in a frying pan in bacon grease (to use up two last strips of Applewood-smoked bacon, and use them in the salad), until about 115 degrees in the center. It later rested, before being carved into thin strips.

The dressing was made by reducing 2 parts beef stock to 1 part balsamic vinegar with thyme in a saucepan. When it gained some body and thickness, I let it cool, then whisked in a little grainy Dijon-style mustard and EVOO. It emulsified great, and had a great depth of flavor, including a savory sweetness. Dress the greens with this, and reserve some to anoint the pieces of steak on the salad.

Back to my original theme here… it’s simply a lot of fun to share your creativity with others. I find that in everything I do.

You start the process by cooking bacon in water to render the fat, for almost 30 minutes, until it is fully cooked. Once removed, you cook almost equal parts of leek and onion for about 7 minutes over moderate heat, add garlic, and then add a can of Italian tomatoes.

This “sauce” gets half-puréed in the food processor, then you return the chopped and chunky mixture to heat, adding back the bacon, cooking for up to 45 minutes to reduce.

Keller says this is killer over asparagus that’s been steamed in stock. He also mentions that it’s great as a topping for fish, so I combined the two.

Halibut, pan seared in butter with tarragon, is plated on top of a helping of this delicious sauce.

The sauce was delectable, both sweet, sour, and smokey. The richness of the fish was well-matched with this sauce.

I followed the recipe for Dorie Greenspan’s sweet crepes, which includes a little rum and the zests from lemon and orange. I tried first using 50/50 buckwheat and A/P flour, but those didn’t turn out, so I made the recipe again.

The key towards using my crepe pan successfully is to get it hot. Those little brown marks on the crepes give them character and the right texture!

I smeared a little Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread inside each one, before folding them into triangles. The strawberries were macerated in a sugar-Cointreau mixture for 5 hours in the refrigerator before cooking the mixture down, with a little extra sugar and a tab of butter. I added a little lemon juice, which helped balance the richness of the chocolate with the berries.

After seeing Adam Roberts’ post on warm chocolate chip cookies, and seeing I don’t live in New York to go and grab the cookies of the famous chocolate man, Jacques Torres, I summoned for my own.

Of course, now that I’ve made some, I don’t have the same style of recipe. I can tell that looking at Jacques’ cookies, he likely uses the thin and crispy style recipe, but gets the chew from keeping them warm. I chose instead for a thicker, chewier cookie, but one that was described as “something you likely will see in gourmet shops.” Well…

So, I’ve made the recipe before and decided to go for it. But could I improve it, as I’m a tinkerer?

Instead of presenting the recipe, let me give you some things to try with your own recipe, little tweeks, if you will.

• Mine called for an extra egg yolk to make it “chewier,”
• Try melted butter that gets browned. Not blackened butter, but nutty brown. You’ll know it when you smell it.
• Brown sugar… mine is mostly brown, with a little white. I used dark brown for the darker, richer flavor.
• Add a could Tbsp. of cocoa powder to the flour, that’s why my cookies appear more brown.
• Try adding a shot of espresso with your vanilla.
• Try chocolate chunks instead of chips; I used Callebaut chocolate and Ghiradelli white baking chocolate.

They taste really good, but a few things to try, going forward…

• Use 2/3 cold butter that gets whipped with sugar; use 1/3 of the nutty melted, that has fully cooled.
• Wrap your dough tight and chill it for at least 24 hours, if not 36.

Next time… I’ll see what the added tips do. I think the cooler (non melted butter) will make the cookie spread more when baking; and I think the chilling of the dough for 3 days will help develop a better flavor. I read/listened to this last step 2 years ago with great interest, but today simply couldn’t give the time!

Crèpes Suzette again it would be.

I used a crepe recipe which called for:

• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp. melted butter
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• flavorings (in this case, it asked for spirits and lemon zest)

While David Rosengarten suggests letting your batter sit for 30 minutes, the more re-knowned baker Dorie Greenspan suggests hours if not a full 8! So, I made this batter in the morning in the blender, and let it sit in the refrigerator. I buzzed it again before making my crepes in the evening.

I like buckwheat, so I actually pulled back just a few Tbsp. on the flour and replaced the wheat with buckwheat.

I made the crepes in advance, separating them with sugar, as per Greenspan’s suggestion. It worked.

This new pan is not “non-stick,” which means they don’t stick, but they also don’t slide.

You try and cover an even layer. About medium heat was good for this small pan.

Once the first side browns and it begins to dry, I used an offset spatula to flip them over. Be prepared to use your fingers.

I don’t use a recipe for the sauce, as it’s been in my repertoire since the 1990s. I start with making a caramel with white, vanilla-infused sugar.

Next, break the caramel with your favorite orange juice, and when reduced, add your favorite orange spirit of choice. Crank it.

Mount in butter like a mad man until you get your consistency… then add in the folded crepes to sauce and warm.

Garnish as you like; the sweet sauce is well-offset with the tartness of fresh raspberries.

Bon appétit!

Folks like Gael Greene will say with great drama “simply a delight, 4 stars…” and then they go to another judge, who might award the dish “5 stars, I can’t imagine anything better…” and while these are being announced, the stars and the addition takes place magically on our screens. When I have our friends over, I usually do a 3-course meal, an appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Last night I decided to step things up, as I wanted to challenge myself. One of the challenges was offering a fourth course.

And after each one, I asked them for their ratings. With your friends, it’s more difficult, because I think they don’t want to hurt your feelings. But if you take a 5-star system, 4 raters (including myself), and an “80” as a perfect score, I earned a “68.” Incidentally, I was the most harsh of the critics, offering “3s” where others were giving away “4.5”s.

Menu

• 1^er: Asperges à la hollandaise et tomates rôties
• 2^ième: Oeufs à l’italienne
• 3^ième: Cuisses de poulet Marengo
• 4^ième: Gâteau mousse au chocolat à Roustang

Aspereges

I used a typical recipe here, asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (lemon, egg yolk, and butter with parsley), but the sourness of the lemon juice was counterbalanced here by using oven-roasted tomatoes. The tomatoes were mixed with EVOO, some balsamic vinegar, and a paste of 4 cloves of garlic with salt. This went over very well, and received 4- and 5-star ratings.

Ouefs

This dish was the least successful of the bunch, and I blame it on my own cooking methodology; I followed no recipe, but tried something based on a luncheon dish I had in Paris.

The idea is, you cook eggs in a tomato sauce, and earlier in the day I made tomato sauce using Italian-style whole tomatoes with onion and garlic. Once cooled, I added fresh basil, and then put the sauce in the bottom of ramekins. This part was fine, but I only used the broiler. I should have cooked them at around 350 for 8 minutes, then pulled them out to add the panko/cheese topping. Then, use the broiler to set the cheese.

The crisp texture was there, and the runny egg yolk, but in some ramekins uncooked white remained. It won’t kill you, but it’s not so appetizing. I also might employ a less-tall vessel, a wider oven-proof dish might be better, without the depth. But the flavors were spot on. Have work to do here.

Cuisses de Poulet

In her From Around my French Table cookbook, Dorie Greenspan has a recipe for something we love, Veal Marengo. We took this stewed veal dish elsewhere, using instead chicken thighs. We think it’s a superior dish with chicken!

Wine and onions make the basis of a sauce that’s perfumed with a bouquet garni of herbs. Mushrooms and pearl onions complete the stew, colored and flavored with tomatoes. The chicken gets browned first, then is braised in the oven for only 30 minutes. This is a quick stew-type dish, and although Greenspan uses a large sauté pan for hers, I used my new Staub casserole.

Gâteau de Chocolat

This is another Greenspan recipe, borrowed from the French chef Michel Roustag. She offers three methods for making it, as it must be double-baked using two layers. Her method, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

She suggests using a springform pan on top of a Silpat. Well, honey, the batter leaks out. I would recommend you do her recipe with the bottom in (she says take it out), and line the bottom with parchment. Then, it’d be perfect.

This can be served warm or cold, but we served it warm, and it was delightful with freshly-whipped cream, a contrast in texture and temperature.

This one earned 4- and 5-stars as well. I loved getting feedback on the meal, and it’s always fun to take your French food skills further.

Hash browns went into warmed oil, and bacon went on to fry. We like the pre-packed hash browns from Trader Joe’s (very nice flavor and texture).

The bacon was Niman’s applewood smoked variety, very tasty.

While that was going on, it was time to start the coffee. My favorite method of preparation is using a press.

It requires a coarse grind of coffee, and hot boiling, filtered water.

The hardest part is having the discipline to time the brew. 4 minutes is what I’ve found to be a good timing for this.

I pulled out the iPad to do the timing.

As the seconds around 3:50 approach, I slowly plunge the top of the press, and I anticipate the creamier texture of this coffee, and anticipate seeing an oil slick on the top from the coffee’s oils that paper filters seem to trap.

The eggs this morning were delicious; I use Shenandoah Farms eggs, using the Ramsey method (eggs into a non-stick pan, mounted with butter, then salt), and to guild the lilly, I also splashed in a tease of truffle oil. A small fresh cracking of black pepper at the end adds spice.

I love the mixture of good orange juice with bacon and hash browns, these are flavors so satisfying together. Then I turn my attention to the coffee, and grab the iPad, to plan out chores for the day.

Happy Sunday.

I apologize for the “not so appetizing” photo, stylized with Instagram. The dish is simple to make, but oh so complex and deep in flavors.

• butter
• Belgian endive
• apple
• grapes
• rosemary (the secret ingredient)
• salt and pepper

That’s it, folks. Cook this for about 40 minutes over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Flip stuff around after 20 minutes. Sweet, salty, bitter, and the pan sauce is simply divine. Credit goes to Dorie Greenspan. I don’t know her, but I love her cookbook Around my French Table. Every time I make something, it’s special, and I wish I could hug the woman. She has superb taste.

In this case, I took a nod from Ina Garten with her recipe for meatballs that combine prosciutto, turkey, and Italian sausage, but made these more my own this time around.

The flavor profile I created was not the same as her recipe from the “How Easy is That?” cookbook, but it’s still worthy enough to mention.

• ground turkey (ratio 4:7)
• ground beef (ratio 1:7)
• mixture of sweet and spicy Italian sausage (2:7)
• bunch of Italian parsley, chopped
• fresh rosemary, chopped
• ciabatta bread, chopped
• 2 eggs
• EVOO
• dried oregano
• grated parmesan cheese
• tomato paste
• left-over crème fraiche (I would use more of another cheese if I had it, this is what I had, which helped with the egg to bind the meatballs)

The beauty of this recipe is that the meatballs get cooked in the oven on parchment paper (35 minutes at 400 degrees, test for doneness).

Throw these guys into a sauce, throw-on more cheese, and you’ve got a delicious bowl.