appetizers (les hors d’œurves)

It is a New Year’s Eve party in your mouth: herbed fresh oysters on sea salt, papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies), and smoked salmon roulades

December 31st, 2011

  réveillon !

It is a New Year’s Eve party in your mouth: herbed fresh oysters on sea salt, papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies), and smoked salmon roulades  

The weather in Paris is chilly with a slight rain that is here one moment and gone the next. However, the winter weather matters to no one and it certainly does not keep Parisians indoors or off the streets (or slow them down for that matter). The city is lit, seasonally decorated, and Parisians are out in droves buying truffles, pâté de foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon, and Champagne … lots of Champagne and pink seems to be particularly popular this year. Celebration is in the air. This week’s simple pleasure is three appetizers that will give you more reason to celebrate: herbed fresh oysters on sea salt, papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies), and smoked salmon roulade. Sent from (rainy) Paris, with love. 

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smoked salmon roulade

December 31st, 2011

Smoked Salmon

smoked salmon roulade 

makes 12

what you need:

12 slices smoked salmon 
12 thin slices cucumber
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced capers, rinsed 
lemon juice (optional)
kosher salt (to taste)

12 small skewers, cocktail toothpicks (or chives) Read the rest of this entry »

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papillons au Roquefort (blue cheese butterflies)

December 31st, 2011

Blue Cheese Butterflies

papillons au Roquefort
(blue cheese butterflies)

makes 12 (or more depending upon size of bread) 

what you need:

1 small wedge of Papillon Roquefort  (or other quality blue cheese) 
1 small loaf of quality raisin and nut bread 
6 teaspoons good honey (and as needed) Read the rest of this entry »

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pommes sur canapé : Mont d’Or fondu avec pommes de terre (Mont d’Or fondue with fingerling potatoes)

November 3rd, 2011

Cheese and Potatoes

pommes sur canapé :
Mont d’Or fondu avec pommes de terre
(Mont d’Or fondue with fingerling potatoes)

I like to play with words almost as much as I like to play with food. “Pommes sur canape” is my own jeu de mots (play on words). In French, pommes (or pommes de terre) means potato while canapé is French for both a couch and an appetizer. Accordingly, “pommes sur canapé” means both “couch potato” and “potato appetizer.” I thought of this silliness as I placed my annual order for the seasonal treasure Mont d’Or and it is the combination of the two that brings us this week’s simple pleasure: Mont d’Or fondu avec pommes de terre (Mont d’Or fondue with fingerling potatoes). Read the rest of this entry »

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hee hee hee…straight from the witch’s cauldron: roasted date mummy fingers & harvest tajine with a haricots verts broomstick

October 27th, 2011

Mummy Fingers Kids Desserts

hee hee hee…straight from the witch’s cauldron: 
roasted date mummy fingers  & harvest tajine with a haricots verts broomstick

The belated chill in the air makes us crave fall flavors and cold-weather cooking. This week we combine the comfort of oven-prepared food with Halloween fun. Tajine, a cooking vessel shaped like a witch’s hat (as well as a popular Moroccan stew) was the inspiration for this week and it is the blending of a witch theme with Tajine-inspired flavors that give us this week’s simple pleasure(s): roasted date mummy fingers and a harvest tajine with a haricots verts broomstick. Read the rest of this entry »

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“seasonal” depends upon your dirt: two light recipes for fall using the seasonal ingredients in your market

October 14th, 2011

Roasted Stuffed Figs

 “seasonal” depends upon your dirt:
two light recipes for fall using the
seasonal ingredients in your market

Fall is a time to enjoy the warm flavors it offers. However, what do you do when you want to eat seasonally, but the season is uncharacteristically hot? What do you do if the season is short and you cannot find the ingredients? Inspired by ways to create light dishes with a variety of fall flavors, this week’s simple pleasure is twofold: (1) roasted  figs stuffed with a St Agur and basalmic vinegar reduction, garnished with French honey and served on a roasted pear slice; and (2) persimmon, endive, apple, and beet salad with creamy (creamless) dressing. Read the rest of this entry »

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en garde: defending against the heat with fresh melon, herb and prosciutto skewers

August 25th, 2011

fresh melon, herb and prosciutto skewers

en garde: defending against the heat
with fresh melon, herb and prosciutto skewers

The forecast is nothing short of blazing heat in both Los Angeles and France. Too hot to cook. Too hot for heavy food. A plate of ripe melon with thinly-sliced prosciutto is a classic summer pairing. Inspired by the triple digits and my fencing daughter, melon, herb and prosciutto skewers are this week’s simple pleasure.  Read the rest of this entry »

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it is hot in here: tarte flamblée with Alsacian slaw … “ah weee”

July 28th, 2011


wooden pizza spatula by Chef Morgan

it is hot in here: tarte flamblée with Alsacian slaw … “ah weee”

The region of Alsace is beautiful and full of wonderful people, A.O.C. wines (such as Muscat, Gerwürztraminer, and Riesling) and its own culinary traditions one of which is tarte flamblée (also known as flammeküche). In a nod to this special region of France, tarte flamblée served with a lardon and apple cabbage slaw is this week’s simple pleasure.

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boulettes de chèvre et raisins secs et groseilles (goat cheese balls with raisins and currants)

July 1st, 2011

a “palette” pleasing appetizer and adieu to an artist

I was in France last week when I heard the news that Peter Falk had passed. I thought of the first time I met him. It was nearly twenty years ago at his home.  I was scurrying around trying to be helpful and when I turned around, there stood Mr. Falk. I did not recognize him and so I asked him in my most matter-of-fact, grown-up tone, “may I help you?” He smiled at me with that “Columbo” smile and I realized as soon as the clumsy words spilled from my mouth who he was and I felt a little foolish. Peter Falk was charming and kind. He was an incredibly talented actor and artist. I thought of him in his art studio, surrounded by his female sketches. I thought of an artist’s “palette ” and everyone’s “palate” and it is the combination of the two which is the inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure: boulettes de chèvre et raisins secs et groseilles (goat cheese balls with raisins and currants). The artist palette serving tray is optional.

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roasted and stuffed summer cherry tomatoes (à la bourguignonne)

June 24th, 2011

 

chef Morgan summer cherry tomatoes (à la bourguignonne)

summer cherry tomatoes (à la bourguignonne)

Cooking inspiration can come from anything and sometimes it comes from really nothing at all. Today it was my poêlon à escargots, a ceramic dish with twelve individual holes in which to cook the escargots. The dish works nicely because the individual holes roast each escargot in a bath of seasoned butter. However, I wanted to take advantage of the summer cherry tomatoes that are filling the markets so I decided to roast my tomatoes in my poêlon à escargotsas if they were escargots. The result: delicious so I thought I would share the recipe with you.  This week’s simple pleasure is summer cherry tomatoes “àla bourguignonne” (with a twist, of course).

 

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