starters (les entrées)

hungry no more: The Hunger Games menu

April 1st, 2012

 hungry no more: The Hunger Games Menu 

Peeta’s nut and raisin bread with Prim goat cheese

Rue dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing

Katniss’s rabbit (or chicken) chasseur

 Roasted blackberries on a vanilla pod bow with vanilla seed ice cream
and fresh violets for Gale

Impossible for me to resist. I love food. I love books. The title is The Hunger Games. Coincidentally the book (part of a trilogy by Suzanne Collins) is a fad among tweens and teens and it was race with my eldest daughter to see who could finish the book first. She won. We both loved the book and the food references throughout sent my creativity into orbit. However, the power of this book goes beyond the ability to encourage a child’s love of literature, it can also encourage them to eat good food (unbeknownst to them), and as I quickly turned the pages, this week’s simple pleasure, a Hunger Games menu, was born.  

Happy Hunger Games and may the odds be ever in your favor.” 

Hunger Games Loaf of Bread with and arrow stuck in it

“Gale holds up a loaf of bread with an arrow stuck in it, and I laugh. It’s real bakery bread, not the flat dense loaves we make from our grain rations.” (page 7)

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raisin and nut bread

April 1st, 2012

Hunger Games Food = Raisin and Nut Bread

 raisin and nut bread

makes two 1½ pound loaves

what you need:

¼ ounce instant yeast
2 cups (16 ounces) warm water
1 ounce quality honey
4 ounces King Arthur whole wheat flour
~18 ounces King Arthur bread flour
½ ounce kosher salt
1 cup raisins (all colors)
1 cup walnut pieces, toasted
½ cup whole and halved hazelnuts, blanched and toasted
mix of flaxseeds, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds (as needed) Read the rest of this entry »

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rue and dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing

April 1st, 2012

 Hunger games food - rue and dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing 

rue and dandelion salad with tracker jacker dressing

serves 4 

what you need:

salad
1 handful small dandelion leaves, trimmed

1 small head ofLittle Gem lettuce, leafed
2 handfuls of mesclun (with baby beet tops)
4-6 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
4-6 Tokyo turnips, halved or quartered
4-6 baby (Dutch) carrots (various colors)
2-3 Easter radishes, thinly sliced
2-3  French breakfast radishes, halved Read the rest of this entry »

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It is just the way I see things; baby spring vegetable and Puy lentil salad

March 10th, 2012

 

It is just the way I see things; baby spring vegetable
and Puy lentil salad

Spring is my favorite season. Budding bulbs and blossoming trees bring a sense of renewal and the promise of a fresh start. Returning to my apartment from my baguette run, I was filled with anticipation. Partly, because I could not wait to slather apricot jam on this airy piece of crispy goodness I clutched in my hand, but also because the morning air was filled with the smell of narcissus, daffodils, and hyacinths. The corner florist had opened their doors. Spring has sprung and the evidence was artfully presented in round baskets for shoppers to take home and bring a little bit of spring indoors (even if the radiators were still turned on). I stopped and as I looked at the displays this week’s simple pleasure was born: baby spring vegetable and Puy lentil salad. Read the rest of this entry »

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Belgium endive au gratin

February 19th, 2012

 

Belgium Endive au gratin

out of the salad bowl and turning up the heat:
Belgium endive au gratin

Rarely do Americans cook endives. Rather, we consume them raw, usually in a salad or as a passed hors d’œurves. However, sometimes you just have take things out of the salad bowl. I say that with great affection thinking of someone I met who primarily eats salads and rarely ventures out culinarily (at least on his own). This week’s simple pleasure goes outside the endive salad bowl and turns up the heat with a Belgium endive au gratin.   Read the rest of this entry »

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beet Napoleon

February 11th, 2012

Beet napoleon

beet Napoleon

 makes 4-6

what you need:

6 red beets (to roast)
6 golden beets (to roast)

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green salad with mustard frill, watercress and pea tendrils

February 11th, 2012

 green salad with mustard frill, watercress and pea tendrils

 serves 4-6

what you need:

1 handful red mustard frill
1 handful green mustard frill2 handfuls mesclun
½ cup watercress, stems removed
1 handful trimmed pea tendrils

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cucumber, watermelon radish and celery cru

January 5th, 2012

 

 cucumber, watermelon radish and celery cru

stats:

serves 4
55 calories per serving Read the rest of this entry »

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roasted golden beets and watermelon radishes with blood orange segments

January 5th, 2012

 roasted golden beets and watermelon radishes with blood orange segments

 roasted golden beets and watermelon radishes with blood orange segments

stats:

serves 4-6
(approx 69- 106 calories per serving)

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look what the wind blew in: souffléd herb and chèvre omelette

December 1st, 2011

look what the wind blew in: souffléd herb and chèvre omelette 
(a great way to lighten up post-Thanksgiving)

This week I bought my youngest daughter Les œufs verts au jambon (Dr. Seuss’s classic Green Eggs and Ham, in French). As we read it, I could hear the wind howling outside and I thought of a friend’s comment about feeling like an anchor after the consumption of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and gravy.  So what does a chef think of while reading green eggs and ham, listening to the wind, and obsessing on “lighter”, leaner foods? Whisked egg whites with a little green and the inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure:  souffléd herb and chèvre omelette.

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