my garbure

January 26th, 2012

Garbure or stone soup

Peasant stew.  Fit for a king and royally good: 
my garbure

This month second graders all across America are reading as many books as they can that have been awarded the Caldecott Honor.  One of my favorite Caldecott books is Stone Soup by Marcia Brown. The book is about three hungry soldiers who convince (or trick) a town of peasants to make soup from stones (and other on-hand, but hidden, ingredients). The effort culminates in a soup that the peasants declare is “fit for a king.” While we are not making soup from stones, the ability to make a simple yet hearty soup with on-hand ingredients (and a few seasonal vegetables which I consider under-used but easily obtainable) is the inspiration for this week’s simple pleasure, my garbure. Read the rest of this entry »

vin chaud

December 11th, 2010

vin chaud

Le vin chaud (hot wine or “mulled wine”) is a warm, festive treat for the holidays that is easy to make (the simmering wine makes your home smell good too).  Here are a few suggestions to help you with your preparation.

First, I like to toast the spices and fruit in a dry pan before adding the wine because that intensifies their flavor.   Once the spices are fragrant and a fond from the fruit has begun to form on the pan bottom, I add a touch of brandy and then immediately add the wine. The brandy adds a nice depth to the wine and releases the fond from the pan (however omit the brandy if you are simmering cider instead of wine).

Second, simmer the wine for about 45 minutes.   Do not boil the wine or simmer longer than one hour or the wine will become bitter.  Do not simmer for less than 30 minutes because the spices will not have been infused.  You can add additional spices to your taste (I often I add licorice root as well); however, do not add any ground spices or your wine will be chalky and cloudy.

Third, most mulled wine recipes add sugar to the wine (anywhere from 1/4 to 1 cup per bottle).   I omit the sugar completely.   It is not necessary and wine already has sugar in it.  However, I do add a couple of dried cherries (you can use raisins if you want) which slightly sweeten the wine and compliment the fruit overtones in the wine.

Fourth, with respect to the wine, avoid earthy Bordeauxs and full-bodied Cabernets.  Use a medium-bodied red wine such as a Pinot Noir or Red Zinfandel (although Merlot and Shiraz could work as well).   I include two Pinot Noir recommendations below (thanks to my friend Mark at The Wine House).  The Cloudline (from Oregon) is more fruit forward while the Santa Maria Pinot is more of a subtle, classic Pinot Noir.  Choose according to your taste preference.

Lastly, I am always asked how much money to spend on a bottle of wine with which you are going to cook.  In my opinion, you can neither select nor eliminate a wine based solely upon price  (price is also subjective).   Instead, my rule of thumb is that you should buy a wine that you would drink and enjoy but not a wine that you would sip and savor.

Santé !

LM

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fruit is dessert

December 3rd, 2010

fruit is dessert

Children today do not consider fruit to be dessert.  To them, cake, ice cream, or a piece of pie is dessert and adults‘ ideas of what constitute dessert is no different.   However,  it is our routine and excess consumption of added sugar (sugar found in these commonly thought of desserts) that is ruining our health and the health of our children.  The American Heart Association (www.heart.org/HEARTORG) estimates that one of three American children is overweight or obese which is causing children to have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and elevated blood cholesterol levels.  The statistics for adults are no better.

Are you consuming excess added sugar?  The AHA recommends that women consume only 24 grams (100 calories) of added sugar per day which is equal to 6 teaspoons (or 2 tablespoons). The recommendation for men is 36 grams (150 calories)  per day which is equal to 9 teaspoons (or 3 tablespoons). For reference,  a  3 1/2 ounce piece of chocolate cake has approximately 428 calories,  38 grams of sugar, 16 grams of fat, and 73 grams of carbohydrates.  While by no means am I advocating the elimination of chocolate cake, we need a reminder that fruit is dessert.

This week’s simple pleasure is pears poached in red wine and brewed chai tea.  Pears are in season and they store well.   They are nutrient dense with fiber, no saturated fat and no cholesterol, and a  3 1/2 ounce pear contains only 58 calories.  Although fruit is typically poached in simple syrup (equal amounts of granulated sugar and water) combined with spices and sometimes wine, my recipe is different.  The poaching liquid is a combination of the pears’ peels, brewed chai tea, red wine, reduced apple cider, spices, and only one tablespoon of agave nectar.

This dessert is simple to make.  It takes 20-30 minutes to poach the pears.  The pears can be served warm or at room temperature.  They can be served out of the pot you poached them in or out of a large bowl and spooned into shallow soup bowls with some of the poaching liquid.  You can also reduce the poaching liquid down to a syrup and spoon it over the pear.   As an added bonus, the pears can be stored in the refrigerator in their poaching liquid for a few days, making it a great dessert to do ahead of time and have on hand.   When you do store them, they become a deeper rose color going perfectly with the autumn season.

A quick note about the ingredients.  Use a quality chai tea preferably loose leaf (it was actually the delicious chai tea at Caffe Luxxe which inspired me to write this recipe).  The wine you use should be mild and fruity, I recommend something from the Loire Valley if you can find it.  When deciding how much money to spend on the wine my general rule is that you should use a good wine that you want to drink, but not one that you would sip and savor.  Lastly, use ripe pears (without soft spots or bruises) that are still firm but slightly give at the neck when pressed on.  Pears should not be purchased soft unless you are going to use them immediately (pears decline rapidly).  Rather, chose pears that are firm, put them in the refrigerator for a couple of days, then store them at room temperature in a brown paper bag.   Do not use Asian pears for this recipe because they are too juicy and crisp and their best attributes will be lost.  Rather, use European pears.  Bosc pears (with their elegant long necks) and  Seckel pears (also called sugar pears which are sweet and a perfect size) are my favorite.   However, I also use Comice pears (Doyenne du Comice) and d’Anjou pears (Beurré d’Anjou) although of the two I prefer the taste of the Comice for this recipe because of their winey overtones.   Simple.  Easy.  Delicious.  Dessert is served.

Je vous souhaite un bon appétit !

LM

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