Gorgeous Artichokes in the Markets of Paris!

Artichokes Marche Bio Paris  1 2746x1958The first thing I do when I arrive in the City of Light is to get out my rolling cart and head for the organic farmers’ market called Le Marché Bio. We had barely unpacked our bags when we headed to it a couple of Sundays ago. There in all their glory were the jewels of the farmers’ hard work—gorgeous little peas, strawberries that were red all the way through and decadently juicy, cherries so sweet they needed no embellishing, countless bouquets of fresh herbs, and stately artichokes—just possibly my favorite late spring vegetable!

Artichokes in France usually appear in two varieties: the small to medium ones are tinged with purple and call artichauts violets and the others, the incredibly large variety, are artichauts de Bretagne (from Brittany). I couldn’t resist and popped four of the latter in my bag to serve at a small dinner the next night.

Artichokes with Lemon Mint Butter 1 Paris 3648x2736

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Scrumptious Blueberry Cake for a Crowd

Blueberry Cake with Lemon Creme Fraiche 2Fresh blueberries are in full season here in New England. At the local farmers’ market, every fruit vendor has bountiful displays of these luscious little orbs neatly packed in pint and half pint boxes. And, they’re not the only ones featuring this summer staple. The bakers are including them in pies and muffins, while the local yogurt maker is turning out blueberry smoothies sweetened with maple syrup.

I wasn’t surprised then when my culinary assistants, working in my kitchen last week, were all abuzz about blueberry recipes. Mary Webber, a new member of our team, described a simple blueberry pan cake that she has baked for years, and had us all pleading for the directions. Continue reading

Springing Forward with a Delicious Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup with Lemon Creme Fraiche 2According to the calendar, spring officially arrived several weeks ago, but you’d never know it from our weather here in New England. Yes, we had a few days where the temperature actually reached into the fifties, but mostly it’s been damp and cold, and no one is rushing to put away their winter gear.

Even though it’s still hovering in the low forties outside, I’m tired of winter cooking and ready to spring forward in my kitchen. This week, for instance, I made an ethereally smooth asparagus and leek soup, lightened it with lemon-scented crème fraîche, then added a sprinkle of snipped chives.

The soup turned out to be ideal for this transitional time of the year.  Continue reading

Lemon Pudding “Cakes”

Lemon pudding “cakes” are actually a cross between a pudding and a light, airy souffle-like cake. In the following recipe, you simply cream butter and sugar, and then add egg yolks, lemon juice and zest along with milk and a small amount of flour. Finally, you fold in beaten egg whites, and bake until the batter is set. When done, the pudding cakes seem to divide into two distinct layers, an airy cake-like layer on top and a dense rich pudding one on the bottom. They are heaven to eat either warm, at room temperature, or chilled. Continue reading

Lemon Sorbet Parfaits with Prosecco

Sometimes a dish is so good that it remains in my memory long after I’ve tasted it. That’s the case with the special dessert featured here. Several years ago at Telepan on New York’s Upper West Side, I sampled a confection that grabbed my taste buds and wouldn’t let go. Scoops of quince sorbet, softly whipped cream, and toasted almonds were alternately layered in glasses, and then topped with a generous pouring of Prosecco. Later in the year, I returned to the restaurant and had a delicious variation prepared with lemon sorbet. Continue reading