Chili–Perfect for Oscar NIght

Posted on February 28, 2014 by brosbottom

This past week at my annual winter soups cooking class, the enthusiastic students managed to down three main course potages along with a basket of warm breads and a colorful salad. The menu included a pureed tomato and garlic soup served with Gorgonzola brushette, a hearty French smoked sausage and vegetable mélange, and a spicy chicken, black bean, and chipotle chili. Although the class declared all delicious, it was the chili that drew them back for seconds and even thirds. At the end of the night, I asked the group if they would use these recipes in the days ahead. “Yes,” they answered, “for Oscar Night this Sunday!” “Which one?” I asked. “That spicy chili,” they replied.

It didn’t take long for me to decide to share this special recipe with readers since the Academy Awards are this Sunday night. (Get your ballots out.) Made with diced white Continue reading →

An Early Taste of Mardi Gras

Posted on February 21, 2014 by brosbottom

When my son, Mike, called last Wednesday to say that he and his family were thinking of driving from Boston to Amherst for the weekend, I knew they were all angling for some home-cooked meals. Since Mike, his wife, and both kids all love seafood, I decided on a shrimp jambalaya for the first night. My husband and I both spent childhood vacations as well as our college years in New Orleans and so are longtime devotees of this dish.

Instead of a classic version in which the rice is cooked separately, then topped with a tomato-based sauce with shrimp, for this variation the rice and sauce are conveniently baked together in a casserole. The shrimp are arranged atop the spicy mélange during the last few minutes in the oven. I gilded the lily by buying mini-lobster tails on sale at Whole Foods last week. They were quickly steamed, their meat picked out and added as an extra garnish when the dish came out of the oven. Continue reading →

Baking on a Snowy Day

Posted on February 13, 2014 by brosbottom

Looking out my kitchen window, I once again see snow cascading from the skies. Although the fields behind our house take on a fairy tale glow as the snow blankets them, I am weary of staying in during yet another winter storm. (I’ve lost track of how many we’ve had this year!)

What I do during these blizzards is cook. I’ve made countless soups. Chicken and black bean chili, a thick tomato soup topped with Parmesan cream, and spicy Indian lentil and butternut squash soup helped me ride out previous storms. This week I’ve turned to baking, and pulled out a favorite recipe for extra-thin, extra crispy oatmeal cookies. I was reminded recently of this recipe, which I first made and wrote about two decades ago. A food editor from a Honolulu newspaper wrote to tell me she was running it in the food section of a local paper at the request of one of her readers. Continue reading →

Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes for Valentine

Posted on February 7, 2014 by brosbottom

If left to my own devices, I’d put chocolate at the top of the food pyramid, and not just any chocolate, a good dark one with 70 % or more cocoa. Chocoholics would probably agree with this reordering of the celebrated food chart, especially as February 14th approaches.

Each year I create a new chocolate treat to savor for Valentine’s Day, so for the past few days I’ve been working on a recipe for dark chocolate hazelnut cupcakes. Although baked in standard muffin tins, these rich cakes are petit, doming only slightly above their paper liners, but they are densely packed with intense chocolate flavor. Continue reading →

Duck for Dinner—Easy, Delicious, and Inexpensive

Posted on January 31, 2014 by brosbottom

Last fall at the supermarket, I was debating whether to buy some individually packaged duck legs with thighs when a friend passed by and picked up several packets. “Have you tried these?” I asked. To which she quickly replied that were they not only delicious, but also a terrific bargain at around $3 per serving. Since my husband never met a duck dish he didn’t like, I added a couple to my cart.

Uncertain how I’d prepare this purchase, I remembered on the way home a fabulous duck entrée I’d ordered in a Paris bistro several years back. It featured a duck breast that was quickly sautéed and sauced, then served atop a creamy parsnip puree. Duck legs, I reasoned, could be easily substituted, but would need a longer cooking time. Continue reading →

Piping Hot Onion Soup Counters Freezing Temperatures

Posted on January 24, 2014 by brosbottom

After three blissful weeks in Paris where the thermometer rarely registered out of the 40s, we returned to blizzard conditions in New England and temperatures so cold (try minus 5 as a low and 12 as a high) that we haven’t ventured far from the warmth of our home. Although the Artic blast has prevented us from walking for exercise, it hasn’t diminished our appetites. In fact, the weather has made us ravenous, especially for comfort food.

On my first trip to the grocery, I picked up all the makings for the ultimate cold weather dish—soupe à l’oignon gratinée. This particular recipe, the pièce de résistance of a recent cooking class called Midnight in Paris, is based loosely on the first onion soup I ever made from Julia’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume I. The main difference is that I suggest using a quickly made short-cut beef stock, or, when rushed, opting for quality purchased stock. Continue reading →

A Stay At Home Lunch in Paris

Posted on January 17, 2014 by brosbottom

In Paris, my local cheese store, Quatrehomme, always has an array of savory tarts ready to be sliced and taken home for reheating. Recently, I noticed one made with mild, lovely Cantal cheese topped with sliced tomatoes, another prepared with extra creamy Reblochon cheese and ham, and a new combo of brébis (sheep’s cheese) with smoked ham. A few steps away at La Grande Epicerie, a spinach and fresh salmon torte encrusted in a rich golden pastry shell was equally tempting. All were inspiration for the mushroom and scallop tart I made for lunch a few days ago.

Baking this tart was a breeze because I used plenty of convenience ingredients. For the crust, I bought puff pastry sheets already cut into circles so that all I needed to do was mold one into a tart pan. The cheese store sold grated Gruyère, and it wasn’t a problem to find a box of fresh, sliced mushrooms. On the other side of the Atlantic, puff pastry is sold in most markets, but you will need to cut a sheet to fit your pan. Pre-sliced mushrooms are common too, but you may have to take a few minutes to grate the cheese. Continue reading →

Eating Lean After Too Many Indulgences

Posted on January 11, 2014 by brosbottom

It’s hard to turn down delicious temptations when you’re in Paris. This week alone, my husband and I have dined out with friends at five different restaurants. At Semilla, the stuffed pintade (guinea hen) served with white polenta and fresh truffles was irresistible, as was my creamy risotto with chorizo and fresh orange segments at Muxu, a Basque restaurant. Petite grenaille potatoes sautéed in duck fat at La Laiterie Sainte-Clotilde, and an incredible apple dessert garnished with lime ice cream and a streusel crust at Pirouette were good for our spirits, but hard on our waistlines.

After eating without counting calories, we felt the need for a light entrée such as the winter salad of mixed greens, sliced apples, and smoked trout that I made a few days ago. It takes only about 20 minutes to assemble, and bursts with flavor and color. I marinated sliced apples, Belgian endive, and radishes in a lemon/mustard dressing, then tossed them with mixed greens. For serving, the salad was mounded on dinner plates, garnished with smoked fish, and sprinkled with coarsely chopped walnuts. Continue reading →

A New Restaurant in Paris to Start the New Year

Posted on January 5, 2014 by brosbottom

Le Pario entrance

Although we’ve been in Paris several days, most of the city’s restaurants have been shuttered for the holidays. Only this weekend did they start to reopen. We couldn’t wait, and for our first outing went to Le Pario, a new place in the 15th arrondissement that opened this fall. Our friends John and Sue Talbott recommended it, and met us there. John is a well known food critic/blogger here in France’s capital so I knew we were in for a treat.

Le Pario is small and well appointed with banquettes covered in rich caramel leather and tables topped with crisp white linens. But it’s the creative dishes of chef Eduardo Jacinto that are the real draw. A native Brazilian, with an impressive resumé that includes stints at Café Constant and Le Violon d’Ingres, this talented cook offers fresh, seasonal food that is stylishly presented and reasonably priced.

Our first courses were definitely original. I ordered a cream soup prepared with potiron (an orange winter squash), chestnuts, and truffle-scented cream. My spouse opted for a composed salad of smoked chicken, carrots, and scallions accompanied by baby romaine in a Caesar dressing. Mains included roasted quail with bacon-stuffed potatoes, and a tender fricassee of Continue reading →

Paris’s Stunning New Grande Epicerie-Not Your Everyday A&P

Posted on December 29, 2013 by brosbottom

La Grande Epicerie Domed Glass Ceiiing

Greetings from Paris where everyone is getting ready for New Year’s Eve or le réveillon as it’s called here. The French are busy stocking up on all their traditional indulgences–champagne, foie gras, oysters, smoked salmon, and bûches de Noel — to welcome 2014. I joined in the fray at La Grande Epicerie in the Bon Marché department store on Paris’s Left Bank, and was blown away by the gorgeous renovation this super deluxe food store has undergone. How many groceries do you know that have 3 floors and a soaring domed ceiling with a sun roof!

One of several cheese counters in the Fromagerie

The food, displayed in themed settings, looks like it’s ready for a movie set. There’s a foie gras counter, a smoked salmon stand, and la crémerie which offers unctuous, calorie-laden creams from France’s countryside. And, of course, there are countless cheeses, all seemingly with pedigrees.

Scallops in Their Shells

Fish–especially shell fish–are on everyone’s menu list, and so there are gorgeous arrangements of oysters, lobsters, scallops, shrimp, as well as other crustaceans and bivalves in the poissonerie!

Bûches de Noël

It wouldn’t be a celebration without sweet endings. Although there is an array of pastries to seduce you, bûches de noel are definitely the sentimental favorite. They come in myriad flavors, hues, and sizes.

Wine and Spirits on the lower floor

The entire lower floor is devoted to wines, liqueurs, and other spirits. Their livers are the last thing on the minds of Parisians when they ring in the new year!

Happy New Year–Bonne Année 2014!

Betty Rosbottom

Food Writer, Cookbook Author, Cooking Teacher

Category Archives: Food News