Sunday Roasts has arrived!

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I can’t believe I’m holding two copies of Sunday Roasts in my hands. It’s my 9th book, my 5th with the wonderful people at Chronicle, and I love the way it turned out.

Susie Cushner did the gorgeous photos, Maggie Ruggiero was the talented food stylist who made all those roasts so tempting, and Randi Brookman Harris provided the exquisite props for the pictures.

When my assistant, Diana, arrived last week, the first thing I did was to tell her about the early publicity for Sunday Roasts in the September issue of Country Living! Check out the digital edition or pick up a copy at your newsstand.

Editor’s note, October 2, 2011:

I’ll be signing copies of this new book in October and November here, or you find copies at Amazon!

A Show Stopper Salad for Warm Summer Days

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Salads are quintessential summer fare, but they don’t have to be the predictable mixed greens drizzled with oil and vinegar or the ubiquitous Caesar. With some imagination and a small amount of extra effort, you can definitely make this course the star of your menu.

Take the Haricots Verts and Chorizo Salad that follows. I created this colorful and robustly flavored mélange of tender blanched green beans topped with sautéed chorizo and sieved hard-boiled eggs while in France last summer. Tossed in a mustard dressing made with sherry vinegar and shallots, it was the pièce de résistance at a dinner for friends in Paris. When I included this recipe at my annual salads class here in New England, its popularity was confirmed again when my students voted it their favorite.
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Corn, Leek, and Chorizo Gratin

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Here’s a great side dish to use some of that ubiquitous corn which as the lyrics go is “as high as an elephant’s eye” at this time of year. Diced chorizo, the slightly spicy Spanish sausage, fresh corn kernels, and chopped leeks are sautéed, then combined with eggs, half and half, and sour cream. Grated Gruyère and fresh chopped parsley provide more flavor. When baked, the gratin boasts a golden crust that covers a creamy custard mosaically studded with bits of sausage, corn, and leeks. This dish would make a fine garnish to barbecued chicken, grilled steaks, or sautéed pork chops.

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Easy Ratatouille with Roasted Fish

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Is there a more quintessential summer dish than ratatouille? This Provencal mélange is prepared with a medley of the season’s most colorful and omnipresent produce. Last week I easily found everything needed for this dish at my local farmers’ market. Dark shiny eggplants, zucchini and bell peppers picked just that morning, tomatoes that were deep crimson inside and out, and bunches of fragrant basil all found their way into my straw basket. Continue reading →

Philou – A New Paris Bistro Boasts Delectable Food with Reasonable Prices

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When in Paris, I am always on the lookout for bistros where the food is inventive, seasonal, and reasonably priced. I didn’t have to look very hard this June when I was in the City of Light. I had read glowing reviews by both French and American critics about Philou, a fairly new restaurant only steps from the Canal St Martin in the increasingly trendy 10th arrondissement.

My spouse and I and two friends, who live in Paris, arrived on a hot summer evening and were seated outdoors on the small terrace.  From a portable black board menu, we quickly made our selections. For starters I ordered a delectable cold plate that included flaked smoked haddock combined with sliced cucumbers and little “grenaille” potatoes. This was garnished with a green salad and a room temperature poached egg. Sublime!  Others had grilled pork belly with a slice of cantaloupe (the cooling melon a perfect foil for the rich pork) and another loved a perfectly seasoned pâté accompanied by a seasonal salad and cornichons. Mains included duck breast served with honey and balsamic-glazed roasted eggplant and a roasted cod fillet set atop a bowl of colorful ratatouille. This latter dish was so good that I reproduced it at home! 

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Jacques Genin, Paris, France

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Jacques Genin 133, rue de Turenne, Paris 3, 01-45-77-29-01

Parisians love chocolate, a passion that is reflected by the hundreds of chocolate shops the city boasts. In the neighborhood where my husband and I stay, you can barely walk a couple of blocks without finding a store displaying “les chocolats.” As a bona fide chocoholic, I’ve done my share of sampling in some superb chocolate houses, but recently my friend, Joan, who lives in France’s capital most of the year, introduced me to Jacques Genin, a fairly new chocolate shop in the Marais. Continue reading →

Lunch on the Terrace in Provence

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They take eating outside seriously in the South of France. The house we rented in Provence, like most in the region, included a terrace. Right off the living room and the bedrooms was a beautifully stoned area covered by an overhead arbor of trailing wisteria. It was an irresistibly inviting spot to read, snooze, or enjoy a meal. Our family loved snacking and lunching at the round metal table surrounded by those quintessential French folding chairs. Many afternoons we spread tapenade on crusty baguette slices, tried different cheeses, and sipped rosé, and midday we often savored lunch outdoors. 
 
One of the easiest déjeuners I prepared included Goat Cheese and Radish Panini. I spread slices of good peasant bread with creamy chèvre scented with lemon, and then added a layer of paper-thin radish slices, and a mound of arugula. There was no panini machine in our kitchen so I simply cooked the sandwiches in a heavy skillet coated with olive oil until the cheese melted and the bread was lightly browned and crisp.  Olives, French pickles, and chips made simple garnishes.

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Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Brixton Bauer

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Jeni Brixton Bauer, ice cream maker par excellence, started making ice creams 15 years ago when she was a mere 22 years old. Today she oversees Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, a Columbus, Ohio-based company that includes 10 stores and a thriving mail order and restaurant business. Her first book, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, includes a cornucopia of unique recipes for artisanal ice creams and sorbets, all prepared with unusually creative combinations of ingredients and written with clear, easy-to-follow directions. Amazingly, her ice creams are made without eggs and include a bit of cream cheese to bind and add Continue reading →