Boeuf à La Mode (“Dorothy, you aren’t in Kansas anymore.”)
I was all over this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice, Boeuf à La Mode.
“The French have tons of ways of taking inexpensive, often tough cuts of meat and turning them into dishes so tasty the mere mention of them make you smile,” Dorie explains.
Ohhhhh, I wish Dorie could have met my mother. She wrote the book. Inexpensive. Tough. Smile.
My brother and I cut our teeth on hearing the tale of our parents starting their marriage with a full tank of gas (which meant they owned a car) and 25 cents in their pocket. It was enough to get them to Eldora, Iowa, where my father had accepted his first teaching job.
My dad, whose parents lost everything during the Depression, won a scholarship to college but often, during those four years, didn’t have a full belly. That’s why he made sure, through sheer perseverance and determination, that his family never missed a meal. He brought home the bacon and my thrifty mom threw it in the skillet.
This week, mixing loyalty to my Dorista colleagues with tiny tugs at my heartstrings, I bought a 2-pound Eye of Round Beef roast, marinated it overnight with spices, veggies and wine, seared it on all sides and braised it in the oven for several hours.
Although I knew Mom would forgive me Dorie’s addition of wine and Cognac, items we never had in our house, the addition of anchovies gave me pause. With a guilty glance skyward, whispering, “forgive me for this,” I drained, rinsed and patted dry those salty little buggers before tossing them into the pot.
This week’s Boeuf à La Mode answered the call for comfort food very adequately. You can find the recipe here. To my mind, the French have nailed many beef specialities including daubes, cassoulets and, even, tartare. However, perhaps you will understand why I must save the bragging rights to the perfect pot roast for an Iowa housewife.
If you’re interested in how my FFWD colleagues rated this week’s recipe, go here.
As the lyrics say, the celebration is happening tonight.
This week begins the fourth year of French Fridays with Dorie. We’ve been cooking her book since October 2010, and are halfway done. I know we can. I know we can. I know we can.
Salade Niçoise. Although I would prefer Haricot Verts, I bought my green beans at the local farmers market.
For our anniversary week Betsy Pollackwho blogs at APlateful of Happiness and I picked the recipe. We’re the week-to-week administrators of FFWD and the iconic Salade Niçoise seemed to jump out and say, “Choose me,” as we thumbed through the book.
With Dorie’s directions, which are here, we stick with authenticity, using canned tuna preserved in oil and stinky anchovies. I chose Tapenade Vinaigrette but use your own favorite to dress the salad. This was a perfect dinner. Leftovers, tomorrow.
The four apples I used in this cake were Delicious, Fugi, Gala and Braeburn. Be sure to buy different kinds for a unique and special taste.
I also baked Marie-Hélène’s Apple Cake, a make-up recipe that most Doristas made in December 2012. Why did I wait so long? “This apple cake is more apple than cake, rather plain but very appealing in its simplicity,” Dorie explains.
Candle #6 perched upon this cake reminds me that I have now been back in Aspen for six months. Although it’s been a hectic and chaotic 15 months since Michael died, my motor running primarily on adrenalin, I’ve done what I needed to do to get where I wanted to be.
With apologies for this presentation, I enjoyed 1/3 of this apple cake before remembering to take a picture. Mmmmmm, it’s tasty.
You see, I have a birthday this month. Did you peg me for a Libra? They say we need to stay on an even keel. We abhor conflict. It’s that scales of justice, striking the right balance thing. I also just read that “the Libra-born are keen strategists, organizing groups with poise and getting the job done.” (Hey, does that mean we’re bossy?)
Who believes that stuff anyway?
www.bluelightlady.com Genevieve Vierling
While I am 69 years old this year, I am actually embarking on my seventieth year………..and, that gives me pause. Because the past ten years have been so difficult for my family, I wanted to figure out how the next ten could be better. Giving it my best shot. And, I was determined to accomplish that by this upcoming birthday.
To that end I made lists, asked myself questions and pondered over ideas, plans and decisions. In the end my experiences guided my priorities. Since my kids had circled the wagons the past ten years to help me first care for Michael and then find my footing, I wanted to relieve them of me. I was determined that their life no longer revolve around my needs. Quite honestly, I also needed to flap my wings.
Returning to Aspen was the obvious choice but that presented, to my mind, insurmountable obstacles. My condo in Aspen, less than 1,000 square feet, was never meant for full-time living. What would I do with our belongings, years of memories, stuff? Do I sell our house in Nevada? The real estate market was in the tank. Most importantly, didn’t Thomas Wolfe remind us that you can’t go home again?
That was then and this is now. House sold. (Don’t ask. The answer is, “Alot.”) Our belongings are gone and my load is lighter. Make that, non existent. Surprisingly, I love everything about living here at The Gant. Aspen is just as I remember but better and without question, it’s where I belong.
Happy is sublime………especially when you’re turning sixty-nine.
If you’re interested in how my FFWD colleagues are celebrating our fourth year together, go here.
More than three-hundred food bloggers converged in Seattle last week to greet, meet, eat, and, learn. The three-day International Food Bloggers Conferencewas exhilarating and exhausting……the norm, rising at 5am and hoping for sleep at 11pm. Tick. Tock. Leave a wake-up call.
That’s why this week’s French Friday’s with Dorie recipe choice is perfect. Rice Pudding and Caramel Apples, the ultimate comfort food, is nourishment for my weary soul. As a kid, our comfort pudding was tapioca. Mom’s tapioca pudding was like little clouds floating in a bowl. Yummmm. In France, it’s rice pudding. “Little children grow up on it, adults crave it for comfort, and bistros all across the country serve it year-round,” Dorie explains.
Rice Pudding with Caramel Apples topped with Whipped Cream
As usual Dorie takes some twists and turns to put her own signature to this special dessert. While the recipe is quite explicit here are some tips. Use Arborio rice. It makes a tastier pudding. When the rice is added to the milk and sugar and brought to a boil, be vigilant. As Dorie cautioned, the milk has a tendency to bubble up exuberantly, spilling over the pan. Readers, this is true. Scalded milk and a radiant cooktop are not friends. My clean-up is still an on-going project. Last, cook the pudding only until most of the milk has been absorbed. If you boil away all the moisture, your pudding will be stiff.
I found this pudding, plain, to be creamy and yummy. Although adding caramelized apples and whipped cream made for a more festive presentation, it took away its simplistic goodness. Try it and find your own flavorful comfort zone. You’ll find Dorie’s recipe here.
It’s called Mise en Place and it’s important. Gather all your supplies and ingredients before you begin a recipe.
Now, back to the conference. I will be writing more as I digest the information overload but I want to share five lightbulb moments:
1)A keynote speaker sets the tone for any convention and the ever-so-gracious Dorie Greenspan, our FFWD leader, was the perfect choice. She did a superb job of uniting Old Media to New Media in a manner which showed strength in the coupling. Unlike many cautionary business leaders who rely on polls, focus groups and the like, Dorie is a Just Say Yes business woman. I like her inspiring style.
Dorie with me prior to her keynote address.
2)oDESK This is the virtual worldwide site where you can hire a freelancer. Need help? Web or Software Development, Networking and Information Systems, Writing & Translation, Administrative Support, Design & Multimedia, Customer Service, Sales & Marketing, or Business Services. Foodista.com founder Barnaby Dorfman pointed us to this valuable resource during a tech seminar. Who knew?
3) In a 90-minute session, we were introduced to 19 different speciality, niche or hard-to-find food brands. My new bff, best food friend, Manuka Doctor fromNewZealand, produces an unbelievably delicious 10+bio active honey. Not especially sure what that means but, honey, it has to be good. I used my bag of Sahales’ Maple Pecans with Walnuts, Cherries & Cinnamon to flavor this acorn squash from my farmer’s market. You can get these products atAmazon.
4)Love those friends from faraway places who spice up my life. Two years ago my FFWD colleague, Adriana, gave me a virtual tutorial on Sriracha, a popular Thai hot sauce, which seemed to be a staple in everyone’s pantry but mine. Adriana who lives in Puerto Rico and blogs at greatfood360, joined our French Fridays group in Seattle. Her gift to me? Sriracha Sea Salt. Just livin‘ on the edge.
Adriana, who blogs from her home in Puerto Rico, brought me Sriracha Sea Salt. The answer is, “I have no idea…..yet.”
5) When food bloggers get together, it’s all about, well, food. Oh, yes, we enjoy fine wine and our cocktails but food is our focus. Toques off to Pastry Smart, an impressive company promoting humane, organic and sustainable food production practices, which put it best. “Seventy-nine million members of the Millenial Generation with a strong value system are coming of age in the United States. They are changing business as usual within the food industry.”
Our food blogs, this new media, primarily written by our younger generations, are all about being responsible, shaking up the status quo and writing about food with a keener voice. To visit sites of my FFWD colleagues who each have their own unique voice, go here. French Friday’s with Dorie is a group working its way through Dorie Greenspan’s amazing “Around My French Table” cookbook.
From virtual friendships to the real deal – gathering with my French Friday colleagues prior to the opening session.
Most of you grew up with stuffed peppers on your Mom’s menu. While Peter might have picked a peck of pickled peppers for your house, he never did for mine. Peppers in our house were always green, diced and added to iceberg lettuce salad.
picklelicious.com
Following in the family tradition, I’d never stuffed a pepper either but it was time to break the mold. This week’s FFWD recipe choice, Tuna-packed Piquillo Peppers, isa delightful stuffer starter for a novice. Have you even heard of “peek-ee-oh” peppers? Inquisitive French housewives peeked over the Spanish border and realized the Basque were seasoning their cuisine with these two-inch-long, fire-roasted, little darlings. Viola! Un ingrédient secret!
These slightly smoky, pleasantly sweet jewels come peeled and packed in a jar. “Look for piquillos that have the D.O. symbol, attesting to the fact they were grown and grilled in Navarre”, Dorie suggests. (You’ll find them in every French pantry and in a 12-ounce jar at your local Whole Foods.)
Throw together a savory tuna mixture with lemon, capers, shallots, Niçoise olives, olive oil and seasonings. Stuff each pepper with one tablespoon of it. Place them in a oiled pan to broil for five to seven minutes. Served with crusty bread and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, this was un almuerzo delicioso.
Dellalo.com
As you are reading this, I have just landed in Seattle to attend the International Food Bloggers Conference 2013. I have no idea what one does at a foodie confab but it must involve calories. If so, I’m all in.
What makes the conference extra-special is our own Dorie Greenspan is this year’s keynote speaker. That’s why 14 Doristas are converging on Seattle and will be sitting center-stage, hoopin‘ and hollering when Dorie steps to the podium. After three years of cooking her book, we are fired up and ready to meet our virtual mentor (and each other) in real time. To our colleagues who couldn’t be in Seattle this week, we will keep you in the Loop and very much miss your presence.
Never underestimate the healing power of nature. Throw in a 12-ounce veal chop smothered in rosemary butter … and you’re golden. Joie de vivre on steroids. This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe choice is Veal Chopswith Rosemary Butter, a hearty lunch for a chilly September Sunday.
A 12-ounce Veal Chop
The first of September is always my personal New Year’s Day. Hold the champagne but spike the cider. If I choose to banish New Year’s Eve totally and celebrate September 1st as the official day of renewal and fresh beginnings, I suggest that it’s about time. Dorie’s version of Veal Chops with Rosemary Butter was the perfect dish for a September New Year’s Day feast.
My initial knee jerk reaction to this week’s recipe was “ewww!” Visions of cuddly calves confined to crates danced in my head. The good news is our USDA now discourages this cruel, inhumane method. Talk to your butcher and source your veal.
This week’s recipe is quick and easy, pan-roasted chops flavored with a white-wine/chicken broth mix and a generous dollop of rosemary butter. For a taste-you-can-believe-in, season the chops a day in advance. Rosemary butter may already be a staple in your freezer but, if not, it’s simple to make. I picked up Olathe corn and Colorado peaches at our Saturday Farmers Market to complete my plate. Auld Lang Syne and Happy New Year!
In the spirit of new beginnings, it was time to finally bring order to my tiny kitchen. Admittedly, I’ve been living in blissful disarray for these past few months. It was either enjoy my first summer back in the Rockies or continue unpacking, organizing and playing Martha Stewart. There really wasn’t a choice.
It’s not pretty. It’s my kitchen.
But now it’s September and my friend, Judy, a brilliant cook with a small, very organized kitchen, grew weary of my incessant whining. “This kitchen space just has me flummoxed,” I would tell her. Over and over and over again.
Judy is re-thinking our Friendship.
Finally we made a deal. If I unpacked all my kitchen equipment, dishes, utensils, pots and pans, she would spend a Saturday to bring order to my kitchen and pantry. In a flash I made friends with my storage unit again, unpacking boxes, loading my car with kitchen essentials, hauling them to my condo and praying Judy would not forget our date. (I called every day to remind her.)
I hung out by the counter. Sorta supervising.
What can I say about last Saturday. I love this woman. She arrived with her label maker, storage bottles and croissants. It took her only four hours to accomplish what I hadn’t in five months. (I admit to drinking coffee, munching on my croissant and being grateful.) My kitchen “works” in ways I never could have imagined. My pantry closets are expertly shelved. Each item has its place. Even the spices are labeled and in alphabetical order. Seriously?
Judy labeled each spice jar and placed them in the IKEA cart, A to Z. (The IKEA cart arrived in 2,500 pieces with the directions in Swedish. Don’t ask.)
“Now, Mary,” she cautioned, more than once,“the secret to a small kitchen is to return everything exactly to it’s place.”
What are the odds, do you think, that I can keep those spice jars soldiered up correctly from A to Z? There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell ……………..
