Happy Holidays!

 

I know it's been a while since my last post, but there's much more to come in the new year.  

In the meantime, here are some of the yummy macarons I've been making for gifts.

Warm wishes for a lovely holiday season to all, and for a happy, prosperous 2012.

x

Candied Orange & Blackberry Yogurt Parfait

For whatever reason, I really wanted to make candied oranges. Really, they're the easiest thing in the world, but I felt like if I were going to make them, I'd also have to bake a cake because they are essentially a garnish. But, I didn't want to bake a cake, rather, I didn't want to have a cake in my house that I would eat too much of. So, I made them anyway and came up with a much better use. I chopped some up and ate them for breakfast with some blackberries, almonds, honey and greek yogurt. It was divine- now I can't wait for tomorrow's breakfast!

CANDIED ORANGE SLICES

Cut 3 oranges into slices about a quarter of an inch thick. Put 3 cups water and 1 cup sugar in a medium pot, stir them together and bring to a boil. Add the oranges and cook over medium heat- turn them occasionally until the liquid becomes a thin and syrupy and the slices are translucent. This takes about 20 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the syrup becomes thick and the slices are tender, turning occasionally, about 10 minutes. Then transfer the orange slices to parchment paper to cool.

Caramelized Fig & Pecan Custard Pie

 

I recently discovered the awesomeness of caramelized figs- so easy, and so tasty. I know they're great by themselves, but found they're even better when plopped on a bed of custard, surrounded by candied pecans, and finished off with a buttery whole wheat crust. 

There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but they're all easy, it just takes a little time.

CARAMELIZED FIG AND PECAN CUSTARD PIE

PIE CRUST: Put 1 cup whole wheat flour + 1/2 cup white flour + 1 tsp salt in a mixer, Blend together quickly and add 1 stick butter chopped into small pieces + 3-4 tbsps ice water, and run mixer on medium high speed until dough is formed. Shape dough into a ball and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Once dough is chilled, roll out and fit into a buttered pie plate. bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, until edges are browned and crust is cooked all the way through. Let cool.

CARAMELIZED FIGS: Cut 8-10 figs in half vertically, coat liberally with sugar and cook face down in a frying pan for 3 minutes over high heat until sugar caramelizes. Flip over, cook for one more minute. Remove from the pan and let cool.

CANDIED PECANS: This is the easy (ie. lazy) way I have always made them- you need to move quickly and stir frequently though.  Stick a big gob of butter, 1/3 of a stick or so, 1/2 cup sugar, a pinch of sea salt and some cinnamon in a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Stir them together and once they're all mixed up add 1 cup pecans into the pan. Now, stir, stir stir for a couple of minutes until the mixture starts to brown, and the sugar starts to caramelize. Turn off the heat immediately. Put on a plate they're not going to stick to and plop in the freezer for about 5 minutes until just cool- not frozen.

CUSTARD: You can make your own, but I have a big canister of Bird's english custard and that's what I made mine from. Just make sure to have 1 cup and to chill it once you've made or accquired it.

Once everything is cool, spread the custard on the pie and then top with the figs and pecans. yum.

Butternut Squash & Granny Smith Apple Soup

Hello winter? What happened to fall?

On Saturday I woke up to a snowstorm and the only thing I could think of was soup. 

Aside from being delicious, it's a great excuse to turn on the oven for some extra warmth. 

This soup was so satisfying- it warmed me up, tasted great and seemed kind of healthy too. 

The apples make it kind of tart, and a little sweet, while the squash gave it an earthy, creamy note. It's also super easy to make, and you can swap other types of root veggies, or squash and use the same basic recipe.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GRANNY SMITH APPLE SOUP

Toss together 1 butternut squash (chopped) + 2 Granny Smith apples (chopped) + 2 tbsp olive oil + 2 tablespoons honey, add a pinch of sea salt and some thyme or other fresh herbs.  Throw it all on a baking pan and roast at 425 for about 30 minutes. Once the roasted squash and apples have cooled, puree them in a food processor until smooth. Put the puree in a big soup pan over medium heat and whisk in 3 cups chicken stock, then whisk in about 1 tbsp heavy cream.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let simmer over low heat until ready to serve. Easy peasy and even tastier with a few pecans thrown on top.

Mexican Food in Paris: Cooking with the Cowgirl Chef

Surely no one comes to France for Mexican food- in fact it's very difficult to find the ingredients you need to make it. That's what Ellise, aka the Cowgirl Chef found when she moved to Paris from Texas five years ago- her attempts to combat homesickness led to some hilarious stories and incredible recipes which are to be published soon in the forthcoming Cowgirl Chef Cookbook: Cooking in Paris with a Texas Accent.

I felt quite lucky to spend the last week of my time in France at work, on location, in Paris to direct the photo shoot for the cookbook. It was great to spend lots of time with Ellise, cooking and shooting at her home with brilliant photographer Steve Legato, and to see a little bit of Paris too. 

Ellise's book, like her blog, cowgirlchef.com is filled with funny stories and truly delicious recipes. It was a delight to spend the week with her and sample her food. 

 

You can read Ellise's post on the shoot here: 

http://cowgirlchef.com/2011/10/13/behind-the-scenes-cookbook-photo-shoot/

All of the photos on this post were taken by and copyright of Steve Legato. Enjoy.

J'aime Hipstamatic

French Holiday

Some photos from a week in the Dordogne region of France, an unbelievably magical corner of the world. Ridiculously beautiful, and made even better by the company of some of my best and oldest friends. 

We stayed in a lovely little house outside of the exquisitely charming town of Sarlat, in Perigord Noir. The area is famous for its foie gras and truffles. The town has a great market twice a week bursting with all sorts of local produce, honey, oils, breads, cheeses, olives and sausages. Not to mention the wine...