Yay, my family finally arrived today after a long 10 hours in the air! This is their first time in Paris…fortunately, the weather is gorgeous here so far, though it’s starting to get a little chilly. My brother is so excited to be here, so I took him around town while everyone else rested and recovered from jetlag. I sort of know my way around town well enough now to navigate the metro and take him to the major tourist spots. Just in one day, we made it to the Place de la Concorde, the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, l’Arc de Triomphe, the pyramids at the entrance of the Musee du Louvre, Notre Dame, the Quartier Latin, and finally Saint Germain des Pres without getting lost. He was completely passed out by 9pm though, but was fully recovered by 730 the next morning.

The big day is already going to be here tomorrow, but I still haven’t had a full night’s sleep in days. Hopefully, we won’t have ugly pictures from lack of sleep!

While wandering around Paris, it finally dawned upon me that I’m going to be living here and this isn’t just a quickie vacation. I can’t believe that this is my life now-is this really real?

And it keeps getting better….the mister’s mum and I ran some errands for the wedding this afternoon in Montemarte and I stumbled upon fabric and crafts heaven! The mister’s mum had already mentioned that the area had tons of fabric stores, but I had no idea that it is fabric GALORE! Each store had at least 5 floors and each floor is chock full of every fabric and supplies imaginable to fulfill every seamstress’s dreams! I can’t wait to go back to the area to pick up some fabrics-watch out project runway!

Ice cream maker, where have you been all my life? I had no idea that making ice cream at home was so simple. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even think that homemade ice cream was in the realm of possibility for the home cook. I thought that turning milk and sugar into that creamy goodness required a little magic. Little did I know that with a few simple ingredients and an ice cream maker, deliciousness can be had at home in a few short hours (that is, if overnight refrigeration not required).

This past fall, I visited Rome and Venice with the mister for the first time. While I was there, the number one activity on my to-do list was to try the gelato. Historical sites, museums and cathedrals were a little further down on the list. Every time I hear people talk about Italy, everyone always talks about how great the gelato is there, so I wanted to see what all the craze was about. Was it really as good as everyone says it is? The guidebook we had said that the best gelato in Rome could be found at San Crispino, which is located a few meters from the Trevi Fountain. I had a scoop of lemon and a scoop of pistachio gelato-I know, not the best of flavor combinations, but that’s what sounded good at the time. I wasn’t too impressed with either flavor since they were both pretty bland. So, I continued my quest for this fabulous gelato everyone was talking about. I did try some that tasted better than that of San Crispino elsewhere in Rome, but it still wasn’t any better than gelato that I could get in the states.

Onto Venice we went. We opted to stay on one of the smaller islands, Lido, because it is less crowded and only a short 10 minute ride on the water bus to the main island, San Marco. Lido is where good gelato is to be had. While I was there, I had several scoops a day so I could try as many flavors as possible. I couldn’t get enough of the strawberry and hazelnut flavored gelato-soooo delish! Unfortunately, the name of my go-to spot in Lido escapes me at the moment-I only remember it being a few businesses down from the hotel we were staying at, which was next to the main grocery store on the island. I know, can I possibly be any more vague?

Well, after returning from the trip, I discovered a couple of gelato recipes on the Saveur website. After sifting through a few recipes, I decided to try a chocolate gelato recipe. The recipe only called for four ingredients and required very little effort. I couldn’t wait to try it once it started to harden after churning it for about 30 minutes or so. Man, this gelato was incredibly good, and it may even rival the best I had in Italy. The only thing I would probably do differently next time, though, is to add a little bit of alcohol to the mixture to prevent it from getting too hard. If you try this recipe yourself, opt for quality cocoa to ensure the best flavor.

The recipe can be found here.

But, on this day off, I left all of those annoyances behind and indulged in food, which gives me endless joy. I started the day by picking up where I left off in Julia Child’s My Life in France. Shamefully, I must admit that I knew very little about Julia Child before seeing the Julie and Julia movie recently. Sure, I had seen her cook on TV occasionally when I was younger, but I just thought of her as the lady with a funny voice who loves to use butter when cooking. Until I started reading her memoir, I had no idea how serious she was about food and that she actually received formal culinary training in Paris. Her genuine passion for food and life shines through every word she wrote in her memoir, and she has no doubt become an inspiration to me, not only in regards to food, but also life in general.

I was so enthralled by her and her enthusiasm that I felt compelled to pick up her Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol 1 recently. I pored through her opus and absorbed her every word. She provides an incredible amount of detail about techniques, ingredients, and kitchen equipment. Though I have a preference for eating and preparing Asian foods, much of the information in the book can be applied to preparing foods from all parts of the world, as Julia points out in her book. In the short amount of time that I’ve had the cookbook, I’ve already picked up so many pointers from her! In reading Julia chronicle how the cookbook came to fruition while trying to learn how to prepare the dishes from the cookbook, I’ve developed an immense amount of respect for her and her work. The amount of time and dedication she and Simca Beck invested in researching, developing and painstakingly testing each recipe is incredible!

In the past, I didn’t really have much interest in la cuisine française because my stomach couldn’t really handle many of the sauce-heavy dishes. Although my stomach is still pretty weak when it comes to those types of dishes, I’ve started to develop a much greater appreciation for the cuisine over time because of its techniques and artistry, particularly because I love to make pastries. And, with Julia’s book, I hope to learn how to prepare some of the classic French dishes.

Well, for my first dish from Julia’s cookbook, I decided to attempt something simple so as not to get discouraged early after making only one dish. The roast chicken was a good starting point, since it required very little preparation time and few ingredients. In an effort to continue eating locally and whole foods, I got a chicken that was raised on a local farm, Dewberry Hills Farms. The chicken was a little on the pricey side, probably about three times as much as a regular fryer at the grocery store, but it was well worth it. It actually tasted like chicken and nothing like “the stuffing inside of a teddy bear.” And, the texture was firm and not mushy like industrially raised chickens found at supermarkets. If you haven’t already, I urge you to try a pasture raised chicken-you’ll never go back to eating chickens raised any other way.

Preparing and roasting the chicken required very little effort and could easily be made during the week for a fulfilling weeknight meal. Though Julia’s recipe is great as it stands, I made a few slight modifications to suit my tastes. I didn’t truss the chicken, since a slit had been made in the skin to allow inserting the legs, which I felt was adequate to maintain the chicken’s shape during the cooking process. I also added more seasoning than the recipe called for. In addition to the 1/4 teaspoon of salt, I also added some onion to the chicken cavity. I also added more salt and finely ground pepper to the outside of the chicken before cooking as well. The chicken turned out beautifully, full of flavor and juices, and the accompanying sauce of shallots, chicken stock, and the drippings from the roasting pan paired well with it. For a side dish, I threw a salad together with red butter lettuce topped with mushrooms sauteed with shallots, avocado, tomatoes, olives, and a simple dressing of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I think my first meal out of MTAFC was a success and I can’t wait to try out other dishes from the book!

Poulet Rôti (Roast Chicken)
[adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking]

serves 4

3 lb chicken
1.25 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon finely ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter + 2 tablespoons
1 carrot, sliced
1.5 onion, quartered
1 tablespoon cooking oil

for the sauce
2 tablespoons of fat from roasting pan
1/2 tablespoon minced shallots
1 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon softened butter

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
2. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil for basting.
3. Put 1/4 teaspoon salt in the chicken cavity along with half an onion and smear in 1 tablespoon of the butter. Then, rub the skin with 1 tablespoon of butter and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Place the chicken breast up in a shallow roasting pan that is just large enough to hold the chicken, and place the carrot and rest of the onion around the chicken. Place the roasting pan on the middle rack in the preheated oven.
5. Brown chicken lightly for 15 minutes, turning it onto its left side after 5 minutes, onto its right side for the last 5 minutes, and using a basting brush, baste with the butter and oil after turning the chicken each time. Be sure to baste quickly to avoid releasing too much heat from the oven.
6. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Leave the chicken on its right side and baste it every 10 minutes with the butter and oil until exhausted. Then use the drippings in the roasting pan for basting. Adjust the oven temperature so the chicken is making cooking noises, but no fat is burning.
7. After roasting for 45 minutes, salt the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and turn to the other side. Continue basting every 10 minutes.
8. About 15 minutes before the chicken is done roasting, salt with another 1/4 teaspoon of salt and turn the chicken breast up. Continue basting.

Julia indicates that the chicken is almost done when you hear “a sudden rain of splutters in the oven.” If you miss those distinct sounds, the chicken is done when the meat thermometer reaches 175-180 degrees. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes on a hot platter before carving. Total roasting time was about 1 hour and 30 minutes for my chicken because it was a little over 3 pounds.

Sauce
1. In a small saucepan, slowly cook the minced shallots with the fat from the roasting pan for about a minute.
2. Add the chicken broth and cook over high heat until liquid reduces to about 1/2 cup.
3. Julia indicates to season with salt and pepper, but I didn’t find the salt necessary since I added a little more salt than she did to the chicken when I roasted it, so the sauce didn’t really need it.
4. Take off heat and add the butter bit by bit until absorbed. Serve a small spoonful over each serving of chicken.

My lovely friend and neighbor, Christine, invited several of her lady friends over for a potluck brunch yesterday afternoon at the Love Shack. I feel very fortunate to have become a part of Christine’s social circle, as she has an amazing knack for connecting disparate people from all walks of life. I’ve met so many interesting people and developed some great friendships through her.

This brunch was a follow-up to another ladies get together that Christine hosted back in December, but I could not attend because I was back in CA with friends and family for the holidays. During that first get together, everyone set some new year’s resolutions, and wrote them on postcards that my friend then mailed back to them. And, during this brunch, we all gave an update on what progress we’ve made to accomplish our resolutions. Again, we wrote our resolutions down on postcards, which Christine will mail to us to remind ourselves what changes we vowed to make this year.

For the dish that I brought to the brunch, I decided to make something I’ve never made before, rather than something tried and true from my repertoire. During my last two trips to France, I tasted the best apple tarts, one homemade and the other by Jean Luc Pele in Cannes. Ever since then, I’ve always wanted to try to make one myself, and I figured a ladies brunch would be the perfect opportunity. I found a simple recipe by Jacques Pépin on the Saveur website. This dish was incredibly easy to make, yet a very delicious dessert. Because the recipe calls for so few ingredients, you can really taste the flavor of the apples. The recipe specified using Golden Delicious, Empire, or Cortland apples. I used organic Empire apples, which is among the apples that retained its flavor and texture after baking, according to a test conducted by Saveur magazine. The apple performed beautifully as it had in the Saveur test. I generally don’t eat any of the desserts I make other than a small taste to ensure that it’s actually edible, because I actually don’t really like to eat sweets (I’m more of a savory and salty food fiend). But, I liked this dish so much that I had more than one serving. And, judging from the empty plate, I’m guessing everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. I will definitely be making this dish again!

The recipe can be found here.

I recently watched Food Inc and The Future of Food, and I’ve been reading the companion book to Food Inc as well as Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. And since then, I’ve been making a conscious effort to wean myself off of “foods” manufactured by the industrial food complex. Though it’s been a bit of a challenge, especially since I don’t live in California anymore, where all varieties of produce is grown in abundance, I’ve been trying my best to eat mostly local produce and meats from animals that have been treated humanely and fed a diet that nature intended for them. After watching and reading about the horrific ways animals bred for food are treated and raised and how companies manufacture “food” found in our grocery stores, I find it difficult to consume anything produced for mass consumption.

So, in my effort to eat more wholesome foods, I braised some beef with tomato and cumin the same evening I made the spinach and lentil soup from Ms. Lakshmi’s Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet. The recipe called for either beef stew meat or boneless lamb. I opted to make the dish with beef, since I don’t really like the gamey taste of lamb. Since watching the films, I’ve been getting my meat and eggs exclusively from local farmers markets around town, but I didn’t have a chance to go this week, because I had to drop off my foster dog, Homer, for his new owners. I had to settle for beef from Whole Foods and to my surprise, they actually carried some grass-fed beef from a local farm in Austin, TX! In the past, I noticed that when they started to carry grass-fed beef, they only had either ground beef or hamburger patties. So, it was nice to see that they are carrying additional cuts of meat now.

My dish didn’t look quite as pretty as the one in Padma’s book, but it tasted delicious nonetheless. As much as I enjoyed this dish, there are a few things I would do differently to make it better next time, though. Because the garam masala, cardamom pods, and cloves impart very strong flavors, this dish may actually be better paired with lamb. I also made the mistake of buying tomatoes from the grocery store (I know I just went on and on about steering clear of industrial food complex products!)-they weren’t ripe yet and they didn’t add much flavor to the dish. Adding a little bit of tomato paste to the mixture may have helped to add some more tomato flavor to the dish.

Click here to read about my second concoction of the evening.

Braised Beef with Tomato and Cumin
[adapted from Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet]

serves 4

2 tablespoons oil
2 cups yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
3-4 large dried red chilies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
3 bay leaves
2 black cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1.5 pounds beef stew meat (or boneless lamb shoulder)
2.5 pounds plum tomatoes, quartered
1.5 teaspoons garam masala
a few cups of boiling water
1-2 tablespoons sugar
salt to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds. After the a couple of minutes, add the onions, chilies, garlic and ginger. Saute for a few minutes.
2. Add the bay leaves, cardamom pods, and cloves. Then add the meat and salt and stir-fry until the meat is seared on all sides.
3. Add the tomatoes and garam masala and cook until the tomato skins start to loosen. Turn the heat down and add boiling water to cover and reduce heat to low once it comes to a gentle boil. Cover and simmer for about 1.5 hours, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure the mixture does not stick to the bottom. Cook until the mixture becomes a thick stew gravy and the meat is tender. Add sugar if the sauce is too sour. Serve over basmati rice or with naan.

Padma Lakshmi came to Austin a couple of years ago to promote her cookbook, Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet at the Texas Book Festival, and I was lucky enough to snag a seat under the tent where she was doing demonstrations of recipes from her book. I was sold after I took a bite of her macaroni and cheese! Immediately after the demonstration, I grabbed a copy of her book and stood in line to meet her. I’ve prepared a few dishes from the book and I’ve been pleased with the results. But, for the last several months, the book has just been sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust.

As a matter of fact, all of my cookbooks and food magazines have been collecting quite a bit of dust these days. Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a cooking funk, finding it difficult to muster up the motivation to go into the kitchen to prepare something proper. Though I really enjoy cooking, I don’t find it quite so satisfying cooking just for one.  But, I finally pulled it together after starving for a couple of days and scoured through all of my cookbooks, magazines, and the Internet for something that would pique my interest.  I decided to dust off Padma’s book and selected a couple of recipes from it.

First up was the South Indian Spinach & Lentil Soup. This is an incredibly easy dish to prepare and requires very little effort but is full of flavor. The earthiness of the roasted urad lentils is nicely balanced by the creaminess of the coconut and masoor lentils.

I only made a few modifications to the recipe. Rather than measuring out the spinach by volume, I just used 10 ounces of spinach and did not chop them after steaming.  I also increased the amount of some of the spices for a stronger flavor. And, finally, I added a few more cups of water than what was called for in the recipe. Even with the addition of more water, the consistency was still pretty thick.

South Indian Spinach & Lentil Soup
(adapted from Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet)

Serves 4-6

1 cup masoor lentils
10 oz spinach (steamed and drained)
3 dried red chilies
2-3 tablespoons urad lentils
1 cup grated unsweetened coconut
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1-2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
salt to taste

1. Soak the masoor lentils in lukewarm water for a couple of hours. Then drain the lentils until the water runs clear.
2. Boil the lentils in 5-6 cups of salted water for about 30-40 minutes over medium heat. The lentils should be soft and mushy when ready. Add more water if it is too thick. Skim off any foam from the top.
3. Mash the lentils with a wooden spoon once they become soft to form a thick and gravy-like liquid.
4. Add the spinach to the lentils after squeezing out all excess liquid. Mix and salt to taste.
5. Dry roast the urad lentils and the chilies in a small frying pan until the lentils are golden brown.
6. Add the lentils and chilies to a food processor or blender and puree. Then add the coconut and puree until the mixture is smooth.  Add the mixture to the masoor lentils and spinach and boil gently for a few minutes.
7. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds. Remove from heat when the seeds start to jump out of the pan and pour over the lentils. Stir and serve.