March 2008

WINTER/SPRING

Spinach Napoleon with Moroccan Chicken in Filo. The inspiration for this meal came from Moroccan Modern by Hassan M'souli (2005). The chicken breast is stuffed with artichoke, tomato, preserved lemon and harissa(a Moroccan peppery spice - recipe #113468.). The chicken is then wrapped in filo dough and baked. Buttering between the filo sheets was very time consuming. Prep time is about one (1) hour.

















Coq au Vin with Pan Fried Potatoes* This dish works better with dark meat and the boneless thighs helped reduced the prep time. The dried porcini is added directly into the stew and cooked for about 30 minutes. Poached Pear with Ginger* The ginger gives a surprising lift to an otherwise hum-drum course.


























Country Pork Terrine with Cornicons. This pate is made with pork and chicken liver. Liver is getting a bad rap, but it is actually loaded with Vitamin B's. Drinking alcohol and wine destroys Vitamin B's, and so eating liver keeps the micronutrients in balance. On a recent advice from The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, a 2006 non-fiction book by Michael Pollan, don't eat anything your grandparents would not reconize as food. Agnolloti(Priest Hats) in fresh tomato sauce and Asparagus.



















Roast Chicken with Sweet Potato/ Fennel and Asparagus. End of winter is the time for fresh asparagus. The bigger they are the better they taste. Pencil thin asparagus are from older plants that have lost their vigor and produced more fibrous stalks.







Spring is coming, Spring is coming. It's time to enjoy eating out on the terrace. Salmon and Tofu Hotpot with Brown Rice and Salad.
























Fresh strawberries dipped in dark and white chocolate. Strawberry is now in season. White chocolate in fact has no cacao, just milk solids and sugar. It separates very easily at high temperature. I prefer working with the dark chocolate.







Vietnamese Chicken Cole Slaw with brown rice soup and shrimp chips. This is one of the easiest and most refreshing Viet salads. The cabbage can be easy julienned then tossed with boiled chicken, onion, jalapeño, cilantro, and Nuoc Mam(fish sauce). The broth from the boiled chicken is frugally used to cook a light rice soup. This salad and soup combination is an old eating tradition that my grand parents would recognize. They would not recognize the Spanish Bierzo however, but it was fabulous nonetheless. For more details, Goi Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Salad) , this link has the full recipe.


Boiled chicken breast with Sauce Bearnaise and Asparagus. The Bearnaise and other egg based sauces start from the mother sauce, Hollandaise. Bearnaise is a basically a Hollandaise favored with reduced white wine, shallots, and tarragon.