CCC – September recipes

September hasn't been my best blogging month. To be sure, not a bad month all around, but I have missed out on more than I've participated in. And that's not good. And maybe because I was so scattered, none of the recipes turned out as well as I expected. I know from experience, that "it's … Continue reading CCC – September recipes

ffwd – gâteau basque

Home made strawberry jam, wrapped in a crunchy, buttery cookie-like cake. An oh so elegant version of a simple jam cake. That said, this was really quite easy, split into 2 steps, with a chill in between, But it made for a dramatic presentation. The dough was simple: butter; brown and white sugars; vanilla and … Continue reading ffwd – gâteau basque

CCC – Cottage Cooking Club, July Edition

This month in the Cottage Cooking Club, we had another wonderful selection of recipes to make and enjoy, all out of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's lovely cookbook - River Cottage VEG. I committed to three, but then, well, I still had other meals to cook, so I ended up making a few more... I wanted to be … Continue reading CCC – Cottage Cooking Club, July Edition

ffwd – provençal vegetable soup

As one of our French Fridays recipes for the month of July, the conversation around this has been as much about the weather as anything else. Since I'd already been behind on recipes this month, I felt bad for not completing this one, so I went out and picked up the remaining ingredients I'd need. On … Continue reading ffwd – provençal vegetable soup

ffwd – coddled eggs with foie gras

Let me just start by apologizing to the extremely talented Doristas who chose our recipes this month. So far I'm 0 for 3 in on-time posts, and only 1 for 3 altogether - I might end up batting .250 if things hold up (and I'm allowed to count my late post). Not too bad for … Continue reading ffwd – coddled eggs with foie gras

CCC – It’s June! tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and herbs

I thought that with my busy June schedule, I'd pick recipes that were related somehow. With a common thread connecting them. I do that all the time with dinner parties and celebratory feasts - if there's something that provides a degree or two of separation to other items on the menu, then you can be … Continue reading CCC – It’s June! tomatoes, potatoes, eggs and herbs

ffwd – skate (tilapia) with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce

I've never eaten skate before, though I've seen it on a few menus, mainly in coastal cities. To be honest, I still haven't. While we can get a surprising variety of fin fish and shell fish at the better markets in the desert southwest of the US, skate isn't one of them. So when I … Continue reading ffwd – skate (tilapia) with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce

ffwd – salmon rillettes

As I looked through this recipe, and did a little research, I decided that I would veer slightly off-path with my salmon, but loved the description of Dorie's poaching method, so wanted to keep that. This is essentially a rough spread combining poached salmon and smoked salmon. I've written before about my tightly held opinions … Continue reading ffwd – salmon rillettes

CCC – the Cottage Cooking Club, cooking with River Cottage Veg: inaugural post

I've been participating with another cooking group - French Fridays with Dorie for the past 4 (!) years. One of our members, the amazingly talented Andrea Mohr, invited some friends to cook along through a new book, River Cottage Veg, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and I asked to join in. In my family, I'm usually the … Continue reading CCC – the Cottage Cooking Club, cooking with River Cottage Veg: inaugural post

ffwd – smoked salmon waffles

I have been wanting to make these waffles for some time. Mind you, I'm not even a fan of smoked salmon (at least the lox-ish variety), but I have a number of people who are, who will almost always choose that given the opportunity. And the photo of the dish in around my french table … Continue reading ffwd – smoked salmon waffles