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Polenta con mais, sugo ai funghi e olio al tartufo I had two corn cobs that I had no inspiration on how to prepare, so after going through Plenty the book of Yotam Ottolenghi, I came across an interesting idea…using fresh corn to make polenta. Why not? This intrigued me so I decided to use his [...]
Pranzino felicissimo – Branzino ripieno I don’t know you, but a good meal,”me met de bonne humeur“! It totally makes me happy, and lifts up my mood…since Mr. F is traveling to Europe for a couple of weeks, I am taking this time off to treat myself with meals I love, just like this one. I love to [...]
Mascarpone Usually I would never think of making cheese, because in my mind, it was something too complicated, something only cheese makers knew how to do. This changed my mind. Living in the US, it’s sometimes difficult to find imported cheeses, such as mascarpone. In the past, stores like [...]
La soupe qu’on aime, un peu, beaucoup, passionnément, …. – Soupe de banane plantain et mangues à la vanille et rhum One recipe adapted from “La Bonne Cuisine Végétarienne de Babette” with a creole inspiration. Who doesn’t like rum, vanilla and orange juice? I have never really cooked plantains [...]
Pasta rustica – Pici Toscani all’aglione e carciofini Going back to what I like best…making homemade pasta. I made these to my parents when I went visit and they loved it. Marche (where my family is from) and Tuscany are close by regions and have similar cuisines (of course with some variations), [...]
Presque sur les îles – Crevettes sur lit de patates douces grillées et épinards, sauce vanille, citron vert et lait de coco It’s seems like a long time since I prepared a savory dish with coconut or vanilla, but lately I have been thinking about vanilla and spices, so I guess I am ready to take a [...]
Une cousine de la brioche – Tarte au sucre In was in France for a few weeks and anytime I go home, I have a “blogger’s block”. I get caught in a different kind of life and dynamic and do not feel like cooking nor taking pictures of any kind. Now I am back and of course back to my routine. I still [...]
Festeggiamo la primavera – Linguine con pesto di piselli, menta e pecorino When you look at the ingredients of this pesto, you might think, it will be too strong especially with the mint and pecorino. When you taste it, you realize that it is indeed fragrant but delicate. I used some whole grain [...]
Qui l’eût cru? Pot-au-feu végétarien du Sud I remember reading about this recipe in a French magazine such as Femme Actuelle or Elle à Table, but it’s been a while ago and I don’t remember so I have been making it from memory, which is certainly not exactly the same as the original. It’s [...]
Pour les petits et les grands – Hachis parmentier de merlan aux champignons sauvages et patates douces When talking about hachis parmentier, most French people think beef and potatoes which is the traditional dish. The English equivalent is “shepherd’s pie” (another version here). I like to keep [...]
Une demie bouchée et histoire courte- Mini tartelettes aux moules I had some leftover pâte brisée that I didn’t want to throw away, so here we go…of course, you can replace mussels with scallops or shrimps. This is just very easy to make and the use of those mini tarts are versatile. I ate eight [...]
Tu l’as eu dans le baba!! – Le traditionnel baba au rhum This slang expression, Tu l’as eu dans le baba! (you need an exclamation point), is mainly used to express a failure, or when you expected something you didn’t get. It’s somehow a funny expression, used quite often. But baba is also a [...]
Piatto rustico – gnocchi di polenta con ragù di verdura e ricotta salata Let’s pursue our polenta adventures with this rustic dish that can be made with leftover polenta. I don’t like to throw away food, but I don’t like to eat something that is leftover just because it’s a leftover, it needs [...]
Crostini per Fiorenza – Crostini di polenta con cavolo nero, gamberi e salsina di peperoni (Canapés de polenta avec chou frisé, crevettes enroulées de pancetta et coulis de poivrons grillés) My Friend’s Julia mom, Florence a delightful lady from Paris came for a visit to the Bay Area during the [...]
Très chou fleur – Steak de chou fleur, risotto au riz brun, huile de truffe, purée de carottes et jus de basilic I am wondering why some people don’t like cauliflower, is it the texture? the flavor? what is it that some people really hate cauliflower? I find it to be such a delightful vegetable, [...]
Comme l’oiseau – Taboulé épicé au millet, pois chiches et courgettes grillées I get more and more requests for gluten free and vegan dishes, and yes sometimes I like to feature recipes like this one that are unusual still with a little Mediterranean flair. This taboule salad is both gluten free [...]
Passatelli asciutti con gamberi e sogliola Passatelli is a specialty from Romagna and Marche regions of Italy. It’s usually served in a broth (in brodo) or asciutti (dried) which means as a pasta dish and of course no broth. I grew up eating passatelli which was my mom’s favorite soup, but when [...]
Zuppa di stagione – Zuppa di piselli spezzati con pancetta I tried many versions of split pea soup and this one is my favorite. You can keep it vegan if you don’t add the pancetta at the end, so it’s versatile. You can use bacon instead of pancetta, or just nothing at all…it’s all up to you. I [...]
Semplicemente deliziosi – Spaghetti alla bottarga Bottarga is called mullet roe in English or boutargue in French and is popular in some Mediterranean countries. It is basically the eggs of the mullet fish that have been salted and dried, then preserved in wax. I think in Italy, Sardinia is the [...]
Riso ai carciofi, piselli, parmigiano e olio al tartufo After a trip to Italy and France where I got to see my whole family for once, I came back really inspired. We went to Cinque Terre (Liguria), then Tuscany (Lucca, Pisa, Firenze, San Gimignano and Pisa), then to my parents’ house situated in [...]
Se ti piace il caffè – Panna cotta al caffè con salsina al cioccolato This panna cotta recipe has been inspired from this wonderful Italian blog called Giallo Zafferano – It’s filled with delicious and inventive recipes that are mouth-watering. For coffee lovers, this panna cotta will be a real [...]
Saumon en feuilles de blettes, purée de chou-fleur, fondue de légumes et jus d’estragon Here is a Sunday lunch that gave me some punch (en plus ca rime) – I have not eaten salmon in a long time, probably because I find salmon a little boring to be honest. Maybe when a product becomes easy to find, [...]
Vraie ou fausse? Brandade de morue sur lit de courgettes marinées I have been wanting to eat this for a long time, but salt cod is not always easy to find and not all the stores carry it. Fortunately Berkeley Bowl does…unfortunately it’s not of a great quality. I am used of thick and very dry [...]
Come se fosse l’inverno – Zuppa gratinata di ceci e cavolo nero With the heat on, yes indeed it seems like winter. I live in the part of the city that gets the fog in summer, so my brain is wired to behave like we’re in winter and I have soup cravings. Growing up, I have always asked my parents [...]
La vie est une noix de coco – Boulettes de riz a la noix de coco farcies aux crevettes, courgettes et citronnelle Yes, life is a coconut, after the hard work of breaking the shell, you get the good stuff – I am on a coconut craze lately, and I make everyone around me eat coconut. It’s delicious in [...]
J’aurais aimé savoir nager – Nage d’opah avec fèves et carottes Opah or moonfish is found in Hawaii and has a fatty flesh, somehow like tuna and salmon. It’s a unique fish due to its flat and round shape and color. I really like its texture and you can prepare like you would any fish with that [...]
Simple et traditionnel – Flans de semoule au caramel Some people call this gâteau, it’s more like a flan to me than a cake, no matter how you call it, this is a very traditional French dessert. It took me a while to find coarse semolina and even thought of bringing it back from France at some [...]
Le blé bébé – Freekeh pilaf avec courge rôtie, petit pois et huile de citron After a trip to Samiramis this weekend, one of my favorite Middle Eastern stores in the city, and after going through all the aisles, and through every product on the shelves (I have to refrain myself or I will buy all [...]
Vous fumez? – Cigarettes aux poireaux, crevettes et champigons shiitake I am a heavy smoker of those cigarettes! The excitement is more related to the feuilles de brick (the wrapping sheets, literally translated into “sheet brick”) than to those cigarettes themselves. I used to bring feuilles de [...]
De saison – Tarte à l’abricot et romarin I love summer, partly because I can eat peaches and apricots sans limites! My two favorites fruits are in season, and I only wait for summer to come, just to indulge in juicy peaches, nectarines, and apricots. My friend Simon in France asked me why I was [...]
En effet, fascinant – Ragoût de lentilles et oeuf poché à l’huile de truffe Anytime I eat a poached egg, it reminds me of this teenager sitting next to our table, at Gary Danko, a well known San Francisco restaurant, who was astonished to see a yolk running while he poked a poached egg on top of [...]
Coppa di fragole, con crema al mascarpone e coulis di lamponi I was not sure how to translate coppa in English other than use the word cup…I am pretty sure there is a more accurate word for it…but nothing better came to my mind. I realized today that my English is getting worse while we were at a [...]
Restons simples – Galettes épicées de pois chiches, salade en rubbans et sauce au yaourt First, I just realized my old recipes dated from 2008 are gone, well in am in the process of adding them back. I had a major problem with my blog, and all the recipes disappeared. They are still in the blog [...]
La banane se fait chic – Banane en papillote à la vanille et rhum Yes, this one is definitely my last post before I fly to France next week. I was going through one of my books called “La cuisine de Bistrot” from Tomawalk Editions, yesterday and this recipe really caught my eye. This is such a [...]
A gratin parmi tant d’autres – Gratin de moules et poireaux au curry This is probably my last post before I fly to France, next week. I have to fly for family reasons and looking forward to it. June in France is my favorite month, the days are long and it’s still light until 10 pm. Since my mom [...]
Mon petit chou – Choux de Bruxelles enrobés de prosciutto sur lit de mâche et vinaigrette de poivrons grillés This is truly a fun way to eat Brussels sprouts. In case you thought they were a tiny intimidating or boring, or just unappealing, you can play with them so they become exciting. It’s true [...]
Mon petit chou – Choux de Bruxelles enrobes de prosciutto sur lit de mâche et vinaigrette de poivrons grillés This is truly a fun way to eat Brussels sprouts. In case you thought they were a tiny intimidating or boring, or just unappealing, you can play with them so they become exciting. It’s true [...]
Très chic – Brochette de crevettes en branche de romarin, sur purée epicée de pois chiches After a few recipes mixing shrimps and cannellini beans, or shrimps and fava beans, let’s have fun with chick peas, I think they’re closer to a bean than a pea, called pois chiche in French but it seems like [...]
Ca dépend d’où vous êtes – flammkuchen ou tarte flambée au saumon Growing up in Lorraine, and Lorraine being Alsace’s close neighbor, I am quite familiar with tarte flambée, which is an Alsacian Specialty (they eat it in Germany and close regions as well). It’s literally translated into “flamed [...]
