Announcing the Winner!

I'm happy to announce that the winner of one of my favorite cookbooks, At Home in Provence, by Patricia Wells, is #52, Yael, from Hope it Will Rain.
Félicitations!

A huge thank you to everyone who entered! Pin It

My Favorite Books about France and a Giveaway

Being a life long Francophile, avid reader and cookbook addict lover means that my bookshelves are literally overflowing with books about France.

Books about French regions and travel, French cookbooks, French phrase books (which now pretty much just gather dust), Paris food guides, memoirs written by people living in France, French restaurant guides, French maps...
You get the idea.

I have many, many favorites. If I had to narrow them down to just a few, these are the 10 that would be on my French themed Desert Island Books list.

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Tomatoes and Basil - The Classic Summer Duo

Thank god/budda/zeus/shiva/(insert name of favorite deity here) for recipes like this!

Our kitchen gets pretty darn hot in the summer. These beautiful, thick stone walls seem like they would stay cool but definitely start to warm up when the sun beats down on them day after day. And turning on the oven to do any baking or roasting certainly doesn't help matters! If I do need the oven I try to use it only in the morning. We usually eat cold food and salads in the summer anyway.

This Tomato Soup with Basil recipe is one of my new favorite's. It's fresh, simple and ultra flavorful. You can enjoy it warm, at room temperature or cold.
And in the height of summer, when tomatoes are ripening on the vine and basil is in abundance, there's nothing better!



Tomato Soup With Basil
from Patricia Wells At Home in Provence

• 2 cloves
• 1 onion, halved
• 2 pounds (1 kilo) firm, ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 4 plump. fresh garlic cloves. peeled and quartered
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 stalk celery, minced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups (50cl) water
• 1 bunch fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
• 4 tablespoons basil leaves, rinsed, patted dry, and cut into julienne strips
• Several tablespoons cream, of a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, for garnish (optional)

Press a clove into each half of the onion and place in a stockpot. Add the tomatoes to the stockpot along with the garlic, salt, celery, oil, water, thyme and bay leaves.
Bring to a boil over high heat, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Remove the onions, thyme and bay leaves, and discard.
Pass the soup through the coarse blade of a food mill into a bowl.
Taste for seasoning.
The soup can be served either hot or cold, sprinkled with fresh basil.
For a richer soup, swirl in cream, or olive oil, if desired. Pin It

When Life Hands You Eggplant....

make Eggplant Parmesan!

One of those famous, fabulous dishes I've never bothered making. Don't know why. Just haven't.
Well, after the lovely gift of eggplants from our neighbor last week I decided it was time to make Eggplant Parmesan. (this sounds oddly familiar to my making jam post-I guess I'm more likely to try new recipes when given gifts of produce. Go figure)

After perusing numerous recipes and getting advice from my "armchair chef" husband I finally settled on a recipe from Mark Strausman's wonderful book, The Campagna Table.



Some of my favorite recipes come from this beautifully photographed, inspired cookbook. His Eggplant Parmesan recipe turned out brilliantly!
My husband keeps asking when I'll make it again. Soon honey, soon.



There are two parts to this recipe, the sauce and the actual dish. I recommend making the sauce either while you're salting and frying the eggplant or a day or two ahead. It freezes perfectly and the recipe makes much more than you'll need.


Real Eggplant Parmesan
taken from The Campagna Table by Mark Strausman
makes 8 servings

• 3 large eggplant (do not peel)
• salt
• vegetable oil, for frying
• all purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 cups Traditional Tomato Sauce (recipe follows)
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley

Cut off the top and bottom of each eggplant. Slice ½ inch thick and lay a single layer of slices on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt (about ¼ teaspoon per slice), then turn and salt the other side. Repeat with the remaining eggplant, putting a sheet of wax paper between each layer. Rest another baking sheet on the very top and weigh it down with full cans (or anything heavy). Set aside to drain for 2 to 4 hours. Rinse under running water and drain on paper towels.
In a large, deep skillet, heat 2 inches of oil until very hot but not smoking. Spread about ½ cup flour out on a plate. Working in batches to avoid crowding the pan, dredge the eggplant slices on both sides in flour. Shake off any excess and immediately slip into the oil. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a 9 by 13 inch baking dish, arrange half of the eggplant slices in overlapping rows. Spread with half the tomato sauce and sprinkle with half the cheese, half the oregano and half the parsley. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Bake 40 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is golden.


Traditional Tomato Sauce
taken from The Campagna Table by Mark Strausman
makes enough sauce for about four pounds of pasta

• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• Four 28 ounce cans milled or crushed Italian plum tomatoes
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• salt

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, red pepper flakes, oregano and salt to taste. Cover and bring to a simmer, then uncover and simmer gently about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. The sauce is done when it has a rich flavor but does not taste overcooked.


Notes: I didn't salt the eggplant as it had been picked the day before. I took the advice of Patricia Wells and Susan Herrmann-Loomis who both say it isn't necessary if the eggplant is garden fresh. Pin It

Top 100 - 61 Through 67

61. Varages Faïence Provençale. Earthenware from Varages, in Provence The week after we arrived in France we took a drive to this village located in the Haut Var to purchase tableware for our kitchen. The factory, which has been operating since 1695, is a riot of shapes and colors, with an unbelievable array of pottery to choose from.

62. 5 Spot in Seattle, Washington. Located on the top of Queen Anne Hill, this diner is the home of the "American Food Festival Series" which features kitschy regional specialties from the Continental U.S.A. The regional food menu changes about every three months plus they offer an old standby menu offering fabulous brunch, lunch and dinner.

5 Spot
1502 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 285-SPOT

63. Bucatini all'Amatriciana. A wonderful, zesty sauce made with pancetta, onions and tomatoes. One of my all time favorite's, it is delightfully easy and quick to make.
The recipe I use comes from Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan.

Bucatini All'amatriciana

Yield: 4 servings.

4 ounces pancetta (Italian bacon)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes, drained and cut up
Chopped hot red chile pepper, to taste
Salt
1 pound bucatini or other pasta
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese

Cut the pancetta into strips about 1/2 inch wide and 1 inch long. Put the oil, butter and onion in a saucepan. Saute over medium heat until the onion is pale gold, then add the pancetta. Cook about 1 minute, stirring once or twice. Add tomatoes, chile and salt to taste. Cook, uncovered, at a steady, gentle simmer for 25 minutes. Taste and correct for salt and chile.
Cook the pasta according to package directions and drain. Transfer immediately to a serving bowl. Toss with the sauce, then add the cheeses and toss thoroughly.

64. Hubig's Pies in New Orleans. An institution in New Orleans since the 1920's, this bakery in the Faubourg Marigny turns out about 30,000 individually sized, half moon shaped pies a day, filling the neighborhood with the aroma of lemon, cherry, coconut, sweet potato, pineapple, strawberry, peach and my all time favorite, apple. When you need a cure for your sweet tooth, they can be found at just about any corner grocery store in New Orleans.

65. Rosemary Honey. A lightly perfumed, well balanced honey that tastes lovely drizzled on bread, goat's cheese or in yogurt and is delicious in lamb and chicken recipes.

66. Patricia Wells. She is the author of nine books, a chef, a restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune and l'Express, lives in Paris and Provence, has a very successful cooking school and recently ran the New York Marathon to raise funds for the American Liver Foundation. This is a woman I admire!

67. The Margarita. Freshly squeezed lime juice, Cointreau, tequila, ice and salt around the rim. Add some tortilla chips and guacamole and a warm beach and I'm in heaven.


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