We had the first artichokes of the season last weekend.
In celebration I wanted something simple to make that required a minimum of my attention.
Thus a recipe is born.
I used both butter and oil in browning the shallots. Oil keeps the butter from burning and butter adds a nice flavor. I wanted them crispy brown rather than caramelized … Continue reading.....
If I was trendy I would call this a ‘sheet pan dinner’.
I’m not trendy and I don’t have sheet pans.
For some reason, maybe because ovens here are small, sheet pans are not popular, One could say they are almost non-existent.
The cookie sheets I have were purchased at Williams-Sonoma 25 years ago.
Quality lasts. But they are flat, … Continue reading.....
You may have heard of the classic French dish Steak au Poivre.
This isn’t it….
You may also have read my opinions on French steaks which is why I chose to do this with pork tenderloin.
French pork is excellent, succulent , and tender.
We were very happy with our Porc au Poivre.
Just one word of warning from she … Continue reading.....
Asparagus season is coming to an end.
I haven’t seen the lovely purple asparagus in two weeks and this week the green asparagus wasn’t available.
There were piles and piles of white asparagus, however, so we’re still okay for another week or too.
Whew!
One of the things that happens as we get to the end of the season is … Continue reading.....
I may have mentioned a few hundred times that my mother loved to bake but hated to cook.
She did cook, of course, because that is what one did.
She was a good cook, but she didn’t enjoy it so there was no burning desire to try new things and / or new ways. She had 15 or 20 dishes … Continue reading.....
We were invited to a barbecue last night, US style…. meaning foods cooked on charcoal accompanied by proper baked beans and potato salad.
It was wonderful.
The guests were an eclectic group, as is typical… some French, some British, some American, some ?.
The subject of our home-country foods came up, as is also typical.
We, being the longest-term expats, … Continue reading.....
I’ve been watching cooking shows again….
Well, not seriously watching, it’s more background noise when I’m in the kitchen.
I’ve heard this tip before but never tried it. I heard it several times over the course of a week so I finally succumbed to the nagging voices.
The tip? Drain the pasta before it’s fully cooked and finish it in … Continue reading.....
I recently updated the recipe index on this blog. It wasn’t the usual monthly update to add new recipes, but a totally new system that will automate it all going forward.
Naturally, it wasn’t easy.
It was supposed to be easy, but the software I was using couldn’t differentiate between a photo of the dogs playing with a dead rabbit … Continue reading.....
