Desserts

See?  Sometimes even I bake:

 Paula Deen's Oreo Truffles

Sea-Salted Smoky Almond Chocolate Bark

Gingerbread

Dessert?

A chocolate-covered onion from the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia.

The Day Pinot Was Replaced by Porter

As most of you know, Adam is a beer guy. And he's getting more and more obsessed every day to the point where I'm certain he's going to start homebrewing in our bathtub, thanks to Sam Calagione (the head of all things Dogfish Head) putting ideas into his head. Or he's going to leave me for Sam.*

Adam is also notoriously difficult to shop for and, as such, our families have bombarded him with beer and its various accoutrements for birthdays and holidays. This includes magazine subscriptions. So Adam is reading the latest Beer Traveler and there's a list of the 150 perfect places to drink a beer. One of them is Henry's 12th Street Tavern in Portland (it's #25). So we go there for lunch a couple days ago.


The beer list was insane. Here's a glimpse:


Even I found lots that I wanted to try. Like this Laurelwood Organic Tree Hugger Porter (Portland, OR):


I also tried a sample of the Oakshire Amber (Eugene, OR), which I loved - it was unique and complex in its flavor.

But the STAR of the whole experience? The gorgonzola fries:


I could use all kinds of flowery language and purple prose to describe them but I just can't. Crispness: perfect. Seasoning: perfect. Amount of gorgonzola: perfect. We had one plate of these among five of us, but we could just had two plates and called that our lunch. Next time, no doubt.

The dessert wasn't half-bad either:


That's the creme "brewlee" sampler. They use Widmer Hefeweizen to make the one so there's lots of clove and ginger and spice in it. The chocolate one uses Black Bear XX chocolate stout (of course) and it's so rich that one bite will suffice. Shortbread finishes it out.

Our hope is that Henry's is going to become a tradition - it was fantastic.

Eat, drink, and be open-minded about beer.

Note: The server told us that the waffle fries used in the gorgonzola fries are not housemade but that the fries that came with the burger were. The waffle fries were better by leaps and bounds. The house fries were lukewarm and rather soggy. Stick with the gorgonzola appetizer.

*While visiting the Dogfish Head Brewpub recently, Adam actually met Sam Calagione's son who isn't much older than our Bug. Adam is thinking of arranging their marriage...

Things I Don't Want to Eat

I just don't know about this: Oysters with Cocoa Nibs and Apple.

Photo & recipe courtesy of Peace Love & Chocolate. Link thanks to the kitchen.

My Favorite French Things

I have suffered from a wicked case of Francophilia ever since I sat in my first French class at 14 years of age and had to repeat over and over again: "Je joue au tennis aujourd'hui." But my affliction has raged out of control lately and I can't quite figure out why. Here are my guesses:

• With the new job and the winter weather, I feel an overwhelming need to be self-possessed and in control - all the things I imagine a beautiful Frenchwoman to be.


• I've whipped out all my big sweaters and boots, which make me feel all sophisticated and French-y.
  


• There's nothing je ne sais quoi about me...and I sort of wish there was.
  


• I've been stuck in a day-to-day rut and feeling the need to re-introduce beautiful things into my life.
  

I've also encountered lots of fabulous French-related things lately that have added fuel to the fire:

• I read this blurb in PW that brought The Pillow Book of Lotus Lowenstein by Libby Schmais to my attention. My lovely friends at Random House sent me a copy and I can't wait to start it.


• There's this odd little French place in the building where I work: Sud de France. It's on the ground level and huge windows allow you to see everything going on. I haven't been able to discern quite what it is they do, but I know they have dinner parties, display art, and seem to have lots of wine. And naturally everyone that works there is all young and fabulous. Doesn't it seem like a great place to work? Even though it's unclear what they do...
  


• One of my favorite French-related books: Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas by John Baxter. Perfect reading for this time of year. (Note: I loved it before I ever started working at Harper and discovered it was a Harper book) I also found this wonderful interview with John Baxter, all about his life in Paris. Baxter, I think, gives a more accessible glimpse of the expat life than, say, Adam Gopnik (whose work I also love).



• This post at My French Kitchen is additional evidence I'm living in the wrong country. Hell, Ronell's entire blog is evidence of that.


• Bike-riding (referred to here)
• Yves-Saint Laurent's Experience Parisienne blog is blissful and inspiring. Full of beautiful, beautiful things.
  


• I recently re-read Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison. I forgot about all the French language bits in the book. In particular, I dog-eared page 14 in my paperback copy where Georgia and the ace gang walk around town asking people for directions in French. Hilarity ensues. Or you can just swear like Georgia: "Sacre bleu. Merde. Poo."
  


• For more French reading, I can't recommend Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles enough. Written by Rupert Kingfisher, it is refined, quaint, and delightful. I reviewed it here. And in the process of writing this blurb, I found out that there was a sequel, Madame Pamplemousse and the Time-Travelling Cafe! I have written to the powers-that-be, begging for a review copy (though I think it might have only released in the UK).
  
  
• French mints. Several weeks ago we had some friends over for dinner (Molly, Jen, and Heather) and Heather brought these Li-Lac Chocolate Mints with her. Not only were they beautifully packaged, but they were delectable: delicate, balanced, and decadent.


• Here are some picture book suggestions for Francophile parents and their children: The Enemy by Davide Cali and Serge Bloch (Schwartz & Wade, 2009), For Just One Day by Laura Leuck, illustrated by Marc Boutavant - any of Marc's books, really (Chronicle, 2009), Big Rabbit's Bad Mood by Ramona Badescu, illustrated by Delphine Durand (Chronicle, 2009), My Goldfish by Barroux (Eerdmans, 2009), Adele & Simon by Barbara McClintock (FSG, 2006), and of course Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (Viking, 1939). And then when you've finished your literary tour, watch Ratatouille.
  
  
  

Eat, drink, and use that damn passport.

Harvest Time explores chocolate

I mentioned before that the Slow Food NYC Harvest Time program had started a blog, and today they're talking about chocolate.

The most poignant part of the blog post:

They showed us real cacao beans from the Dominican Republic and Madagascar. Some of us are from the DR and didn't even know they grew chocolate there. We got to grind our own roasted cacao beans.

The most astute quote from the post:

The dried cocoa beans were really weird. We disagree about whether we like them. At first when you chew them, they taste like flowers, but after a while they start to taste like dirt. We think the chocolate probably tastes like what grows around the cacao plant.

And a tie for the funniest quote:

Did you ever see the movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? We did, and so when we went to The Mast Brothers Chocolate Shop, we were disappointed that there were no oompa loompas.

versus

When we got back to school, we met Virginie, a French chocolatier. We were disappointed because she didn't wear a berret.

Overall, it sounds like they had a wonderful time (and - shhhhh! - they may have learned a thing or two)!

Eat, drink, and support your local school programs!

REVIEW: Dessert First by Hallie Durand

Many weeks ago, I had dinner out with my friend Jenny.  When she suggested we eat at The Mermaid Inn, I immediately agreed, as I thought the name was about the corniest, most fun, coolest thing ever.  The food was excellent, and I had the enormous pleasure of having my first raw oysters...It's just like everyone has told me: they taste just like the sea.  Which I consider a huge compliment, saying a food tastes just like the place from wence it came.

 In the course of our conversation, a new children's book came up: Dessert First by Hallie Durand, illustrated by Christine Davenier (S&S, May 2009).  I had read about the publicity package from Fuse #8 so the book was definitely on my radar.  As it turns out, Jenny is friends with the author and was able to hook me  up with a package of my own.  Very sweet, indeed!

 Third-grader Dessert Schneider is part of a food-loving family: her parents own a restaurant called Fondue Paris, which of course serves fondue.  Naturally, Dessert loves all things sweet and chocolate-y.  It is this love for desserts that ultimately gets her in trouble, as she eats her mother's strictly-off-limits Double-Decker Chocolate Bars and has to struggle for redemption.  In the end, of course, Dessert grows up a little, learns a lot, and even gets to enjoy dessert. 

It's impossible to read this book and not use the word "sweet."  Dessert, though a troublemaker in the tradition of Ramona and Clementine, has a good heart and spunky spirit.  There are funny parts and, surprisingly, a number of very poignant moments.  Durand definitely gets girls at this age and infuses Dessert with a healthy dose of independence balanced by a desire to do good.  There was one passage that I particularly loved, but I don't feel right sharing it because it's the very last paragraph in the book...and wouldn't that just dull everyone's enjoyment, reading the last morsel before tasting everything that comes before!  So I'll share this part about Dessert's dog, which made me snort-laugh: "Chunky sleeps on my bed.  He weighs 140 pounds, but I always tell him he is light as a feather because he has a great spirit."  Darling.   

The food descriptions are also rather nice.  Obviously the fondue one really got me going:

I took my skewer and put a big piece of bread on the end. Then I started rolling it in the fondue. When there was lots of cheese wrapped around my bread I took it out. I blew on it three times and put the whole thing in my mouth.

Makes me salivate...which is a necessary quality in a foodie book, of course!  In addition, there is a scene where Davenier's artwork steals the show: when Dessert wakes up in the middle of the night, the Double-Decker Chocolate Bars are calling to her from the refrigerator.  Davenier - in the ARC, anyway - depicts the refrigerator with swirly letters "Deeeessssserrrrrt" rolling from within, beckoning Dessert to take a late-night bite of the bars.  We've all been there, right?  Hilarious.

That's not to say the book isn't without faults.  It's totally my adult brain working here, but I found it somewhat implausible that Dessert's parents would own a restaurant and spend so much time at home - any adult knows what kind of hours anyone associated with restaurants works.  Now will that bother kids?  Not likely.  On that same note, the restaurant has a French theme, complete with a French chef and pastry chef.  But my research confirms that fondue is Swiss, not French (okay, okay, my research was Wikipedia ).  Additionally, the only two people depicted in the restaurant are Gaston (yes, really) and Dominique...but where are the other restaurant players, particularly those of other ethnic origins?  Because as we are all aware, a large portion of most kitchen staffs is not Caucasian.  Again, do I think kids will notice this?  Definitely not.  I realize I'm being nit-picky.  However, the restaurant plays a major part in the whole book so I just kept noticing this stuff over and over again.

Overall, this was a pleasure to read and the title alone has mass kid appeal for 2nd - 4th graders.  Just put it on display and it'll be snatched up!

 Eat, drink, and don't forget dessert!

 

Other reviews:

Abby (the) Librarian

A Year of Reading

Jean Little Library

 

Oh, the baking! My eyes, my eyes!

I know I can't keep begging you guys for baked goods, but still...

...More than Burnt Toast made Caramel Sea Salt Brownies, for heaven's sake!  And watched Chocolat!  This is a cruel conspiracy to make me start baking!  Without a KitchenAid!

Salted Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

Well, you all know how I loathe baking.  And you know what I do for friends that bake for me...two words: Bacon Fest.

So anyone want to make these delectable cookies* for me?  We can work out some sort of exchange, right?

* Photo and recipe courtesy of Grab Your Fork.

Airline Food, Red-Wine Soaked Fried Bread, and Homegrown Stimulus

Once again, I find myself having to apologize for the dearth of blog posting lately. You see, I have a glittering, sparkling day-to-day life that often prevents me from writing as much as I like - I'm terribly busy and important doing any number of fabulous things.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

And as is customary when I've been absent awhile, everyone else has still been blogging. I have found all kinds of fantastic treasures in my Bloglines and email inbox:

• The List Universe has put together the Top 10 Most Overrated Novels. I'm down with Emma being on that list, especially when compared with Austen's other work. The listmakers got the right one; if they had stuck Sense and Sensibility on there I would have had some choice words for them. However...the Lord of the Rings trilogy?! They're out of their minds...or they're just as bad as those trolls that come along and say useless things with the sole purpose of pissing people off.


• I heard from Ellen at Avec Sucre...who heard from Clotilde...about this complaint letter sent to Sir Richard Branson regarding the food on a Virgin flight from Mumbai to London. Funny, funny stuff, my friends. Read it and weep.
  


• ALA has posted the phone calls made to the authors and illustrators for the Youth Media Awards at ALA Midwinter. Fun stuff! My favorites were Laurie Halse Anderson saying over and over, "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" and when hearing that she would be invited to be on the Today show Beth Krommes said, "I watch that show every morning!" For the record, I found Neil Gaiman's swearing hilarious!
  


• In yet another intersection of food and children's literature, Readers' Books in Sonoma has a fantastic display idea: "homegrown stimulus package." In addition to having child-friendly books like Tillie Lays an Egg and Extraordinary Chickens on display, they also have locally grown eggs and will soon have local produce and preserves. Talk about exemplifying the idea of community! Thanks to my daily Shelf Awareness email for that tidbit.
  


• I can't believe I'm admitting this but...I found a version of milk chocolate that I actually like. Café-Tasse has been my chocolate of choice for awhile (with Dagoba, Vosges, and Scharffenberger making cameo appearances). My favorite Café-Tasse bar has been the Noir-Café (dark chocolate with coffee); however, I unintentionally grabbed the Lait-Café last time I was at the store. Well, you heard it from me first: it's Really Good. Incredibly creamy, equally rich. And it doesn't taste all jacked up on sugar. Granted, I'm not converted - I'll still go for the Noir. But I will thoroughly enjoy the Lait while it lasts. (And this all reminds me of an article in the NY Times a year ago today about milk chocolate making a comeback. I scoffed a year ago but now...)
  


• I'm a geek and here's why: I get the email updates about Spain...On the Road Again. I've been watching the show casually and enjoying it. It would be so wonderful to make some of the food that they eat but I feel that part of the reason it looks and sounds so good is because it is local to Spain. I'm just not going to get the same freshness of produce and seafood here...because, you know, I'm in NYC in February. Nevertheless, I might have to try this recipe. To quote Mario: "Fried bread soaked in wine...dangerous." Indeed. Here's it is:

TORRIJAS

Serves 6

* 3 cups olive oil
* 2 cups dry Spanish wine
* 3 large eggs
* Eighteen half–inch–thick slices crusty Spanish bread (or substitute a baguette)
* 1/4 cup sugar, mixed with 1/4 cup ground cinnamon

* Mosto (recipe for Mosto follows below)

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat until it reaches 365 degrees Farenheit. Meanwhile, pour the wine into a large shallow bowl, add the bread, and let soak for 8 minutes. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs until well mixed. Working in batches, remove the bread from the wine, draining well, add to the eggs, and let soak for 2 minutes; drain well, add to the hot oil, and cook for until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, drizzle with mosto, and serve to friends.

Mosto: Boil 3 cups of dry red wine with 1 cup of sugar, a cinnamon stick, and a splash of fresh apple cider until it is reduced by three-quarters (it will be thick and syrupy). Allow it to cool, then store it in a clean wine bottle. Use whenever you need a sweet, grapey punch, in everything from a salad dressing to an ice cream topping.

• I have only very recently discovered the blog of my two new friends, Cindy and Lynn. They reviewed Dear Julia and I loved what they had to say. I hadn't made the parallel between Zemser and Joan Bauer but I think Cindy is right on.

Eat, drink, and beware of that food on Virgin...or any airline really.

Graceling...and other stuff

When I first read Graceling, back in February 2008, I went berzerk over it (try here, here, and here). Well, how foolish did I feel when I only just now discovered that Kristin Cashore has a blog?! Reading it has been a loverly way to spend a Friday at work when I really wish I was at home...

I gushed over the cover of Graceling in one of my posts - it really is striking. But I just saw the Australian cover on Kristin's blog and...um...it kind of kicks some ass. I mean, really. Check this out:

That is just too, too cool. I'm not saying I like it better, necessarily, but it's equally as awesome as the shiny American version. You get a real sense of Katsa's character and what the book might be about in the Oz version and, I have to be honest, the same can't be said for the "USian" one...even if it is prettier.

*****

In a totally unrelated thought process, I apologize for the lack of food posts lately. Most of my food blogging involves my computer at home (access to photos) and my mom-in-law is currently staying in our "computer room". But I certainly don't mind - my mother-in-law, hereby known as MC, is awesome and loves to eat and drink whatever we feel like cooking up (with the exception of cilantro, which she loooooves to hate more than anything on this earth). Nevertheless, with MC visiting, it makes blogging at home challenging, as I am spending lots of time playing board games with the fam and doing all kinds of fun things in the kitchen. So more to come on all our awesome food soon.

In the meantime, I hate to leave you empty-handed. So check out the following:

- Sausage and Smoked Mozzarella Rigatoni over at Elly Says Opa! Tell me that doesn't look incredible. Wow.

- The NY Times had a recent article on salted caramels. Read it and drool.

- While I don't necessarily agree with all their suggestions, the San Francisco Chronicle has a list of essential pantry items, and what better way to start the New Year than with a well-stocked pantry? (I was annoyed they only listed dessert ideas for dark chocolate...one of my favorite things to do with it, as suggested by Michael Chiarello, is to finely grate it over pumpkin ravioli with brown butter, sage, pine nuts and parmesan. Sound weird? Well, let me ask you this: have you tried it? No? Enough said.

Happy New Year, all! All the best in 2009!

Want to save money? Give him THIS for the holidays!

I have been going on and on and ON about how much I love Joanne Harris' and Fran Warde's cookbooks.  I'm a friggin broken record.  But, ah, I've had an ace up my sleeve, the pièce de résistance to show off how truly awesome these books are.

Remember Chocolat (the movie)?  When Juliette Binoche (whose wardrobe in this movie I want for my very own) makes the hot chocolate for Judi Dench?  Of course it has the chili pepper in it and, upon first sip, Judi Dench gets that sexy smile and laughs that deep sexy laugh.  Who knew that Judi Dench could be sexy?  It must be the hot chocolate.

Without further ado, I give you - from My French Kitchen - Vianne's Spiced Hot Chocolate:

* the crowd goes WILD! *

My pictures suck as usual but all I have to say is...DAMN.  This was amazing.  I'll just give you the recipe and you'll understand what I mean:

1 1/2 c. milk

1/2 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 hot red chile, halved and seeded

3 1/2 oz bittersweet (70 percent) chocolate

Brown sugar to taste (optional - I left it out and encourage you to)

Whipped cream, chocolate curls, cognac or Amaretto, to serve

Place milk in a saucepan, add the vanilla bean, cinnamon stick, and chile, and gently bring to a "shivering simmer" for 1 minute.  Grate the chocolate and whisk it in until it melts (I didn't grate it - I had those bite-size chocolate pieces and just added them in one by one).  If you're adding brown sugar (don't do it!), this is the point where you put it in.  Take off heat and allow it to infuse for 10 minutes (this is where it gets all thick like molasses...in the best way possible).  Remove the vanilla, cinnamon, and chile.  Return to the heat and bring gently back to a simmer.  Serve in mugs topped with whipped cream, chocolate curls, or a dash of cognac or Amaretto.

We only used the whipped cream (homemade, of course), and I don't see myself ever adding in the cognac or Amaretto.   The hot chocolate was perfect without it and one doesn't mess with perfection.  And I don't mind adding that drinking this with Adam after Kiddo went to bed was downright sexy.  Seriously, you must try this.

Eat, drink, and indulge in perfection.

Bacon and Chocolate: an inspired pairing

- From the Chicago Sun-Times, chocolate-covered bacon ("bacon truffles") are being served up at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, as well as the Minnesota State Fair.

- YumSugar has an actual recipe up, but I definitely wouldn't use semi-sweet and white chocolate. Instead, I'd go for something like this.

- I kid you not: the bacon-chocolate martini.

- Oh, the weird deliciousness continues: bacon chocolate chip cookies with maple cinnamon glaze!

- Oh, people. It keeps going: bacon-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies! Dammit, if only I baked! I must have these! The Soul Twin has one those fancy-schmancy KitchenAids...I should beg her to make me some of these and bring them to me next time she's in NYC. Any else reading this a NY-er willing to bake for me? Pleeeease? I'll invite you over for dinner and I'll make you a friggin feast. You bring dessert: specifically, these cookies. Because that's the kind of bossy hostess that I am. (Update: our friends J & L just left our apartment after a night of chimichurri sauce and steak...I mentioned this recipe...and L says she reads my blog...maybe they'll make me the cookies???? Because, you know, they're...bakers...)

- I bought Vosges' Mo's Bacon Bar while on my vacation in Oregon, and I luuuurved it. Salty, sweet, crunchy, smoky. Bacon and chocolate make sense, just like coffee and chocolate do: the smoky saltiness of the bacon brings out chocolate's natural qualities. I highly recommend Mo's Bacon Bar. Asking yourself why you would possibly try such an odd combination? Well, shut off your brain and ask yourself "why not?" Just do it.

- Last but not least, look what the Husband brought home from work:

Seriously, the bacon spins around...

Eat, drink, and realize bacon really does make everything better

How to Cook 101 Class

On Saturday morning, I attended my first “How to Cook” class at the Institute of Culinary Education – there will be two more classes the next couple Saturdays.

To sum up, the class helped me realize I already know how to cook.

There are about 12 of us in the class and we began by sitting at a long table. We introduced ourselves and shared why we’re taking the class; out of the whole class, I believe there were only 1 or 2 other people, in addition to myself, who ‘fessed up to already knowing how to cook. Otherwise, most people said some variation of “I’m sick of takeout.” Chef Melanie Underwood talked with us for a bit and then we broke up into three groups and made different dishes. My group made a mixed Mediterranean platter, melon and prosciutto, and “chocolate-dipped morsels.” Group 1 made shrimp cocktail, a smoked salmon platter, and “chocolate-dipped morsels.” Group 2 made tomato and mozzarella, guacamole and chips, and “chocolate-dipped morsels.” After we made all our dishes and presented them, we sat down to the table again (which had been set up with full place settings and wine) and enjoyed each other’s food. Good conversation about food ensued.

So, those of you foodies who read my blog, you can guess how under-challenged I felt. However, part of the reason I took the basic class was because I wanted to really master the basics. I wanted to start at the beginning. In that spirit, here are the things I learned from Chef Melanie in our first class that I did not previously know:

1. If an avocado is underripe, sprinkle lime juice and salt on it to make it edible.

2. As a rule, when you taste for seasoning, eat it how you’ll be eating it later. For example, don’t taste the guacamole on a spoon – use a chip. Totally obvious, right? Well, I’ll confess that this never occurred to me.

3. The folks who made the shrimp cocktail poached the shrimp in a court bouillon, which I had never heard of. Here is the recipe given to us:

2 qt water
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 lemons
1 bay leaf
8 black peppercorns (whole)
2 tbsp salt

We were also told that we could use this recipe to poach mushrooms and veggies.

4. If you’re cooking shrimp that haven’t been shelled and deveined, do so after they’re cooked. Cooking the shrimp in the shell gives them more flavor.

5. Don’t refrigerate corn. But refrigerate mushrooms.

6. Domestic prosciutto tastes different than imported because domestic doesn’t have to be aged as long.

7. Belgian endive is pronounced “en-dive” or “ahn-deev” – both pronunciations are correct.

8. Got some old spices that have lost their oomph? Put them in a small skillet on medium heat for 30 seconds before using. BAM!

9. Bibb lettuce? Boston lettuce? Butter lettuce? Yep, all the same thing.

10. Better quality chocolate is less likely to burn. I’ve always used good quality chocolate…but for flavor. Now there’s an additional reason!

And last but not least, I learned that chocolate-dipped potato chips kick ass. Truly. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

Eat, drink, and learn something(s) new every day

What is it with Jacques Torres and Google?

Remember I told you all that Jacques Torres came to visit Google? Well, this box of Jacques Torres chocolates you see is the thank you that Adam's co-workers gave him for being so funny and sarcastic and awesome.* There really is no justice. I'm shaping our nation's children and I get $2 tickets to the Mets and the chance to mooch off publishers at ALA conferences.**

I really need to think about a change in profession.

Eat, drink, and picket the union for better swag


* It should be noted that I took a bite out of every one of these chocolates. Yeah, I'm one of those people. Adam scolded me until I pointed out that he certainly wasn't going to eat these (he's a cheesecake/tiramisu kind of guy). He admitted I was right and let me keep nibbling. Anyone else a chocolate nibbler?

** I speak in jest, dear publishers who read this. I assure you that I'm sometimes embarrassed by the scavenger-esque behavior of my fellow librarians at the conferences. That said, I do enormously appreciate the wine, without which socializing at those things would be so thoroughly unpleasant.

REVIEW: French Milk by Lucy Knisley

Huzzah, I found French Milk, thanks to a colleague that loaned me her copy (thanks, Jenn)! If you’ll remember, I was on a mission to find this thing.

A young 22-year-old woman, Lucy, and her mother decide to take a month-long trip to Paris together. They rent a darling apartment in the fifth arrondissement and explore the city from there. They see monuments and museums, but there are also instances where they’re hanging out in the Laundromat and using public toilets. Friends and family come to visit them and, naturally, they eat their way through the city. There is also a darling episode where mother and daughter get haircuts together “so we could go home looking frenchy and coiffed.” Then they do go home with a better understanding of each other and themselves…at least, that’s the impression you get.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, and Lucy Knisley really grasps the sense of place. Truly, reading this does make you wish you were in Paris, shopping at flea markets and eating croissants. Her descriptions and drawings of food were particularly appealing to me, of course. And their cuisine is so varied: Moroccan, French country, farmers’ market fare, cookies, café cuisine, and chocolate. Lucy eats foie gras like it grows on trees, and she develops a particular fondness for the rich, unpasteurized milk in France (thus, the title of the book). I also enjoyed Lucy’s imaginative touches: during a Laundromat mishap, she compares herself and her mother to Lucy and Ethel; she confesses that she sings the soundtrack to Funny Face under her breath most of the trip. In addition to being an autobiographical graphic novel (graphic journal?), Knisley also incorporates her own photos into the book, which provides a very personal and welcome touch: a picture of Lucy kissing Oscar Wilde’s grave, a picture of her mom leaning over the railing of the Tour Eiffel to get a better picture, and pictures of food.

That’s not to say that the book doesn’t have its problems, and I’m wondering if any of these will be addressed once Simon and Schuster reissues the book this year. First, one doesn’t really get a sense of Lucy’s relationship with her mother. The back of the book makes some mention of their “shifting relationship” as Lucy faces post-college life and her mother approaches 50…but I really got no sense of conflict or tension at all. Lucy makes references to conflicts with her boyfriend, but the reader never finds out what’s going on there. It didn’t bother me so much, but there really wasn’t a traditional story arc (or, one could argue, a story at all). They go to France, experience the city, and go home. Voila. I might have liked it better if there was a sense of personal journey, a stronger focus on Lucy’s self-discovery. And I definitely wanted to know more about Lucy’s mom. In true fashion for a 22-year-old, this book is all about Lucy: her appetite, her boyfriend, her insecurities, her menstrual cramps, her future. But her mom truly is part of this story so she should have been fleshed out, especially since Lucy’s friend David visits them and I got a much better sense of David as a person than the mom. Again, it’s typical of a 22-year-old protagonist to put her friends center-stage rather than her mother.

Overall, French Milk is a choice read for any teenage Francophile...or, in my case, any armchair-traveling, young-adult-book-loving, grown-up Francophile.

Other information:

Article about the book at PW

Lucy's website, Stop Paying Attention

Review of French Milk at Oops...Wrong Cookie

Review of French Milk at Try Harder

Lucy's awesome livejournal

Kid lit and food collide...again…sort of

So with the husband gone all weekend, I thought the girls – my daughter and I – could do some shopping. We bought pear-scented conditioner for the kiddo, pajamas for both of us, and then hit Barnes and Noble. I know, B&N is evil. But as I’ve whined before, Queens seems to have no indies to speak of. Alas. So we’re in B&N and I drag the kiddo over to the cookbooks, promising her we’ll hit the kids’ section if she can behave while I peruse books for myself. And my rad daughter proceeds to take her journal out of her purse, sit down, and start writing with abandon. I had a ton of time.

See, I was on a mission: to buy a non-Food Network cookbook. I have cookbooks by Rachael, Ina, Michael (Chiarello), Tyler, Nigella, Jamie. I’m all about the celebrity chef. The only non-FN cookbooks I use on any kind of regular basis are by Patricia Wells*. So I decided I would blind-buy whatever cookbook caught my eye. I found a gem: The French Market: More Recipes from a French Kitchen. It was pure eye candy. And the recipes seemed real simple with really accessible ingredients. I snatched it up. So I’m flipping through it when I get home, and I become curious about who wrote the book: Joanne Harris and Fran Warde. Who are these women? Yep, it’s that Joanne Harris. You know, she wrote Chocolat** and, with the publication of Runemarks, she is now a YA author. Wow. I created this food/children’s literature blog because I couldn’t decide which I was more passionate about. But I keep finding that these subjects aren’t entirely exclusive. Which makes sense because food is truly all-important and of course it’s going to intertwine itself in every aspect of one’s life. If it doesn’t, then you need reassess your priorities.

So I can’t make anything from my new cookbook until Wednesday this week: I begin my French class at NYU on Monday and the husband is taking a class of his own on Tuesday. So we’re going to have to pull out the old warhorses at the beginning of the week: antipasti on Monday and poached eggs with creamy polenta on Tuesday. But come Wednesday…well, let’s just say you’re probably all going to want to come to my apartment for dinner. I’m just sayin’…

Wednesday: brioche with mushrooms/brioche aux champignons, salad with walnuts/salade aux noix

Thursday: cauliflower soup/soupe au chou-fleur

Friday: chicken breasts with Dijon mustard/poulet à la moutarde de Dijon, salad with an herb vinaigrette

Bon appétit!

* How telling that every single one of these chefs has a glossy, pretty website of their own!

** And this is actually Joanne Harris' second cookbook. The first one was The French Kitchen and it actually has a recipe for " Vianne's Spiced Hot Chocolate" from the movie, Chocolat. I know I spent my previous post practically bragging about my lack of a sweet tooth, but I think I have to make this hot chocolate at some point. How could I not???

Life would be sweeter with a sweet tooth

You know, I’m not a baker. I’ve always argued that it’s because I don’t care for the precision baking requires – I’ve never liked math, and baking seems to require too much of it for my tastes. So there’s that. But the other thing is that I just don’t have much of a sweet tooth – give me crunchy or salty or cheesy any day over dessert. If I’m going to have dessert at all, I’ll go for a scoop of sorbet. And the rare time I order something sweet and rich, I either share it or I’m perfectly happy eating only three bites.

So, all that said, I still love looking at baking cookbooks and dogearing the desserts in all my cookbooks. And that goes for blogs lately, as well. Becks and Posh made some lovely, delicate “Jasmine Dragon Pearl Tea Cookies” that look divine. This is a dessert I can get on board with: crisp, light, subtle, only moderately sweet. I’m sooo tempted to make them. But can I use some other tea? I’ve got English Breakfast, San Francisco Spice (lots of cinnamon and cloves – it has a surprising amount of heat), some sort of peach tea, and lots of vanilla tea. As it is, Becks and Posh say that the original recipe calls for Earl Grey but they went with the Jasmine Dragon Pearl that they had on hand. Which really makes this the ideal baking recipe for someone like me: clearly, I can add any kind of tea I have on hand and see what happens. You can add something richer for winter, and I think my peach tea would be wonderful in the spring. Perhaps even lemon tea with some lemon zest too? So I’m adding this recipe to my already burgeoning list of dessert recipes I have squirreled away. And let’s hope I actually give this one a go. Thanks to Becks and Posh for the photo, recipe, and post.

Likewise, Cream Puffs in Venice is having a whole month of chocolate-themed posts so there’s just endless amounts of mouth-watering and eye candy on display over there. I will readily admit, though, that I’ll most likely never make this recipe – I would never make chocolate for myself when I get the most pleasure out of a small square of Dagoba Organic (have you not tried Dagoba? Shame on you. Do so the first chance you get - or go to the link and buy some online). Siiiiiigh. Nevertheless, I still love looking at beautiful pictures of chocolate desserts so feast your eyes on this:

The recipe is from Maxine Clark's Chocolate: Deliciously Indulgent Recipes for Lovers. Thanks to Cream Puffs in Venice. Like I said, it ain't my bag but I'm guessing some of you are just swooning in front of your computer screens right now.

I've got more tidbits to share, but the husband is golfing in NC right now so it's just the kiddo and me all weekend (who declared about the chocolate mousse picture: "Wow! Let's make that!"). Which means she's challenging me to a game of Uno as I type this. Gotta go show her who's the champion.

YAY! Last Wednesday's Dining Section!

It’s a little late to be sharing this, but last week’s NYT Dining section had a pretty good gift giving section (and the website features a nifty slide show) – it was such a relief to see some non-Williams Sonoma gifts! In fact, the article features some egg cups from the MoMA Design Store that I’m going to buy for ma petite famille – I don’t even want to tell you what I’ve been using for egg cups when I make Clotilde’s Soft-Boiled Eggs with Artichoke Bread Fingers recipe. Suffice to say, I’ve had to improvise heavily. Now it seems I can not only get some proper egg cups, but I can actually get some with a modern groove thang going on. Unfortunately, it appears you can't these online...which means I have to trudge on down to friggin SoHo. Merde!

- There was also a chocolate truffle article that sounded pretty damn good. I’m not a sweets kind of gal, but I provide the recipe and picture here for posterity.

- There was also a list of culinary books with an off-the-beaten-track flavor, but none of them stuck out much for me. I provide the link here, though, because it could be the last-minute gift you’re looking for.

- I may not volunteer in a soup kitchen during the holidays, but I do donate well. Apparently Kevin Bacon does work for food banks…is it incredibly superficial to ogle the picture of Kevin instead of reading the article??? Yes, I know it is. So I did read the article and found some ideas for charities to donate to…and then I ogled Kevin. Can't afford the time? Then spend $10 less per person on your holiday list and send the leftover proceeds to a local food bank. Do what you can.

- Pink champagne…or rosé champagne? It doesn’t matter. This article made me thirsty for “drama in a glass” (as quoted by Mireille Guiliano).

Bon appetit and happy holidays to all!

YAY! WEDNESDAY! Oh Yeah, It's Back!

Oh, I’m well aware of how many weeks it has been since I’ve covered the NYT Dining section. The reasons why aren’t terribly complicated: 1) I’ve been ridiculously swamped with all things life-related, and 2) I have been horribly uninspired by the Dining section lately. Really. The recipes have been blah, the restaurant coverage has been blah…as you can tell, I’m not so concerned with burning bridges with Frank Bruni. Do you have any idea how much would have to happen before someone like me came on his radar? Yeah, I’m not concerned in the least.

Anyhoo, this is the week where it finally came back together, and I just pored over every inch of the paper. Needless to say, they caught my attention with this picture on the front page:

Shazam! As you’ve probably guessed, the article was about heritage turkeys and trying to preserve not only certain breeds of turkeys but also preserve the integrity of the term “heritage.” The article’s author, Kim Severson, told one farmer’s story; the farmer is the preeminent heritage turkey farmer in the country, and there are several mentions of how much he loves his turkeys. It’s funny – I’ve heard this about turkey farmers before. Likewise, an article about buffaloes several weeks ago talked about the same thing – how attached to the animals these farmers are. I find this fascinating. Clearly I am so out-of-the-loop with Mother Nature. I can’t imagine being so attached to an animal or “the land.” I feel a sense of detachment, lack of understanding, and…indifference, perhaps. Definitely not good. But what to do? Leave my 17th floor apartment in NYC and go live off the land? That hardly seems reasonable or realistic. So the question becomes how do I find the sense of the natural in the city? And I don’t think I can argue that Union Square and Central Park do it for me, as I have said for the 7 months I’ve lived here. Because when it gets down to it, for the long haul, Union Square and Central Park don’t come close.

I was also struck by this photo on the front page as well:

I'm telling you: the front page was eye candy! This picture was advertising an interesting article on Madeira and that River Café is selling some of their most highly coveted bottles.

Frank Bruni wrote an unexpectedly funny article about patronizing language use by restaurant staff - we've all heard the phrases he mentions ("Pardon my reach"...so why the hell don't you just say "Excuse me"???). I won't say anything else about it because there's no way I can adequately sum up Bruni's delicious smugness. Just go read it for a good snicker.

Calling all chocolate lovers! Read here for the most delicious places in NYC to get that high. Our country may have its puritanical roots, but thank goodness for the hedonistic pleasures of chocolate and coffee. How else are we to get through the daily grind?

And recipes! Oh, yes, there are recipes! Check out two: Pan-Fried Pizza and Bacon Topped Meatloaf Burgers. Mouth watering much? But I do approach these recipes with trepidation. First, I have a real hate-hate relationship with pizza dough. That stuff is just gosh-darned sticky and difficult - I have never found a pizza dough I've liked. Especially since the husband can get this thin crust at Chelsea Market on his way home and save me such a huge headache. It's not even that bread-y, heavy crust - it's that light as air stuff that crisps up so beautifully. So I have to wonder if this is worth the trouble on a Thursday night when we're trying to get the kiddo bathed and in bed, you know? As far as the burgers are concerned, they sound delectable, but the author, Melissa Clark, seemed to take out a lot of ingredients that makes meatloaf...you know...meatloaf. No eggs and breadcrumbs?! And the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and onions added at a glaze at the end?! Not in the meatloaf?! I don't know - it just seemed like an awful lot of blaspheming going on there. But since I don't tend to be offended by blasphemy...I'll add this recipe to my repertoire.

See? Told you it was a good section this week.