FrogPrincesse

Hello Darienne. San Diego is indeed a lovely place. I love it here. And it's hard to beat the perfect weather!

Hi Honkman, Glad to see you on this thread. I use Specialty Produce's version of the CSA, aka "Farmers' Market Bag", which has the great advantage for me of being completely flexible. I can decide each week if I want to participate. Everything is organic and local. I've been happy with the quality and variety. I am sure that there will be a few restaurants this week.

First, I would like to go over the teaser pictures. The uni (sea urchin) in the shell This has to be one of our favorite treats. When I lived in France, my parents used to harvest them from the shallow waters in Corsica and we would eat them right on the beach, with a squeeze of lemon juice (there, they are small and black with bright orange roe). Luckily San Diego has some of the best uni in the world, as documented in Jeffrey Steingarten’s book, It must’ve been something I ate (chapter - “Prickly Pleasures”). The books I have a collection of about 50 cookbooks (total of about 75 food-related books) which reflect my evolving interests and skills in cooking. The picture shows part of my collection. The first cookbooks that I bought while in the US were by Jamie Oliver. I still use them regularly. One of my favorite books is Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin, because it has a style that suits me well that is based on French dishes and techniques with seasonal Californian ingredients and influences from the Mediterranean. Les Halles is heavily used for classic bistro dishes, together with The Country Cooking of France by Anne Willan for more specialized recipes. The tiki We love Hawaii and Polynesia in general. We’ve been lucky to go to Tahiti twice and to Hawaii countless times. And my husband grew up in Honolulu. So we are trying to keep the aloha spirit at home. You will definitively see us at the Tiki Oasis this summer in San Diego, and we never miss an occasion for a good tiki drink. The cow at Iowa Meat farms This is my butcher shop. I buy most of my meats there or at their other branch, Siesel’s. They are able to get the most "obscure" ingredients for me (things that would not be so hard to find in Europe but can be a challenge in the US), as a good butcher should (pig liver, hog casings, etc). The view We are fortunate to have this wonderful view from our backyard. All these pictures were taken by my husband who is an avid and expert photographer during his free time. He has agreed to help me document my week so we should see a lot of pictures.

I guess it's officially Sunday now so it's time to start this topic! Kerry Beal guessed correctly that this week's foodblogger was from San Diego, however nobody guessed the right person. I am FrogPrincesse, also known as Elise. I was born and grew up in Paris, France. I moved to San Diego for work 13 years ago with my American husband. We have a 5-year old daughter and live in a house in Pacific Beach. I am a chemist and graduated from the same college as Herve This (ESPCI), although I did not study molecular gastronomy. I work for a pharmaceutical company. I've always been interested in food. When I was growing up, I was the self-designated pastry chef at home. I spent a lot of my free time baking pretty much every chocolate-based recipe that I could put my hands on. My mom cooks a lot of traditional French dishes (beef bourguignon, etc), so that definitely had an influence on me. My style of cooking is mostly French bistro and I try to incorporate fresh & local ingredients as much as I can. I belong to a CSA. I enjoy making things from scratch, so you may see homemade bread, fresh cheese, pasta, ice cream or charcuterie make an appearance sometime this week. I use cooking as a form of stress relief after work, so it’s not unusual for me starting a large cooking project late in the evening, and tonight was no exception. I am extremely excited to host the eG Foodblog this week. I’ve been reading these blogs for years and it’s a great way to get to know eG members better. So I hope that my blog will be an occasion for me to interact with all of you. Please feel free to ask any questions. I am glad that I can represent San Diego. It’s a pet peeve of mine – I feel that our area has a lot to offer but that it’s often overshadowed by its big neighbor, LA. Hopefully my blog can somewhat change that impression. We do have a lot going on in San Diego as you will see this week. edited to correct typos

Chives are pretty low maintenance and are great in salads. Rosemary is easy to grow as well. Mint grows like a weed. edited to correct typo

Kouign Aman - We use Specialty Produce. It's a little different from a traditional CSA in that you can decide each week if you want to participate or not. They source their organic produce from local farms. And they have various things you can add to your basket (fish, cheese, fresh pasta, etc).

BadRabbit, I have made rillettes using Les Halle's recipe many times and can highly recommend it. It's comparable to what I used to buy in France at a good charcuterie, and the recipe could not be more simple. It looks like the Ruhlman/Polcyn recipe includes leeks and celery which seems a little unusual to me, but could be good too. If eatyourbooks.com is correct, the Besh recipe adds red pepper flakes to the classic recipe. I guess it's a matter of preference. I've always kept mine in the fridge. Usually they are gone after 2 or 3 weeks. They taste better after a few days.

Great new topic. I love my CSA program. We eat a lot more fruit and vegetable that way. My CSA box from last week is almost all used up. Sprouting broccoli, yellow squash, Italian basil --> used in pasta primavera last night White spring onions - used in a bacon and onion tart (flammenkuche) Pirella lettuce - a salad with more of the Italian basil Blueberries – made blueberries with candied lime sugar Ate the peaches "as is" and grilled on the barbecue, devoured the mini pink plums. These were the first stone fruit of the season and they were both delicious. I haven't used the baby bok choy yet, but it will most likely end up in a stir-fry For your box , I would probably combine the baby onions and curly kale and cook them in olive oil with some garlic (blanch the kale first), or use them in a topping for a savory tart with goat cheese for example. You could do a gratin as well with cream, but that might be on the heavy side for July.

My friend does not have a machine either so she cuts the raclette into slices that she places in a pirex dish, and then melts them in the oven at high temperature. A microwave could work too.

I really don't know why everyone seems so negative about this. After a few drinks, the idea of a giant peppermill seems perfectly logical! Here is a prime example from Mister Parker Restaurant in Palm Springs. Satisfied customers Would you accept pepper from this man?

I loves me my Montreal smoked meat, so I'm intrigued. What else is on there? The most traditional topping for the Alsatian flammenkuche (tarte flambee) is creme fraiche (fromage blanc also works fine), onions, bacon (diced in lardons). I am sure it would also taste good with diced pastrami.

Overmixing as in dense/tough cookies? I have not experienced that. With typical cookie recipes, most of the mixing happens between the butter and the sugar, a step greatly facilitated by the stand mixer. The flour is usually added at the end and there is little mixing required at that point. For the pie crust, I was very worried about overmixing and really did not think that it would resemble what I make by hand. However by stopping as soon as crumbs were formed and finishing by hand, I got results I was very happy with.

I just bought a Kitchenaid stand mixer a few weeks ago. I do quite a bit of baking and, while a handheld mixer is fine for cakes and whipping egg whites, I got really tired of creaming butter and sugar by hand for cookies. Now I can make large batches without any pain. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the first pie crust I made in the stand mixer - it had a great texture, very flaky. I don't regret my purchase. I use the meat grinder attachment so it's multi function. And I plan on buying the pasta roller & cutter attachments soon to replace my old pasta machine.

I've tried more recipes from Ready for Desserts since my last post. It seems to be my go-to dessert book at the moment. Chocolate Port Truffles These were a departure from my usual truffle recipe because they were a multi-step affair with several very messy steps (at least for me) especially the rolling and dipping part. But it was really worth the (minor) trouble. They were intense with a wonderful texture. I served them at the end of the Easter meal. Blondies (which disappeared before I could take a picture). Similar to the brownies, in that they are really fast to make. I did not let the batter cool down properly before adding the chocolate chips, so they bled a little into the cake. But that did not really matter, there were still distinctive chips in the end and the blondies were delicious. Flo's Chocolate Snaps This is a simple butter cookie flavored with cocoa powder. They were a little less snappy than what I would have thought based on their name, not that it really mattered. They are great with tea. It was my inaugural recipe for my new Kitchenaid stand mixer! And the best for last... Chocolate Crack Cookies These have to be amongst the most delicious cookies I've had a chance to try. They have a light and crumbly texture thanks to the almond powder, and an intense chocolate flavor, almost like a brownie. They really deserve their name. It's my new favorite recipe from the book! Edited to correct typos

The shortage is no longer an issue as far as I know. It was linked to a problem with their bottle manufacturer if I remember correctly.

I will be in Copenhagen next month, so it would be great to get updated recommendations. Of course it's already too late to get reservations for Noma. But are there any other places that I should make sure to visit? So far, my tentative list contains, after studying the various discussions on eGullet: Relae Kodbyens Fiskebar Paustian Bo Bech Aamans We are not looking for super-high end. For dinner I am looking at menus around $50 - $75, maybe slightly more for something that is really remarkable. Thanks!

Sunflower oil was my go-to oil in France. When I moved to the US a little over 10 years ago, I switched to canola oil as it was more readily available and was also neutral in taste. I later did some reading about canola oil, and found out that the vast majority of it is genetically modified in the US. It might be a cultural difference, but I was not really comfortable with that idea, so I stopped using it altogether at that point and started using peanut or grapeseed oil instead as a neutral oil. Otherwise I use a lot of olive oil. I occasionally used rapeseed oil in France ("colza") but never cared for the smell. As far as I know, genetically-modified canola oil is still banned in Europe.

When we go to the liquor store our 5-year old daughter is usually with us. I don't really see an issue either. She calls it "the bottle store".

Thanks Erik, it's good to know. I won't hesitate to open that bottle now. I was concerned that I would not be able to store it properly as I am starting to run out of space in the fridge with my expanding collection - currently three different kinds of red vermouth, three kinds of white vermouth (which each have a purpose), and Bonal...

Do you need to store Averna in the fridge after it's been opened?

I have a few stainless steel appliances (oven, warming drawer, dishwasher). I also have a large kitchen island with cabinets that have stainless steel doors. I agree that there is some maintenance needed and I was a little surprised in the beginning, but now I just use barkeeper's friend once a week and I am good to go. Also we try to use the handles as much as we can on the cabinets to avoid fingerprints!

Katie, I considered using Fee Brothers Old Fashioned bitters, but decided to use tried and true Angostura bitters after smelling the cocktail. They went very well with the herbal flavor of the Bonal. Orange bitters sound like an interesting idea as well. I used a rather small amounf of maraschino liqueur (less than 1/4 oz) so you may be able to skip it. Another option might be to replace the maraschino with Cointreau and to use orange bitters.

I just tried the above Martinez variation with my recently acquired bottle of Bonal Gentiane-Quina and it's very good. I used a 2:1 ratio and a lemon twist and it does not taste sweet.

San Diego, amateur cook

I never paid attention to this until this thread. My heavy cream from Trader Joe's is 40% butterfat and contains carrageenan (percentage unspecified). I am located in California. It also has a disclaimer that it "contains MILK"!!