FrogPrincesse

Ravioli First, I had to teach myself how to make fresh pasta dough, which took a relatively large number of attempts. I did not have a good feel for what the dough was supposed to be like, and how thin it needed to be rolled, so my first 1/2 dozen attempts resulted in thick, rubber-band like pasta (not good!). Also storing the rolled dough so it did not completely stick onto itself was a problem. Using a manual machine was a challenge at first (controlling both the input and output, so the dough would feed properly into the machine and come out without making a mess - all without an assistant). Filling the ravioli was not too difficult but very time-consuming. Then finding a proper way to store the ravioli frozen without damage so I could cook them later. But after persisting, I finally managed to pull it off. Now I have developed a technique so it is much more straightforward. I make fresh pasta about once a week now, ravioli not very often because it is a little too labor-intensive. Foie gras au torchon I was nervous mostly because of the deveining step, although it was rather straightforward in the end. Also poaching in duck fat, and not being sure what the result would be like. Properly filling my glass containers to avoid gaps/air pockets, and finding a way to get it out of these containers intact to serve as slices. Overall, this was all fairly easy even though the whole process was quite intimidating at first. This is not an ingredient that you would want to waste because of poor technique. The result was great in the end, so I was glad that I tried! I would definitely make this again.

Cocoa nibs - I discovered these recently and used them sprinkled on a chocolate cake. I loved their crunch. It was David Lebovitz's Racines cake recipe, and a big hit at our Christmas dinner. Guava - I am a huge fan of the guava jelly that a colleague makes with fruit from her yard. Winter squash is great (especially kabocha) so I would not give up! I love it roasted first in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and then converted into soup or risotto.

In Corsica France, chestnut flour is a traditional ingredient used in crepes, cakes, tarts, beignets, and also souffles and flans. I don't have a specific recipe but would just try to replace some of the wheat flour in your normal recipes with chestnut flour, taking into account that chestnut flour does not contain gluten. That just reminded me that I had bought buckwheat flour on a whim a few weeks ago (I've never used it before) and was going to use it for traditional Brittany-style galettes aka savory crepes.

I had one for the first time last week. It was a little hard and green when I bought it at the farmers market. I let it ripen at room temperature for a few days until it was soft. It's pretty good as is, eaten with a spoon. Just make sure that you don't eat the seeds, which I was told were toxic if crushed. New ingredients for me: various spices including zahtar (plan to use on flatbreat), sumac (to be used for a bell pepper soup recipe) ras el hanout (use TBD, probably a braise, I picked it because I just liked the name), smoked paprika (plan to use in a goat cheese appetizer), pink salt (will obviously use to make some kind of charcuterie) veggies including kale (made chips with it and used in a mussel, clam and white bean stew), kohlrabi (just liked the name and how strange it looks, I used it raw and shredded in a salad but I thought it was not that great, I much prefer celery root in that type of application) squid that I used in a mediterranean shrimp and squid stew. I had never cooked squid before, I could not believe how easy it was. It had been cleaned already, just needed to be sliced and cooked. citric acid to make ricotta A few weeks ago I started buying a new random ingredient every week, based on what seemed fresh and intriguing, just to keep challenging myself in the kitchen. It's been quite fun.

Traditionally, once it's been thoroughly admired, you eventually have to disassemble it with a knife and serve a few choux/puffs by plate. And it's delicious so it would be a shame not to eat it.

You may want to try Costco. That's where I bought mine a few years ago (Kirkland brand) and it was very reasonable (under $50). It's quite large and heavy, and came with a rack.

Grinding your own spices is definitely worth the effort. I do it all the time for Indian dishes or for gingerbread. Just make sure to not grind cloves in your electric coffee or spice grinder. They damage plastic. My grinder's lid (Braun) is now opaque and covered in clove oil residue which does not come off.

+ 4 since September The Spice Necklace: My Adventures in Caribbean Cooking, Eating, and Island Life - Ann Vanderhoof The Cooking of Southwest France - Paula Wolfert Punch: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl - David Wondrich Best Food Writing 2010

This link includes additional information about the BF 15 which was created in France. It's a firm potato with a low starch content.

In 2011, I will eat more seasonal, local veggies I will make my own bacon I will learn how to use the barbecue (from last year's list) I will read MFK Fisher In 2010 I learned to make bread (using the techniques from 5 minutes a day), ravioli, and ricotta.

I bought cavolo nero (tuscan kale) a few days ago and was not sure what to do with it. My husband suggested kale chips (he had them at a restaurant) so I tried this recipe too. It's delicious and very easy to make. Great little snack for a cocktail party.

Love the built-in flour dispensers too. What a great feature! I am also admiring your mid-century dishes and matching glasses. Absolutely perfect for your house. May I ask where you found them? And of course the food is incredibly inspiring. Can't wait to see your Christmas meal!

Hi Jason, I did a quick search in my cookbook library using EYB and came up with a few ideas: Duck liver ravioli (Babbo) Confit of duck gizzards, duck liver flan (Paula Wolfert - Cooking of the Southwest France) Preserved gizzards with warm lentil salad (Lucques) Hopefully they can inspire you!

That's a big classic and it's wonderful. My standard recipe is from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles. It's a simple sauce with butter, shallots, fish fumet, cream, champagne, lemon and chives. Oysters and champagne is also a classic pairing - for example, warm oysters in champagne sauce. I imagine that this type of sauce would be good with fish too.

Is the black olive stuff a tapenade? Sounds like a good combination. And everything can be prepared in advance.

Thanks for the reminder! I should buy the prunes tonight (I already have the armagnac) and start the process asap. I've made pruneaux à l'armagnac before as an accompaniment to seared foie gras or gâteau basque, but never as an ice cream. That seems like a perfect ending to a holiday meal. I will need to decide which recipe to use (Paula Wolfert, David Lebovitz or Anne Willan - I have these three to choose from).

Chris, that menu looks absolutely mouthwatering. Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France is a great book for the holiday season. I just got my copy a few weeks ago and made foie gras au torchon for Thanksgiving, and it greatly surpassed my expectations. My brother & sister in law will be hosting the Christmas party this year (and they will for sure have turkey on the menu). I have volunteered for appetizers and dessert. For light appetizers I am considering a duo of rillettes (a traditional pork recipe and the salmon rillettes from Paula Wolfert's Cooking of Southwest France). For dessert, I am tempted to steal your idea and add the glace aux pruneaux à l'armagnac to the menu (are you using the recipe from Wolfert as well?). Maybe I will serve it with a traditional bûche de Noël.

I am going to be test driving a couple of savory quick bread recipes for a potluck. Indeed these are really popular in France and there are even entire books devoted to them. The most traditional one is the olive, cheese & ham version. They seem to be ideal for potlucks as they can be eaten room temperature and are very portable. They make a light lunch with a salad. They are also good with a spread such as tapenade. There was an article in the New York Times about "cake salé" this summer. (The accent is important as sale means dirty!)

Le Pain Quotidien has excellent bread, cafe au lait, jams & chocolate spread. It's a great casual place for breakfast or lunch.

On my list so far: a Thermapen, a meat grinder to make pate (chopping by hand is not optimal), Charcuterie by Ruhlman et al., a better pasta machine (the cutters on the manual machine that I own are dull, and I end up having to cut the sheets of pasta by hand). I am thinking that a Kitchenaid stand mixer with the pasta and meat grinder attachments might be a good idea...

Yes you got it right, it has the liquor and the dissolved oleo-saccharum, nothing else. That's good news. It would be a shame to have it go to waste!

It might be waterzooi, a typical fish stew from Belgium. My friend Anne makes a nice one. It's lighter than a bouillabaisse (I love them both though!).

We had the eggnog ice cream from The Perfect Scoop at Thanksgiving, together with chocolate lava cakes. It was perfect, with a strong nutmeg flavor, and the rum/cognac did not hurt. I made the ice cream a couple of days in advance and it was still very smooth and creamy when we had it, with no ice crystals. I had some ice cream left so I made the chocolate chip/walnut cookies a few days later, also from the book, and we had ice cream sandwiches! The cookies were relatively thin (fit for purpose) and crunchy. They were delicious in the sandwich and also on their own. I plan on trying the chocolate cookies from the book next.

The Fish House Punch I made for Thanksgiving was a great success. Everyone enjoyed it and was in excellent spirits after a few glasses. I ended up using all applejack instead of apricot. It was so good that I made another batch a few days later for a party. Now I have a question - I have a bottle left of the liquor+oleo-saccharum mixture (no water added). How long can I keep it in the fridge? Would it be a good idea to freeze it since I don't anticipate using it right away?

Thanks for the tip, Dan, that sounds like a plan. I'll try it without the apricot liqueur. I am probably going to stick with the Wondrich ratios for the "mixture" though, since this is my first attempt (rum/cognac/peach (applejack) 2:1:1). I notice that your recipe favors the cognac against the rum (you are at 1:2:1). edited to correct typo