Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Cooking from "My Paris Kitchen"


SobaAddict70

Recommended Posts

I'm so glad y'all are doing this.  I just bought the book and I've not gotten to the recipes yet.  I will say, regarding Kindle editions - I have the Kindle edition of Pepin's "The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen" and there are a number of errors, especially in the recipes (some of them look like issue with OCR scanning).  Also, reading David's blog post on "The Making of the My Paris Kitchen" will make anyone appreciate the difficulty of putting together something like this error-free! (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/04/the-making-of-my-paris-kitchen-cookbook/)

Please join us! Many cooks can only improve this venture.

  • Like 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like Serious Eats will be cooking with the book this week. Here is the link to the first sampled recipe. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/leeks-with-mustard-bacon-vinaigrette-from-my.html?ref=title

 

I am following along with your recipes tries as this is a book I am thinking of springing for. I enjoy cookbooks that tell food stories and it sounds like this one fits the bill on that front as well. 

Edited by heidih (log)
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like Serious Eats will be cooking with the book this week. Here is the link to the first sampled recipe. http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/leeks-with-mustard-bacon-vinaigrette-from-my.html?ref=title

 

I am following along with your recipes tries as this is a book I am thinking of springing for. I enjoy cookbooks that tell food stories and it sounds like this one fits the bill on that front as well.

Thank you for the link. It looks like they will be cooking some recipes that I am very interested In trying.

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lamb tagine

The first issue I have with this recipe is there is no discussion of whether or not to wipe the marinade off the lamb before attempting to brown it. It seems second nature to me to make sure those shanks are dry before I put them in hot oil and brown them off. If that's the plan then I think it should be mentioned. If it's not the plan, it is equally important to mention that as it is unusual.

Admittedly this is not a wet marinade but the lamb exudes a fair bit of liquid after a few hours.

Anyway if I expect to get these brown in 10 to 15 minutes it behooves me to dry them as much as possible.

image.jpg

I find myself utterly unable to follow this recipe to a tee. The instruction to cook at 325 F for two hours in my oven with my pan will most certainly result in boiled lamb. There needs to be something more here. A suggestion as to how the dish should appear, i.e., barely simmering. Did anyone actually test this? And did David's oven and pan so closely match those of his testers that all came up with a delicious result at 325 F? Wow. That's impressive.

My lamb shanks were too damned expensive to risk. In my very accurate oven, with my Le Creuset Dutch oven, 280 F will maintain a shimmering simmer. Perfect for a braise such as this.

For instinctive and experienced cooks none of these things are problematic. They will make the necessary adjustments almost unconsciously. But what of the novice?

After half of the two hour braising time the meat is already beginning to separate from the bone.

image.jpg

After two hours the bones were as clean as a whistle. David suggests that these be served on the bone, one per serving. I opted to serve as a stew with a side of naan.

image.jpg

The lamb was tender yet still tasty and the sauce had just a hint of heat. The dried fruit took it a bit past what I prefer in terms of sweetness and made me wonder about the teaspoon of honey called for.

I would have been happy to serve this to an informal gathering of friends and family. But was it out of the ballpark? No I don't think so.

  • Like 2

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anna: I am so pleased to see you made the naan from this book. The results look delicious.

 

Did the cheese add anything to the texture, or was it mainly the taste factor?

 

It will be Big Easy naan experiment again soon...I need the temperature to be above freezing to stand outside for long periods of time...

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anna: I am so pleased to see you made the naan from this book. The results look delicious.

 

Did the cheese add anything to the texture, or was it mainly the taste factor?

 

It will be Big Easy naan experiment again soon...I need the temperature to be above freezing to stand outside for long periods of time...

Being a fan of naan I can only say that the cheese added nada, nothing. It is obviously an acquired taste. Do try the non-cheese recipe if you get a chance.

  • Like 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grated carrot salad

There isn't much one can do with a recipe for a grated carrot salad. First of all there's no point in following it like a chemical formula. So much depends on the carrots. Mine were a sad looking lot.

I do not have a fancy grater as is apparently available in Paris. And the grating disk on my small food processor is too fine so I used the equivalent of a box grater.

My remaining parsley was in even worse shape than my carrots and I was only able to salvage a few leaves.

Poncy plating couldn't hide all its defects.

image.jpg

The shortfalls here are all mine not the recipe's. If I can source some better carrots and some fresh parsley I might try this again. Although to be honest a grated carrot salad is probably not going to blow me away.

Edited to reposition photo and add:

Before I can make any more recipes from this book I need to replenish my supplies. I have been promised a trip to Whole Paycheck tomorrow.

Edited by Anna N (log)

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although to be honest a grated carrot salad is probably not going to blow me away.

 

 

It is the single most favorite dish of my youngest son (I guess we could have it a lot worse).

 

I am not sure though if a new recipe for carrot salad is a good enough excuse to get Lebovitz book though  :wink:

Edited by fvandrog (log)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13889153184_f9d2499fa4_z.jpg

6 leeks, after about 30 minutes of steaming.

13888821553_55b253ea63_z.jpg

Mustard-bacon vinaigrette.

The amount of bacon here is about 3 rashers worth, chopped into not-quite pea size lardons, but close enough. The ratio of bacon to mustard is probably off by a little lot, but that's okay; I need only satisfy myself. David's recipe (page 88) calls for 2 cups, but that serves approx. 4-6 people. I was fine with the reduced amount.

13888675375_ce15319377_z.jpg

Poireaux vinaigrette à la moutarde et aux lardons ("leeks with mustard-bacon vinaigrette").

Tomorrow night I have dinner at a Filipino restaurant in NYC with friends, then the parade of cooking continues on Thursday.

Bonne nuit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13889153184_f9d2499fa4_z.jpg

6 leeks, after about 30 minutes of steaming.

13888821553_55b253ea63_z.jpg

Mustard-bacon vinaigrette.

The amount of bacon here is about 3 rashers worth, chopped into not-quite pea size lardons, but close enough. The ratio of bacon to mustard is probably off by a little lot, but that's okay; I need only satisfy myself. David's recipe (page 88) calls for 2 cups, but that serves approx. 4-6 people. I was fine with the reduced amount.

13888675375_ce15319377_z.jpg

Poireaux vinaigrette à la moutarde et aux lardons ("leeks with mustard-bacon vinaigrette").

Tomorrow night I have dinner at a Filipino restaurant in NYC with friends, then the parade of cooking continues on Thursday.

Bonne nuit.

 

Yes, but how'd it taste?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there a reason for cooking the leeks root-on, that you know of? Is this what everybody does but me?

No particular reason.

The recipe isn't that specific but it also doesn't take much time to trim it before service.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was quite nice.If I made this again, I'd cut back on the bacon even more so I could accentuate the leeks. They're luscious when steamed. I hadn't thought of that before.

Interesting. Serious Eats also thought there was a bit too much bacon whenthey tested the recipe.

  • Like 1

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 cups of bacon lardons is probably an entire package of bacon. If I were younger and possessed of a hardier constitution, I might think that it wasn't a big deal, but these days I use meat more as a flavoring than as a main event if that makes any sense.

That being said, Thursday I'm hoping to pick up a bone-in lamb shoulder for the roast lamb dish. Looking forward to that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today I'm going to pick up a bone-in lamb shoulder from either Eataly or Chelsea Market and start the prep for the roast lamb dish (page 203). You stuff it with anchovy and garlic; it marinates for a few hours or preferably overnight.

I'm going to skip making the panisses ("chickpea puffs") and the salsa verde. Instead, I'll substitute chermoula (still in keeping with the French theme, although it's by way of North Africa). You'll see photos for that later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMG_1782.jpgI made the Chicken with Mustard, Butternut Squash Crumble, and the Green Beans with Snail Butter last night. I followed the recipes but did garnish the beans with chopped almonds. We liked the chicken, the skin does tend to stick a bit to the pan, so wait a good long time to turn it and use a strong metal spatula. I was concerned about the uncooked cornmeal in the squash dish, and the topping was more grainy than I like. Next time I'll either use cornbread crumbs or crumble cooked polenta in place of the cornmeal. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13899531712_57e47f9f72_z.jpg

Boneless lamb shoulder.

I wasn't able to get bone-in lamb shoulder, but I imagine that's not going to be a huge issue. This was stuffed with slivers of heirloom garlic and oil-packed anchovy fillets, then rubbed with sea salt and black pepper. It sat in the fridge overnight and will be roasted later today.

This is 3 lbs., about $38 worth from Eataly.

13899521671_4cf2598e3d_z.jpg

1 tablespoon black cumin seeds and 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted in a dry pan over high heat until fragrant...

13899544202_d8993d1ec5_z.jpg

13899543832_21d40f27b5_z.jpg

...then ground in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder until it's a coarsely-textured powder.

13923084164_7323b38ccc_z.jpg

Each time I make chermoula, I almost always vary the green ingredients a little bit. There is not one recipe for this sauce, so feel free to come up with your own combinations. Clockwise from right: heirloom garlic, scallions, mint, arugula, cilantro.

Combine garlic, scallions, mint, arugula and cilantro in a food processor or blender, along with a pinch of sea salt and a pinch of cayenne pepper (or minced fresh or dried chiles; how much depends on how spicy you want your sauce). Other ideas include but are not limited to: preserved lemon, preserved orange.

Pulse until you have a rough-textured purée. Transfer the purée to a bowl, then pour in about 1/2 cup olive oil and add the cumin powder. Mix well.

13899519371_539474f208_z.jpg

Chermoula.

This is best the day it's made; its potency will diminish over time.

Along with the lamb, you can use it for just about anything imaginable -- with roast beef sandwiches, over pasta, stirred in scrambled eggs like so:

13923083134_f01fb2e03e_z.jpg

Creamy scrambled eggs, with French breakfast radishes and chermoula.

To be continued...

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...