Lamb and cherry stew

Sunday was our last performance of L'Étoile, and it was a wonderful way to cap off this first summer season. Now that I'm on vacation, I've been playing tourist with Joseph, on visit from Brooklyn, and eating up a storm in restaurants. Tonight, however, I decided to cook.

Lamb stew, with roasted potatoes and zucchini.

Lamb and cherry stew

(serves 4-6)

2 lbs lamb - various cuts, with a few bones for stewing

olive oil

1 large onion

4 cloves garlic

1 8 oz. can tomatoes

2 handfuls fresh sweet red cherries, pitted and halved

2 bay leaves

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tbsp turmeric

1 tsp tsp cumin

1/4 cup red (sweet) vermouth

salt, to taste

Remove as much fat as possible from the lamb and cut the meat into pieces. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan with lid or Dutch oven; pat the meat dry and sear on high heat for a few minutes. Add the onion cut into thin strips and the minced garlic.

Reduce the heat to a medium. Add the tomatoes and halved cherries. Add the herbs, spices and salt, as well as the vermouth. Once the mixture begins to simmer, reduce the heat further to low. Cover the pan and let the stew cook for 1 hour, until the meat falls away from the bone and be split with a fork. Adjust salt to taste. If you've started your stew early in the day as I did, you can let it sit, then reheat it gently before eating (this is a good way to make sure the flavors settle). Remove the bay leaves before serving.

And for dessert, honey-rosemary crème Saint-Honoré with nectarines and blueberries, almonds, Cointreau and rum sauce. Now we sit, round and tired, digesting while watching Hitchcock's Suspicion.

Simple summer pasta salad

After two and a half days of soup and raw garlic (wonderful when one has a cold, tiresome on the senses very quickly), I was more than ready to move on to a solid dinner. So, while preparing my meals-in-mason jars for tomorrow in rehearsals, I also whipped a quick pasta salad to enjoy on the porch.

Zucchini and chickpeas in jars.

Summer pasta salad

(serves 2)

1 cup [whole wheat] pasta, dry

3 large, ripe tomatoes

1/2 Haas avocado

extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar

salt, fresh-ground pepper

3 to 5 leaves fresh basil

Instructions are hardly needed: Boil pasta as directed. Drain the cooked pasta and toss with olive oil in a bowl to let cool. Chop coarsely the tomatoes and the avocado. Toss all of the components together with more olive oil as necessary, a dash of balsamic, salt and pepper to taste. Finely chop the basil and add to the salad before serving.

Rosemary olive oil cake, pastry cream and peaches

Considering this is the second olive oil-based cake I present to you, it's evident that I have a real weakness for them... and that I often don't have butter on hand. (I highly encourage you to try this cake, too.) In this version, I've opted to add whole wheat flour and almond meal to the mix, and to top it all off with bourbon-flavored crème patissière and peaches.

Whole wheat rosemary olive oil cake

(adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cups almond meal

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp kosher salt

3 eggs

1 cup olive oil

1 cup milk (preferably whole)

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Place your rack in the middle of the oven; preheat it to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch-diameter cake pan or 9x5-inch loaf pan. (I used a glass dish, as no cake pans were to be found.)

Sift the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Some of the whole-wheat flour and almond meal will not go through the sieve; throw them back into the bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and olive oil, along with the almond extract and rosemary. Gently fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ones. Pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until a test toothpick comes out clean. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before unmoulding.

Meanwhile, make a small batch of pastry cream...

Crème patissière with bourbon

1 cup whole milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar (or 1/2 cup if you have a sweeter tooth than I)

2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp bourbon

Bring the milk to a simmer at medium low heat in a heavy-bottomed pot. Beat the two eggs in a mixing bowl with the sugar and flour. Pour the simmering milk little by little into the egg mixture while continue to whisk (lest the eggs cook in clumps!). Pour the entire mixture back into the pot, add the bourbon and cook to thicken at medium low heat, stirring continuously. Once thickened, let the cream cool and refrigerate.

The cooled crème patissière and peach slices.

Peal and slice three ripe peaches. You can choose to add sugar, but my specimens were plenty sweet on their own (ah! summer! what a season!). Serve the cake at room temperature with the cooled cream. I opted to assemble everything together, spreading the pastry cream over the cake and adding the peach slices to the top.

Having improvised on the bake ware front (and having no serving plate of the appropriate size) , I decided not to unmould my cake.

The cake, refrigerated and covered, will keep about 2 days.

Seared chicken breast, sautéed zucchini with olives

Driving South.

My mother and I met up at San Francisco International, both landing at approximately the same time (she was coming back from France, so she definitely had me beat on the jet lag front). As I'm free until Sunday we drove down to Pebble Beach this afternoon for a short week-end at the sea. I'm certainly looking forward to a few walks by the beach, and slipping back into my familiar role as house cook.

Simple seared spicy chicken breast with rosemary

(serves 2-3)

2 large chicken breasts, halved length-wise

appr. 1 tsp nutmeg

appr. 1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 big sprigs rosemary

large sea salt, to taste

1/2 cup white wine, chicken stock or water

Rub the nutmeg into the pieces of chicken, and place them in a heated cast-iron skillet (preferably) with olive oil on high flame. Let sear about five minutes, until one side is browned a good deal. Add salt, red pepper and half the rosemary. Flip the chicken and let sear the second side.

Add the rest of the rosemary, and more salt as necessary. Add the wine, stock or water and cover loosely with a lid. Lower the heat to medium. Let the chicken cook until done through, approximately five to ten minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

As the chicken is cooking (err... burning under supervision), let's get going on the zucchini:

Sautéed zucchini with olives

(serves 2)

3 small zucchini

3 medium cloves of garlic (or 2 if you're not so garlic happy as we are), minced

5-6 Kalamata olives in brine, minced

salt, to taste

The ingredient list is really for the sake of formatting - here are the less than abundant requirements.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over high flame. Slice the zucchini and add them to the pan.

Let the slices brown, about ten minutes. Add salt (not too much, as the olives are already quite salty themselves), the olives and garlic. Lower heat to medium and let cook five minutes more.

The finished zucchini await their chicken companions on a plate.

Braised cabbage with lardons and hazelnuts

I'm a big cabbage fan, but I recognize that not everyone adores the stuff. With St. Patrick's Day coming up, images of soggy cabbage leaves smelling of wet socks are undoubtedly being conjured up for many by the window displays. But cabbage need not be such a watery affaire! Here is a rather more sensuous take on the vegetable, with plenty of richness from bacon and hazelnuts, and sweetness from onion and red wine.

Braised cabbage with lardons and hazelnuts

(Makes 3 to 4 side servings)

2 thick slices bacon

1 sweet onion

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 cup red wine

1/4 hazelnuts

salt and pepper

Cut into small pieces the bacon slices and begin to cook them over medium heat in a thick-bottomed skillet (cast iron is my choice), letting the fat melt. Meanwhile, halve and cut the onion into thin strips. Once the bacon grease has melted to some extent, add the onion, salt and nutmeg, and let it brown and soften, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Julienne the cabbage thinly. Bring the pan to a high heat. When the onion is beginning to caramelize, add the shredded cabbage. Braise it, stirring often in order to avoid burning.

Coarsely chop or break up the hazelnuts and add them to the skillet. Add the red wine. Lower the heat again to medium-low. Add salt and pepper. Cover the pan with a lid or tin foil. Let simmer until soft and browned, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Sautéed vegetables with goat cheese

I was craving goat cheese all week-end, yet between travel and social calls, none of that sweet stuff was to be procured. So it was imperative to me that I work it in to my dinner plans tonight. Now, as content as I am to eat toast with thick layers of soft cheese for just about any meal, I felt I should really feed my partner a more balanced offering. I settled on an quick and hearty combination of vegetables that I could adorn with thick globs of young goat cheese.

Sautéed autumn vegetables with goat cheese

(makes 2 servings as a main)

1 large red onion

1 large sweet potato

1 dozen Brussels sprouts

2 cloves garlic

olive oil, for sautéing

1 tbs balsamic vinegar

1/2 sprig fresh rosemary

3 oz. soft goat cheese

salt and pepper

Halve and cut the onion into thin strips, and begin to cook it in olive oil over medium-high heat in a large, heavy-bottomed pan. After 5 minutes salt the onions and add the vinegar. Reduce to medium heat, cover, and let the onion soften, about 10 more minutes.

Peel the sweet potato and cut it into relatively thin slices. Add them to the frying pan uncovered, adding more olive oil as necessary, as well as salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cut off the ends and quarter the Brussels sprouts. Put them to boil in a medium sauce pan with salt. Once the water is boiling, blanch them for approximately 5 minutes.

When the sweet potato slices are cooked through, add the Brussels sprouts into the mixture, along with the 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and ripped up rosemary. Let everything cook a few minutes longer, and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Once the vegetables are on their serving plates, add a large dollop of goat cheese on each mound. Enjoy!

Buckwheat chocolate chip cookies

I have a soft spot in my heart for more unconventional flours. In the baking aisle, I stare longingly at the spelt and kamut flours, the corn meals, the bran, etc... Inevitably, I crack, and I bring home some treasured bundle that ends up being used that week and then left in the pantry mercilessly under-appreciated. But this should not be so! Therefore, I have been on a small mission to use up the pantry staples that never quite became staples. Today's offering is a buckwheat take on that beloved icon of baked goods, the chocolate chip cookie.

Buckwheat chocolate chip cookies

1 cup buckwheat flour

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

4 oz. unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup unsalted almond butter

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350ºF, with rack in the middle. Grease cookie sheets or sheet pans (2 to 3 will be necessary, or you can of course bake in batches).

Cream together the softened butter and white and brown sugar until obtaining a light paste. Beat in the almond butter, then the eggs, salt and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the buckwheat and all-purpose flours with the baking soda and baking powder. Mix the dry ingredients into the paste with a spatula or wooden spoon.

If using a bar of baking chocolate, cut it up into a variety of sizes with a sharp knife, so as to obtain larger chunks as well as much smaller ones. I used a combination of leftover chips and baking chocolate discs, which resulted in a whole slew of shapes and sizes. Mix chocolate pieces into the batter.

Form tablespoon-sized balls of dough and arrange them on the baking sheet(s). The cookies will not pool or expand outward very much, so they can be relatively close together. Along that same vein, press the balls of dow down slightly with your fingers, as they will not flatten significantly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. When removing the cookies from the oven, let them cool at least partially on the sheet, as they will be still too soft to handle. Yields approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.

When the cookies are cool, they are soft and chewy, but not in the same dense and gooey way as a typical soft chocolate chip cookie. The buckwheat flour and almond butter add a pleasant nutty depth to the taste of the batter that complements a dark chocolate well. The dough is not very sweet - there is enough sugar in this recipe for my taste, but I think it would certainly not be cloying to up the granulated sugar level to 3/4 cup.

Clementine olive oil cakes

Valentine's Day is nearly upon us, although I can't say I really care about flowers and chocolates and romantic dinners - frankly, I don't need a nationally specified date for my loved ones to show me affection. But every holiday has a potential upside in my view, and that is themed cooking. (Had I not been so busy, I would surely have made groundhog-shaped cookies on 2 February...) So, when I had a Sunday afternoon, too many clementines, and an inclination to bake, it was clear that this would be the perfect pretext for heart-shaped goodies.

Clementine olive oil heart cakes

(adapted with little change from Smitten Kitchen)

3 clementines (or 1 to 2 oranges, depending on size)

3/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp Amaretto

1/2 cup tart whole milk yoghurt (or buttermilk)

3 "large" eggs

2/3 cup olive oil

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

The zested clementines declare an impromptu war on the eggs; the knife moderates.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF; grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan or smaller pans amounting to an equivalent volume.

Combine grated zest of the clementines and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Peel the fruit, removing as much pith as possible from the segments, and chop into small pieces. Add to the zest and sugar, along with the Amaretto. Whisk in the olive oil, yoghurt and eggs.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, gently and without over-stirring.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s). Bake for 50 to 55 minutes (40 to 45 if using smaller moulds) - the top should be a golden brown and an inserted toothpick come out clean. Let the cake(s) sit for 5 to 10 minutes before unmoulding, then cool to room temperature.

Warm and cozy from the oven.

The resulting cakes are moist but very light. Halved, they would happily sandwich whipped cream or orange marmalade. Now that I've made you a bit of dessert, dear readers, will you be my Valentines?

Drunken Tea Time

On Sunday afternoon, the household wasn't gearing up for the Super Bowl, but we were having roommate tea time. And to make things more interesting, we made it a spiked tea. Joe looked up various gin and tea-based drinks, and came up with a combination that was quite popular all around.

Gin and Tea Punch:

(based on David Kiley's Bloomsbury Punch)

10 oz. gin (Beefeater in our case)

10 to 12 oz. strongly brewed Earl Grey tea

6 oz. fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or a bit less, to taste)

1/2 oz. orange bitters

1 oz. Cointreau

lemon slices

Here is a helpful diagram of the components (the last is sugar, if you couldn't tell - for which I wouldn't blame you).

Melt the sugar in the tea in a sauce pan (preferably with an enameled interior), stirring regularly over medium heat. Add in other liquids and heat, but do not let boil. Serve in tea cups, with a lemon slice. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Winter Weeknight salad

While yesterday's slush spurred me to cook up a hearty dinner of sweet potatoes and baked bluefish (we bought a whole specimen and called him Bernard) covered with bacon and shallots, today seemed like a salad night. The result was a welcome mixture of tart, sweet and rich tastes and textures.

Arugula and pear salad with feta and pumpkin seeds.

The mixture, per plate:

A couple hefty handfuls of arugula or other dark green (spinach, etc..)

Half pear (red Anjou here), quartered and cut into thin slices

1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted

1 oz feta

The dressing, for two plates:

1/4 cup kefir or tart plain yogurt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

As is generally the case when I cook, I end up using ingredients off the top of my head, and mixing them by sight and taste rather than by strict number. I encourage you to do the same, and to disregard my "recipe" in however many ways you see fit.