Step Back and let the Chef do the Cooking

There are times when a person has to know when to step back... 

... and this time, that person was me. 

One thing I've learned from living with other foodies is that things can't always be your way, especially when it comes to cooking. It took a long time, and a broken relationship or two for me to appreciate something as simple as stepping back and letting the other person take the lead. I guess I'm kind of OCD in that that way.

The good thing about past relationships though, is that you learn (hopefully) from those flaws and failed experiences. With new relationships, you test yourself. You react how you normally wouldn't react, and you do what you normally wouldn't do, and maybe... just maybe, you realize it wasn't entirely their fault.

So I put myself to the test. Last week, one of my good friends from college came into town, and she graciously opened up her swanky bachelorette pad (and kitchen) for David and I to just have at it. If David cooked the dinner, she said, she'd pay for all the ingredients. Pretty sweet trade-off. A free meal of whatever we want to cook, in a gas-stove, kitchen-island, counter-tops-for-days dream kitchen? Ideas swirled in my head of what we could cook. Steak? Risotto? CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN?!?!

Tartine Tuesday: Éric Kayser's Pain Aux Noix, Magret Fumé et Orange Tartines

Due to watching From Paris with Love (which was pretty bad ass) at 3am this morning... I woke up with today with little sunlight left in the day (whoops... hehe). 

So this Tartine Tuesday, which I ate for dinner, is a quick and easy one. 

I'm not actually going to post the recipe here (although it's quite simple, and obvious), because one, it's not my recipe, and two, I'd rather you go out and buy the book. I'm using a recipe from Éric Kayser's, Tartinez Gourmand. Thinly sliced magret fumé, or smoked duck, is laid over toasted and buttered pain aux noix (nut bread) and topped with juicy orange segments and freshly cracked black pepper. Simple and delicious.

If you've never segmented citrus before, here's a quick video from Rouxbe, the Online Video Cooking School to show you how:

Rouxbe Online Cooking School & Video Recipes

Note: I am a Rouxbe Cooking School affiliate partner. As part of their affiliate program, I have the power to give you a free, full-access, no-videos-barred, 14-day pass to their site. All you have to do is go to the Rouxbe Online Cooking School and redeem the 14-day Gift Membership. After the trial, you can join for as little as $15 per month; however, there is no obligation. This site is unlike any other cooking site I've seen. It gives you clear, step-by-step demonstrations as you would receive in a cooking class. I've already learned so much, and hope to improve my cooking skills via Rouxbe. It's awesome! Check it out!

It's a great way to get the most out of your oranges and grapefruits, and once you get the hang of it, segmenting citrus can be kind of fun... or maybe it's just me. I always love when my mom makes a huge bowl of segmented citrus. The only problem is that it never lasts very long. I can eat an entire bowl in one sitting. Thankfully, it's not nearly as bad as eating an entire bowl of potato chips... or fried chicken. Not that I've ever done that... ;)

Anyways, back to the tartine... 

The orange really helps to balance the richness of the magret, and the nuttiness of the bread compliments the smokiness of the magret nicely. Finding magret fumé might be a little difficult for some of you back in the States, but some of the fancier grocery stores, like Whole Foods or specialty food shops might be a good place to look. If you can't find it, bacon might be a good substitute... just make sure to cook the bacon first. 

Bon Apétit!

Tartine Tuesday: Cucumber, Feta, and Mint Croissant Tartines

The first thing I noticed when we landed in Paris this past July was the roughly 30 degree drop in temperature. I'm not complaining, I would much rather spend my days picnicking outdoors in the nice, breezy, 70-ish (Fahrenheit) degree weather than trapped in an air conditioned room all day to keep from having a heat stroke. What I do miss though, is being able to go outside with my shorts, tank top and flip flops without having to bring a "just in case it gets cold" jacket. I miss feeling the heat of the sun nearly toast me to a crisp as I lay out in my bathing suit (yes, being raised in Florida, you actually like that feeling). I miss being able to wear flip flops all year round (which I couldn't even do in Atlanta), and not even knowing where to buy a parka.

I've had my couple of days in Veulettes where I could tan by the pool and only start to shiver when a cloud passed in front of the sun, but it doesn't compare to the summers in the Sunshine State.

As we get nearer to winter, my long sleeved shirts and jeans seem to be making more frequent trips through the laundry. I'll have to have my dad bring me all my "real" winter clothes when he comes to visit next month. To the back of the closet you go, flip flops... *tear*.

Since fall is right around the corner, I wanted to squeeze every last bit out of summer as I could. We got some sun in Veulettes (especially Daphné... poor girl!) while picnicking on the beach, and today being the official "Last Day of Summer" I wanted to make an especially summery tartine. 

I got the inspiration for this tartine from a new book I bought, Tartinez Gourmand with Éric Kayser. I've been buying french cookbooks in an attempt to help improve my French, but unfortunately, that means I can only hold a conversation if it has to do with food... Ha. I'll learn one day. His recipe was a simple croissant tartine, with cucumber, garlic and feta. I kicked mine up a bit with some lemon juice, red onion and mint. The bright, citrus marinated cucumber cuts nicely through the creamy feta and buttery croissant. The red onion gives it a spicy bite, and the mint finishes with a fresh burst that will make you wish that summer would never end.

So here is my ode to the last day of summer... 

Cucumber, Feta, and Mint Croissant Tartines

Adapted from Tartinez Gourmand with Éric Kayser

3 croissants

1/2 of an english cucumber

1 cup of cubed or crumbled feta

1/2 of a red onion, minced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

juice of half of a lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

3-4 sprigs of fresh mint

salt and pepper, to taste

In a bowl, whisk together the minced garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice the cucumber into thin slices, about 1/8 of an inch thick. You can use a mandoline to slice them if you have one; otherwise, you can slice them by hand with a sharp knife, and don't worry if they are not perfect. Place the sliced cucumber into the garlic, lemon juice and olive oil marinade and mix to coat the cucumber.

Slice the croissants in half, as if you were going to make a sandwich out of them. In a toaster oven, or regular oven, toast the croissants cut side up, until they just start to turn brown (should only take 2-4 minutes).

Cut feta into 1/2 inch cubes, if not already cubed. Alternatively, you can use crumbled feta.

Top the toasted croissants with the cucumber slices and sprinkle some minced red onion over the cucumber. Top that with feta, freshly cracked black pepper and a few leaves of fresh mint. Serves 3.

Tartine Tuesday: Cream Cheese, Green Olive, and Cracked Pepper Tartines

I have a (fairly) new obsession in my life...

Olives.

It all started with my best friend, Dannielle's arroz con pollo, which she made for me one night while hanging out at her place. Sure, I've had arroz con pollo before; chicken, rice, garlic, saffron... I knew the basic flavors, but never had I had it with green olives. I caught myself picking and eating the olives right out of the pot. I swear to you, I never liked olives before that very moment. I always found them too salty, too briney. But there, they were the ingredient that made the dish truly sing. Literally, my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it (and D, you know it's true!). 

That one night, that one dish... it opened up a whole new section of my palette that I didn't even know existed. From that moment on I was putting olives on and in everything... deviled eggs, lentil salads, gazpacho... and not just green olives, I love them all. I've come to really love the niçoise olives here in France... something Quentin thought might be "too much olive" for me. I eat them by the handful. 

So for this Tartine Tuesday, I'll give you a painfully simple, easy, snack that always quenches my thirst for olives.

Cream Cheese, Green Olive, and Cracked Pepper Tartines

8 slices of baguette, toasted

cream cheese

green olives, pitted and sliced

freshly cracked black pepper (black pepper is key in this recipe, so make sure you use freshly cracked black pepper)

Spread cream cheese over toasted baguette slices. Crack black pepper over top of the cream cheese. Top with sliced green olives. Serves 2(or one super olive-lover like me).

Tartine Tuesday: Jerk Chicken Salad and Black Tomato Tartines

On a previous trip to the grocery store, I came across black tomatoes. 

Also called kumato tomatoes, black tomatoes are a variety of tomatoes which are grown in Spain, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and Canada. The interesting thing about these tomatoes is that they ripen from the inside outwards. They are slightly smaller than your normal, everyday tomato(as shown in the picture above), and come in colors ranging from dark brown, to red, to golden green. Their flavor is more intense, and their flesh is much firmer than a regular tomato, making them perfect for salads and sandwiches.

I wanted to incorporate my recently purchased black tomatoes into one of my "Tartine Tuesday" recipes before they became too ripe to use.

Last night we had rotisserie-style jerk chicken. With only 3 people eating dinner, had a good hunk of meat left over for today. I stared at the leftover leg/thigh combo to try to get some inspiration for my tartine of the week. I shredded some of the meat into a bowl and added some mayo that I found in the back of the fridge. Ding! Chicken salad.

Now, you can use this recipe with regular rotisserie chicken, but I figured the heat form the jerk spices would give a little kick to the everyday chicken salad. I know, I should post the jerk chicken recipe before posting this one, but honestly, it's just a spice mix we had and rubbed on the chicken. Feel free to do the same, and make your own leftover jerk chicken for this recipe!!

Jerk Chicken Salad and Black Tomato Tartines

1 1/2 cups of shredded rotisserie-style jerk chicken
2 black tomatoes, sliced(If you can't find black tomatoes, you can use any kind of tomatoes)
1 1/2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
2 slices of whole grain bread, toasted
salt and pepper, to taste

In a bowl, add the shredded chicken and mayo, and stir to combine. Salt and pepper to taste. If you are using regular rotisserie-style chicken, you can add a pinch crushed red pepper to give it some kick. Spread the chicken salad over toast and top with black tomatoes. Serves 2.

Tartine Tuesday: Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onion, and Balsamic Fig Tartines

This is for all my friends out there who, like me, adore goat cheese. You're welcome.

Originally, I wanted to make these tartines with fresh mission figs. It was only about a year ago when I had my very first taste of fresh fig. I know, I know, how could that be?! Well, growing up there were always Fig Newtons at my Grandmother's house. She loved(and still does) them, but I was never really a fan. I guess I figured fresh figs would taste the same. Wow, was I wrong.

While living in Atlanta, I noticed two large mission fig trees growing near my urban vegetable garden in our apartment complex. Being a lover of all things food(especially free food) I gave a stab at trying one fresh off the tree. Wow. I picked a handful, brought them back to my apartment and made roasted figs with goat cheese, and prosciutto. Even wow-er. Okay, so now I like figs.

So today I went looking for some fresh mission figs at the supermarket, but could only find dried Turkish figs. I figured I could improvise.

I saved the left over duck fat from last night's magret de canard(duck breast) that Quentin so deliciously cooked for us, and spent most of the night brainstorming on how I could use it. I thought to myself, "Figs go well with goat cheese, goat cheese goes well with caramelized onions, onions + duck fat = yum, and duck goes well with fig."

Bingo.

Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions, and Balsamic Fig Tartines

6 slices of bread (or about 10 slices of baguette), toasted
2 medium sized yellow onions, sliced
1 tablespoon of duck fat(you can also use bacon grease, or just butter and olive oil)
6-8 turkish figs, dried
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of honey
fresh goat's cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice the dried figs in half and place in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over the figs until just covered, and let steep for 10-15 minutes.

In a medium-sized sauté pan or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of duck fat on medium-high heat. Once heated, add the onions and stir to coat the onions with fat. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and reduce heat to medium. Stir every 10 minutes or so, until the onions are softened and brown. This will take about 30 to 45 minutes.

Remove figs from the hot water(save the water) and scoop out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. In a small saucepan, add the fig seeds and pulp, balsamic vinegar, honey, 1/3 cup of the water the figs were steeping in, and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-10 minutes, until thickened.

Spread fresh goat's cheese on toasts and top with freshly cracked black pepper. Spoon balsamic fig reduction over the goat cheese and top with caramelized onions. Add a little slice of dried fig to the top for presentation. Serves 2.

Tartine Tuesday: Brie, Crispy Ham, and Green Olive Tartines

I've never been too crazy about lunch meat style ham. It's usually in some kind of rectangular shape(I've never seen a rectangular pig) and packaged in a bag with water(why?!?). Now, I'm not trying to be snooty or say I'm too good for lunch meat... I can't really afford to be picky these days. I have found a way though, to give a little umph to the blah that is lunch meat.
 

Meet my brie, crispy ham, and green olive tartines.

Brie, Crispy Ham, and Green Olive Tartines

6 slices of bread or baguette, toasted
6 slices of brie(cream cheese works really well as a substitute)
2 slices of lunch meat style ham, cut into small strips
green olives, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a sauté or frying pan on medium to medium-high heat. Add the strips of ham and fry until crispy(as you would with bacon or lardons). Top each slice of toast with a piece of brie, crispy ham, and green olives. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 2.

Tartine Tuesday: Mascarpone BLT Tartines

To make my life a little easier, I have decided to implement Tartine Tuesday. The tartine is the epitome of the French open-faced sandwich, usually consisting of a slice of bread topped with a spread or pâté. It is similar to the Italian bruschetta, grilled toasts topped with concoctions of tomatoes, red peppers, olives, herbs, etc... all in all, delicious.

 

So, in honor of this deliciously simple and versatile snack, each Tuesday I will post a new tartine recipe. Doing this helps me in more than one way. First, it lets me spend a little less time on writing a whole story/backdrop for a recipe(gives you more recipes, and me more time to see Paris... he he), and second, it puts an ease on my wallet, since I'll really just be improvising with whatever I already have in my kitchen!

First up to bat:

Mascarpone BLT(Basil, Lardon, Tomato) Tartines

6 slices of baguette, toasted
mascarpone cheese
6 leaves of fresh basil
150g lardons(if you don't have access to lardons, you can always just use bacon that's cut into small strips)
6 sun-dried tomatoes, in oil(I used home-made oven-dried tomatoes, which will be in the next post!)
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a saute pan on medium to medium-low heat. Add the lardons(or bacon) and slowly render out the fat until they are browned and crispy. Place lardons on a paper towel to soak up any extra grease.

Toast the slices of baguette, and spread mascarpone cheese on each slice. Top with lardons, fresh basil, and sun-dried tomatoes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 1-2.