Collectages

The previous post showed  how to clean  squids while saving their precious ink to make the wonderful recipe Calamares in su Tinta,  Calamars à l’Encre or Squid in their own Ink. But first let me share some sweet family history about this dish. When we first moved to this country in 1987, my son Joseph [...]

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I don’t eat much pasta but before a gig I like to have an early dinner that will give enough energy to be able to sing three hours later and pasta & lox is perfect for me. So on Monday before going to our gig at The Local 269 with Pierre Joris & Michael Bisio [...]

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The bok choy in the fridge was calling for immediate attention. As it was Sunday and brunch time I felt like something a little more festive than bok choy and rice! Some sort of a soufflé came to mind. I preheated the oven to 375º. I sliced the bok choy vertically into 6 sections, then [...]

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André Daguin, chef/owner of the Hôtel de France in Auch (Gers) until 1997, tells how he gave a new life to the tasty magret de canard — and made it famous in the process: “The magret was served only as “confit” in soups, cassoulets and everyone would find it dry. The only way to avoid [...]

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Among all the family recipes Les Pannequets Saint-Louis is truly a unique one, et je pèse mes mots — that is: and I weigh my words — yes: unique, a word I almost never use. My great grandfather Louis, Gabriel, Marcel, Marie, Peyrafitte (1858-1929) created this amazing recipe that we still make for very special [...]

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We are not particularly attached to any specific Christmas tradition although this year we were eager to have an intimate family dinner at our new place and to take out the family heirloom china that had been in boxes for a while. So after consulting with husband, sons, and daughter in law, we agreed on [...]

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I am now in my birthland to gather more info on Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907) whose father, Bernard Saint-Gaudens,  was born in the village of Aspet in 1816. I will not go into details about it now,  but briefly want to share yesterday’s photographs, impressions & menu. I left Luchon —family hometown where I am based— [...]

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A râgout express is a contradiction in term. A stew should cook as long as possible. This being said let’s move on! The term râgout covers a lot of territory. A good definition would be “a  well-seasoned meat or fish stew usually with vegetables.” The word ragoût comes from old French ra-gouster “to revive the [...]

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All I wanted to do was post a quick recipe for Labor Day: A raw mushroom salad marinated with pink & green peppercorns. Little did I know! I took the photo a week ago, the ‘shrooms are long gone but I am still marinating in pepper! First, I confirmed that green pepper is the unripe [...]

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August 21st 2009 / Lunch Time Culinary Institute of America The American Bounty Room I am back in the Mid-Hudson Valley to accompany Miles for the last three days of the Muttnik shoot. I cannot resist returning to the C.I.A. This time I’ll have lunch at one of the “big” restaurants, preferably at the “Escoffier” [...]

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