COOK, a oui chef journal

Asparagus, Mushrooms, and an Oeuf

Connie — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:48:29 +0000

Because I just felt like using the word “oeuf.” I knoooow, asparagus high season is over. But when I saw the one bunch of jumbo green spears at the store, I couldn’t resist. I try to stick with seasonal foods as much as possible, but sometimes I gotta break the rules. Poached eggs with asparagus has to [...]

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Black Garlic

Connie — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:34:32 +0000

Just for the record, I could not survive without garlic. In my cookbook, Garlic is King. Thankfully I was finally able to get my hands on the stuff after reading about it everywhere last year! Thanks to the kind folks from Black Garlic Love who sent me a free sample, I was able to get a [...]

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A Bevy of Blueberries and a Plan Thwarted: Sour Cherry Slab Pie

Connie — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:20:36 +0000

Sometimes, things don’t work out as planned. But that’s not always a bad thing. Especially when one is talking about pie. Earlier this week we were supposed to visit a friend for dinner. As is my thank-you ritual, I offered to bring dessert. ”Something with blueberries” was the request, so I set my mind and grocery [...]

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The Summer of Squash: Grilled Zucchini Salad and Garlic Crostini

Connie — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:51:38 +0000

Its been hot outside lately. Freakishly hot, the air the kind of steamy haze that sticks to your skin oppressively. I can barely stand it. I possess a real love/hate relationship with summer on the East Coast. (Don’t ask me how I can tolerate working in tight kitchens with meager ventilation for 12 hours straight.) The [...]

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Oven-Dried Grape Tomatoes

Connie — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:42:15 +0000

Some people crave nicotine, others, chocolate. Me, I can pretty much count on getting an intense craving for tomatoes every couple of weeks. Don’t ask me why, this gastro-biological phenomenon is beyond my understanding. I just know I gotta have tomatoes, whether they are in the form of a sauce on pizza, pasta or meatballs, [...]

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Peperonata Rustica

Connie — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:18:49 +0000

Alright. It should be screamingly obvious by now that I have an absolute culinary crush on Thomas Keller. There might as well be a poster of him á la Tiger Beat on my kitchen wall. I just can’t help it: the attention to detail, the importance of technique, the use of seasonal, local ingredients, the sophisticated [...]

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Buttered Farro

Connie — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:31:09 +0000

Farro is what I eat when I want to get in touch with my inner vegetarian. (…unless, of course, its at a porchetta party…) When I threw my dinner the other week, I made several side dishes out of Thomas Keller’s latest cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home. I don’t often go the cookbook route, but in this instance [...]

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Nothing Short of a Small Feast: Porchetta

Connie — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:26:54 +0000

Amazing how a 12-pound slab of pork belly could be dragged home for 15 blocks in pouring rain, slaved over for two days and then mindlessly devoured in a matter of minutes by a ravenous few. But it was worth it, big time. Somehow, porchetta is one of those foods that has escaped me all my life. [...]

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Keftedakia Marinata (Greek Marinated Meatballs)

Connie — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:20:21 +0000

I told you there would be another meatball post. I originally never planned on making these Greek keftedakia in my recent meatball re-awakening, but the mood for lamb was nagging my appetite this week. And the husband looooves Greek food; if he were stranded on an island I suspect he could make do with a pile of [...]

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Chocolate Ganache Tart

Connie — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:20:57 +0000

In the world of professional cooks, the phrase “do you want to come over for dinner?” often translates into “can you come to my house and cook us dinner, pleeeease?“. Not that I’m complaining. Cooking is, afterall, my chosen purpose in life. (Just don’t ask me to do the dishes in return and we’ve got a [...]

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Lemon Curd, an Almond Tart Shell, and Mascarpone Cream

Connie — Sun, 23 May 2010 01:04:49 +0000

I’m amazed that the filling even got to the tart shell. I don’t know about you, but I love lemon curd. Love, love, love it. Make me lemon curd and you’ll see a happy woman. Strangely, I never make it. The one time I did was years ago in my tweens: I can only recall having little [...]

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The Only Banana Bread Recipe I’ll Ever Need

Connie — Sun, 16 May 2010 01:06:36 +0000

Banana bread is one of those recipes that people always strive to perfect, and once perfected, they often guard their new secret like its the Holy Grail. I’ve loved this sweet, delicious quick bread since childhood, but have never managed to find just the right measure of ingredients. Until now. Thanks to the latest issue of [...]

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Remoulade

Connie — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:25:05 +0000

I can eat any type of seafood with remoulade, whether its fried calamari, poached lobster, a shrimp po’boy, crab cakes, or soft-shell crabs. I’m even happy just to dip some fried potatoes or hard-boiled eggs into this condiment, or mix a simplified recipe of it with a little créme fraîche and grated celeriac to make [...]

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How to Cook a Soft-Shell Crab

Connie — Tue, 04 May 2010 20:06:33 +0000

When soft-shell crab season rolls around, I make sure to pick up a few of these delicate crustaceans at my local market. The fact that I can consume this delicious, white, flaky meat in its entirety without the use of a mallet or leaving a large mess in my tiny apartment is a boon. What I [...]

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Cheese Raviolini with Ramps, Wild Mushrooms, Spring Peas and Guanciale

Connie — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:49:38 +0000

I thought I was done with ramps after my overdose last year. But when I spied the bright, green leaves waving at me in my favorite Italian grocery, I couldn’t resist. I would say for the majority of the time I go grocery shopping, I have no idea what I want to cook. Its always the [...]

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¡Albóndigas en Salsa! (Meatballs in Tomato Sauce!)

Connie — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 03:20:30 +0000

I *bleeping* love meatballs. *Bleeping.* Love. Them. There, I said it. Sorry for the pseudo-expletive, but there’s simply no better way to express how I feel about meatballs. In fact, don’t be surprised if you find a proliferation of meatball postage on the pages of this here blog in the near future. I admit, I’m a somewhat [...]

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Tuna Salad

Connie — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 05:02:21 +0000

This salad was conceived out of an unfaltering desire for oysters. The gist of this long story: a couple weeks ago, we went to San Francisco. After sitting in the very last un-reclinable row of an airplane on a six+ hour delayed flight and checking into a hotel that looked good on the internet but [...]

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SF3: Retiring to Napa and Eating at Contigo

Connie — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 23:39:10 +0000

A decision has been made. When the Era of Retirement finally dawns upon us in our Golden Years one day far into the future, the husband and I will sally forth (or more likely hobble) to the lush, rolling hills that make up Napa Valley. We will live in a charming little house made of [...]

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Dinner at Eight

Connie — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:29:30 +0000

So we finally hosted our first House Warming Party in the new place for a few of our friends. Thankfully, it was a success. Needless to say, after two and a half days of prep and cooking, I’m beat. But happy (and even more happy that I’ll be going out of town for a lovely [...]

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Cassoulet!

Connie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:21:40 +0000

“Cassoulet is a rich combination of beans baked with meats, as much a part of Southwestern France as Boston baked beans are of New England.” – Julia Child* So…basically cassoulet is beanie weenies. I’M NOT SERIOUS. Please don’t blacklist me, French customs… I’ve been dreaming of this dish since last summer when I first started rendering duck fat at [...]

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