all the recipes

A.K.A. the "SPY-PIE". . . but please let me explain ! I'm sure you're all familiar with the 1977 British fictional Bond movie called "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME", right ? But are you familiar with the 2009 French movie and non-fictional spy story called “FAREWELL” or "THE FAREWELL AFFAIR"...

It’s officially the END OF SUMMER & the BEGINNING OF AUTUMN. It’s the end of some things that you will miss and the beginning of other things to look forward to. It’s okay to miss things and to want them back. It’s okay to not have them and wait for their return. It’s okay to pursue new things and put...

And finally PART 3 which wraps up the summer tomato mini-series. Yup, it’s about time ! This time, the “freshest hand-crushed & no-cook heirloom tomato sauce and/or spread” (see the last 2 posts here & here) is strained to its maximum to utterly become a chunky "spread” that is used as a topping for...

OK, I’m just playing with words ! . . . ALLIUM is the family of onions, garlics, shallots, chives and leeks & CAPSICUM is the family of sweet and hot peppers and CITRUS of course you already know. By the way, sea breams, also called gilt-head bream, are part of the SPARIDAE family and are marine fish (at least you learned something...

The days are longer (especially for those furthest away from that imaginary and yet ever so present dividing line called the «equator») and even though cocktails may begin earlier than usual and suppers and dinners inevitably end later than usual too, you probably won’t be having that ESPRESSO at the end of your summer meal . . ....

I still remember the BOXES of MACARONI & CHEESE by KRAFT DINNER we had as kids growing up in Montreal ! You boiled the dry pasta in water then strained it, then you added the milk and butter and the packet of processed cheese powder, mixed and served. This was a treat for us. It’s actually considered a national dish and Canadians consume...

It’s only MID-SEPTEMBER so STOP YOUR WHINING because you can still fire up that barbecue (that’s probably still out lying there in the yard or balcony) and pretend it’s still SUMMER … because it is technically ! Here’s an  easy, no-fuss, no-mess, delicious and tender IRISH that has become kind of MEDITERRANEAN...

And here’s part 2 (of 3) of the summer tomato mini-series, called “REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD” (but does that refer to picnic food and cold starters too ?!) . . . One of my dearest, darling, overseas cousins that I spoke to last night had mentioned over the phone that the no-cook & hand-crushed heirloom...

APRICOTS are my SUMMER SYMBOLS, wherever I may be (or dream of being) especially while enjoying glorious summer holiday mornings, if possible, close to the Mediterranean Sea (or at least close enough to feel and smell a salty sea breeze). That freshness, crispness, clarity and transparency in the air as you’re having breakfast, ideally...

So you want to make a PIZZA ? I mean a real home-made pizza ? Are you going to make the PIZZA DOUGH from scratch ? Are you going to make the PIZZA SAUCE from scratch ? Will you prepare the TOPPINGS ? Yes, my friends, toppings also need to be prepared because you probably don’t have a professional commercial restaurant pizza-oven at home...

LAST CHANCE to save those LAST FIGS ! You began by eating them whole and fresh in August, then a few weeks later you probably sliced them in half and added them to salads or to accompany sweet and savory preparations, then you went a step further and baked them in different preparations and maybe you made some jams too at the beginning of...

THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT . . . because even though I do not claim to have imagined nor invented this yogurt-version of a traditional well-known dessert, it seemed like an “intervention” was necessary (even when on my vacation) because all the existing versions that were brought to my attention by my friends were wrong ! Why ? Because one...

PART 1 (of a summer mini-series) of 3 episodes ! ... Here’s a story about how refreshing and surprisingly vibrant RAW & UNCOOKED (and yet still slightly prepared) FRESH & RIPE HEIRLOOM TOMATOES can be and how you can accentuate these same flavors and prepare them without cooking (I mean without applying heat) during a...

Another TEMPURA-STORY . . . again ! Even though we talked about this about 6 weeks ago when we were focusing on stuffed & deep-fried zucchini flowers that I brought back from Marseille (see the recipe here) I’m still rather obsessed with this method, so here we go again. So JAPANESE, right ?! And yet so PORTUGUESE, right ?!...

I was in AIX-EN-PROVENCE where they make the original CALISSONS d’AIX. It’s a candy made of a thick layer of candied melon paste (and some candied citrus) and almond paste, flavored with some orange blossom water and then shaped like an oval eye or almond or a ‘weaving shuttle’ (but it actually represents the...