Two Perfect Cupcakes

When I want cupcakes, I generally want one for me and one to share, not 12 or 24. I like this recipe I found for just two vanilla cupcakes but had to make my own icing. These work nicely together with the vanilla of the cupcake and the cocoa of the icing -- it tastes like a cup of hot chocolate.

Icing for two:
2 tbsp butter, melted
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp cocoa, unsweetened
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp milk

Whisk all of the ingredients together until completely blended, and put in the freezer for about five minutes. Be sure to let the cupcakes cool completely before icing.

Riviera Fish Soup

This soup was nothing that I expected and everything that I am now craving!! It is truly fabulous if you love seafood. I needed to improvise quite a bit in this recipe so I'm listed my recipe and the cookbook reference.

In the end you get a delicious, thick, red pureed soup with every great seafood smell you can love in a soup -- with just one fish. We paired this with toasted baguette slices with homemade aioli.

Ingredients with notes:

• 1 whole red snapper, about 2 lbs (ask your fishmonger to clean and scale) (a, b)
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, split, germ removed, chopped finely
• 1 small fennel bulb, tripped, core removed, chopped
• 28 oz canned plum tomatoes
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 3 pinches saffron threads
• 3 tbsp anise seed infused vodka (c) plus more per serving
• 1 wide strip of orange zest with pith removed
• bouquet garni: 2 parsley springs, 2 thyme leaves, 1 bay leaf (I used dried and it worked fine), tied together or wrapped in cheesecloth
• salt and pepper
• dash of cayenne

Notes on Ingredients:

(a) The cookbook calls for using the head in the soup for flavor, but I didn't know how to properly trim the head, so I'll have to try that next time after I do some research. Unfortunately the cookbook does not help with this part, so if you aren't familiar with this type of cooking, leverage YouTube!

(b) For another time in a rush, I think I'll try a frozen fillet, thawed, just to save time. I'm sure it will not as delicious, but it might still be good.

(c) This recipe called for Pastis such as Richard, but we didn't have it so we "created" our own by adding about 1 tbsp anise seeds to 4 oz vodka. Shake and let sit for 2-3 minutes, then strain through a coffee filter. This makes enough for the dish.

Instructions:

1. If you purchased the whole fish, this is the video I watched to learn how to fillet the fish. Once you've got two fillets, skin still on, cut them into 1 inch chunks and set aside.
2. In a large stock pot, add heat the olive oil, and add the chopped garlic until you begin to smell the garlic roasting a bit. Immediately add the fennel, onion and carrots. Stir occasionally for about 10 minutes until softened.
3. Add fish and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes or so.
4. Drain and save the liquid from the tomatoes and add them to the pot. Use scissors to cut the tomatoes in the pot into smaller pieces. Stir.
5. Add tomato paste and saffron. Stir and cook for a few more minutes.
6. Add enough liquid to the reserved tomato liquid to make 5 cups of water, and add to the pot; stir.
7. Add 2 tbsp anise-vodka, bouquet garni, salt and pepper, and cayenne. 
8. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cook uncooked for 30-40 minutes.
9. Use an emersion blender to puree the soup. The original recommends also putting this through a sieve, but we enjoyed it right after blending.
10. When serving, stir an additional tablespoon or two of anise-vodka into each bowl.

This is quite a give a take on the recipe - I have no idea if my version is as good as Dorie Greenspan's but we LOVED it! You can find the original here:

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 92. 

Go with Everything Celery Root Puree

This is only about 20 million times better than mashed potatoes, although I'll admit I don't know if it's because of the use of celeriac or the gratuitous amount of butter :). Very interesting to boil the vegetables in milk instead of water. I think that added something quite different.

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 354. 

Chard-Stuffed Pork Roast

This is a great dish with excellent flavor. It's another example of how Dorie Greenspan always uses whole spices instead of ground -- really enjoying that.

When I tried this, the store did not have the amount of pork tenderloin I needed but it turned out to really work. I used just over 1 lb of pork instead of 2.5 lbs, and I used 4 pieces of kale instead of 3 stalks. I might try butterflying this in the future instead of just slicing it. It's an easy recipe but tying up the pork after being stuffed is the long part.

Paired this with one of my favorites: "Go with Everything Celery Root Puree"

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 276. 

Calvados Cocktail

When you have to purchase liquor for a recipe, there is only one thing to do: make a cocktail of course! We tried a couple of recipes and liked this one the best. It's easy to make a cocktail that is just too sweet -- I like how the citrus cut the sweetness in this one.

• 2 Calvados
• 1/2 triple sec
• 1/2 fresh orange juice
• 1/2 fresh lemon juice
• 3 drops bitters

Shake with ice and serve on the rocks with a slice of apple for fun.

Lemon-Steamed Spinach

This is such a simple concept -- just add olive oil and lemon zest to the spinach before you steam it so that it mixes well. Very important notes that make a huge difference:

1. Wash the spinach really well, especially if you buy it as picked produce instead of in a bag. To wash it well, rinse in a colander, and then soak in a bowl or sink of cool water while the dirt sinks, and pick up the spinach by hand out of the water.
2. Drain the spinach really really well before serving this. If not, the spinach water just messes up the other dish.

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 331. 

Chicken, Apples, and Cream a la Normande

Ho.Ly.Cow. We loved this dish. It is rare that I cook such rich food -- truly French indeed! It was completely worth it! We paired this with Lemon-Steamed Spinach and a Calvados Cocktail.

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 218. 

Orange-Scented Lentil Soup

I made this soup recipe precisely so I won't copy it here, but we loved it! By far my very favorite recipe for lentil soup. You could really taste the spices -- I loved what the orange peel, coriander, and clove add to the flavor.

Around My French Table

Recipe found on page 90.