A Haunted Table & Some French Inspiration

Hope everyone had a haunting Halloween weekend!  Putting the piles of bite-sized candy aside, here are a few decidedly "deadly" dishes for your next black-out dinner party from Jewels of New York.  

black linguine with kalamata olives

grilled radicchio with blackberries

 chocolate hazelnut crepes with concord grape compote

And to start your week off with a bit of Monday morning day-dreaming, a few photos from the Parisian kitchen of Charles and Julie Carmignac - tucked in their cozy lower Left Bank 19th century apartment.  Makes you just want to whisk yourself away on a French sojourn doesn't it?

  
Just this weekend, the New York Times noted Paris as the hottest culinary spot in Europe at the moment and highlighted Rino, an uber-hip bistro that opened last February near the Bastille with Roman-transplant chef Giovanni Passerini at the helm.  

images via: jewels of ny, the new york times, paris notebook

In the Kitchen: Sweet Start to the Weekend

To follow up yesterday's post on confidence and food - and knowing when and where to indulge, here's a bit of sweetness to start your weekend off right.  One of the baked goods I featured in my baking & brunching post, this coffee cake recipe is perfect for a chilly Sunday morning (with a bit of yogurt and fruit to balance out your breakfast) or as a little afternoon treat.  It's my grandmother's infamous recipe and thus, I hand it down with love and care.  I used my new, no fuss Breville stand mixer to whip it up in light-speed time before brunch-goers arrived.  
Here's to a warm and cozy weekend! 
  

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

12-14 slices

nut mixture

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1 tbsp. white sugar
1.5 tsp. cinnamon

batter

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs 

1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350.  In the bowl of a stand mixer or a regular mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and lemon juice. Whisk together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add flour mixture to egg-sugar mixture and blend in sour cream. Pour half of the batter into a buttered loaf pan and sprinkle the brown sugar-nut mixture over top.  Add the remaining half of the batter.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

the Breville stand mixer...clean and simple baking

Friday finds :: a few from Rue

Happy Friday and happy reading, the first issue of Rue Magazine is officially live as of yesterday!  Here are a few of the issue's luscious photos to start your weekend off right.  Above, it's a perfect fall weekend to nestle up to the flavors of the season.  Take a lazy Sunday and head into the kitchen to bake this lovely apple tart with spiced caramel sauce (created by yours truly).   

Or whip up an easy warm and comforting dessert like this apple compote with vanilla ice cream.

Straight laced, simple and oh-so-crisp, grab an apple for a quick, wholesome snack.

Sip on a fabulous vintage cocktail or two with friends.  Check out the recipe for the Rue Manhattan studded with a brandied cherry here.  (Yes, this mag's so fantastic it needed its own cocktail). 

Enjoy a weekend evening of nibbles and great conversation.  Appetizers abound at this Mad Men-themed fete.  

Congratulations again to Crystal, Anne, Alaina and Caitlin - it's party time ladies!

Dive into fall and savor the weekend!


*Many thanks again to the photographic genius of David Malosh and David Tsay and the styling savvy of Michelle Wong and Emily Henderson.  
*images: Rue Magazine

a little sweetness to start your week :: plum-strawberry clafouti

I can confidently say that this dessert's a beauty...and delightfully tasty as well.  My attention often turns to my oven and thoughts of baking when it's a dreary, rainy day.  So that's precisely what I did yesterday amidst the pouring rain and high winds.  Dreaming of sunnier weather and more romantic, uplifting scenery, my thoughts naturally turned to Paris.  And my baking whimsy turned to clafouti, a classic French dessert that bundles together the most simple of ingredients - flour, milk, eggs, sugar and whatever fresh fruit your inspired-heart desires.  The result is nothing less than lovely, and is studded with gorgeous, naturally sweet fruit (something seasonal of course).  I'd been wanting to do something with the pint of plums I purchased at the farmers market, so they were a natural fit.  And to make things even more interesting, I tossed in some adorable little tristar strawberries that have hit the greenmarket in the past few weeks- they're tiny and not too tart, and not too sweet.  And without further adieu, the recipe follows along with a few more stylish, chic French photos...just in case you're looking for an excuse to daydream a bit.  And don't worry, the clafouti didn't sit around for long, it accompanied me to a Sunday night dinner party with good friends.  A perfect way to finish the weekend.  Bon appetit! 


6 small plums, pitted and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon brandy
1 cup tristar strawberries, stems removed
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
1/2 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
confectioner's sugar for serving


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss plums with 1 tablespoon sugar and brandy and allow to macerate for about 10-15 minutes.  Use a slotted spoon to transfer plums to a shallow 2 quart baking dish or pie/tart pan.  Add in strawberries and mix evenly with plums.  
Combine remaining sugar, flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk together.  In a separate mixing bowl, combine eggs, butter, milk, vanilla and any leftover brandy and whisk until blended.  Create a well in the center of the flour mixture and steadily whisk in egg mixture to avoid a lumpy batter.  Pour batter over fruit. 
Bake for about 35 minutes, cool and sprinkle confectioner's sugar over top.  
*note: it might be a bit more indulgent, but I'm considering getting a little wild and testing this out next time with a 1/2 cup whole milk and 1/2 heavy whipping cream - rather than a full cup of milk

images via: mumbling-elf.typepad.com, dustjacketattic.blogspot.com

fresh peach & basil frozen yogurt

homemade froyo on a hot summer evening that's bursting with fresh juicy peaches straight from the farmers market and flecks of basil straight from my patio herb "garden"...can't get much better than that.  here's a recipe I adapted from one of David Lebovitz's Parisian culinary musings.

fresh peach & basil frozen yogurt

4 peaches, peeled, halved and pitted
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup basil syrup*
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons basil leaves

12 ounces low-fat Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

*for basil syrup, simmer 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water until sugar dissolves completely, about 7 to 8 minutes.  remove from heat, add about 1/2 cup basil leaves and allow to cool. strain and press excess liquid from basil through a sieve.

simmer peaches and water for about 10 minutes until softened.
place peaches in a bowl in fridge until cool.
combine cooled peaches, basil syrup, sugar, basil leaves, yogurt and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth.
pour into a container or covered bowl and freeze.  stir after 30 minutes or so, and again after 60 minutes to evenly distribute ice crystals.

The scoop on ice cream

I admit my vices when it comes to food (we're all human) and I have a slight love affair with ice cream, always have, and most likely always will. The affair heats up when summer hits, nothing goes better with a hot Sunday evening than a scoop of delectable ice cream. My love affair got even more steamy last weekend when I ventured down to Soho to check out the new butter-yellow truck that dishes out Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream (pictured above). I love that co-owning brothers Pete and Ben's motto is "Fresh. Local. Pure. Simple." And their ice cream really is just that (in addition to utterly amazing). They take pride in working with local dairy farmers, using organic cream and hormone-free milk, and sourcing some of the best ingredients around -- like fair trade Columbian coffee, Sicilian pistachios, organic peppermint and real, fresh strawberries. Not to mention the napkins, cups and spoons are made from environmentally-friendly renewable resources. Pretty nice guys, huh.

I can tell what you're thinking...how can a nutritionist encourage eating high-calorie, full-fledged ice cream? Isn't that a little contradictory to the idea of 'healthy eating'? Actually, it's not at all. Part of being healthy and eating well is enjoying small indulgences -- when they're REALLY worth it. I was completely satisfied with my small, single-scoop peppermint-chip cone this weekend. When we allow ourselves to eat real food made with fresh ingredients our bodies register the good stuff and we don't end up craving more...and more. We're satisfied and that's that. If fat-free, taste-free frozen yogurt doesn't really do the trick for you and you end up eating a huge portion loaded with too many toppings to count, what's really the point? You've probably wasted more calories than you would have with one small scoop of the real stuff and it wasn't exactly an enjoyable experience. Food should be enjoyable people--when it is, the less we end up eating overall. It's like magic! So here's why, when and how to get your kicks, have a good lick of your fave ice cream AND still strut your stuff at the beach this summer:

1. make it worth it -- don't just eat any old ice cream, only the best of the best will do

2. timing is everything -- if ice cream's your thang, pick just one time a week to have your little treat

3. flava flav -- order a single scoop of whatever you've got a hankering for, save on calories without compromising flavor

4. love every lick and don't dare feel guilty afterwards

My personal favorite ice cream flavor? That's tough one, I'd have to go with Mint Chocolate Chip, Pistachio (I know, random) or an incredibly intense Vanilla. What's your favorite?

(refreshing peppermint-chip...I'm in love)