Culinary Muse

Recipe: Potato and Onion Wedges

I keep a file of recipes clipped along the way.  They range from old New York Times Magazine recipes by Molly O’Neill to the ones from the utility companies, like PG&E, which were included in the newsletter that accompanies the monthly bill. Who made up those recipes?  Did they have home economists on staff whose sole wacky purpose it was to come up with recipes that used a lot of fuel to prepare?   Was there a set of guidelines that established that no recipe would be acceptable unless it took at least an hour to bake at 350 degrees?   Perhaps that is how ‘Potato Wedges’ was born.  So easy, so delicious.  Sunday night I served it with fried chicken.  Tonight with a pan-fried rib-eye steak.

Recipes: Soft, delicious food

For reasons that would only bore you, the Culinary Muse unexpectedly had to come up with some clever ways to turn delicious food soft this past weekend. Or, to put it a better way, to make soft, delicious food.  No nasty gelatin desserts, thank you.  And milk shakes, while delicious, would even get old.  Given that I had done a big ‘get ready for a weekend of cooking’ shopping the day before, I had lots of food to work with.   Luckily I had friends who pitched in to cook while I dictated recipe ideas and instructions.

Saturday morning breakfast:  Polenta made with half and half.  When you are feeling rotten, you need the ultimate in comfort food.  Heat 2 cups of half and half to simmering.  Gradually add 1 cup polenta.  Whisk until thick and cooked through.  Serve with brown sugar swirled in.

Saturday lunch:  By now, I needed a little protein.  Egg salad!  Three eggs, hard-boiled and grated fine, mayo, Dijon mustard, Maldon sea salt, freshly ground Tellicherry Black pepper.  Stir together.

Saturday dinner:  Broccoli.  Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche.  Of course you know where I am going with this.  Steam 1 pound broccoli florets until just tender.  Place in food processor.  Slowly add whole milk until a thick paste forms (remember, this is soft food).  In a large saucepan, melt 2 T butter.  Sauté one crushed clove of garlic for 1 minute.  Add broccoli mixture and heat through. 

Remove from heat.  Stir in one half cup Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche.  Season with Maldon sea salt and lots of freshly ground Tellicherry Black pepper.  Top with sliced hard-boiled egg on top.   

Stay tuned for more soft ideas.....Do you have any of your own that you could offer to help the muse out?

Recipes: I'm a fool for you Kendall Farms Creme Fraiche Strawberry Fool

“Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche is the paradigm of crème fraiche.” Thomas Keller, The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon

If you have made it all the way through the April 2005 issue of SAVEUR magazine on ‘American Artisanal Cheese’ you will have read about the remarkable Sadie Kendall (page 50 and 51).   Sadie Kendall made the first artisanal cheeses in America.  She now makes, in my opinion, the best crème fraiche.   

Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche has a fresh flavor with a slight acidity that results in a bright taste.  The texture is velvety smooth.  Amanda Hesser in The New York Times described it as “all silk and cream with a delicate hint of hazelnut”. It is the food of angels.  But it is also a real kitchen workhorse.  Because of the fine emulsion that Sadie is able to achieve, this crème fraiche does not break at even the highest temperatures.  Chefs use it to make pan sauces.  Hollandaise broken?  Whip in some Kendall Farms Crème fraiche and it comes right back.

Next Thursday, April 14, Sadie and I are going to be teaching a class about her crème fraiche at Andronico's in Danville, California, from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m..  As of this posting there were still a few spots available. 

In the meantime, enjoy this lovely Fool, from the French verb 'fouler', to crush. Only very ripe strawberries please.

KENDALL FARMS CRÈME FRAICHE STRAWBERRY FOOL

From The Crème Fraiche Cookbook by Sadie Kendall (out of print)

1 cup Kendall Farms Crème Fraiche

10 large strawberries, stems removed

6 to 8 tablespoons white sugar, to taste

4 heaping teaspoons brown sugar

1. Using a fork or pastry blender, mash the strawberries with the white sugar.

2. Place 4 tablespoons of crème fraiche in each dessert dish.

3. Top the crème fraiche with the 2 tablespoons of mashed strawberries.  Swirl strawberries into the crème fraiche, but not completely

4. Top each dish with 1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar.  Serve at once.

Serves 4

Sadie likes to warm the fruit-sugar mixture and serve it over a mound of cold crème fraiche.  The contrast of the warm fruit and the cold, velvety denseness of the crème fraiche is another ‘dimension of pleasure’.