Category Archives: Apéro
You say tomato, I say tomates (farcies)!
by Ullrich
Summer times are tomato times, at least in Europe where the “paradise apples”, as the Austrians say, are really good only between June and late August. But then they’re really good – and you can create simple, yet delicious dishes without limits.
Categories: Apéro, Dinner, good food, Lunch, nature, Snack • Tags: Alimentation, Cooking, Cuisinier, Essen, Food, Foodie, Kochen, Recettes, Rezepte
Parfait, in French, means perfect
by Ullrich
For your next party: Prepare a “Parfait de foies de volaille” that will bring about the “Ah’s” and “Oh’s” of your peers and plenty of demands for the recipe! All you need is a food blender.
Categories: Apéro, good food, signature dish, skills, Snack • Tags: Cuisinier, Essen, Food, Foodie, Kochen, Recette, Recipe, Rezepte
French Terrine: Ramp up the big guns!
by Ullrich
A home-made terrine makes the pride of each amateur chef. A poor man’s feast in former times, it has turned into an almost ceremonial dish nowadays. Here are some basic rules for how to do it at home.
Categories: Apéro, Dinner, France, good food, hero butchers, Lunch, signature dish, skills • Tags: Cooking, Food, Food photography, France, recipes
Culinary killer: Mussels with a crust
by Ullrich
I often think about how privileged France as a culinary country is. The two oceans alone – the Mediterranean to the South, the Atlantic to the West – are an endless source for excellent ingredients. I just prepared some excellent palourdes, hard clams.
Categories: Apéro, Dinner, France, seafood • Tags: Cooking, Food, Food photography, French cuisine, recipes
Amazing Lentil Salad (makes you wanna cry!)
by Ullrich
serves 4 (as a starter, in Europe) 1 cup lentils (look for small French lentils, it won’t work otherwise, “Le Puy” would be perfect) 1 carrot, chopped into (small!) cubes 1/2 onion 2 cloves 1 bay leave 1 cinnamon stick salt, pepper for the vinaigrette, and to finish the salad: 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard salt, pepper, sugar 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion 1 tablespoon finely chopped celery stalk 1 tablespoon finely chopped tomato flesh (seeds removed) (good) vinegar (white wine, […]
Categories: Apéro, Dinner, good food, Lunch, nature, signature dish, Whatever Works • Tags: Crossover, Food, Vegetarian
Fig chutney…
by Ullrich
…is easy-to-do and goes with all kinds of cold cuts and morsels. Serve it with a (home-made) foie gras, with some ham, some chicken breast or a thinly sliced pork roast; it makes a great companion for hard mountain cheeses like the beautiful Ossau-Iraty from the French Basque region or for soft blue cheeses like Roquefort or Italian Gorgonzola or the very British Stilton. In fact, play around with it – who knows which combinations you will come up with. […]
Categories: Apéro, good food, signature dish, Snack, Whatever Works, World • Tags: Cooking Skills, Food, recipes
French Classics: Parfait
by Ullrich
A slice of fresh bread spread with a rich, creamy, comforting liver paté can make a beautiful supper as long as you avoid the pre-packed “French” supermarket fare. Just do it yourself! It’s easy, it’s ten times better and it makes you feel good and skilled. Here’s a perfect home-made Parfait de foies de volaille: What do you need? Here’s your shopping list: 300 gr. chicken liver, 150 gr. best salted butter (demi-sel), 2 shallots (or 1 white onion), 2 cl Cognac […]
Categories: Apéro, good food, signature dish, skills, Snack • Tags: Food, France, recipes
Judge a book by its cover…
by Ullrich
…when it looks like this beautiful pack of anchovies. It’s a can wrapped in a box I bought at the organic food shop just around the corner today, a very retro style thing after all. But this doesn’t seem to be just about nice design and good marketing. If you follow the trace of producer Ortiz on the web, you’ll stumble on an informative website telling the story of this family business since 1891. And if only half of the […]
Categories: Apéro, good food, seafood, skills, Whatever Works, World • Tags: Anchovies, Beauty, Food
A bottle of red, a bottle of white…
by Ullrich
…at the Baron Rouge you will find all you need for a nice apéro or rustic lunch or dinner, or you just have a glass at any point of a sunny day watching people passing by and friends shaking hands, you know the deal: this is a feel-good-place, easy-going, nice, very Parisian, just ’round the corner of the Aligre market, just perfect. They serve paté and cured ham on wooden platters, you can go for just a piece of cheese […]
Categories: Apéro, Whatever Works, Wine • Tags: Baron Rouge, Wine
I love, love, love, love sardines…
by Ullrich
…the big guys from Brittany or the small ones from Southern shores. I wouldn’t know any other food that was so ridiculously cheap and yet so incredibly delicious. Fry them – lightly coated – in a pan, and you’ll get a crunchy snack. Marinate them in vinegar and wine, and you’ll have an elegant apéro. Cook and grind them with lots of garlic, parsley and lemon juice, and you’ll produce a great spread for your small toasts or Italian style […]
Categories: Apéro, Dinner, good food, Lunch, seafood • Tags: Cheap Food, Sardines