Author Archives: Meg

Profiteroles

Cream puffs filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with hot chocolate sauce — who first came up with this wonderful idea? It turns out that profiteroles have a long and complex history. Apparently a 16th-century Italian chef named Popelini, … Continue reading

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Salade de cresson

Crisp, peppery, dark green and packed with vitamins, watercress can be grown all year round and makes a wonderful winter salad. It is most often seen in Paris as a garnish to meat dishes, with no dressing. But it takes … Continue reading

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Pommes de terre au romarin

Potatoes roasted with rosemary and olive oil — nothing so melt-in-the-mouth delicious could be as simple to make. Preparation time is five minutes or less, although you do need to be around for the next hour or so while your … Continue reading

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Steak maître d’hôtel

Who was the genius who first conjured up this simple but delicious way of serving steak? My guess is that it was a head waiter with a big crowd coming in and a dearth of ingredients for sauces. But every … Continue reading

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Crème de lentilles

It only takes one word to describe this creamy lentil soup: sublime. Created by Rodolphe Paquin — the chef and owner of Le Repaire de Cartouche, one of my favorite neighborhood bistros — it is a soup that will knock … Continue reading

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Figues rôties à la crème

Fresh figs roasted in vanilla cream flavored with ground coriander seeds is a dessert that will have your guests begging for more. There is something about the muskiness of the figs that gives off a wanton come-have-me aroma en route … Continue reading

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Tomates provençales

There are many approaches to this classic dish from Provence — the slow way on the stove-top, the quicker way in the oven, with or without breadcrumbs, with thyme instead of parsley, etc. For the purposes of an everyday French … Continue reading

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Filet de porc au romarin

The most succulent cut of pork, roasted to a crispy golden brown on the outside, meltingly tender on the inside, infused with rosemary and garlic — this is a recipe fit for the most discriminating palate. The meat is lean … Continue reading

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Soufflé au roquefort

I first started making cheese soufflés while living in Moscow, where I was posted as a correspondent in the 1980s. Those were dark years with limited options for grocery shopping. But one could always find the ingredients needed for a … Continue reading

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Artichauts vinaigrette

When I was a kid growing up in the United States, artichokes were considered a great delicacy in my family. But as we lived far from California, where they were grown, they were expensive. My mother would cook a single … Continue reading

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