Butternut squash is a relative newcomer to Paris. When I moved here in the 1970s I encountered it rarely, if ever. But now it has acquired star power at some of the finest tables in town. I tasted it most recently at one of my favorite bistros, Au Passage, where the squash was served warm, topped with pine nuts and radicchio. Inspired by the bistro’s chef, Shaun Kelly, I decided to try to replicate the dish, substituting flat-leaf parsley for the radicchio.
Courge butternut rôtie aux pignons / Roasted butternut squash with pine nuts
In fact, in creating this dish — which I served at a dinner party to applause last week — I was also inspired by my recent trip to Sicily, where my friend Gisella cooked up a fabulous Christmas Eve feast featuring both pine nuts (with polpette di manzo in agrodolce, meatballs cooked in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce) and flat-leaf parsley (with carciofi trifolati, sliced artichokes sautéd with garlic). The smoky, sultry artichokes were to die for, and I will pass along that recipe to you once artichoke season rolls around here in France. Meantime, it’s been a great break but I’ve very glad to be back in both the kitchen and the blogosphere. To everyday chefs everywhere, a very happy new year — and happy cooking!
P.S. Here is what Gisella served at her Sicilian Christmas Eve dinner:
Lasagne with pumpkin and ricotta
Lasagne with radicchio and gorgonzola
Baked rice with speck ham, peas and mozzarella
Meatballs with pine nuts and currants
Pork cooked in milk
Sliced artichokes with garlic and parsley
Caramelized sweet-and-sour onions
Rosemary potatoes
Salad of lamb’s lettuce with walnuts, arugula and pear
Crème caramel
Exotic fruit salad
I have only two words to say about this: Grazie, Gisella!
With the end-of-year holidays approaching, this Russian-French version of gravalax makes a fine festive dish. The salmon is marinated overnight in salt and sugar — et voilà, it’s ready. Although I enjoyed this dish many times while working in Russia, where it is known simply as riba salyonnaya, or salted fish, I only started making it in Paris thanks to a Russian friend who passed along her family recipe. Served with shots of vodka or flutes of Champagne, it will get your holiday meals off to a spectacular start.
One of the things I find most amazing about cooking is the way the simplest of ingredients can be turned into a dish that is, frankly, sublime. Red onion tart is such a dish. The onions are gently sautéed with a pinch of thyme, then placed in the tenderest of savory pie shells, sprinkled with cheese, bathed in a mixture of egg, milk and cream, salted, peppered and sprinkled with nutmeg. And all it takes to prepare this creation is one red onion.
Does North African cooking count as French cuisine? I had dinner a couple nights ago with friends who insist that it does. ‘After all,’ said Jack, ‘when the French are asked to name their favorite food, the dish that comes up most often is couscous.’ And indeed, the influences back and forth between France and its former colonies are so strong that North African cuisine can be found virtually around every corner here. This Moroccan carrot salad — fresh, flavorful and oh so spicy — will transport you to a hot and exotic land.
Let’s demystify mayonnaise — one of France’s most versatile and elegant sauces. It is reputedly so difficult to make that only culinary experts should attempt it. Guess what The Everyday French Chef has to say to that? Poppycock. If you have the ingredients on hand, you can whip up a bowlful in less than five minutes. And the results are spectacular. Once you’ve tried it, you may find yourself singing, ‘Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby, nothin’ like the real thing…’ 
