In My Kitchen

Thought I’d share with you some of my recent cooking efforts.  I don’t know if it’s because we have a nice large kitchen or a constant parade of friends coming over for big Sunday dinners (hence my late postings on Mondays lately), but in the last few weeks, I have been cooking and baking up a storm, and I’m loving it.   

Chocolate Friands* from the Tartine cookbook that I picked up at a little shop in Noe Valley last month.  The picture in the book showed them with a stripe of caramel, but since I was running out of time before our dinner guests arrived, I settled for dressing them with a little powdered sugar on top of the ganache (it added little in the way of flavor or sweetness, but made for a nice touch). 

The next weekend I spotted some Meyer lemons at the store and on a whim decided to make Meyer Lemon Curd.  I used this recipe on Epicurious, and it turned out great.  I’d say the hardest part was just juicing enough of the lemons to get 1/2 cup of juice, but overall the recipe was quick and easy and at the end I had about 6oz, which I proceeded to eat straight out of the jar over the next several days. :) 

This past Sunday, I made Lemon Cream Tarts* also from the Tartine cookbook.  They were a little more complicated, and made a bit more challenging since I was sharing our kitchen with a friend who graciously offered to cook us and a few more friends an Indian dinner featuring an entire leg of lamb.  They were totally worth the effort.  Since I’ve never made tart shells, I was most nervous about those, but everything worked out as you can see.  The tartness of the tarts was a nice palette cleanser after the spice-rich Indian food. 
To be honest, I’ve come to enjoy the challenge and the element of surprise when it comes to making something from scratch.  Plus I just keep Julia Child’s voice in the back of my head telling me that no matter what the results just serve it with a smile and absolutely do not apologize or make excuses.  Just learn from your mistakes**… or in the very least keep a restaurant that delivers on speed dial and a gallon of really good ice cream on hand that way you’re covered for dinner and dessert should disaster strike!          

*You can find the excerpted recipes for the Chocolate Friands here and the Lemon Cream Tarts here if you don’t have a copy of the Tartine cookbook, and don’t wish to purchase one though I highly recommend that you do get a copy for yourself. 
**I’m paraphrasing from page 76 of this copy of “My Life in France” by Julia Child.  That last bit though is my own addition.
images by me