Comfort Foods and Indulgences

From the L.A. Times

shortcake.jpgMany years ago, when I was younger and even more foolish than today, I took it upon myself to perfect the shortcake. I spent a week going through a dozen or so recipes from my favorite writers, cooking them, plotting the ingredients on a spreadsheet and then testing different combinations until I came up with the shortcake of my dreams.

What's so foolish about that? Absolutely nothing (though a tad obsessive, maybe). But then I had to go and proclaim it in print as "The Ultimate Shortcake." And of course you know what happened then – within a couple of months, I found a shortcake I liked better. "Sic transit gloria pastry" and all that.

The reason I'm bringing this up is that I was recently bitten again by the shortcake bug. I guess that's practically unavoidable at this time of year, when the markets are full of fragrant strawberries just begging for a little lightly whipped cream and a bite of something crunchy.

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lemonricottapancakesWaking up is hard to do. Really hard. For some, a strong cup of coffee or tea helps. Not for me. I wake up slowly and after being up for at least an hour or two I tackle breakfast. Left to my own devices, I would probably just eat brunch and save the real breakfast food for dinner, but Lee prefers something a bit more traditional.

The big problem with breakfast for me is always--what to have? Savory or sweet? Both are appealing but if I eat something sweet I may not get enough protein and as a result I'm ravenous barely an hour or two later. Nutritionists recommend a "balanced" breakfast meaning both carbohydrates and protein. Easy to do with eggs or cheese but harder to do with sweets like pancakes. Having sausage or bacon on the side is another way to go but probably not the best choice everyday. French toast or crepes are both sweet and have protein but I'm always looking for more protein-rich sweet options.

Ricotta pancakes are a perfect way to go. The ricotta gives you plenty of protein, they only have a couple of tablespoons of flour so you're not filling up on carbohydrates and best of all they are really delicious and cook up in a flash. Of course, serving them with bacon is up to you...

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ImageOne of the most classic dishes of French cuisine is coq au vin, that famous stew of rooster braised in red Burgundy wine. Really it does not have to be made from rooster, capon or chicken are just as much called for in traditional recipes. The practice of stewing meat in wine is very much ancient. Coq au vin traces its history back to Roman times when France was a part of Gaul, which combined most of western Europe. This dish doesn't rely on one type of wine. It can be made with any wine, and regions throughout France do make it with their local wines. The two best-known versions are made with Pinot Noir or Riesling.

The region of Alsace specializes in coq au Riesling. Food from this area has a slight German slant, since the province once belonged to Germany. Alsace is a very important wine-producing region, specializing in Riesling, recognized as some of the best all over the world. The wine is used in many traditional dishes such as baeckeoffe and of course coq au Riesling. Braising the meat in wine for a long period not only thoroughly flavors the meat, but it also helps make it particularly tender, especially if your using a tough old rooster.

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puddingparfait.jpgI love parfaits. They are such pretty things to make, with all kinds of possibilities from what ingredients you are going to layer to what glasses you will serve them in.

For these, I used our small stemless champagne flutes. I thought they made a perfect parfait, because they are just 4 ounce glasses and so the desserts were not huge, they were just right.

This parfait is made up of two creamy puddings – one chocolate, one peanut butter. It's topped off with whipped cream.

You can make the puddings early in the day and refrigerate them and then assemble the parfaits later. Or you can even make the parfaits a day ahead.

When I made these, I doubled the recipe for the chocolate pudding because I was making twelve parfaits and I wanted the pudding to come up almost to the top of the glasses.
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bacon-bbq-oysters"The BBQ oysters were inspired by cookouts I’d have down in New Orleans. My friends and I would pull oysters out of the Gulf, crack them open and throw them on beach fires, and add all kinds of different sauces. Then, when I brought the recipe up to New York, I also was making this BBQ bacon sandwich. I thought, these two would be great together, so I combined the BBQ with the bacon and with the oysters." - Chef Paul Gerard, Exchange Alley, NYC

Oyster Barbecue Sauce:

1 bunch fresh thyme
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chilies
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/8 cup tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon pimenton…smoked paprika
Freshly ground black pepper

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