Marmelade de poivrons rouge/Red Pepper Marmalade

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

Today’s project is Marmelade de poivrons rouge. Red Pepper Marmalade. It’s the kind of recipe, were I not doing this project, I would skip. Though I’m sure it will be very tasty – roasted red peppers, garlic and olive oil – what’s not to like about those ingredients, it’s not immediately obvious to me what I would do with the dish. It’s like pickles…I like them but it rarely occurs to me to eat them. Lydie says put them in sandwiches, on pasta, in a salad. Okay, what kind of sandwich, salad, etc.? I’ve been giving consideration to this question. For some reason I can picture them on meatloaf (of all things). So, I’m going to also make an elegant meatloaf from a recipe in Eating Well that contains dried porcini and chanterelle mushrooms, bulgar, and a variety of herbs. Other uses for the peppers that I thought of: they could be combined with spaghetti squash or served on a baguette with a soft cheese. So there you go. I have a plan. Here are some pictures of the spaghetti squash I bought from my favorite Farmer’s Market.

The peppers have now been roasted. I would advise putting them in a paper bag and not the plastic bag that Lydie suggests. The heat of the peppers immediately melted the plastic. Besides, all of what we’re learning about chemicals leaching from plastic makes me a bit leery. I am ashamed to say that the seeding and peeling of six roasted peppers took about an hour. Maybe a more experienced cook could do it in less time. I’m once again reminded of the value of a sous-chef. Forget sous, just a partner to share in the cutting and chopping would be nice! I had a friend once who said she only made recipes where the list of ingredients was long and the directions were short. So far what I’ve endeavored is the exact opposite. (This recipe had only four ingredients: red peppers, garlic, oil, and salt.) Maybe there really is no substitute for hard labor.

The peppers are tasty and were a good compliment to the meatloaf. The core question, though, is: are they better than what you could buy in a jar? I would say yes. Definitely sweeter and more tender. Will I make them again? We’ll see….

Coulis de tomates d'ete/Summer Tomato Sauce

Friday, September 25, 2009

Well, it didn't take me long to decide to make this into a real blog. Look out, twenty first century, here I come! My fear about creating a blog was that noone would read it. At least when I email my friends they oblige me with taking a glance at my scribbles. However, I received some interesting comments to my first entry (emailed) which leaves me wanting to have others' comments available to all. So here goes. My only request is that this blogger remain anonymous in your comments. Thanks.

Here's my first entry from last Sunday:

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2009

Okay, this is a bald-faced rip off of Julie & Julia. I decided that I would do my own bloggy-type thing using the cookbook that I purchased when I attended fabulous cooking classes with Lydie Marshall in Nyons, France. Though I’ve tried some of the recipes in the book, I have decided that I will go through it systematically. The recipe book is: A Passion for My Provence by Lydie Marshall. I intend to cook on Sundays whenever possible.

My first dilemma is: do I go through the book in order, one recipe after another? If so, I’ll be spending several months on appetizers, then main courses, finally desserts. Do I really want to do that? I’m thinking now that I may skip around a bit so that seasonal recipes conform to the season and that there will be a variation of courses. I’ve also decided that, rather than worry about a whole menu for a meal, I will simply make the recipe at hand and let the chips fall where they may about the accompaniments. Maybe we’ll just have a tart for Sunday dinner sometimes. Worse things have happened!

So today’s project: Coulis de tomates d’ete. Summer Tomato Sauce. I figure since local, ripe tomatoes are in abundance this would be a good start. Yesterday I went to the Farmer’s Market and got 5 lbs. of tomatoes and some onions. I will use garlic from Rachel’s garden and basil from my own. I must admit to some skepticism about whether this will be any different from the many tomato sauce recipes I’ve tried – I have some good ones.

Later on Sunday…so, the sauce got made. It took about two hours. Even though the cooking time is pretty short – 35 minutes - it took a while to chop and seed 13 tomatoes. When I first read the recipe, it appeared quite plain – tomatoes, garlic, onion, basil – but the results were surprisingly flavorful. It tasted “very Fweeench” – subtle but rich flavor. The trick, I think, is in the directions to cook it on high heat. It really reduces the liquid leaving the strong essence of tomato. I was comparing it in my mind to other tomato sauces I have known…it has none of the kick of oregano of Italian sauces (which now seem so vulgar) nor the punch of garlic that is in a raw tomato sauce I like.

It was a hit with Andy. I served it over linguini with a splatter of fresh parmesan. Since I wasn’t going to worry about side dishes I put together a watermelon and cucumber salad – ingredients I had at home. Maybe not the best compliment but it worked.

The sauce is referenced in other recipes in Lydie’s book – one with veal and one with rabbit. (Sob, will I really be able to cook a rabbit?? But I’m inspired by Julie who had to kill a lobster. Anything for the cause!) I froze the leftover sauce for future use. Tune in later.

(I’ll be happy to send you any recipes you’re interested in.)