Food & art

Issue 1 • May 14

First edition

s e p i c e R

SALON DE L’AGRICULTURE

+22

FOOD, DRINKS & MORE...

THE BEST OF FRANCE

FOOD HAS NEVER BEEN SO CREATIVE Food & art • 1

MENU 04 •Salon de l’Agriculture 08 •Fromage Fort 07 •Crisp Baked Tofu 10 •4 Fine Family Recipes 12 •Caillebotte 15 •Cornmeal Cookies (Zaletti) 17 •¡BATE QUE BATE CHOCOLATE! 18 •Lillet 19 •Rosé Sangria 20 •Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream Recipe 22 •Cheese Composition 23 •Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles

2 • Food & art

FROM THE EDITOR

T

his project was made thinking in the amassing job of photographers and chefs that make art with

something sometimes common like celery or a simple

scene like a plate of soup, the goal of this pages are that you discover new things of old things, new ways for taste the regular food and new angles of common hours like the hour of eat.

My best thank you a persons like David Lebovitz Manny Rodriguez

And a very special thanks to Food & Chef International Project Because they made a fusion with culinary art and visual art.

THANK YOU ALL

Editor In Chief Rubén Chávez, www.rubassuba.com

Contributing Writer David Lebovitz www.davidlebovitz.com

Art Director Rubén Chávez

Photographer David Lebovitz Food & Chef International Project Manny Rodriguez, ( www.mannyrodriguez.net )

Food & art • 3

THERE ARE EXHIBITORS FROM TWENTY-TWO COUNTRIES IN ADDITION TO FRANCE

SALON DE L’AGRICULTURE David Lebovitz

The best of France converges on Paris and last year, there were nearly three-quarters of a million visitors

E

very year, beginning in mid-February, thousands of farmers, wine makers, cheese makers, sausage makers, and an arks’-worth of animals, makes it way to Paris for the annual Salon de l’Agriculture. The salon began in 1870 in a country that was, and still is, justly fond of its agriculture, which is celebrated on tables, in steaming cauldrons, on picnic blankets, in restaurants, and ready-to-slice on cutting boards, all across France.

The best of France converges on Paris and last year, there were nearly three-quarters of a million visitors, filling up the massive, grand halls of the Porte des Versailles, on the edge of Paris.

There are exhibitors from twenty-two countries in addition to France, as well as foods from tropical French regions. And four thousand animals are trucked to Paris from the provinces

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The salon began in 1870 in a country that was.” to bring the taste – and smell(!) – of the country, to Paris.

Like many agriculture fairs, there are competitions, too, honoring everything from the liveliest livestock to the best wines in France. But to me, it’s really an astounding place to enjoy the best of France in one hectic visit. However, it’s impossible to see it all in one day unless you have the stamina of one of those massive bulls in the pens, or the men who stir (and stir and stir and stir) the giant pots of cheese and potatoes.

When we first entered the main building, happy to escape the drizzle outside, the windows weren’t steamed up from the humidity of the rain, but from the arôme of the animals and their, um, by-products.

Fortunately the smell doesn’t permeate the food hall where we spent most of our day.

My friends Susan Loomis and Kate Hill both came from their homes out in the country to visit the salon, in the city, which sounds odd – but on the other hand, who doesn’t want a trip to Paris?

And another reason is that there are foodstuffs, not just from across France, but there are entire sections devoted to the overseas regions of France, such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, and La Réunion. And you rarely, if ever, see any of these fruits – even in Paris.

creams I could churn up with some of those fruits and berries. I’m thinking my next trip should be to one of those islands.

Susan got stuck in one of those infamous traffic jams surrounding Paris and while we were waiting for her to arrive, Kate and I both had the exact same thought when we passed a booth/bar offering glasses ofrhum vieux (old rum) – “Why not?”

I was tempted to swipe some but I’ve caused enough trouble around here, so I enjoyed everything from a distance. But man, I could imagine all the wonderful sorbets and ice

Food & art • 5

THE SMELLS WAFTING FORTH AS YOU WALK BY EACH STAND

Since the Salon de l’Agriculture takes place during a school vacation period in France, I was expecting it to be mobbed. Yet it was pleasantly walk-able and people were wellbehaved and having a good time; no one was grabbing at the samples they were handing out. (That’s the number-one reason I avoid events with samples of free food, as they seem to bring out the worst in people.) The exposants were super friendly as well, more than happy to hand out samples, explain what they had brought, and if you wanted something, they were delighted to sell you some to take home.

I like when there are tastes, yet if you want more, you can buy a larger portion. That way, you get to truly enjoy the food. (I find those grain of rice-sized samples of anything impossible to taste, and am happy to spring for a little bit more, and let the producers profit from the event as well.) Midway through the salon, I wished that I had brought my wheeled trolley, because there was so much stuff I wanted to buy – from jars of dark chestnut honey to massive slabs of Cantal cheese (cut from the wedges, like the one up above), which I had to resist. So I had to get my fill while I was there.

Visitors from the U.S. are often surprised when they aren’t offered samples when shopping in food stores in France. One reason is that it’s hard to lop off a sliver from a round of camembert because who is going to buy a disk of cheese with a piece taken out of it? (Although you probably would, once you tasted that little bite taken from it.) When you see me in person, I can explain some of the other reasons.

But at the salon, people were begging us to try their foodstuffs. (Who says the French aren’t entrepreneurial?) And folks from other countries, with other customs, were happy to have a chance to show off their wares in Paris as well.

I thought how great this Salon would be for visitors to France because you can taste the best of the entire country in one giant hall.

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CRISP BAKED TOFU

by Joe Yonan

1. Drain the tofu, wrap it in a paper towel, then place it on a plate. Put another plate on top of the tofu and place a heavy can of beans or tomatoes on top of it. Let stand 30 minutes.

2. Unwrap the tofu, wipe it dry, and cut it into 1-inch (3cm) cubes.

3. In a large, zip-top freezer bag, mix the sesame oil, soy sauce, rice wine, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, water, Sriracha, and salt, if using. (See Note at end of recipe.) Add the tofu and toss the cubes in the marinade. Lay the bag on a plate and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours, or up to 8 hours, turning the bag a few times while marinating.

4 servings •1 pound firm tofu •1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil •1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari •1 tablespoon rice wine or sherry •1 tablespoon rice vinegar or cider vinegar •1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped •2 teaspoons peeled minced fresh ginger •2 tablespoons water •1 teaspoon Sriracha or Asian chili paste •optional: 1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt •1 tablespoon corn starch

(You can marinate the tofu in a glass, ceramic, or stainless steel bowl instead, covering it for storage.)

4. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC.) 5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Drain the tofu (the marinade can be reserved, refrigerated, and used for a dipping sauce or dressing for another dish), then put the tofu cubes in a large bowl. Using a mesh sieve or strainer, sift the corn starch over the tofu pieces, working in batches as you sprinkle them with the corn starch.

6. Transfer the tofu cubes to the prepared baking sheet and bake, turning the cubes several times during baking, until they are crisp and browned, about 45 minutes.

Food & art • 7

FROMAGE FORT

by David Lebovitz

A

t any given time, there are between two – and fourteen – nubbins of cheese in my refrigerator.

Those odds and ends are the result of me getting too excited when I’m at the fromagerie, usually going with the intention of buying just one or two wedges. But after scanning the shelves, and seeing a few cheeses that also look worthy of my shopping basket, ones that I am sure need to be tasted, the friendly women who I buy cheese from wrap them all up neatly in paper for me to take home.

The bill is always more than I expect, but it’s the one bill that I’m happy to régler (pay up).

As fond as I am of cheese, as are my

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fellow Parisians, they’re not quite as fond of loading things up with garlic as much as other folks. You rarely see anything heavily dosed with garlic (forty cloves, or otherwise) in Paris restaurants, nor have I ever been served anything with more than the barest hint of garlic in someone’s home. (I’m not sure why because there is so much garlic at the markets.

So someone must be buying it.)

Yet I’m doing my part to promote l’ail (garlic), and surprise guests by grating some into salad dressings or whipping up a batch of powerful aïoli, garlic mayonnaise from Provence, from time-to-time. I have no trouble finding plenty of uses for all the lovely garlic that’s available, but a solution

THE NAME MEANS “STRONG CHEESE” AND I’M NOT SURE WHERE IT ORIGINATED for those scrappy cheese bits and pieces was elusive – until I learned about fromage fort.

So when I’ve got too many cheese bits on hand, it’s now fromage fort to the rescue. The name means “strong cheese” and I’m not sure where it originated, but I have a hunch it’s a relative of cancoillotte, a gooey cheese, sometimes seasoned with garlic, and cervelle de canut, a cheese spread from Lyon dosed heavily with herbs and garlic. Or, if they’re not related in any way, fromage forte is a tasty by-product of French frugality.

For this batch, I used a combination of blue cheese, Cantal, aged Gouda,

1. Cut the cheese into bite-sized cubes and put them in the bowl of a food processor with 1 ounce (30g) of the cream cheese, wine, garlic, and the black and red peppers.

2. Process the mixture until completely smooth. If it is not completely smooth (which may happen if you are starting with an assortment of harder cheeses), add the additional cream cheese, and continue to process. some rinds of semi-hard goat cheese, and a bit of cream cheese to smooth things out. The blue cheese I had was a little too fort and that’s what raised my guests’ eyebrows, not the garlic.

(Me too.) So be careful with the blue cheese as it can quickly overwhelm.

•1/4 cup (60ml) dry white wine •1 garlic clove, peeled and minced •a few turns of freshly ground black pepper •pinch of cayenne or red pepper powder •1 tablespoon minced chives or flat-leaf parsley

4 servings •8 ounces (225g) cheese pieces, hard rinds removed •1 to 2 ounces (30 to 60g) cream cheese

•additional chives or parsley, for garnish

3. When smooth, add the chives or parsley and pulse the machine a few times, until they are incorporated.

4. Scrape the fromage fort into a serving dish or bowl, cover, and chill until firm.

Food & art • 9

4 FINE FAMILY RECIPES

by Carol Shih

1.Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothie

Ingredients: 1 c. low-fat vanilla yogurt 2 tsp. honey 1-2 tbsp. peanut butter (to taste) 1 1/2 c. frozen banana 3/4 c. ice Optional: 2 tsp. chocolate superfood powder or Ovaltine Directions: Place ingredients into a blender in the order listed. Blend until smooth.

Fancy it up: Substitute raw almond butter, sunflower seed butter, or cashew butter for the peanut butter. Add dark chocolate syrup.

Erin’s tip: Keep sliced bananas in the freezer for an easy on-the-go snack for kids.

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Start Restaurant’s owner and mom of 5-year-old Michael Finn turns traditionally kid-friendly recipes (like pasta and chicken nuggets) into dishes fit for adult dinner parties. Here she shares four of her favorite family eats.

2.Purple Milkshake

Ingredients: 1 c. frozen vanilla yogurt 3/4–1 c. milk (depending on desired thickness) 1/3 c. frozen blueberries

Directions: Place ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy.

Fancy it up: Add 1 tsp. Madagascar bourbon vanilla extract and top with real whipped cream (1 c. whipping cream whipped with 1 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla in an electric mixer until stiff).

To make it healthier, add 1/2 tbsp. Amazing Grass for Kids berry powder.

Erin’s tip: Dump your favorite yogurt into an ice cream maker and allow it to stir for 25 minutes to make homemade frozen yogurt with less sugar than store-bought versions.

3.Baked Chicken Bites Ingredients: 1 c. dry breadcrumbs (Erin uses whole wheat crumbs or leftover bread she processes in her Cuisinart) 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated 1/2 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. salt 1 lb. boneless, skinless organic chicken breast 1/2 c. unsalted organic butter, melted Directions : 1. Preheat your oven to 350°.

2. Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, paprika, and salt in a mixing bowl. (If you want finer crumbs blend in the food processor.)

3. Pour melted butter into a separate mixing bowl.

4. Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes; dip cubes into the melted butter and then into the breadcrumb mix. Repeat until all are breaded.

5. Place cubes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Fancy it up: Soak chicken cubes in ¼ c. coconut milk (enough to cover the chicken pieces) for at least 3 hours (up to 24 hours) before breading.

Substitute barely melted coconut oil for the butter and coconut breadcrumbs for the regular breadcrumbs (use the same recipe but substitute finely grated coconut for the cheese).

Erin’s tip: If using day-old bread, be sure it has been dried of its moisture.

4.Pasta with Broccoli and Spinach Ingredients: 3/4 pkg. whole wheat pasta 1 garlic clove 3 c. broccoli florets 1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp. coarse salt 1 c. spinach 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese for garnish, grated or shaved Directions: 1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.

2. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat.

3. Mince garlic and saute with the broccoli in half of the olive oil, until broccoli is cooked but still firm.

4. Add salt and remove from heat.

5. In a large mixing bowl, combine pasta, broccoli, spinach, cheese, and remaining oil. Toss to coat.

6. Drizzle with additional olive oil as desired and top with Parmesan.

Fancy it up: Toss ½ c. cooked shrimp in with the broccoli-garlic mixture and add 1/8 c. chicken stock. Substitute butter for half of the olive oil or substitute goat cheese for the Parmesan.

Erin’s tip: Blend the spinach in last, so the leaves become tender without wilting.

Food & art • 11

CAILLEBOTTE

by David Lebovitz

I

never feel the need to be the first person to hit the latest hotspots. For one thing, I worked in restaurants and I know that the first few weeks (or in some cases, months) can be tough and it takes time to sort everything out. True, they are open to the public and serving meals, but since I’m just a regular diner, and not a food critic, I think it’s better to wait and let everything fall into place. Another reason, which happens too frequently, is the throng of people who go to a hyped new place. I’ve been disappointed by places I’ve read and heard a lot about, only to find that they don’t live up to the buildup. (Which has me scratching my head, because so many people are talking them up.) I figure the good places will still be open months and months later, and the bad ones will beat a hasty retreat.

Since I don’t have my ear to the ground, I hadn’t heard about Caillebotte. But I had heard of Pantruche, which has been around a while and is known for the quality of its food. And since a friend who loves to eat was in town, I thought it time to consult the little list I keep of places I’m eager to visit.

At the end of the list was Caillebotte, which was at the end because it was the most recent addition, suggested to me

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by my friend Zeva, who runs Yelp in France.

Since I was a bit early (bakers and pastry chefs are always early, or on time), after I locked up my bike, I took a ministroll around the area and realized why I liked the 9th arrondissement so much: Whichever way you went, and whichever street you took, there was something completely different just around the corner. Down the street from Caillebotte was a Greek caterer who had filo-wrapped triangular pies for sale in a hazy showcase in the window.

Around the corner was a place called Les Madeleines Parisiennes, which, u n f o r t u n a t e l y, wasn’t a shop filled with the famed buttery cookies but seemed to be famous for le brunch. A few doors down there was a wine shop with bottles stacked in the window, and a blackboard that promised hearty bistro classics.

At Caillebotte, we both decided to go with the menu du jour (€19 at lunch), which included a choice of any of the first courses from the menu, and the main course of the day, which was leg of lamb with a hazelnut crust. My friend started off with a bowl of salsify (above), a root vegetable that’s often called oyster plant (because some folks think it

which included a choice of any of the first courses from the menu”

tastes like les huitres), that you don’t often find on French menus – or even in markets – with octopus, egg yolk confit, and a Granny Smith apple cream.

Because I still haven’t outgrown my aversion to anything with tentacles, I kept my spoon to myself. Which allowed me to enjoy my marvelous raviolis generously stuffed with shredded paleron de bœuf (short ribs) served with slices of rutabaga, another root vegetable that deserves more recognition, all smothered under a smoky bacon emulsion.

(I’d say foam, but whenever I post about a new restaurant in Paris, there invariably seems to be foam somewhere in there, which draws a bunch of negative comments from

folks far from being even faintly fond of foam. People ask me why young Parisian chefs are still fascinated by foam and I’m not quite sure what to say. So I’m going with l’emulsion, which is less polarizing.)

For those who find the flavor of lamb too strong, the Gigot d’agneau (leg of lamb) would be just right, as it was very mild. The hazelnut flavor of the crust was pas très present as well. We also would have preferred thinner slices; I am not sure why, but leg of lamb always seems tastier when the slices are I slender rather served in hefty chunks. The star of the dish was bulghur (cracked wheat), piled under the lamb, which soaked up the lamb juices and made me wish I had been served just a big bowl of that.

Food & art • 13

It was hard to pass on dessert, since the menu was intriguing. The people behind us had ordered the chocolate mousse with corn crumble and dried black olives, which I wanted to try, but my friend from Italy winced at the idea of black olives in dessert.

So I had the brioche perdu with fromage blanc sorbet, citron, and an orange marmalade that would have benefitted greatly from the bread being more cooked through, and more aggressively caramelized on the outside.

My friend liked his roasted pineapple with ice cream, although, like my dessert, it would have benefitted from a little extra crunch for texture, and a bit of extra sweetness. (And perhaps a bit of saltiness, too.) It was nice to have imaginative, house-made desserts. But some tasting and minor tweaking before they went out of the kitchen would have resulted in a noticeable difference.

There’s a terrific selection of wines by the glass at €5 to €7/ per, and I’m interested in coming back and having a fullon meal here. It’s €35 for three courses and I can’t forget to mention that the staff could not have been nicer. It’s great to see the younger generation of French sincerely interested in providing good, helpful, professional service without a hint of pretension or exasperation.

When I left, I took my friend by the Greek caterer to show it to him. I wanted to poke my head inside but was too bashful. (In spite of him pushing me from behind.)

So I craned my neck to watch the bakers, until one smiled at me and waved, and I waved back. Next time, I’ll arrive early again, so I can go in and see what they’re baking up.

And perhaps those other folks nearby will get on the stick with some Parisian madeleines by the time I get back, too.

Caillebotte 8, rue Hippolyte Lebas (9th) Tél: 01 53 20 88 70 Métro: Cadet or Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (Closed Saturday and Sunday)

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CORNMEAL COOKIES (ZALETTI)

by David Lebovitz

I

f I had to name one food that I couldn’t live without, chocolate would be right up there. Salted butter is on that short list, too. Seeded bagels, California dried apricots, black and white cookies, osetra caviar (if money, and sustainability, were no object), lobster rolls, French fries, and really good fried chicken would also be on that list. Not as fancy as some of those things, but just as good, another thing that I can never seem to get enough of is crunchy cornmeal.

And the good thing is that I live next to Italy, so whenever I pop over and visit my neighbors, I always bring back not only good coffee by the kilo, but as much polenta as I can jam into my suitcase as well.

A few years ago I was shamed into only using stone-ground cornmeal, but the locals seem to have taken to instant polenta, which I was told wasn’t bad by a well-respected chef.

That’s what is widely available here, but I just couldn’t bring myself to agree when I tried it for myself.

Arabic food stores sell cornmeal in various grades, but plain or coarse polenta is what I use for these cookies, not fine. The reason I haven’t tried them with fine polenta because I just never buy it. So there.

These crunchy, rustic cookies are adapted from the recipe for Zaletti in Carol Field’s excellent book, The Italian Baker, which was one of the cookbooks that I shipped from San Francisco that is in that wayward case of my all-time favorite cookbooks that I shipped here back in 2004, which I am almost giving up hope

for recovering. Almost.

Thankfully the recipe was in my personal book of treasured recipes, which I hand wrote in restaurantsized quantities. So I used my impeccable math skills and reworked it back into manageable quantities, which came out as good as I remembered them.

Excuse me for saying this, and no disrespect is meant, but many Italian pastries and cookies don’t look so great. In fact, my favorite Italian cookie is called Brutti Ma Buoni, which literally means “Ugly but good.”

And Italians seem to have a love-hate relationship with sugar in desserts: some are intensely sweet, especially those with whipped cream, while others are almost void of the sweet stuff. These fall into that second category. Look, I don’t have anything against sugar (which is a good thing, because if I did, I wouldn’t have a job), but it’s nice when things are more about the flavor of the ingredients rather than being sugary sweet.

One touch that’s probably not that authentic was I tried adding a lemon glaze to the cookies. I didn’t mind the taste, but anticipating some odd comments (not that that’s stopped anyone before…), I decided they looked best without it.

However if you want to give it a go, stir together 1/2 cup (70g) powdered sugar with 5 teaspoons of lemon juice until smooth, then drizzle it over the cookies once cooled.

Food & art • 15

About 50 cookies •3/4 cup (90g) dried currants, or finely chopped sour cherries or raisins •2 tablespoons (20g) flour •5 1/2 ounces (155g) unsalted butter, at room temperature •1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons (120g) sugar •2 large eggs, at room temperature •1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract •1 1/2 cups (210g) flour •1 cup (140g) polenta, regular or coarse •2 teaspoons baking powder •3/4 teaspoon salt •1. Toss the dried fruit and the

1. Toss the dried fruit and the 2 tablespoons (20g) of flour together in a small bowl and set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or by hand, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about one minute.

Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, beating until incorporated.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the 1 1/2 cups (210g) flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt.

4. Mix the dry ingredients into the beaten butter mixture until incorporated, than stir in the dried fruit.

5. Form the dough into a rectangle 4- by 7-inches (10 by 18 cm), wrap in plastic, and chill the dough for about an hour, or until it’s firm enough to handle.

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6. Divide the dough in two, lengthwise, and roll each piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a smooth cylinder 7-inches (18cm) long. Wrap the cylinders and freeze until ready to bake.

evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheets. (The dough is easier to slice when frozen, but if it’s too firm or crumbles when you cut it, let it sit out on the counter until it reaches a good consistency.)

(If you prefer to bake the cookies right away, pinch of pieces of dough about the size of a small unshelled walnut, and roll into balls. Place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet and press them down gently with your hands to flatten them partially.)

10. Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets midway during baking, until the cookies are very light brown on top. Remove the oven and let cool completely.

7. To bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 325ºF. (170 ºC) 8. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

9. Slice the cookies into 1/4-inch (.75cm) slices and place them

Serve the cookies by themselves, alongside a fruit compote, or with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or sorbet.

Storage: The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to four days. The dough can be refrigerated for up to one week, or frozen for one or two months.

¡BATE QUE BATE BY CHOCOLATE! MANNY RODRIGUEZ That’s Cuban for “beat that chocolate well”, as in mixing

it well. As you can see, it rhymes. And if you can sing it to an afro-cuban beat, as in rhythm, you can imagine

how sexy that can sound. Yes, Cubans have used it

in their songs for many years, like Celia Cruz and her “Azucarrrr”! And my beautiful wife and kitchen goddess,

Vanessa, can beat that chocolate pretty well! For our studio Holiday gift to our readers and subscribers, she

has mixed her often requested hot chocolate with a Cuban favorite, caramelo. Hope you like it.

Below is her recipe.

Wishing you all a Happy Navidad, and a Propserous New Year, regardless of what those bufoons do in Washington.

Amor y Paz.

Vanessa’s Hot Chocolate

Caramel

•4 oz. Ghiradelli bittersweet chocolate baking chips

•3/4 c. heavy cream •3/4 c. sugar •2 tsp unsalted butter, temperature •1/2 tsp sea salt

•2 oz Whole foods 365 Organic semi-sweet •2 c. Half & Half To Make: Melt chocolate chips on med heat with 1/2 c. of half & half, whisk while melting. After choc. melted add rest of ½ & ½ slowly while continuing to whisk. Heat till warm enough to drink; (I heat till it starts to just bubble around the edge).

room

To Make: In a small sauce pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it just begins to bubble at the edges; turn the heat down to low.

In another med. saucepan, add the sugar and heat over medium heat until the sugar is melted and light to medium gold in color about 5-7 minutes.

If your melted sugar is darker gold in color, remove the pan from heat, and add the heated cream, a little at a time, whisking after each addition to avoid lumps. Once all the cream is added, whisk in the butter & the salt.

To serve: As this is rather decadent...I find it best to serve in an espresso cup. Pour the espresso cup 1/3 full of caramel, top with hot chocolate, and enjoy.

Food & art • 17

LILLET

by David Lebovitz

BUT LILLET HAS GAINED A STRONG FOLLOWING ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD

I

’m not sure how I discovered Lillet, an orange-infused apéritif wine, made in a town on a road between Sauternes and Bordeaux, but I remember driving through the area and making my friend screech to a halt when we (almost) passed the Lillet factory.

Factory probably isn’t the best word, but macerbatorium probably sounds a little dodgy, but when we walked in, we found ourselves in front of an astounding amount of oranges and shards of bark, bobbing up and down, as they macerated in vats of wine. While that was certainly a riveting sight, equally enticing was the silver daddy who was very easy on the eyes, who took us through the facility, explaining the process of making the famed apéritif wine, then joining us for a little dégustation.

It was hard to concentrate on the beverages clinking in our glasses, but I did my best. (I swear.) And I bought a bottle as a souvenir, likely as a pretext for letting us snap a picture of the two of us together, which had a hallowed place over my desk for well over a decade. I don’t know what happened to that picture, but I still pine for Lillet to this day.

Interestingly, it’s rare that you find Lillet served in Paris and if you ask around, you’d be hard-pressed to find very many people in town that even know what it is. (Readers of The Sweet Life in Paris know what I was served the first time I tried to order it in a café, which I’m still living down.)

But Lillet has gained a strong

18 • Food & art

following elsewhere in the world, and in a recent James Bond film, he ordered a Vesper, a cocktail crafted similar to a martini, with Lillet replacing the vermouth. So I was excited recently to see that Julhès, right smack-dab here in Paris, was offering a dégustation of all the Lillets, including the newer one, with rosé wine used as a base. When I got there, there were indeed a few bottles lined up on a cask, ready and waiting to be sampled, but no one was around to pour them. There was a fellow pouring tastes of red wine in glasses on another cask, next to the tempting line-up of Lillets, but he said he didn’t know anything about them.

When I asked at the counter, the two clerks didn’t know where the guy was either, and neither of them could tell me about the difference between the Lillets normaux, and the réserves, which I was especially eager to learn about, that is, to taste.

I decided just to buy a bottle of the Lillet rosé, and to heck with it. And even though the Lillet tasting turned out to be a bust for me, I was excited to find out that this very well-stocked épicerie (specialty food store) in addition to I did learn that the sesame sea salt version isn’t as good as the bitter orange ones that I had en Espagne.

[The point of this story, so far, seem to be That you’re never too old to learn new things].

ROSÉ SANGRIA SUMMER IN FRANCE MEANS A LOT OF THINGS IN FRANCE.

S

ome folks use sparkling lemonade or another not-too-sweet soda in place of the sparkling water. But don’t fret about using a fancy wine; for most fortified wine-based drinks, people use the inexpensive stuff, which a chef friend of mine who works with a prestigious Bordeaux château, told me was obligatoire. Speaking of fancy wines, in place of the sparkling water, you could add a sparkling wine instead – a cava, prosecco, or crémant would do nicely.

You’ll noticed I iced my sangria down with a few cubes in the pitcher because I had forgotten to chill the rosé and was planning to serve it shortly after I made it. (Uh, as in, right away!) But it’s best to chill the mixture with the fruit for a few hours to let them meld and macerate, then add ice to individual glasses.

Six to eight servings

•1 bottle chilled rosé •1/4 cup (60ml) Triple Sec, Grand Marnier, or Cointreau •2 tablespoons brandy •1 cup (200g) halved seedless grapes •1 cup (180g) quartered strawberries •1-2 peaches (peeled) or nectarines, sliced •optional: 1-2 tablespoons sugar

1. Pour the rosé into a pitcher.

2. Stir in the Triple Sec, brandy and the fruit. Taste, and add sugar, if desired.

3. Chill for a few hours. Right before serving, add the sparkling water to the pitcher, then pour the sangria into glasses and add ice.

•1 cup (250ml) chilled sparkling water

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SALTED BUTTER CARAMEL ICE CREAM RECIPE

by David Lebovitz

One generous quart (liter)

I

know I’m sounding like a broken record, but be sure to use good salt. I use fleur de sel, but if you don’t have it, a mildtasting sea salt will do in a pinch, such as Maldon, fine gray salt, or kosher salt. Don’t use ordinary fine table salt; it’s far too harsh.

Because of the caramel in this ice cream, once churned and frozen, it’ll remain nice & creamy (as shown in the photo.)

To make it firmer, crank up your freezer a bit or store it in a shallow pan.

For the caramel praline (mix-in) •½ cup (100 gr) sugar •¾ teaspoon sea salt, such as fleur de sel For the ice cream custard •2 cups (500 ml) whole milk, divided •1½ cups (300 gr) sugar •4 tablespoons (60 gr) salted butter scant ½ teaspoon sea salt •1 cups (250 ml) heavy cream •5 large egg yolks •¾ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. To make the caramel praline, spread the ½ cup (100 gr) of sugar in an even layer in a medium-sized, unlined heavy duty saucepan: I use a 6 quart/liter pan. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or brush it sparingly with unflavored oil.

2. Heat the sugar over moderate heat until the edges begin to melt. Use a heatproof utensil to gently stir the liquefied sugar from the bottom and edges towards the center, stirring, until all

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the sugar is dissolved. (Or most of it—there may be some lumps, which will melt later.)

Continue to cook stirring infrequently until the caramel starts smoking and begins to smell like it’s just about to burn.

It won’t take long.

3. Without hesitation, sprinkle in the ¾ teaspoon salt without stirring (don’t even pause to scratch your nose), then pour the caramel onto the prepared baking sheet and lift up the baking sheet immediately, tilting and swirling it almost vertically to encourage the caramel to form as thin a layer as possible. Set aside to harden and cool.

4. To make the ice cream, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl about a third full with ice cubes and adding a cup or so of water so they’re floating. Nest a smaller metal bowl (at least 2 quarts/liters) over the ice, pour 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk into the inner bowl, and rest a mesh strainer on top of it.

5. Spread 1½ cups (300 gr) sugar in the saucepan in an even layer.

Cook over moderate heat, until caramelized, using the same method described in Step #2.

6. Once caramelized, remove from heat and stir in the butter and salt, until butter is melted, then gradually whisk in the cream, stirring as you go.

The caramel may harden and seize, but return it to the heat and continue to stir over low heat until any hard caramel is melted.

Stir in 1 cup (250 ml) of the milk.

7. Whisk the yolks in a small bowl and gradually pour some of the warm caramel mixture over the yolks, stirring constantly.

Scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan and cook the custard using a heatproof utensil, stirring constantly (scraping the bottom as you stir) until the mixture thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read 160-170 F (71-77 C).

8. Pour the custard through the strainer into the milk set over the ice bath, add the vanilla, then stir frequently until the mixture is cooled down. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or until thoroughly chilled.

9. Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

10. While the ice cream is churning, crumble the hardened caramel praline into very little bits, about the size of very large confetti (about ½-inch, or 1 cm). I use a mortar and pestle, although you can make your own kind of music using your hands or a rolling pin.

11. Once your caramel ice cream is churned, quickly stir in the crushed caramel, then chill in the freezer until firm.

Note: As the ice cream sits, the little bits of caramel may liquefy and get runny and gooey, which is what they’re intended to do.

Variations: Add some strong liquid espresso (or instant espresso powder) to the custard to taste, prior to churning the ice cream to make Coffee-Caramel Ice Cream.

Food & art • 21

CHEESE COMPOSITION

by MANNY RODRIGUEZ

A few years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to shoot with a great art director from the McGarrah/Jesse Agency in Austin, Texas, Ryan Rhodes. These images were done for a local favorite, Central Market. I hope you like them.

They were shot on a simple white background with one light, and a little fill from a 4’ x 8’ white card. What made these shots pretty was the composition. The strength of the composition, in my opinion, comes from the fact that the cheeses are not forced into this arrangement with pins, wax, blocks, or any kind of objects balancing them in any way. I allowed their shapes to dictate where each wedge should go. A very natural way to compose your shots, no matter what the subjet is. Don’t force it.

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VIETNAMESE COFFEE POPSICLES I

Makes about 8, depending on the size of your molds

by David Lebovitz

f you don’t have an espresso-maker, you can augment brewed coffee with instant espresso crystals, to taste. The coffee should be chest hair-raisingly strong, and you can certainly swap out decaf. I’m not much of a tea drinker, but I’ll bet a version with Thai ice tea would be equally delectable and refreshing as well.

And if you don’t have sweetened condensed milk, regular milk will work fine. And you can sweetened to taste.

•2 cups (500ml) extra-strong coffee or espresso •2/3 cup (160ml) sweetened condensed milk

1. Mix the coffee with the sweetened condensed milk. Taste, and add a bit more milk, if desired. (A spoonful or two is fine, but any more and the popsicles won’t freeze as hard.)

2. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until sold.

Note: My favorite brand of sweetened condensed milk is Longevity Brand, which is available in most Asian markets.

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