Kir Jensen, a pastry chef and owner of The Sugar Cube food cart in Portland, Oregon, created these crepes to go with the roasted rhubarb and lemon cream recipes. But these nutty crepes would be great in many of the sweet recipes in this book, or eaten on their own with just a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. Look for almond paste and almond meal in the baking section of your local supermarket. (When choosing almond paste, avoid marzipan, which is not the same thing.) Almond meal is very finely ground almonds; it's like a coarse flour.
Barley is a tragically overlooked grain. Available in nearly every grocery store across the country it is the essence of simplicity -- toothy, rustic nutty and delicious. In this version, you boil the barley as you would pasta, in a generous amount of salted boiling water. While we prefer it with a little bit of firmness, you can keep cooking it until it reaches the texture you prefer.
As a professional cook, I have a wall of cookware: copper from France; enamel-coated French or Dutch ovens (the nationality depends on the manufacturer); high-tech, stainless-steel sauté pans; thin pots for boiling pasta. If I go into a fancy, tricked-out designer kitchen, and there's a rack with all the same kind of pots, I know that person doesn't actually cook. Different pots are needed for different reasons. And even with all my expensive professional cookware, the pan I reach for the most is, without hesitation, my grandmother's cast-iron skillet.
This recipe was originally created to accompany the Cereal Milk Panna Cotta. It was one of those first-swing, home-run hits. It is incredibly simple to make and equally as versatile in its uses. Put some in a plastic bag and take it on the go as the best snack ever, or use it as an ingredient in Cornflake-Chocolate-Chip-Marshmallow Cookies.
The Parmesan cheese and bread crumb crust and topping of this soufflé will be browner and crunchier when it is prepared in a gratin dish, making it easier to serve at the table. It can also be made in a conventional soufflé dish. Leftover soufflé will reinflate when reheated in a 350-degree oven.
Bread and Butter Pudding is classic British mommy food and one of the easiest puddings to make. It's a great way to use up left over bread — white, (the classic), brown, brioche, even stale croissant, the method is the same whichever you use. If you're feeling particularly decadent, smear the buttered bread with a little marmalade or jam before baking.
Excellent hot or at room temperature. Reheats well.
Over my girls’ coop, a sign reads: team quiche. That’s because each of my three original hens would lay an egg a day, and three eggs are exactly what my favorite recipe calls for. Quiche is easy to make, great to share, and keeps well in the fridge. It tastes just as good heated up in the oven the next day. You can customize it, adding whatever you prefer. If your add-ins include breakfast meats such as bacon or sausage, make sure they’re precooked before mixing them with the other ingredients.
I love hash so much I've even served this diner staple at The French Laundry. It's a great Sunday brunch dish, with poached eggs, but could also be served as a side dish at dinner. Don't hold the cubed potatoes in water—cut them just before cooking so that they are very dry and will become very crisp. The cooked potatoes are tossed with bacon and melted onions.
I've written out each step to making a soufflé in detail to insure success. The steps take less than 30 minutes to prep plus about 25 minutes baking time. Whether you make an individual soufflé for one or want to serve up to four people the method is the same, just scale up the formula for the number of servings. Similarly, you can adjust the formula according to the cup-measure of the baking dish you are using.