Success: Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives by Patrica Wells

I just adore Patrica Wells.  I have been following her career since the late 1980s and have used two of her books as if they were my bible (Food Lovers Companion to Paris and FLC to France). These books not only have restaurant recommendations and food history but also recipes from the areas and restaurants she frequents.  Call me jealous, I would love her job, to visit all areas of France, eat and then write about it!  She is my rockstar of all rockstars.  She is the only author whom I have collected all of her books and read from them often.

She also offers courses and in fact some friends from Seattle were able to join her in Provence for one such course.  They sat down to a lunch seated next to Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) who is apparently a good friend of Patricia Wells.  They said that Ina was warm, charming and funny, but that Patricia was a bit stiff.  They made it clear that she was not rude, mean or nasty, just that she was not as warm as they expected.  Oh well, warm, cold or in between, I think she is AMAZING and so are her books!

So I had some friends over the other day and needed an easy first course.  So after much reading I decided to try Patricia's savory olive cake, titled: "Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives"

The recipe called for Nyon's olives, which as I am currently in California, I did not have available to me.  Nyon's are small black shiny olives from the south of France.  They are mildly salty and slightly bitter.  I was going to just pick up some black olives from Trader Joes, when I found some Cerignola olives at Whole Foods.  Cerignola olives are giant green Spanish olives.  Mild in flavor and slightly salty.

From Well's book, The Paris Cookbook, I decided to serve it sliced using the tomato sauce that she references from the same book.  Simple clean and easy.  I made the cake the night before and served it at room temperature on top of the heated tomato sauce.

Now I must tell you, the cake as it came out of the oven was HEAVEN!  Slightly salty but light and fluffy.  When I served it the next day I was worried that it might firm too much and loose the light fluffiness.  I was surprised that it did not, all of my guests commented on how light it was.  However, they also commented that it was a wee bit too salty.  I think this is because of the olives I used.  If I had used the Nyon's or even the basic black olives from Trader Joe's it might have been just perfect.  I did make the dish again for Michael and he loved it, we like salt.


Domaine Saint Luc's Cake aux Olives
8 servings
from The Paris Cookbook by Patricia Wells
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces (1 cup) freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Swiss Gruyère cheese
1 scant cup black Nyons olives, pitted and halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
About 1 cup homemade Tomato Sauce (optional)
1. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan (preferably nonstick) and set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir to blend. Slowly add the eggs, whisking to incorporate. Whisk in the milk, cheese, olives and oil. Set aside for 2 hours to allow flour to absorb the liquids (making for a lighter cake).
3. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
4. Stir the batter to blend once again. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Place in the center of the oven and bake until firm and golden, about 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature, sliced and cut into cubes. Or to serve as a first course, slice and serve with tomato sauce.


Tomato Sauce by Patricia Wells
Makes about 3 Cups
1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
1 Small white onion minced
3 Cloves garlic minced
Healthy pinch Sea Salt
1-3/4 pounds Crushed tomatoes in puree
Several springs of parsley, bay leaves and celery leaves
1. In a large unheated saucepan, combine the oil, onion, garlic and salt and stir to coat with oil.
2. Cook over moderate heat just until the garlic turns golden but does not brown, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. If using whole canned tomatoes, place a food mill over the skillet and puree the tomatoes directly into it.
4. Crushed tomatoes can be added directly from the can.
5. Add the herb bundle, stir to blend, and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes.
6. For a thicker sauce, for pizzas and toppings, cook for 5 minutes more.
7. Salt and pepper for seasoning as needed.
8. Remove and discard the herb bundle.


SUCCESS!

Success: Sweet Potato and Gruyère Soufflé Gourmet Magazine 1992

So tonight I am back from a great trip in Seattle.  I came back to an empty fridge with the exception of a wedge of Gruyere and a stack of sweet potatoes.  I have seen one of these on Martha but I am a huge fan of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine so to honor the work they did I decided to make this one.

The recipe was pretty easy to follow as long as you read through it and do a nice mise en place and get your self all ready so you do not have to stop to butter this, shred that, measure this, etc., etc.  My Souffle bowl is not 1.5 Qt so I did not fill it full, that meant that it did not rise above the line, next time I will fill it to the top.

Here is the recipe from Epicurious:

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 cup coarsely grated Gruyère (about 3 ounces)

2 cups mashed cooked sweet potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)

4 large eggs, separated

preparation

Butter a 1 1/2-quart soufflé dish and dust it with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan. In a large heavy saucepan cook the onion and the garlic with salt and pepper to taste in the butter over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, stir in the flour, and cook the roux, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the milk in a stream, whisking, and simmer the mixture, whisking, until it is thickened. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the Gruyère, whisking until the cheese is melted, and whisk in the sweet potatoes and the egg yolks, 1 at a time. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they just hold stiff peaks, whisk one fourth of them into the sweet potato mixture to lighten it, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the prepared soufflé dish, sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over it, and bake the soufflé in the middle of a preheated 375°F. oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it is puffed and golden. Serve the soufflé immediately.

Serves 4-6

 

I served this dish as a side to a roasted pork loin wrapped in bacon and a salad of arugula and red onion in a light vinaigrette.  It was light and fluffy, the sweet potato taste came through as did the Gruyere.  I might suggest a bit less Parmesan, maybe a 1/8 of a cup on top.  But all done, this dish ROCKED!

SUCCESS!

Failure: Crispy and Creamy New Potato Pie by Tyler Florence

After my earlier success I was so excited to try something of Tyler's again.  I watched him make a New Potato Pie on TV that looked so good I decided to make it for our lunch today.

Here is the link to the video: http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/crispy-and-creamy-new-potato-pie/45104.html

And here is the written recipe from the Food TV Webpage


Ingredients

• 2 pounds potatoes, washed and halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated horseradish (or prepared)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup chives, chopped
• Kosher saltand freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wash and boil potatoes in salty water with bay leaf until fork tender. Drain potatoes and mash along with horseradish, sour cream, and chives. Season with salt and pepper.

Put mixture into a 10-inch skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake until golden and crispy. To serve, invert onto a plate and cut into pieces.

I followed the written instructions to the T and the result was a total failure....

The pie's crispy top stuck solidly to the pan and the potatoes were dry and limp.  I even tried scrapping the bottom of the pan but as we speak it is soaking in the sink... 


In the video he clearly puts the pan on the fire and presses down firm.  I am not sure if that was the step, which they obviously left off the written or if it was something else they left out.  The potatoes themselves were very dry all the way around.  He also didn't specify how much time in the over other than golden and crispy... If the bottom is what he means, well you can not see it until you take it out of the pan.  needless to say, no potato pie for lunch today :(

FAILURE!