Remember that time that I went to Paris, then came home and talkedaboutita lot? Sorrynotsorry. I’m still kinda obsessed.
You may remember that I mentioned (more than once, again… not really sorry) a place called Au Bon Coin. We ate there quite a few times and loved it. I have a need for potatoes like that in my life. I’ve spent some time trying to get them perfect. I think that’s impossible. Perfection will happen only when we’re back in Paris, seated in that tiny, crowded, amazing café with our friend, Simone and her dog, Pom.
But, a little less than perfect is still really delicious.
These potatoes have a texture and crunch unlike the fried potatoes that I normally make. Fried potatoes are a staple in our home. They’re simple and delicious (cut potatoes, fry in oil, eat). I wasn’t sure, but I thought that the Paris potatoes might require something else. An extra step.
I steamed them first, then cooked them in a good amount of butter and olive oil.
Simple.
The first time I made them I flipped each potato individually, to be sure each side was perfectly browned. I don’t think this is necessary, but it was kinda fun to put that much care into a dish. The second and third times, I just flipped them all. That worked just fine.
Now please excuse me while I eat some of these this entire panful and watch a slideshow of our 3,000 photos from Paris.
My version of some of the best potatoes we had in Paris at Au Bon Coin.
Ingredients
4 red potatoes, cut into medium-sized chunks (peeled if you want)
water (for steaming)
2 T unsalted butter
1-2 T olive oil
to taste salt
Instructions
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add potatoes to a steamer basket and place in pot. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are pretty tender.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and oil. When oil is hot, add the potatoes and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes (don’t turn them until they’ve crisped sufficiently), then turn every 3 minutes or so, for about 9-10 minutes total, or until potatoes are crispy (adding the last 1 T of oil if needed).
It seems like every year around this time people get worn down by cold and flu season.
I don’t like that sickness has a season.
As the main cooker and food maker in our home, I try to help us to avoid sickness by keeping our diet full of nutrient rich foods (thanks to Abundant Harvest Organics that’s a simple enough task). I try to be proactive, to supply us with lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean proteins… you know, the good stuff. But, we still sometimes get sick.
I got sick the week after we got back from Paris. The timing could have been much worse, so I didn’t complain too much. But, it’s still no fun (except for the laying around all day watching TV, that’s fun for about a day 😉 ).
I wanted to make Chicken Noodle Soup, but didn’t have any chicken or vegetable stock. I figured that rather than make stock and then discard the veggies, I’d make soup and eat the veggies. It was an attempt to force all sorts of nutrients into my body, while cleaning out the fridge. Success!!
Whatever veggies you’ve got on hand will work. At the time I had some onion, kohl rabi, collard greens, roasted garlic, spinach, radishes, and cauliflower that needed to be used up. You could also add broccoli, carrots, turnips, or cabbage.
I added lentils for some lean protein, and pasta just for fun. The pasta soaked up a lot of the broth, so be warned, this is a thiiiick soup. Feel free to add more liquid if you’d like. (If you’re making enough for leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add some to each bowl, but not to the pot of soup… unless you want “Feel Better Pasta”, which is also delicious.)
I hope you’re feeling great and that this soup makes you feel even better. But, if you are feeling poor, I wish you restored health very soon.
Happy Eating!
Feel Better Soup
Recipe Type: Soup, Main Dish, Dinner, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Stove Top
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1-2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 kohl rabi, peeled and chopped
5 red radishes (or any other radish – about 1-2 C), chopped
4 C cauliflower, chopped
to taste, salt
to taste, pepper
1 t oregano, dried
1 t parsley, dried
1 t thyme, dried
1 t sriracha (or your favorite hot sauce, or a pinch of cayenne)
4-6 cloves roasted garlic (optional), mashed
1 t dijon mustard
1-2 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 C lentils (cooked)
8 C water or vegetable stock
1/2 C uncooked orzo pasta
5 C collard greens, chopped
2 C spinach, chopped
1 T lemon juice
1 t apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Heat soup pot, add oil, when hot add onion through pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Add oregano through water/stock, bring to a boil. Cook until all vegetables are tender, then add pasta.
When pasta is almost done, add greens.
When pasta is done and greens are wilted, add lemon and vinegar.
It’s not a person (although I love many). It’s not an object (although I seem to have quite a collection). It’s not bacon (although bacon will always be dear to my heart).
It’s roasted broccoli.
Maybe I’m weird. I don’t know. If I am, I’ll deal.
In any case, I really like broccoli, especially when it’s roasted.
I can be persuaded to like almost any veggie that’s roasted. In fact, I’m not sure I can think of one that I dislike.
Green beans? Delicious. Beets? Totally acceptable. Squash? Absolutely.
Roasting is the way to go.
And let us not forget the humble potato when we consider vegetables that are suitable for roasting.
For this dish, I sliced the potatoes in half to try to shorten the baking time. It didn’t really help with that. Buuuut, look at that crispy goodness. Well worth the wait.
Thyme is a friend of broccoli and potato. So I mixed some with a bit of Greek yogurt to dollop on top. We will also have a nice sprinkling of parmesan cheese. This is like a jazzed up version of a baked potato. There’s nothing wrong with a baked potato. In fact, I could go for a chili, cheddar, chive, bacon, yogurt topped perfectly roasted potato right now. But, for today, let’s pretend we’re fancy. Ok?
One of the best things about my work is when the cooking and photographing lines up perfectly with meal time.
5-6 C broccoli (about 3 heads), cut into bite sized pieces
1 T olive oil
3/4 T fresh thyme
to taste, salt
to taste, pepper
pinch cayenne
pinch fresh thyme
1/2 C Greek yogurt (for topping)
parmesan cheese, grated (for topping)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Drizzle cut side of potatoes with 1/2 T olive oil. Place oil side down on a baking sheet. Roast for about 50 minutes (or until potatoes are fork tender).
Toss broccoli with remaining olive oil, 3/4 T thyme, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes (keep potatoes in the oven to continue to roast – potatoes should take about 60-70 minutes total – if they’re done sooner just remove from the oven).
Mix yogurt with a pinch of thyme and a sprinkle of salt.
Top each potato half with parmesan cheese, broccoli, and a dollop of yogurt.
We were in Paris in November. (I will never get tired of remembering that we went to Paris.) In Paris, we had some of the most wonderful food. Ever.
One of the dishes was at a café by the marché aux puces (flea market) called Café Le Paul Bert. We had the most phenomenal dish of chicken, rice, and veggies. It was the creamiest, dreamiest chicken and rice I could ever imagine. It was one of the dishes I most wanted to duplicate upon our return (third on my list of “musts” – after baguettes, which I have now successfully made, and our meal atAu Bon Coin – I have almost mastered the potatoes, but have yet to make the full meal).
I don’t know exactly what it is about this dish. It seems like a pretty simple concept. It’s just chicken, rice, and veggies. Buuuut, there’s a whole lot more to it. There has to be, right?
When I made it, about two weeks after we’d returned, I was surprised by how much it tasted like our beloved Paris dish. And I think I may have accidentally discovered the secret: almond milk. I’d been drinking a little more almond milk and a little less cow’s milk lately. Just kinda to see if I like it. At first I did not. At all. But it’s growing on me. One way that I have always enjoyed it is in cooking (same with coconut milk). I use it in soups, oatmeal, even cornbread.
I haven’t made this dish using cow’s milk, so I don’t actually know if the almond milk made it taste so much like our Paris dish. But, it’s more fun to think that I accidentally made something amazing than to just borringly have done it on purpose.
I’d originally called this Drunken Chicken Casserole, because there’s a cup of wine in it. A tribute to the wine drunk with lunches and dinners in Paris. However, this could be made using vegetable or chicken stock and I’m sure it would taste great too.
Let’s talk about the veggies. I used carrots because they were in the Paris dish, and because I had them in the fridge. I used broccoli because it needed to be used. If I’d wanted to try to replicate it more exactly, I would have used carrots and leeks. But, I’m more of a “cook with what I have” kinda cooker, so yeah… You could use whatever veggies you like with chicken and rice. Cauliflower wouldn’t add much to the look of the dish, but it would taste great. Spinach would be yummy. Peas would be fun. Green onions would add a pop of color and a nice flavor. If you wanted to make this sans chicken, you could make it with fennel, carrots, and some mahi mahi. Have a look in your produce drawer. What looks good?
One of our favorite dishes from our time in Paris, recreated at home.
Ingredients
1 t unsalted butter
1 t olive oil
1 C brown rice
1 C white wine (or vegetable or chicken stock)
1 C cold water
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 carrot, cut into long slices
water (for steaming)
1 C chicken, cooked and chopped – I used leftovers
1 C almond milk
to taste, salt
to taste, pepper
1/4 C cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 C parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
Cook rice in water and wine according to package directions (about 35-45 minutes), adding more liquid if needed.
Add water to a pot with a steamer basket, place carrots and broccoli to the steamer. Steam until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes or so (you could add carrots first and broccoli halfway through, since it will take a bit less time to cook). (Save steamer water and freeze, to use at a later time as vegetable stock.)
When rice is done, add chicken, milk, veggies, salt, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is heated through and the milk has been absorbed.
Stir in cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Looking through our photos, I’ve concluded that our holiday consisted mostly of family, friends, and food. There were some gifts thrown in there, a movie or two (ok, more than two), and a few games here and there. But mostly, we were with family and friends for two weeks. Can’t get much better than that.
We put about 1,200 miles on our car. We spent Christmas morning here together, just Tim, the dog, and I. It was nice. Then we packed up and headed out.
Our first stop was the farm Tim grew up on, and his family. Lots of good family time sharing about our adventures this year, eating, gifting… being together.
Partway through the visit my youngest brother, Josh, and his girlfriend, Karensa, arrived. We took them to see the Giant Sequoias and had some great family dinners before heading home for a few days.
(Photo credit Shannon Oberg – I think??! Or did Josh take this one?)
I think I’ve lost count of how many french fries I ate. I’m ok with this. We needed to introduce Karensa to In-n-Out, a road trip staple. Done.
Tim’s birthday is on the 24th, so before we started our Christmas Eve celebrations we had lunch at Quenelle. We had ice cream. For lunch. It was delicious.
The next week we had to go back with Josh and Karensa.
Having guests in town is a fun excuse to visit some of our favorite places. Umami Burger is a fun treat. I can’t order anything but the Truffle Burger and Truffle Fries. I’m sure there are other things that are good, buuuut I don’t want to branch out. I like my favorites.
Guests are also an excuse to play tourist in our town (this is Tim giving a tour of the WB lot – I think he’s showing J&K the spot where Spiderman hangs upside down and kisses Mary Jane… he might also just be pointing at a wall).
We had our third Christmas morning with J&K while Skyping with my parents so they could watch us open our gifts. It’s not the same when we’re not with the whole family, but we will take what we can get. One of my favorite gifts of all was this magnet of our super cute niece. It makes me want to cry every time I see it because I miss her so much, but I love having her little face on my fridge.
My other favorite gift: a new knife. I’ve been wanting this knife for a year. I yelled when I opened it, I was so excited. It cuts through potatoes like they are room temperature butter.
I love it. I love it. I love it.
After a few days at home we went to the coast to visit with our aunt and uncle. To say that the sun setting over the ocean is majestic is an understatement. I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view.
While at the coast we stopped by the Honeymoon Cafe. We’ve been going there since our honeymoon (I know, how cute), and go back anytime we’re in the area. If the food wasn’t so scrumptious it would be easier to skip it. But, there’s the sentimental and delicious factors that keep bringing us back.
For our last dinner together, which happened to be at the coast, Josh, Karensa, and I made Baguette Pizzas. I totally love pizza with real crust, but these were super yummy. See all that cheese that dripped on to the pan and browned?! That’s the best part!
Happy New Year, friends! Here’s to a great one, filled with family, friends, and lots of good food!
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine, with Josh, Karensa, and Tim
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1-2 T olive oil
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
salt, to taste
6 baguettes, sliced in half lengthwise and widthwise (in the middle)
1 head garlic, diced
2 C tomato sauce
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1/2 head broccoli, chopped in small pieces
pepperoni (optional)
additional veggies like: mushrooms, olives, and tomatoes; sliced
1 brick mozzarella cheese, grated
basil, chopped
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium or medium-low heat. Add olive oil. When oil is hot add bell pepper, onion, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender, about 5-8 minutes.
Place baguettes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Bake for 5-7 minutes, or until slightly toasty.
Add garlic to skillet and cook 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Let everyone top their own pizza, starting with tomato sauce, sautéed veggies, pepperoni (optional), raw veggies, cheese, and basil.
Place back onto a baking sheet and bake until cheese is melted, about 5-10 minutes.
