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By beautifulfood
Unidentified Shell Beans
I am sad to report that during my two-month absence, my blog was infiltrated by over 400 comments masquerading as approved! In my haste to rid my blog of this scourge, I apparently obliterated all comments, even the four legitimate ones I’ve received over the years. : ) Won’t you please leave a comment? I know there’s someone out there that can think of something to say . . . and rest assured that whatever it is, it will be better than what’s posted here. Pretty please?
Well, on to the topic at hand. I was recently in Oakland, California for three weeks staying with a wonderful woman (and her mother) who shall remain nameless because that’s the way she would want it. She had the most luscious garden and created the most luscious dishes in her warm, yellow kitchen. These beans were grown in her garden. They also remain nameless because she knows that she planted three varieties of beans, but can identify none of them. Any ideas? I think they’re stunning.
By beautifulfood
Looks just like my kitchen space! : )
I hope the summer has been treating you well. Thankfully, I’ve been busy this summer with an exciting project. I’ve been preparing chef’s lunches and craft services for a television production crew filming here in Atlanta. The reality-based program involves home design and sports an international cast and crew. Fun! We’ve had Thai days, Italian, southwestern and, yes, even Indian. I’ve completely enjoyed working this gig as the diners have been most gracious and the experience new and interesting. I’ve also taken the opportunity to feature some local creations like delicious Bearmaker cookies and amazing popsicles from the Pop Shop. If you have the chance to partake of either of these treats at a local coffee shop or farmer’s market, don’t pass up the opportunity. xo, Anna
By beautifulfood
Hi all. Just to say hello and recap an amazing week I had cooking at the Masters Tournament in Augusta. I joined my friend and colleague Chef Bob for an unforgettable 8 days of cooking, hard work, excitement and comraderie. I was unaware of the Masters culture that overtakes Augusta during that one week in April, but it is something to behold! It was so impressive how people from all over the world - golfers, spectators and staff alike - come together to create such a special event for all. I can’t say enough good things about my teammates - oodles of positive energy, unwavering dedication to their jobs and skill, competence and professionallism beyond expectation.
Oh, and let’s not forget just completely fun and hilarious!! Thank you to everyone for an opportunity of a lifetime.
Now on to the food . . . For me, among other things, it was sort of a baking marathon with danish, scones, muffins, torts, cakes, bread puddings and other things I can’t recall at this moment. : ) I couldn’t have enjoyed it more. As usual, we incorporated as much seasonal fruit into the menu as we could stand. My personal favorite was the strawberry scones. The basic recipe was given to me compliments of Caroline at Stonehurst Place here in Atlanta - a formidable cook herself. I am happy to pass along upon request, so please ask. So long until next time. xo, Anna
By beautifulfood
Barely Related Photo
It’s a little late to be talking about Valentine’s Day, but the last one has been on my mind, so why not. I was happy to prepare dinner for a delightful couple for whom I prepare regular meal service. I enjoy all the cooking I do, but they select especially interesting meals, so I always look forward to their services. Here’s the menu they shared for Valentine’s evening:
“Deconstructed” Caesar Salad with Parmesan Crisps, Garlic Crostini and Parmesan Flan
Roasted Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter, Cranberries, Walnuts and Sage
Cream of Asparagus Soup with Goat Cheese and Basil Garnish
Seared Filet Mignon with Chianti Reduction and Porcini Risotto
White and Dark Chocolate Souffle Cakes with Fresh Raspberries
I’m thinking that this posting would have been much more interesting had I thought to take photos, but I was pretty busy and the thought slipped my mind. The “deconstructed” salad is an adaptation of Thomas Keller’s salad from “The French Laundry” cookbook. The book is a little aged now, but I think for the most part timeless. One of my favorite books for sure. The salad makes a lovely presentation even with the changes I make so the salad functions as a full course rather than a tasting. I think the final version is more of a Caesar with flan addition, rather than deconstructed. But in both versions the flan is the highlight . . . so delicious and so delicate.
By beautifulfood
- House of Soup and Snow
With snow comes the memory of my mother’s pot of soup simmering on the stove during our Tennessee winters. There were no emergency runs to the grocery store - with a bountiful garden each summer and my parents’ food preservation skills, we were ready. Well, there was the issue of meat, but a gargantuan freezer kept us well-stocked, Our beef and pork oftentimes didn’t come from the market anyway. The olfactory memory is amazing. I see snow - I smell that soup! So I had to make some this past week. Here’s the recipe with a few method enhancements, ingredients pretty much the same. So delicious, so nurturing, so warm. Nothing fancy - just home-grown ingredients. Still tastes great with organic vegetables from the grocer. Grass-fed beef wouldn’t hurt either.
My Mother’s Old Lady Country Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
2-3 pounds chuck roast cut in large chunks (some fat is good; bones even better if you can get bone-in) short ribs are wonderful also but will definitely need to defat
A couple of cans of good beef stock (homemade of course works great - Mom didn’t use stock, but water. Her beef pieces were huge with lots of bones.)
2 fresh bay leaves, a few parsley stems and 2 or 3 sprigs of thyme if you have them (no fresh herbs in the winter back in the day!)
2-3 cobs of corn
1 jumbo yellow onion or 2 medium
1 large can of stewed tomatoes (home canned if you have them)
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
3 or 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4″ on the diagonal.
A handful of fresh (or frozen from the garden) green beans snapped into 1″ pieces
2 cobs of corn, niblets cut from the cob and scraped
1 cup or so of English peas (great fresh or frozen from your garden)
Fresh field peas if you have them (clean out your freezer - black-eyed peas, purple hull, October beans are all delicious)
2 or 3 large potatoes (Russett is fine - I like a mix of Yukon Gold and a sweet potato thrown in) peeled and cut into chunks
Tabasco to taste
Worstershire - a few dashes to taste
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper (no fresh ground for country mama!) a few grinds or to taste
Directions
Salt and pepper the meat and brown on med high heat in a Dutch oven. Remove the meat and brown the onions in the existing fat if you have any. If not add a little grapeseed oil. Toss the meat back in, pour in the stock and the tomatoes. Sometimes I puree one of the can with the immersion blender. You want enough liquid to come about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the meat. Next, add the herbs. Make a parchment lid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiN6gsOKGEQ): Pull a piece of parchment paper off the roll at least equivalent to the diameter of the pot. Fold the parchment into quarters, then make accordion folds from one of the square’s corners until the “fan” is about and inch wide. Cut off about 1/4-1/2 inch of the tip. Place the “cone” point in the center of the pot and eyeball how much to remove from the other end, then trim the wide end. It looks prettier if the last cut is on a diagonal. Place the paper lid on top of the ingredients in the pot. Hopefully, your lid fits just right and the edges meet the sides of the pot. If not, trim to fit. If too small, make another! Place the lid on the pot and cook on low with the real lid on until the meat is fork tender - depends, but a couple of hours probably. Add stock or water as necessary. When the meet is tender, I add everything to the pot and add more stock or water if needed. You can even add more tomatoes or tomato juice if you like. Simmer covered for another 1.5 hours or so until you have a thick stew-like soup and the earthy flavors have melded nicely. Adjust seasonings, make a pan of yellow cornbread, add a little (okay, a lot) of fine butter and you’re set. My mother always passed the Tabasco and served generous slices of hoop cheese with this. Add some sweet, black tea . . . and there you have it. Anna
Servings
My sister and I have discussed the fact that it’s impossible to make a small batch of this. The good news is that it freezes well and is just as good the next day, or the next . . . )
By beautifulfood
I was shocked to see how long it’s been since the last blog. I hope everyone is enjoying the vegetables of fall, some of my favorites and my favorite time to visit the farmers markets. I plan to visit the Morningside market tomorrow and I can’t wait! Besides cooking for my “regular” clients, I’ve had the opportunity to do a couple of classes and cater a couple of weddings in recent weeks. One of the weddings took place at an amazing B&B on Piedmont Ave called Stonehurst Place. This is a photo of the wedding table, which is quite beautiful, but doesn’t allow you to see much of this incredible venue. The menu consisted of proscuitto-wrapped scallops with bourbon-maple glaze, shrimp chorizo flatbreads, spinach and sherry stuffed mushrooms, giant lobster tails and roasted beef tenderloin with bearnaise sauce and jumbo asparagus. Quite a feast! Make sure to check out Stonehurst.
By beautifulfood
This has been one hot summer and I’m ready to move into autumn and football
season. I would like to invite everyone to check out my business spotlight in the latest issue of Decatur Living! So, if you live in Decatur, Lake Claire, Druid Hills or Oakview, please check it out. It’s a pretty exciting event for me, so I just want to mention the ONE PAGE ARTICLE WITH PHOTOS. : )) Don’t forget that Beautiful Food can do a football party or a tailgate as well as a five course French-inspired dinner party, so please give me a ring if you’re in the market! Thanks to all my Beautiful Food clients for a great summer and I look forward to a great rest of the year. Back soon with a couple of recipes and techniques from Escoffier. xox, Anna
By beautifulfood
Chef typing a beef rib roast
Bonjour! I hope you’re surviving the wicked hot days of Georgia summer as I am: dashing from air conditioner to air conditioner! Well, sort of dashing. Anyway, I mentioned earlier that I was in France earlier this year and had the opportunity to take a couple of classes at the Ritz in Paris, Ecole Ritz Escoffier. This was the stomping ground of Auguste Escoffier as he practiced his art and became an icon of classical French cuisine. I was elated to be there! I learned a lot in the short time I was there, but will never forget that we cooked in 200 year old copper pots used by Escoffier. How cool is that? Chef was amazing. The meal we prepared in class was amazing . . . the best I had during my stay in Paris. Honestly.
Not only was Chef an excellent instructor, she was funny and kind. Classmates were mostly Parisian, warm, friendly and welcoming - much like I found everyone in France. And besides, they tolerated my limited and debauched francais ( and sometimes anglais!) - also like I found most everyone in France.
Oven ready - gorgeous, right?
Anyway, one thing I knew little about until Paris was veal marrow. Yuck, you say. Not! I say. Here’s what we did.
1. We brought a large pot of water nearly to the boil. Removed from the heat and added the veal marrow bones. We let them set until cool.
2. We removed the bones, drained and then scraped them like crazy!
3. We sprinkled each bone with coarse sea salt, freshly ground white pepper and fresh thyme leaves.
4. We roasted the marrow bones about 20 minutes at about 400 degrees until brown and “melted.”
5. We released the cylinder of marrow with a knife, spread on fresh-baked baguette and went for it.
Well, I just can’t describe the utter harmony, so I won’t try. Please experience for yourself at least once. Au revoir.
By beautifulfood
Rebecca Hoffmann, Wine Life!
Hi all. I would like to announce an exciting new service from Beautiful Food! BF has partnered with Rebecca Hoffmann, CWP, of Wine Life!, LLC, (too many acronyms I know) to bring you creative and fun wine tastings and wine-inspired events. Some of you already know Rebecca as ”the trusty assistant,” but she has expanded her horizons and has something new and fun to bring to Beautiful Food. Please read on to learn more about R’s service and don’t hesitate to contact BF for more info on pricing, etc. Thanks a bunch and wish us luck in this new venture!
Wine Life!, founded by Rebecca Hoffmann, conducts wine tasting experiences in your home or other private venues. Rebecca is a Certified Wine Professional (CWP) as awarded by the Culinary Institute of America’s wine certification program in Napa Valley. She spent 3 months of intense wine immersion in the Valley living the wine life and loves educating and exciting others in all things wine! Your wine experience might consist of wine tastings with delicious small plates or a 5 course dinner with wine pairings. No matter the event, Wine Life promises great wine service, a bevy of info, lively discussion, tasting notes and food pairing ideas. WL also coordinates wine and beverage services for any special dinner or event. Thanks for reading and don’t hesitate to contact us for more info.
By beautifulfood
Antipasto Platter with Pickled Flame Grapes, Burratta Cheese, Cured Meats, Aged Parm, Sour Cherry Spread
Hi all. I just returned from France . . . some place I’ve wanted to visit since I was 12 and had ordered a jar of Dijon mustard FROM FRANCE! It came in a cute crock with a wooden spoon, which was really all that mattered to me at the time. So exotic though. The trip seems like a dream now, but I attended a couple of classes at the Escoffier cooking school at the Ritz in Paris that were very exciting. I have photos! But, I want to share a dinner party I did just before I left for one of the nicest group of people I’ve ever cooked for. We started with an antipasto platter highlighting pickled Flame grapes and beautiful Burrata cheese fresh from Italy. Here’s a picture of the platter! We continued with ravioli stuffed with ricotta and Tallegio cheeses sauced with wild mushrooms and butter, a sort of un-Italian bitter green salad with sherry vinaigrette, cioppino with Pernod and ended the evening with White Chocolate Amaretto cake from Southern Sweets Bakery. Thank you to our clients for this memorable evening!
