Gout de la Vie

Pate de Campagne avec Canard et Pistaches, originally uploaded by thephotomill. One of my projects this past weekend was making Pate de Campagne (in addition to Bratwurst. More on that at a later time.) My grinder certainly got a workout. This is a traditional French country pate with a lovely twist – the addition of [...]

Sliced Home-Cured Salmon, originally uploaded by thephotomill. Who ever said that curing your own food at home was difficult? With some really simple ingredients and a touch of patience you can cure your own salmon. The most expensive part is the fish itself! And, to be honest, the amount of time you’re actually working on [...]

Simple Sauce, originally uploaded by thephotomill. This was yet another labor of love! Homemade ravioli with home made ricotta. The ricotta was easy, really but worth it. Even though I didn’t have access to raw milk, this worked wonderfully: 1/2 Gallon Organic Whole Milk 1.5 to 3 Tablespoons White Vinegar Heat milk until it hits [...]

I’m referencing my own photos now (though it could be one of Annie’s photos!) Here is a beautiful example of some sort of meat-in-aspic concoction in Paris. Now…why didn’t mine look like this? Now that is a beautiful loaf!  See some more Food & Travel pics from yesteryear here!

Piggy, originally uploaded by thephotomill. What’s in store for you, piggy? Headcheese, originally uploaded by thephotomill. Here is the final product of a full weekend of labor, love – and I guess offal. One pig’s head, brined overnight then gently heated at about 180F in a pot of water and a bouquet garni. Add to [...]

Tastespotting.com is generally a great site – there are some beautiful photos to be found there. But one photo you won’t find is this one – my Eel & Foie Gras Terrine: It seems that there COULD be, and the is certainly a stretch, a bias against Foie Gras. The site takes sumbissions of all [...]

Here’s a wonderful, clean, fresh palette cleanser for those heavy meals! Really simple, really soothing. Here comes Cucumber Sorbet: 4 Large Cumbers 4 Tbsp Simple Syrup 1 Basil leaves Juice of 1/2 a Lemon First and foremost, make sure your ice cream maker’s canister is ready to go! Peel the cucumbers and cut them into [...]

I know it’s summer but we had so many veggies from CSA that something ahd to be done. So, I made a veggie soup that was chock full of healy stuff that tastes good too. Oh, and it totally works for you vegetarians out there so don’t be scared. Here’s how it went down: 1 [...]

Ceviche I, originally uploaded by thephotomill. Oh Yeah. Delicious summery goodness. Don’t be scared of preparing raw fish in lime juice at home. Here’s how we did our CEVICHE: 1lb Red Snapper fillet 1lb Medium Shrimp 1lb Bay Scallops 8 Limes – juiced 1 Orange – juiced 1T Apple Cider Vinegar 2 Jalapenos – seeded [...]

This is a fantastic little soup. I only knew it as Page 54 Soup – where it could be found in some Indian cookbook from many years ago. I got a new copy of the recipe several years ago and then promptly lost it again. So I decided that I could do alright recreating it [...]