Everyone loves a good cookie and the king of cookies is, of course, the classic chocolate chip version. This skillet cookie uses dark and milk chocolates and a touch of sea salt. It’s then baked in a cast iron skillet which results in a warm and soft center, wonderfully melted chocolate, and perfectly crisp edges. When served alongside vanilla ice cream it’s the ultimate make-at-home dessert.
Serves 2
Ingredients: 8 tablespoons butter, melted ½ cup brown sugar, packed ¼ cup raw sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 1¼ cups flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon sea salt 2 oz milk chocolate, finely chopped ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
For Serving: Vanilla ice cream Maldon finishing salt Dark chocolate shavings
Directions: Heat oven to 350°F.
In a mixing bowl combine the melted butter and both sugars. Stir until fully incorporated.
Mix in egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and sea salt to the bowl. Stir until a dough forms and no dry bits remain.
Stir in both chocolates. Press dough into a lightly greased 8″ or 10″ cast iron skillet. Bake until center is firm, but still gooey 18 to 20 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool slightly. Top with ice cream and maldon salt and extra chocolate shavings.
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This dish of Chicken Savoyarde is an adaptation of a 200 year old recipe. Sometimes, things get lost in the translation when you go from French to English, but one thing for sure, this recipe is a simple peasant dish that has been elevated to most elegant and sophisticated dinning experience.
The Alps are emblematic, mountains as metaphor. They’re imposing, romantic, operatic—inspiring us to poetry and to heroic deeds , whether fearlessly scaling their faces or just schussing in mild terror down the intermediate ski run. They are also famous for their food, promising to nourish us with honest, robust fare once we’ve conquered the slopes in one direction or the other (or even just thought about doing so). This is especially true, not surprisingly, on the French side of the Alps.
A hugely varied terrain, much of the Savoie is covered by high-altitude mountain plateaux, steep gradients, deep river valleys, farmland and lakes, plus of course huge swathes of the land are covered in snow for half the year, so the people who historically lived and travelled here were very hardy folk.
They are also famous for their food, promising to nourish us with honest, robust fare once we’ve conquered the slopes in one direction or the other (or even just thought about doing so). This is especially true, not surprisingly, on the French side of the Alps.
The region of Savoie, divided into the departements of Savoie and Haute-Savoie, lies at the heart of the French Alps—the remnants of a kingdom that ruled much of this part of Europe for eight centuries, until the mid-1800s—and it is here that French mountain cooking thrives most vigorously. The raw materials are rich and varied—cheese(Beaufort, Tome and of course Reblochon) and other dairy products; apples, pears, plums, and cherries; mountain berries and wild mushrooms; wild game; fresh fish from local lakes—not just trout but perch, pike, and the sublime omble-chevalier. Fondue Savoyarde is the region’s most famous dish, but hearty soups and stews (among them the famous Potee), civets of game, potato dishes, and glorious fruit tarts all appear on the Savoyard table as well.
If you are a fan of winter sports, take note that The Savoie is home to many of France’s most fashionable ski resorts—Chamonix, Courchevel, and Val d’Isere among them—and these, of course, imply elaborate resort hotels: mountain palaces with serious dining rooms serving dishes that may or may not owe anything to their surroundings. But basic country cooking has survived as well in the Savoie, both in homes and in restaurants, and there are even signs today that the ski culture is beginning a romance with the region’s traditional gastronomy.
For nearly 200 years, in the autumn, the men of the village descended to larger towns to find work for the winter. The women and children stayed behind, often living with the livestock to keep warm. In spring, the men returned, rushing back to plant their crops and lead their animals into summer pastures. Summer was the time to harvest wild herbs to dry for the winter menu. Before the men left the village again, pigs were slaughtered, and hams and sausages were made. In the communal oven, loaves of rye bread were baked, to be stored for months on wicker racks. (Before serving, they were softened in a damp towel. Otherwise, they’d have been rock-hard.) With chestnuts and polenta, these were the staples of the winter diet.
During the long months of winter, the people of Chamonix also depended on a diet of potatoes, cheese, onions, and pork products. Today, these same ingredients are still basic to the local cuisine. One of the most popular offerings is an ancient specialty called reblochonnade (also known as tartiflette), a sturdy cousin of the classic gratin savoyard. The dish is made of thinly sliced potatoes sauteed with bacon and onions, moistened with cream, then baked in the oven. Finally, generous slices of creamy reblochon (a cow’s-milk cheese made in the Haute-Savoie) are melted on top. The dish feels hearty enough to insulate against the most bracing winter winds, all the way till spring. Local children still made their way to school through the snow in hobnailed wood-soled shoes. For lunch, they carried simple meals of potato fritters and cafe au lait, to be reheated over the school’s wood stove.
That was life—and food—here before skiing. Things began to change in 1878, when a Savoyard named Henri Duhamel bought some narrow wooden planks from Scandinavia at the Paris Exposition and introduced them to the Alps. “The use of skis permits a skilled Alpine peasant to go easily from one point to another,” explained an article in La Croix de Savoie in 1908.
By the 1930s, Val d’Isere had started to become a center for winter sports enthusiasts. One of the first hotels in town to earn a reputation beyond the Alps was Hotel Le Solaise, opened in December 1938 by Noel and Palmyre Machet. :The grocer in Tignes delivered provisions for the whole winter all at once,” Palmyre remembered. “We served Savoie ham, trout, and game. In those days, you had to have a passion for the mountains to come to Val d’Isere. There were no lifts to get you up the slopes. You had to be dragged on sealskins by mules. Everyone carried spools of red wool to unwind for marking spots susceptible to avalanche.
Original vintage skiing poster by Paul Ordner (1900-1969) featuring a dynamic image of a skier carving through the turns of a slalom race on a mountain piste. Mont Revard is a mountain in the Bauges mountain range in Savoie, France, home to the Le Revard ski resort, also used as a finishing stage of the Tour de France. Mont Revard a 1550m – Ecole de Ski / Ski School – PLM (French railway line).
Today, skiing in Val d’Isere is a high-tech pursuit, but at the table, time-honored specialties of the region are very much in evidence—crozets (small cubes of buckwheat pasta), diots (local sausages, usually braised in white wine), polenta, and Potee. The Hotel Le Solaise is gone, but at the restaurant that bears its name, Laurent Caffot, the Machets’ grandson, prepares exquisite frogs’ legs and omble-chevalier. He turns plebeian snails into a light and elegant fricassee. And he is not afraid to marry foie gras with polenta, one of the simple foods of yesteryear. The roots of the village still run deep.
Still, local residents don’t forget their history: Charlemagne waged battles here against the Lombard armies; pilgrims and merchants passed through, traveling between France and Italy. The ascent from Piedmont was long and steep. On the French side, the slope was milder. Travelers made their descent in sledges made of bound branches, which moved fast but were short on comfort. Happily, at the end of the journey there were inns and taverns.
Chicken Savoyarde
The Savoy region of France borders on Switzerland and Italy and is jagged with the French Alps. It is well known for its wines, cheeses and Savoyarde cuisine, that is rich with cream and delicate cheese sauces. This recipe for Chicken Savoyarde is typical of that style of cooking, featuring sautéed chicken breasts that are cooked in a white wine and served with artichokes and a smooth velouté enriched with cream and Gruyere cheese. Broiled until bubbly and golden brown, this dish is a perfect entrée for a Sunday Dinner. The boneless chicken and artichoke bottoms, baked in a white wine sauce. It can be prepared ahead and baked at the last minutes. Very little work for gourmet main course. You can serve this dish with a green salad, asparagus and mashed potatoes for a complete meal.
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: For the Chicken: 4 whole chicken breasts, 1 1/2 pound each, boned, skinned, and split 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1 medium onion, sliced 1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves Salt, to taste a dash of ground black pepper 1/2 cup dry white wine
For the Sauce: 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon all purpose flour 1/2 cup chicken stock ¼ cup dry white wine 1/2 cup heavy cream salt, to taste freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated ½ tablespoon Clovis Tarragon Dijon Mustard™ (See Cook’s Notes)
One 14-ounce can of artichoke bottoms(See Cook’s Notes) 6 thin slices of Swiss cheese 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated Fresh chopped parsley, for garnish
Directions: Pat the chicken breasts dry with clean paper towels. Add the flour to a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet, over medium high heat, add the vegetable oil and butter. When the butter is melted, add onion, tarragon and them. Sauté onion until tender and translucent.
Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour and shake off the excess. To the onion mixture in the skillet, add the chicken breasts, four pieces at a time, arrange then in a single layer. Sauté the chicken breasts for 15 minutes, turning once with tongs. Remove the chicken from the skillet; add the remaining uncooked chicken breasts and repeat the cooking process. Return all the chicken to the skillet.
To the sautéed chicken breasts in the skillet, add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a dash of pepper and 1/2 cup dry white wine; mix well. Cover and simmer the chicken over low heat for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauce.
To Make the Sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook gently for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat, and gradually stir in the stock and wine. Finally, add the cream, tarragon and a little salt and pepper to taste. Return to the heat and simmer gently for 5 minutes, then stir in the cheese and the mustard. Taste and adjust seasonings. Use in a chicken gratin as directed below.
In a small saucepan, over low heat, gently warm the artichokes and drain.
Arrange the chicken breasts in a shallow heat proof baking dish, preferably glass. Arrange the artichokes around the chicken. Spoon the sauce all over the chicken and artichokes. Lay a slice of Swiss cheese on top of each chicken breast. Sprinkle with a dusting of Parmesan cheese. Place the baking dish under the broiler and broil until chicken is thoroughly heated and the cheese is bubbly, about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve hot, family style.
Cook’s Notes:
Sauce: You can make this sauce as a stand alone accompaniment for other dishes. The sauce makes the perfect partner to Sunday’s roast chicken and can equally well be used to dress up the left-over chicken next day.
Mustard: If you cannot find Clovis Tarragon Dijon Mustard™, feel free to use 1 tablespoon of commercially prepared mustard and 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh tarragon as reasonable substitutes.
Sour Cream: You can substitute sour cream for the heavy cream. There are variations of this recipe that do use sour cream and sometimes half & half.
Onion Mixture: In the original recipe, it appears that the onions were discarded in the presentation of the final dish. In making a kitchen sustainable, the onion and wine mixture can be pureed and frozen for future use, such as a base for a vegetable or onion soup.
Artichokes: Canned artichoke bottoms sliced is used n this recipe. But you can also use artichoke hearts, if artichoke bottoms are not available in your local supermarket. Also note that fresh Jerusalem artichokes, when in season, are delicious and a less expensive alternative to artichoke hearts and bottoms. To cook them, scrub the artichokes; boil in salted water until fork tender. Drain, peel and slice into rounds.
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Did you know that asparagus has been used as a vegetable and as an ancient medicine, due to to its distinct flavor, and in medicine due to its diuretic properties and its purported function as an aphrodisiac. It is pictured as an offering on an Egyptian frieze dating to 3000 BC. In ancient times, it was also known in Syria and in Spain. Greeks and Romans ate it fresh when in season, and dried the vegetable for use in winter. Roman Epicureans froze its sprouts high in the Alps for the Feast of Epicurus. Emperor Augustus created the “Asparagus Fleet” for hauling the vegetable, and coined the expression “faster than cooking asparagus” for quick action.
By 1469, asparagus was cultivated in French monasteries. Asparagus appears to have been little noticed in England until 1538, and in Germany until 1542.
Asparagus was brought to North America by European settlers at least as early as 1655. Adriaen van der Donck, a Dutch immigrant to New Netherland, mentions asparagus in his description of Dutch farming practices in the New World. Asparagus was grown by British immigrants as well; in 1685, one of William Penn’s advertisements for Pennsylvania included asparagus in a long list of crops that grew well in the American climate. sparagus became widely available in America during Colonial times, and was a particular favorite of Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson enjoyed asparagus while he was Minister to France. Given how much asparagus grew in his gardens at Monticello, he often served it for dinner to his guests at his Virginia plantation.
White asparagus is so loved in Europe that its fleeting appearance in the spring from, April to early June, is a cause for celebration and rushing to the farmers market or grocery store to make sure you get a few bunches before they are gone.
I discovered a bunch of white asparagus in my freezer. I had purchased them early in the spring at a farmers market. Not wanting them to go to waste, I blanched them and froze them, thinking I would use them soon…..
When white asparagus is out of season or not readily available, you can also used canned white asparagus or white asparagus that have been commercially prepared and packed in a jar. For the most part asparagus prepared this way has been pickled and can be stored for several years. Some brands label shoots prepared in this way as “marinated”. You can also purchase marinated white asparagus on line from gourmet specialty food shops like EuropeanDeli.com, which sells LANDSBERG WHITE ASPARAGUS . Personally, I like to use the Roland Brand of White Asparagus Spears. The asparagus is packed in an 11.6 oz tall glass jar. They are carefully chosen to ensure a smooth texture, but remaining firm to the bite and touch. Their color is slightly off-white, almost ivory in color. They make a delicious salad appetizer with a light vinaigrette. Use in quiche or alone as a side dish. Traditionally prized in French or German cuisine, white asparagus is now used in many vegetable, salad and seafood dishes.
But what is the difference between white and the more common green asparagus?
Compared to green asparagus, the locally cultivated so-called “white gold” or “edible ivory” asparagus, also referred to as “the royal vegetable” .White asparagus has a milder flavor, is more tender and is grown underground. As a result of applying a blanching technique while the asparagus shoots are growing underground, the shoots are cultivated by being covered with soil as they grow, i.e. “earthed up”.
Since white asparagus does not get any light, photosynthesis cannot take place and the shoots do not produce chlorophyll, hence the unusual color .The apical meristem does not fully develop, leaving the appearance to be short and sometimes stumpy.
Only seasonally on the menu, asparagus dishes are advertised outside many restaurants, usually from late April to June. Freshness is very important, and the lower ends of white asparagus must be peeled before cooking or raw consumption. For the French style, asparagus is often boiled or steamed and served with Hollandaise sauce, White sauce, melted butter or most recently with olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Tall, narrow asparagus cooking pots allow the shoots to be steamed gently, their tips staying out of the water.
In Southern Germany, entire menus are dedicated to this springtime spear. During the German Spargelsaison or Spargelzeit (“asparagus season” or “asparagus time”). Schwetzingen , Germany claims to be the “Asparagus Capital of the World”,and during its festival, an Asparagus Queen is crowned. The Bavarian city of Nuremberg feasts a week long in April, with a competition to find the fastest asparagus peeler in the region; this usually involves generous amounts of the local wines and beers being consumed to aid the spectators’ appreciative support.
In Germany, roadside stands and open-air markets sell about half of the country’s white asparagus consumption. The asparagus season in Germany traditionally ends on the 24th of June.
An interesting way to use this treasured vegetable is in white asparagus soup or spargelsuppe in German. This soup highlights the delicate nature of the white flesh and is a great way to start any meal. In this version of spargelsuppe, the soup is made from puréed white asparagus and broth with some cream added.
To make the soup more interesting and suitable for serving as a special occasion meal, butter poached lobster tails was added to the dish.
Serves 2
Ingredients: For the Parsley Oil:
1 bunch of fresh Italian Flat Leaf Italian Parsley
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
For the Asparagus Soup:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup vegetable broth
4 to 6 white asparagus
Salt, to taste
Ground white pepper, to taste
A splash of white wine
For the Lobster Tails:
2 uncooked lobster tails
2 tablespoons water
1 stick salted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
For Garnish:
Blanched green asparagus spears
Watercress
Zest of 1 lemon
Directions: For the Parsley Oil:
Blanch the parsley, stems intact, for 10 seconds. Drain and cool under cold water and dry on paper towels. Place in a blender along with 1 cup of the olive oil and blend completely.
Place a chinois over a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Pour the paste into the chinois. Using a spatula, press firmly on the paste to release the oil. Alternatively, you can arrange a coffee filter over another glass jar Secure the filter over the jar with a rubber band and use a ladle to carefully pour the parsley oil into the filter. Just know that the draining will take 24 to 48 hours. Pour the oil into a clean sterilized jar and cover tightly and set aside until ready for use.
Note: The parsley oil can then be used in a vinaigrette, in cold soup or to garnish chicken or fish. It will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.
For the Asparagus Soup:
Trim about 1⁄2” from the woody ends of the asparagus. Lay spears on a work surface, then peel thin skin from each with a sharp swivel-blade vegetable peeler, starting 1 1⁄2” from the top and running the length of the spear. Spears are brittle and can snap when peeled in midair. Cut the asparagus into slices.
Heat a a medium saucepan over medium low heat; add the butter. Add the asparagus and gently sauté them in butter. Stir in the broth and the cream, increase the heat to a gentle boil and cook for 5 minutes or until the asparagus is completely fork tender. Season with salt and white pepper.
Puree the soup in batches in the blender. Place a clean kitchen towel over the lid and hold down the lid, so the hot soup does not splatter, and return the soup to the pan. Alternatively, you can use an immersion hand blender and puree the soup directly in the pan.
Add a few dashes of white wine if you think the soup needs acidity. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and white ground pepper, if needed. Cover and keep the soup warm.
For the Lobster:
Use sharp kitchen shears to cut shell of lobster all the way down its back. Turn over and cut bottom shell all the way down. Peel off shell and remove the tail meat.
In a sauce pan, bring 1 tablespoon of water to simmer over medium-low heat. Whisk in 1 piece of butter. When butter has melted, add another piece. Continue with remaining butter pieces, one at a time. Make sure the mixture does NOT come to a boil, otherwise the butter will separate.
Keeping the heat on medium-low, add the lobster pieces and cook for 5 minutes, turning the lobster pieces every minute or so. Make sure mixture does not boil. Remove lobster from the poaching butter and set aside.
To serve, ladle soup into warmed bowls. Arrange three asparagus spears in the soup. Lay the lobster tail on top of the asparagus spears. Add a few drops of parsley oil. Garnish with spicy cress and lemon zest, if desired.
Cook’s Notes:
You can use fresh chives as a substitution for the parsley in making the oil, if desired.
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