Rice Pilaf

Rice pilaf seems very 90s to me, but it’s a delicious and v. easy side to make for dinner!

Recipe Type: Quick and Easy, Side Dish

Time: 30-40 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 ½ cup of long-grained rice

½ cup diced onion (about half a medium onion)

Two minced garlic cloves

2 ½ cups of water, chicken, or vegetable stock

If using water you’ll need one teaspoon of chicken bouillon or one teaspoon of vegan dashi powder

One sprig of thyme

One bay leaf

Olive oil

Salt & Pepper

Equipment

A small heavy-bottomed pot with a lid

Knife

Cutting board

Instructions

Here’s my recipe for homemade chicken stock.

• Peel onion and dice into ¼ inch pieces. Peel and mince two garlic cloves and set aside.

• Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high. When the oil is hot, add the dry rice and cook, continually stirring, so it doesn’t burn. Cook the rice for a few minutes until the rice turns translucent, then slightly opaque. The rice should sound like glass beads sliding around the pot.

• When the rice is glassy, add the onions and garlic to the pot and cook for a minute or until the onion becomes translucent.

• Add the water or chicken/vegetable stock to the pot and lower the heat so that the rice is barely simmering. If you’re using water, add the bouillon or dashi powder to the pot and stir. Then, add the sprig of thyme, one bay leaf, and a salt to taste. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and cook over low heat until the rice is cooked through and has absorbed the liquid (about 20-30 minutes).

• When the rice is nearly finished, close the lid and let the rice steam for a five minutes or so before serving. The rice is ready when the grains of rice are fluffy and there is no liquid left in the pot. Fluff with a fork and serve!

Opulent Oat Milk and Crushed Lavender Bath

It’s week three of official confinement part deux in France. I’ve found myself binge-watching shows and utterly unmotivated to cook or write. However, I have found some gratification—and opulence—in creating different ways to enjoy my bathing ritual with ingredients that are lying around my apartment.

This is a simple recipe that I created to combat the drying effect that bathing can have on my skin and requires oats, salt, and lavender. I grind the oats into a powder and mix the ground oats with sea salt and crushed lavender to make a large tea bag for my bath. The oats powder steeps into the water and turns into oat milk filled with proteins and carbohydrates that soothe, gently cleanse, and moisturize your skin. The lavender’s monoterpenes work its anti-inflammatory magic on your body while the scent calms your spirit. And the mineral-laden sea salt boosts the hydration effects of the oats and balances the minerals in your skin.

Dahling, you can, and deserve, to have ALL this opulence in a few minutes. I hope you are luxuriating and tending to yourself during this next stretch of staying at home.

Recipe Type: Easy

Servings: 2 bath satchels

Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup of rolled old-fashioned oats

2 teaspoons of dried whole lavender or 1 teaspoon of dried lavender powder

4 tablespoons of sea salt

2 Coffee filters or large paper tea filters

Kitchen twine or string

Lavender essential oil

Small bowl

Instructions

In a food processor, pulse ½ cup oats and two teaspoons of whole lavender until the mixture becomes a fine powder (if you’re using already crushed dried lavender powder, pulse only the oats).

Add the oats, lavender, and four tablespoons of sea salt into a small bowl. Stir to combine the ingredients.

Split the mixture into two, and scoop into the two tea or coffee filters. If using a coffee filter, gather the edges and tie them together towards the edge with a piece of string. If using a paper filter, tie the bag towards the top with string. Make sure to leave ample space in the bag so the mixture can move around and steep into the bath better.

Voila, you’re finished!!!

How to Use

Draw a bath, and add the satchel when the tub is nearly full, keeping it away from the water stream. Swirl the bag gently to encourage the oat milk to get into the bath, take care to avoid ripping the bag. Then, add four-five drops of lavender oil to the water.

While the tub is filling, light some candles, turn on your favorite podcast, make a mug of herbal tea, and apply a face mask. Sink into the tub and relax.

Cold Brewed Tea Three Ways

It’s HOT in Paris. It’s only in the mid-eighties, but I already can’t deal. My American self is learning how to adjust to life without AC, and let me tell you...it is le difficult. One of my strategies to stay cool is by keeping an icy drink within reach at all times. I enjoy cold brewing teas (and coffee). The cold brewing process helps maintain and capture more of the delicate flavors and fragrances that can be lost sometimes when brewing tea in hot water. You can make cold brewed tea with just about any kind of loose leaf tea or tisane. Here are three fabulous recipes for you to try and adapt this summer!

Time: 10 minutes hands on plus 24 hours for brewing

Servings: 4

Ingredients

See recipes below for ingredients

Equipment

Bottle to store tea

Large container to strain tea into

Large fine mesh sieve

Instructions

Cold brewing coffee, chai, and genmaicha teas

Cold brewed chai and genmaicha tea

A gorgeous tisane with lemon verbena, fuschia, and cassis flowers

Cold Brewing Technique

• The technique for cold brewing tea is to add four teaspoons of tea to four cups of cold or room temperature water (1 teaspoon per cup is the ratio that you can adjust to whatever your container holds). 

• Give the tea a stir. Or, if it’s in a bottle, gently shake to incorporate the tea and water. Brew the tea for 24 hours in the fridge or at room temperature. The benefit to steeping in the fridge is that you’ll have cold tea as soon as you strain it.

• After 24 hours, strain the tea into a clean bottle and store. If you don’t have another clean bottle, strain into a bowl or large measuring cup, rinse out the brewing bottle, and pour the strained tea back into the original bottle. 

• You can cold brew most teas and add spices or herbs as you wish! If you find the tea is too strong, dilute with ice or water and adjust the recipe accordingly in the future. Same advice for if the tea is not strong enough.

• Serve over ice and with honey syrup or simple syrup (Bring 1 part honey or sugar and 1 part water to a boil until just dissolved. Cool before serving with an iced beverage). 

Iced Chai Tea (Inspired by Yasmin’s Chai Recipe)

I adore Yasmin’s chai recipe, but wanted a cold version for summer. J’adore how the saffron’s opulent herbaceous flavor shines along with the cardamom. Simply add four teaspoons of loose black tea, three crushed cardamom pods, and two generous pinches of saffron into four cups of water. Steep as described above and serve over ice with simple syrup if desired. 

Genmaicha

Genmaicha is green tea with toasted brown rice. The rice adds a beautiful nutty flavor and balances the flavors in the green tea. Simply add 4 teaspoons of genmaicha to four cups of water, steep as described above and serve over ice with simple syrup if desired. Be careful not to brew longer than 24 hours or the genmaicha will become thick from the starches in the toasted rice.

Tisane

I learned of tisanes when I moved to France. Tisanes are herbal teas made of local herbs, flowers, and various greenery. I love the different varieties and enjoy having a glass at night when I want something refreshing without caffeine. With tisanes, I find it’s harder to measure with a teaspoon because I’ve often found large leaves that won’t fit into a measuring spoon. I like to use 4-5 big pinches (around a tablespoon per pinch) of the tisane and add it to around 4 cups of water and steep as described above. This gorgeous tisane that I found starts off a blueish purple (due to the cassis flowers) and then turns light brown over time.  

Le Pesto

Ail des ours or bear’s garlic

These days, I spend a significant amount of my free time playing Animal Crossing and researching local shops that sell produce from regional and local farms. I’ve tried ordering paniers, or baskets, of fresh produce, but I’ve discovered that while ordering is convenient, I miss the human interaction and knowledge I gain from going to the market and seeing what is on the shelves each week. Fortunately, in my arrondissement in Paris, I have several beautifully stocked shops to visit. 

I recently acquired this season’s last ail des ours or bear’s garlic. Bear’s garlic is a type of perennial wild onion—most similar to ramps—that grows in the woodlands of Europe and Asia. The leaves and flowers have a beautiful mild garlic flavor and I was so excited to have them as a consolation for missing ramp season back in New York. One thing I learned about the bear garlic and ramps (or any of these wild alliums) is that you want to leave the roots in the soil and harvest them by cutting above the roots because it takes up to seven years for the plant to reach maturity. If you notice that the ramps that you are getting have roots, I encourage you to talk to your vendor/producer to practice sustainable harvesting so that folks can continue enjoying these beauties.

But I digress, back to the pesto! I made two pestos using this very modify-able recipe with some of my bear garlic and also some GORGEOUS turnip tops. I love making pesto using any variety of greens: seasonal alliums, herbs, and vegetable tops (radishes, turnips, beets, carrots, you get the idea…). Making pesto is an easy, creative, and flavorful way to minimize your food waste and jazz pantry staples. Use your fabulous Eco-friendly pesto as a dip for crudites, a sauce for al dente pasta, a sauce to smear on sourdough, or to top your eggs with. Note, this is not in any way an authentic Italian pesto, but how I like to preserve beautiful produce.

Gorgeous turnip tops

Recipe Type: Quick and Easy

Time: 10 minutes 

Ingredients

2 cups greens (ramps, bear’s garlic, vegetable tops) chopped into 2-inch pieces

2 oz Parmesan or Pecorino (2 oz is about the size of 2 golf balls)

1 teaspoon of honey

garlic cloves (omit if using garlicky greens such as ramps/bear’s garlic) 

¼ cup roasted nuts (I like pine nuts, walnuts, and pistachios). 

Juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Around ½ a cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Ail des ours pesto

Instructions

1. In a food processor, pulse the garlic, Parmesan cheese, and roasted nuts until coarsely chopped. 

2. Add the greens a couple of handfuls at a time and pulse until coarsely chopped. If you have a teeny food processor, you can do this in batches.

3. Add honey, lemon juice, and zest and pulse a few more times to incorporate. 

4. Pour in the oil slowly while the food processor is running until you reach your desired consistency. You may need to add more or less depending on your preference. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

5. Store the pesto in a jar and add a layer of oil on the top to prevent oxidation. The pesto should keep about a week in the fridge. You can also freeze your pesto and it will keep for 3 months frozen.

Ma’s Home Fries

My Ma, Judy Coleman—one of my fabulous mother-in-laws, makes the BEST home fries, and has graciously taught me how to make them. This no-recipe recipe can be made with a few ingredients that I usually have on hand and half an hour. Frying and steaming the potatoes and onions simultaneously yields beautifully browned, crisp, and tender morsels with pops of sweetness and umami from the caramelized onions.

Recipe Type: No Recipe Recipe 

Time: 30 min 

Servings: Customizable (The following guidance makes enough for 2. Scale up as needed.)

From: French Omelette & Ma’s Home Fries

Ingredients

3 small/medium potatoes per person - peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes 

½ onion

Cooking Oil 

Pantry spices (I used onion powder/garlic powder/and Slap Yo Mamma Cajun spice mix)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Chopped fresh herbs you have on hand (optional for garnish)

Sour cream or crème fraîche (optional)

Equipment

Nonstick frying pan, 8” or bigger

Lid for pan (or baking sheet to cover)

Wooden Spoon

Instructions

1. Wash and peel potatoes (if you have a thin skinned potato, you can leave skin on) and cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut half an onion into ½ inch slices. 

2. Heat nonstick frying pan over medium high heat and add 2-3 teaspoons of some cooking oil (olive, grape seed, sunflower, etc.).

3. Once the oil is hot, add potatoes and onions to the pan. Sprinkle with your preferred spices and add 2-3 teaspoons of water on top of the potatoes. Cover the pan and cook. You’ll hear the potatoes/onions sizzle while cook. This is great! Leave them alone to do their thing for 2-3 minutes. 

4. After 2-3 minutes, lift the lid and give the potatoes/onions a stir and cover again. Lower the heat to medium and continue stirring every 2-4 minutes. The lid and water will steam the potatoes until they become fall-apart tender while the heat from the bottom of the pan/stove will brown the potatoes and caramelize the onions. If you notice the potatoes starting to burn, then lower the heat and/or add more cooking oil. 

5. Continue cooking and stirring the potatoes and onions until they are browned and there are lots of crusty bits (around 15-30 minutes). You’ll want to stir the potatoes more frequently toward the end of cooking. 

6. Serve immediately. If you have any fresh herbs or sour cream/crème fraîche on hands go ahead and top the potatoes with them. 

Mimosa Deviled Eggs

These French party glamour egg angels are called Oeuf Mimosa because they look like the bright yellow fluffy flowers of Mimosa trees that grow in France (and elsewhere). Create the lewk of these beauties by topping them with hard boiled egg yolks that have been pressed through a sieve to make teeny beautiful fluffy yolks. Since this recipe is quite simple, it is essential to use high quality ingredients so these eggs can transform into the eleganza that they deserve to be.

Mimosa flowers

Recipe Type: Party Food, Snack

Time: 30 min

Servings: 4-6 

Ingredients

7 eggs

¼ cup Homemade Mayo 

Lemon Juice

Chopped chives 

Salt

Pepper

Equipment

Various mixing bowls 

Mesh Sieve

Medium Pot

Spoon

A couple of plates

Knife

Cutting board

Instructions

1. Bring water to boil in a medium sized pot. Once the water boils, lower the heat so that the water is gently simmering. Then, carefully lower the eggs into the simmering water with a large spoon of some sort. You do not want to crack the eggs at this stage. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes. 

2. While the eggs are boiling, prepare a bowl full of ice water and chop chives finely. Set aside. 

3. Once the eggs are cooked put them in the ice water and let chill for 5-10 minutes. This will help you peel the eggs easily. After le ice bath, peel the eggs (it’s easier if you do it in the water), rinse them, and set on a plate lined with a paper towel.

4. Cut eggs in half lengthwise and separate the yolks. Pass 2 yolks at a time through a fine mesh sieve (mine is 6 inches in diameter) placed on top of a bowl. I scrape the egg yolks with a spoon back and forth until you see the egg yolks coming off in a delicate fluff of glory of the other side. Do this for all of your yolks. I promise, this is the most tedious part of the recipe. Make sure to scrape the yolks off the sieve with the back of your spoon GENTLY.

5. Once all of the yolks have been fluffed through the sieve, reserve around 3-4 tablespoons of the yolk to top the eggs later. 

6. In another mixing bowl, add mayonnaise gradually—a couple tablespoons at a time— to the fluffed yolks and mix until you get a creamy filling. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper to taste at the end. 

7. Spoon the egg yolk mixture into the egg white shells. Use one spoon to scoop the filling from the bowl, and one spoon to gently push the filling off of the other spoon into the egg white. Fill all of the egg whites.

8. Then, using a spoon or very dry/clean fingertips, sprinkle the reserved fluffy egg yolk on top of all of the devilled eggs. Top with a sprinkle with chives. Voila, you have a very elegant plate of devilled eggs! 

Le Sunday Roasted Chicken Party (Le Poulet Du Dimanche)

Roast Chicken

Roasted Potatoes with Garlic

Green Salad or Green Beans

On Sunday, Paris slows down. It seems as if folks are choosing to prioritize themselves, their loved ones, and life. I’ve learned that Sundays are for roasting chicken (le poulet du dimanche). If you know me, you know I fuck with chicken. People are always shewk when I pull a beauty bird out of the oven. Here’s the thing though, it’s really easy to do. Go ahead, impress your guests and add this to your culinary portfolio of skills. 

The key to successful bird roasting is to dry brine — salt it the day before you plan to roast. I usually get my chicken the day before I plan to serve it, salt her, and leave her uncovered in the fridge and overnight. The dry brining process seasons the meat while drying out the skin so that it gets super crispy in the oven. When I’m ready to roast, I set the chicken on top of a bed of potatoes with whole cloves of garlic tossed in duck fat and throw her in the oven. The smell of roasting chicken filling our teeny apartment and is a cozy, luxurious, and comforting moment. 

When procuring chicken (or any meat or fish), Romaine and I prefer to eat higher quality meat less frequently. I believe it’s important to get a bird raised without antibiotics or growth hormones. We plan our meals for the week and if we know we are going to splurge on a nice chicken, we will plan more vegetable forward meals for the rest of the week. I recognize and acknowledge that my privilege in my ability to have a choice in the matter. I understand that not everyone has this luxury. In France, it’s easy to find out what kind of chicken you are purchasing. In the states, you have to do a little more research (which is bullshit—we should know what is in our supermarkets without having to do extensive research). Get the highest quality chicken that is within your price range, and do some research if you have to. The chicken that you roast is a good investment because you can freeze the carcass and save it to make chicken stock on another day (I’ll post a recipe soon for stock). 

Recipe Type: Weekend Meal, Easy

Time: 1.5 hours to roast and prep plus 24 hours to salt the chicken

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 whole chicken of the highest quality that you can afford.

Kosher Salt

Pepper

2 lbs of fingerling potatoes scrubbed

1 lb of green beans trimmed

6-7 peeled whole garlic cloves

A couple sprigs of thyme

Equipment

Roasting pan or large cast iron skillet

1 medium pot for green beans

Instructions

Saturday Evening

1. Put around 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt into a small bowl. Take chicken out of the packaging and wipe carefully with paper towels (no need to rinse). Salt the outside and inside of the chicken liberally over the sink so that you keep the raw chicken moments as contained as possible. 

2. Place the chicken on a plate uncovered in your fridge breast side up. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours. This process is known as dry brining - for more information read this guide by Serious Eats.

3. Wash your sink thoroughly with soapy hot water. 

Sunday evening (1-2 hours before you plan to roast your bird)

1. 1-1.5 hours before roasting Pull the chicken out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. 

2. 30 minutes before roasting - wash your potatoes, strain them, and set into the bottom of the roasting rack. Add the whole garlic cloves. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of fat (preferably duck fat if you have, or olive/grape seed oil). Season with salt. 

3. 15 minutes before roasting - preheat oven to 400℉ or 200℃

4. When ready to roast, set the chicken on top of the potatoes. Add a sprig of thyme into the cavity of the chicken and add the rest to the potatoes. 

5. Roast chicken in the oven for around 1 hour until cooked through (about 165 degrees F or 74 degrees C). This will depend on the size of your chicken. Rotate the chicken in the oven halfway through cooking to ensure even cooking. 

6. When cooked through, pull out of oven and let rest for 10 minutes. 

How to Serve

After the chicken has rested, carve the chicken and serve with potatoes and whole garlic cloves.

Serve with boiled green beans or a salad with a simple vinaigrette (one part lemon juice, one part oil, salt/pepper — a teaspoon of Dijon mustard optional)

Timeline for Preparing

Friday or Saturday AM

Go grocery shopping

Saturday 6pm 

Salt chicken 

Sunday 7pm dinner

• 4:45 pm pull chicken out of fridge to come to room temperature 

• 5:30 pm - preheat oven

• 5:45 pm stick chicken in the oven 

• Wash salad greens and prepare vinaigrette or start boiling water for green beans

• 6:45 pm - check on chicken and pull out of oven if ready 

Breakfast Nachos

Nachos are DELICIOUS, easy to make, and such a crowd pleaser. As a Texas raised queen, I grew up with access to beautiful Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. My interpretation of nachos is based on the flavors of my home state and is kind of a template that is customizable to your preferences. Bake these beauties on a half-size baking sheet covered with parchment paper for a low mess meal. You can prepare the ingredients the night before and assemble the nachos right before (or as) your guests arrive. Set the whole tray in the center of the table and let everyone dig in. Easy, chic, delicious!

Breakfast Nachos

Recipe Type: Quick and Easy, Brunch

Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 

From Le Hangover Party menu

Ingredients

Nacho foundation

• One bag of tortilla chips

• Two 8 oz bars of melty cheese. I use a combo of Monterrey Jack and Cheddar you don’t need to buy super fancy cheese for these nachos (you can also buy grated cheese, but usually these cheeses are covered in starch so that it doesn’t stick together in the bag. I don’t much care for that)

• 1 15 oz. can of re-fried beans

Toppings (this is what I used for this round of nachos, but you can use whatever you want)

• 2 Sliced fresh or pickled chilis - I used fresh serrano chilis in this batch

• ½ cup of sliced radishes

• ¼ cup cilantro (wash/dry and pick leaves off or roughly chop - cilantro stems are tender and you can eat them)

• 4-5 bacon slices

• 1 avocado sliced

• 1 lime cut into wedges

• 2-3 green onions sliced

• White vinegar (optional - a couple tablespoons or so)

• 4 eggs

Equipment

• Cheese Grater

• Half-size baking sheet

• Parchment paper 

• Mandoline (optional for slicing vegetables)

• Fish spatula 

• Small saucepan to heat refried beans

• Skillet to cook bacon

Instructions

1. Wash and dry produce in a bowl filled with water and an optional splash of white vinegar (to clean produce).

2. If using bacon, cook the bacon in a skillet. Once cooked, remove from pan onto a paper towel lined plate.

3. Heat canned refried beans in a saucepan with a lid (optional thin out the beans with a little water). Once the beans are bubbling, take them off heat and set aside.

4. Chop/slice/prep all the toppings for your nachos, grate cheese, and set ingredients aside. If you’re planning to make the nachos the next day cover and store in fridge.

5. 15 minutes before you’re ready to heat your nachos, preheat oven to 350 ℉.

6. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and spread chips evenly over the sheet. Distribute re-fried beans over the chips. Then, top with as much cheese as you want. The key to a great bite is to make sure that you cover as many chips with some cheese/beans. Be equitable and intentional in how you distribute ingredients. 

7. Pop the nachos into the oven until the cheese melts. This takes around 10 minutes give or take a few depending on your oven. Keep your eye on the oven. The nachos are ready when the cheese is melted and oozy.

8. When the cheese on the nachos are nearly melted to perfection, begin to fry the eggs. I believe a fish spatula is the best spatula for fried eggs. Set aside on a plate when fried. 

9. Pull the hot nachos out of the oven and scatter all of the toppings all over the nachos and top with the fried eggs.

How to Serve

Serve immediately family style with lacto-fermented hot sauce. I simply put the whole baking sheet in the middle of my table (on top of a trivet or towel of course). Enjoy!