Dark Soubise, Reviving a Classic

This evening I discovered a delicious, yet obscure French classic, Dark Soubise. It's named for an 18th century French nobleman, Charles de Rohan who was the Prince of Soubise according to Larouse Gastronomique. I was introduced to it a couple of months ago when it made a brief appearance on the menu where I work served on a delicious cheeseburger. Out of curiosity and in the name of research, I prepared it on Monday as part of my weekly cooking project. We had it for dinner after work tonight and WOW!  What a wonderful treat - hearty, deep, and rich in flavor without weighing heavily on the stomach.  Best of all, you can make it from chicken and beef scraps that might otherwise go to waste.

Mulled Wine

My quest for mulled wine began a week or so ago when one of my Facebook friends posted a status update searching for a recipe for it. I'd never made it before, and I didn't want to be left out on what I felt was a challenge, so I went to the Internet and started doing some reading on the subject.  It's enjoyed the world over, but particularly in cold mountainous climate.  I have a feeling that traditionally, after the harvest, a certain percentage of wine usually went bad because folks didn't have a good understanding of fermentation science.  It's not unusual even today for a fermentation to stop for no good reason, but because we have a better understanding of how this process works, there are methods for aiding a "stuck" fermentation.  It seems that the industrious winemakers would take their lemons and simply turn them into lemonade or mulled wine in this case.

Red Beans and Rice Majastueux

Christmas at the Majestic was a fantastic affair.  Since I had to work at the restaurant on Christmas Eve, I wasn't able to spend Christmas Day with family in Louisiana, so I decided to bring Louisiana to Boston for myself and my friends.  Company started arriving around 4:30 and the party continued through the evening and into the wee hours of the morning.  It was wonderful to be around so many people that I love.  I was especially delighted to see some friends that I hadn't seen in about seven years.  What a fantastic holiday treat!

The Humble and Delicious Lentil

As the official date of the first day of winter rapidly approaches, my thoughts and appetite turn to hearty, homey slow foods. Things like braised beef short ribs, vegetable soup, and stewed lentils are all on the top of my list during the colder months. I especially love lentils because they are so easy to prepare, can be saved in dried form for a long time, are cheap, and are full of protein and nutrients. Perhaps, best of all is the fact that they are so versatile and go great on their own, or can also be served as a side dish or cold in a salad as a first course. You can add them to soups to stretch it, or mix them in with cooked rice. I could go on and on with ways to use lentils, but I digress...