Cinco de Mayo

Battle of Puebla

photo from wikipedia

 Bah humbug, to quote Charles Dickens' grumpy old Ebenezer Scrooge.  Why would I want to celebrate the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862?  Do Americans really know what they are celebrating?  Does anyone really care?  No, especially when it involves cold Corona beer with lime alongside chips and salsa.  The history of the whole celebration gets lost in the mariachis and quesadillas.  The truth of it is is that Napoléon III sent some Frenchies to Mexico, along with some Brits and Spaniards, to check out what was happening and collect money.

Napoléon III

 The Nevada Observer

I am sure he needed some funds for something.  Building something nice in Paris, peut-être?  Somewhere along the line, though, the Brits and Spaniards decided to cut their losses and go home, leaving the French troops to deal with a misunderstanding between the two governments.  The Mexican villagers saw Frenchies marching in, figured that negotiations had broken down and they were coming to do battle.  That seems rather logical, doesn't it?  Maybe no one thought to ask.  Or maybe the Frenchies couldn't speak Spanish and the Mexicans couldn't speak French.  Who knows?  Maybe they should've sat down to dinner and talked it out, gesturing as best they could.  Anyway, the Mexicans were beaten in a skirmish (score a little one for the French), retreated to Puebla, a well-fortified spot.  The French general mistakenly thought that the folk of Puebla were on his side (bad info) and against the advice of those in-the-know, decided to attack.  They ran out of ammunition pretty quickly, retreated, a big rain storm made a mess of mud everywhere and, at the end of the day, 462 Frenchies and 82 Mexicans had died (in French, you can say ils ont disparu-- they disappeared, they can't be found, they ceased to exist.  Kind of like our passing away, I guess.  See how confusing it can be sometimes?)
Back to our battle at hand.  It was an impressive victory, BUT the Frenchies regrouped, Napoléon III sent in more troops, and won the second battle of Puebla on May 17, 1863, if Wikipedia is to be believed.  May 5th isn't even a holiday in Mexico.  A lot of misguided Americans think it is the Mexican independence day.  Nope.  Non.  Just a good excuse to drink Corona, as I stated earlier.
And to be clear here, Napoléon III should not be confused with his uncle, Napoléon I

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml

or with Napoleon Dynamite.

 http://www.moviefone.com/movie/napoleon-dynamite/18465/main

(The t-shirt is a bit suspect, considering what we are discussing here, don't you think?)

Since it is Friday, May 4, the eve of Cinco de Mayo, I came home from school and decided to make good use of a couple of avocados in my refrigerator and a can of black beans.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Guacamole
1 1/2 cups

1 large or 2 small ripe avocado, mashed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, or more to taste
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce to taste
1 2-ounce jar diced pimentos, drained, optional
2 slices very crisp bacon, crumbled, optional
1/3 cup mayonnaise

1.  Mash avocados.  Add onion, lemon juice, salt, chili powder, and hot sauce (to taste). If desired, add optional ingredients.  Mix well.
2.   Spread top with the mayonnaise and chill at least one hour before serving.
3.   Stir mayonnaise into mixture before serving.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Black Bean Dip
2 cups

1 15-ounce can black beans or black-eyed peas
1 Tbsp. chopped jalapeño peppers, fresh or canned
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. picante sauce
1 1/4 c. grated cheese (mild Cheddar or combination of Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Freshly ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2.  Drain beans and discard juice.
3.  Mash beans with a fork, leaving some chunks.  (Do not use blender or processor.)
4.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of cheese, and mix well.
5.  Pour into a 1-quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  (May be prepared ahead to this point refrigerated.)
6.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
7.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Bon appétit!  ¡Buen provecho!  Here's to chips and salsa!

Red Rouge

These past few days, I've been seeing red.
Red ripe juicy strawberries from the Durham Farmers' Market.

Red chicken combs in Dave's flock at Elodie Farms.

Red Apples to Apples card.  Interesting one, huh?

Red roses in bloom all over town right now, this one at Elodie Farms.

Red beer tent from Fullsteam.

No red beer, but a nice cold one on a hot day fetched just for me by the Ex-Ex so we could explore Dave's farm.

Red cherry tomatoes (or maybe grape tomatoes?) in the salad prepared by Jean-y.  Seriously good salad (still waiting for the poppyseed dressing recipe, girlfriend...)

Red book!!  About Paris, no less.

I saw an article about this book in The Independent, a weekly newspaper here in the Triangle. 

Think that cover caught my attention??
Rosecrans Baldwin spent 18 months living in Paris and then came home to write about the experience, calling it Paris,  I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down.

Trust me, if you love stories about Paris and good writing, you will love this one.  He read a couple of excerpts from the book at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill and really had me laughing at the story, the storytelling, and the storyteller. 

His love of France began while he was enrolled in 7th grade French.  Pay attention, mes élèves.  This may happen to you, too.
The BFF, Arles Lucy, and I had a great time.  I love to drag others along on my adventures.
We ate personal pizzas at Foster's Market, right next door before the reading.  I took no photos...  But trust me, the Frenchie pizza, with grilled ratatouille vegetables, garlic olive oil, and chèvre was délicieuse.
And last but not least, rounding out my tribute to rouge, is the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake that one of my advisees made and brought to school. 

This year, I have an amazingly talented trio of 7th grade boys who like to bake.  Pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, red velvet cake...

This is quite possibly the best cake I have ever put in my mouth.
Try it.  See for yourself.
You might see red, too.  But in a good way, bien sûr.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
from RecipeGirl

12-14 servings

Ingredients

Cheesecake:
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (two 1-ounce bottles) red food coloring
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted lightly to remove any lumps
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract


Prepare the cheesecake layer:  Preheat oven to 325˚F.  Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the over.  Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil.  Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.  Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan (you want to seal it so that water from the water bath doesn't seep into the pan).  In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese. Blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy.  Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition.  Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Set the pan into the roasting pan in the preheated oven.  Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the roasting pan (it will fill the pan surrounding the cheesecake).  Pour enough water so that there is about an inch of water coming up the foil along the sides of the cheesecake pan.  Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes.  It should be set to the touch and not jiggly.  Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour.  When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely.  This can be done in several hours or overnight.

Prepare the cake layers:  Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round metal baking pans (or spray with nonstick baking spray with flour).  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar to the flour mixture.  Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat on high for 2 minutes.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans, dividing equally.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of the pans, then invert cakes onto a rack to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not overbeat).


Assemble the cake:  Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter.  Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan.  Peel off the parchment.  Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers.  If the cheesecake layer turns out to be slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers.  Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer.  Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.

Frost the cake:  Apply a crumb-coat layer to the cake-- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin layer of frosting.  Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (this way you won't be transferring any red crumbs into the bowl of frosting).  Don't worry at this point about the crumbs being visible in the frosting on the cake.  When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to "set" the frosting.  Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the second layer.  Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake.  Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake, too.  Because you applied a crumb-coat layer, you shouldn't have any red crumbs floating around in the final frosting.  Decorate as desired.**  Keep this cake refrigerated.  If you are serving it at a party, it's okay to leave it at room temperature for an hour or so while serving.  Otherwise, keep it in the refrigerator.  It freezes perfectly and thaws quickly.


**RecipeGirl suggests white chocolate shavings.   To make these, purchase a hunk of white chocolate.  Microwave the chocolate to soften it up slightly (15 to 30 seconds, depending on the size).  Use a potato peeler to run down the side of the chocolate to create shards/shaves/curls of white chocolate.  "I like to shave it onto a paper plate and then just use the plate to slide the chocolate onto the top of the cake."

My 7th grade boy used red sprinkles.  Very pretty.

See RecipeGirl for credits.

Bon appétit, young bakers and all things rouge!

Love People

This is a bumper sticker I saw this morning in the parking lot at the Durham Farmers' Market.  It's just that simple, isn't it?  I wish I knew who made that up, who said it first, so that I could give him/her  credit.  Most Saturdays, the Ex-Ex and I go to Durham Central Market and just wander around without a real plan.  We see a few folks we know, shoppers and vendors.  Sometimes we get a cup of coffee or a treat.  Most times we just wander and look, touch, and smell.  It is my favorite way to spend an hour or so on Saturday morning.
This morning we went with a plan, though.  Or at least I did.  He doesn't really care what I buy or what I am scheming.  He is easy... as long as there will be meat in the meal.  He invited some of our dearest friends to dinner tonight chez nous.  Very impressive that he did this all on his own.  Well, I did get a text asking if we had plans.  But I think that the invitation had already been extended by the time I got the text and responded.  My wheels started turning.  I mentally started going through the cookbook in my mind.  If you love to cook, you know what I am talking about.  If not, just keep eating what people like me make for you.  It's okay.  Really.
Dessert formed first.  Fanny's mousse au chocolat with Lyon Farms strawberries on the side.  'Tis the season, after all.

There were also nice potatoes at their stand.  Baked with some olive oil, sea salt, and rosemary from my very own garden.  Easy.

Loaf bakery's freshly made pain de campagne went into the bag next.  Who could resist? I love to make bread, but I have never come up with a loaf that looks this good.

A visit to the market is not complete with tasting Elodie Farms goat cheese.

Dave was no where to be seen, though.  Getting ready for tomorrow's festivities at the farm, I bet.  He is hosting the Durham Central Market Family Farm Day tomorrow (April 28 2-8 pm).
(Another great bumper sticker spotted this morning--)

I plan to be there to meet the goats who give their milk to make such amazing chèvre.  I bought a couple of little goodies to serve on the Loaf bread.

Time to figure out the main dish.  The meat.  I pulled out Even More Special, a cookbook put out by the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties back in 1986.  This book has never steered me wrong.  Pork Roast caught my eye.  Scanning the list of ingredients confirmed that this would be an excellent choice.  (It is in the oven this very minute!)

Heavenly smells for the Ex-Ex as he vacuums and sweeps to get ready for our guests.  A little inspiration, peut-être?
I headed down to Wine Authorities for the Saturday tasting and found a lovely bottle of Côtes du Rhône red.  I am partial to that wine.  Can't help it after the months in Arles.  I found this bottle, Mas de Libian, at Vinodrome's suggestion, in the back of the store--

then saw the display!

He promises it will go very well with my roast.  Undoubtedly.  He doesn't mind that I almost always buy French stuff.  He does convince me to try other things, though, and I've never had a less than delicious bottle from WA.
This is the dry white I used for the roast-

I threw some locally made crackers

and Giacomo's salami into my shopping bad before heading home.

Time to tie on the apron (I still use my white Sabbatical Chef one) and get busy.
The candles are lit and our friends will arrive soon!

Bon appétit!  Keep loving and cooking.

Pork Roast
6 servings

1 4-5 lb. pork roast
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch pieces
1 onion, sliced
2-3 stalks, sliced with leaves
Fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
1 10 1/2- oz. can beef consommé
1/4 c. dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450˚F.
2. Mix together salt, pepper, thyme, and nutmeg.  Rub into roast, especially on the fat.
3. Put meat into roasting pan along with carrots, onion, celery, parsley, and bay leaf.
4. Pour consommé and wine over roast.
5. Brown at 450˚ for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to 350˚ and bake, uncovered, for 3 hours or until meat thermometer reaches 165˚.
7. During baking, prick and baste roast occasionally.  If liquid evaporates, add water to the pan.
8. Pour lemon juice over the roast five minutes before removing it from the oven.

Hint:  This dish is also good cold.

Bon appétit!  Keep loving and cooking.

Le Marché d'Aligre

Come go with me to the Marché d'Aligre in Paris.  It's very nice on Sunday mornings. It's in the 12th arrondissement, as you can see on the sign.  We'll take the métro to the Gare de Lyon and walk from there.   Just follow me.  But watch out for the green guy and cross the street when he beckons.  Parisian drivers are a bit reckless, you know.

You can find most anything here, but we'll just look at the food and flowers, if you don't mind.
Want to make ratatouille later on today?
You'll need--
les aubergines

les courgettes

 
et les tomates.

Maybe other vegetables or légumes are what you are looking for?

Some fruit, peut-être?
The strawberries or fraises from Spain are beautiful.  But please do not touch.  Wouldn't want to get your hand slapped, would you?

Take a peek inside our bag... We'll eat these later.  They may not last that long, though.

Or maybe pomegranates?

De la Californie?

They are a long way from home.  Even farther away than we are.
Maybe flowers, too, like this man?  Perhaps he is buying them for his sweetie?  Or taking them to his mom when he goes to see her for lunch?

I tend to be nosy, so I enjoy checking out other people's shopping bags...

And also their carts -- if I lived in France I would own one of these trucs for all my market purchases--

If we peer through the windows of this shop long enough,

maybe the very nice shopkeeper will invite us inside.

And let us take pictures of all his stuff.  We know we really shouldn't buy anything because we can't really take much back home with us.  But he sells some really cool stuff.
My high school French teacher was from Soissons, but I don't understand the connection with the beans-

This shop is the oldest one on the street, according to M. Shopkeeper.
Okay, so I found one thing to take home.  It doesn't weigh much and I really, really want it.

Okay, it's time for lunch.  All this looking at food has made me very hungry.
Au revoir for now, Marché d'Aligre.   See you in July when I return to Paris with my friends.  À bientôt!

I did bring home that bag of risotto.  I waited to make it until Mme P and Mme Boop (aka MLQ and la Princesse) came to visit me here in Durham.

It was délicieux.

And just remembering where I bought it and the lovely morning spent at the marché made it even more special. Add friends to share it with and life is good, n'est-ce pas?

I found a recipe that is a close approximation of the contents of the bag.  I love risotto and love to make it.  It takes a special kind of patience.  I often buy a rotisserie chicken from Harris Teeter and save the bones and leftover stuff after we've picked off most of the meat.  Throw it all in a pot, add some water and a couple of bay leaves, simmer for a couple of hours, and voilà, really good chicken broth for risotto-making.

Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto
4-6 servings
from www.food.com

6 c. chicken or vegetable broth
1 c. dried shiitake mushrooms
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 c. finely chopped shallots
3 c. thinly sliced cremini mushrooms
1/4 c. chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. minced fresh thyme
2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. Arborio rice
Black truffle oil, optional
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Bring broth to a simmer in a medium-sized pot.
2. Add dried shiitake mushrooms and simmer for about 2 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender.
3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mushrooms to a plate.
4. When cool enough to handle, coarsely chop them.
5. Cover the broth and keep warm over very low heat.
6. In a medium-sized saucepan over moderate heat, sauté the shallots for about 5 minutes; add the cremini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, and cook until mushrooms are tender and most of the moisture has been released, about 7 minutes.
7. Add the garlic, shiitakes, herbs, spices, and salt; sauté another 3 minutes.
8. Add the rice and stir with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes.
9. Add 1 cup of broth, stirring often, simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 6 minutes.
10. Continue to cook and stir, adding more broth by cupfuls, until the rice is tender and creamy and all of the broth is absorbed. (If the rice is not tender yet but you are out of broth, keep adding hot water in the same manner as the broth until the rice is tender and creamy.)  This should take 20-30 minutes.
11. Spoon onto plates and sprinkle some truffle oil and/or Parmesan over each serving, if desired.

Bon appétit, Marché d'Aligre and risotto shared with good friends!