Monthly Archives: July 2018

CLAFOUTIS

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This month I’ve heard about France more than usual.  First, there was Bastille Day, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille in 1789.  Not being French, I don’t celebrate this holiday, but when I worked in Manhattan, my law firm had a French office, and held a Bastille Day happy hour every year.  This, however, was largely viewed as an opportunity to announce your availability to work late, and thus, was usually poorly attended because it wasn’t worth risking your evening for a little brie and cheap wine.  Perhaps a better way to celebrate might have just been to set out in the kitchen a “Best Deal” cake from the nearest French bakery, like this disaster from a French bakery here in Houston:

French fail

Next was the World Cup, which culminated with France’s win.  Pretty exciting, if you were rooting for France.

And then there’s the annual Tour de France with its spandex rainbow of superhuman zero-bodyfat cyclist bots, which started on July 7.  My husband follows it, and I watch it with him until I get bored, which is usually pretty early on.

But wait, there’s more!  My friend treated me to a cooking class at Sur La Table.  We really enjoyed the class and our instructor Nick, who talked nonstop and was just full of information.

We made a chicken thigh dish, a fabulous summer squash salad, and clafoutis — a baked French dessert with fruit, traditionally black cherries, arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter.  I’d made clafoutis once before, and it came out dry as dust.  This one, served warm out of the oven, custardy and bursting with tart raspberries, was my favorite dish of the evening.  I couldn’t wait to make it at home — in fact I made two and brought one to a neighbor — where it was a hit.  I’m in love with this dessert — it’s quick and easy to make, and is a comforting end to a meal that makes excellent use of summer produce.  If you’re feeling indulgent, serve it dusted with powdered sugar and a side of vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream — just make sure you serve it warm, when it is at its best.  And so, to wrap up all the France-ness July brought, here is the recipe for clafoutis, for you to bring a little ooh-la-la to your table.

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CLAFOUTIS
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Recipe type: Dessert
 
Ingredients
  • For the batter:
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • ⅔ cup flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • For the fruit:
  • 1 cup fresh fruit -- pitted cherries, raspberries, blueberries, etc.
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vanilla-flavored sugar* (can also use regular or turbinado sugar)
  • *To make vanilla-flavored sugar, cut a vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place 2 cups of sugar in a food processor and add the seeds. Pulse until combined. Store in a glass jar. (Tip: Add the scraped vanilla bean to a container of sugar to infuse the sugar with the vanilla flavor.)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and position oven rack in center of oven. Butter an 8-inch round cake pan and set aside.
  2. To prepare batter: Add milk, eggs, and vanilla in a food processor or blender, and process until well combined. Add the sugar and blend until smooth. Drizzle in the melted butter and blend until smooth. Add the flour and salt and continue blending until smooth.
  3. To prepare the fruit: In a medium bowl, combine the fruit, flour, and sugar, tossing to lightly coat the fruit. Set aside.
  4. To prepare the clafoutis: Pour the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the fruit over the top, shaking off any excess flour from the fruit. Sprinkle the vanilla sugar over the top. Bake until clafoutis is golden brown and set in the center, approximately 25-30 minutes. The clafoutis will puff up during baking and fall as it cools. Serve warm.

Ready for the oven

Easy, comforting, and delicious

COLORADO GETAWAY

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Last week we traveled to Colorado, spending two nights in Denver before heading to a securities law conference in Avon.  We were looking forward to a break from the Texas heat, but as is so often the case for us, it was as hot in Denver as it was in Houston.

Vacation fail

In Denver, we stayed at the Hotel Born.  It had the hip vibe that Kimptom Hotels do so well (have to keep telling myself it’s hip to be square), including a cozy lobby, whimsical art, and attractive and comfortable room:

The hotel was located just steps away from the historic Union Station (est. 1881), which was beautifully renovated in 2012:

We spent the better part of a day at the Denver Botanic Gardens:The spectacular botanic garden is huge — set on 24 acres — and features Gardens of the West, Internationally Inspired Gardens, Ornamental Gardens, Shady Gardens, and Water Gardens:

The Denver Rose Society was holding its annual Rose Show at the garden — so many beautiful roses and interesting presentations, along with very serious rose enthusiasts:

I know you can’t wait to find out which rose won Best of Show.  Well, here you go:
We shared a light bite at the garden’s Offshoots Cafe (one of two restaurants at the garden) — a salad of broccoli, cauliflower, pepitas, and currants, hibiscus tea, and of course, a flower cookie:

We also visited the Denver Art Museum:

Although the permanent collections were closed due to renovations, there were interesting exhibitions, including works by Jeffrey Gibson:

And Animals in Art:

We were fascinated by an exhibition of members of the Rocky Mountain Lace Guild, who enthusiastically demonstrated their craft (I don’t know anyone that makes lace, do you?):This woman hand-decorated her bobbins, each one a little work of art:We had some great meals in Denver.  The first was dinner at Rioja (James Beard Foundation Best Chef Southwest 2013), a Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Denver:

We enjoyed appetizers of kampachi tiradito (with pickled mushroom, fresno chile, carrot, salsa verde, soy-lavender ponzu, and coriander crisps) and roasted beets with (blood orange, black sesame tahini, sweet potato, and mustard greens):

Entrees of artichoke tortellini (with artichoke mousse, white truffle brodo, queso de Mano, and chervil) and whiskey-brined pork chop (with savory eclair, porcine pastry cream, fava beans, lemon confit, whiskey demi, and sorrel puree):

And a wonderful lemon yuzu tart (with lemon yuzu sabayon, sweet cornmeal sucre, pine nut brittle ice cream, and lemon confit) for dessert:We had a great brunch at Wendell’s, a recently-opened contemporary diner in the Berkeley neighborhood:

Sipping a Bloody Mary on the cheery patio was a great way to start the day.  Blueberry scone didn’t hurt either:

Followed by seeded toast No. 4 (with avocado, pickled beets, and herbed ricotta), and the New York Deli Benedict (with poached egg, smoked lox, tomato, red onion, fried capers, citrus hollandaise, bagel, and mixed greens), both of which were delicious:

But the thing that really wowed us was a simple brûléed half grapefruit, with its crackle of brown sugar and sweet juices.  You can’t really see it in the photo, but it was served with a grapefruit spoon, something I haven’t seen since I was a kid, complete with pointy tip and serrated sides, and now can’t live without:

We also had a wonderful meal at Mercantile at Union Station.

This dinner was special because my friend Karen and her husband Mark joined us.  Karen is an award-winning home cook, and as one of the first people to follow my blog she holds a special place in my heart.  We chatted over, among other things, Market Provisions, beef tartare, heirloom tomato salad, pan-roasted barramundi, and chermoula roasted brassicas (forgive the pictures, which do not do justice to the food):

Before leaving Denver we grabbed lunch at the Denver Milk Market, a slick-looking food hall with 16 different concepts (i.e., something for everyone):

It was hard to pick from the 16, but we finally settled on poke and really tasty bao:

We hit the road for Avon for the conference, which was held at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch:

Breakfast and lunch buffets at the hotel were served outdoors, something we won’t be enjoying in Houston for many months:

The conference organizers arranged for a wide variety of activities for the attendees and their families, including a bumpy, dusty jeep ride to view alpine wildflowers:

One of the dinners was held in a rustic setting at 4 Eagle Ranch:

Before dinner, we learned about falcons and eagles:

Another dinner was held at the mountaintop Spruce Saddle Lodge in nearby Beaver Creek, and involved a long tram ride to get there (thank goodness they didn’t make us ride a chairlift up):

The conference organizers provided a wonderful Colorado experience for us, and the time spent there was relaxing and enjoyable.  We met some really nice people, and heard some great war stories.  After all the great meals in Denver, however, the banquet food paled in comparison (which is just an observation, not a complaint).  It was hard to think about leaving the cool Colorado weather knowing the heat and humidity (and flooding) we were returning to, but knowing what was waiting for us at home made it easier.

We missed Jasper and Maisy like crazy.