Long before commercial production of Herbes de Provence began in the 1970s, this versatile aromatic mix was popular with Provençal grandmothers, who crushed it between their fingers before using it to add complex herbal flavor to roast chicken, marinated meats, soups and vegetable dishes. You can now find Herbes de Provence in supermarkets and farmer’s markets throughout the world. But you may have all the ingredients needed to make Herbes de Provence yourself right in your very own cupboard.

Recipe: Goat Cheese With Pastis And Herbes De Provence (Cookthink)

Photo: Smoked Salmon And Fennel With Green Sauce On Toast (Cookthink)

A tartine (tar-TEEN) is a fun-to-say French word that means bread that is spread with something — whether it’s a baguette smeared with butter and dipped in morning coffee, a round of goat cheese melted on a slice of country bread and served on a bed of greens or what English-speakers would call an open-faced sandwich (or, to borrow a word from our Italian friends, a crostini). Dressed sparingly with a few harmonious and well-chosen ingredients, a tartine sliced into one or two-inch strips also makes an easy, inexpensive and informal hors d’oeuvre to serve with drinks.

In my constant quest to make use of parsley stems, parmesan rinds and other remnants that often get snubbed and tossed, I found myself wondering about those green leaves at the end of a pile of rhubarb stalks I picked up at the farmers market yesterday afternoon. Were they off-limits or had I just been ignoring them all my rhubarb-eating years? So I did a little research to find out if rhubarb leaves were edible. Here’s what I found out.

A composed salad (or salade composée in French) refers to a salad in which an assortment of ingredients are arranged aesthetically on a plate and drizzled with vinaigrette, rather than tossed with it.

This type of salad isn’t a sidekick to the main meal, but a meal in itself. A successful composed salad should have a balance of colors, flavors and textures. The possibilities are really endless.

One famous example is the salade niçoise, a specialty of Nice that includes crudités, hard-boiled eggs, anchovies, and sometimes tuna, rice, potatoes or green beans (although what properly constitutes a salade niçoise is a matter of personal taste and heated debate). Here’s our take on the salade niçoise.

Find out what this very stingy British bishop has to do with a glass of port.

Considered Mexican snack food, tortilla chips were actually popularized in Los Angeles in the middle of the 20th century and first conceived as a solution to a problem.

Cousin to the crumble and the crisp, this fruity American dessert has many puzzling nicknames, including the Betty, Buckle, Sonker, Grunt and Slump.

You know it when you see it, but what exactly is ham?

And if you’re planning to make ham for Easter Sunday, why not try it baked with Bourbon or an apricot glaze?

Photo: Maple Plum Crumble (Cookthink)

These homey baked fruit desserts — invented in Britain during World War II and long popular on both sides of the pond — are separated only by a common language.

Giving unbaked bread dough, pie or pastry crust a good egg wash seals the dough and gives it a glossy finish once it comes out of the oven.