Alice B. Toklas was Gertrude Stein's other half, an American expatriate in Paris in the early 20th century, as renowned for her cooking skills as for her physical homeliness. A writer in her own right, she notably produced one of the most entertaining cooking-related books of all time, The Alice B. Toklas Cookbook, published in 1954.
In this book, Miss Toklas muses on her shared social life with Stein, glosses over the complex nuances of living as a Jewish lesbian in France during the war, and produces anecdotes and recipes of dishes cooked for the illustrious company the women kept -- Picabia's eggs, bass for Picasso -- as well as the cult favorite Gigot de la Clinique. In this recipe, procured by bribing the country cook of a surgeon from the French provinces, a leg of mutton is marinated in wine for 8 days, turned twice a day and injected with a syringe full of cognac and fresh orange juice before being roasted.
Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935) was a legendary French chef, restaurateur and cookbook writer who began cooking at age 13 as an apprentice in his uncle's restaurant in Nice. He later formed a fruitful partnership with César Ritz, and Escoffier became an ambassador of French cooking throughout the world from his base at London's Savoy Hotel. The partners went on to open the Paris Ritz and a number of other hotels.
Escoffier essentially modernized French cuisine by updating and simplifying the path paved by Carême. Published in 1903, Escoffier's authoritative Le Guide Culinaire is still a reference for aspiring chefs, and he wrote a number of other works. He invented the peach melba in honor of Australian singer Nellie Melba; a chaud-froid Jeannette in homage to an ice-bound ship; and a frog's leg dish for the Prince of Wales. Emperor William II famously called him "the emperor of the world's kitchens."
Escoffier retired at age 74 after an unprecedented 62-year career, and died at the ripe old age of 89.
What can't you do with an egg? You can't grill it, but you can boil it, broil it, fry it, roast it, scramble it, simmer it, steam it or drop it from 10 meters in a balsam wood cage.
incredible The really amazing thing about the egg is the versatility of textures it can create. It can be as light as a meringue, and as dense as a pound cake. It all depends on how you rearrange an egg's proteins--break them apart and whip them full of air, or use them to bind together heavier ingredients like cream and sugar.
colorblind Some chickens produce white eggs, others brown. Some are even blue. Among the common grocery store offerings, there isn't too much difference, whatever the color.
put together An egg is made up of a couple of different components: a semi-permeable outer shell, a viscous "albumen" or white, and the center yolk, which is also made up of microscopic layers. Many recipes call for either the yolk or the white alone. Don't worry, separating them is is easy enough to do.
sinker As eggs age, they gradually lose moisture through the pores inthe shells. So an old egg will be much less dense than a new one. You can test an egg's relative freshness by putting it in a bowl of cold water; the fresher it is, the faster it sinks. And if it floats, toss it out.
no boil Don't let the name fool you. Actual boiling water is too violent for cooking eggs; the constant bubbling shifts them around, possibly cracking the shell and letting the white leak out. Eggs should be cooked in barely simmering water, 3-5 minutes for soft boiled or coddled eggs, 10-15 minutes for hard boiled.
what you need
A nonstick pan is almost essential for eggs. It lets you fry or scramble or make an omelet without using a lot of butter. Unless you want to, of course.
For the true egg devotee, try any of the recipes in The Good Egg: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Breakfast to Dessert. Make sure to pick up a few dozen eggs first.
If you're a stickler for perfectly round fried eggs (it can't overlap your English muffin, after all), try an egg form.
what you do
The lightest of desserts, this Apple Snow will look graceful on any table.
Try your eggs Passover- style with Matzo Brie. Think of it as Jewish French toast.
When scrambled eggs grow up, they become quiche. And what little scramble wouldn't want to be an elegant Quiche Lorraine?
These Spicy Baked Eggs with Tofu are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or that late-night craving.
featured recipe
This springy Pasta with Leeks, Asparagus, Mushrooms, And Fried Eggs is the featured recipe of this week's Root Source Challenge. We loved the creaminess of the cheese combined with the yolk of the egg. Congratulations to Amy and Jonny of We Are Never Full.
Pâte brisée is French for short cut pastry.
It is made from equal parts fat (butter, lard, margarine or shortening) and flour, which is worked together and then bound with a small amount of water or egg yolk.
A pâte brisée has a fragile, crumbly texture and does not rise when baked. It is the pastry of choice for quiche and tarts and can be used for both savory and sweet dishes. The pastry can also be made with or without a small quantity of sugar (about 1 tablespoon or to taste).
How to make smooth custard fillings
How to make smooth custard fillings
If you want to make sure your cheesecake, ice cream, pudding, quiche filling or pumpkin pie has a smooth, uniform texture, use a fine-meshed sieve or a fine chinois to strain the custard before cooking.
Using a super-fine chinois will even remove the white, string-like chalaza from the mixture. Inside the egg, the chalaza acts as a seatbelt for the yolk, preventing it from bobbing all over the developing chick; cooked in a recipe, the chalaza becomes a rubbery piece of protein that often goes unnoticed but prevents the finished dish from achieving its nirvana of smoothness.
Lardons is the French term for small matchstick-cut pieces of bacon or larding fat cut from the belly of pork. They are used to add moisture to lean meats while roasting, or in stews, fricassees, fried dishes, and more.
Lardons are often blanched before using to remove excess salt and fat. A main ingredients of Quiche Lorraine, hot fried lardons added to a frisée salad along with a poached egg make a French bistro classic.
