February 2017

Bistro Chicken

Chicken Simple Bistro Roasted

     Bistro food is basic unpretentious food served in a casual setting. It’s the French answer to comfort food. Although the dishes are simple and the recipes are not complicated, high preparation standards and innovative approaches are maintained.      Thomas Keller wrote a cookbook, Bouchon, about bistro food.  One of the recipes in his book is Simple Roast Chicken. It has few ingredients and is easily prepared. As it states in the directions, truss the bird, salt and pepper it, put it in a roasting pan, and bake it an…

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Rack of pork roast

Pork Rack With Mushroom Pan Sauce

      My new favorite way to cook a pork roast is to purchase a 5-bone rack . If you want to get fancy, have the butcher “French” the bones. It will make for a delightful presentation and it is delicious.      This is in stark contrast to the pork I’m used to eating. It seems to me the majority of the really bad meals I’ve eaten over the course of my life have involved pork. I’ve choked down uninteresting, unpalatable, and barely digestible roasts. I’ve struggled with loins that couldn’t be saved…

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coulibiac

Coulibiac – Salmon And Brown Rice (Simplified Version)

     If unique is what you are seeking in a salmon recipe, try a coulibiac.  It’s essentially a pastry loaf containing salmon baked with rice, vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, wine, herbs, and spices.  I read about it in the July 29, 2013, edition of The New Yorker magazine in an article titled “Cooking With Daniel,” where author Bill Buford (author of the book Heat) and Daniel Boulud recreate three French dishes, one of them being coulibiac.  Originally A Russian Dish      It’s origin is Russia and was adapted to French cuisine…

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