Sour Cream Rosemary Potatoes

Posted on November 17, 2011 by petitedecadence

There are some things in life that are always good; finding unexpected money in one of your drawers, receiving a call from someone you miss, having warm feet….it’s a long list. And on that list (at least mine), potatoes will always have a place. I think I can say, with certainty, that I’ve never declined a good potato dish. In any of it’s variants. They’re just so good and go with everything…and there are so many ways you can cook them. They make any ingredient shine. But there’s a few ingredients that will always be glory to me when baked alongside this lovely tubers: cream, butter, rosemary, and cheese. So here goes a version using a couple of those; rosemary and sour cream. It’s an incredibly fast and easy dish, and it’s also clean. You’ll only need the chopping board, knife, and dish where you’ll be baking. And the result is so good you’ll hardly believe it was that simple. Read more for the recipe.

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Bake-a-lot-‘of-em – Banana and chia muffins

Posted on November 9, 2011 by petitedecadence

You know when you’re craving something sweet, but hearty, and fluffy, and full of flavor and wholesome and filling and incredibly delicious? And possibly also cute? ok, maybe you don’t crave cute. But these muffins certainly fall into all of those categories. They’re so good that when you start sharing them you’re going to regret not having made more. That’s why I’m telling you from the beginning; bake a whole lot of ’em because people are going to be asking for more. Or you are. Bring them to work, to school, to your friends at the gym and tell them they lie don’t have butter lie so they’ll too have some. And then you’ll be loved by everyone and be declared queen or king of the world. Ok, I also lied about that last part. But some of your friends might consider it, since on top of being so good by themselves, they’re covered with an incredibly good cream-vanilla glaze, courtesy of Jessica at How Sweet It Is. Read more for the recipe.

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Love in a bowl – Serrano Parmesano Risotto

Posted on November 1, 2011 by petitedecadence

Remember that time when you ate risotto for lunch and dinner and next day lunch? No? You’ve never done such a piggy-like thing before? Hmm. Weird. Maybe that’s because you haven’t made risotto with a nice and old, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, jamon serrano, tons of butter, and avocado. This kind is the second best risotto I’ve ever tried (it was here), the first one being a Black risotto with calamari, which you can enjoy right here in Mexico City, but which I’m not adventurous enough to try and make myself yet. (How do you go about using squid ink? Where do you even buy it?) For this recipe though, I did feel bold enough to try it with a recipe I made up myself, using good ingredients as the secret for good results. I chose jamon serrano, which one could say is the spanish version of prosciutto, but which tastes quite different. And then I did something (if you’re squeamish/vegan/a health nut , I would suggest you stop reading) quite naughty; I toasted the rice in those white slices of fat. I know. I’m terrible. But you can really justify it to other people once you present them with a hot bowl and a spoon. They won’t be complaining once they the get tiny bits of golden, delicious, cheese covered goodness. Read more for the recipe!

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Cry your eyes out – French Onion Soup

Posted on October 25, 2011 by petitedecadence

Yesterday I came home and popped into my laptop Rossini’s Barbieri di Seviglia (I know, I’m getting stranger by the day) and then set on to search for a classic french onion soup, which I did not have to do for long since Smitten Kitchen, as usual, had the answer for me quite soon. So I grabbed 4 big, shiny, smooth onions and set them on the chopping board. I grabbed the knife, I sliced once, I sliced twice. And then I stopped. What on earth was I thinking???? I’d completely forgotten that onions, or any of their cousins (red onions, shallots, garlic, spring onions, chives, you name it!) will have me in tears within seconds. And I’m not talking about watery eyes or a runaway tear. I’m talking grab-the-tissues-now stuff. I don’t know why so much, but it’s always been that way. I’ve tried super ultra sharp knives. I’ve tried cold onions straight from the fridge. There’s nothing that can help it. In fact, I remembered as I held the onion with great hatred in my hand and cried in between bouts of Figaro Figaro Figaro coming from my computer, when I worked in cooking school and I had to prepare for recipes which included onions, I would always trade with the other assistants for anything else. I’d much prefer to remove the scales from your smelly fish! So why would I subject myself willingly to all that slicing of the stinky critter?? The reason, of course, is that there is nothing quite like french onion soup. Even if I had to eat it with puffy eyes and a red nose. Deb uses Julia Child’s recipe, which she kindly provides with friendly measures. The only thing I changed was the bread, which I changed for American pumpernickel since I didn’t have any other, but it was actually an incredibly good twist. The caraway seeds such a pleasant surprise in the hot, caramelized goodness of the onions.

Recipe here: French Onion Soup at Smitten Kitchen

Autumn? Yes! – Roasted Tomato Soup

Posted on October 12, 2011 by petitedecadence

One of the things that people love about living in Mexico City is the weather. The winters are not very cold, springtime is full of flowers, summer is tolerably hot, and autumn will ask you for just a light sweater. Or so it used to be. Nowadays we get crazy weather just like the rest of the world, with winters that freeze crops and insufferable sweaty summers. But in spite of the weather going haywire everywhere in the world, one thing here in our crazy valley remains a constant: summer rain. Almost every summer afternoon, you can count on a heavy shower, that will be over before it’s time to go to bed. It’s lovely. But then there’s the transition between fall and summer; that is my absolute favorite time of the year, because that’s when it begins to get cold, October moons make their dramatic appearances, and, if you’re lucky, you get quite a few wet, cold, rainy afternoons. (No doubt encouraged by hurricanes raging along the coasts, sadly) And those are the ones where, with a good glass of red wine, great jazzy music, and a bunch of about-to-die tomatoes, delicious soups are born. (Or pumpkin marmalade, which is doing it’s thing on the stove as I write).
Soups and cold days….roasted tomato soups and cold days….this version of that good old recipe includes potatoes, which are always a pleasant surprise, and since my basil plant was victim of a murdering plague, is made with oregano. It’s really easy to make, but incredibly rewarding once it’s found it’s way to your spoon. Read more for the recipe.