I am shameless – Caramelized turkey with shallots and potatoes

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caramelizedturkey0

I am totally shameless. I know we all spent the last month eating turkey and potatoes. I know at least I shouldn’t keep eating turkey and potatoes. I know I should balance the holidays out by eating nothing but salads and fruits during January. I know. I know. But I couldn’t help it. Turkey was on my mind. So I went and got a turkey breast… and while I was at it I ran into some really tiny potatoes and some decently-sized shallots (which is not common where I shop). So I had to get them too. And of course I had to caramelize all of them together. And even though I am shameless I have no regrets… because the result was this: incredibly sweet and tender shallots, roasted baby potatoes and soft, juicy, turkey slices… all covered in the best jus of your life, thanks to the butter, sugar, shallots and turkey juices all caramelizing together. The only regret I have is not having done something to get more of this legendary jus… I’ll have to think about how to do that next time. But in the meantime, I’ll have to post at least a couple healthy recipes right??
Read more for the recipe.

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Things I’ve kept – Best ever lemon pound cake

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So I know that almost the entire blogosphere is talking about the New Year, and their resolutions, and what they learned in 2012, etc. And I know that those who aren’t talking about it are either writing about how everyone is talking about the same thing (like me) or just plain fed up. I know. But I’m still going to go ahead and get my newyearism off my chest. But don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with deep reflexions and the importance of life and the answer to everything! Instead I’m going to give you the best ever lemon pound cake recipe. Yup, best ever. I’ve been sitting on this recipe since Christmas Eve, when I made it for my mom as her present…yes, my mom is one of those people impossible to give gifts to, the only think that makes her truly happy is pound cake. She’s absolutely crazy for it, and she’s always begging me to bake her a couple. Because one just isn’t enough. But lemon pound cake holds a particularly special place in her heart, because eons (seriously, like 20 years) ago she baked one for my birthday party and it was the best cake she had ever made. Everyone complimented her, it was gone within seconds, the texture was perfect, the flavor unsurpassable…you name it. In her mind, the cake was something only angels ate, and she had been blessed with the recipe. Which she of course proceeded to lose. Because that’s what she does. She keeps things so well, they get lost. And I think there’s a little bit of that in all of us… as humans, we tend to keep things, emotions, experiences and feelings so well we end up forgetting where we put them. Be it that spare cash for emergencies you hid god knows where in your house to the memory of that horrible recurrent nightmare you had when you were five, tucked neatly away in your unconscious, the things we keep make us who we are. Just like that lost recipe holds for my mom that part of herself where she used to bake for her kids. So here’s to long lost recipes, memories, things and emotions. Here’s to finding them, organizing them, and eventually forgetting all over again where they were. Here’s to having a year full of new things to keep, and lose. And to looking back into the year gone by, to recognize what we’re made of, even if we’re made of recipes, lost or found.
On a side note: this recipe comes from Dozen Flours, it’s Julia’s recipe for a better than starbucks poundcake, and trust me, it’s waaaaay better. Even if it’s not food from heaven. All you’ve got to do is ask my mom.

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Très Français – French green bean salad with Boursin cheese

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I know that I shouldn’t even dare show my face around here after having disappeared for so long… almost two months! But since my holidays post-christmas have been so utterly quiet I finally have the time to be back in the kitchen, cooking, taking pictures and posting. So to ease back into the petitedecadence-ing, I’ll start with a very simple recipe….but an incredibly delicious one! It’s also very french, since its main ingredient are french beans… also known as haricots vertes. (Actually, I have no idea why french beans are called so, I’ll have to look that up.) But I also used garlic and herbs (the classic) boursin. If you don’t know boursin cheese, or don’t have it available around you, you could use any other kind of gournay cheese, or you can make something similar right at home by simply adding finely minced garlic and a variety of fresh herbs to your favorite cream cheese, or even better, homemade cream cheese.
This salad is seriously easy to make and will go well with pretty much anything, from fish to meat to a main dish all by itself, if you’re feeling like a light meal. Serve it with a couple warm slices of rustic bread and a dry white wine, and you’ve got yourself a delicious entrée.
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Peace and quiet – Apple cinnamon pound cake

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Apple and cinnamon pound cake

I can’t remember when I was little and I came home tired from school to find that delicious smell of apple pie in the oven and finding my mom in an apron with a tall glass of cold milk and a big smile on her face. Mainly because my mom never baked apple pie, doesn’t like milk and she was rarely around when I came home from school (she did wear aprons though, and she cooked a lot, hence the me). So whenever I have apple pie-cake/chocolate cookies/glasses of cold milk, I pretend I do have that nonexistent memory, simply because it appears to be something that everyone has in spite of rarely anyone actually having a mom who did any such things. And pretending that makes me find so much peace and comfort in those classic flavors. Because even though it’s not something I learned when I was little, there’s something undeniable warm and homey about apple baked goods. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s embedded somewhere in our unconscious, but there’s something about that smell, fresh from the oven, that makes me feel like I live right next to the orchard where those apples where lovingly hand picked and placed in an immaculate wicker basket, covered with a red and white checkered cloth and then brought inside, waiting eagerly to become a cake. It’s a pleasant image, and one not to hard to keep in mind as you munch away on your cake. This pound cake isn’t too sweet, so you can have it with your morning coffee or as mid-afternoon treat, and you won’t feel like you’re over-indulging. It’s not the kind of cake that will disappear in an instant but that will see you through three-four days, just sitting on your pantry, homey, familiar and warm. Ready to help you feel that comfort of fake memories, or if you’re lucky, real ones. Read more for the recipe. Continue reading →

Do it your way – Spearmint and lime gravlax on labneh and chives

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Gravlac on labneh and chives

You know how people are always telling you how you’ve gotta do things your way and live your own life and be your own man (woman!!) and then down the road you’ll be horribly succesful and get absolutely all that you desire and the world will bow at your feet? Well I’ve been trying to do that all my life and I have yet to see even my very spoiled dog do any bowing. Not even a curtsy, seriously. But I have been doing all the things that I enjoy and bring me peace and satisfaction, and even if its hard at times in the end it’s always rewarding. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it twice; DO WHAT YOU LOVE. I don’t mean to be preachy, but seriously, I think it’s the most important thing in the world! I can only imagine being 70 and looking back…I wonder what I’ll want to tell myself? I’m glad I have all this money in the bank or…I’m glad I ate gravlax and spent my bucks in riding and cooking and gardening and buying oil paints every time I felt like it? Ok I’ll be frank, I’ll probably want to tell myself both. But I’m sure I’ll get there! Everyone says so right? And we all know that if everyone says so then it must be true. And plus, even Frank Sinatra sang about it. So that’s what I tell myself every time I go to the market and I see a huge salmon fillet, just waiting to be played with. And I did play my way; I put a little twist on the classic Nordic dish. I made my gravlax with loads and loads of spearmint (’cause its so much milder than dill) and lime rinds, because those three together even when non-gravlaxed make a great combo, imho. And when you put it over pumpernickel and a deliciously creamy labneh sauce, (also called jocoque, aka strained yoghurt) rich in chives and a drop of lime on top…..well you’ll certainly be glad you’re doing it your way. Don’t lie, you want to read more for the recipe, right?

(Note: you could also substitute the labneh for homemade cheese!)

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