A fruit galette is the workhorse of the sweet kitchen. Freeing yourself from the confines of a pie plate is so liberating. Somehow, no matter how a galette slumps, breaks, or browns, it’s always beautiful. Glory lies in irregularity. Unlike a deep fruit pie, which tends to harbor too much liquid, galettes always leak a little bit. Rest easy. That’s a good thing! It seems to me that exactly the right amount of liquid creeps out so that what’s left inside is a nicely thickened fruit filling with sweet, concentrated flavor, and a crisp bottom crust. The secret is to remove it from the parchment paper while it’s still warm and the leaked juices haven’t solidified. A bonus is that galettes cool much faster than pies. You are closer to dessert bliss than you think.
Panna cotta is a wonderfully light dessert to enjoy in the heat of summer. When you pair the smooth creamy créme fraîche pannacotta with Wild Little Thing Sour Ale strawberries, black peppercorn crumble and a hint of lemon zest it creates a delightfully complex flavor profile that’s not too sweet and slightly sour.
I was in Durango at a small restaurant in which they served a dish of rajas con crema as a condiment with other assorted salsas and chiles en escabeche. I tasted it and was so completely taken, I kept asking them to bring me more. It was creamy and spicy, with a tiny bit of sweetness from the charred chiles and the onion. The poblanos here in the northern states seem to be hotter than those in the US, so it does read a little more like a hot condiment, but I love the extra heat and am crazy for these rajas as a taco filling or as a side dish for grilled meat or fish. But honestly, I could eat this right out of the skillet wrapped in a warm flour tortilla. This to me is pure comfort food.
Mochiko chicken is Hawai‘i’s own style of fried chicken, distinct for its use of mochiko (sweet rice flour) in the batter, which lends a pleasant bouncy chew in addition to that classic fried chicken crunch. Depending on who’s cooking (and what recipe they’re using), local mochiko chicken can draw influence from Japanese karaage, Korean dak kang jung, and even a little from Southern fried chicken.
Extra-juicy, extra-jammy strawberry shortcakes all done up with a splash of bourbon and buttery rye biscuits: Can you think of a better way to celebrate summer? Truth is, I didn’t grow up eating shortcakes, but now that I’m an adult, they are one of my favorite sweets. They’re always easy to throw together, but these are special. Instead of using just any ol’ biscuit recipe, I worked in some rye flour. The brightness of strawberries works so well with the heartier rye, and while the biscuits are still buttery and flaky, they really hold up against the superjuicy berries. That splash of bourbon ties everything together in a beautiful, warming way, though you can easily leave it out if you prefer. If you have strawberries on hand and don’t know what to do with them, you NEED to make these shortcakes. You just do. You can also swap out the strawberries for any other berry you love, or use a mix of all your favorites!
As I’ve mentioned, Bacon-Miso Sauce was the first menu element I personally developed for Le Bernardin. We often served it with Japanese sweet potatoes, since I loved the sweetness and tenderness of potato paired with the salty and umami-filled sauce. Basically, it’s amazing with potatoes of any sort, of any color, and from any country. So if you don’t feel like making gnocchi, go on and roast up some sweet potato wedges to serve with this luscious sauce instead. Think of it as a fancy answer to french fries and ketchup!
THE MAN’OUSHE (SINGULAR for mana’eesh) is the quintessential street food of the Levant. Wherever you go in the streets of Damascus, Beirut, or Jerusalem, you’ll see professionals, students, families, and their children all enjoying piping hot flatbreads, usually slathered with herbaceous za’atar. They’re eaten while walking down the street on the way to work or school, sitting in cafés, or around the breakfast table. Among my favorite memories in Syria and Lebanon is heading to one of the corner bakeries and ordering flatbreads by the dozen. Slid right out of the oven into pizza boxes, my cousins and I would rush back to an aunt or uncle’s home and devour them without a single word exchanged.
If you have spent some time in Venice, you may have noticed yellow, often
log-shaped, biscuits called zaleti in pastry shop windows. As the towns along
the west coast of Istria were part of the Republic of Venice for some 500 years,
the foods were heavily influenced by those of Venice.
These incredibly easy cookie bars use cornflour (cornstarch) to make a wonderfully tender shortbread-style bar that is topped with a lime curd: impressive yet simple. While I would always encourage you to use homemade lime curd for optimal flavour, I will look the other way if you want to use a shop-bought version.
Florentines are pretty little lacy cookies, studded with sliced almonds and dipped in chocolate. These were in my childhood cookbook and I could not make enough of them. They are so simple to make and yet so elegant. Give these to close friends and loved ones.