Tag Archives: Patricia Wells

Pots de creme

13 Nov

 

I just bought my plane ticket to Paris for this March.  We are having  a reunion of sorts with Patricia Wells, a special week  loaded with all new recipes from some of Patricia’s favorite dining spots in Paris.  In anticipation, I want to share one of the recipes I have adapted from Patricia’s original.  

Petit Pots de Crème au Chocolat au Piment d’Esplette

Chocolate Custards with Piment d’Esplette

You’ll need a double boiler (a stainless steel bowl over a sauce pan works just as well), a baster, and eight 1/4 cup vodka or shot glasses.

Ingredients:

5 ounces (150 g) bittersweet chocolate (I use Valhorna Manjari 64%)

3/4 (185 ml) cup heavy cream (or half-and-half)

2 tablespoons (1 oz; 30 g) salted butter

Generous 1/4 tsp Piment d’Esplette (available online in the U.S.; hot paprika is a fine substitute)

Fleur de sel

 

Break the chocolate into small pieces and set aside

In the top of a double boiler over, but not touching, boiling water, heat the cream and 1/4 cup water until warm.  Add the chocolate pieces, stirring until  melted.  Add the butter and stir to melt and combine.  Stir in the Piment d’Esplette.  Getting the mixture into the glasses is best done using the baster (far less messy).  Pop them in the fridge and let them cool until firm, about twenty minutes.  When it’s time serve, top with a bit more Piment d’Esplette and a pinch of fleur de sel.

Bon appétit!

 

“As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are otherwise you will miss most of your life.”–Buddha

 

school days in Paris

17 May

So far, we have visited Pôilane, the market, and eaten a fabulous lunch, and oops I forgot to mention the wine tasting at Le Dernièr Goutte, so a fair question to ask might be, “Did you actually cook in your cooking class?”  Well, yes, yes we did.  The delicious recipes celebrated the spring season and were a joy to make.  Each class member was assigned a dish for the day’s meal , one day it could be  the main course and the next day, maybe a starter or a dessert.  We all cooked together in the kitchen of Patricia’s school apartment in the 6th.

Monday morning began with a gift from Patricia, courtesy of Pôilane.  These edible rolls last forever, once they safely make the perilous journey home in  a suitcase.

This six-minute steamed salmon dish was finished was a luxurious shellfish cream sauce, then seasoned with truffle salt.  How divine!

These lovelies came together to create spring in a bowl. Fresh peas with mint and spring onions were warmed in a skillet with a bit of melted butter just before serving.  Everything tastes better with butter, non?

Not much to look at, but its flavor was amazing.  The guinea hens at my supermarket look nothing like this, probably because they come shrink-wrapped in white plastic.  Patricia’s sweet husband, Walter, gave us a lesson in preparing the bird for roasting, leaving me to think that shrink-wrap wasn’t so bad after all.

The remnants of our wine tasting made their way back to Patricia’s to join a lunch of poached turkey breast salad, sbrisolona/almond polenta cake, and sorbet au lait Lait Fermentè/buttermilk-honey sorbet.  All of the dishes were made in advance–good decision, good decision.

Bright in both color and flavor, this chilled cucumber and avocado soup was very refreshing.  I particularly enjoy serving this is the heat of a Texas summer.  No cooking required!

A petit pot de crème au chocolat au piment d’Esplette/chocolate custard with piment d’Esplette, a chili pepper harvested in the southwestern part of France.  The pepper imparted an unexpected spice to the chocolate, just enough to be interesting.

While not a class dish, this picture of a beautiful, delicious tart enjoyed outside at Les Deux Magots while watching Parisian life go by seemed worthy of inclusion in the story.

I had such a great time with my cooking classmates; we’re already talking about a reunion, maybe this time at Patricia’s place in Provence.  I can’t wait…

 

 

 

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