chez pim

The best meal and the worst meal

...of this trip. One of them is perhaps the ---- meal ever. Can you tell which one is which? Extra kudos for anyone who could guess the restaurant names too.

reflexión 2

reflexión

Brilliant dessert idea: Chocolate mousse and basil gelee

This cute little dessert came at the end of our nice lunch at Rodero in Pamplona. More on the lunch itself later -I hope- but I want to show you this ingenious idea while I'm still on the road. It's a silky chocolate mousse, topped with cold gélée of basil. It's an unusual combination, I know, but it worked so beautifully.

I'm sure this can be translated easily enough for a home kitchen. It might not be as refined as the version you see here, but the concept is really quite simple. Just make a bitter chocolate mousse, then add to that a purée of basil mixed with a little bit of gelatin for the thicker texture. I'll try it as soon as I get back from this trip.

Cheers <waving> from Denia.

Not a bad way to start

(If you are reading this post on a RSS reader, you might want to click through to Chez Pim for the slideshow.

This is about as good as it gets: Josélito ham. Enough said.

My first by-line in the New York Times

I have a small piece in the New York Time's T:Travel magazine this weekend! I've had recipes published in the Times before, but this is the first time I have a by-line. Yay! I did both the story and the photos accompanying it, though strangely enough I didn't get credit for the photos. But I'm not letting that minute detail bother me right now. I have a by-line in the NY Times!!

Two cutest things

Ella found Clotilde's new book I left on the chaise sofa and went to investigate. I managed to snap a picture before she lost interest -what, you don't have a camera ready wherever your new kitten happens to be? These two are the cutest things in my house right now.

Of course you know Clotilde has a new book, yes? If not, where have you been? She's everywhere, including the Today's Show just the other day. How exciting! If you missed it you could watch her online here.

I grabbed my copy today and spent the afternoon on my sofa snuggling up with it, sipping a cup of tea -which, admittedly, would have been a tad messier to do when reading Chocolate and Zucchini online.

The many inspiring recipes are not sending me into the kitchen today though. I've got to get packing. I'm leaving for Spain tomorrow for a quick 10-day trip. Alas, while Clotilde's book can tag along to keep me company, my Ella won't do so well in the luggage. I'm going to miss her so much.

I'll see you Monday from rainy(!) Pamplona. Kudos to anyone who can guess what I'd be doing there. Oh, and if you are in the US or UK, Clotilde is in the middle of her book tour at the moment. Say hello for me if you see her!

a tiny bit occupied

Sorry I've been a little occupied. Back to regular programming soon.

What's in my fridge?

Sam asked the question, what's in your unedited fridge? A bunch of bloggers played, even my friend David in Paris. I envy the Bordier butter in his fridge. Good butter is so hard to find this side of the pond.

What's in my fridge then? Well, evidently far too many bottles of wine, three of which are opened. Not sure what that says about us really. There's a bit of Wlliam Fevre Chablis Montmains (1er cru) still in the bottle, left over from when I made the noodle with crab meat and green garlic the other night. A bit more left in the bottle is Eric Texier's wine, a Côte Rôtie St.Véran from '03. It's not showing so well, to tell the truth. We opened the half bottle of Meursault ('02 Jobard) that's been hanging around in the fridge for a while. We left just a tiny bit in the bottle that I put back in the fridge -ostensibly- to deglace a pan or something later. As though I don't look enough like an alcoholic, I should tell you there are four bottles of champagne in there as well. None opened, happily. Two Paul Bara, one of which is, of course, a rosé. A bottle of your average everyday Mumm, and a Crémant something or another. There's also a bottle of Brachetto -not entirely sure how or why it's there.

In the none-booze department, the jams -confitures, preserves, pick a term you like- are representing well in my fridge. Two jars of Christine Ferber, one with the last spoonful or two of Quetches d'Alsace and about a half jar of Pêche de Vigne. One jar of June Taylor's Candied Seville Peel in Syrup, a perfect match for the Strauss Yogurt you see on the top right corner of the picture here. There's a jar of Asian Pear Chutney from Frog Hollow, of the fabled peach farm fame. Did you know they make chutney and jams as well? This Asian Pear Chutney is perfect for goat cheese, like the Acapella in Ash that I picked up from Soyoung's stall at the Ferry Plaza market yesterday.

A year from Opening Day

by Daniel Patterson (see part one and two of Opening Day)

I know what you’re thinking: haven’t I said quite enough? Well, yes. But Pim asked for a “where are they now” perspective, and I can’t say no to her (and really, why would I?).

I’m not sure exactly where we are now, but wherever it is, it’s a long way from where we started. After a year out of kitchens, I was beyond rusty when we opened – I had dismantled everything I knew about restaurants, and it took months to sort through the piles of prejudices and preconceptions that had accumulated over decades, trying to decide what to keep and what to discard. I was also exhausted and vaguely depressed from having pushed myself so hard before we opened. I had no problem getting writing assignments in the first few months, but in the kitchen I wondered if I had anything left to say.

But then something happened.