Bonjour!
Welcome to this website where my French accent, Lebanese blood and Mediterranean appetite guide a bubbly kitchen in the heart of Miami, Florida.
Welcome to this website where my French accent, Lebanese blood and Mediterranean appetite guide a bubbly kitchen in the heart of Miami, Florida.
It bothers me to peel one garlic clove, in the middle of an elaborate recipe or for anything quick I am trying to prepare… In order to be more efficient (and less annoyed!), I peel enough garlic to put in a small jar (with lid) then keep them in the fridge for the next week, and use them as needed.
My approach to ingredients has differed a lot since I started cooking. Some ingredients I disliked (and spent my childhood refusing to eat. Mom, if you read this,… I’m sorry!) have a new place in my monthly menus... Taste evolves of course, but now that I’m master in my own kitchen, I understood what bothered me in some dishes or ingredients… and I was able to “fix” the problem and enjoy eating them!
I have always liked beets but I can say that lately, I fell in love all over again. I used to cook them by boiling them for a long time,... Felt like "forever"... And had to add hot water during the process because the cooking boiling water will evaporates before they were done. Needless to say, everything around them was pink! I changed my cooking technique and thanks to a new recipe I tried, the perspective of cooking beets does not annoy me anymore :)
My solution was to BAKE THEM!
Scrub them really well under running cold water, cut both ends and place them all on a sheet of aluminum foil. Put them on a baking sheet and in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour (depending on their size) at 400F. If you are cooking different beet colors, pack each color separately.
When grating the lemon and extracting the zest, try not to push hard on the fruit and avoid the “white” section of the peel because it is bitter. The small pockets of intense flavor are in the yellow part of the skin. I use a super fine microplane grater. I hold the lemon in one hand, and with the other, I lightly pass the Microplane grater on top of the lemon peel. I end up with light zest that dissolves when mixed or cooked. You get the flavors but not the thick curly residue. Your patience will be rewarded! (:
In the fridge: Store the baguettes or bread loaves WHOLE, it will be easier to cut thin slices when the bread is cold and firm. >>> Thinly sliced baguettes with a quick drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a hot oven will transform into great crunchy toasts ready for your favorite cheese or appetizer bites.
In the freezer: SLICED bread only! Keep sliced bread in an airtight container or ziploc bag. You can take as many pieces as you need, slide them in a toaster or put on a baking sheet in the oven for a few minutes… it will feel and taste frehly baked.
