tuna rillettes {ffwd}
I’ll make this short and sweet. I made this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe early in the week, but didn’t have a chance to write it up before I went off to spend the week with my sister in Philadelphia.
This was a simple tuna spread that makes a great appetizer or lunch. Tuna is pureed with shallots, a bit of curry powder and some quatre-épices, then smoothed out with heavy cream. I loved the warm flavors of the spices. Packed into ramekins, it also made a nice presentation. Tuna rillettes is company-worthy so I’ll make this again when I can show it off to some guests.
I had a great visit with my sister Jennifer and her family. The main event was meeting my dad and other sister in Atlantic City for hoagies at White House Subs, a classic destination for my family. (We just eat hoagies, no gambling.)
I also enjoyed visiting the Barnes Foundation, finally seeing the collection (now in its new home) after years of never managing to get there. This is the art I love. The number of Renoirs we viewed blew me away. The unusual arrangement of paintings as ensembles that focus on themes like colors or shapes rather than specific artists or time periods is different from other museums. The paintings are accented by ironwork and furniture that completed the tableaux. Though the museum’s relocation was controversial, my sister said it was a thoughtful and respectful replication of the original space, preserving much of the experience found in the collection’s original home.
A visit with Jennifer is never complete without a movie. This trip’s selection was sweet picture called The Lunchbox. I’m not sure how to characterize it. It’s not really a romantic comedy, but it’s not as heavy as a drama either. Whatever type of movie, we both recommend it.
If you want to see what the other Doristas thought of Tuna Rillettes, check out their links here. If you want to make it yourself, the recipe can be found in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
Have a great week!
green-as-spring stew {ffwd}
Spring has finally arrived in New England, with a vengeance. I love this time of year with all the trees budding and flowering. The forsythia bloomed this week, and my magnolia is about to burst! The world is finally green.
This week’s recipe for French Fridays with Dorie is aptly named. We made Green-As-Spring Stew. The stew features long-simmered chunks of meat finished in a bright emerald green herbaceous sauce. The recipe is actually for a veal stew, but because we don’t usually eat veal, I used pork tenderloin instead. (An internet search for alternatives also suggested turkey.) It worked quite well.
The stew was quite simple. The meat cooks in chicken stock enriched with vegetables. After a long simmer, the vegetable solids are removed, but their flavors are left behind. The stock gets boiled down to further concentrate the flavor (why does this step always take so long???) Finally, a variety of greens and herbs are wilted in the stock before being pureed and mellowed with some tangy creme fraiche.
At the very end, I added a can of artichoke hearts that I drained and quartered along with the remaining sugar snap peas from last week’s vegetables en papillote to give the meat some company.
The first night, I served the stew over couscous, but it worked better when I served it over egg noodles on Night #2.
I enjoyed the pure spring-y flavors of this stew. It was just what we needed after a VERY LONG winter that seemed like it would never end. I hope I remember to make this again next March to remind me that spring will arrive, eventually.
To see what my Dorista friends thought of their spring stews, check out their links here. The recipe can be found here and, of course, at its source, in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
A Plateful of Happiness 