Chocolate in Doses

I make it a habit of copying pages from a magazine I like, rather than tearing out the pages. Certainly not everyone does this. If it's recipes I'm after, often they are online. Like this one. I tore out the page anyway. They are really chocolatey, and predominantly chocolate chips. I love the walnuts since I often need a foil for my chocolate. The first day, they were too rich for me; the second day I could take it. Then, they were gone thanks to a pile of gift bags. I must caution you against being a reducer, reuser, recycler with your parchment for this. Crumbs stick to the parchment producing a tiny burn on the bottom of the next batches. Regardless . . . .

Pretty Books in the Sun

I thought I would be very bold and recommend some books for summer. They are books both for the armchair reader and the traveler.

Italian Villas and Their Gardens by Edith Wharton with pictures by Maxfield Parrish
West with the Night by Beryl Markham
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Anything by E.M. Forster, E.B. White, and James Thurber

What reading do you recommend?

Footfall: Retracing My Steps

This morning I donned old flannel shorts, a half clean tee, and walking sandals. Taking my journal and a camera, I went down to the beach.



My camera is back after leaving it for dead the second time this year. At a cooking club evening on Cinco de Mayo. Theme: you guess. Martita quickly told me to make chilequilas which she demonstrated in her home. I did make them. Martha's are better, but is that news? I am the type of person who walks in the house with sand on her feet.



The hostess of the cooking club made cupcakes . . . her claim. I met her for the first time that evening in an overwhelming, amazing scene. So many dishes, most people I didn't know, and cupcakes by the name of Vera Cruz. Described by the creator as a sweet corn and cilantro cupcake with a hot pepper mousse and an avocado buttercream, garnished with a lime wedge and red salt crystals. For the numerous tastes and multiple ingredients, it worked. Each part stood alone. I enjoyed squeezing a lime wedge over the whole.

Another highlight of the evening was a warm casserole of flan put forth by a nice girl who had never eaten or made flan. It was delicious warm. I think I will always eat it thusly in future. Because we were cautioned not to bring dessert, imagine 20 savory dishes. A standout being cheese-topped guacamole. The title sounds gross and un-American to me too. I need to tell you it was a warm bath and a blanket by the fire is contentment. And I ate it lukewarm. The cook used real queso oaxaca which I would put forth as a must if you're attempting this. My friend G and I will probably not attend the cooking club again as it was so much to take in. It was a one-in-a-grand-while experience but simplicity is a good middle name.

Steamy Potatoes: A Departure

We held our picnic at Fletcher Cove, the only child in attendence being Baby A. Everyone brought their own "sandwich" and we all brought something to share. K had slipped her creation into a brown wax sandwich bag. Nicely crinkled, folded over at the top. I love waxed bags. Someday I'll get some and store candies and cookies and sandwiches in them. We also enjoyed a fine cheese thanks to a gift from another friend K. Caña de Cabra. It is a Spanish goat cheese, in a sliced round. The rind was a tree in shadow. A slice of bûche de Noël from the middle of the log, a grainy gelatin print. M made pesto and brought bread for dipping. I tried a new potato salad recipe in the vein of the picnic. After reading Diary of a French Herb Garden, I have had bay leaves on the mind. This salad smells like bay, rosemary, vinegar. I used a mediocre balsamic. If you have the sherry vinegar, I would suggest this first.

Potato Salad with Rosemary and Capers
Salade de Pommes de Terre aux Câpres et au Romarin
Serves 8

From The Provence Cookbook by Patricia Wells

2 lbs small yellow-fleshed potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
1 fresh or dry bay leaf
1 t coarse sea salt
1 t extra-virgin olive oil

The Dressing
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, peeled, halved lengthwise, and very thinly sliced
Fine sea salt
2 T best-quality sherry vinegar (or substitute balsamic vinegar)
2 T capers in vinegar, drained
3 T finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

Place the potatoes in a large pot. Add the bay leaf, sea salt, oil, and several tablespoons of cold water. Cover and cook over the lowest possible heat, turning from time to time, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork and browned in patches, about 25 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing: In a small saucepan, combine 1 T of the olive oil, the onion, and a pinch of salt, and sweat—cook, covered, over low heat until soft but not browned—for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining olive oil, the vinegar, capers, and 2 T of the rosemary. Toss to blend.

Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them. As soon as they are cool enough to handle (ha . . . love this line), peel them and cut into thin slices, tossing each slice directly into the warm dressing. Toss to thoroughly coat the potatoes with the dressing. Add the remaining tablespoon of rosemary and toss again. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.