Our Big Night with Timpano!

Daniel and his big baby, aka Il Primo TIMPANO!

Our hosts revelling in an impromptu kitchen dance party!

We did it!
Last Saturday, Feb 20th, Tess & Daniel decked their kitchen with high-flying colours (yellow and white) and invited us to sit at a beautiful table to share the joy. We were to have our Big Night (read related post on my other blog) among friends, making our first timpano. A timpano is like a large drum of Italian deliciousness. Try it with this timpano recipe from Mario Batali, or with that one.
Si, vero. Our Movie Menu Theme Night, based on Big Night, proved to be incredibile!

Photo taken by Shayne Gray

To learn more about our Timpano night, pay a visit to Cristy's blog, Holyhandbag! She wrote an article about the night with all the mouth-watering details, and savoury pictures.

Now is your turn...
I'd love to hear how your Big Night theme party turns out!

Mardi Gras : Carnaval and Bugne Time!

Bugnes at Pâtisserie La Marquise, St Jean district, Vieux Lyon.
(Photos: Lucy's Kitchen Notebook)

Today is Mardi Gras! In France, I used to celebrate 'carnaval' by eating delicious 'bugnes', while Mardi Gras maskers, traditionally children, would gleefully hop up and down the streets.

Traditional animal (lion) mask for children

Tradition has it that during the month of February, and especially during the French Carnival period, you'll find that the bugne Lyonnaise is kind of a fetish in Lyon and area. Yo me, it instantly evokes a vast array of tastes and laughters; unique moments shared with my grandmother, mother and sister in the kitchen while preparing the bugnes at home once a year before Lent.

Vieux Lyon, Rue Juiverie & Place du Change

Bugnes have been sold in shops in Lyon since as early as the 16th century, with local records describing their crisp delectable texture. Indeed the bugne historically associated with Lyon is flat, rectangular and fried crisp, but both the flat and leavened kinds are common now. Bugnes come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. In Lyon and area, this is a treat traditionally served only on Mardi Gras, but like many of the festival foods, the season has extended over time. You start to see them around the end of January and the boulangeries and charcuteries normally stop making them sometime in the middle of March.

If you're celebrating Mardi Gras, enjoy your feast today, because tomorrow shall see you fast!

Dites-le avec du Chocolat...

I just thought that you, Mon Cher Coco, might be interested in preparing something rich in chocolate and ginger for your Valentine this upcoming Sunday!
Here is my modest but sincere tribute to Love:

Chocolate Sorbet with Preserved Ginger, Orange, and Sesame Caramel (from Chocolate, by Trish Deseine)

This very easy recipe was devised at the River Café in London, England.

TIP: I give you the version that assumes that you don't have an ice-cream machine, because I don't! I therefore just buy a good-quality chocolate sorbet from a good ice-cream shop.

Serves 2-4, or 2 hungry lovebirds!
Preparation time: 10 minutes

The decoration
3 strips candied orange peel

1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved ginger
2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Toast the sesame seeds in a saucepan or bake on a cookie sheet for 1 or 2 minutes in an oven preheated to 350*F (180*C).
Combine the sesame seeds with the preserved fruits and spoon into small mounds on the marble slab.

The caramel (Yes, you can make it!)
1/2 cup sugar

To make the caramel, melt the sugar very gently in a heavy-based saucepan, then pour it over the sesame seeds and preserved fruits, making them into attractively irregular shapes. Leave to cool.

To serve, scoop balls of the sorbet into a glass and insert pieces of caramel.

And then...It's time for romance, for you and your Valentine. Away from the madding crowd.

A kiss from Her: John William WATERHOUSE, The Awakening of Adonis (1849-1917)

A kiss from Him: Robert DOISNEAU, "Baiser Blottot" (1950)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tea Time: Lemon & Poppy Seed Madeleines

Today is Sunday. We put on our Sunday best as we had invited my mother-in-law and her husband for tea time. For the occasion, I experimented on a new version of my homemade madeleines. For a change, I decided to put some lemon (the juice of 1 lemon and zest of two lemons) and poppy seeds (2 tablespoonfuls). It worked beautifully, these two flavours are a marriage made in heaven!

Try this version of madeleines, and let me know.

February is Crêpe Time!

Make Crêpes this month! / Fête des crêpes - Faites des crêpes!

February 2nd is La Chandeleur (Candlemas), and the French celebrate it by making and eating crêpes at home. I recommend you go to Clotilde Dusoulier's Chocolate & Zucchini's recipe for classic crêpes.

You can also opt to make Galettes de Sarrasin, these Brittany-inspired buckwheat crêpes.

If it's too short notice to get the crêpes ready for February 2nd, the good news is they're also on the list of recommended foods for Mardi Gras, on February 16th!

Tradition has it that if you can flip your Crêpes in the air by tossing them firmly in the pan with your right hand, while holding a Louis d'or (a gold coin) in the other hand, it will bring you good fortune all year long.

It is worth giving it a try!

Let me know how it goes.