Hand carving in wood

Wood work is truly special to me. It represents so much, the artisanal side of furniture, the art of making something useful truly beautiful. A good friend of mine posted this video on my Facebook Wall and I had to share it here because it gives a good idea of what wood carving is. All individually made by hand, these furniture pieces, from Kindel, are really magnificent. Thanks Sonya!

Furniture getting ready for upholstering

I inherited my grandma's Queen Anne style furniture. She used to upholster the pieces herself when she was changing her décor, which was often. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. The pieces are in pretty good shape, according the the upholsterer and the job will be done easily, for a cost however. Upholstery is hard work, but nothing equals furniture that has history, and a story. Here are the before pictures. I still need to chose my fabric, which is a process you can't really rush.

I also love estate sales. Here is a find from a south side estate sale that will also get an upholstery treatment.

And finally the famous pink chairs! For those of you who have been to our house, you remember these. Some people suggested I should keep these Salvation Army treasures the way they are, but I finally made my decision. They'll get it done too! They are the most amazing find ever!

The "after" pictures will come soon after I find the fabric. The upholsterer is great and should be done with all pieces in 10 days after he starts. Stay tuned!

Latest find for our Moroccan style bedroom

Found on Craigslist last week! Amazing piece made completely of oak. Could not find anything comparable new, had to go vintage. I am in love with it. More pictures of the finished bedroom to come.

A new look for an old secretary desk

So I bought this secretary desk at White Elephant, a resale shop in Chicago, for the benefit of the Children's Hospital. I really like that place and have found more than a few things over the past 3 years.

I wanted to transform its look from colonial to French country, so my best bet was to go with shades of blues, greys and beiges. I am really please with the result. It took a bit of time to sand it down, then I applied a coat of grey paint with a regular brush. After a day of drying, I applied a thin coat of cream colored paint using a wet rag, and voilà!

The change of a name...

So Haute Cuisine To Go was my first idea...  Then, when I started creating my menu, and dishes that would fit into a certain market, I realized there was nothing haute cuisine about it.  However, something even better came about...  All this food I was thinking about, all these comforting, simple but classic dishes were the type of dishes you would find on the menu of a bistrot.

So I introduce to you Bistrot To Go!  More than a blog, BTG is physical mean to order food!  Yes, I cook, you eat!  I am so happy that I was able to find a way, outside of having a restaurant, to nurture my passion.  I am still working on my branding, the website will be up very soon!  It is exciting to finally have an outlet for all these ideas.

The type of food that will grace the page of the website are classics like Homemade Meat Sauce for pasta, Homemade Marinara Sauce with Herbs, seasonal soups that will change accordingly, and a wonderful maple fudge with pecans and a chocolate fudge with walnuts.  Many other desserts, that will change depending on the seasons, the mood I'm in and the demand of the customers, will also be offered.  For example, many people can't get enough of the date bars.  Some things will also be offered vegan.

On top of all these new ideas, Rama and I are busy with the house!  It is going fast, and we have so much shopping around to do.  Designing a house is very exciting, and you quickly realize that so many people just don't ask questions, don't shop around and don't dare.  So many houses are all the same.  We want to really take advantage of the fact that we are building from scratch to truly build a house that is exactly how we want it.  Pictures to come soon!

I have to go tend to my bœuf bourguignon in the oven right now, the condo is filled with wonderful smells!  Haute Cuisine Privée tomorrow with six wonderful guests!

As promised, my Osso Bucco step by step...

So here it is (à la demande générale, as we say in French)!  My classic osso bucco recipe, step by step with pictures!  There is no way to mess this up, it is super easy, but so tasty.  Try it once and you'll be hooked for life!

Classic Osso Bucco

• 4 to 6 veal shanks
• 1/4 cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1/2 bottle dry white wine
• 14.5-ounce can plum tomatoes, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• Grated zest of 2 oranges
• 1 cup veal stock, or beef stock (more, if needed)

Heat the oven to 350°F. Put the flour on a plate, add generous amounts of salt and pepper, and coat the veal slices, with flour, patting to remove excess.

 

Heat the oil and butter in a Creuset or in an oven-proof pot big enough for all the veal slices to touch the bottom. Add half the slices and sear them over high heat, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them, brown the other side and remove them to a plate. Brown the remaining slices and remove them also.

Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and carrot and sauté until brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Pour in the wine and boil until reduced by half, stirring to dissolve the brown bits at the bottom.

Stir in the tomatoes, garlic, orange zest, veal or beef stock, salt, and pepper. Immerse the veal slices in the sauce (the sauce should come at least halfway up the sides of the shanks.) Cover the pan and bring it to a boil.

 

Transfer to the oven, and braise the shanks until the meat is very tender and falling from the bone, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir from time to time, gently turning the slices, and if the pan seems dry, add more stock.

Serve with Gremolata (see recipe below).

Gremolata

• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• One bunch of Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• Grated zest of 2 lemons

Remove stems from parsley, and chop the leaves together with the garlic. Stir in the grated lemon zest and pile the gremolata in a bowl.

Party Favors for Baby Shower

Maple Fudge for all!  What a great way to please your guests!  Way better than inedible party store candies, in fact, you can't even compare!  The beauty of this is that the boxes can be customized to fit the sex of the baby, or even the event!  Wedding favors, anniversaries, birthdays, showers, bachelorette parties...  It's infinite what can be done with these!