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!

Sooooo busy these days!

I have a wonderful new project going on. It keeps me busy, very busy. But creativity is a double-edged sword; it keeps you alive and makes you dream, but it also keeps you awake at night and on your toes, 24/7. Rest assured, I am not complaining, but seeing it is now 4:30 in the morning and that I haven't closed my eyes yet, let's just say that I am on the latter edge of the sword today.

But the beauty of my new venture is that it involves food, lots of it. So it pleases me to be able to stay awake because I worry about food. I'd rather worry about food than about closing day at NYSE.

I want to share with you in the next few days my osso bucco recipe. I took pictures of all the steps when I made it last Saturday. It will be up very soon, I promise. In fact, as soon as I can pack a few more hours rolling in bed.

Fall has arrived for good in Chicago. The leaves are turning all shades of yellow, orange and brown, at lightning' speed it seems. But this also means that our house will be slowly coming up. We are expecting demolition in the next few days, which should take about a week, and then time to build from the ground up! It is quite exciting! The choices, the materials, the colors, the textures, the disposition... All that makes for more sleepless night, filled with creative ideas and head full of thoughts. I can only imagine the life of an artist. Wait... Aren't we all artists in our own way?

The results, the weekend, the sauces and the pleasure!

So what!?  Yes, I am guilty!  I cooked all weekend!  I did not (or almost did not) touch a computer all weekend! I am guilty of cooking and enjoying my close relationship to food.  Cooking is the closest relation to human contact that we have.  We eat our food.  We deliberately put other substances in our mouth to feed and satisfy ourselves.  So why not make the best of it?  Make the best food, be on a mission to cook and savor the most magnificient food ever!  I think this is the path to good health and perfect balance.  Cook at home.  A lot of veggies (but add olive oil, salt, pepper), bake them, broil them, vapor them, sauté them, anyway you want it, but never overcook them!

So here is one of the best recipes for me for the October 2010 issue of Food & Wine: Lamb Ragout with Olives and Peppers.  That lamb was succulent, different, easy to put together and so worth the time.  Because remember that a long overall time for a recipe doesn't mean "hard" or "complicated".  If you're home on a Sunday afternoon, put this baby in the oven, wait for the in-laws and have enough lamb for all.  That is why I would put a little more than the required amount of ingredients, for the whole recipe.  And remember to add some veggies on the side.

Lamb Ragout with Olives and Peppers

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 4 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 2-inch chunks
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large white onions, coarsely chopped
• 4 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
• 3 carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 10 cups water
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sliced pitted Picholine olive.
• 3/4 cup sliced roasted red pepper.
• 2 tablespoons chopped tarragon
• 2 cups Israeli couscous 

1. Preheat the oven to 250°. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil until shimmering. Season the lamb with salt and black pepper and add it to the casserole. Cook over moderately high heat, turning the pieces once or twice, until deeply browned, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a platter.
2. Add the onions, celery and carrots to the casserole. Cover and cook over low heat just until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook over moderately high heat, stirring until the paste is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pot, until nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the water, season with salt and bring to a boil. Return the lamb and any accumulated juices to the casserole. Cover and braise in the oven for about 2 1/2 hours, until tender.
3. Transfer the lamb to the platter. Remove any fat and gristle and coarsely shred the meat. Strain the broth and discard the solids. Skim the fat from the surface of the broth. Return the broth to the casserole and boil until reduced to 4 cups, about 30 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, mix the butter with the flour to form a paste; whisk it into the broth and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Return the lamb to the sauce. Add the olives, red peppers and tarragon and keep warm.
5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the couscous and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the couscous and transfer to shallow bowls. Spoon the lamb ragout over the couscous and serve. 

Source: Food & Wine, from Chef Recipes Made Easy: Simple Wine-Friendly Recipes, published October 2010

Lamb Ragout with Olives and Peppers

 Make this recipe, you will not be disappointed.  Make sure you add a little more of everything.

"Vegetables are a must on a diet.  I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."  ~Jim Davis