[Rhubarb Compote with Pink Champagne Cookies]

This was a last-minute addition to the dessert buffet for my birthday party. I was at the grocery store minding my own business, when a beautiful bunch of rhubarb, all slender stalks and pink cheeks, called out mischievously : “Rhubarb season doesn’t last forever, you know!” I turned around in surprise, looked at the other shoppers, but they were just filling their carts as usual, absorbedly studying the produce stalls.

I took a few tentative steps towards the rhubarb, picked it up, and reflected that it was, indeed, a fleeting thing, and that such an attractive bunch could not possibly be passed up on. Besides, my dessert selection would certainly benefit from something fruity, would it not? I put the rhubarb in my basket. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but I could swear it winked at me.

I decided to oven-bake the rhubarb, as is my favored method of preparation, and had the idea of combining it with a package of Biscuits Roses de Reims I had on hand. Those crispy little cookies, pink and rectangular with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar, are a specialty from Reims, the largest city in the region of Champagne. A simple mix of eggs, sugar and flour colored with crimson, their particularity is to be baked twice, allowing them to stay whole even when moist. This makes the delicate Biscuit Rose de Reims the ideal dipping companion of a cup of Champagne, and the perfect biscuit to use in a charlotte, in place of the classic ladyfingers.

I didn’t want to make a real charlotte though (which implies fruit and some form of cookie, but also custard or fromage blanc), as it should normally sit in the fridge for a bit, while the flavors develop and the filling settles, and I didn’t have that kind of time.

So I went for something simpler, lining the serving bowl with biscuits roses before I spooned in the rhubarb compote. It made for a pretty sight, with that pink sun ray pattern, and it worked very well tastewise, too : the rhubarb was its usual, delightful self, and its acidulated flavor was beautifully complemented by the subtly sweet cookies. There was also a nice textural effect, as the bottom halves of the cookies were imbued with the rhubarb juices and thus softened, while the top halves remained delicately crispy. I’m sure leftovers would have been great the next day, had any of it survived the night…

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It has been very hot around here lately.

I am not complaining, as I actually like the peculiar atmosphere heatwaves create — blazing sun, closed shutters, quiet afternoons, glistening faces — and it happens seldom enough in Paris for me to welcome the meteorological oddity.

Not to mention the opportunity to wear tank tops and strappy sandals.

To ward off dehydration, I have been making batch after batch of this no-sugar, mint-infused lemonade. (Citronnade à la menthe, if you’re practicing your French.)

It is simple as can be — in this heat, who has the energy for anything elaborate? — and it is a delightfully refreshing beverage to tinkle your ice cubes in.

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[Bacon and Cantal Cheese Clafoutis]

Clafoutis is originally a fruit dessert from the Limousin, a region roughly in the center of France (and yes, I checked, as I am direly geographically challenged).

Let me go ahead and open a parenthesis here. Limousin is renowned in part for its cattle breed, a milk-chocolate cow called la vache limousine, a rather unimaginative but quite sensible name. I’m sure you’ll be as fascinated as I was to learn that this cow is fed, of all things, on topinambours — topinambour meaning Jerusalem artichoke, and being a French word I particularly favor, as should you. It is this diet, in addition to its favorable genetic characteristics, that explains the superior taste and quality of la vache limousine.

Back to the clafoutis (alternately spelled without the “s”) : it is the epitome of the grandmotherly dessert, and involves baking fruit (most typically cherries, but also plums, apricots, and pretty much any fruit) in a batter made of eggs, milk, sugar and flour. Some recipes also include butter, cream or oil. As a side note, true Clafoutis aux Cerises fans claim that it is much, much tastier if you leave the cherry stones in : the cherry juice will not leak into the batter, and the cherries will have more flavor if they cook with their little heart. It just makes the eating slightly less convenient (be sure to warn your guests!), but the best dishes are often the ones you have to fight for.

Have you noticed this trend lately, which consists in composing a savory dish in the style of a dessert, and naming the dish after that dessert? Amazing how instantly appetizing and tempting it makes the dish : salmon crumble, tomato tarte tatin, mushroom muffin, herb financier, goat cheese charlotte, eggplant mille-feuille, my broccoli and cornmeal upside down cake… And here, this bacon and cantal clafoutis!

I had long wanted to reproduce a similar dish I had had at the restaurant “Le Réconfort”, where I was dining one night with my friend Sophie. I decided to put it on my birthday party menu, and made up the recipe based on a couple other savory clafoutis recipes I had in my files. Next time I may double the recipe or at least 150% it, but below is what I used exactly.

The result looked very appetizing, slightly puffy with a thin golden crust on top. I served it at room temperature (it did deflate a bit upon cooling down), cut in one-inch squares. I liked it very much, with its rich texture and flavorful bite, all fluffy batter, cheese bits and crunchy pieces of bacon. Judging by the speed at which it disappeared, I probably wasn’t the only one.

Of course, if you look at it with cold, objective eyes, you could say that this is really a crustless quiche, but I believe in the magic of words, and a clafoutis will always taste better than a simple quiche, no?

[Le Réconfort – 37 rue de Poitou – 75003 Paris – 01 49 96 09 60]

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[Ricotta Meat Terrine]

I have a file of recipes I’ve clipped out from the numerous cooking magazines I read. When I’m trying to come up with a menu, this is my number one source of inspiration : I like leafing idly through the colorful pieces of paper in all shapes and sizes, I like the patchwork pattern they form, and how as a whole they reflect my cooking tastes and interests.

And somehow, since I often go through that file, I’ve gotten to know it and its contents quite well, and you could say that it has become one of my most trusted cookbooks. It does lack a sturdy binding, but its annoying ability to spill out and scatter all over the couch is certainly part of the charm.

The interesting thing is that many of those clippings have acquired a flavor and a personality of their own. And among these, is the particular group of the almost-made-its, those recipes I have really and sincerely considered making and almost elected numerous times, but that never quite made it into a selection, because something more glamorous or shiny was demanding my immediate attention.

This terrine belongs to that category : it had been in my file for a while, out of a Biba article on “mozzarella, ricotta & co.”. I had often considered it for its appealing concept, but for some reason had never quite gotten to trying it. Until my birthday party that is, when I realized that my menu was dangerously bordering on the vegetarian, and I needed to balance it out with some kind of animal protein, in order to please everyone. I also liked the idea of a terrine, which can and should be made some time ahead, a convenient trait when you’re planning a party.

And the little terrine delivered, I think, and proved worthy of the chance I finally gave it : it was pleasantly moist from the ricotta, tasty from the different kinds of meat and herbs, and well-seasoned, which is always a challenge with terrines as you can’t very well taste the raw mixture. It also lent itself nicely to being cut in cute little cubes and passed around to the hungry crowd.

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