Okay, so we really really are interested in what we are eating. We are not chefs, we are not even avid over enthusiastic home chefs. We are just a couple that likes to eat good food when we eat at home but don't like a big mess to clean up. To that end, people like Rachel Ray aren't even all that helpful, she has to work so fast buys so many ingredients, and her food is a little, well, cheesy. How does she even enjoy a glass of wine after working herself up into such a frenzy?
So this blog is not really for people who treat cooking as a chore, or who are trying to be supermom by cooking a perflectly nutritionally balance meal and eat there's cold. Its for those who like to savor life when they are at home and can, with some good food while they are at it. For the chic set who don't think dinner should feel busy---because everything else already is. This blog does not aspire to be much. It is just here to share some ideas about how the super chic like to eat at home.
Fraises anyone?
If you are super chic, you like to incorporate french into your vocabulary every once in a while. You probably give the two cheek kiss from time to time as well. Well say bonjour to strawberries, they are hitting peak season.Here is what I did with mine.
--Cut them up (I find this tedious, and usually don't buy stawberries because i hate cutting them and that they make my hands red. I find they are more likely to get used if I cut them up the same day I bring them home from the store)
--Combined with some spinach I was going to saute with garlic. We ended up not cooking because our air conditioning decided to go out. Very strange it keeps doing this and no one can figure out why. Perhaps it has something to do with the 105 degree heat. We are now on the probably 4th week of this kind of heat. I wonder which one of our super chic European friends has similar weather?Spain? Italy? South France (I don't think so.) In any case probably never for this long. On that note I just had my husband water our tree out front, I don't think it is our day, but wasn't sure if the rule applied to watering or sprinklers or both. In any case, such rules don't apply to the super chic. I am not sure if I am kidding or not.
--If you are anything like me, you are much annoyed by the salad dressing aisle at your grocery store and you are also annoyed by the prospect of mixing your own dressing. (I make only one type at home, a no-no for the tres chic, but in some cases worthwhile although a major PITA). In my pre-chic days, I cannot tell you how many different dressings I gave an undeserved chance to and how many minutes I have stood in that aisle staring and just pleading with the bottles that I would choose the annointed one and it would be worthy. Waste your time no more! I only use my tried and true and never venture off the path of the unknown anymore without references. Such in life as in salad dressings. Not that the super chic talk too much about food with their friends unless eating. I do not in fact yet have a single reference on a salad dressing but please feel free to leave one in the comments post accompanied with a reference that you too are super chic. For now, we will rely on my judgment, read: Brianna's New American Dressing. Combine with the above.
--Cheese: Any soft cheese will do. I usually either have goat cheese or fresh mozzarella cheese on hand. Always goat chees to snack on with crackers and honey, or mozzarella cheese to pair with tomatoes. Cut into cubes and add to above. Bonus: mozzarella cheese is easy to cut and handle. Goat cheese sometimes sticks to your hands if you try to parcel for salads. I also like the texture better with this salad eventhough i haven't tried it yet with goat cheese. Read: the superchic use what they have to make delicious food in a pinch.
--Lavender. What say you? Yes lavender. I love this herb. I used dried lavender. It is not only commonly used by the french and a major product of the south of france, it is also known for its relaxing qualities. I found it delicious with strawberries. Where did I get this you ask? Certainly the tres chic do not seek out such things. Considering that I am in love with all things lavender (bath products, candles, honey etc.) it caught my eye when visiting a local winery a worthy and at least annual pursuit for the tres chic. It came with a pack of herbes de provence as well. As in all things as soon as I bought this at the winery, I also noticed it is stocked by my local grocery store. When I was there I also noticed they stocked the leaves in the herb bin, which was green. I have not used this before, but will report back when I do. I love to just by herbs from the herb bin, and then figure out what to do with them later. Or I might need one for one of my favorite meals, and then have leftovers that I need to figure out what to do with. The tres chic don't worry too much about using up leftovers, but try not to be blatantly wasteful, and will generally at least try to make one attempt. My saving grace is often to just add to any herbs to a green salad. Delicious.
Wine- Like all fresh healthy food, this must be accompanied with wine. The tres chic are stylish but not flamboyant in selections, and do not spend a fortune in this department. If you are tres chic, you know that Cotes de Rhone is an ideal choice for a red during the summer as it is light and not so dry. I beleive the one i picked up recently at the local market was about $8. Delicious and complemented the strawberries and lavender perfectly. Thanks to our tres chic french cousins for making this summertime pairing possible.
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