That's What Jenni Said

To follow the roasted goose we served on Christmas (as mentioned in my last post) Jonathan baked sticky toffee pudding, following a recipe I clipped from Bon Appetit. It’s a confusing dish for Americans because it’s not pudding (it’s cake!) and it doesn’t feature toffee (the Brits call caramel toffee). Language barrier notwithstanding, it’s a terrific dessert. Sweet and decadent. Even more so when we plated it atop a generous spoonful of vanilla custard we had leftover from the morning’s pastry breakfast. We also opted to top the pudding with roasted hazelnuts and pecans. ingredients Pudding: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour plus more for pan 1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates (about 6 ounces) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs Sauce: 1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup (1/2 st

  This year we decided to roast a goose for Christmas (it turned out really well) which meant I found myself with a goose liver on hand. After a bit of researching I found this wonderful recipe from Jacques Pepin and after making a few modifications, I set about preparing it for tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Like Christmas, tonight’s dinner will be a quiet, low key affair for just the two of us as I’m still feeling down about my mother’s passing in early December. We picked up her ashes yesterday. It’s all a bit surreal. We snuck an advance taste of the pate this afternoon and it is marvelous. Marvelous! I recommend serving it with cherry jam (we’re going to use the homemade jam we canned over the summer) on rich buttery crackers. ingredients 3 ounces goose fat 1 large shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped (2 1/2 tablespoons) 1 goose liver (about 3 ounces), chopped 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or more, to taste) 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 te

This month's issue of Bon Appetit featured a quick and easy winter soup infused with Asian flavors. I made it for dinner last night with some modifications and it went over very well.  Herbs and spices are paired with poached chicken and mushrooms and the result is a warm and flavorful broth that elevates ordinary chicken soup to a deeper, more soulful, plane. I've adopted the recipe as my own and with how simple and speedy the prep is, I'll be making it frequently.  Here's my version (serves 3): Chicken and Mushroom Soup with Chile  1 T olive oil 5 cloves of garlic, peeled 2   bay leaves 1 T allspice 2 large  boneless, skinless chicken breasts  1½   teaspoons   kosher salt, plus more 1 T chicken broth base 8   ounces baby portobello  mushrooms, sliced 1  serrano  chile, thinly sliced 1   1” piece ginger, peeled and grated 1  T rice  vinegar 1  T  soy sauce 1 T Aji-Mirin sauce  Handful of rice vermicelli  Freshly