Jacques Pépin’s Salade à la Crème and Limited Edition Signed Print

Jacques Pépin's Salade à la Crème and Limited Edition Signed Print

Jacques Pépin’s Salade à la Crème
and
His Limited-Edition Signed Print Called
“Roses”

In another one of his ever-charming Facebook videos taped in the kitchen of his Connecticut home, Jacques Pépin prepares a simple salad in the style of his maman, using cream instead of oil for the dressing. In it he makes the point that many are alarmed by using cream, but he notes that oil is actually much higher in calories… It reminded me of a hilarious and now famous quote by his meilleure amie, Julia Child, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”

The salad is delightful in an old-fashioned French way, and since the dressing is very simple, I like to serve interesting salad greens with it. These were Radicchio, Petite Red Oak, Green Tango, Green and Red Little Gem.

Jacques began painting in the 1960s when he moved to New York City to work in the restaurant business. He enrolled at Columbia University to improve his language skills and also signed up for an elective in painting.

On The Artistry of Jacques Pépin, he offers some of his original artwork and signed, fine-art prints for sale. A portion of sales go to support culinary education and sustainability.

Inspired by the Chef/Artist, I decided to photograph the salad in the style of a still life painting with roses, including one of his pieces from my growing collection.

Jacques Pépin's Salade à la Crème and Limited Edition Signed Print

Jacques’s Salade à la Crème Recipe

Continue reading “Jacques Pépin’s Salade à la Crème and Limited Edition Signed Print”

Pork Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce

Brined Pan-Seared Pork Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce, Fried Sage

One Pound duBreton Pork Chop
Pink Peppercorn Sauce, Fried Sage

Those who are familiar with San Pedro, our charming seaside corner of Los Angeles, know we are blessed with several beautiful feathery peppertrees that line our quaint streets. Recently, I harvested a bunch peppercorns for a still life photography session.

Pink Peppercorns

Now what to do with this cornucopia of pink peppercorns? Pink peppercorn brine and pink peppercorn sauce were paired with gorgeous one pound duBreton pork chops.

Continue reading “Pork Chop, Pink Peppercorn Sauce”

Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushrooms

Wild Mushroom Still Life

There was absolutely no way I could resist the fantastic selection of exotic mushrooms for sale at the Torrance Farmers Market. Chanterelles, Black Trumpets, Cordycep Militaris, Chestnut Royale, Wood Ear, Persimmon Enoki and Blue Foots to name a few… I paired them with Pink Peppercorns from my neighborhood trees to create a mysterious and colorful Wild Mushroom Still Life. Due to their psychedelic deep lilac colored stems, the Blue Foots just had to take center stage.

The Mushrooms

blue

  • blue foot (pied bleu) – highly perfumed aroma and flavor, cook before eating

gold

  • chanterelles – nutty with a fruity aroma
  • cordeycep militaris – savory earthy-nutty flavor
  • persimmon enoki  – impossibly fruity!

black

  • black trumpet – buttery woodsy smoky flavor
  • chestnut royale – porous texture absorbs other flavors (like butter) well
  • wood ear – crunchy gelatinous texture

After the photoshoot, what did I do with all those various wild mushrooms?

Sautéed Branzino with Cordycep Mushrooms

Continue reading “Wild Mushrooms”