potato-crusted tilapia with chives and rosemary

I used this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.
(the recipe calls for purple potatoes, but I just used regular yukon gold)

chorizo & fried bananas

the chorizo: sliced & sautéed in a little oil, until edges are crispy.

the banana: sliced, dipped in egg wash (1 egg + 1 TBSP water), dredged in panko, seasoned with a little salt, and sautéed in oil until crispy.

soft pretzels

I used this recipe from Bobby Flay.

amaretto-cherry ice cream

A bowl of cherries splashed with amaretto liqueur makes a fine dessert. But it's even better when served over vanilla ice cream. In this case, it's nice to transform the amaretto into a syrup. Just boil the amaretto in a saucepan on the stove, until it reduces to a syrup-y consistency (cool for a few minutes so it doesn't melt the ice cream upon impact).

paris revisited

Feeling wistful for my incredible Paris trip in May '07, so I pulled some photos from the archives...

les escargots (very garlicky)...


a wonderful steak, saignant (cooked very rare)...


croque-monsieur (toasted ham & cheese with melted cheese on top)...


and one of my favorite meals: picking up various food items from the markets, and assembling them into a meal in the hotel room, looking out the terrace...