December 28, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

It has taken me way too long to write a review about one of the best Clay Pot cookbooks to ever come out on the market, Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking. Why…this book is complex. Not a simple, quick to market book. This is a long term own. Any serious cookbook library should include this for two main reasons… one it offers an excellent view into the uniqueness and depth of Mediterranean cooking and two, for people like me, who are starved to cook authentic recipes in claypots, this book is a fabulous adventure.  

If you are new to Clay Pot cooking, the clay pot primer is the best I have seen in print.  You can find out enough about almost any clay pot to confidently start using your clay on a daily basis including information on which of your pots are great for what kind of cooking.

As for the recipes. They are far from typical. Maybe if you are from a delightful seaport fishing town in the Mediterranean they might seem common but to the wide audience they are unusual and very well thought out. Each recipe is prefaced with what type of pot might be traditionally used and offers multiple types of possibly more common cooking pots you can used.

So far the recipes I have tried have been very tasty, easy enough to prepare and worth making multiple times. Her recipe Creamy Bagna Cauda has become a party stable for me (more to follow on this). The Moroccan Fish Tagine with Tomatoes, Olives and Preserved Lemons was quick easy and a well received unusual addition to my Seven Fishes Christmas Eve Dinner.

I had the pleasure of hearing Paula Wolfert talk about her book at the James Beard Foundation in Nov.  If you have the opportunity to hear her speak, GO!. She offers incredible knowledge, cooking skill background and a warm informative style that is very inspiring.

This book is what the clay cooking movement, tradition, trend, lifestyle… whatever you chose to call the current state of Clay Pot Cooking, has needed. A serious, well researched book by a very important culinary personality. Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking is a cookbook you will want to study, refer back to often, and truely enjoy exploring each recipe.  

I would love to see Paula Wolfert’s collection of clay pots. It must be amazing. I do wish this book had more photos of the recipes completed in clay pots. The photo of Paula Wolfert shopping for clay pots in Morocco is particularly charming.

More postings about recipes from this book in the future. Please share your experiences as well.

If you would like to buy this book and help support Creative clay cooking please use this link. This review is a genuine endorsement of this book.

Paula Wolfert’s Website http://www.paula-wolfert.com/

Posted in book reviews, European Clay Cookware, european | No Comments »

April 15, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

This recipe is super simple and inspired by my childhood visits to my Grandparents, Mame and Pape, in Le Harve, France. We would go to the once rough waterfront which was previously full of sailors and soldiers filled bars when the port was at it peak. Post war the shores have been transformed into many cafes and family run old style bars.  My favorites were the ones with large vats of Mussels. ”Moule” is mussels in French.  Unlimited, huge bowls of steaming moule with baskets of crusty bread could be bought very cheaply. It became my favorite meal next to the bouillabaisse I later discovered. Moule is a very hands on dish. A kids dream as you grab a shell and just start eating. It felt like one could eat a hundred mussels in a sitting with it’s intoxicate aroma of wine and onions and fresh shellfish. The sauce from the mussels was impossible to resist sopping up with the flavorful bread and using the mussel shells as soup spoon scoops to get every last drop of the seafood gravy.  To this day its hard for me to resist not buying a bag of mussels in the seafood section every-time I see one.

Its a great value to serve  mussels. A very inexpensive super quick and easy to prepare appetizer or meal.  All you need is a large pot, ideally a heavy dutch oven type, since it makes the nicest mussel sauce.  Clay pots are perfect for the way they hold the moisture of your ingredients.  I like making my mussels in my fish clay pot… the theme is fun and I can take it decoratively directly to the table.  You can make many different kinds of sauces. tomato, Thai influenced, spicy… be creative… Here is the one that reminds me of my childhood, easy to build upon and tickles my taste buds when I see mussels for sale.

Classic white wine and shallots Mussels

1 bag of mussels

4 big shallots chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 stick of butter (you don’t have to use this much… but it tastes so good)

2 Cups of Wine or keep adding as much as you like.

1/2 Cup of Water… or more to fill the bottom of your pot with the wine about 1.5 inches.

1 t of salt

1 t of pepper

1 Cup of parsley

Fresh Sprigs of lemon thyme or lemon verbena (optional)

Juice of one lemon… extra for serving if you like.

 A loaf of crusty bread.

 Clean your mussels. Most mussels I buy at the seafood counter seem very clean,  just make sure the straw like beards are removed. Put the clean mussels aside for a later step.

On the stove saute the shallots and garlic in with the butter, until wilted in the pot you are going to cook your mussels.  You can substitute some olive oil or use less butter or even a pan spray depending on your dietary preferences. Each choice will offer you a different flavor but will be good.

Add the water and wine, half the parsley (and hearbs), salt, pepper, lemon, to the big pot and bring to a very hot steamy boil.

Pre heat your oven for the bread. And right before you put the mussels in start heating your bread. While the mussels cook remove and slice or leave the loaf whole for tearing crispy chunks of bread.

Put the mussels in and quickly and tightly cover the pot. Steam for 8-10 min. Do not over cook. The mussel shells should open and your sauce will have reduced a little. Discard any shells that are unopened. Throw the rest of the parsley on top and take to the table in your cooking pot if appropriate or one big serving bowl.

If you would like a thicker sauce. After 8 min remove the opened cooked mussels, keeping covered to not dry out too much, turn up the heat on the broth, reduce to the your desired consistence, add a couple tablespoons of cream and pour over the mussels and serve.

Serve immediately and ladle the mussels into soup size bowls so the sauce can gather in the bottom and easily be absorbed up by the accompanying bread.

Enjoy and be creative.

Posted in seafood, european, recipes, la chamba cookware | No Comments »

March 12, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

A recipe shared by Leonard Abrams for using his new La Chamba lidded pot… Ideal for cooking an anytime or a St Patrick’s special corned beef meal. The Clay Pot, a La Chamba lidded pot, is an great Dutch oven like piece of cookware for a very moist corned beef.

“Took a 3-1/2-lb hunk of corned beef, put it in a pot with some water, about 12 oz of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer [the hipsters will love this], about a tablespoon of pickling spices, which were premixed in a jar and were in the cabinet when I moved in 8 years ago [still potent though], an onion halved & a few cloves of garlic, then cooked it for maybe a couple of hours, then added four or 5 red potatoes and a couple of carrots, cooked it another 20 mins and added half a head of cabbage cut in four, boiled it till the cabbage got soft, et voila, le corned beef. served it with brown mustard, horseradish and plenty of PBR.”

Thank you Leonard… can not wait to try!! 

Posted in Stove to Table - One Pot Meals, St Patrick's Day, main course, european, recipes, la chamba cookware | 2 Comments »

January 18, 2009 by Nathalie Herling.

Strong, powerful sauce for over pasta or rice.  Not a gentle sauce kind of recipe but great when a pepper head is seeking a strong beefy pepper fix.

Posted in main course, european, recipes | 1 Comment »

December 2, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

Roasting Garlic

5 bulbs of Garlic

1.5 T of Olive Oil

1/2 C of Water

A great ingredient to have handy is roasted garlic.  I recently had the opportunity to try the Superstone (a patented highly fired clay mixture) Garlic Baker by Sassafras. Roasted up the garlic perfectly. Simply cut off the top of the full garlic bulb and remove the papery part.  Dribble about 1.5 T of Olive Oil over the top, salt and pepper and put in a cool oven at 350 degrees. After 25 min add a 1/2 a cup of water and baste every 10 to 15 min until the garlic is tender in an hour. After it cools, remove the extra pulp from the bulbs and store in an air tight container for future use. The brick like surroundings cooked it perfect. Cleaned up beautifully. Recommended.

I made five bulbs at a time to have a good supply for lots of recipes for the week.

Posted in stoneware, european, vegetarian recipes, recipes | 2 Comments »

November 24, 2007 by Nathalie Herling.

We haven’t jumped much into Glazed Clay Cooking… more to follow but here is  a little start…

Was offered the opportunity to review a little French Bakery style Bistro in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY called Fabianes Cafe and Pastry Shop located at Bedford Ave and 5th Ave.  A great place to pick up a quality cup of strong coffee and grab a fabulous little pastry. They offer small, popular, inside and outside tables for enjoying the sandwiches, soups, salads and breakfast dishes they serve creating a bistro like atmosphere.  Rumor is the owner is a fine trained French Pastry chef and it shows in the elegant while casual menu selections. Affordable, high quality and quick European flaire.

We stopped in to taste the Baked eggs served in a few different shapes of a classic gratins.  I selected the salmon, scallions, potato and egg mixture. It appeared about 10 min later with a perfect addition of a classic baguette and butter. There was an excellent balance of Salmon.. nothing over board but a strong quality breakfast meal for mid price place.  Little fried squares of potatoes were sprinkled on top for a nice texture and taste addition. With the final touch of an wide ceramic cup of strong black coffee, the encrusted egg gratin took my mind right back to France. Success!

The heavy glazed clay dish cooked the 3 eggs perfectly (for my taste) the yokes were a little cooked and still runny.  It was an ample portion with the bread to satisfy my hunger. A big eatter might like to suppliment with fruit, oatmeal or additions from from the menu.

The cost for the eggs between $6.40 and $7.50 depending if you would like Tomato and Feta, Proscuitto and cheese or the Salmon Choice.

A four star breakfast, the Coffee, might even deserve a five star…

Posted in european, brunch, restaurant reviews | No Comments »