First lady Michelle Obama listens as Marshall Reid, author of 'Portion Size Me: A Kid-Driven Plan to a Healthier Family,' introduces her at the first ever 'Kids' State Dinner' in the East Room at the White House last year. The second 'Kids' State Dinner' will be held in July. (Larry Downing/Reuters/File)

Winners announced for 'Kids' State Dinner' (+video)

By Stir It Up! Editor, Kendra Nordin / 06.20.13

Michelle Obama, Epicurious, the US Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture have announced the recipe winners for the second 'Kids' State Dinner' to be held at the White House on July 9. The recipe contest and the dinner are part of Mrs. Obama's efforts to promote healthy eating among America’s youth through her "Let's Move!" initiative.

The contest for lunchtime recipes was open to children living in any of the US states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. Each winning recipe had to meet the criteria that supports the USDA MyPlate guidelines (ChooseMyPlate.gov) by representing each of the food groups including, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and low-fat dairy foods.

The judges received more than 1,300 entries.

“This year, we received very sophisticated recipe entries from all over the country that featured healthy ingredients like salmon, Greek yogurt, and ground turkey, which made it a delicious challenge to select the finalists,” said Epicurious editor-in-chief Tanya Steel in a release announcing the winners.  “Each recipe also included anecdotes explaining the importance of healthy eating. The insight from the kids who entered the challenge demonstrates that today’s youth understands the need to strengthen their bodies and minds with the most wholesome ingredients available.”

The winning recipes and their titles range from local ingredients ("Alaskan Ceviche with Mango," "Pan Seared Mississippi Catfish on a Bed of River Rice"), to the sophisticated palate ("Quinoa 'Risotto' with Shrimp and Kale"), to the basic ("Raisin Bran Muffins"), and the encouraging ("Picky Eater Pita Pizza Pockets," "Bring it On, Brussels Sprout Wrap!").

“Our Kids’ State Dinner is one of my favorite events of the year, and the kid chefs who come from around the country never cease to impress and inspire me with their creativity and ingenuity," Mrs. Obama said. "I’m counting down the days until the winners join me at the White House to celebrate these healthy and delicious meals that kids everywhere will love."

To check out the winning list of recipes online, go to letsmove.gov/kids-state-dinner-winners.

A free downloadable and printable e-cookbook of the winning recipes, including nutritional analyses and photos, will be available in July at the contest site, epicurious.com, letsmove.gov, USDA.gov, and Ed.gov.

Watermelon Oreos may be a little outside your comfort zone. Crumbled traditional chocolate Oreos instead of graham crackers serve as the base crust for these delicious magic bars layered with Rolos, pecans, chocolate chips, and coconut. (The Pastry Chef's Baking)

Watermelon Oreos sound weird? Try Oreo Rolo magic cookie bars.

By Carol Ramos, The Pastry Chef's Baking / 06.19.13

Editor's note: Watermelon Oreos, in limited release by parent company Mondelez, may be a trendy fad for summertime fun. But traditional Oreos can be used for more than just snacking. They also make a delicious add-in to your favorite dessert bars.

Magic cookie bars are like the stir-fry of desserts. When you want to use up random ingredients in your fridge, you throw together a quick stir-fry: veggies before they spoil, the leftover chicken and/or beef from last weekend's barbecue, cubes of tofu before the use-by date. Same with magic cookie bars. I had some pecans I had already toasted from another recipe, Rolos I bought on sale, Oreos I bought to bake with (rather than eat straight out of the package), a few spoonfuls of salted caramel, and half a can of sweetened condensed milk from a prior recipe. So voilà, the Oreo Rolo magic cookie bars were born.

As with a stir-fry, magic cookie bars are actually pretty forgiving and flexible with the add-ins. The only "must haves" for me are a crust, coconut, and sweetened condensed milk for the topping. Everything else is whatever you want to use up. In this case, I processed Oreos into crumbs and added melted butter to make a crust for the bottom layer. Then I baked that for 10 minutes to firm it up a little so it wouldn't be too soggy and layered on my add-ins: the last of the salted caramel so I could recycle the jar it came in, the chopped up Rolos for more caramel goodness, the toasted pecans for crunch, coconut (I love coconut and it wouldn't be a magic cookie bar without it), chocolate chips, and the last of the sweetened condensed milk.

End result was delicious goodness. Double bonus was that I used up some random ingredients and that this was super easy to make. Very little mixing and it's hard to overbake these because the coconut signals when they're done – golden brown in spots but not uniformly brown all over.

The measurements below are approximations. Feel free to experiment on your own.

Oreo Rolo magic cookie bars

1 cup crushed Oreos, finely processed into crumbs in a food processor

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2/3 cup Rolos, chopped

1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup coconut

1/2 can (7 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine crushed Oreos and melted butter. Press in an even layer in pan and bake for 10 minutes.

3. Take pan out of oven and spread caramel evenly over hot crust. Sprinkle with chopped Rolos, pecans, coconut, and chocolate chips. Cover evenly with sweetened condensed milk. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until coconut is golden in patches and the edges of the bar cookies are brown.

Not a big fan of coconut? Try nuts as a filling instead, whole wheat flour or regular gluten-free flour, and brown sugar. (Beyond the Peel)

Unbelievable gluten-free coconut brownies

By France Morissette and Joshua Sprague, Beyond the Peel / 06.19.13

Is it bad to eat six brownies in between lunch and dinner? It can’t be good right?

Unless of course they are delicious brownies. After all, I have had some bad brownies in my time. Some dried out wannabe version of a brownie. Crumbly, flavorless, or worse, “too sweet they stick to the teeth I need 2 glasses of milk to swallow it” brownies. Then there are the failed attempts at making healthy brownies. There are a surprising amount of those out there. Blah. Nasty. I have been not only the victim of said failed brownies, but the creator as well!

As you might already know, not everything I make is considered healthy. Especially when you consider all the food circles. And you know what? That’s OK by me. Everyone’s got their own version of what is healthy. Some say paleo, others say primal, or vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, grain free, traditional diets (WAP), allergy free … the list goes on. Mine is simply to stick to real food/whole food and try for moderation.

Six brownies. Moderation experiment failed. Yup, huge failure. Moderation that is. The recipe on the other hand, as you can guess by my unadulterated consumption, was a huge success.

For those of you who believe that the words “healthy and dessert” should never mingle you’ll be glad to know that these aren’t low in sugar. They are made with natural/whole food sugars though, but you wouldn’t know it! That’s the best part.

These also happen to be gluten-free, dairy-free and grain-free. The one crutch is the sugar, a blend of coconut sugar (cheap at Costco) and honey or agave. I even tested these out on a crew of fire fighters yesterday. They loved them. Success.

I hope you decide to give these a whirl. Texture wise, I’d say they are somewhere between a brownie and a chocolate cake. Dense and moist like a brownie but not so dense they stick to the teeth. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. I’ve made some substitution notes below the recipe.

Coconut brownies

 1/2 cup coconut oil (or unsalted butter)

1/2 cup cocoa or cacao plus 1 tablespoon

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/3 cup honey or agave

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

tiny pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by 8-inch pan with parchment paper.

2. Melt the coconut oil (just to melting, not hot) and whisk in the cocoa/cacao.

3. In a medium sized bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, honey, and vanilla together. Pour in the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the coconut flour and coconut and mix until combined.

4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until set in the middle.

Recipe Notes & Substitutions:

Coconut: Substitute 2/3 cup of nuts for coconut.

Flour: Though I haven’t tried it, I’m pretty confident that if you wanted to try this out with whole wheat flour, oat flour or gluten-free flour, it would work.

Sugar: Not ready to try coconut sugar? 3/4 cup packed brown sugar would work too, but omit the honey.

Quickly cook chicken, or use leftovers to make this Moroccan-inspired chicken salad. (The Runaway Spoon)

Moroccan chicken salad

By Perre Coleman Magness, The Runaway Spoon / 06.18.13

As the weather really starts to heat up, a cool summer supper salad is a great thing to have in the fridge. Chicken salad is perfect picnic or party food, great for a weekend at the lake or lunch by the pool. I love a good chicken salad and make many different versions depending on the occasion and the mood. I like chunky chicken, crunch, texture and color – something interesting and intriguing, so this recipe has become a favorite.

This savory–sweet recipe is unique and distinctive and will spice up your regular summer menu. It’s lighter and healthier with Greek yogurt, which still adds richness and tang and the fresh herbs give it zing and brightness. Traditional Moroccan spices are what set this iteration apart, and the herbs, apricots and carrots make this a colorful addition to any summer table.

Moroccan chicken salad
Serves 4 

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 lemons

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon coriander

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

6 dried apricots, finely chopped

1/4 cup shredded carrots

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Squeeze half of one lemon into a baking dish that just fits the chicken. Lay the chicken on top, and squeeze the other half of the juice over it. Tuck the spent lemon halves in between the chicken. Slice the other lemon into thin slices and lay over the chicken breasts. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake until the chicken is cooked through, with an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 30 minutes.

3. Uncover the dish and leave the chicken in the liquid until cool. Chop the chicken into small, bite size cubes.

4. Mix the yogurt and spices together in a large bowl. Stir in the mint and parsley until thoroughly combined. Add the chicken, almonds, apricots and carrots and gently fold everything together until the yogurt evenly coats all the chicken and the ingredients are evenly distributed.

5. Refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld. The chicken salad will keep covered in the fridge for two days.

Vegetables are artfully displayed in the produce section at a Whole Foods Market in Boston. (John Nordell/Staff/File)

National Eat Your Vegetables Day

By Stir It Up! Editor, Kendra Nordin / 06.17.13

Eat Your Vegetables Day on June 17 stands in stark contrast with National Doughnut Day. This "holiday" seems to have sprung out of Internet fiction, much the way that April is now designated as Grilled Cheese Month, but we like its motive and focus so we are going with it.

Instead of rushing to your local doughnut shop to pick up a free dessert, however, a holiday focused on vegetables requires more thoughtful planning and engagement. But you will feel a lot better after you eat a fresh, steaming, buttered ear of corn than you will after eating a doughnut.

Sure, a bag of frozen peas counts as eating your vegetables, but taking the time to educate yourself about which vegetables are in-season and how to prepare them provides loads of other benefits in addition to being better for you. For example:

Social. You'll meet more people if you eat more vegetables. Head to your local farmers' market and actually meet the people who grow tomatoes. You'll probably bump into a neighbor or two while you are there. No one stands for long in the freezer section of the supermarket. But if you take your time in the fresh produce section to inspect that pile of beans or onions you can compare notes with other shoppers. Or, if you grow vegetables in your garden at some point you will be overrun with mint, zucchini, and summer squash. These make perfect in-season offerings for friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors, who will be grateful. Vegetables are also earth-friendly, they require less energy and produce less waste than livestock to grow. Who doesn't want to be friends with the planet on which we live?

Education. Cooking with vegetables requires some bravery and curiosity. Can you tell the difference between bok choy and red cabbage, for instance? What will you do with it when you take it home? Push yourself beyond familiar vegetables like cucumbers and carrots and try something you don't recognize. Online recipes make it easy to Google, "rutabaga recipe." You'll feel smarter and more creative if you cook with fresh vegetables.

Fashionable. Fresh vegetables are in-season, aka trendy. Make it a game to watch for which vegetables are coming into harvest and then plan a meal and invite your friends. You will be surprised at the rich flavors in-season produce provide and how little enhancement you'll need to do at the stovetop. More people from European chefs, to home cooks, to school children are finding ways to incorporate leafy greens and crunchy produce into their daily meals. If you are uninspired by vegetables, there are plenty of resources, cookbooks, and blogs to guide you. This seasonality chart might be a good place to start: http://cuesa.org/page/seasonality-chart-vegetables

Share your ideas in the comments below for your favorite vegetable-focused meals. And happy Eat Your Vegetables Day!

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Thai red rice is similar to brown rice, and has a nutty flavor. Find it at Asian markets, or substitute brown rice. (The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook)

Too hot to cook? Almost no-cook harvest red rice salad

By Patricia Tanumihardja, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook / 06.16.13

Help! I’ve turned into my mother! As much as I love my mum, I’ve lived in fear that our bloodlines run so deep I was bound to inherit some of her “quirky” (yes, that’s a diplomatic term) traits sooner or later.

While I’ve managed to dodge Ma’s penchant for sucking in her breath every time the car brakes (an unfortunate habit learned over decades of being in the passenger seat while my dad is driving), or haggling with poverty-stricken market vendors in developing countries over 10 cents or some such paltry sum (seriously, my heart breaks every time I witness this injustice), like her, I am now a perpetual rice-eater.

No matter how much protein or how many potatoes I consume, if I don’t eat rice, I’m just not satisfied. Not to mention, my belly starts rumbling barely an hour later.

Growing up, hot and fluffy rice took pride of place in the center of the dinner table, forming the blank canvas of my childhood palate. Plain white rice, usually jasmine, would be embellished by a stir-fry of bok choy and garlic, and turmeric fried chicken or spicy beef curry. The next day, any leftover rice was transformed into fried rice or thick rice porridge for breakfast.

Granted this rice-eating habit has followed me into adulthood, but when days are pushing 80 or 90 degrees F., the last place I want to be is in a smoldering hot kitchen. And so began my quest for no-cook – or as close to it as one can possibly get – rice recipes.

I’ve been inspired by visits to farmers’ markets, my favorite cookbook authors, and by experimenting with creative riffs on Asian favorites. The results were spectacular: a mound of rice studded with assorted seasonal vegetables, like gems, and seasoned with my favorite vinaigrette du jour; no-cook “fried” rice using the same ingredients but in different guises – grated carrots, shredded Chinese cabbage and crumbled hard-cooked eggs tossed with rice; rice cakes dipped in wasabi dressing, and the list goes on.

In the end, I’ve discovered several “out-of-the-wok” rice recipes to add to my repertoire, often saving the day when the pool, rather than the stove, beckoned.

Thank you, Ma, I owe you for this one!

Harvest red rice salad

Makes 4 salad servings, or 2 light lunch servings 

I’ve grown to love the reddish-brown hue of Thai red rice, some grains with the bran rubbed off to reveal the white beneath. The needle-thin grains are pretty to look at and have a pleasing chewy, nutty flavor. Thai red rice is unmilled (like brown rice) and takes longer to cook than polished rice like jasmine. However, because the grains are slender, they cook more quickly than other unmilled rices and use less water.

Use a heavy-bottomed pot with a tight-fitting lid to ensure the steam is retained in the pot during cooking. One cup raw rice yields about 3 cups cooked rice. Measurements and times vary according to rice type, so follow the package directions. Jasmine rice takes 15 to 18 minutes. Find red rice at Asian markets or specialty markets, or substitute brown rice.

1 cup Thai red rice

1-1/2 cups chicken stock or water

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice (about 2 large limes or 1 lemon)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 heaping tablespoon honey

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped

2 green onions, using green parts only, chopped

1/2 green or red bell pepper, chopped 

1/4 small red onion, finely chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Wash the rice well and drain. In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the rice and stock. Bring to a boil over high heat and let boil for 1 minute. Stir the rice to prevent sticking. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand covered for 10 to 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, whirl the canola oil, lime juice, soy sauce, and honey in a blender until smooth to make the vinaigrette.

3. When done, fluff the rice with a fork and combine the rice and vegetables in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving, or refrigerate for later.

Warm crepes filled with caramelized bananas drizzled with Nutella make an easy summertime dessert (or breakfast!). (The Pastry Chef's Baking)

Caramelized bananas and Nutella crepes

By Carol Ramos, The Pastry Chef's Baking / 06.15.13

I recently discovered a cafe near my house that serves both savory and dessert crepes. My niece and I tried them out a few weeks ago and loved their banana and chocolate crepes. It was a simple dessert but no less scrumptious for its simplicity. So of course I had to try making my own. For the filling I had already decided I wanted to caramelize the bananas first.  Which was easy enough to do: melt a little brown sugar with a bit of butter and add the bananas until they had softened but weren't too mushy.

I found the crepe recipe on marthastewart.com; it was simple and, with a blender, took mere seconds to make. You do have to plan slightly ahead since the crepe batter has to rest for at least 15 minutes before using. I'm not an expert on crepe making so I'm afraid mine weren't as thin as crepes were meant to be and it wasn't until I had already made a couple of crepes in a frying pan that I remembered I actually had a real crepe pan I could've used. 

I spooned the caramelized bananas in the middle of the crepe, folded it up, placed sliced (non-caramelized) bananas on top and covered the whole thing with dollops of Nutella, warmed slightly for easier pouring (dolloping?).  My homemade version didn't look at neatly professional as the one from Frodo Joe's Petit Cafe but it was delicious all the same. And, as summer heat kicks in, crepes are a good dessert option since you don't need to turn your oven on to make them and it's relatively a short amount of time at the stove to cook them. Bonus if you serve them with ice cream and fresh fruit.

Caramelized banana Nutella filling for crepes

1 large banana, sliced into rounds plus additional if desired

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Nutella

1. Melt butter and brown sugar in a small skillet over low heat. Add banana slices of 1 banana and cook until banana is caramelized.

2. Add caramelized banana into middle of one crepe and fold into a square bundle. Turn over so the folded side is down. Add slices of fresh banana on top if desired. 

3. Warm up Nutella until it has pourable consistency and drizzle generously over crepe. Serve immediately.

Backyard grilling could be considered a national pastime during the warm summer months. (PRNewsFoto/Weber(R) Sauces and Seasonings)

Grilled blackberry-jalapeno ribs

By Ben Frederick, Contributor / 06.14.13

All of a sudden, I was in charge. That’s how Dad always taught me to do things. He’d micromanage every detail while I concentrated on technique. Once I had the basics down, he’d step back quietly and let me figure the rest out on my own. 

He did that when he taught me how to read, how to clean the bathroom, how to paint, how to mow the lawn, how to drive, and now I was in charge of something more important than the car or the house – the grill.

With Dad, it’s all about the craft. Without a good product, your effort is worthless, so you might as well take the time to do it right, and do it well.

Back when we still had our charcoal grill, instead of the monstrous 200-pound smoker with the electric wood pellet hopper he loves so much today, he taught me the ways of fire and metal and meat.

Scrape down the grill bars, empty the ashes, fire the coals, and wait for the smoke to change color. After the smell had curled into the collective nostrils of the neighborhood, we lifted up the grill and poured the hot coals in, squinting our eyes from the updraft of heat.

“Barbequing is all about timing,” he said. “Most people either overcook or undercook their meat, because they don’t know how to do it right.” Dad’s burgers are better than most restaurants. “They use store-bought patties and leave them on for too long," he said. "The meat dries out, or gets really greasy, and you have to grimace your way through an entire meal.”

He plopped a couple of handmade patties on the grill. We made small talk while he demonstrated how and when to flip the burgers.

He handed me the spatula and stepped inside. I stood there uneasily, waiting for the meat to explode or something.

It was a little thing, but it seemed important, a pure crystal of classic Norman Rockwell Americana made real – a dad teaching his son how to barbeque on a clear summer night in Anytown, USA. Blue smoke rose from the grill while I waited for just the right moment to flip the meat.

Blackberry-Jalapeno St. Louis-style spareribs

The following ribs recipe is from the Costco Connection catalog and has quickly become a favorite in our family.

3 racks of St. Louis-style spareribs

For the dry rub:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

8 teaspoons garlic salt

8 teaspoons chili powder

4 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the liquid seasoning:

1-1/2 cups apple juice

1/2 cup blackberry preserves

2 tablespoons reserved dry rub mix (recipe above)

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

4 cloves minced garlic

2 teaspoons jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

For the finishing glaze:

1/2 cup white vinegar

5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

5 teaspoons reserved dry rub mix (recipe above)

1-1/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed

1/4 tomato paste

1/4 maple syrup

3 tablespoons mild-flavored molasses

2 tablespoons blackberry preserves

1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced

1/4 teaspoon hot chili sauce

1. In small bowl, combine dry rub ingredients. Reserve 2 tablespoons of dry rub for the liquid seasoning mixture and 5 teaspoons for finishing glaze. Apply remaining rub to both sides of ribs.

2. In small bowl, mix liquid seasoning ingredients; set aside.

3. Preheat grill to 250 degrees F. indirect heat. Place ribs on grill grate, meat side up. Close lid; cook for 2-1/2 hours.

4. Prepare 2 double-thick sheets of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Lay one rack, meat side up on each sheet.

5. Pour 2/3 cup liquid seasoning over each rack. Tightly close foil packages. Return ribs to grill and cook, covered for 1 hour.

6. In small, nonreactive pan, mix the first four finishing glaze ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients with wire whisk until combined. 

7. Carefully unwrap ribs; discard foil and juices. Brush glaze on both sides of ribs.

8. Return ribs to grill and cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until glaze begins to caramelize.

9. Transfer ribs to a platter and cut; serve with remaining glaze to pass.

Rachel Khoo's tartlets are simple and divine. Use raspberries, or any tart fruit to compliment the sweet almond cream, and top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. (Laura Edwins/The Christian Science Monitor)

Cookbook Review: The Little Paris Kitchen and raspberry and almond tartlets (+video)

By Laura Edwins, Contributor / 06.13.13

There's something about Paris. It seems like a right of passage for cooks to visit France, study pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu, fall in love with the French markets, stroll along the Seine, and then return home to open a bakery, write a cookbook, or blog about their experiences. 

We've heard again and again from Julia Child, Ina Garten, and countless others that French food does not have to complicated or scary. We know with varying degrees of difficulty American ingredients can come together to create such wonderful things as baguettes and croissants, to béchamel and crème anglaise, and other favorites like beef bourguignon and croque madames. 

But somehow fitting French cuisine into my everyday routine hasn't been so seamless. I love The Barefoot Contessa's chicken with 40 cloves of garlic and if I follow her recipe it comes out perfectly, but peeling all that garlic really does take some time. And yes, I would love to master brioche buns, but no, I don't have the patience to wait overnight while the dough rises, then 2 more hours the next day while it rises again. 

British chef and BBC television personality Rachel Khoo, who also made the Paris pilgrimage, manages to both simplify and shake things up in her cookbook, "The Little Paris Kitchen." First released in Britain to wide acclaim, "The Little Paris Kitchen" is filled with French classics with a twist, like a barbeque version of coq au vin on skewers and ideas for variations on crème brûlée with additions such as lavender, orange zest, and even black pepper. 

While there are some dishes that require precision and patience, many of Ms. Khoo's recipes are so simple I found myself thinking, "That's French? I could cook that tonight!" Her poisson meunière (fish with lemon and brown butter sauce) was only slightly different from my usual fish routine, with the delicious additions of flour for dredging the fish, and capers to finish. Her poulet aux champignons avec une sauce au vin blanc (chicken and mushrooms in a white wine sauce) was a breeze, and came together even faster than her estimated 30 minute cooking time.

Best of all, she has plenty of dessert ideas that don't require yeast, crème pâtissière, or ramekins. I tried, and fell in love with her tartlets aux framboises et amandes (raspberry and almond tartlets), which call for either a tart pan, or tartlet pans (which I do happen to have) but could also work in a shallow pie pan. I used raspberries on half of my tartlets, and strawberries on the others. They were delightful; warm and gooey, sweet and tart, with a flakey, buttery crust. I topped them with homemade whipped cream (one task I'm almost always willing to sacrifice time for) but whipped cream from a can or vanilla ice cream would have been just as good.

(See next page for recipe)

Tartlets aux framboises et amandes (Raspberry and almond tartlets)
From Rachel Khoo, "The Little Paris Kitchen"

6 tablespoons soft butter

1 teaspoon sugar

A pinch of salt

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons ice-cold water

For the almond cream:

2 cups ground almonds

1 cup sugar

Scant 1 cup of soft butter

2 eggs 

10 ounces of raspberries or other fruit

1. Using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until soft and creamy (you could also use a hand mixer on low for this step). Mix in the flour, followed by the egg yolks, and ice-cold water. Bring together to make a smooth ball, adding a little more water if the pastry is too crumbly (I had to add about 2 extra tablespoons). Only knead as much as necessary to bring the dough together. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of an hour, or overnight. (I did about 50 minutes and my dough was just a little too soft.)

2. Make the cream: Beat the almonds, sugar, and butter just until smooth, then beat in the eggs. 

3. Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before using and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease your pan(s). Roll out the pastry between two sheets of parchment paper until 1/8-1/4-inch thick (don't go too thin, or it will stick to the parchment paper). Cut your dough to fit your pans. Place carefully in the pans and prick each base several times with a fork (I must confess, I forgot this step and my tarts turned out fine). 

4. Spread the almond cream in the pastry shells, leaving a small gap at the top, and arrange the raspberries (or other fruit) on top, keeping them close together so that they almost cover the cream. Trip off any pastry overhang.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry edges are golden brown. (If using tartlet pans with removable bottoms don't forget to place a foil-lined cookie sheet or another pan below them in the oven so the don't drip all over the place. I must confess, I forgot to do this step.) Best eaten warm, cold is fine, too, but definitely not refrigerated.