L’ivre de Cuisine

A Compendium of World Recipes

From the Families and Friends of

The French American International School

Portland, OR

            This month’s featured cookbook was compiled of recipes by the families and friends of the French American International School in Portland. Its title, L’ivre de Cuisine, is a play on words with “livre de cuisine” meaning a cookbook while “l’ivre” means intoxicated, drunk or crazed. The school translates the title into meaning, “Crazy for Cuisine.”

            The recipes reflect both the Portland community and school supporters. There are pictures and photos by the students as well as recipes from Pascal Sauton of Carafe, Vitalay Paley of Paley’s Place, Kenny Giambalvo of Blue Hour, Gilbert Henry of Winterborne Restaurant, and Dominique and Stephanie Geulin who own Boulangerie Saint-Honore. Each recipe has a voice from the submitter which gives it life and draws you in to try the dish. The chapters have most of the traditional headings but also add chapters for “Big Pot Dinners, International Style”, “Dining with Friends”, and “Lagniappe- A little something extra” which include suggestions for cooking with kids and lunchbox ideas. This cookbook has lots of recipes for you to choose from.

            Many of the recipes use ordinary store-bought ingredients. One of the recipes that caught my eye was an unassuming “Soupe aux Courgettes (Zucchini Soup)”. With only 5 ingredients and a voice from Kevan Anderson relating, “This soup tastes great after a day of hiking in the beautiful Alpine foothills surrounding Annecy”, I decided to bring France to Portland and try the soup. Aside from zucchini, water, and chicken boullion cubes (I substituted Pacific Chicken broth), the soup called for Laughing Cow cheese. I have been using Laughing Cow cheese in my mashed potatoes for years instead of butter and the idea of using it to thicken a soup intrigued me. It takes no time at all to cook the zucchini, add the Laughing Cow cheese, puree it all with an immersion blender to a perfect silken consistency, and fold in a chiffonade of fresh basil. In 30 minutes I was sitting down to an easy heart warming and heart healthy soup.

            The next dish I tried was “Chicken Paprikash with Dumplings”. Ellen Saunders suggested to double or even triple the dumpling recipe for a heavy dumpling eating family. This recipe was very thorough in its directions and cooking times and makes wonderful leftovers. I liked the sweetness of the sautéed golden onions, sweet Hungarian paprika, and caraway seeds balanced by the canned tomatoes and sour cream. Although this is not a comfort dish from my heritage, I think I will add it to my winter repertoire. The dumplings seemed tough to me but my limited experience with dumplings is matzo balls. Next time I will serve it over freshly made noodles.

            I am always looking for new side dishes above and beyond potatoes and rice pilaf. “Orzo with Goat Cheese, Basil, and Sundried Tomatoes” seemed to be a good alternative. Once the orzo was cooked the recipe divided the goat cheese in half using some to coat the orzo and then later to crumble into the dish. Aside from the wonderful flavor of sundried tomatoes and basil they added a nice color contrast. It would be delicious with rosemary chicken and grilled vegetables.

            There are recipes for old standbys like “Crab meat Stuffed Mushrooms” and “Chicken Teriyaki” as well as new recipes for “Egyptian Lasagna”, “Khoresht-e Badenjan (Eggplant Stew)”, and “Ensalada de Judias Blancas (White Bean Salad)”.The most interesting recipe was for “Beggar’s Cake”, a crepe-like batter poured onto a vertical wooden rod in front of a fire or gas fire grate.  After one layer cooks, another layer is poured over the rod until all of the batter has been used. Once cooled it is covered with thickened sugar. I’m wondering if I could improvise with a Chef’s Flame kitchen torch.

            What sets this cookbook apart from other community cookbooks is that you are constantly reminded it’s for and about the students. In the “Lagniappe” section, there are “Vegetarian Salad Rolls”, “Sesame Seed Cookies”, and “Ants on a Log” to get your budding chefs involved. I wish I could turn back my college daughter’s clock and make the recipes for Play Dough and Flubber with her. I might be able to get her to try out the Kool-Aid Hair Dye when she comes home….

So, I urge you to mix “The Best Gin & Tonic” for you and a “Creamy Orange Slush” for the kids and try some of the great dishes from this cookbook!

Review written by Judith Bishop

www.ingoodtastestore.com

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