Tag: Mimi Thorisson

Cherry Clafoutis

On By lukephillaryhIn Luke's Dishes1 Comment
Clafoutis with cherry Mimi Thorisson recipe
In France, they say ‘cerise’

Cherry Clafoutis is a dessert that’s easier to make than properly pronounce. My mom’s directions for making clafoutis are as follows: “pour palačinke batter over cherries and put it in the oven.” The only messy part of this recipe is pitting the cherries – a task I didn’t particularly enjoy as a 5 year old child. I realize now why my mother’s directions for clafoutis are so straight-forward. She leaves out the part where I do all the grunt work and end up covered in cherry juices.

Because Hillary and I are too structured of people to actually follow the palačinke batter + cherries advice, we use Mimi Thorisson’s recipe from A Kitchen in France. Mimi actually doesn’t pit her cherries, which is something my pre-k self would have been very happy about. If you’d rather not throw caution to the wind, try these pitting methods or pick up a special pitter.

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 TBS unsalted butter, melted and cooled + extra butter for cake pan
  • 1 LB cherries, pits removed
  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
  •  3/4 cup + 1 TBS whole milk
  • 4 eggs
  • Powdered sugar for *dusting*

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  2. Pit the cherries either with a pitting tool or using a chopstick.
  3. Butter a 9 inch round cake pan. Arrange the cherries in the bottom of the pan.
  4. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and vanilla bean seeds.
  5. Whisking gently, add the milk and then eggs (one by one). Add the melted butter and whisk until the batter is nice and smooth. Pour the batter over the cherries.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 30ish minutes.
  7. Place the pan on a rack and let cool for at least 1 hour.
  8. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Mimi’s Wonton Soup

On By lukephillaryhIn ExoticLeave a comment
wonton soup homemade Mimi Thorisson recipe
Happy New Year!

The Mimi of this wonton soup recipe is Mimi Thorisson. Her food blog Manger and two cookbooks are portrayals of idyllic life – lots of beautiful, fresh food, adorable children, even cuter dogs, and a photographer husband, capturing every single moment perfectly. It is almost suspiciously serene. But while her pictures evoke envy and a bit of skepticism, we do love to look at and cook her food.

Luke and I celebrated New Year’s Eve separately, he in Philadelphia with friends and me alone on a plane. To make up for missing each other on December 31, this past weekend we made a special meal for Chinese New Year (新年快乐!). Admittedly, this soup is so easy to make it may not warrant being called “special.” But the wontons do possess a certain je ne sai quoi. With a scattering of scallions and a swirl of sesame oil, these brainy wontons are subtlety elegant and delicious.

We enjoyed our bowls of soup reflecting on the past year and hoping that in 2017, amidst these already troubled times, we can do more good and experience more good than in 2016.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 – 3/4 pound peeled shrimp, coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 – 3/4 pound ground pork (not too lean)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 TBS soy sauce
  • 1/2 TBS oyster sauce
  • 1/2 TBS rice wine
  • 1/2 tsp sesame oil (plus more for serving)
  • 1 TBS grated fresh ginger
  • pinch of sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • pack of square wonton wrappers
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • chives, scallions, cilantro (freshly chopped) for garnish

Directions:

  1. Begin by making the wonton filling. Mix the shrimp and pork in a medium sized bowl. Add the egg white, soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, ginger, sugar, salt, and pepper and mix well. Set the filling aside for 20 minutes.
  2. Lay out a large piece of parchment paper and sprinkle with flour. Take your pile of wonton wrappers, one at a time, covering the pile with a damp towel so that they do not dry out. Add a little over 1 tsp of filling to the center of a wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with water (we set out a little bowl of water and wet with our fingers) and fold in half to make a triangle, pressing down firmly. Make sure the seal is secure, you do not want any little gaps. Then, gather the 2 opposite corners of the wrapper, dot them with water, and join them together. Again, press firmly to seal. Set wrapped wonton on a lightly floured baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filing, until you have about 25-30 wontons. You will likely have leftover filing and definitely leftover wrappers. The filing keeps for 2-3 days so more wontons can be made later.
  3. Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Season with a bit of salt and pepper, to taste. While doing this, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add the wontons and cook in batches (roughly 12 at a time). The wontons are finished when the rise to the top, about 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate as they are cooked.
  4. Add the cooked wontons to the chicken stock and bring back to a gentle boil. To serve, ladle about 6 wontons into a bowl and top with some chicken stock. Sprinkle with chives, scallions, and/or cilantro and a few drops of sesame oil. Serve with chili oil on the side, if desired.

Details: Serves 5

Canelés de Bordeaux

On By lukephillaryhIn Luke's Dishes, Uncategorized4 Comments
Cannelés de Bordeaux Mimi Thorisson Trader Joes
Powder sugar perfection

Canelés are the perfect treat. They’re bite-sized, super sweet, crunchy and custardy. You can enjoy with a morning coffee, as an afternoon snack, or have a couple after dinner for a little sweetness. And when sprinkled with powdered sugar, they’re très photogenic – perfect for Instagram.  We discovered this recipe via Luke’s mother, who mastered making canelés by following a recipe in Mimi Thorisson’s A Kitchen in France. Proper French pastry chefs use copper molds, but a silicone mold (recommended by Mimi) makes life a lot easier. The only qualm we have with canelés is that they require some serious patience! You must make the batter at least 24 hours in advance. We suggest making the batter Saturday morning so that you can enjoy these little gems with Sunday brunch…and lunch, dinner, and midnight dessert!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups + 2 TBS whole milk
  • 1-2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 3 large egg yolks
  • 2 TBS unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 cup dark rum (tip: we bought two mini bottles of Kraken Black Spiced Rum)

Directions:

  1. Note! Batter must be prepared at least 24 hours before baking, so plan ahead.
  2. In a medium saucepan set at medium-low temp, whisk together milk and vanilla seeds. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Let it rest for 5 minutes then transfer to a large bowl.
  3. Whisk in the sugar and flour slowly, avoiding any lumps. Add egg yolks one at a time and mix until incorporated. Stir in the melted butter. Pour in the rum and whisk the batter until smooth. The batter should have the same consistency as palachinkes (aka crepes).
  4. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours (can be up to 48 hours).
  5. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  6. If using silicone canelés molds, you do not need to brush with butter. Copper/metal molds are trickier to use. Consult more professional canelés-makers for suggestions.
  7. Fill molds about to 2/3, be very careful to not fill too much. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes then turn down the oven to 350°F and bake for additional 50 minutes.
  8. Let canelés cool in their molds for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire rack. Dust with powdered sugar when you’re ready to enjoy!

Details: Most silicon molds hold 15 or 16 canelés, we had a bit of batter leftover once our mold was filled.

Summer Vegetable Soup

On By lukephillaryhIn VeggieLeave a comment
Vegetable soup Mimi Thorisson recipe
summa summa sixteen

It is finally officially summer! The farmers’ market is overflowing with luscious fruits and vegetables begging to be turned into a delicious seasonal feast. And there is no more archetypal summer meal than soup. Oh-kaaaay…so that’s a completely sarcastic statement, but Luke and I both feel this soup deserves serious summer status! 1) It requires no oven use whatsoever 2) It includes many of summer’s best bounty aaand 3) This soup manages to be light and healthy (entirely veggie!!) but also extremely flavorful and nuanced (especially when parm broth is used). Luke and I strongly advise that you blast “Summer Sixteen” while chopping up all of these veggies. Making this delicious soup is an ideal way to celebrate summer.

This recipe is adapted from Mimi Thorisson’s soupe au pistou, which can be found in her cookbook A Kitchen in France.

Ingredients – Soup:

  • 3 TBS olive oil
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 medium carrots, minced
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts, thinly sliced
  • 2 zucchini, minced
  • 8 oz green beans, cut in half lengthwise
  • 4-5 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded, and chopped (or 1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes, with juices partially drained)
  • 5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 bunch basil, roughly chopped
  • 1 TBS herbs de provence
  • salt & pepper, to taste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5-6 cups water or preferred broth (chicken, vegetable, parm)
  • 8 oz kidney beans (pre-soaked or from a can)
  • 8 oz white beans (pre-soaked or from a can)
  • 1 cup elbow macaroni

Luke and I topped our bowls with a simple mix of basil, garlic, olive oil, and a touch of salt, mashed with a mortal & pestle:

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • handful of basil leaves, finely chopped
  • 1 TBS olive oil
  • pinch of salt

Directions:

  1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, leek, zucchini, green beans, tomatoes,  and garlic. Saute for 5-8 minutes, stirring to make sure the vegetables cook evenly. Add the basil, herbs de provence, and salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes more.
  2. Add your chosen liquid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered.
  3. Add the uncooked macaroni and cook until al dente, 8-10 minutes, and then stir in the beans.

Serve immediately! If you like, top with basil mix and shaved parm.

Details: Makes lots of soup! Six hearty servings.