I spend an inordinate amount of time seeking recipes for that workhorse of the weeknight meal, the boneless, skinless chicken breast. But let’s face it, we could all overdose on chicken breasts. In a writing class I took before launching Chewing The Fat, one of…

If you’ve spent any time reading this blog, you know I am a huge fan of Trader Joe’s and not just because there happens to be one just three blocks from our place in the city.   I will suffer the crowds for the convenience and…

Home cooks and Chefs alike will welcome this terrific new  Chicken Confit Photos Courtesy of D’Artagnan Foods D’Artagnan’s new Chicken Confit comes in packages of 2 and 12. Ariane Daguin, founder of D’Artagnan, was up to her ears in Duck Fat. This will come as…

Emerald Waterways takes to the Rhône With a Top Chef on Board Jun 20, 2017 | 4:26 pm By Monte Mathews Staff Writer Chef Fabien Morreale has created a special meal for the passengers of these ships. Glen and Karen Moroney The Australian Company Scenic…

       Our favorite restaurants often share one thing in common.  We go there without ever having to look at the menu.  We know the moment we walk in the door what we are going to order.  There’s the linguine  with clam sauce at West Bank…

Salade Niçoise is Not What You Might Think It Is Get your facts straight regarding salade niçoise, direct from the source Aug 9, 2016 | 10:01 am By Monte Mathews Staff Writer We have the scoop on how a Salade Niçoise should really be made.…

         Granted, “Canard et Champagne”  (Duck and Champagne) are arguably two of France’s greatest gifts to cuisine but it took some nerve to open a restaurant which sells nothing else.   But that is precisely what Jean-Francois Montfort and partners Jean Valfort and Pierre Dutaret did…

Gluten-free pancakes are now widely available, but we went to France to find the original By Monte Mathews Staff Writer Spoiler Alert: We found the Socca. Socca pancakes, made with chickpea flour, may have been the world’s first gluten-free pancakes. Although the recipe started out…

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk  Richard Olney’s Chicken Gratin  Jamie Oliver I am a sucker for a good chicken recipe.  So the minute I saw that Food 52, one of my favorite food sites, had named Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk a “Community Favorite”, I…

         King Louis XV  Who doesn’t love a bowl of French Onion Soup? Topped with melted Gruyère cheese over crusty bread, your spoon digs into the bowl to get to the rich beef and onion broth.  It’s a classic recipe that became…

Catherine de Medici Mother of 3 French Kings        As far back as the 16th century, Lyon, not Paris, has been the gastronomical capital of France.  It was then that Catherine de Medici, the Queen Consort of King Henry II, an Italian noblewoman by birth,…

“When my husband and I acquired our farmhouse in Provence…, our visits were generally limited to weekend getaways from Paris. For the train ride back to the city, a snack was essential, and pan bagnat, or “bathed bread,” the Provençal sandwich found at every bakery and…

Confession Time:  Those vegetables that look like potatoes? They are potatoes served alongside the dish the night before. Since I didn’t get a photograph then, this picture was taken the next day with the leftovers potatoes added to the stew.          When we entertain, I…

Julia Child with her “Coq”          Cold winter nights are made for eating Coq au Vin.  And on a cold winter afternoon, the aroma of this great French classic cooking fills the kitchen with comfort.   A “Coq” is French for rooster and there lies the…