Barbara, my partner Dave’s mother, gave me a copy of The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook by Paula Wolfert for my birthday.

I tried out one of the easiest recipes in the book first, by throwing a few eggs into the oven at 225º after soaking them in warm water while the oven was preheating. The eggs then slow-roasted for about 5 hours. When they came out, they had this mildly smoky flavor and gorgeous golden color.

It turned out that even the smokiness couldn’t make a non-runny yolk appeal to me, but I loved cracking the shells open and finding the gilded whites like jewels hidden inside.

More to the point, here is another batch of food blog posts made by other people that I enjoyed immensely and recommend highly to you.

The capirotada I discovered over at Matt Bites is enticingly familiar, and at the same time thrillingly strange - almost the bread pudding I grew up with, it is actually a Mexican dessert calling for the inclusion of cheese and piloncillos (small cones of unrefined brown sugar).

This Creme Brulee Cocktail from Cook & Eat reminds me of the hot vanilla my friend Reene and I used to make, with milk, vanilla beans, sugar, and rum. Thing is, the creme brulee cocktail looks even better. Also from Cook & Eat, these Ice Cream Clouds (a/k/a Honey Elderflower Glacé remind me of a frozen maple mousse I made last summer. Again, L’s glacé sounds even better.

These Butter Prawns made by Rasa Malaysia look succulently savorysweet and utterly mouth-watering, made with grated coconut, birdseye chilis, curry leaves, and more. I also can’t wait to try out her recipe for Nasi Lemak, which she declares to be the de facto national dish of Malaysia. It involves coconut rice, anchovy sambal, hard-boiled eggs, fried fishies, and cucumber. I have been dying for an excuse to buy and use the dried anchovies I always see in Chinatown, and I think this is precisely the recipe I’ve been waiting for.

Nordljus’s Mont Blanc with Poached Pear is exquisite - espresso poached pears sliced thin and dried to crisps atop layers of chestnut puree and cinnamon honey tuiles, served aside dots of chocolate and cubes of poached pear.

I only just discovered Annie’s blog, Bon Appegeek, but I’m already in love. I’m sure that Katya will appreciate it greatly if I follow Annie’s instructions for how to roast butternut squash rounds using domesticated animals you may have around the house. As for me, I’m filled with a strong craving for nurungji, a Korean dish of almost-but-not-quite-burnt rice scraped from the bottom of the pot. Annie makes this sound good. Actually, Annie makes this sound great. If that doesn’t say all that needs to be said about how wonderful a writer she is, I give up right now. Get over there and read through her archives like I did when I first came across her blog. Pronto.

Helene at Tartelette is a genius. I can tell, because she posted a recipe for Sweet Potato and Baby Vidalia Scones that is making me hungry even as I type this. I suspect I won’t be able to find baby Vidalias at this time of year, but maybe if I substitute leeks I can make do until they show up at the greenmarkets again.

I’m also craving Helene’s Chestnut Cupcakes with Swirled Chocolate Frosting. I have a great love for chestnut puree, and I’m eager to give this recipe a try to see what it is like when incorporated into a cupcake.

Bea, of La Tartine Gourmande, created this elegantly scrumptious Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cake, with its Chocolate-Ginger Mousse. I want one. Enough said.

Posted by Danielle in Roundups on January 28th, 2007 | | Permalink