Scary and Spicy Double Ginger Cake

Sometimes I found myself having a little piece of crystallized ginger. That brings memories of my home town, when for about three years I used to hike the Avila Mountain, 5 to 6 times a week, before sunrise. Once we got to Sabas Nieves, the forest ranger station, the reward was always, invariably, a ginger candy that my good friend and mentor Luis Vezga-Godoy used to buy at the Chinese market in Caracas.

An Angel in Los Angeles

Last weekend we went to beautiful Santa Monica. As usual, we walked on landmark Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends, to enjoy the sunset overlooking the Pacific and breathe the autumn sea breeze. We went to fancy Santa Monica Plaza and then got ready for the concert that brought us to Los Angeles.

A Time to Plant, A Time to Harvest

For a urban girl, who always lived in big cities and small apartments, having my own kitchen garden is one of the most relaxing and rewarding experiences that I have ever had. It’s also an endless source of common sense, proving that for everything there is a season and God’s time is perfect.

Potage Saint Germain or Green Pea Soup

Potage Saint Germain is a French cuisine classic. Originally made of fresh green peas, it’s the typical spring soup that can be made year-round using green split peas pureed.

Gingery Double Ginger Snaps

Since I moved to Southern California, autumn marks the beginning of the baking season in my house. A few days before Halloween, my son Tomás Eugenio who is almost 7 years old and I, cut and bake cookies with Halloween shapes: pumpkins, ghosts, witch's hats, bats... After that, we start baking all the holiday goodies: cookies and breads and cakes. First for Thanksgiving and then, finally, for Christmas.

Tabouleh: The Quintessential Middle East Salad

One of the reasons I grow parsley more than any other herb, is because of tabouleh. In my house they called it “the parsley thing.” Every time I make it, my sybarite gourmet son, Andrés Ignacio, who is almost 9 years old and like me is a tabouleh killer, starts to get around the kitchen pickings the parsley leaves and doesn’t stop until he gets the first bowl.

Roasted Red Bell Peppers with Olive Oil & Garlic

I started to make these peppers while I was in college. By that time, I fell in love with everyday Spanish food, the one that is omnipresent in every tasca: tortilla española, camarones al ajillo, champiñones con jamón, manchego and jabugo and all those goodies they serve you when you go “de tapas”: not to have a whole meal but to sample many appetizers.

Balthazar's Crushed Potatoes

This is another simple tasteful recipe from Balthazar’s kitchen. It can be found in The Balthazar Cookbook: olive oil, salt and pepper over crushed potatoes. 

You can serve this potatoes warm as a side dish and goes perfect with meat and fish (like the Roast Halibut over a Potato Bed.) Or you can add some sweet and sour shallots and serve cold as a salad.

Crushed Potatoes | Ingredients for 6 portions
8 medium Yukon potatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Freshly grounded white pepper

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Wrap each potato in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minute (make sure they are tender). Remove from the oven and let cool down but keep the warm. Discard the foil and remove the skin with a paring knife. In a bowl, crush the potatoes with a fork and mix in the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

To print the recipe click here.

Five Stars Roasted Halibut over a Potato Bed

I live in a small city in Southern California, 90 miles equidistant from San Diego and Los Angeles, towards the Coachella Valley Dessert. Let’s say that I live in the country and sometimes I want to eat like if I’m in Paris or New York or Caracas (where we usually show off about our cosmopolitan gastronomy.)

Balthazar's Sweet and Sour Shallots

This is the kind of recipe that I love. Its simplicity is proportional to its sharp yet delicate flavor: sweet and sour. It has the texture of a confit and can be preserved for two weeks in the refrigerator. It’s a classic at Balthazar, one of my favorite restaurants in New York.