August

Apéritif August

Guacamole

As many of you know, I grew up in California and was exposed early, to not only to parents’ Eastern European cuisine, but also to local California and subsequently, Mexican cuisine, which I adore.

When my children were small, growing up in France, I cooked my Mexican favorites, enchiladas, tacos, and all the fixings, such as beans, rice and salsa, and my all time favorite, particularly in the Summer, guacamole.

As avocados were abundant and sun ripe in California, guacamole and salsa were often on our table.

Everyone has their own recipe, their signature recipe of guacamole. Mine is very simple, consisting of avocados, some salsa or fresh tomatoes, spring onions, lots of fresh coriander, lots of fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, basta!

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips and a margarita or a glass of chilled rosé

Entrée August

Salade méditerranéenne

This is a luscious fresh salad that can be enjoyed at lunch or dinner, that has many variations.

1) Build a base of your favorite salad (spinach, sucrine, arugula, romaine, etc.)

2) pick a vegetable or a fruit to contrast with the green base in 1)

3) pick a meat or cheese that contrasts well with the first two 1), 2)

4) pick fresh herbs to give it depth and decoration

5) pick toppings, such as artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, frutto di capero, cornichons, etc.

6) keep the vinaigrette light and simple, so it does not overpower the first three ingredients : olive oil, lime juice, velours balsamique

Plat August

Linguine al Mare arrabbiata

As you know, I adore Linguine: it’s my favorite pasta. So I make it often, varying flavors, colors and textures.

For this particular version, knowing my love for seafood and shellfish, this version of Linguine al Mare is very easy to make.

1) take a seafood mixture of shrimp, mussels and calamari

2) fry them in olive oil, red onions, garlic, your choice of herbs and a bit of harissa

3) add in some rosé or white wine to finish, before adding the passata di pomodori with fresh basil. Add some pasta water from the linguine periodically until there is sufficient sauce

4) add in the precooked linguine, so they can soak up the taste and the flavors until al dente.

Vins Août

Over the Summer months, I have been testing and tasting Wine boxes or « cubi » in French.

Here are a few that I tasted :

BLANC

Les Hauts de Sainte-Marie, Entre Deux Mers, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, 70 % Sauvignon Blanc 25 % Sémillon 5 % Muscadelle

Ours blanc, Vin du Luberon, Bourboulenc, Grenache blanc, Roussanne, Ugni Blanc, Vermentino

ROSÉ

Alivetto, vin rosé IGP de l’Ile de Beauté, Corse, Niellucciu 70 %, Grenache 30 %

Domaine du Tariquet : Rosé de Pressée, Côtes de Gascogne, Merlot, Cabernet-franc, Syrah, Tannat

Elephant rose, Vin du Luberon, AOC, assemblage Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah

Listel, Grain de Gris, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet

Petites récoltes , Pays d’Oc, Nicolas, Cinsault, Grenache