Appetizer special at Café Presse this weekend:
House-made farmer’s cheese served with grilled Treviso, pine nuts and sauce ravigote made with soft herbs, lemon, olive oil, capers and anchovies.
Our main course special today at Café Presse is a long-time guest favorite: Axoa d’Espelette.
Axoa is a stalwart of good Basque country cooking. Our version is made in the style of the village of Espelette, with ground beef and veal simmered with sweet peppers, onions, garlic, tomato, thyme and Piment d’Espelette,served with pommes frites. Miam miam! Available while supply lasts.
Café Presse is open (AT LAST!) and here is our first daily special! Available while supplies last.
Grilled pork-smoked duck sausage served with creamy celery root -Basque cider purée and a sauté of white beans, garlic confit, celery, herbs and black currants.
Hope to see all our friends again soon!
Keeping myself busy during the coronavirus shutdown, like everyone else…
These days, I have had time to take on some of the projects around the kitchen that often get pushed back or get forgotten. One such project is keeping all the kitchen knives sharp.
For lack of time to do it themselves, many cooks have their knives sharpened by a professional knife sharpener, who typically use a power grindstone for the job. There are even mobile sharpeners who, in normal times, stop by the restaurant every month and offer their services to the crew (for a fee, obviously!). My personal feeling is that sharpening knives with a power grinder is risky, especially expensive or carbon steel knives. Sure, you end up with a very sharp edge and a mirror like finish. On the down side, a power grindstone in the hands of the wrong person can take off too much steel during the sharpening and even change the profile of the cutting edge. I vividly recall a Paris kitchen where the chef had his own power grindstone. Over the years, all the kitchen knives had been systematically whittled down until only a thin ribbon of steel remained. It was like preparing food using a hacksaw blade!
Continue reading
Caramels are back at Le Pichet! Our house-made salted butter caramels are made with cream, local organic honey, butter and sea salt and are individually hand wrapped. Now available by the piece or in a 12 piece gift box! Enjoy them at Le Pichet or take some home (or have them delivered!) to your house.
New to the menu at Le Pichet:
Salad of celery root, winter pear, parsley, black currants, piment d’Espelette pecans and roasted pear-pecan vinaigrette.
Just added to the menu for fall: Salad of shredded carrots, Italian parsley, black currants and cumin-brandy vinaigrette. Miam Miam.
You asked and we listened…Raclette Savoyarde is back at Café Presse!
As featured on the Food Networks “The Best thing I Ever Ate”, our raclette features raw milk mountain cheese from the French Alps, melted in a skillet and served with steamed yellow potatoes, cornichons, pickled onions, 2 kinds of ham and dried sausages.
And for non meat-eaters, we also offer a vegetarian version served with sliced winter pears, apples and walnuts.
The only question left is whether you’re a person who dips their potatoes in the cheese or a person who pours the cheese over the potatoes (count me as “pours” every time)
Now on the menu at Cafe Presse, Brandade Nimoise! This favorite from Provence is a warm puree of salt cod with garlic, olive oil, cream, thyme and Parmesan, served with marinated olives and grilled country bread.
And for you take-out fans, we are now offering our Brandade in a Bake-at-Home kit! Check out our website for full details on Take Out and Delivery options.
Just added to the menu for fall at Café Pressse, our seasonal Croque d’Automne, with bechemel, gruyere, grilled portobello mushroom and roasted red onions…and it is vegetarian!
Receive periodic e-mails on upcoming events at Le Pichet and Café Presse.
