Photo: Breakfast dishes.
My Mother knows in the morning what she is going to make for dinner. At seven a.m., list in hand she is at the grocery store buying what she needs. Extremely Organized is her first and last name. When my Mother came to visit me in France she would ask me every morning after breakfast what we needed for dinner? Since I never plan dinner over breakfast I answered, "I have what we need, let's think about that later."
Many surprising dinners have been created with such a lack of plan.
Since I do not cook with recipes exact measurements are lost in the wind. When you cook by the seat of your pants you have to wing it to keep afloat. I love winging it. Hence, that is how Endive tart and Chestnut soup came to be.
Photo: Vintage dinner dishes hope for dinner. Over sized handkerchiefs are used for napkins.
The scenario went like this: Seven o'clock French husband called said some friends were coming over for dinner. I opened the refrigerator and bit my lip... thinking what can I do with some endives, roquefort cheese, chestnuts, walnuts and some vegetables? My Mother face seems to scream, "There is nothing in there! I knew we should have gone to the store this morning."
Reaching for the endives and roquefort cheese my Mom thinks we are going to make a salad. She exclaims that a salad is not a dinner. I wink at her and make an endive roquefort tart instead. My Mother whips up the dessert and dinner is ready.
Photo: An endive takes a bow.
Endive Roquefort Walnut Tart:
Put puff pastry on wax paper in a glass tart pan.
Chop in chunks three or four endives (use all the endive except the hard core at the end.) Place the chopped endive into the tart pan.
Crumble a generous handful of Roquefort cheese, sprinkling that on top of the endives.
Add a small but loving handful of chopped walnuts to top of the Roquefort.
Ground black pepper to taste,
Drizzle a dab of olive oil on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or so in a hot oven 220°
When the crust is golden, the endives caramelized and the walnut sweet perfume spills into the kitchen, turn the oven off, let it set inside the oven for fifteen minutes.
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Photo: Hot soup tureen awaits the chestnut soup.
Chestnut Soup
In a large heavy soup pan, saute in olive oil a chopped large strong yellow onion, a three tall thin carrots, and the heart of the celery with their tender tops.
Toss in 30 or so *cooked chestnuts, stir around until they are coated with the sauteed mixture.
Add several (6-9) cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn the burner down to simmer for an hour or more.
Add a glass of white wine, and a shot of vermouth or bourbon.
Nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.
Blend a cup of soy cream (or cream of choice) until smooth. Serve hot.
(*Frozen or canned whole cooked chestnuts will do.) Note: I never use stock in my soups.
Photo: Chestnuts at the open market.
I want to taste it ...Let's see if it would be as goos as the paella ...it lets me a very good souvenir : I'm talking about the paella ..
Posted by: Mélanie | 10 October 2007 at 11:28 AM
Silver spoons, ready! ... steady!... GOOOOOOO!
Posted by: Marie-Noëlle | 10 October 2007 at 12:15 PM
Mmm...thank you!
Posted by: tinker | 10 October 2007 at 12:17 PM
How fabulous you are my lovely friend.
I adore you
Posted by: Jeanne | 10 October 2007 at 12:50 PM
Thanks for the recipes. I'm definately going to try the tart. If I find chestnuts I may try the soup as well.
I too cook by idea more than recipes except when it comes to baking.
Darla
Posted by: Darla | 10 October 2007 at 01:04 PM
Ooooooooo
I saw chestnuts on the ground in the parc!
I'll bring them...
YUM
Posted by: parisbreakfasts | 10 October 2007 at 01:08 PM
Aren't you clever and so improvisational! And with you lovely place settings, everything was all the more delicious.
Posted by: tut-tut | 10 October 2007 at 01:18 PM
Mmmmm, Corey that Endive Tart sounds devine. I will have to add that to my *recipe* list. The other half loves endive and uhh...who doesn;t love french roquefort???
Posted by: My Melange | 10 October 2007 at 01:25 PM
Corey,
Thank you for commenting on my blog! My mother loves checking on you as well! The question of the morning is "have you checked Corey's blog"?
We are currently waiting on a shipment from France to clear customs from one of our fav French vendors.
Best,
Kara
Posted by: Kara | 10 October 2007 at 02:27 PM
I am in awe of your culinary skills and creativity, Corey. My reaction would have been: What?! You invited guests home for dinner TONIGHT?! And you'll be arriving home in fifteen minutes?! Agh! Fine then, we're ordering PIZZA!
FH certainly has faith that you can perform magic in the kitchen - and look! You did!
Posted by: susanna | 10 October 2007 at 02:34 PM
If Jeff pulled that on me, I would've ordered a pizza, haha.
Very inventive of you!! I don't an imagination like that and go by recipes.
Posted by: Shannon | 10 October 2007 at 02:40 PM
How reassuring that there are others in the world who don't clutch lists in the shop with each meal carefully planned. Much more fun - though tiring on the nerves sometimes - to create with what you have, or with what you've fancied buying that day. I cook a full lunch each day for my French wine making husband, whichever children aren't eating at school that day, and I arrive home for lunch at the same time as they do !! Makes for fun. The evenings are just the same, except tonight I know exactly what we are going to eat !!!! Thanks for the daily emotions Corey
Posted by: christine | 10 October 2007 at 02:59 PM
Hey,
Your recipe sounds delish! You are the queen of wing it, and I am one of your sisters. Like your Mom, my husband has to know the day before what we will eat the next night. It's ok, kinda good because then I know. Anyway, he cooks more that me.
Here is a thought I had yesterday about you and surrendering the one thing you enjoyed eating. You did this for God, and God gave you the gift of learning to enjoy vegetables!
Posted by: rochambeau | 10 October 2007 at 03:07 PM
Sounds yummy! And the pictures are lovely too!
Posted by: Tina | 10 October 2007 at 03:11 PM
Coery,
You are my kind of gal, stepping a little outside the rules. Being from the South (of the US not France that is ) I call that kind of thinking the Scarlett syndrome - like the line from the movie Gone With The Wind - "I can't think about that right now. If I do I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." If I had to think about dinner at 7:00a.m. I'd go crazy! Blessings on your day.
Sandy B.
Posted by: Sandy B. | 10 October 2007 at 03:16 PM
This sounds so good Corey. I love blue cheese and chestnuts. MMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm yummy. Pinkie Denise
Posted by: Pinkie Denise | 10 October 2007 at 04:20 PM
Yummy!
And how interesting that you don't use stock for soups.
Mari-Nanci
Posted by: Mari-Nanci | 10 October 2007 at 04:26 PM
Very creative! I couldn't turn out something like that if I lived IN the grocery store.
Posted by: karen | 10 October 2007 at 04:27 PM
We can collect a lot of chesnuts in the nearby forests round here at the moment...
Can I use fresh chesnuts? Do I have to boil or to gril them first ?
________________________
Hi MN
Either way. Both ways work.
Posted by: Marie-Noëlle | 10 October 2007 at 04:30 PM
dare i say a perfect fall dinner!
& your measures are perfect too..."a small but loving handful"...reminds me of my dear aunts who absolutely never measured by any form other than relatively sized objects...butter the size of a walnut, 2 handfuls of flour, add an abundance of apple slices...
one always seemed to know just what they meant as they cooked with love (the secret ingredient to all things good)...
Posted by: qualcosa di bello | 10 October 2007 at 04:35 PM
Corey- Will you come make dinner from what I have in my 'fridge? I have not yet mastered the "Oh, look! I can make something fabulous from this pea pod, head of cabbage and tin of tuna" skills. lol
Posted by: Karin | 10 October 2007 at 04:51 PM
The tart sounds divine and after my recent success with the chicken pot pie, I am inspired to try this.
Posted by: AnnieElf | 10 October 2007 at 05:13 PM
Oh you are a master of tastes! This sounds DELICIOUS!
Posted by: Ulla | 10 October 2007 at 05:24 PM
Soup and a tart - you're lucky you live in France where the guests don't expect a quarter pound of Entree.
Posted by: BOSSY | 10 October 2007 at 05:38 PM
Wonderful...my mouth is watering... I don't cook with recipes, either, or if I do, I never follow the recipe exactly again, except when it comes to baking. (Usually because I have no idea what I did with it and have no patience to try to find it.) I think this is why, even though I don't cook often and don't enjoy it like my husband does, whenever I do, it's exciting and the food is interesting and actually, usually tastes pretty good. Because I cook the way I paint.
Posted by: Alison Whittington | 10 October 2007 at 05:50 PM
The tureen of soup on the table ready for it's debut with silver spoons and linen napkins...how devine! How clever of you to combine endive and cheese for an indeed special tart! Ingenious of you Corey, but then again you are a clever lady in all that you do!
Posted by: Alice | 10 October 2007 at 06:01 PM
I'm not a planner either. I wish I was and I'm so envious of those who are. But it's contrary to my willy nilly flip floppy free spirit nature and makes my head and tummy hurt. Woe is me.
mmmmmmm, that sounds wonderful Corey! Good thing you didn't post a photo of the end result or I'd be licking the screen right now. :)
Posted by: Sally | 10 October 2007 at 06:46 PM
Sounds wonderful, Corey.
One of my favorite shows on Food Network, at least I think it was Food Network...was Gordon Elliot's Door Knock Dinners. Gordon and a chef of the week, would pay surprise visits to homeowners and prepare dinners with whatever they found in the pantry and fridge. Lots of fun to watch!
Pat
Posted by: Pat | 10 October 2007 at 07:19 PM
Sounds delicious. I will try it, though here in the UK we only get tiny endive and they are hugely expensive. I noticed in Paris that they come in bags of 12 in the supermarkets there and cost next to nothing.
Posted by: Di Overton | 10 October 2007 at 07:49 PM
Mmmmmm - I can almost smell it. Yummy!
Posted by: Steph W | 10 October 2007 at 07:56 PM
Sounds great Corey!
I love that kind of cooking. Whatever you have in the house.
I will have to try your recipes.
Rosemary
Posted by: Rosemary | 10 October 2007 at 08:49 PM
Both soup and tarte sound amazing and you make the creation of both sound simple - love that! Some of my best dishes start out with whatever's at hand (I'm vegetarian too) - it's a European thing I believe - perhaps from WW2 era when housewives, such as my Mum, had to make do with the vegs. growing in our 'Victory Garden'. Most foods were rationed and we couldn't get a lot of items - hmm, think I'll do a post on this some day. It was such an amazing time and the women were fabulous in an age of great fear and stress.
Thanks again Corey - you really make us think!
Posted by: Mary | 10 October 2007 at 09:05 PM
i love it when you cook
because
it means i don't have to...
:-)
i just look at your yummy photos
and pretend i did it...
plus, everything you cook smells so good,
even
all the way
over
here...
Posted by: somepinkflowers | 10 October 2007 at 09:48 PM
Oh Corey great minds think alike. I am glad I am not the only one who does not make a list. I find this way, I cook much more creatively, plus I spend a lot less on groceries then when I make a list. By the way my mother was telling me today how much she lovesssss your blog xoxoxox Clarice-who has hazelnuts, spinach and gorgonzola and will make your tart.
Posted by: clarice | 10 October 2007 at 10:14 PM
i can almost smell the tart and soup with a little crusty bread...dinner is done...blessings, rebecca
Posted by: Cre8Tiva | 10 October 2007 at 10:18 PM
Sometimes we have an overstock of canned chestnuts at our shop... now I think if this is the case this autumn and winter, I'll be trying this recipe! =)
Posted by: beachy | 10 October 2007 at 10:30 PM
creativity to the rescue!
Posted by: la vie en rose | 10 October 2007 at 11:40 PM
Thank you so much!
Posted by: sara | 11 October 2007 at 01:22 AM
You're like my sister -- she can make amazing gourmet food out of nothing -- a talent I seriously admire and totally lack! I'm more like your mom, I pretty much have to figure out what to make first, make a list and go shopping. Hats off!
Posted by: fleur | 11 October 2007 at 01:37 AM
ooo girl! Tres delice! ..Oncable TV there's a new food show where the guy does just that..he takes whatever is on hand at someone's kitchen and comes up with a fab dinner! He is very ingenious!
Posted by: Pam Aries | 11 October 2007 at 02:51 AM
These are truly marvelous recipes and the photos are some of my favorites ever on your site. I love warm greys and whites. Just a beautiful post.
Posted by: Becca | 11 October 2007 at 03:09 AM
Delicious :)
Posted by: robyn | 11 October 2007 at 05:13 AM
Superb. Lovely tonal qualities to this post. Ahhh. Breathes well. Thanks for stopping by. all best, Jan
Posted by: Janice C Cartier | 11 October 2007 at 05:23 AM
I envy your natural cooking talent!
~elaine~
Posted by: Elaine L. | 11 October 2007 at 06:32 AM
Hmmm... Corey. You remind me of my mom. She never makes the same dish twice. Whenver she arrives at some spectacular, delicious creation (which is often), we occasionally ask for a recipe and she just smiles. She says, "a little of this, that, and the other thing." These are, mind you, things she may never again have in her kitchen. She, like you, is a wonderful artist in the kitchen.
Posted by: Suz | 11 October 2007 at 06:50 AM
Comme j'aime venir ici! Et surtout profiter de tes photos de vaisselle et art de la table, elles représantes ce mélange que j'aime tant de matières brutes et de matières sophistiquées ;-)
Merci Corey!
Posted by: la tourterelle | 11 October 2007 at 08:14 AM
Your post made me smile, no, grin. Big. *giggle* I cook much the same way, most of the time. I make everybody nervous when I refuse to go shopping "for the weekend". A very wise friend of mine told me that trick a long time ago. Thank goodness. Shopping ahead is like completely planning out your life. Not leaving anything to chance. Where'd creativity end up?
I shall have to shop for your your endive and Roquefort tart. Sounds divine. I can smell eat all the way from France. Gotta shop because we ate all the Gorgonzola I got at the market on Tuesday with the wonderful Abate pears I found ripe in my fridge. :-)
Now, for that chestnut soup ... let me read your recipe ... Thanksgiving is closing in ... Thanksgiving is an exception, I do shop ahead for that feast. *grin* Albeit without shopping list. Most of the time I forget the carefully laid out list at home. Old habits die hard. Never forgot the turkey, though.
Posted by: M erisi's Vienna | 11 October 2007 at 08:48 AM
"I can smell eat all the way from France." -
Oh dear, call Dr. Freud!
Sometimes I spell correctly.
Or don't I?
That frangrance of that freshly baked tart of yours, too heady .... :-)
Posted by: M erisi's Vienna | 11 October 2007 at 08:51 AM
Can't wait to make these recipes! sounds soooo delish. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...I'm counting the days for fresh chestnuts to make their appearance! :-)
Posted by: Hasmin | 11 October 2007 at 08:55 AM
Dear Corey,
this is in answer to your "Thank you" note.
I have had your blog open for some time this morning, in between doing other things I try to peek in and read all those blog entries of yours that I missed. I love coming here, almost like sitting down with a friend for a few minutes when in need of a break and something beautiful to fill my heart.
So, dear Corey, thank you for taking the time and thought for your wonderful blog,
I wouldn't want to miss it.
Merci beaucoup,
Merisi
(And yes, I hope you do come to Vienne soon!)
Posted by: M erisi's Vienna | 11 October 2007 at 09:56 AM
That's my favorite way to cook, winging it!! I think we are all more resourceful than we give ourselves credit for. Your chestnut soup sounds yummy!!
Posted by: Chantal | 11 October 2007 at 10:04 AM
You don't discover new things by following recipes. I'll be over, should I bring wine?
___________________________
Hi L
Yes please bring RED Australian wine! Merci! Dinner is served at 8pm!
Posted by: Lee | 11 October 2007 at 01:12 PM
Ok , I review my judgement about endives : your tart seems EXTREMELY tempting (ah! le roquefort !!! my favorite cheese...).
Have a nice day !
Posted by: Massilianana | 11 October 2007 at 02:22 PM
That soup sound SO good. I LOVE chestnuts. The more ways to cook with them, the better.
Posted by: tlchang | 11 October 2007 at 11:27 PM
I am fainting with pleasure.
However, I could not keep my eyes off those glasses at the top waiting to be filled. As for the tureen...I could eat that too. With my eyes, of course.
P.S. I cook the way you do.
Dollops of love to you. xoxo
Posted by: Colette | 12 October 2007 at 05:49 AM
Magnifique table...Et merci pour les recettes, l'association endive/roquefort est très tentante!
Posted by: Viccha | 12 October 2007 at 04:11 PM
whew! i fainted too and just came to. wow! chestnut soup sounds so easy! thank you. cannot wait to try it!
Posted by: elsa | 15 October 2007 at 09:57 AM
Your Mother and my MIL, cut from the same cloth! Thanks for the early morning smiles Corey, when I come here, I slap myself for not visiting each and every day. Your posts are beyond compare. Are you sure there isn't a book deal I should be praying for??
XO Lidy
(making that tart, sound fabulous)
Lidy
Posted by: frenchgardenhouse | 17 October 2007 at 05:15 PM
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!!!
Your meal sounds yummy!!!!!
Posted by: Sheala Feeney | 27 November 2008 at 03:54 PM