"patricia wells" news and stories

• It's strawberry season in the Philadelphia region and buckets of the gem-like fruit are showing up all across the area's Farmers Markets. Growers are also expecting it to be a strong U-Pick season.
  
• Karen Heller reviews the new memoir by Patricia Wells and her husband and finds that it makes France seem dull and unappealing.
  
• Local restaurateur and food radio show host Jim Coleman offers an easy recipe for a no-bake peanut butter pie in response to a question sent in by a reader.
  
• New Jersey strawberry farmer Joe Jacobs' is often lauded for his extra-sweet and juicy berries. His secrets? Salt-hay mulch and black plastic sheeting.
• Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LaBan declares that the cheese of the month is the Provolone Rustico available at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market.
  
• In the Rush Hour Gourmet, the Pork Vindaloo makes for a quick and easy dinner.

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If you are planning to run the New York City Marathon in November, then you might want to take a look at an article in Runner's World that asked several "celebrity" chefs who will actually be running, to create menus related to the race. The chefs are Hell's Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay, Patricia Wells, John Fraser, and Bobby Flay. Each chef has contributed recipes that have the proper balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fat for pre- and post-race meals, as well as recipes for "celebratory" dishes like Coffee & Chocolate Mousse Cups for dessert. Personally, I love that Baked Macaroni and Cheese is a celebratory meal!

Patricia Wells is an American who lives, writes and cooks in France and has become somewhat of a modern authority on French home cooking. Some of her other cookbooks are more generally French, but in The Provence Cookbook, she focuses on the area in which she and her husband reside.

You may have caught Ms. Wells on TV a time or two, as I know that she has been a guest on the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten's Food Network show. If so, you might have noticed that she seems friendly, straightforward and down-to-earth, a bit more so than her friend Ina, and that personality carries over into her writing. Her recipes are reliable, detailed and to the point. There are many practical tips on preparations and techniques included, too. She also takes the reader on short digressions into her favorite products and places in Provence throughout the text, which gives you a feeling that you've been there by the time you've finished. It also makes up for the lack of illustrations in the book, which would have been a nice inclusion but isn't really a crucial element of a good cookbook.

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We're cooking Gardiane La Camargue, French beef stew in the style of the cowboys Francais in the Camargue, south of Arles. The dish is from Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking. Yesterday we cut the meat into 3- or 4-ounce pieces and prepped the carrots, onions and garlic before mixing it all together for an overnight marinade. Then, we drained the beef, reserving the marinade, and heated up oil in a pan. Then, I started browning the beef. Finally, I added in herbs and (whoops) the wrong kind of olives. Then I started to simmer.

I picked up my lid about 30 minutes ago and the mixture hadn't even started bubbling yet. It was just... resting, warmly. I turned up the heat and now it's actually simmering. I'm headed out to get those oil-cured olives! I think I'm going to get some couscous as a side dish, that seems appropriate somehow. I'll post a wrap-up when the simmering finally concludes.

We're cooking Gardiane La Camargue, French beef stew in the style of the cowboys Francais in the Camargue, south of Arles. The dish is from Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking. Yesterday we cut the meat into 3- or 4-ounce pieces and prepped the carrots, onions and garlic before mixing it all together for an overnight marinade. Then, we drained the beef, reserving the marinade, and heated up oil in a pan. Then, I started browning the beef. Finally, I added in herbs and (whoops) the wrong kind of olives.

I pick up my wide bowl and start to pour in the wine and vegetables that marinated together with the beef for the last 24 hours. Of course, I somehow start pouring a bit before I make it to the pan. I'm not graceful even on my best of days. I have to use four or five paper towels to sop up the mess.

It's just as well, I decide, because all the wine might not have fit in my pan. That's a lot of beef, carrots, onions and wine. I set the heat to medium-low and put my big cast-iron lid on cockeyed. The smell of wine quickly permeates my home, mixing with the smell of browned beef. It's a bit overpowering, and makes me wonder how those French bistro chefs make it through their days without being a bit tipsy from the aroma alone. It's supposed to simmer for two hours? It's going to be a late dinner.  Next time I'm starting a lot earlier.