2 ounces anchovies
1 ounce canned tuna
1/2 cup black olives
3 tablespoons capers
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon thyme

1. Chop anchovies, tuna, olives and capers together very finely.
2. Transfer to a bowl and stir in mustard, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of thyme.
3. Gradually stir in olive oil to form a paste, then top with remaining olive oil.

Makes 4 servings

3 cups potatoes, peeled
2/3 cup butter
4 egg yolks
salt
water

1. Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water until very tender, about 45 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Drain and peel the potatoes, mash and mix with butter and salt, then all but 1 egg yolk.
4. Pipe through piping bag or form into smoothly circles onto a greased baking sheet.
5. Brush tops with remaining egg yolk and bake until browned, about 10 minutes.

Makes 6 servings

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg white, beaten
1 cup Tapanade
ice water
salt

1. Blend flour and butter together and gradually add ice water, tablespoon by tablespoon, working in until you form a smooth dough. Refrigerate.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Roll out dough thinly on a lightly floured surface and cut circles out of it with the top of a pint glass.
4. Place a tablespoon of tapanade in the center of a circle, lay another circle on top and crimp the edges.
5. Repeat with the remaining dough and tapanade.
6. Transfer to a greased baking sheet, brush the tops with egg white and bake until golden brown, approximately 8-12 minutes.

Makes 16 servings

4 chicken quarters
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup cognac or brandy
2 cups chicken broth
2 small tomatoes, cored and sliced
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried savory
salt and pepper

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until very hot.
3. Add the olive oil, give the pan a quick swirl and then add the chicken.
4. Fry for about 6 minutes until the skin is crisp and browned, then flip and fry the other side.
5. Transfer the chicken to a warm dish and cover to keep warm.
6. Add cognac to skillet and carefully ignite with an open flame.
7. Once the flame dies down, add the remainder of the ingredients and cook until reduced to half its volume.
8. Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

4 large carrots, peeled and diagonally sliced into 1" pieces
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
water

1. Boil carrots in salted water until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, whisk together egg, garlic and lemon juice in a bowl.
3. Gradually whisk in olive oil about a tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a skillet over low heat, drain and add the carrots.
5. Cover the carrots with the dressing and allow to heat, stirring to prevent eggs from curdling. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Shannon is out of town until Monday, so I'll obsess over cooking in her absence and make dishes that she would likely be revolted by. Tonight's "ew" dish involves anchovies, black olives and capers; Tapanade. Apparently the Provence area of France does things totally different from the rest of the country. It must have something to do with being closer to the Mediteranean and having access to more delicious food options. Tapeno is what they call capers in that part of the country, hence the name Tapenade. It's like what pate would taste like if it were fish instead of liver, I think, which probably isn't appealing to anyone that doesn't like the comparison. It's sort of salty and pungent; the fish taste is not a stand out factor.

Tapanade is usually put on toast or something as an appetizer (at least that's the only way I've ever had it) but I thought it'd be cooked stuffed in a little pocket, Tapanade en Croute. "En Croute" simply means "in crust". All of this is news to me and I'll likely forget it later, but it's fun trivia. The original recipe for this was with a fennel filling, but that didn't seem too appetizing to me, so I made the substitution. Again I struggle with the dough, but managed to salvage it in the end. They ended up a bit heavy, less flakey than they should be if I knew what I was doing, but they were quite enjoyable.

We bought an enormous bag of potatoes, so I'll likely be trying a lot of potato recipes out over the next week or two. They're pretty versatile, so I'm sure I can find at least a dozen new recipes to experiment with. Tonight's was Duchesse Potatoes, another heavy sort of ball that added a bit too much starch to the plate. In the original recipe they were piped with a pastry bag to make pretty meringue star shapes, but since I was only making enough for myself I didn't feel like wasting a pastry bag. Other than that, it was basically a mashed, then baked potato.

I had my first flambé experience tonight with Cognac Chicken. Lighting a pan on fire is not scary at all. I'm far more nervous about starting our propane barbecue than I'll ever be about burning off the alcohol for a sauce now. I can see how it could be addictive, since the whole process sure doesn't last very long and it makes you feel special. It's like you're doing something amazing, like you're a master chef or just discovered fire or something. At least, that's how I felt, I'm sure everyone's reaction is different. I loved the sauce, and not just because of my apparent inner pyro. It is mildly sweet, almost like diluted honey and apple juice.

I tried to make aioli and failed, but only partially. The sauce properly emulsified, but did not really thicken. I suppose that means it really didn't properly emulsify, but it didn't separate, either. Either way, I was going to put it on carrots, so I just threw it in a pan and made Carrots with Aioli Dressing. Really, this method is probably better than if it'd actually turned out since cooked mayonnaise as a sauce doesn't seem all that appetizing. To add another vegetable to the plate I added a scoop of leftover Peas with Parsley. You can never go wrong with peas and carrots!