'French Food at Home'

Laura Calder is a Paris correspondent for "Vogue Entertaining" and "Travel," and now she is also an author. In "French Food at Home," she writes that French food "is, above all, a state of mind: caring about the quality and freshness of ingredients, delighting in the kitchen rather than dreading it, and indulging in the social and sensual life of the table."

The most important thing she says she has learned during her time in France is to slow down and "to cook and eat as though it mattered, to make it matter."

For her Chef on a Shoestring Challenge, she offers: Freestyle Cherry Tomato Tarts, Carrot Juice Chicken with Zucchini Fondue and Coffee Pots

The following are her recipes:

Cherry Tomato Tarts
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Plain Pastry - see below
Olive oil for brushing
2 handfuls basil leaves, shredded
2/3 lb. cherry tomatoes, halved
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400-F. Roll the pastry to about 1/4-inch thick, and cut out 4 circles, 5 to 6 inches/13 to 15 cm wide. Grease a baking sheet and set the rounds on it. Brush with olive oil.

Leaving a 3/4-inch margin around each pastry circle, scatter over the basil and arrange the tomato halves, cut side down, on top. Roll the pastry margin in, scalloping it as you go, to make a lip all around. Season the tarts with salt and pepper. Bake until the pastry is crisp and the tomatoes are hot, about 15 minutes.

Plain Pastry Ingredients
*Makes one large tart shell

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
About 4 tablespoons ice-cold water, more if needed

Method:
Measure the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Toss in the butter to coat. Then pinch with your fingers to achieve a fine, crumbly mixture. Alternatively, use a pastry blender if you wish. Make a well in the center and add the water. Stir with your fingers, very quickly, to combine, adding more cold water if necessary. Form into a ball. It should hold together, and be neither sticky nor dry. Pat into a disk.

Carrot Juice Chicken
Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:
4 chicken legs, (skin on, about 1/2 pound each), split between thigh and drum stick
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
4 cups carrot juice

Method:
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a sauté pan until hot, and brown the chicken pieces well on all sides (working in batches if necessary). This will require a good 20 minutes. Pour all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan and scatter the herbs over the chicken.
Now ladle in about 1 cup of the juice and cook until reduced to a syrup.

Turn the chicken. Ladle in another 1/2 cup and let it reduce. Continue adding the juice by 1/2 cups, turning the chicken occasionally, until it is tender and coated in a shiny orange glaze. When the last ladle of juice has reduced to a sauce-like syrup, transfer the chicken to a serving platter, drizzle the pan sauce over the chicken, and serve.

Zucchini Fondue
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 pounds zucchini
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Trim the zucchini and slice into paper-thin rounds with a very sharp knife, or with a mandolin. Heat the oil and butter in a saute pan over medium heat and add to the zucchini. Cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, ruffled, and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Coffee Pots
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup very strong coffee
1/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
Four 1/2-cup ramekins

Method:
Preheat the oven to 325-F. Bring the cream and coffee to a boil in a saucepan. Meanwhile, beat the sugar and egg yolks together in a bowl until light and fluffy. If you'd thought of adding a shot of alcohol or other flavoring, this is the time.

Slowly pour the scalded coffee milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly. Strain into four 1/2-cup ramekins. Skim off any foam that forms on top (if it bothers you). Set the ramekins into a baking dish and pour around boiling water to come halfway up their sides.

Bake until just set, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool, then refrigerate for several hours, or overnight, before serving.

*If you want you may use decaf coffee especially if you're serving dish this late in the evening.

*To make strong coffee, double the grounds or double the instant coffee that is normally called for.*