A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

"David Tanis works six months of the year in California and six months in Paris and he has a little supper club in his house. At Chez Panisse I was pastry chef when he was chef – he came back after having been away for many years. People do that. They leave to do their own thing and then they realise what an amazing place they’ve left behind. But Alice and David have worked out this great compromise and in California menu meetings were amazing. David would say: ‘We need a satin cloud with a purple streak through it,’ which would mean something like meringue with a blueberry deal going on… Yeah, and he’d always know exactly what a dish needed – like teeny tiny frozen mango balls to float in a tangerine soup made with coconut sorbet. He was always, always right. A Platter of Figs is a book everybody should have."

"David Tanis spends half the time in France so it’s a book that’s American but has French and Italian, generally European influences. It’s a book that I can cook from all day. There is a recipe for rabbit, Rabbit in the Oven with Mustard. I love to make that, I also love the Roast Pork Loin, Porchetta-Style, and the Roasted Quail with Creamy Polenta. He goes by the seasons, recipes for chicken with a little bacon, often with French techniques, so many wonderful dishes. I’ve cooked dozens of dishes from this. How do I or how does he? I don’t remember how he does though I do cook from it all the time. I just marinate quail in garlic, onions, ginger, a little garam masala and lemon juice, I let it sit for a while and then I just grill it. You don’t need to do too much else. You do need to marinate it, but not for long. A couple of hours is enough."