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Looking for the latest import food diva? Look no further than Harumi Kurihara, whose new book Harumi's Japanese Cooking is all the rage according to the New York Times piece entitled "Empress of Domesticity Drops In":

Ms. Kurihara's television cooking shows, housewares stores, cookbooks and food magazines have propelled her to rock-star status in Japan, and her first book in English, "Harumi's Japanese Cooking," has just been published in the United States

Using common Japanese ingredients Ms. Kurihara whips up dishes that are simple and traditional:

The ingredients Ms. Kurihara uses most often, though, are longtime standards of the Japanese kitchen: soy, sesame, ginger, rice and its derivatives (sake, vinegar) and especially the members of the huge green-onion family. While American cooks use either slim scallions or fat leeks, their Japanese counterparts use every size in between.

In addition "there is no Japanese cooking without myoga," Ms. Kurihara said, picking up a graceful shallotlike bulb that is related to ginger. Its streaks of green, pink and white were reflected in the blossoming tulip trees outside. "It's so refreshing to taste the first cabbages, the spring onions, new garlic and artichokes," she added, speaking the international language of cooks.

Help support MacGourmet.com and purchase Harumi's Japanese Cooking : More than 75 Authentic and Contemporary Recipes from Japan's Most Popular Cooking Expert from Amazon.com

Although this is a rich dessert, it is very nice when served in small pieces accompanied by fresh, sliced oranges and whipped cream. -- EclecticCooking.com

Ingredients:


Directions:

Preheat oven to 200° C (400° F) Zest the three oranges, then carefully remove the outer peel and slice them across into wheel-shaped pieces about 1 cm (½ inch) thickness. Break the dark chocolate into pieces and place in a double boiler to melt the chocolate over simmering water. When the chocolate is melted, add the butter and let it melt, stirring with a spatula now and again. Sift the flour into a separate bowl and add the almonds and the sugar. Whisk the eggs, egg yolk and milk together and add to the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth. Add the melted chocolate and butter and stir gently until well mixed. Butter a 20 cm (8 inch) metal tin or earthenware dish and pour the batter into the dish. Take the broken pieces of white chocolate and stick them into the clafoutis batter. Place the clafoutis in the oven and bake for 16-20 minutes. The clafoutis will rise and should be firm around the edges and on top, but soft in the middle. If should not be completely firm.

While the clafoutis is in the oven, squeeze the juice from the remaining two oranges and set aside. Put the sugar (2 oz / 60 g) in a small saucepan and over low heat, melt the sugar until it is a soft light brown. Add the orange juice and stir until the sugar and the orange juice are melted together and smooth. (The sugar may solidify when you add the orange juice, but will dissolve into the orange juice when you simmer it gently.) Arrange the three sliced oranges on a plate, pour the caramel over the slices and serve with the chocolate clafoutis and crème fraiche.

(Serves 8)

Chocolate Clafoutis. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.

MacGourmet for OS X, which is free to download and try, features lots of great features like drag and drop import, clipping recipes from web pages, publishing recipes to your .Mac account and much more. Give it a try today!

Read the latest Recipe of the Week.

After reading an excellent advance excerpt from this book in Bon Appetit, I must say this will probably be one of the most fascinating books on cooking this year. Back before the Food Network and all of the cooking shows on PBS, a young American discovered French cooking and shared it with the rest of the world. From the Publisher's Weekly review on Amazon.com:

Child describes herself as a "rather loud and unserious Californian," 36, six-foot-two and without a word of French, while Paul was 10 years older, an urbane, well-traveled Bostonian. Startled to find the French amenable and the food delicious, Child enrolled at the Cordon Bleu and toiled with increasing zeal under the rigorous tutelage of eminence grise Chef Bugnard. "Jackdaw Julie," as Paul called her, collected every manner of culinary tool and perfected the recipes in her little kitchen on rue de l'Universite ("Roo de Loo"). She went on to start an informal school with sister gourmandes Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, who were already at work on a French cookbook for American readers, although it took Child's know-how to transform the tome - after nine years, many title changes and three publishers - into the bestselling Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961). This is a valuable record of gorgeous meals in bygone Parisian restaurants, and the secret arts of a culinary genius.

Based on the except I read, I've already ordered it, and can't wait to read the whole thing. Order your copy of My Life in France today!

This is one of those easy dinners. The vegetables and meat provide the necessary nutrition and the grated cheese adds the extra flavor. -- EclecticCooking.com

Ingredients:


Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Cut the turkey into small cubes or in strips. Wash and remove seeds from the capsicum and dice. Remove seeds from the chili pepper and mince or use a dash of chili pepper. Mince the 2 cloves of garlic. Trim and dice the aubergine. Grate the Grano Padano cheese.

In a wok or heavy skillet, use a little olive oil and brown the turkey and push to the side. Saute the chili, garlic and aubergine in a little olive oil until soft. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir through the turkey and vegetables, simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cooked penne pasta, season with salt and pepper and heat through. Serve immediately garnished with a generous helping of grated Grano Padano and fresh basil leaves.

*whole-wheat pasta is excellent in this recipe.

(Serves 4)

Penne with Turkey. To import, drag image to your MacGourmet recipe box.

MacGourmet for OS X, which is free to download and try, features lots of great features like drag and drop import, clipping recipes from web pages, publishing recipes to your .Mac account and much more. Give it a try today!

Read the latest Recipe of the Week.