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Tag Archives: French
Despite the last few crazy rain storms we have had out this way, spring is definitely in the air. When I open the back door every morning the first thing I smell is sweet succulent jasmine starting to bloom. I love the dewy fragrant smell and always wish I could bottle it up and bring it in. At our old apartment we had planted four big bushes of lavender and that is what we smelled mixed in with intoxicating jasmine. I love lavender as it takes me to a far away place …. this dreamy little farm house in the middle of France. There are a few chickens, a couple goats and yes, Jacqueline, a pig. As well there are fields upon fields of lavender. When we open the doors in the morning to enjoy the sunshine on our feet while making coffee the lavender wraps it sweet arms around us. This is spring!
For this months’ Mac Attack Challenge 5 (can you believe it has been 5), we are participating in “World Macaron Day, which is March 20. The lovely duo Jamie and Deeba challenged us to put a little bit of spring into our macarons. I decided to make a soft but sweet lavender macaron with a vanilla bean buttercream. I was very pleased with this round as every one of the macarons came out perfect. Beautiful little feet, perfectly round, slightly crunchy but still a little chewy – perfect! I am so pleased with myself as I feel I have finally, after 3 years of making these petite bisous, I have done it! I have Jamie and Deeba to thank for pushing me beyond the comfort zone and to keep with it! Be sure to check out all the lovely spring time macarons over at the MacTweet site.
Recipe: Lavender Macarons with Vanilla Bean Buttercream
I used my basic macaron recipe but I added a couple drops of violet colored paste. As well before drying the macarons I sprinkled a touch of culinary lavender. I filled them with a buttery vanilla bean buttercream – simply leave out the bergamont and add the beans from one vanilla bean pod. This macaron is definitely all about spring time.
Almond flour and sugar is gently folded with egg whites to create the French macaron. Nestled between the delicate cookies is a slight layer of nutty but chocolatey Nutella.
I have to admit I have been eavesdropping on a Twitter conversation between, Jamie, Deeba, Hilda, Aparna, Barbara, Meeta, Ilva, Shelley, Erin, Deborah, Rachael, and Ria the past couple of weeks. Okay, I do have better things to do with my time then listen in on things that have nothing to do with me, but they were chatting about one of my favorite things to nosh on, The French Macaron. Finally, I could not stand it any longer and I tweeted Rachael and asked what was taking place? How did I miss this mac-a-thon and how could I get involved, not that I needed another reason to bake something! Being as sweet as she is, she told me to tweet Jamie for all the info, so I did!
This wonderful group of bloggers are attempting to perfect the macaron, the French macaron, by using one of the queens of macarons, recipe, Helen of Tartelette. Now since I was a little behind, they are posting today, the 15th, I had to take jump on it and decided only to make one round of macs using Helen’s recipe. We were suppose to make the basic shell and fill with a chocolate ganache. Everything was right on track, egg whites sat out for 24 hours, the batter came together beautifully, the macs looked so pretty on the baking sheet, they came out of the oven looking the best they ever have (mine usually look like dreidels), they had feet, yes, they had feet and then after they cooled, I attempted to remove them from the baking sheet and their feet, legs and all, stayed behind! What went WRONG? I think I should have baked maybe one more minute (Jamie suggested this as well) or maybe it was the humidity in the air? I had one left that was nearly perfect, well, it had a top and bottom, the rest, well, let’s just say they make nice little noshes with a hot cup of coffee!
*disclaimer, I did not, I say DID NOT make a batch of ganache for this photo shoot, I used nutella.
Recipe: Macarons
* I am entering this old post in Gel’s Kitchen Blog event, NTTC July 2009 Egg Challenge. This is a fantastic and easy salad to make for a light and quick dinner.
I completely forgot about Easter. We have been so busy and all of the Catholic signs flew by us. Not only until today, did it cross my mind, when E & M stopped by flapping their Palms from Sunday Church. Normally, I love Easter. It is the beginning of all things Spring. I am usually baking hot cross buns, making marmalade, starting the garden, baking Masa; not, this year. Since all the things we love about Easter, food wise, will have to wait this year, I decided we needed to do something remotedly related to the holiday. In the middle of making breakfast it came to mind, why not pay tribute to the “egg”.
The first part will be the poached egg. Now, as regular reader, you know I am not a huge fan of eggs. I must confess, I actually like them. They just have to be done the right way, which is, my way. Laudalino, on the other hand, will eat an egg any old way .. poached, fried, soft boiled, scrambled, hard boiled. Not picky. A few weeks ago I had an incredible poached egg served over a bed of curried chickpeas and lentils, it was fantastic and what was so fantastic was that the egg was perfect. I have been attempting to make the perfect poached egg and I have finally mastered it.
Poached eggs don’t have to be only for breakfast. They are also wonderful for brunch, think Egg’s Benedict, as well they are fantastic for dinner, such as on a Pizza, over mushrooms, or even on a salad. One of our favorite ways to have a perfectly poached egg is the classic French salad, Frisee with Lardons (bacon).
Recipe: Perfectly Poached Egg
1 egg
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
water
Bring water to boil in a shallow frying pan, about 2 inches deep. Crack egg into a small dish. Lower the heat on the water to a simmer and slowly slide the egg into the simmering water. Cover with a lid and let sit about 3 – 5 minutes depending on how soft you like the yolk. Gently remove from the water, with a slotted spoon and lay on a double folded paper towel for about 1 minute. Put into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Serve. Eat.
Recipe: Frisee with Lardons
1 head frisee, cleaned and torn into pieces
6 bacon slices – cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons red vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons bacon fat, left from browning bacon
salt, to taste
fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Cook bacon until golden and crispy. Remove from pan and left set on folded paper towels. Set aside
Combine vinegar, mustard, shallot, olive oil, bacon fat, salt and pepper in a jar, shake to combine.
Toss frisee with dressing and bacon bits. Set aside. Poached eggs using directions above. To serve put a bed of lettuce on a plate and top with two poached eggs each. Serve with a nicely warmed baguette. Serve. Eat.
Another simple Souffle, this time using Blue cheese. It not only is a lovely dinner but would be fantastic as a light lunch or brunch dish. French food does not have to be hard to make.
You are not seeing things. There has been two souffle nights at our house. The first one was so good that I had it on my mind all day. Laudalino is out of town so I figured I would make some light and why not another souffle. This time it was blue cheese.
Yesterday, I was hanging out with my favorite god-child and on our way home from a St. Paddy’s day celebration, she mentioned that we had to stop by the store for some black beans – she wanted black beans for lunch. I told her if there was parking by Bi-Rite we would stop. Our lucky day as there was parking right in front. Now, we had all intentions of picking up black beans and a head of lettuce. Once we got into the store, the soon to be “foodie” that she says she is, took over. We were soon in the cheese isle and her little eyes glistened as she proclaimed that we needed to have some “butter cheese” (otherwise known as blue cheese of any kind). She fondled the packages, turning them around, looking for the bluest ones. Then she turned around and said we needed a baguette, she gave them all a little squeeze and found the softest one. We were set …. a fantastic blue cheese, a soft baguette, black beans, lettuce and two pieces of the darkest chocolate they had at the counter.
I knew the remainder of this blue cheese would be great either alone or in a souffle (that part was only a thought on my way home tonight). It was perfect served along side a lightly tossed green salad with an herbed dressing. Sorry Laudalino, I will make for you another time!
Recipe: Blue Cheese Souffle
* serves 2
20 grams of butter, plus a little extra, softened
17 grams of AP flour
125 ml milk
2 eggs, separated
60 grams blue cheese, the stinker the better
sea salt
cracked black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 F. Brush 2 (1 cup capacity) ramekins or oven proof bowls with melted butter. Place on a baking tray and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously for 2 – 3 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the blue cheese, remove from the heat and whisk in the egg yolks and sea salt and pepper. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until firm peaks form. Gently fold through the cheese mixture. Fill the ramekins two-thirds full. Cook for 18 – 20 minutes or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately. Eat.
Light Frisee Salad with baked goat cheese and pancetta; simple dinner or light lunch.
I took the idea from Sunday night’s appetizer and decided to turn it into a dinner for tonight. Read on to hear about how Laudalino had one of the most disappointing meals tonight ……..
We love frisee salads, it really is a classic salad green. I love how light and wispy it is and how it tickles the back of your throat. When we had the goat cheese appetizer the other night I thought it would go nicely over a bed of frisee. So, I tightly wrapped pancetta around around another round of goat cheese with a shaving of truffle and pan seared it in a thin layer of butter. When it was pan searing I made a reduction of fig balsamic and chestnut honey. Before serving I drizzled olive oil in the bowl that had previous tracings of fig balsamic and added a pinch of fresh cracked pepper and sea salt. Then I lightly tossed the frisee with this. Once the cheese was melted, the truffle very fragrant and the pancetta browned, I laid it on top of the frisee. I finished the salad with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction. Served it with a lightly fruity French white wine and warm crusty bread.d,
I thought it was very good. Complex with the syrupy reduction and the creamy cheese, salty pancetta and woody truffle. I liked it. Laudalino ….. the tip of his mouth turned to a frown, his brow crinkled, his cheeks slightly puffed and he scowled that he was so disappointed. I took one of his favorite appetizers and turned it into this ….. Don’t worry I don’t cry over these critiques, I laughed it off.
I had planned to make these for Valentines as Lenny loves them! In fact, whenever I ask about his favorite desserts this is the only one he mentions. Shari of Whisk: a food blog beat me to it as she picked this fablous recipe for our weekly Tuesdays with Dorie (TWD) challenge.
The recipe starts with making a Creme Anglaise, which is a light pouring custard. It is made with milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla flavoring. I decided to skip the vanilla extract and add a split vanilla bean to the milk while it simmered. I love the dark speckles floating in the finished creme not to mention the very intense flavor of fresh vanilla.
While the custard was chilling I made the floating islands. Dorie’s recipe was basically egg whites with a little sugar. I normally add a bit of cream of tartar which helps them hold up a bit more. Since this recipe did not call for it, I did not add it. Instead I made my meringues extra big, which was a good idea, as when I removed them from the simmering milk they deflated quite a bit. Tip, save the slightly sweet milk and use in your coffee.
The recipe called for the option a drizzling of caramel, we went for it. I did decide to cook it a little longer then the recipe stated as we love burnt caramel. With the smell of vanilla, frothy milk and burnt sugar lingering in the house, we could not hold out and ate the dish slightly warm. Even though it is better when served a bit colder, we were not complaining as we licked the spoons and bowls clean. This is an easy recipe that tastes fantastic! Sultry creamy custard and comfortable caramel teasing your taste-buds. We may be eating this again on Valentines!
Be sure to check out all the other TWD Floating Islands as well!
It took our government quit sometime to officially announce that the country was in fact not in a recession any longer but rather a depression. It took this realization for the people (some) to think about how they were going to fair in this economy. For us we had to tighten up even more, especially with working for ourselves. It was time to put holidays on hold, buying frivolous things that we really do not need (that new purse I would really like), staying in more often, bringing lunch to work, trying not to spend $5.00 a day on coffee (we got a french press for the office and bring in coffee/cream) and overall, just tightening up and buying only what we really need to survive and/or for work.
I have been reading in all the food magazines for the past couple of months about these budget dinners and decided last week that I would put our grocery shopping and cooking skills to the test this week by creating the Chez Us Recession/Depression Dinners. The criteria in the about mentioned articles was that it would be for 7 nights and would include a dessert that would last a week, as well, the menus would make at least 4 servings.
We knew that we did not want to skimp on quality as well we wanted to continue eating as we have been for the past few years. This meant we would continue shopping at Whole Foods, yes, you can eat well and stay on a budget by shopping there; it is not as expensive as everyone thinks (that will be another post sometime). I originally wanted to include the farmer’s market in this challenge but did not make it there on Saturday so all of the shopping would be done at Whole Foods. I planned out our menu for the entire week, 7 dinners, 5 lunches (leftovers from the night before) and 1 dessert to last the week. I would bring down the weekly shopping from $120 – $200 (usually on the low end unless we have company over for dinner, or it is time to stock up on staples we are out of) to $100 for the recession/depression dinner series. For this first week I would purchase everything I needed for each recipe and not use what is on hand. Included in this list would also be the usual weekly items, a gallon of milk (yes, organic), breakfast (yogurt), fruit (seasonal fruits and bananas (Lenny loves them in yogurt) and fresh ground espresso.
 
For dinner tonight I used half of the chicken (I had the butcher butterfly it) and I froze the other half. We picked a couple recipes from the Barefoot in Paris cookbook , the Lemon Roasted Chicken with croutons and a celery root salad. We LOVE French food and we really love this chicken recipe. It is so easy! You stuff this chicken with lemons, give it a rub down with olive oil, salt and pepper and then lay it on a bed of onions and roast it! While it is roasting to a golden brown, you make some croutons out of a baguette. When the chicken is done cooking you are left with a golden brown chick and a roast pan full of lemony juices. I like to lift the chicken out of the baking pan and put the croutons ontop of the juices and then lay the bird back on top.
The celery root is very simply tossed with a dressing of mayo, mustard, lemon juice and white wine vinegar. It is so refreshing and light, really complimented the chicken and the lemony croutons.
Dessert will be announced on Tuesday – it is good!
$ 12.74 for 4 servings. Dinner and lunch for the next day.
What are you doing in your home &/or lives to help ease this economic downfall?
Recipe
I was pretty excited, as I am sure rest of the Tuesday with Dorie bakers where as well, when I found out that Dorie would be our lovely hostess for this weeks challenge. I was equally as excited when I found out that Dorie picked the French Pear Tart. I have been dying to make a Pear Tart all winter and have not had a chance to do so. We had a dinner party to go on Sunday and I knew this would be the perfect opportunity.
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