Salade composée II

This Salade composée was presented to me at a restaurant in Toulouse. It has a variety of colorful vegetables including corn, mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots and lettuce. It was topped with an herb vinaigrette. The toast on top has melted goat cheese from this region. It was a light, bright entrance to the meal.

Salade composée

Salade composée is a beautiful way to incorporate different flavors into a quick and healthy meal. This salad has grilled chicken breast, blue cheese, hard-boiled egg, roasted potatoes and cornichons. A vinaigrette is a zingy addition to enhance the flavors of the components of this salad. A blue cheese dressing with some lemon, blue cheese, mayonnaise or oil is also a quick, home-made solution to top one's salad.

Peach Tiramisu

I have my sights set on recreating this dessert named "peach tiramisu." If I am successful I will let you all know. The ingredients and creating should be similar to the traditional tiramisu, but with a twist!

Cheese!

Here is a list of cheeses I know and like. I will put * by the ones I love!

• Beaufort
• Bleu du Haut-Jura, de Gex, de Septmoncel
• Camembert de Normandie*
• Comté*
• Époisses de Bourgogne*
• Mimoulette*
• Mont d'or or Vacherin du Haut-Doubs**
• Morbier
• Pont-l'Évêque*
• Reblochon or Reblochon de Savoie
• Roquefort*
• Tomme de Savoie*
• Coulommiers**
• Port Salut
• Raclette
• Vacherin Mont d'Or**
• Pié d'Angloys**
• Crémeux du Jura**

Back in the States

Bonjour and Hello!
I have not written in awhile because we have just moved our entire lives, household, children...back to California from France. Our year abroad was amazing and taught me a lot about French culture and cuisine. Now, my new adventure is to incorporate what I have learned into an American environment. Already, I am on the search for delicious cheeses and wines. The trick is to not spend an arm and a leg. I will keep you posted!

Puff Pastry

Living in France has given me the opportunity to work with puff pastry dough. I was always intimidated by the dough in the United States because it was frozen. Also, all the cooking shows I watched had specific guidelines with which to handle it. I never braved it until I came here.

It turns out to be an amazing help when creating appetizers. I have shared a salmon roll recipe with you. The other favorite of mine is the cheese sticks. Ingredients include: puff pastry, gruyere, parmesan cheese, thyme, salt and pepper. It is relatively easy and one can also make "cheese rolls" which are equally as tasty as the "cheese sticks."

I am excited to be brave in the States and try the puff pastry there.

Radish Wreath

I have found the radishes here in France are not as spicy as the radishes I have eaten in the U.S. They make a natural, spicy appetizer. They are also stunning! I rinse my radishes, cut of the tips and dip them in sea salt. They have the crunch, spice and added saltiness of ones favorite aperitif snack.


One thing I did learn about presenting radishes was to place them on the plate fairly quickly after the rinse. It keeps the greens perky and nicer looking!

Salmon Papillote

This was a delicious and healthy dinner with simple ingredients and aluminum foil! It was a take on the French Papillote recipes. These are essentially recipes that involve cooking meat, veggies and liquids all in one 'bag.' This recipe called for zucchinis and onions which I seared in a pan before adding to the salmon. I put the raw salmon in an aluminum square. I added the seared vegetables and a slice of lemon. I pulled up the corners of the aluminum to close in the ingredients. But, I left the top slightly open. Meanwhile, I melted butter in a pot and added lemon juice. I added this lemon butter over the almost closed foil package. I also poured in a bit of white wine. After 30 minutes in the oven it was cooked perfectly. The aroma of lemons, vegetables, wine, butter and fish filled the room once these papillotes were opened. The entire meal was ready. We of course finished the dinner of with a baguette and cheese. It was excellent and easy!

Madeleines

I made my first batch of Madeleines. They are perfectly cooked with a crisp brown edge and spongy yellow middle. My next attempt will involve a citrus flavoring! yum!

Canette

I bought a canette at the beginning of summer thinking it was another bird called pintade. Pintade is French for Guinea Fowl. It is a dry meat and it is important to add cream or water when cooking it. So, when I bought my first canette I cooked it with butter, shallots, water and seasonings. But, canette is actually a female duck. This meat is best cooked with citrus and served with a sweeter sauce.

Last night I tried again. I visited the epicurious site for a Duck A l'Orange recipe. I was thrilled with this recipe and I am so happy with my results. I had a beautifully cooked duck and a delicious orange gravy to accompany it.

I also understand that once one knows the basics of cooking a duck and its sauce one can try other things. My next experiment will be a berry sauce with my duck!

Macaroons

These are delicate little cookies that one can sink her teeth into. The outside is smooth and shiny. As one bites into it the cookie cracks and becomes cake-like. In the middle is a creamy filling packed with flavor. And those flavors are intense and delicious. I have tried chocolate, vanilla, rasberry, pistachio, lemon and coffee. These are some of my favorite French treats: macaroons.

Tears and Triumph

Today was a special day for a few reasons. First, to be sure about a recipe I had to call my mother in law. The tricky part of calling her is that my French is so-so and she is fluent and fast (she is French after all!) I did it though! And, I managed to get the amounts and ingredients for an onion tart.

The tears were because of the 5 onions I cut for my onion tart. My mother-in-law recommended 10 because she loves to fill up her tart.

Today's triumph was speaking French and then recreating my mother in law's delicious onion tart.


Onion Tart

1 pâte brisée (pie crust)
5-10 yellow onions - peeled and cut into semi-circles strips
60 grams of butter
60 grams of white flour
30 centiliters of whole milk
grated Gruyere cheese
(cooked bacon and apples are a nice addition to this tart as well)

Place the pâte brisée in a round baking pie dish. After peeling and cutting the onions, dry your tears, and then place the onions and butter in a pan on medium-heat. Slowly cook the onions until they are soft and sweet. This might take up to 30 minutes. It is important to cook them slowly and not brown them too quickly. Once the onions are softened add the flour. This will thicken the onions. Then, add warmed whole milk to the pan. Mix until all the ingredients have come together. Place the onions into the crust. Top with Gruyere cheese. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes. Bon appetit!

A Picnic Lunch

I have two young children. To go to the market means that I strap my 18 pound baby to me and have my toddler ride in the cart. This isn't so bad, until I start lifting water bottles, milk, diapers...it is practically impossible to leave the store without a cart-full. On the other hand, I still prepare a nice lunch and dinner daily for my family. It requires creativity to get essentials once a week and to produce edible and good looking meals each day.

One lunch I checked my pantry and fridge. I was pleased to find boxed couscous (already flavored), a red onion and some frozen shrimp. I added water and onion to my couscous, boiled my shrimp and in the end had an anchor for a delicious lunch! I was so pleased. A baguette and slice of Camembert rounded out my plate.

This salad was easy, refreshing and would also be perfect for any picnic. Now, when it comes to my on-hand items, I am always keeping frozen shrimp around.

Brownies, Frostings and Cupcakes, Oh My!

I really like Barefoot Contessa's recipes. In my search to make potato chips I stumbled on new products by Barefoot Contessa. She is selling brownies, condiments, and other delicious goodies. There is even a cute tote bag! I found these at the Stonewall Kitchen site. If anyone would like to know what I want for Christmas, take a look at the products here! I am hungry just browsing!

So Simple

This salad represents my first "a-ha!" moment as a cook. My mother-in-law prepared it for us one night. I was amazed by its simplicity. I realized that excellent food can be really simple and the key is fresh ingredients.

Tomato Salad:
3 cups of tomatoes (any kind cut into bite sized pieces)
fresh basil (chiffonade about 5 leaves of basil)
red wine vinegar (about 2 tablespoons)
olive oil (also about 2 tablespoons)
salt
pepper
not pictured, but delicious: chopped garlic (1-2 cloves)

stir the vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic to make the vinaigrette . Add the tomatoes and basil. Stir and voila! You have a simple, delicious and healthy salad. Serve before dinner as an entree or with your main dish as a side salad. The vinaigrette is also delicious soaked up with a baguette.

Did Someone Say Madeleines?

Yes, I did. In my last post I said, "madeleines." Now, I am very interested in searching for madeleine baking tins while I am here in France. If I find them I will let you know how the baking goes!

Healthy Snacks

When it comes to snack time the gourmande in me tries to wrestle my health conscience. "Eat a madeleine! Or three!" So to combat the desire to eat entire bags of cookies or whole bars of delicious Swiss chocolate I choose to balance out my snacks. If I eat an apple then I can eat some cookies. The next time around that I am hungry I will eat a banana and then I can have some chocolate. It seems to be working. I feel healthy and satisfied. I do not feel like I have overindulged and instead feel proud because I eat my fruit for the day. When it comes to food I always say that moderation is key.

Carbonara Sans Egg

A lot of my cooking is "pantry" cooking. I figure out which ingredients I've got and what I can whip together to use my leftover or pantry items. Today I used bacon, linguine, Parmesan cheese, cream and nutmeg. I cooked up the bacon and drained the fat. I added the cream and cheese and nutmeg to make the cream sauce. Meanwhile, the pasta cooked for about 9 minutes. In the end, my dish was tasty and filling.

As a side-note, I really like the convenience of cream here in France. The milk and cream is treated by UHT, or ultra-high temperature, to steralize it for packaging. Therefore, the dairy products can stay in cartons on the shelves. So cream is a pantry item for me. I always try to keep some on hand because it can add a richness to a dish. I tried to also do the same in the States. However, it is harder to keep fresh cream for all occasions!

Confit de Canard

Mmmmm....if there is one big advantage to living in France it is that one can find cans of duck on the Supermarket shelves. Confit de Canard is duck thighs canned in duck fat. It is tender and fatty and absolutely delicious. I usually prepare confit de canard with potatoes as the potatoes cooked in the duck grease is a perfect match to the duck.

My sister-in-law cooked confit de canard long before me. She has an infamous story of placing the can of duck in a bain-marie so the duck fat would melt so she could take the pieces of duck out. Generally, it is necessary to melt the grease so one can get the pieces out. However, TAKE OFF THE LID! She forgot to pierce holes in the top of the can or even to remove the lid. I don't know if you have ever smelled duck grease. It is strong and can linger. Her can exploded when she tried to open it and the fat was all over the kitchen and even made it to the ceiling. I cannot imagine how she cleaned it all up and got rid of the smell. It sounds like a nightmare.

If you prepare confit de canard properly it is far from a nightmare. It is like a heavenly dream. One can find this online and get it shipped in the States. It is just 3-4 times the price it is here. I plan to eat my share of duck before we have to go back to California in Fall.

Looking for Inspiration

I have not written for a little while and I think I might be searching for inspiration. I need a new travel or a new restaurant. Or, even more inspiring would be seeing my mother-in-law cook.

One thing I did try recently was Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. This is a recipe from one of my favorite chefs, Ina Garten. The dish was pretty simple, looked amazing and tasted fantastic! I plan to try it again next week for my family's visit.

I think that in trying someone else's recipe I learn more about cooking. However, I also find it hard to write about someone else's recipe when I first try it. It is not my own yet. So, in this case -- thank you Barefoot Contessa!

Missing a Good Ol' Hot Dog

Another vehicle for mayonnaise for me is a good ol' American hot dog. It is also a vehicle for yellow mustard, a sweet soft bun and crisp onions... Living in France has allowed me to try all sorts of delicious delights like merguez sausage or Germany's plethora of wurst. But, I have not ventured to the sausage aisle for a hot dog, nor IKEA for a hot dog bun. I plan to wait it out until I return home to the States this Fall. In the meantime, I will just dream of tasting that hot dog again. It's just a little hard with such warm BBQ weather...

Some Old Cherries

Sounds appetizing? Well, I thought I should still figure out a way to use these cherries that were just slightly mushy rather than throw them all away. I got busy tearing the pits out of the cherries and getting dark, red juice all over me and the counter. I poured a bit of granulated sugar and water in a pan to start boiling and each pitted cherry was put in the sugar bath. I let it boil and then added a drop of left over Armagnac and poured in some Kirsch as well. It started to look and smell really good. In the middle of breaking open cherries I put some vanilla ice cream on the counter. I also took Oreo cookies and mashed them into the bottom of ramekins as a "crust" and extra flavor for my creation. With the cookies on the bottom, I put the softened ice cream in the pots. Once the cherries cooled I added them on top. I placed the dessert in the freezer.

We all really enjoyed it. I got "mmmm" from my toddler. And, we named the dessert "dirty cherry." A nice ending to a warm evening's dinner.

Meats, Potatoes and Crémeux du Jura

Crémeux du Jura

I went to the store in search of a cheese called Mont D'or. Apparently, this is not its season. So, I found its close counterpart, Crémeux du Jura. This cheese is a mountain cheese and it's delicious with charcutrie (deli meats) and roasted potatoes. To start this meal I put whole, small potatoes on a baking sheet and placed them in the oven to cook for about 30-40 minutes until they were tender. I added a little olive oil just so they wouldn't stick to the sheet. To cook the cheese, I unwrapped the cheese and placed it in its original wooden box. I cut a small hole in the top of the cheese and put in a peeled garlic clove. Then, I added a white wine from this region. It helps to place the cheese on its own baking sheet so when the wine seeps through it will not get into the oven. Finally, I placed charcutrie items, such as salami, smoked ham, or prosciutto, on a plate. To eat the meal one just takes a spoon and digs in! You can take your spoon of melted cheese and place it on your potato or meats. This meal is delicious, filling and fabulous with the white wine as well.

A Vehicle For Mayonnaise

Look at these beautiful, large artichokes. They are a rainbow of colors and symbolize the start of the summer season. There are some special tricks I do with my artichokes. First, I learned to cut my artichokes to look presentable. I slice off the stem and the tops with a serrated knife. I then cut each outer leaf so that the sharp points are removed. Next, I add cut garlic cloves, lemons and salt to the water in which I boil my artichokes. And most importantly, I always enjoy my artichokes with a lemon mayonnaise. Being the gourmande I am, I sometimes think that artichokes might just be another vehicle for mayonnaise! Do I love the beautiful, green creation of nature? Or, do I love the white condiment that accompanies it?

Bleu de Gex Part II

I tried this blue cheese again after reading a bit about more about it. The suggestions were that it is nutty and a mild cheese. I agree that it has a nutty taste. It also seems to have an aftertaste that lingers.

My sister was happy with the veal and Bleu de Gex cream sauce. She asked if we would go out to eat while she was here. I hesitated because I have two little ones. She said, "that's OK, you are a good cook so it doesn't matter."

I am certain we will be out and about enough to try some culinary delights! And, I will try my best to serve up local cuisine and let her experience the French cooking as I know it.

(the picture shows the veal cooking and the blue cheese just starting to melt. I added crème fraîche about 5 minutes later.)

Bleu de Gex

Bleu de Gex is a blue cheese from a town only a few kilometers from where we live. Gex is at the base of the Jura Mountains and so the appellation of the cheese is from the "Haut-Jura." Bleu de Gex is made from cow's milk and is great with veal, beef or at the end of a meal paired with older, red wines. When we dine at local restaurants we find Bleu de Gex on the menu. One of my favorites is veal with a cream sauce and Bleu de Gex.

I decided that I should find this cheese in the store and see if I could re-create what I tasted in the restaurants. I also bought crème fraîche and veal and started experimenting. The result was a creamy balance of sweet crème fraîche and acidic blue cheese over the tender veal.

I also tried this cheese in its raw form: just a hard, blue cheese. It really does have a strong, almost acidic bite to it. I prefer its taste balanced in a sauce.

My sister arrives tomorrow from California. What's cooking? A nice cutlet of veal or beef with a Bleu de Gex cream sauce!

Happy 4th of July

I didn't know I would be so sad to celebrate 4th of July away from the U.S. I think the rainy weather here made it harder. I was wearing snow boots and a fuzzy sweater for my 4th of July.

To try to get close to America we dined (that's a fancy word) at Buffalo Grill. They have decent food and I had my cheeseburger and fries to celebrate my country's independence.

I thought about making a meal at home. But, considering I was sad, the thought of dirty dishes and shopping for food just didn't seem like a plan.

My family in California was hopefully celebrating with a BBQ and a splash at the pool. I hope they had fun!

Boudin Blanc

Boudin Blanc is a delicious white sausage that is primarily bread-based. It is found in the charcutrie aisle of the French Supermarkets. I am a little scared of its counterpart: boudin noir. This is made of blood and I am not thrilled by that notion. So, I stick with boudin blanc!

Some tricks to cooking up boudin blanc are 1. take off the skins and 2. find a nice white wine to cook it in. I chose a wine from this region: Haute Savoie. If you leave the skins on the boudin will puff up. If you take them off then it cooks nicely and still gets a brown crust.

Set the oven to 210 degrees Celsius. Put your boudin in a baking dish and fill the bottom with white wine to cover the bottom 1/3 of the sausages. Cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes turn the sausages over to cook the other side and be sure that the entire boudin gets a dip in the wine. Cook for 10-15 more minutes.

If anyone has advice on what to serve boudin blanc with then please email me! Last night we ate it with an eggplant pistou (like a ratatouille) and wedge cut fries. I still haven't found the perfect side dishes for boudin blanc.

p.s. my toddler loves this stuff!

Salmon Rolls

This is a yummy appetizer and it's easy to prepare!

I was thinking as I prepared this entry that when it comes to oven temperature I am never very exact. I think this started when I arrived in Europe and had to make vague conversions from Fahrenheit to Celsius. My general method of oven-cooking is to turn the dial to around 200 degrees Celsius, put in my dish, give it 10 minutes and then peek. I then adjust the oven according to how my dish is cooking. Another trick I learned was how to let a dish stay warm, cook a little extra, while having the oven off. Maybe it's like an art form that each cook needs to figure out. Maybe it just takes patience and practice. Either way, I apologize for not being more exact in my recipes for cooking temperatures or times.

Ingredients:
Pâte feuilletée ( puff pastry dough )
smoked salmon
Crème fraîche
chives

Unroll the puff pastry so it lays flat. Add thin slices of smoked salmon to top the lower half of your pastry. Start with the lower half and begin to roll the pastry with the salmon inside. Cut slices of this roll about 1/2 inch thick. The middle slices will be the prettiest, but the outer slices will still cook up and be delicious! Bake on a cookie sheet, lined with parchment paper, for about 12 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius.

The Land of Duck

The South-West region of France, near Toulouse, is the land of duck. There are several duck specialities to try there. The first is foie gras. My brother in law actually manages a plant where they create duck delicacies such as foie gras in this area. I have a rule to try something 3 times before giving up on it. This was the case for fois gras. But, I recently tried a fourth time to taste some foie gras he brought home for a special occasion. Yum! It was covered in pepper which balanced the natural sweetness of the sweet duck liver. The next must-try is the greasy and crispy duck confit or confit de canard. This is pieces of duck such as thighs and legs that is cooked in duck fat. It is tender and rich and the meat falls right off the bone. Finally, cassoulet, a dish of beans, sausage and duck confit. This is a rich, comfort food. I tried it while I visited Toulouse. However, my friend in Paris makes a superior cassoulet. She promised me one this September which is serious business! I have been looking forward to her cassoulet for 3 years now! Duck isn't all there is to the South-West of France. However, it is worth trying in all its forms for they are all rich with flavor and uniqueness.

A tasty salad!

The main components to this easy salad are smoked salmon, jarred baby asparagus, onions and a mayonnaise dressing. In the picture I added lettuce leaves to bulk up my salad. Red onions are also quite delicious with the asparagus/salmon combination. Finally, I mix lemon juice or red wine vinegar with my mayonnaise and top my salad with it. This is easy and delicious (and probably healthy, too!)

The obligatory pasta salad

We were invited to a Father's Day BBQ last night and asked to bring something to share. We brought flavored mojitos, dessert and a dish to share.

It was funny because when we first arrived we saw a few bowls of pasta salad on the table and one woman commented. She said her friend had a BBQ once and asked friends to bring a salad or dessert. By the end of the night her friend was left with ten bowls of pasta salad. Wasn't that ridiculous?

Well, our hostess was also left with ten bowls of pasta salad last night. I am envisioning most of it being dumped in a trash can at midnight...

So, what is a good alternative? Try this!

Tea sandwiches:

16 slices of soft square sandwich bread
4 slices of prosciutto
cream cheese
herb cheese spread
4 smoked salmon slices
chives

Spread cream cheese on 4 slices of bread and add a slice of prosciutto to each. Spread herb cream cheese to 4 new slices of bread and top each with a slice of smoked salmon. Cover each sandwich with a new slice of bread. Cut your sandwiches into 4 triangles. Place the small sandwiches on a platter. Cut up chives and sprinkle them over your sandwiches as a garnish. You can also carefully lay 3 uncut strips of chives over the top for extra oomph!

These sandwiches were eaten up and enjoyed and definitely not weighing down my hostess' trash can at midnight!

Flammkuche

Flammkuche or Tarte Flambee is my new favorite, quick meal at the moment. It is especially good washed down with a nice, cold beer. Flammkuche is almost like a pizza in which it has a thin and crispy crust. It is then topped with cream or creme fraiche, bacon or lardons, chopped onions and other goodies. I prefer melted cheese on my Flammkuche.

I had never really heard of this until our recent travels to Alsace. It is a region in France right along the border with Germany. If you travel here you will easily find Flammkuche aka Tarte Flambee. I highly recommend finding an outdoor terrace, order a tall beer or wine from the region and enjoy!

Tasty Treats in Turin

It's true! The guide books say that if you order a drink at the big cafes in Turin you will be served tasty treats. We found this to be true and regretted even ordering dinner because we were offered so many snacks. The afternoon began and we walked down the Via Roma to the Cafes on the large piazza. My husband and I each ordered a drink and were then served little sandwiches with them - for free! After wandering more and enjoying a delicious dinner we went on the search for ice cream. We returned to the same piazza, but tried the cafe opposite the one before. With our drink and ice cream we were served up a feast: dried ham sandwiches, frittata sandwiches, chips etc. Again, for free! I would love to return to Turin to have a similar gourmande experience. The next time I won't eat my dinner so I can enjoy the tasty snacks and drinks!

tarte tatin

With four simple ingredients this is a delicious and somewhat easy dessert. I have to thank my belle-maman (mother in law) for teaching me her recipe in her authentic, French kitchen.

4 medium sized apples pealed and sliced. (I used Royal Gala or Golden Delicious)
1 pate brisee (butter pie pastry)
300 grams of sugar to an equal part of water

To make the caramel sauce put a saucepan on medium high heat and add the sugar and water. It will boil and bubble and change into caramel after about 20-30 minutes. You should pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius or about 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the middle of preparing the caramel. You can smell and see when your sugar-water changes. Let it cook until it reaches a great caramel color. But, don't let it burn! If it gets too dark or smells like it is burning remove it from the stove immediately! Never touch caramel. It is extremely HOT!

Place your pealed and sliced apples in the bottom of your baking dish. A 9 inch pie dish should work well. I start on the outside and layer the apples and work my way in to the middle.

Pour the prepared caramel over the apples.

Unroll your pastry crust and lay it over the top of the caramel and apples. Fold in the edges to make a nice crust. You can cut a few holes at the top for ventilation.

Place the tart in the oven. Keep an eye on it as it cooks. In the first 15 minutes the crust will become golden and the caramel will start to bubble out of the sides.

You can lower the temperature by 50 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook another 15-20 minutes.

Let your tart cool for about 20-30 minutes. Find a dish that is large enough to hold your tart. Place it over the pie dish as you will turn the entire thing over! The crust will be on the bottom, apples for all to see and a delicious caramel sauce all over everything.

Bon appetit et Merci Belle Maman!

Mint from the garden for the perfect Mojitos!

What's Cooking?

I have lived in France now for 7 months. I have been in love with food my entire life.

My mom says I can remember any event based on the meal. It's usually true. Yesterday's event was a birthday BBQ and I know I will remember the Mojitos. Unfortunately, today I wish I could forget the Mojitos.

They are delicious especially if you can grow mint in your garden:

12 mint leaves
2 tsp. sugar
3 tbsp. lime juice
1 1/2 oz. light rum
1 oz. tonic

Muddle the mint leaves with the sugar and lime juice. Add the rum and tonic. Garnish with a mint leaf or a slice of lime. Enjoy!