Cherry Clafoutis

Cherry Clafoutis

A Simple And Classic French Dessert!

Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 35-45 minutes

Ingredients

3 cups fresh black or Bing cherries, pitted 

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp kirsch

1 tbsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, 1 egg yolk

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cup flour 

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Cooking Tools

Blender

Baking dish 

Directions

Heat oven to 400 Degree F, grease a cast-iron skillet or baking dish with butter; set aside. Combine milk, sugar, kirsch, vanilla, eggs, and salt in a blender. Blend for a few seconds to mix ingredients, then add flour and blend until smooth, about a minute or two. Pour batter into buttered skillet, then distribute cherries evenly over top. Bake until a knife inserted into batter comes out clean and a golden brown crust has formed on top of Clafoutis, about 35 to 40 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. 

Serves 6

Canele` de Bordeaux

Canele` de Bordeaux
A Beautiful Petite French Pastry With A Delicate Rum Flavor!
Difficulty: Moderate
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

4 egg yolk

1/4 cup dark rum

1 tsp vanilla bean extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups whole milk

3 tbsp butter

2 tbsp melted butter for greasing

Cooking Tools

10 Canele` de Bordeaux molds

Medium mixing bowl

1 small saucepan

Hand skimmer

Sheet pan

Cooling rack

Sifter

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 Degrees F. Sift flour and place flour, sugar, egg yolks, rum, vanilla bean extract, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix and smear into a smooth paste using a spatula. Continue mixing until flour is fully incorporated. Place butter and pour milk into a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. As soon as milk mixture comes to a simmer, remove from heat. Slowly add half the milk to the flour mixture to prevent the egg yolks from cooking. Whisk until well blended and smooth. Slowly pour in the rest of the milk mixture; whisk until batter is smooth. Batter will be thin.  Use a skimmer to run the batter through to catch any cooked or lumpy eggs. Cool the batter. Grease each mold all of the inside with melted butter and place on sheet pan and place in freezer until butter lined mold becomes chilled. Pour batter into each mold 3/4 the way full and place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 Degrees F. for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool to room temperature to get the crusty exterior.
yields 10 

 

Caramelized Pork Banh Mi

Caramelized Pork Banh Mi
A  French Inspired Vietnamese Sandwich!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 lbs. cooked pulled pork
2 french baguette or sub bread
pickled carrots & daikon radish (recipe below)
sprigs of cilantro
6 fresh basil leaves
4 green onions
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Gachujang sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Mirin
1/4 tsp sesame oil
Maggi sauce https://www.amazon.com/Maggi-Seasoning-6-7fl-oz-200ml/dp/B0000E2PX6

Cooking Tools

Large fry pan/ skillet

Small mixing bowl 

Directions
Heat cooked pork on medium heat.  Add; soy sauce, Gachujang, sugar mirin, sesame oil and cook until sauce start to caramelize. Prepare buns and cut length wise without cutting through the hinge.  Pull out some of the bread to create room for the rest of the ingredients.  Heat buns in oven until slightly toasted.  Fill buns with pork the dash some drops of the Maggie sauce on the inside bun.  Add layer of the cilantro, basil leaves, green onions and pickled carrots & daikon.

Pickled Carrots & Daikon

Ingredients

1 carrot, julienne

1 small daikon, julienne

1 cup white vinegar

1 cup sugar

Directions
Place vinegar and sugar in a small mixing bowl and whisk.  Add in carrots and daikon and pickle at least 1 hour or overnight. 

Quiche Lorraine

Quiche Lorraine
Serve It For Breakfast, Lunch And Dinner!
Difficulty: Easy

Serve With A Spring Salad.

 

Ingredients
1 prepared pie dough
6 ounces thick cut bacon, cut into narrow strips (or “ lardons”)
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup grated Gruyere or Swiss

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees F. Place pastry pie dough in a 8-9 inch pie dish.
Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until the crust is set, 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the paper and weights and bake until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.
In a medium skillet, cook the bacon until crisp and the fat is rendered, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Discard the fat or reserve for another use. Arrange the bacon evenly over the bottom of the baked crust. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, yolks, green onion and half and half. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Pour into the prepared crust and bake until the custard is golden, puffed, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Serves 6

Tuna Nicoise Sandwich

Tuna Nicoise Sandwich
This Is Not Your Momma's Tuna Sandwich!
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
4 slices rustic bread, grilled
2  small jars Italian Tuna in Olive oil, lemon and pepper
1/2 cup kalamata olives, drained and sliced in half
1 tbsp capers, drained
2 tbsp green onion, sliced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and boiled, sliced
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced
2 cups spring mix (arugula, baby spinach, baby Swiss chard)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Directions
In a small mixing bowl, add the tuna and some of the oil (try not to break apart the tuna too much, you want some large chunks).  Add kalamata olives, capers, green onion, parsley and toss lightly.  Place 1 cup of spring mix on a slice of grilled bread, add the tuna mixture, then top with sliced boiled potatoes and the slices of hard boiled eggs.  Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, top with second slice of grilled bread.
Yields 2 Sandwiches

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup
Perfect For The Start Of Fall!
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
salt
pepper
1 cup red wine
3 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 lb. grated Gruyere

Directions
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. When you're ready to eat, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.
Serves 4 to 6



Poulet a la Catalane

Poulet A La Catalane
A Northern Spain And Southern French Cuisine!
Difficulty: Moderate

Serve With Tarragon Fingerling Potatoes.

Ingredients
1 free-range chicken, cut into large pieces, leaving skin on
Olive oil, for sautéing
1 slice smoked duck breast, roughly chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 slice unsmoked bacon, cut into cubes
5 tomatoes, peeled and pureed
1 cup tomato concentrate/puree
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 cups water, plus 2 cups water, for blanching
1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour, for thickening
Pinch salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 bitter oranges, blanched *see cooks note (recommended: Bigerades) sliced
*Cooks Note: To blanch the oranges, boil 2 cups of boiling water in a small saucepan. Add oranges and boil for 1 minute. Remove and leave to cool then slice. Blanching the orange removes the bitterness.  You can also use blood oranges.

Directions
Sauté the chicken pieces in olive oil in the pot until they are golden brown. Add the duck breast and sauté another few minutes. Remove and reserve on a plate.
Brown the onions and garlic in the chicken drippings. Remove from the heat and reserve.
Fry the bacon in another pan. *Cooks note: don't use any oil as there is enough fat in the bacon. When the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered, combine with chicken and duck breast and set aside.
Mix the peeled tomatoes with the tomato concentrate and puree; add sugar. Heat them in another pan until they turn slightly reduced. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of the flour to thicken. Add the onions and garlic to the tomato mixture. Add the chicken, bacon, and duck and cover with 2 1/4 cups of water. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 40 minutes. Add 4-5 slices of blanched orange to casserole and leave for 20 minutes to allow the orange aromas to permeate the chicken. Then remove them and reserve for garnish.
4 servings

Banh Mi

Banh Mi
Vietnamese Sandwiches With A French Influence
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
4 Brioche buns or French baguette
1 1/4 lb. ground chicken, dark/white meat mix
2 tsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp mirin/ sweet rice wine
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1/4 cup red onion, minced
Directions
Preheat grill or grill pan inside on medium heat. In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well.  Make 4 patties slightly larger then the bun.  Grill patties until they are done.  Place chicken on the bun and top with the peanut slaw (recipe below).

Peanut Slaw
Ingredients
1 bag of broccoli/ shredded carrot slaw mix
1 small bag of shredded red cabbage
1/4 cup red onion, sliced thin
3 tbsp peanut sauce
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp palm sugar
1/2 tbsp sriracha
1 tbsp lime juice
salt
pepper
Directions
In a mixing bowl, first add rice wine vinegar and the palm sugar, whisk until sugar dissolves.  Add hoisin, peanut sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Mix well, than add the slaw mix, red cabbage and onion; Toss well and refrigerate until ready to use.  Place on top of the chicken Banh Mi.
Serves 4

Cherry Clafouti

Cherry Clafouti
A Rustic French Dessert With Summer Cherries
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
3 cups fresh black or Bing cherries, pitted
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp kirsch
1 tbsp vanilla extract
5 eggs
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
Heat oven to 425 Degree F, grease a cast-iron skillet or baking dish with butter; set aside. Combine milk, sugar, kirsch, vanilla, eggs, and salt in a blender. Blend for a few seconds to mix ingredients, then add flour and blend until smooth, about a minute or two
Pour batter into buttered skillet, then distribute cherries evenly over top. Bake until a knife inserted into batter comes out clean and a golden brown crust has
formed on top of clafouti, about 30 to 35 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Serves 8

French Onion Grilled Cheese

French Onion Grilled Cheese
A French Twist On An American Classic
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
8 thick slices of Brioche Bread
2 large sweet onions, thin slices into rings
1 1/4 cups beef broth
2 tbsp butter plus more for grilling
2 tsp Better Than Bouillon Paste
large pinch of dried thyme
salt
pepper
2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Directions
In a large frying pan, add butter on medium heat and the add all the onions and sauté and sweat the onions for about 5 minutes.  Add beef stock a 1/4 cup at a time and place lid back on until liquid evaporates.  Repeat this process until liquid is gone and is fully evaporated.  Add the Better than Bouillon Paste and the dried thyme, mix thoroughly.  The onion will start to caramelize (because of the natural sugars in the onion, be careful not to burn, you can adjust the temperature.)  Wait until the end of cooking the onions to add salt and pepper, taste and then adjust seasoning.  Heat grill pan to medium heat, grease the grill pan with a small amount of butter or olive oil.  Assemble the sandwich with onions and 1/2 cup of gruyere cheese per sandwich.  Grill 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until the cheese has melted.
Serves 4

Roast Chicken Provence With Mushroom Risotto

Roast Chicken Provence With Mushroom Risotto
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
4 chicken leg quarters
1 tsp herb de provence
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper  

Directions  

Preheat oven 375 degrees F. Drizzle chicken quarters with olive oil and the spinkle seasonings to cover all the chicken.  Place in oven and bake 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 min, depending on how large the legs are.

 

 Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients
1/2 pound fresh porcini and cremini mushrooms
5 cups chicken stock
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 tsp garlic minced
1/2 cup chopped shallots (3 shallots)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt
pepper
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving

Directions
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute shallots over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the cremini and porcini and saute for another 5 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of the chicken stock mixture to the rice plus salt, and pepper. ( the chicken stock will already have salt so be careful not to over salt) Stir and simmer over low heat until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock mixture, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry before adding more of the stock mixture. Continue until the rice is cooked through, about  35-40 minutes total. When done, the risotto should be thick and creamy and not at all dry. Off the heat, stir in the cream and Parmesan cheese. Serve hot in bowls with extra cheese.
Place the cooked Roast Chicken Provence on top of Risotto and serve.
Serves 4