let's see... What would a French Mac and Cheese taste like? Well here you go, Dorie Greenspan's Gnocchi a la Parisian is great blend of two different countries. You have the Italian "gnocchi" and then the French Bechamel sauce with some French cheese. Together they make the perfect marriage and like I have said many times, everything is better with cheese.
And of course its in a Le Creuset pie dish, it was gone in a matter of minutes.
So I made the last two selections of the French Fridays with Dorie but never posted them. So now we are back on track after a very busy December. Mushrooms are one of the three things I could eat every day, some don't feel the same but I sure do love them anyway you can make them. This thick and tasty soup was a hit at our house, easy and even better on the second night.
Mushrooms or Champignons de Paris are a staple in France and can be found in much of the Loire Valley. Although they were named after the City of Lights they were moved out of the dark dungeons of Paris to be replaced with bones.... and took up residence in the Garden of France, the Loire Valley. Couldn't think of a better place for the regal little morsel then the location of many majestic chateaux.
Bon Appetit!
So very French and not to mention easy and very tasty. Leek & Potato Soup served chunky, smooth or a mixture of both is a fantastic winter dinner. It takes just a little over an hour from start to finish and if you have an immersion blender its a great excuse to get it out to play. The more you puree it the smoother and thicker the soup gets.
I topped the soup with some croutons I made out of sliced bread, chives and grated Gruyere. Like all of the recipes made so far from Around my French Table, this is a winner. In fact I am making it again this weekend and with just the two of us we get a couple of meals out of it.
Bon Appetit!
a very close relative to the ever satisfying Boeuf Bourguignon, Daube de Boeuf is the perfect comfort food on a cold December night. Slow cooked to perfection, this easy "beef stew" is a must make for anybody.
You can find the recipe in Dorie Greenspan's Around my French Table on page 244.
Next up is Potato Leek Soup, and just a hint.. it was fantastic!
So very easy to make and so delicious! What could be easier, you take some nuts, whip up some egg whites and make a sweet and spicy mix and then put it all together and in just 30 minutes you will be hard pressed to stop eating these. I made them for Thanksgiving and gave some to my grandmother and mom and they loved them. I will make more of these soon for holiday gifts and treats. Now if I only had some at this very minute!
Caramel topped semolina cake, that was on the menu on the night before Thanksgiving. With one of the ingredients being Cream of Wheat, I was honestly not sure what we were going to get. But I was pretty sure Dorie Greenspan would not be telling us to use this breakfast item if it wasn't going to turn out great.
And that it did, it makes a bread pudding like texture, much like the Apple Cake from a few weeks back and is rich, easy and tasty. I changed out the raisins for cranberries since it is Thanksgiving and my husband hates raisins and it added some little gems of red throughout. The caramel is so easy to make and the whole cake came together in no time. The leftovers are going to the family and I am sure they will love it.
This might not be a recipe everybody will try, but you should! So easy to put together and delicious! I made sure to get the best gorgonzola I could find since it played such a key roll in this dish and then toasted the walnuts until nice and dark for a deeper flavor.
And when you have a mini Le Creuset pumpkin sitting around, its a match made in heaven!
ok, so its actually French Saturday, but in my world, everyday is French day, this week I selected Pommes Dauphinois otherwise known as potato gratin. This one is right up my ally, it has a long history and is from a specific region of France and then it is covered in cheese, really a win win for everybody.
The Dauphine region of France is now known as the Rhone-Alpes region and is located in the southern area, above Provence. During the Roman Empire the Comte d'Albon, Guiguer le Vieux founded the Dauphine. The last descendant of the Comte Humbert II sold his land in the 14th Century to the King of France, with an agreement that the oldest son of the king should control the Dauphine. From then on the oldest son, the crown prince and successor to the crown was always known as the Dauphin.
The Dauphine area always plays a very important part in the annual Tour de France and of course my annual Tour de French cuisine when I follow the Tour de France with specific food of the area and town that they are in, and this year the town of Grenoble and of course what is the most popular location next to the Champs Elysees the Alpe d'Huez with its 21 switchbacks up the mountain. These stages in the Rhone-Alpes always mean potatoes, cheese and cream, after all what tastes better in the winter months after a long day in the snow.
All though I have made this many many times, the recipe in Around my French Table was great, creamy and cheesy and of course I added a little bit extra cheese.
When cooking it in a large French oven, Le Creuset, of course we need to keep this authentic, place a few slices of bread under the chicken. I used a rustic bread that had large cloves of roasted garlic to give it even more of a garlic flair. These little morsels cook in the olive oil and goodness of the chicken to make a rich crouton that you won't want to share with anybody else. The recipe is easy and great and reminds me of a French recipe I have made that you lay the chicken on toasted croutons after it comes out of the oven and does the same thing. It really is the best part!
Check out the rest of the French Friday friends here
This week the assignment for French Fridays with Dorie was to make an apple cake. This terrified me a little only because I am not a fan of fruit cakes, pies or sugar coated berries. But the show must go on and the project must get made. Lucky for me my husband is a big fan of apple pie/cake and he would take care of it. We started by going out to a apple farm just a mile from our house and I picked up some honey crisp and Jonagold apples that were the size of a small child. A quick cut of the apples and a toss around in the batter and into the pan it went. I think my apples were a bit on the large size so they poked out of the top, not at all like the picture. But from all reports it was fantastic.
For the next day I decided to turn the dessert into a savory dinner treat. What are the classic combinations with apples? Pork chops and cheddar cheese, maybe not together but I had an idea. I sliced some of the apple cake, toasted it to give it a little crunch on the edges, browned up some pork chops and made a quick Bechamel sauce and added some aged vintage white cheddar at the end. It was fantastic! I would make this again in individual cups and serve it along side a pork roast for a interesting change. Give it a try!
1 tablespoon butter
15oz flour
1 cup milk
white pepper & nutmeg
6oz grated white cheddar
Melt butter and add flour, whisk until combined and continue to cook for 1 minute. It will start to turn a light brown. Add half of the milk, bring to a boil continuing to whisk until thickened. Add rest of the milk and keep whisking until thick and coats the back of a spoon. Add in pepper and nutmeg and remove from the hear. Stir in cheddar and once melted serve immediately
See all of the other French Friday folks here....
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