French Fridays with Dorie, Week 12: Speculoos

Merry Christmas!!

My new favorite Christmas cookie, Speculoos.  Crisp texture with a sweet, cinnamon flavor. 

Perfect treat for Santa!

The original printing of Speculoos in Around My French Table included an error.  Please see the correct Speculoos recipe on doriegreenspan.com.

 

Happy Holidays!  Wishing you much happiness with family & friends!

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 11: My Go-To Beef Daube

I love beef stew and find myself delightfully surprised when I find an even better twist on the traditional recipe.  Browned cubes of beef chuck roast, bacon, onion, shallots, garlic, carrots, & parsnips with a bottle, yes a bottle, of red wine & bundle of fresh herbs: thyme, parsley, rosemary.  Simple.  Delicious.

Translation:  aller à mon boeuf daube
Listen to the pronunciation via Google Translate.

Other favorite beef stew recipes:
Beef, Barley, & Butternut Squash Stew from Fine Cooking.

My Favorite Beef Stew
Adapted from Wegmans Slow-Cooked Country-Style Beef Stew

2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into 2-3 inch cubes

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 slices bacon, cut in 1/4-inch strips
4 carrots, trimmed, peeled & chopped

3-4 celery stalks, trimmed, peeled & chopped,

1 1/2 pound potatoes, quartered

1 onion, quartered & thinly sliced

6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups red wine
4 cups beef stock or broth
2 bay leaves
4 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp Herbes de Provence

Dust beef with pan-searing flour.
Heat oil on medium in large braising pan. Add beef; brown, turning to brown all sides, 8-10 min. Remove beef; place in slow cooker. Add bacon to pan and cook until crisp; set aside. Discard all but 1 Tbsp drippings from pan.
Add stew vegetables (minus potatoes) to pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, 4-5 min. Stir in all-purpose flour. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits on bottom of pan. Cook 3-5 min, until liquid is reduced by one-third, to a syrupy consistency. Add broth; bring to simmer.
Pour broth mixture over beef in slow cooker. Add potatoes, bacon, bay leaves, tomato paste, and herbes; stir slightly.
Cover; cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours or LOW 7-9 hours. Transfer beef and vegetable to serving platter. Discard bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over beef; serve.

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 10: Sweet & Spicy Cocktail Nuts

This month has been a blurrrrrrrr.  Dear Dorie did not disappoint with the December line up of recipes from Around My French Table.  I just have not been able to keep up!  Here is a quick catch up of the last few weeks filled with way too many hours at work!

Our neighborhood bootcamp/workout group dressed up for a fun night out filled with good eats and holiday cheer.  The spicy cocktail nuts were a perfect addition to the gathering providing a deliciously, unique twist on the traditional cocktail fare!

I followed the recipe as written, using sugar, salt, chili powder, ground cinnamon, and cayenne & egg whites as the glue to adhere the seasonings to a blend of nuts from my favorite shop:  Krema Nut Company. 

Cheers!

Translation:  écrous cocktail sucré et épicé

Listen to the pronunciation via Google Translate.

Such a versatile recipe and treat.  Nuts are a perfect way to include a little fiber, protein, magnesium, niacin, zinc, selenium, folic acid, potassium, iron, calcium, and other important vitamins and minerals.  A little goes a long way though....  A significant source of fat, one ounce of nuts (about 1/3 cup) will provide between 160-200 calories. 

Here are some other favorite cocktail nut recipes:

Sugar & Spice Candied Nuts from Epicurious

Fire & Spice Nuts from Epicurious

Chile-Lime Peanuts from Eating Well

Spiced Pecans from Fine Cooking

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 9: Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake

My task list Wednesday evening included three desserts in just about as many hours.  The week had been busy and already included several visits to the grocery.  All, I might add, without full consultation of my pantry and shopping lists left elsewhere.  A dangerous combination, yes.

When I finally settled in to prepare this week's FFwD selection, Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake, I realized that I was missing several key ingredients:  Cream of Wheat or Farina, whole milk, and golden raisins. 

I was debating...do I go out in the lovely rain/sleet mix on the eve of Thanksgiving or stay tucked in at home and attempt to make this with a few modifications?  Challenge accepted and this is the route I chose:  cornmeal, half and half, skim milk and red wine plumped raisins in place of the missing ingredients.

The cornmeal, milk, and salt bubbled nicely and after the addition of the eggs and vanilla it was looking like a great modification.  

The sugar, water, and squeeze of lemon juice boiled into a deep amber caramel.



The caramel glazed the bottom of the cake pan and was topped with the cornmeal batter.  All looking great so far!

Out of the oven and filled the kitchen with a great aroma and then....

Unfortunately, the caramel topped pudding cake plopped out of the pan and into a mess.  But the cake easily turned into a delicious pudding treat, just served in a bowl. 

Translation: Carmel garni de gâteau à la semoule

Listen to the pronunciation. 

I am looking forward to what French Fridays Saturdays with Dorie has in store for December. 

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 8: Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans

For week eight of the French Fridays with Dorie adventure, I decided to give the savory flan a try.  The Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans, from Around My French Table, were easy to prepare.  The recipe begins with whisking together pumpkin, eggs, and heavy cream and seasoned with salt and pepper.  Before baking in a water bath, the flans were topped with Gorgonzola (or goat cheese, yum!) and toasted walnuts.  Drizzle with a little honey and you have an interesting mixture of flavors...bold cheese with the mildly sweet pumpkin and honey.  Interesting, indeed.

Translation:  Citrouille Gorgonzola Flan

Listen to the pronunciation.

Oh why I love pumpkin...

• Versatile ingredient!  Shines so well in sweet and savory dishes and could make an appearance at any meal.   Nutrition powerhouse!  Great source of fiber, vitamin A, potassium and the antioxidant, beta-carotene.  There are 600 or so carotenoids in our foods.  Beta-carotene, lycopene, and lutein are probably the most widely recognized.  Foods brightly colored in reds, greens, deep-yellows and orange will provide  you with the best sources of carotenoids.    
•  The seeds!  Pepitas!  Roast the seeds with a little olive oil, season with salt & pepper and you have a  great fiber, iron and protein-rich snack. 
• The color!  Really loving orange at the moment.
• The ingredient in my all-time favorite cookie...Pumpkin Cookies.  Follow the link to this fantastic family recipe.

Here are some more interesting pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin Flan with Spiced Pumpkin Seeds from Epicurious

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes from Epicurious

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Puree from Fine Cooking

Roasted Pumpkin-Apple Soup from Eating Well

Glazed Chocolate-Pumpkin Bundt Cake from Eating Well

Pumpkin Honey Beer Quick Bread from Cooking Light

Pumpkin Banana Smoothie from Cooking Light

Next week:  The Caramel Topped Semolina Cake

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 7: Pommes Dauphinois

Another lovely evening with Dorie Greenspan and her cookbook, Around My Kitchen Table!  Week seven of French Fridays with Dorie has resulted in something that smelled & tasted incredibly divine:  Pommes Dauphinois or Potato Gratin.  Amazing recipe!  

Dorie gives some great garlic advice in the cookbook: split the clove and remove the germ to tone down the bitterness.  If you find yourself with fresh, Spring garlic, this step would be unnecessary.  Look for the slender teardrop shaped piece and use the tip of a paring knife to scoop out the germ.  The same could be done with onions or shallots, especially if using raw in salads.  



The gratin begins with simmering garlic and heavy cream.  Really, the most delightful smell.  I decided to veer a little off the main recipe and layer sweet potatoes with the russets into 3 1/2 inch ramekins instead of a 2 quart baking pan.  Each potato layer was draped with the garlic cream, salt and pepper.  

Grated Gruyere cheese and rosemary topped the potatoes and baked at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes until a knife easily reached the bottom of the ramekin.  The original recipe halved nicely and was plenty to fill four ramekins.

 

Translation: Potato Gratin

Pronunciation: Pommes Dauphinois

A few recipes that I have had my eye on...
Scalloped Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin from Epicurious
Provencal Tomato Potato Gratin from Epicurious


A tad bit lighter...
Potato Gratin from Eating Well
Wild Mushrom and Sweet Potato Gratin from Cooking Light


As requested by Dorie, the recipes from Around My French Table are not republished online.

There is a birthday celebration looming and I think some of the Dorie Greenspan recipes will make an appearance.  The Caramel-Peanut Topped Brownie Cake from Baking From My Home to Yours is at the top of my list.  I think it will satisfy the guest of honor's chocolate & caramel cake request!  Any suggestions? More to come on this subject...

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 6: Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux

French Fridays with Dorie, again has turned into French Sunday or maybe Monday by the time this is wrapped up! For November, there is a delicious selection of recipes to try & since I am just returning from a beach vacation and feeling especially slow moving in the cold weather, I found this recipe calling my name.  Roast chicken is delicious, but roast chicken for les paresseux, or lazy people, seemed oh so appropriate!

My roast chicken usually depends upon what I have in the refrigerator...a little citrus, herbs from the garden, and built on a bed of carrots, onions and celery.  Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken has always been a favorite.  Dorie's recipe presented an interesting twist and one that I will most certainly repeat: two slices of baguette placed at the bottom of the dutch oven with a little olive oil.  As the chicken roasted, the bread collected juices, formed a crust, resulting in gooey goodness. The recipe suggests roasting the liver in the cavity and when it is cooked, mash and spread over the juicy bread, drizzle with juices and season with salt.

The chicken was seasoned with salt, pepper, sprigs of rosemary, thyme, and oregano along with an entire head of garlic placed in and outside the cavity.  A splash of olive oil and white wine for a little liquid in the dutch oven and into the oven the roast went.

After 45 minutes at 450 degrees F, baby potatoes, carrots, and shallots were added to the roast. Forty five minutes more at the same temperature and uncovered, a crisp, golden skin formed and the house was filled with that perfect roast chicken smell.

Delicious! Délicieux!

Listen to the translation of roast chicken for the lazy:  poulet rôti pour les paresseux

Here is hoping for many more lazy days filled with treats like this!

November recipes from Around My French Table will include:
Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flan, page 146
Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux, pages 200-201
Potato Gratin, pages 360-361
Caramel Topped Semolina Cake, pages 438-439

Autumn, please don't go!

Autumn has taken a nasty turn and old man winter has made a very unwelcome appearance around here.  The first flakes of snow have fallen and I am not ready to let go of the lovely, sunny fall days.  To keep the glorious fall weather fresh in my mind, I turned to an old family friend:  pumpkin cookies.  Each fall these goodies would make an appearance at countless sporting events, harvest parties, and in college care packages.  My mother's signature cookie even arrived at my doorstep this year! 

The moist cake-like cookies soften as they age and are equally delicious plain or topped with cream cheese frosting.  The pumpkin cookies are also my secret breakfast indulgence with a steaming cup of coffee.  Let's just focus on the fact that they are a source of fiber & vitamin A! 

Pumpkin Cookies

4 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
2 cup quick or old fashioned oats, uncooked
2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
15 ounces Solid Pack Pumpkin

Position oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or lightly grease. 

In large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, cinnamon & salt.  Set aside.

Working with a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, in a large bowl, cream butter at medium speed until soft and creamy.  Gradually add sugars, beating until light and fluffy.  Add egg and vanilla, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl with spatula, as needed.  Reduce mixer speed to low, alternate dry ingredients and pumpkin, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Mix well after each addition.  Scrape down the bowl, making sure the batter is well combined.

Scoop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough.  Bake at 350 degrees F, 12-13 minutes, until cookies are firm and lightly browned.  Allow cookies to rest on sheets for 1-2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Favorite additions include raisins, chocolate chips, pecans, and walnuts.  Very versatile base cookie that may accommodate many extras!

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounces) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Working with a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or hand mixer, combine cream cheese and vanilla until light and fluffy.  Reduce speed of mixer to low and gradually add powdered sugar.  Frosting may be thinned by adding teaspoons of milk until desired consistency. 

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 5: Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake

Fall weather has arrived in Ohio and the kitchen has been a flurry with baking activity.  Week five of the French Fridays with Dorie adventure delivers a cozy fall weather cake.   Dorie shared a recipe from her good friend, Marie-Hélène Brunet-Lhoste.  Again, aren't the best recipes shared by friends? 

This cake is simple to prepare and really more apples than cake.  The batter whisked together easily using melted butter, sugar, egg, a little flour, salt & baking powder that stretched to coat each apple piece.  In her recipe, Dorie suggested using a variety of apples.  Luckily, my last trip to the farmer's market resulted in a bounty of apples:  Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, and Ida Red.  It has been a spectacular year for apples in Ohio!  The mix of tart and sweet apples plus dark rum and vanilla resulted in a delicate, simple flavor.  The apples really are the stars.  Dorie's recipe can be found at epicurious.com. 

The recipe called for using an eight-inch springform pan, exactly what I found myself without.  Instead of spreading out the batter in a nine-inch springform pan, I buttered & lined seven ramekins (3 ½ -inch) with parchment paper.  The cakes were golden brown and pulled away from the edges of the ramekins after 35 minutes versus the 50 to 60 minutes in the original recipe.  I let the cakes rest a few minutes before attempting what I hoped would not be a disaster.  I was prepared to enjoy the cakes in the ramekins, which would have been just as delicious, but they popped right out and even maintained their shape and golden crust goodness on top. 

The individual cakes were perfect warm from the oven and were over the top with a scoop of salty caramel ice cream from our neighborhood ice cream shop: Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream.  The burnt sugar flavor of the ice cream paired perfectly with the simple apple cake.  Delicious!

Google translate so would have made my high school French class life much easier!  Ahhh, technology. 

This week we go English to French.  Listen to the translation:

Marie-Hélène's Apple Cake  =  Gâteau aux pommes de Marie-Hélène.

November promises to be a fantastic journey through more of Dorie Greenspan's recipes.  Stay tuned!   

FFwD, Week 4: Hachis Parmentier

Week four of French Fridays with Dorie, I'm afraid, has become French Sundays with Dorie.  Nevertheless, this week’s recipe, I promise, does not disappoint & quite definitely will become a wonderful winter companion. 

Before delving into the recipe details, we must give thanks to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French Chemist & Botanist responsible for making the potato a household staple.  After serving in the French Army, Mr. Parmentier dedicated his research to the potato & in 1773, proclaimed the potato’s famine reducing qualities.  The French honor Mr. Parmentier with several potato-containing dishes including a potato & leek soup, Potage Parmentier and a simple diced, seasoned potato, Pommes Parmentier.

Hachis Parmentier, a meat & potato pie, is unlike any shepherd's pie I have enjoyed before.  Comfort food to the extreme, this recipe begins with the preparation of a beef broth by simmering cube steak, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, parsley sprigs, bay leaf, salt, black peppercorns along with a little water.  

The carrots, onions & celery rescued from the broth were added to the beef along with spicy sausage to create the meat base of the dish and topped with whole milk, heavy cream, & butter-laden mashed potatoes sprinkled with Gruyere & Parmesan cheese.  Rib sticking, goodness, indeed.  The lovely meat & potato dish baked until the filling bubbled & the most delicious golden crust formed on top. 
We enjoyed the Hachis Parmentier with a simple salad & lovely Argyle Pinot Noir.  I can assure you there will definitely not be a famine happening here!

   

Translation:  Shepherd's Pie

Pronunciation: Hachis Parmentier

The publisher of Around My French Table has asked that the recipes not be posted. 

I have my eye on a few variations of Shepherd's Pie to try this winter: 
Wine Braised Beef & Celery Root Shepherd's Pie,
Food & WineShepherd's Pie, Epicurious
Shepherd's Pie, Ellie Krieger, Food Network    
                         (A much lighter version)

FFwD, Week 3: Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

Week 3 of French Fridays with Dorie delivers another delicious recipe from Dorie Greenspan & her latest cookbook, Around My French Table.  This is a soup I would try in a restaurant or at least convince a dining companion to order so that I might have a taste, but honestly would probably never have made at home.  Stay tuned & you will learn why. 

The recipe starts off with a mix of bold flavors:  cilantro, star anise, coriander seeds, white peppercorns, onion, garlic, ginger & two dried chilies mixed with chicken broth, unsweetened coconut milk, nuoc mam, brown sugar & a pinch of salt.  I was expecting a spicy soup & either I’m adjusting to my husband’s preference for super spicy or maybe I went wrong with my pepper selection.  I chose the Arbol Chili Peppers from Penzeys Spices.  The chilies have such a great color!

The soup finished nicely with shreds of poached chicken, rice noodles, lime juice & fresh basil on top.

Running through my head while making this was, “to cilantro, or not?”  Are you a cilantro hater?  There is science to back up this much debated topic.  Others in my family detest do not tolerate it, so perhaps it is true that I am genetically predisposed to not so much like cilantro.  To me it does taste a little soapy.  I tolerate in small amounts.  I love so many things often paired with cilantro & I’m not willing to ban it altogether from my diet.  I did not find the cilantro flavor to be overpowering in the soup & quite enjoyed it!  The potential was there for it to be overwhelming considering cilantro is the stem/leaves of the coriander plant & the recipe includes coriander seeds!  So my question to you, in which camp do you fall?  Are you a cilantrophobe?

I have my eye on some other Vietnamese-style soup recipes...
Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass, Fine Cooking
Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup, Food & Wine
Pho Ga,  Emeril Lagasse and the Food Network


Week 2:  Gérard's Mustard Tart
Week 4:  Hachis Parmentier


Make a difference in your community on October 16, World Food Day, by donating in some way to your local food bank.  Contact your local food bank for information and guidelines before donating. A monetary donation is another way to provide pantries with the ability to feed those who are hungry.

French Fridays with Dorie, Week 2

Again, a challenge this week to stretch my kitchen skills.  Does Dorie know that I am terrified of any recipe that involves a crust?  I love baking, but will avoid a pie or tart recipe like the plague.  Week two of French Fridays with Dorie, I present you with a successful tart dough attempt & a definite keeper of a recipe:  Gérard’s Mustard Tart.   This recipe comes from Dorie's friend, Gérard.  I am sure you would agree that some of the best recipes are shared by friends.   

I split up the preparation of this recipe over two days to give the tart dough ample attention.  With a pile of sand like flour turned out of the food processor, I seriously thought I had a disastrous situation on my hands.  Not willing to give up too easily, I kept going with the process & it all came together into a triumphant disk of dough!

Since our tomato plants are still producing despite the chilly weather the end of September delivered, I decided to add tomatoes into the mix with the carrots & leeks.  In addition to the lovely tomatoes, earlier this summer we had a gorgeous crop of sunflowers.



Feeling a sense of relief to have the base of the tart completed, I whisked together the eggs, crème fraîche, classic Dijon mustard, coarse ground Dijon mustard, fleur de sel, and ground white pepper.  The egg mixture was topped with steamed slender sticks of carrots & leeks on one half, tomato slices on the other & a rosemary sprig in the middle.  Into the oven it went & our house slowly filled with the best mustard scent ever. 

What a way to spend a Friday! 

Next up:  Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup.  Looking forward to the soup, but hoping that soup weather stays away!

French Fridays with Dorie, Week One

I am guilty of stalking many food blogs & could not resist joining in the fun with the launch of French Fridays with Dorie.   I finally have had a moment to dive into Dorie Greenspan's latest cookbook, Around My French Table, and it is exactly what I need to stretch my kitchen skills!  Dorie is setting us off on this adventure by selecting the recipes for the first four weeks & this week's selection is divine:  Gougères.  These little puffs of cheese are equally delicious straight from the oven or cooled to room temperature. 

For some odd reason & I am now quite ashamed to admit, I have steered clear of anything that starts with pâte à choux.  Sad mistake on my part!  Dorie has made this recipe so approachable & such goodness from the oven should no longer be avoided.   Basic ingredients: milk, butter, salt flour, eggs, & cheese!  

Traditionally, gougères are made with Gruyère, but extra sharp cheddar was what I had on hand.  After "taste testing" several, I could see how fun it could become to play around with the dough trying a variety of cheeses and seasonings.


I stashed a full cookie sheet worth of scoops of the dough in the freezer for another day.  36 gougères seemed a little too many for my waste line, although they could have easily disappeared!  Wait, there is that nutrition degree talking. 

The gougères will be perfect to pull out for a quick appetizer this fall & to savor with a favorite verre de vin.  At last...putting those years of French classes to use!

Dorie shared her recipe on NPR several years ago.  Check it out & bon appétit!

This is my kitchen helper.  Could not forget to snap a picture of him!