Valentine Cookie Swap

Happy Valentines's Day!  I love Valentine's Day.   I've always loved it.   From elementary school shoe boxes filled with sweet notes from classmates, to a Valentine  Card and little present on the kitchen counter from Gary, I love it.    One of my favorite memories was walking into our kitchen for supper when I was about 8 on Valentine's Day.  My mom had hung lime green polka dot patent leather tote bags on the backs of our chairs.  The bag  had a sleeve on the outside that held a matching umbrella.   So sweet.  And so Doris Day! Another reason I love Valentine's Day?  It's Eddie, my dog's birthday.  Yes, we talked about naming him Romeo, Valentine, and many other more romantic names, but he was and always will be, Eddie.  Here's the birthday boy.  He's 1/2 German Shorthair and 1/2 Blue Heeler.  And quite a guy.  Today he's seven, and acts like two.

eddie

Our French Friday's with Dorie group decided to have a cookie swap to celebrate the day.   The swap was organized by Alice.  (Thanks, Alice!)    We each got the name of the Valentine, and made them a dozen cookies.  The box also included a recipe, and a little present.

My box arrived, and was so fun to open!   Susan Lester had my name.  Inside the big box was TWO boxes of delicious cookies, a pretty ceramic heart, complete with rose petals, and a tres jolie Valentine.  Thanks, Susan!   Her blog is CreateAmazingMeals.com    She knew just the right theme.   An Eiffel Tower and I'm in!

CookieSwap Box

The cookies are fantastic!  Chewing, very flavorful and perfect for an evening snack.  Ok, I ate two right away and am tempted to have another very soon!

Here's the recipe from Susan:

To print this recipe, click HERE

Inspired by Marcel Desaulniers “Mrs. D’s Chocolate Chip Cookies” from Death by Chocolate Cookies.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a stand mixer, at medium speed, for 4 minutes, cream

½ pound Butter, softened

2 cups Dark Brown Sugar

When light and fluffy, scrape down the sides of the bowl and blend in:

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1 Tablespoon Dark Rum (we use Myer’s)

2 Eggs

When thoroughly blended, add:

4 cups All-purpose Flour (we use King Arthur)

½ teaspoon Salt

1 ½ teaspoon Baking Soda

Start on low speed, slowly increasing to medium-high.

When dry ingredients are completely mixed in, add:

2 cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (we use Ghirardelli)

1 cup Walnut pieces

1 cup Pecan pieces

Drop cookie dough onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets (about 1 ½ Tablespoons).

Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, according to your preference.

Recipe from:  www.createamazingmeals.com

chocolate chip cookies

I hope you'll make these and visit Susan's site for more recipes and ideas.   Happy Valentine's Day!   Be kind.

Long and Slow Baked Apples

What are your plans for the weekend?   In that organizing mood?   I'd love to know how many of those plastic tubs are sold during January.   Today I saw a display of them in very fancy colors.  Personally, I like the clear ones so I can see what's inside.  I guess I could label them and then it wouldn't be necessary to open each one to find my summer clothes.  My new goal is things I'm not using get it out the door rather than squirreled away in the basement.   We'll see! I think it feels good to have some routine back again after the holidays.  Back from the free fall of sweets and dips.  Don't get me wrong, it's still winter and comfort food is still very welcome.   Now it's time for slow roasting, nice smells and healthier options.

There's comfort food, and then there's great comfort food.  What could possibly be better than creamy, sweet baked apples?  This is an Around My French Table recipe, by Dorie Greenspan.   As you know, I love simple, yet a little fussy recipes.   I think you'll love this one.   Why?

1.  You get to use ramekins.  You know you love them.

2.  You get to use your mandolin.  Promise, promise, promise you won't use it without the guard.

3.  You'll practice your apple peeling.

4.  You'll bake with plastic wrap.  Something I did in Paris and thought I'd never do again.  It works, really!

5.  The result is a delicious  apple dessert -so creamy and rich, it's almost like custard.   It's well worth the fussy preparation.

Long and Slow Baked Apples

The recipe is actually pretty simple, just a little time consuming.  Peel, core and slice apples. I used Fuji and they were  a really nice texture and flavor.   Be sure they're sliced very thin.

Then layer the slices with melted butter, and sugar that has been spiced with ginger and orange zest.   I skipped the ginger and used nutmeg instead.  The slices fit perfectly into the ramekins and towered over the top.

stacked apples

Then, wrap the ramekin in plastic wrap, then foil.    Make a few puncture holes in the top and cover with another ramekin to provide just a little pressure to the apples while they bake.

plastic wrap on apples

ramekins on top

Now, find a good book - or a closet to clean.   The apples will bake for two hours at 300 degrees F.  After they're baked, let them cool all wrapped up for  15 minutes or so, then carefully unwrap them.   It's amazing!

finished apples1

I went a little crazy and made three recipes from Around My French Table.   The herbed spaetzle, the Orange Pork Tenderloin and the Long and Slow Baked Apples.  It was a wonderful meal.  The pork and fragrant fruits were a nice combination.   The apples were a light yet very satisfying dessert ( with some sweetened whipped cream!)

When I make these again, I'm going to turn the apples out on to a plate and serve them with a dollop of creme fraiche.    It's always a perfect match with apples.  Do you know how to make creme fraiche?    It's very easy, but requires a little planning.

To print, click HERE

Creme Fraiche

2 cups Heavy Cream

2 T Buttermilk

Mix together, and allow to set uncovered at room temperature overnight ( or about 8-12 hours).  You can use it right away or stir, cover and chill.  The mixture will continue to thicken and become more tangy.  You can keep it up to about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.   If you don't need so much, feel free to divide the recipe and only make a half batch.

Stayed tuned everyone!  I'm heading to Paris and will try to send you photos and do a few blogs posts.  Is there anything you'd like to see or read about while I'm there?  What a nice coincidence that next week's Around My French Table  recipe in a French Apple Tart.  Tres Bien!

baked apples on tray

Cream of Cauliflower Soup - Sans Cream

It's the time of year when it's easy and almost expected to overindulge.  Cookies, candy, hot chocolate, dips... it's everywhere and so hard - at least me-  to resist.   Enter healthy soup!  This is the recipe for those looking for something creamy and fancy with any guilt.  It's easy to make and is very impressive.  I would go so far as to suggest that those who don't like cauliflower will like Cream of Cauliflower Soup.    I like to rate recipes on Gary's "oh yum" scale.  This got two "oh yums".    He's a huge fan of creamy, velvely soups, and this one glistens with goodness.  The recipe is from French Fridays with Dorie, and can be found at food.com, among other sites.  It's not too late to pick the book ... or add it to your list for Santa! As you're preparing for the holiday season, you may be finding your refrigerator a little cramped and in need of some paring down.  If you have a few less than perfect carrots, some wilty celery and a few onions, you're half way there.   Your kitchen will be filled with the wonderful smell of roasting vegetables as you roast the onions, garlic, carrots, leeks and celery.

If yo're in a hurry and just want the soup NOW, pick up a quart of vegetable or chicken stock, chop the cauliflower and add it the the herbs.  In 20-30 minutes, puree and you'll have great soup.   If you're a stock maker like me, you can make your own stock.   It will add about 1-2 hours more, but I think you'll be very pleased with the results.

I roasted mine for about an hour at 400.  There was lots of great caramelization on the vegetables.

The key to the golden color is to roast the vegetables long enough, and to deglaze the pan. Just put the sheet pan over a burner, turn on the hear, and add about a a cup of water or wine. The crispy brown bits (fond) will lift off, and the whole works goes into your stock pot with the veggies and water to simmer.

The stock simmered away for about one hour.  Time to stain the pretty broth from the vegetables.

I used the cotton strainer designed by Michael Ruhlman to separate the solids from the stock.  It you haven't found these already, go to Open Sky and pick up a set.  They would also be a great present for the cook in your life.  They wash easily and are easier to handle than cheesecloth.

Once the stock was complete, I sauteed new onion, and leeks, and added wth cauliflower and herbs.  The new soup simmered about 30 minutes.  After a good puree in my beloved Vitamix, the soup was finished.   Rich, golden and warm with an amazing aroma.

I hope you'll try this over the holiday season.  Serve it is little espresso cups with a dollop of Cream Fraiche, a little cheese or go fancy schmancy with a touch of caviar.

Chicken Basquaise with Shepherd's Bread

We've got a chill in the air, and it's time for thick soups and stews.  Today's recipes are truly a salute to late summer.  Our CSA has provided us with a bounty of peppers and tomatoes, and I'm happy to put them to use in the Chicken Basquaise recipe.   I also had the treat of using a locally grown chicken.   This recipe is great because you can make it with only chicken thighs or wings if you like.  The meat will simmer and be nearly falling off the bone when it's served.   I decided to serve ours over brown rice.  What's Basquaise, you ask?   It means in the style of the Basque region.   A region on the border of France and Spain.  The foods are unique, simple and hearty.  Chicken is browned and combined with a onions, garlic, tomatoes, white wine, and thyme.  The vegetables are simmered first, until tender, then the chicken is added. the mixure simmers for 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender.   I let mine simmer longer, for "falling off the bone" tenderness.

For a little extra punch and flavor of the region, you can add a pinch of chili powder.

Summer vegetables

I had a blast peeling and chopping the tomatoes.  They were SO juicy and flavorful.   I had to take a picture as they were almost ready to drip off the cutting board.

Chopped Tomatoes

On to the bread.  This recipe is absolutely delicious.  Serve it with any meal, make toast, make crostini, just make this bread!  Be patient, though.  It's sticky and a tad bit tricky.   I know you can do it!

 As I read through Basque recipes, I learned the shepherd would place bread dough in a special iron pot and bury it in the coals of his campfire in the morning.  After tending the flock all day, he would return to the pot of bread, which  would be ready.   The first piece would be cut from the top and given to the sheep dog.   Since my dogs are herders (in need of a herd), this is for them.  They didn't get any bread, but were very interested.  The aroma and flavor of this bread is amazing.  I didn't add the sage, but I know it would add great flavor.

To print this recipe, click HERE

Basque Shepherd's Bread

Yield: 1 Loaf

SMALL LOAF

3/4 c  Water

1 T Olive oil

1  3/4 c  Unbleached all-purpose flour

1 T Sugar

1 tsp Dried sage

1 tsp. To 1 tsp. salt - to taste

1 1/2 tsp Active dry yeast --- or---

LARGE LOAF (or 2 smaller loaves)

1 1/4 c  Water

2 T Olive oil

3 c  Unbleached all-purpose flour

4 tsp Sugar

2 tsp Dried sage

1 tsp To 2 tsp. salt - to taste

2 tsp Active dry yeast

Add all the ingredients together in a bowl, and mix well with a wooden spoon.  When dough is no longer shaggy, turn out onto the counter, cover with the bowl, and allow it to rest about 5-10 minutes.   Then, using a bench scraper to help, pull the dough toward you, fold over the top, pick up the dough and slap (upside-down) on the counter surface.  Repeat until the dough no longer sticks to the counter.    The dough will be smooth, very loose, and a little sticky.  Use a dusting of flour to help shape the dough into a ball.  Allow the dough to rise for about an hour until doubled.   I used a baguette pan, and made a long loaf shape which was contained by the sides of the pan.   You could use a cast enamel pot or bread pan to contain the bread.   Allow the bread to rise a 2nd time for about 45 minutes.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and the internal temperature is 180 degrees F.

Here's the whole meal, tender chicken, aromatic vegetables in very flavorful broth, and warm wonderful bread.   Let me know how your bread turns out!  Stop by soon, I have a great apple dessert recipe for you.

Chicken Basquaise

Minted Zucchini Tagliatelle with Cucumbers and Lemon

I love ribbon.  Satin, paper, wired, grosgrain.  It doesn't matter the kind.    In my pastry kitchen I have spools and spools on a dowel to tie around cake boxes.  Each ribbon is "frenched" to add the little notch at the end.  Love it.   Add tissue paper and a nice sticker and I'm all yours.  When I read the title to the recipe, I honestly thought that we were going to make a pasta dish.  Oh contraire!  The tagliatelle are ribbons of zucchini.   It was going to be just plain fun to make.  Fun and really pretty.  Plus, it's fresh, healthy  and so lovely! Poor zucchini.  It gets mispelled, and is one of the vegetables we're happy to see... for awhile.   Then they end up in the office breakroom in a pile looking for good homes.  Sometimes they even end up on your doorstep!   With the help of a mandolin, the zucchini in this recipe is sliced into gorgeous ribbons.  With the addition of  simple lemon viniagrette, cucumbers, mint and lemon the ribbons become a beautiful salad.  This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe makes the zucchini the star.  No mock apple pie, bread, pizza, just simple pretty zucchini.

I feel badly that I can't post the Around My French Table recipes on Fridays.  If you've been following my blogs each Friday, you might want to take the plunge and buy the book - or check it out from the library, if you don't already have it.  It's going to be a classic and I promise you won't be disappointed. Good news.  I'll be making it up to you next Tuesday.  It's a surprise!

When we were in San Francisco, in Chinatown, a shop keeper gave Gary a demo of some super sharp and cool garnishing tools.  He bought three and has been eager to give them a try.  Once I finished with my recipe he asked if he could use the left over pieces.  A few minutes later he brought me the pretty carvings to garnish my plates.   So pretty!

cutters-5

butterfly-3

The best tool for making the ribbons is a mandolin.   It's a razor sharp blade to pass the vegetables over.  I have great respect for mandolins.   Injuries from them are deep, fast and almost always require a visit to the ER.   They may perfect for the ribbon making, but only with the guard and slow careful movements.  I'll tangle with the box grater, but never the mandolin.   I got it out, was extra careful, and look at how great the zucchini turned out!

plated-zucchini-1

Embrace the gifts of zucchini, and enjoy the bounty of the summer harvest!

Stay tuned for a great dessert next week!

Peach Melba

Welsh Rarebit, Steak Diane, Pavlova and Peach Melba.  All recipes we've heard of and maybe some of us can describe.  Last week, the Around My French Table/French Friday's with Dorie group made Peach Melba.  I was thinking of something crunchy.  Perhaps in the Melba toast family.   What is it you ask?

Think about the best peach you're ever tasted, with fresh raspberry sauce, over ice cream... with just a touch of liqueur. Yes, that's it.

Fresh peaches are poached in simple syrup with vanilla bean, then cooled and chilled.  While the peaches are chilling, the berries are pureed and combined with just a bit of the syrup.  It's that easy.

Once the sauce and peaches are ready, spoon over vanilla cream and add some sliced almonds.  The scent of the vanilla is amazing.  I used St. Germain, and elderflower liqueur rather than the Chambord that was suggested in the recipe.   I don't think you can go wrong with either.   As summer transitions into fall, this is the perfect summer comfort food.   I hope you'll try it, and enjoy the sweetness of this classic.

Lemon Barley Pilaf

Whew!  It's been a busy week, and I'm late in getting this post off.   This is an Around My French Table recipe and part of the French Fridays with Dorie blogging group.  You know the drill for these recipe.  We're asked not to post the recipe, but you can find it in the book.   Just in case you don't have to book, I have good news for you.   August will mark Julia Child's 100th birthday month.   To celebrate, I'll be blogging some of her most famous recipes with some stories, fun facts and quotes from our dear Julia.    Any requests?

Well back to the pilaf... I love barley and was very interested to try the recipe.   My friend Jane makes a great salad with barley and tuna.  It's so good on a hot summer day.    I simmered the barley on the stove, and carefully added the chopped vegetables just as Dorie suggested so they didn't overcook.

The pilaf was tasty, and make a nice side dish with the grilled corn salad and salmon with dill and lemon.

French Fridays with Dorie - Sardine Rillettes- Not scary, really!

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Sardine Rillette.  A wonderful quick, easy little appetizer spread. I personally like sardines. Growing up, my  mom doesn't like steak. If our family was going to have steak she opened a can of sardines, spread some butter on bread, and carefully laid the sardines side by side on top of the butter.   We could join her, or eat steak.   I always choose the sardines.  There was something about the whole ceremony that appealed to me.   When you open a can with a key, and carefully roll back the metal top, it has to be good!    I know not everyone shares my love.   This recipe is really worth trying to acquaint yourself with sardines.

The recipe calls for 2 cans of sardines, and other ingredients that you probably have on hand.  A little cream cheese, shallot, some herbs, and juice of a lemon.   Guests are coming?  You can have this ready in less than ten minutes.   I used chives.  They're growing outside our kitchen door, and I try to use them whenever I can.

I was a Trader Joe's and found two kinds of sardines.  Some in oil, and some in water.  I bought a can of each to see what they were like.  Sardines are much bigger now than I remember.  I remember little guys about the size of your pinkie or slightly bigger.   They guys are big (well, little but big) and packed in like sardines.  Sorry, had to work that in somewhere!   In one can, the sardines still had spines, so I pulled those out.   I know they would have crushed, but just couldn't leave it in.  Here are the two cans side by side.

Some chopping and snipping and the ingredients were ready to combine.

The sardines easily combined with a fork.  The final preparation is a lot like a simple tuna salad.  It would be really nice piped into the little puff, or a cherry tomato.    Hope you'll give it a try!

Next Tuesday is a lovely lemon cake by Julia.  Love lemons.  Talk to you soon!

Mussels with Chorizo - Be Still My Heart!

 

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day.    It seems like Valentine's Day ends the winter holidays, and we can officially start looking toward spring.   It's been a mild winter here, but I'm ready to some simple, spicy springy dishes.   This recipe for Mussels with Chorizo  fits the bill perfectly.    Some of my favorite times with friends have included mussels.   It's so fun to gather in the kitchen around a big steaming pan and a basket of bread.    I remember Tuesdays night  in Madison at an all-u-can-eat Moules and Frittes night at a sweet French restaurant.   So many flavors, and happy memories.

Since Around My French Table arrived, I've had my eye on this recipe.    I love mussels, love chorizo, love garlic, what more is there to say?    My all time favorite mussel preparation is white wine, garlic, butter and little thyme.  The sauce for dipping is SO good.  I've served this a many small parties and people who don't even think they like mussels love them.   The FFWD recipe had stiff competition, but I felt positive given the great ingredients.

I still follow the rule that you should eat mussels during months with "r"  in them.   So May, June, July and August, sorry.   I'm sure the mussels we get are culitivated, and it really doesn't matter.  But it kind of adds to the romance of mussels.   Living in the midwest, it's not exactly the seafood capital, but our fish monger does a great job and we've never had any funky mussels.    Once the mussels are home, I pick through them and toss out any that aren't completely closed.  Before I toss them, I give them a little tap and see it they'll close.  If not, it's adios.   Can't risk eating a bad mussel.

The recipe serves 4, and there are only two of us so I used about 2# of mussels.

The recipe starts with the usual cast of characters. red pepper, onion and lots-o-garlic.

My chorizo was in a plastic tube, and soft.  I cut the tube in half, squeezed it into the pan, then sauteed the chorizo with the vegetables.   Oh the smell!   It's so easy to wrap up the rest and use it another time.

After everything melded together, in went the tomatoes and wine.   I only used one can of tomatoes since there were fewer mussels, and I decided to eat them in bowl with baguette rather than pasta.  I'm guessing there may have been a little more wine.

Here's are the little mussels just after putting them in the pan.

The lid went on tightly for 3-5 minutes, and ta-da!  Here's they are just a few minutes later.

That's it gang!  Into a soup bowl with a nice toasted baguette slices drizzled with some olive oil.    We have a mussel eating tradition which is to use one mussel like a castenet and pinch the mussel from the others shells.   It's fun, easy, drippy and delicious and no silverware is required.    The bread soaks up the incredible sauce.   Just have a big napkins standing by.     At the end of the pot, we had no unopened mussels - success!

I have a plan to make both sauces and have a little mussel fest in March.   We loved this recipe!

End of Summer Corn Soup - French Fridays with Dorie

Hello everyone!  I guess I accidentally took the summer off from FFWD.  The summer included fun vacations, our first season of pastries and breads at the local Farmers' Market, watching our mini wheat field grow, and best news of all... learning that we're going to be grandparents!   It's the beginning of the school year, and time to start cooking again.  This month's recipes look great and will be great fun to share.

Our friends had TWO children get married this summer.  One in Rhode Island, and one is NYC.   Luckily, Irene threaded the needle between trips and we were able to enjoy the best  both cities had to offer.   Meals included lobster bisque, rolls, and mac-n-cheese... yum (not all in one meal...)!  There are so  many great restaurants in New York.  After touring the Chelsea Market, we made reservations at Morimoto and enjoyed a feast of sushi and stunning entrees.  We had doughnuts at DOUGH in Brooklyn, and Oxtail Ragu in the Meatpacking District.  The travels were inspiring as well as tasty!

We've also been enjoying a great growing season with FoxCityFarm, CSA.   The box this week
included several ears of perfect sweet corn.  Just what I needed for this week's recipe, Corn Soup. It was a very warm day and not exactly a day for eating soup, but what the heck.   There was a lot of corn so I made triple batch of soup to freeze for later.

Here's the unpacked CSA box and the gorgeous corn.

The recipe calls for simmering the cobs in milk then combining the infused milk the the sauteed vegetables.  Here's the corn and cobs ready for the pots.

This  recipe, like many of Dorie's recipes, is simple, yet expert at bringing out the perfect flavors of each ingredient.

The cobs simmer in the milk to add a depth of flavor and texture for this simple soup.  Here are the cobs simmering away in the milk.  I used 2% milk rather than whole milk.   Remember, this is a triple batch.  The recipe only calls for three ears of corn...

Once the kernels of corn, and mirepoix have sauteed, the two pots were combined, then pureed to a beautiful velvet consistency.  Last year I had the luck of becoming the proud owner of a Vitamix blender.  At the time I found it hard to believe that  it would really make a big difference.  Wrong!  The blender sounds like an airplane taking off, and produces flawless results.  The corn soup was truly liquid velvet.  I garnished with thinly sliced scallions, and a dash of chipotle chili powder for a splash of heat.  We had the soup for dinner with tomatoes and crusty bread.  Then, the next day I served the soup as an amuse bouche in tiny glasses without garnish.  I didn't tell our guests what the soup was, and had them guess.  The guesses included celery, leek, and hmmm " I know this flavor so well, but can't place it".  The texture was so smooth and silky that the strong presence of corn was hard to place.  I would highly recommend this soup as a fall appetizer.  I preferred the soup without garnish, and just the dash of chili powder.  The best part was Gary's critique of the recipe... "Incredible"
Enjoy!

Things go better with... Cola and Jam Spareribs!

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Cola and Jam Spareribs.  A curious combination and not one that I was immediately drawn to.    Ingredients include Chinese Five Spice powder, ginger, apricot jam, orange/lemon juices, and Coke.  Hmm, well... here we go!

The recipe was straight forward and easy.  We like ribs, in traditional BBQ style, so we were eager to try these as the aroma spread through the house.

Here's the rack on ribs rubbed with the spice mix and spread with the jam/juice mixture.

The next steps were easy!  Bake and baste.   The caramelization process was fun, and produced really nice color.  I needed to add a little more water and ended up using the entire can of Coke. 

After 2 hours, here are the finished ribs!



The meat was tender but not falling off the bone, and the flavor was interesting.  We decided you have to approach the meal as a variation on roasted pork, rather than ribs.  The Asian twist with the spices, and the sweetness of the jam create a nice flavor.  Gary liked the spareribs a lot, I thought they were fine, but not crazy about them.  I admit, I had fun cooking with fizzy Coke.   A nice accompaniment for the ribs could be Spicy Asian Slaw.   I made asparagus - overcooked - and a little past its peak.  It wasn't a perfect combo, but tasted ok.

While this wasn't my favorite dish, it was fun to try, and fun to share.  Next week's recipe is Rhubarb, a spring favorite.   Enjoy!

French Fridays with Dorie- A celebration of Spring

Happy Spring! 

I'm back after a few vacations ready to cook, bake, entertain, enjoying the warmth and sunny days of spring.  This week's FFWD recipe was a true celebration of spring.  It was also a celebration of friends and local foods.

The recipe is Bacon, Eggs and Asparagus Salad.  It was so much fun to make.  The ingredients are simple and when each is cooked to perfection, the combination is delicious.   I'm also including our dessert, Rhubard Custard Tart.  More on that later in the post.

The ingredients for our salad had origins with friends...
On our early spring trip to Asheville, NC we spent time with our freinds, Jerry and Nancy.  At one of our brunches, we had delicious bacon at The Early Girl Cafe.  Jerry mentioned that they have a source for terrific bacon and would send some.  About a week ago, we opened the mailbox, and found a box filled with pounds of fantastic bacon.  For any bacon officianados out there, it's Benton's Hickory Smoked, from Madisonville, TN.   http://bentonscountryhams2.com/  Recently, I started baking the bacon in the oven rather than cooking it on the stove top.   Just place a rack over a  pan and roast in the oven at 350-400 for about 15-20 minutes.   The bacon will stay flat, be crisp, not greasy, and best of all... not make a mess on the stove.

Here's the finished bacon, waiting to top the salad.  I wish I could include smells in this blog!

Last night I finished a farmers market and had some croissant and pain au chocolat left over.  Our friends who are huge fans of French pastries were home and happily agreed to adopt the soon to be "day old" treats.  They offered me asparagus and rhubarb in exchange.  We all felt like we got the best of the deal!  We walked through their beautiful gardens.   My friend sliced off the asparagus, and made fast work of trimming the huge rhubard leaves.  I knew just where both would be used!

For the salad, the asparagus is boiled in salt water for just under 5 minutes.  I like it a little more tender, so a didn't rush to drain it. 

The eggs came from a local vendor.  So pretty!   In Around My French Table, Dorie walks you through making a perfect soft boiled egg.  If you haven't bought the book yet, here's the plug!  The techniques are so well described, it takes the fear out of first time tries.  Back to the eggs... The white is tender and the yolk oozes gently when the egg is cut through.  It was fun peeling the shell off without squishing the egg and breaking the yolk.  

OK, these aren't the eggs I used, but the very similar.  I used this picture because some of the eggs were green and blue, and I love them! These eggs above were a hostess gift from a gathering we had this winter.  How cool to be given a dozen eggs.  Aren't they pretty?

For the salad viniagrette, I didn't have any walnut or hazelnut oil, but did find some truffle oil.  Oh my!  I used mostly olive oil with a dash of truffle oil.  To assemble, the eggs, dressing, nuts, and chopped bacon were placed on a bed of greens.  It was so springy and delicious!  Plus, we knew where all the ingredients came from.  Here's the finished salad:

I would highly recommend this recipe as a spring supper or luncheon salad.  To finish the meal, I made a rhubarb custard tart.  I've never been a huge fan of rhubarb, mostly due to the stringy texture.   This recipe calls for diced rhubarb.  I cut it into a small dice, and made a French style tart, omitting the top crust.  The baking time was the same.  I used strawberries as a garnish to add just a little extra sweetness.  This was a big hit.  Gary and I both really liked it.  No strange texture, and a nice sweet and tart taste.  Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try.

Rhubarb Custard Tart

2 egg yolks
3 T flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
1 T melted butter

Whisk yolks until thick.  Add sugar, whisk until combined and thickened.  Add flour, butter, and rhubarb.  Pour into unbaked tart or pie crust.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 350 for 30 minutes.   If desired, you could place another crust on top.  Be sure to crimp and vent.  Garnish with strawberries and/or whipped cream.    Enjoy!

Orange Caramel Scallops - French Fridays with Dorie

This week's recipe from Around My French Table (AMFT) is Orange Caramel Scallops.   I like scallops  a lot, and it orange caramel made them perfect. 

Over the past few years, I've been trying to learn more about meats and seafood.  After watching Gordon Ramsey scream "these scallops are RAW" on Hell's Kitchen, I wanted the finished scallops to have nice tender creamy center or perfect crispy outside.   I wanted the real thing already thawed (I have to pretend they're fresh), so Gary set off on a mission to find the scallops.  He returned from Madison with the butcher-wrapped present from the Seafood Center.

The pretty scallops

The recipe is very well written with the perfect amount of detail.  I followed the steps exactly.   I carefully dried each fresh scallop, and heated the pan as I had been taught in a cooking class long ago.   The pan had to be hot enough for me to hold my palm about an inch away from and pan and not be able to count one-one thousand, two-one thousand before the I had to pull my hand away.  

While the pan heated I made the orange caramel.  I've made tons of caramel, and this recipe pretty tough.  The recipe makes dry caramel, aka no water with the sugar in the pan.   The sugar becomes amber colored very quickly.   The recipe has you add white wine and the juice of an orange to the caramel.  If I were teaching a class, I'd have the class gently warm the juice and the wine.  This will keep the caramel from turning into a hard crack, glass-like lump when the cold liquids hit.  I followed the directions and added the liquids.  The caramel did turn into a hard mass, but quickly liquified and reduced to a perfect orange caramel topping.   The small quantity of sugar in the recipe didn't cover the bottom is the pan, so there was little risk of the sugar bubbling up and burning my hands/face with splattered caramel.  Remember that hot sugar is like hot tar.  Always be very, very careful.  Enough lecturing!

The reduced Orange Caramel

Ok, now on to the scallops.  I added the olive oil and then the scallops.  With as much will power as I could muster, I waited the two minutes per side with flipping them.   They were perfect!  Again, I could hear Gordon summoning me to the Hells' Kitchen pass and then saying, "these scallops are perfect".  

One side down, One to go!

I plated the scallops, added the sauce, and completed the meal with Risotto with asparagus.   It was SO good.

The finished meal!

I don't know what's on the April schedule, as always, I'm sure it will be great.   Last week, I also made the Cauliflower Gratin from AMFT.   Even non-vegetables will enjoy it.

Happy Spring!  (though it's snowing out the window right now!)