The Taste of Summer Vegetable Pot au Feu, A Movie Review, and the Weekly Menu #MoviesandMunchies

The Movies and Munchies film for May, chosen by Debra of Eliot's Eats, is The Taste of Things, a French Foodie film released in December 2023.

Magical Gratin Dauphinois and A Book Review

I just finished listening to Wizard of Most Wicked Ways by Charlie N. Holmberg.  This is the 4th book in the Whimbrel House Novels.  I enjoyed it, however, it was my least favorite of the series. I'm anxious for the next book so I can see if all turns out well for these lovable characters.

E is for Escargot

This is not a beautiful dish but it is delicious and much easier than trying to serve the snails in shells.  Serve them with a crusty baguette to soak up all the delicious buttery, herb, sauce.

E is for Escargot.....

Supremes De Volaille Aux Champignons, the Weekly Menu and A Book Review

Tender, boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a savory mushroom sauce.  Easy to make and elegant to serve.

I was inspired to make this iconic recipe from Julia Child after reading A Murder Most French.....

Brioche #BreadBakers

Delicious, tender, buttery, egg bread that takes very little hands-on time, with all the kneading done using your stand mixer and dough hook.  Start this bread the day before as it requires a night in the refrigerator.

The Bread Bakers are sharing French bread recipes in honor of Valentine's Day....

Remembering D Day with the Normandy 44 Cocktail #Winophiles

On the 79th Anniversary of D Day this year, I was traveling to California to celebrate my great niece, Quinn's graduation from high school.  Even though it is a week later, I did ask to host this month's French Winophiles event so that we could celebrate the Allied Invasion that began the liberation of France during World War II and spread to liberate all of the countries of the Western Front.

I wanted to host this month because Frank and I, along with 3 of our friends, are planning a trip to Normandy next spring.  

Coconut Madeleines inspired by Champagne Widows #WomenHistoryMonth

I am happy to be celebrating Women History Month with you.  Many of my blog posts have focused on women in food, in wine, in books and in films.  Today I am again honoring the women of history.  I am making a recipe that was written by Ina Garten, a well known female chef, in what was once a male dominated field.

I was inspired to make these delicious little cake/cookies after reading an historical fiction novel written by a female author, Rebecca Rosenberg, featuring the Women of Champagne who kept the wine flowing during the reign of Napoleon.

Gratin de Chouchou #EattheWorld

Gratin de Chouchou (Chayote Squash Gratin) is a traditional dish from Reunion of tender squash in a creamy bechemal sauce.  It is incredibly rich and delicious.

We are Eating the World, Reunion Island style........

Supremes de Volaille a l'Ecossaise and a Chardonnay from Burgundy #Winophiles

Sounds pretty fancy doesn't it?  If you want it to sound even fancier, pair it with a White Bourgoin.  The results will be the same because White Bourgoin is simply Chardonnay grown in Burgundy, France.  And Supremes de Volaille a l'Ecossaise?  Well that, my friends, is simply, chicken breasts in a white sauce with vegetables.  Ooooh LaLa......

The French Winophiles are pairing a favorite recipe from Julia Child, who is not at all French by the way, with a wine from France.......

Bourride served with a Chardonnay from Jura #FishFridayFoodies #Winophiles

 Fall weather always makes me crave comfort foods.  Unfortunately, for me, that brings to mind rich, hearty soups and stews as well as pot roasts and pasta dishes.  Delicous but not necessarily healthy.  This Fish Stew soothed me and settled that craving.  Delicious and Healthy.  That is a big win!!

Fish Friday Foodies are serving up comfort food today.  I paired this lovely fish stew with a bottle of wine from Jura to include the French Winophiles group as well........

Shrimp Etouffee #OurFamilyTable

Succulent shrimp in a spicy vegetable sauce made with roux and the New Orleans trinity, this stew like dish is just in time for Mardi Gras.

Join the bloggers over at From our Dinner Table as we share our favorite Seafood Recipes.......

Quatre Epices Cookies #ChristmasCookies #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

This post is sponsored on behalf of #ChristmasCookiesWeek. The generous sponsors, YumGoggle, Sprinkle Pop, Silpat and Adams Extracts have provided us with products for recipe creation and a giveaway for our readers. As always, all opinions are my own.  

These tender, cake like cookies are flavored with a spice mix known in French as Quatre Epices.  A lovely mixture of pepper, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.  These cookies also are spiced with some cinnamon for a perfect Christmas treat.

Please join me for Day 2 of Christmas Cookie Week.......

Spice up your Love Life with some Shrimp Etouffee #SoupSaturdaySwappers #Winophiles

Since February is the month of Love, Lynn of Savor the Harvest arranged for our French Winophiles group to be gifted some samples of French wines that speak of L'Amour.  She sums it up in her preview post.

We each received 4 very nice bottles.  I will be sharing my own thoughts, impressions and feelings about these wines in the posts that I write.  I received no monetary compensation for this or any post featuring these wines.

I have previously posted a pairing with the Cote-Rotie from Vidal Fleury when I paired it with a Perfect Baked Potato stuffed with Ropa Vieja.

The wine I am sharing in today's post was enjoyed at an early Valentine's Day Dinner that Frank and I celebrated before we left for our California vacation.   Knowing that we would be spending all day on Valentine's Day in airports and on planes, not to mention that we would also be observing Ash Wednesday, we spent the week before our trip having several quiet, romantic dinners at home.

This particular dinner was my personal favorite.  I cooked up a Shrimp Etouffee from a recipe I found in my Cuisine at Home magazine.  I had never made Shrimp Etouffee before but when my friend, Kathy of A Spoonful of Thyme, volunteered to host our Soup Swappers group this month, choosing Cajun or Creole as a theme, I knew that this was what I wanted to make.

Isn't that a gorgeous graphic that Kathy made for this event?  Soup Saturday Swappers post on the 3rd Saturday of each month based on a theme chosen by one of the members.  If you would like to join in the fun just leave a comment below and I will be happy to add you to our group.

This was the most amazing dish!!  I couldn't believe how wonderfully rich and comforting it was.  I was concerned because Frank doesn't care for too much spice so I adjusted the measurements accordingly.  It was, in our opinion, perfectly spiced and Frank loved it as much as I.

Since Creole cooking has such wonderful French Influences, with those influences being very pronounced in the origin of Etouffee, I chose to pair it with the Savoie Cuvee Gastronomie.

While I liked the crisp acidity of the Savoie, I think that this particular dish needed a more fruit forward wine.  Perhaps a softer, more buttery white or a light red wine would have been a better match.

Oh well, I still have the Rose and the Saint Amour to pair and I loved this dish enough that I can't wait to serve it again.  I'll let you know how that goes.

In the meantime, please enjoy the other Cajun/Creole Soups/Stews being shared today.  You will find links to these recipes following mine.  You will also find links to the other Winophile's L'Amour pairings at the bottom of this post.

I hope that you and your Valentine had a wonderful celebration.  I'm beginning preparation for our Chinese New Year Celebration.  See my menu here.

Shrimp Etouffee

adapted from Cuisine at Home, Issue #127

1 T. butter

1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved

1 small rib celery, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

4-5 c. chicken stock, divided

2 t. paprika

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. thyme

1 t. oregano

1 t. pepper

1/4 t. white pepper

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

4 T. butter

1/4 c. flour

1/2 medium Vidalia onion

1 rib celery, sliced

1/2 bell pepper, diced (I used yellow)

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, flavored with garlic and onions

salt to taste

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or dutch oven over med high heat.  Add the reserved shrimp shells, small diced onion, small diced rib of celery and the bay leaf.  Cook and stir until shells turn pink and vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.   Add 2 cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.  Strain the enhanced stock into a 4 cup measuring cup.  Discard the solids.  Add additional chicken stock to the enhanced stock to make 4 cups.  Set aside.

While stock is simmering, combine the paprika, garlic powder, thyme, oregano, black pepper, white pepper and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.  Set aside.

Melt 4 T. of butter over medium heat in the same saucepan used for the stock.  Stir in the flour.  Cook and stir constantly until the color of peanut butter, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the medium onion, large rib of celery and bell pepper.  Cook and stir occasionally until vegetables start to soften, about 15 minutes.  Stir in half of the spice mixture and the seasoned diced tomatoes with their juices.  Stir in the reserved stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.  

Toss the shrimp with the remaining spice blend.  Add to the Etouffee and cook until pink throughout, about 3-4 minutes. Taste and season with salt as needed.  Serve over steamed white rice.  Print Recipe

More Creole/Cajun Soups and Stews

An InLinkz Link-up

More L'Amour Wine Pairings

• Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “L'Amour dans une Bouteille ou Quatre”
• Susannah Gold from Avvinare tells us about “Love in the Rhone Valley”
• L.M. Archer at binNotes shares “The Hedonistic Taster | № 36 | #Winophiles + Love: L'Amour du Patrimoine” 
• Jeff at Food, Wine, Click! gives us "French Wines for 'His' and 'Hers' Valentines"
• Jill from L’Occasion takes us on a sensory route “Tasting Romance: French Wine and the Senses”
• Michelle of Rocking Red Blog helps us “Celebrate La Saint-Valentin with French Wine”
• David of Cooking Chat dishes up “French Wine Picks and Pairings for Valentine’s Day” and "Beef Stew with Root Vegetables and Côte-Rôtie Wine"
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish shares “How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Wines”
• Liz from What’s in that Bottle pairs "Celebrate Galentine's Day with French Wines & Fondue"
• Gwen at Wine Predator shares "Sweethearts: French Wines and Pizza"
• Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm shows us how to “Spice up your Love Life with Shrimp Etouffee”
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares “Cooking to the Wine: Domaine Chardigny Saint-Amour with Roasted Salmon and a little Romance”
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog tells us about "Celebrating L'Amour Du Vin With French Wine At The Table"
• Rupal of Journeys of a Syrah Queen swirls up "Valentine's Day Romance with French Wines"
• Jane at Always Ravenous asks "Why Does French Food and Wine Taste So Good? Love!"

Celebrating Languedoc with Cassoulet #FrenchWinophiles #MadeinFrance

We are celebrating Langeudoc with The French Winophiles this month.  This party is hosted by Jason and Jill over at L'Occasion.  You can see their Preview Post here.

This party came on the tail of our #Made in France event.  You can read all about how this event came about in my Wine and Cheese post.  I also wrote about it in this post and then in this pairing with venison in which I linked to the posts that my fellow Winophiles had written.

I had received a dozen wines from Whole Foods for the Made in France event.  One of them was this bottle from Languedoc. I knew that we were celebrating this region later in the month so I set it aside to share with you now.

While this wine was given to me as a sponsor gift for the purposes of the Made in Wine event all opinions voiced in this, and all my posts, are strictly mine.

Since I already had the wine from this region chosen I needed only decide on the food pairing.  I did some research and the dish that came up time and time again to represent the Languedoc area of France was Cassoulet.

Cassoulet is a slow cooked stew originating in the south of France.  Many versions contain duck.  Some contain pork skin.  All contain white beans, meat and tomatoes.

I wasn't making this dish during a long leisurely weekend when I had hours to spend creating this wonderfully rich stew.  So I did what every busy person does when faced with this dilemma.  I turned to my trusty slow cooker.

It took me an hour to layer all the flavors but then once it was in the slow cooker I could walk away and not think about it again until dinner time.

I cooked the bacon to a crisp and set it aside.  Then I browned the country ribs in the bacon fat until they had a nice sear.  Removed them from the pan and pulled up all the brown crispy bits stuck to the pan by deglazing with white wine.

When that was reduced by half, I added the tomatoes and chicken broth and let that warm through and reduce a bit before putting everything into the slow cooker on low for 6-7 hrs.

About a half an hour before we were ready to eat I pulled out the bottle of wine from Mas Cavalier de Lascaux.  Frank opened the wine and poured while I put the finishing touches on dinner. This winery has been in the Cavalier family for 13 generations.  It is nestled in the foothills of Cevennes.  You can learn more about the winery and the wines it offers at their website.

And what a wonderful dinner it was.  We started off with the wine.  We took a sip and were simply unimpressed.  Often French wines are too soft for our palate that is used to the bolder,  harsher new world wines. 

Then we had a bite of the stew and another sip of wine. Oh.....there it is...the light in the distance.  Another bite and another sip and then we understood why the rule about wine and food from the same regions exists.  The wine and the stew were average on their own and brought to the next level when shared together.

Slow Cooker Cassoulet
adapted from Thomas Keller

2 lbs. boneless country style pork ribs
salt and pepper, to taste
1 T. olive oil
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
3 slices thick cut bacon, diced
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 c. dry white wine
2 T. tomato paste
1 (28 oz) can Italian plum tomatoes
1 c. chicken broth
2 (15 oz) cans, white beans, drained and rinsed
7 oz. smoked sausage, cut into chunks
3 garlic cloves, smashed
handful of parsley, chopped

Cut the ribs into chunks, season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Place the olive oil and bread crumbs in a large skillet over med high heat.  Cook and stir until bread crumbs are golden brown, 4-5 minutes.  Remove to a small dish and set aside.

Place the bacon into the skillet and cook until crisp, 4-5 minutes.  Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

Add the seasoned pork to the bacon fat in the skillet and sear until browned on all sides.  Remove and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Add the onions to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and softened.  Add the wine and tomato paste.  Cook and stir until reduced by half, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Heat to a boil, roughly chopping up the tomatoes.  Pour over the pork in the slow cooker.

Add the beans, sausage and garlic cloves. Stir to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hrs or until the pork is falling apart.  Remove crock from heat source.  Remove the garlic cloves and stir in the breadcrumbs and parsley. Add more salt and pepper, if needed.  Print Recipe

More Wines from Languedoc

• Martin from Enofylz explores a 2014 Domaine L’Ostal Cazes “Grand Vin” Minervois La Livinière #Winophiles 
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog encourages you to Say Yes to Languedoc Wine 
• Nicole from Somm’s Table shares a pairing of  Domaine de Majas Côtes Catalanes Blanc with Butter Poached Salmon and White Asparagus 
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is Celebrating Languedoc with Cassoulet 
• Gwen from Wine Predator is eating Grilled Cheese with 4 Affordable Wines from Occitanie: new name for a fave region in France 
• Jane from Always Ravenous is cooking up Rustic Sausage Kale Pasta with Languedoc Wine 
• Melanie from Wining with Mel offers a French kiss: a glimpse into the food and wine of Languedoc 
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is sharing An Easy Dinner with Anchoïade and Mas Cavalier de Lascaux 
• Olivier from In Taste Buds We Trust explores Boutenac: Balance in the Languedoc 
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest says they are Making Great Wines in the Languedoc-Rousillion #Winophiles 
• Jason and Jill from L’occasion is talking about New Roots Along the Canal du Midi

French Baguette #BreadBakers

This month's Bread Bakers is being hosted by my friend and bread baker extraordinaire, Karen, of Karen's Kitchen Stories. Karen chose the theme Breads with a preferment.  Think sourdough which is most commonly known, but it could also be a poolish or a biga or a soaker.  Yes.....I was shaking my head as well.

"A preferment is a preparation of a portion of a bread dough that is made several hours or more in advance of mixing the final dough."  As defined by the King Arthur Flour website

The themes for this year were bid on and chosen way back in January.  Many of you know that I LOVE my bimonthly Cuisine at Home magazines.  Every 2 months, when the new one arrives, I pull out the past issues and place them all on my end table.  Then I thumb through them for seasonal recipes and ideas.

As luck would have it, the Jan/Feb issue from 2007, happened to have a recipe for French bread started with a poolish.  Hah...now I didn't even have to look up poolish, biga and soaker. I just marked the recipe and set it aside for nearly a whole year, making a note in my calendar so I would remember where to find it.

At the beginning of the month, I saw the note on my calendar and pulled out the magazine.  On Saturday, I made the poolish and put it in the fridge until Monday.  So far so good.

Monday morning, I pulled out the poolish and it was pretty and bubbly and fermented. Everything was going great.  I made the dough, using the poolish.  I let it rest for 15 minutes and then, using my kitchenaid and dough hook, let it knead for about 10 minutes.  Checking after about 8 minutes to see if it passed the windowpane test.

What's that? you ask.  You take a small piece of the dough and stretch it as thinly as possible, until you can "see" through it.  If it tears, the dough needs more kneading.  Mine needed 2 more minutes with the dough hook.

Then the dough needs to go into a warm spot for it's first rise.  Yep, this is a time consuming project so make sure you plan it for a day when you are planning on staying home much of the morning. It takes six individual rises and/or rests to make this bread and that doesn't include the poolish mixture made ahead of time.

The last rise requires placing rolled towels on each side of the baguettes so that they don't lose their shape.

Finally, after nearly 5 hours, it is ready to be baked.....but not so fast.....first you need to slice slashes across the bread.  Don't press, the recipe warns, or it will hamper with the rise while in the oven.  Nope, don't put it into the oven yet, first you need to mist it so that the surface is wet. Now....Now you can put it onto a preheated baking stone. Wait a minute....don't bake it yet....first mist the inside walls of your oven.  Okay, NOW you can push in the rack and close the oven door.....but only for 30 seconds.  Open the oven, mist again, close the oven, reduce the oven temp and YES....you can now bake the bread.

Bake them until they are a beautiful golden brown and you are done?  Well, not quite yet.  The recipe goes on to explain that the baguettes continue to cook while cooling.  Cutting into them too quickly will leave you with a moist bread instead of a light, airy bread.  Cool them at least 2 hours on a wire rack.  

Finally!!!!  Finally you can slice the bread, slather on some butter and enjoy.  It was amazing.  It was light and airy with a chewy crust, just like a good baguette should be.   Was it worth 3 days and 7 hrs. worth of work and anticipation?  Well, if it is important to you to have the satisfaction of baking and serving your own bread then, yes.  As for me?  I'm hitting the French Bakery while I am out running errands, taking walks, playing with Melody, shopping, visiting friends or whatever else I want and can find to do instead of spending 7 hrs. babysitting dough.

French Baguette

as instructed in Cuisine at Home, Issue #73

Poolish Starter:

1 1/4 c. bread flour

3/4 c. room temperature water (70-90*)

1/4 t. instant or active dry yeast, room temperature 

Rehydrate the yeast by mixing with 1 T. of water taken from the 3/4 cup.  Combine the flour, water and rehydrated yeast in a medium sized bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 3-4 hrs, until surface is bubbly.  Refrigerate overnight or up to three days before using in bread dough.

Baguettes;

2 c. all purpose flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. active or instant dry yeast, room temperature

1/2 c. room temperature water (70-90*)

Poolish Starter (see above)

Rehydrate the yeast using 1 T. of water from the 1/2 cup.

Combine 1 1/2 c. of flour and salt in the large bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough hook.  Add the rehydrated yeast.  Stir the water into the poolish starter.  Stir the starter into the flour with a wooden spoon until blended.

Scrape the dough onto a well floured counter with a dough scraper. Using the dough scraper, keep turning the dough, adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, as needed, just until dough can be worked with your hands.  Turn the bowl over the dough on the counter and let rest for 15-20 minutes

Return the dough ball to the bowl and knead, using the dough hook and kitchenaid mixer, for 8-10 minutes. (alternately you can knead by hand for 15-20 minutes, not adding more dough but flouring hands as needed).  After 8 minutes, remove a small amount of dough and pull it slowly apart.  If it stretches thinly enough to see through the dough is ready, if not continue to knead, checking every minute until it stretches without tearing.

Place dough in bowl that has been well oiled (I used olive oil).  Turn the bread dough to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

Degas the dough by folding one third into the center, fold the other half over the first half and flip it over in the bowl.  Cover and let rise for another hour.

Divide the dough into two equal pieces.  Shape into rectangles, approx. 8" x 5".  Cover with plastic wrap that has been treated with cooking spray.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

Placing the dough of the baguette in front of you lengthwise.  Pull the dough from the far side over and around the loaf, tucking the end underneath the bottom.  Do this with both loaves.  Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rest.

Reshape the loaves as stated above and roll them into 14" long baguettes. Place them on a silicone mat or onto parchment paper that has been placed on an upside down baking sheet.  Roll two towels and place on each side of the baking pan under the mat or parchment paper.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap that has been treated with cooking spray and let rise for 30 minutes.

During this last rise, place a baking stone on the middle shelf of your oven and preheat to 475*.  (if you don't have a baking stone you can use an upside down baking sheet.).

Make 3-4 diagonal slices across the top of each loaf, using a straight razor or serrated knife.  Mist loaves heavily with hot water, until they are visibly wet.  Transfer the silicone mat or parchment containing the loaves onto the baking stone.  Mist the inside of the oven walls with 10 or 12 sprays of water.  Close the oven for 30 seconds, then open and mist the oven walls again.  Reduce oven temperature to 450* and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool completely on wire racks before slicing.  Print Recipe

More Breads Made with a Preferment

• Buttery Sourdough Biscuits from Cook's Hideout
• Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Golden Sourdough Garlic Focaccia from Ambrosia
• Hokkaido Bread with Tangzhong from Sonlicious
• Overnight 500g Sourdough Bread from Hostess at Heart
• Pai Bao with Tangzhong from All That's Left are the Crumbs
• Peanut Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Poolish Dough Pizza Crust from Palatable Passtime
• Sourdough Focaccia with Crispy Garlic from Baking Sense
• Sourdough Pain Noir from What Smells So Good? 
• Sourdough Whole Wheat Flatbreads from Sneha's Recipe
• Walnut Levain Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories 
• Whole Wheat Papo Secos - Portuguese Rolls from The Schizo Chef

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.