Shrimp Quenelles and the Weekly Menu #Movies&Munchies

Our Movies and Munchies group decided to revisit the film, Julie and Julia.  Count me in.  It's a good movie, it has a ton of food inspiration, and it encourages me to pull out my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

Madeleines au Citron #CooktheBooks #LitHappens

 Tender, lemon-scented, little cakes inspired by the novel, A Bakery in Paris by Aimie Runyon.  

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.

Steak Béarnaise, A Book Review, The Weekly Menu

This classic French dish is simplified with an easy, quick Béarnaise sauce.  Nobody will realize that you took a shortcut to make this impressive dinner.

I was inspired to make this dish when listening to another fun novel by Maddie Please.....

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.....

Cara Cara Orange, Semolina and Almond Upside-Down Cake #CakeSliceBakers

 This cake has a texture similar to cornbread as it is made with Semolina and Almond Flour.  It is a very different type of cake but one bite and you will see why it is so popular in France.

Welcome to the Cake Slice Bakers.......

French Potato Omelette and a Book Review

I just finished the second book in the Grape Series by Laura Bradbury.  This book is titled My Grape Quebec.  It continues the memoir of Laura as she returns to Canada after her time as an exchange student in France has come to an end.  

Chocolate Madeleines #BakingBloggers

These tender sponge cakes called Madeleines hail from France.  They are distinctive in their little shell shapes.  They are light, fluffy and as decadent as you would expect from a French dessert.

Join the Baking Bloggers as we share recipes for this amazing and impressive dessert.....

Beef Daube Provencal with a Bandol Rouge #Winophiles

When we talk about the wines of Provence, we immediately think of Rose. After all, Rosé from Provence is some of the best in the world. It was a wine from Provence that taught me just how wonderful Rosé can be.Prior to that, being from Michigan, USA, I thought Rosé equalled the sweet pink wine we refer to as White Zinfandel.

The French Winophiles have introduced me to a lot of knowledge regarding the wines of France.  They continue to teach me this month as, Payal of Keep the Peas, invited us to explore the Red Wines of Provence.

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........

Daube de Boeuf À la Gasconne to Welcome you to #Choctoberfest

 This rich and delectable beef and root vegetable stew is slow braised in wine and then finished off with dark chocolate before serving over a pile of mashed potatoes.  What a perfect fall comfort meal!!

It is my first recipe that I will be sharing this week as we celebrate a fun event that we call Choctoberfest!!

Fish Meuniere and a Book Review

Tender, meaty cod fillets coated in seasoned flour and egg then pan fried to a gorgeous brown in clarified butter before being finished with a lemon butter sauce and a sprinkle of parsley.

This classic French fish preparation was inspired by the novel, "Cooking for Picasso" by Camille Aubrey.

Individual Pommes Anna #NationalPotatoDay

These individual serving size Pommes Anna are adorable.  They are buttery, garlicky and make a gorgeous presentation as a side dish to whatever you are cooking up.

Happy National Potato Day!

A Holiday Gathering with French Food and Wines #Winophiles

Tender, juicy pork chops in a savory tomato sauce, Cotes de Porc Sauce Nenette, is quick enough for a weeknight dinner and fancy enough for company.

I made this dinner to join the French Winophiles as we celebrate the Holidays in the French Style....

Pipérade a'la Julia Child #FantasticalFoodFight #BacktoSchool

This open faced omelette garnished with Onion, Tomatoes, Peppers and Ham was taken from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, whose birthday we are celebrating today during our Fantastical Food Fight.

This is also perfect as we get ready for Back to School, since the pipérade can be made in advance meaning a quick, delicious, healthy breakfast on those busy mornings.....

A Classic Pairing; Revisiting Languedoc #FrenchWinophiles

This month's French Winophiles is hosted by Jason and Jill of L'Occasion.  Last October, also under the guidance of L'Occasion, we visited Languedoc as well.  I found that Cassoulet originated from this region of France and shared a Slow Cooker version along with my wine pairing.

To kick off the New Year, Jason and Jill asked us to revisit Occitanie (formerly Languedoc) specifically the AOP's of Minervois and Corbieres.  You can learn more at their preview post.

They chose this month because January 9th is National Cassoulet Day.  To help us out, the folks at L'Aventure Languedoc sent each blogger a bottle of each AOP to sample.  I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.  Well, I'll be stating my husband's opinion as well.

Another group of which I am a member, The Kitchen Matrix Cooking Project, was also celebrating Cassoulet this month.  I decided to make a Cassoulet using my Instant Pot and paired it with these wines for dinner one evening.  You can find my recipe here.

While I put the finishing touches on dinner, Frank opened and poured both wines.  He tasted each and  jotted down his thoughts:

Gerard Bertrand Minervois 2013:

• Good legs
• Lighter color 
• Black Pepper on the nose

Domains St. Eugenie Corbieres 2016: 

• Good legs
• Deeper finish
• Purple in color

I took a sip of each and added that I found hints of raisin in the Minervois and found the Corbieres to be fruity and dry.

We sat down for dinner and we were surprised how differently we felt the pairings were with the Cassoulet.  Frank absolutely loved the Corbieres with his dinner.  I told him I thought the Minervois was much smoother with the Cassoulet than the Corbieres.  

His response?  Good.

Then he took the bottle of Corbieres and set it in front of him, leaving me to enjoy the bottle of Minervois with my meal.  

Here are what the others are sharing this month.

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm: A Classic Pairing; Revisiting Languedoc
• Lauren from The Swirling Dervish: Warming Up with the Wines of Corbieres and Minervois
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Conquering Cassoulet Alongside the 2014 Minervois le Chateau d’Albas
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog: What Grows Together, Goes Together – Slow Cooker Cassoulet Paired With Affordable Occitanie Wines #Winophiles
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog: Spending January in Languedoc Drinking Wine and Eating Cassoulet
• Jeff from FoodWineClick: Let’s Make Occitanie and Cassoulet Household Words
• Nicole from Somm’s Table: Kicking Off 2018 with Corbieres and Minervois
• Jane from Always Ravenous: Hearty Red Wines of Corbières and Minervois Paired with Cassoulet
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest: Corbières and Minervois – Where Syrah and Carignan Shine
• David from Cooking Chat: Chicken Cassoulet Paired with Languedoc Wine
• Rupal from Journeys of a Syrah Queen: Staying Warm the French Way – Cassoulet and Wine
• Liz from What’s in that Bottle: Let’s Learn About Wines from Languedoc #Winophiles
• Amber from Napa Food and Vine: A Tale of Two Wines
• Jason and Jill from  L’Occasion: Eat, Drink, Travel the South of France: Minervois and Corbières
• Susannah from Avvinare: Mas Du Bosquet-An Unexpected Find From Minervois
• Gwen from Wine Predator: Cassoulet Domesticates the Wild Wines of Minervois andCorbieres

Please join us this morning at 11 AM ET for chat following #Winophiles on Twitter.

Cassoulet in an Instant Pot #KitchenMatrixCookingProject

Did you know that the French dish, Cassoulet, had it's very own holiday?  Neither did I, but I learned that January 9th is the day set aside to celebrate this comforting, homey dish that originated in the Languedoc region of France.

There are some amazing wines from the Languedoc region as well and we are celebrating those wines this month over in the French Winophiles group to which I belong.  I will post more about that on Saturday when I talk about how these wines paired with this recipe that I'm sharing today.

My friend, Cam, invited us to join her on a journey this year as she cooked her way through Mark Bittman's Kitchen Matrix Cookbook.  You can read all about her challenge and join us if you'd like.  All the information is found in this post.

Each Tuesday we post a recipe inspired by a section or subsection of this cookbook that encourages you to think outside the box and be creative with recipes.  As luck would have it, Bittman has a section just for Cassoulet.  Since Cam also belongs to our Winophile group, she chose Cassoulet as our entrée for this month.  Thank you, Cam.

Bittman wrote a recipe for classic Cassoulet containing duck stock and duck confit.  I love duck but, unfortunately, am the only in the household that does.  I have made Cassoulet in the past, sans duck, using my slow cooker.  That recipe was also used to celebrate the wines of Languedoc and can be found in this post.

I was tempted to follow Bittman's recipe to a T. The thought of buying a whole duck, making stock and confit and braising it all in the with some lamb was very appealing to me.  I could invite company for dinner and have Frank suffer through having to eat not only duck but lamb too, for which he also doesn't care.

Then, as I read through Bittman's thoughts on Cassoulet a couple of sentences struck me and stuck in my mind.

"There are two ways to think of cassoulet.  The first is as a canonical recipe from the South of France.  The second way is as simply a glorified version of franks 'n' beans."

"When making a traditional dish it is important to remember that the people who "invented" them just used what they had."

Glorified Beanie Weenies?  Count me in coach.  Frank LOVES Beanie Weenies.

I went into the freezer to see what I had.  I had a package of spare ribs and some smoked chicken sausage.  I also had a day filled with errands to run and since I had already made a slow cooker cassoulet and wasn't going to be home to tend to the oven, I decided to make my cassoulet in the  Instant Pot.

One of the things I love about the Instant Pot is the saute setting that allows you to brown your meat right inside the pot, instead of dirtying another pan and smattering up your stovetop.  I cut the ribs into portions, seasoned them with salt and pepper and browned them before adding the sausage, beans and vegetables to the pot with some chicken stock.

I adjusted the setting on the pot to the stew/meat function that automatically sets the timer to cook for 35 minutes.  It takes about 10-15 minutes for the heat and pressure to build to the point where it starts to cook.  Once done cooking, I let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening the quick release valve.

Because I used spare ribs, I had the added step of removing any bones and gristle from the dish, before dishing it up and sprinkling some seasoned bread crumbs over the top.  All in all it took about an hour and 15 minutes from the time I pulled out the ingredients to being read to serve.  That's not too bad considering it would take a minimum of 4-5 hrs. if making it in the traditional fashion.  And that is after spending a couple of days making your stock and confit.

I do hope to make a traditional cassoulet one day but in the meantime this version and my slow cooker version are certainly delicious and comforting during these cold winter days.

Make sure you stop by and see how the others created their Cassoulet. You will find links immediately below my recipe.

Cassoulet in an Instant Pot

inspired by Kitchen Matrix by Mark Bittman

2 T. olive oil

6 portions meaty spare ribs

salt and pepper, to taste

2 chicken sausages, cut into thirds

2 c. white beans, soaked for a few hours (I used Northern beans)

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 carrot, scraped and sliced

1 stalk celery, sliced

1/2 an onion, diced

1 T. Herbs de Provence

Garlic seasoned bread crumbs, if desired

Add the oil to the Instant Pot and set to saute setting.  Season the ribs with salt and pepper.  Add them to the pot and brown on all sides.  Add the sausage, beans, broth, onions, carrots, celery and Herbs de Provence to the Instant Pot.  Cancel the saute setting and seal the lid onto the pot, making sure the vent is closed.  

Set the Instant Pot to meat/stew setting.  It will automatically set up to cook for 35 minutes once the pot is heated and pressurized.  When done cooking, allow the steam to naturally release for 10 minutes before carefully releasing the remaining steam.  When pressure gauge is seated, open the pot and remove the ribs to a cutting board.  Remove the meat, discarding the bones and any gristle.  Return the meat to the pot and stir to combine.  

Serve garnished with seasoned bread crumbs, if desired.  Print Recipe

More Comforting Cassoulets

An InLinkz Link-up

Ham Salad Pate a Choux #BakingBloggers

You guys!!!  I was so excited with my first attempt at Pate a Choux.  I was always under the impression that they were difficult.  I am so glad that choux pastry was chosen as the theme for this month's Baking Bloggers group, led by Sue of Palatable Pastime.

I would never have tried these had they not been chosen by the group for our January project.  I decided to make savory appetizers instead of a dessert.

I served these at a Cocktail Party on December 29th.  I had tons of leftover sweets from Christmas and leftover ham that needed to be used so going savory was a perfect solution.

These gorgeous Pate a Choux made a great addition to the appetizers I had placed on a buffet for my guests.

I took the large chunk of ham from the bone to make the filling and then the bone got put into the soup pot.  I'll be sharing the soup recipe later this month.

You can fill these with any savory filling that you would like.  You will find my recipe for ham salad here but they would be equally delicious with Chicken Salad, tuna salad, crab salad or even thinly sliced roast beef piled inside.

I used this recipe from Alton Brown and it will be my go to from now forward.  I will be making Pate a Choux again and can't wait to try the sweet version for cream puffs.  Now that I know how easy it is the possibilities are endless!!

I halved the recipe as I was only having  4 couples at the gathering.  Had I known how well they were going to turn out I would have made the full recipe.

Savory Pate a Choux
slightly adapted from Alton Brown

1/2 c. water
3 T. butter
1 t. salt
3 oz. flour
2 lg. eggs + 1 egg white

Place the water, butter and salt in a small pot over med high heat and bring to a boil.  Remove pot from heat and stir in flour.  Return to heat and mix until all flour is incorporated and mixture is in the form of a ball.  Place into the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and let cool for about 5 minutes.

With the mixer on the low setting, add the eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated.  Place dough into a pastry bag fitted with the round tip.  Pipe onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.  Each piece should be about the size of a golf ball and spaced 2" apart.

Place in a preheated 450* oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350* and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from oven and pierce with the tip of a small paring knife to release steam.  Print Recipe

Let's take a look at what the others baked up!

Choux Pastry

   
• Cannoli Filled Cream Puffs by The RedHead Baker
   
• Cream Puffs with Ice Cream and Chocolate by Sneha’s Recipe
           
• Burnt Caramel Croquembouche by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
   
• Double Chocolate Cream Puffs by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
   
• Gougères by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
   
• Ham Salad Pate a Choux by A Day in the Life on the Farm
   
• Hot Smoked Salmon Choux Bites by Food Lust People Love
   
• Boston Cream Puffs by Cookaholic Wife
   
• Strawberry Cream Puffs by Palatable Pastime

Countdown to 2018: Desserts

Here we are already to Day 4 of this Countdown to 2018 event, hosted by Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes.  

As you can see on the graphic above, we have already shared Appetizers and Snacks. Breakfasts and Main Dishes.  

Today we are sharing our favorite desserts of the year.  Here were the desserts that were most popular in my household.

Twinkie Bundt Cake

S'mores Clusters

Rhubarb Cobbler

Blueberry Lemon Macarons

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

Steamed Figgy Pudding

Black Currant and Rosemary Tea Ice Cream

I hope you are having as much fun with this countdown as I.  I'm popping over to see what the others are sharing.  Please join me.

An InLinkz Link-up

Countdown to 2018: Main Dish

Today, Sarah of Fantastical Sharing of Recipes, has asked us to share our favorite Main Dishes from the past year.  

I didn't even know where to begin so I decided to share entrees from each of the following categories.

Beef

This skillet seared filet mignon paired with roasted vegetables in a salad was a wonderful start to the New Year last January.  I think it may become a tradition since just looking at this is making me drool.

Chicken

This Provencal Chicken, marinated in seasoned olive oil and then grilled was one of my personal favorite new poultry recipes.

Venison

OH MY YUM!!!!  This venison marinades in red wine for 3 days before it is braised to tender, juicy perfection.  I hope somebody gifts me some venison this year because I can't wait to make this again. This French Style Braised Venison Roast was to die for.

Pork

My favorite pork recipe was just published a couple of weeks ago.  I made this Pork Wellington for my first Christmas dinner party of 2017.

Seafood

I had a lot of new seafood recipes last year but I finally had to settle on this Lobster Pot Pie that I served as a first course at a dinner party last January.

Meatless Entree

Noodles and Cabbage have long been a favorite around here.  I can't believe I had never shared them before this year.

Pasta

If there is anything better than a slow braised, meaty, flavorful pasta sauce I certainly don't know what it is.  This delicious sauce is made with with Beef Shank in the Slow Cooker.  It doesn't get any easier than that.  

I hope you enjoy these recipes and I hope you stop by and see what the others are sharing today as well.  See you tomorrow.

More Main Dish Delights

An InLinkz Link-up