My Favorite French Dishes

I know you've heard it before, but it is true...you simply cannot think of France and not think of the food.
Also, you most definitely cannot live in France and not become obsessed with food, and with finding the best that is available, both locally and regionally.

The most heavenly fromage de chèvre. The firmest, most perfect asparagus. The crispiest baguette. The fruitiest olive oil. The butcher with the best cuts of meat. The richest farm eggs. The sweetest apricots, melons and cherries. The juiciest magret de canard. The flakiest croissants. The charcuterie with the most flavorful sausages.

France is a paradise for food lovers.


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Delicious Autumn

Oh Autumn.  How I've missed you!

Yes, I love the fresh produce of summer:  cherries, tomatoes, basil, peaches, apricots, zucchini, nectarines, melons, all best served with a minimum of fuss.  And I love the simplicity of summer "cooking."
But I have to admit that by the time August 15th rolls around I can hardly face another salad.  I long to get the Le Creuset out of storage and do some serious cooking!

Then comes autumn!  Give me braises.  A bubbling pot of minestrone.  Tarte Tatin and poached pears.  Homemade sausage, pepper and onion pizza.  Pumpkin, Brussels sprouts and Savoy cabbage.  Long simmered lamb curries.  Confit de Canard and Cassoulet.

I plan on savoring every moment.  And every bite.

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Tarte Tatin

I've fallen in love again...with Tarte Tatin.

It's not surprising that Tarte Tatin, one of the quintessential French desserts, is so celebrated.
Any dessert that combines buttery, sticky, caramelized fruit nestled in a cushion of buttery, golden, flaky pastry (and hopefully topped with vanilla bean ice cream) deserves to be worshiped.

quartered and ready to go


caramelizing slowly

Each rich mouthful of Tarte Tatin it is sheer, unadulterated bliss.


it could have been prettier, but it was so good we didn't care!


Want to know another great thing about Tarte Tatin? It is dead easy to make.
Seriously.
(and even easier if made with pre-rolled, pure butter French pastry)*

Tarte Tatin
Serves 8

1 recipe for pâte brisée (see below) or a frozen puff pastry sheet (from a 17-18 ounce box), thawed, or 1 pre-rolled pastry
1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
about 3-4 pounds of firm apples, peeled, cored and quartered

You'll need either a 10 inch tatin mold or well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet (I use a sauté pan then transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic baking dish before topping with the pastry and going into the oven because I don't have either a tatin pan or a cast iron skillet. But I don't let that stop me)

Preheat oven to 425°F.
Roll the thawed puff pastry sheet out on a floured work surface with a floured rolling pin. Cut out a 10-inch circle of pastry with a sharp knife, using a plate as a guide. Transfer the pastry round to a baking sheet and chill.
Spread butter thickly on the bottom and sides of your skillet and pour sugar evenly over the bottom. Arrange as many apples as will fit in the pan, packing them tightly in concentric circles.
Cook apples over medium to medium-high heat until juices are deep golden and bubbling and the apples are golden and cooked through. The caramel might be unevenly colored at first, don't worry. And make sure they aren't burning! I often need to turn the apples a few times to create an even, golden color.
Either transfer the apples and caramel to a ceramic pie dish or leave them in the oven proof skillet and lay the pastry round over the apples, tucking the edges down around the apples. Watch your fingers, caramel is HOT!
If using homemade pastry, roll the pastry dough to a round just larger than the mold. Wrap the dough around the rolling pin and transfer it to cover the apples. Tuck the edges down around the apples, working quickly so their warmth does not melt the dough.
Bake until the pastry is browned, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Transfer skillet or baking dish to a cooling rack and cool at least 10 minutes.
Invert a platter with a lip to catch any juice over the skillet and, using potholders to hold the skillet and plate tightly together, swiftly invert the tart onto the platter. Replace any apples that stick to the skillet and brush any excess caramel from the skillet over the apples.
Serve immediately.
With vanilla bean ice cream if you're feeling extra naughty.


*If the urge strikes to make my own pastry, (which isn't often) I use a recipe from From My Château Kitchen by Ann Willian.

Pâte Brisée
1-2/3 cup/200 grams flour
7 tablespoons/ 100 grams butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons/45 mls water, more if needed

Sift the flour onto the work surface and make a well in the center. Put the egg yolks, salt and water in the well. Pound the butter with a rolling pin to soften it, add it to the other ingredients in the well, and work them with the fingers of one hand until thoroughly mixed. Using a pastry scraper, gradually draw in the flour from the sides and continue working with the fingers of both hands until coarse crumbs are formed. If the crumbs seem dry, sprinkle with another tablespoon of water, it should be soft but not sticky. Press the dough together into a ball, but don't overwork it; the dough will be uneven and unblended at this point.
Blend the dough quickly so the butter doesn't become too warm. Put the dough in front of you and use the heel of one hand to push away a bit at a time and flatten it against the work surface; this flattening motion evenly blends the butter with the other ingredients without overworking the dough. When the entire ball of dough has been blended in this fashion, gather it up with a scraper into a rough ball, and repeat this process of blending with the heel of your hand until the dough is pliable and pulls away from the work surface in one piece, 1 to 2 minutes. Shape it into a ball, wrap in plastic, and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Walt's recipe is also excellent.


Tarte Tatin. What better way to celebrate apple season?

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Photo du Jour - les Pommes

A golden, caramelized Tarte Tatin was inevitable.
More on that later... Pin It

Photo du Jour - Les Poires

Louise Bonne and La Beurré Bosc pears, ripe and perfect for making a rich, caramelized Tarte Tatin aux Poires. Pin It

Top 100 - 68 Through 72

68. The Sweet Potato Queen's Big Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner) by Jill Conner Browne. Prepare to laugh your "big ass" off while you read this one! Who can resist recipes with names like these; Love Lard, Mystery Mush, My Very Own Ho-Made Blueberry Muffins, Bitch Bacon Bread Sticks, Chocolatopolous, Miss Lexie's Pineapple Casserole, Armadillo Hunters' Shrimp and Grilled Bologna Po-Boy. This hilarious book also offers "advice" on plastic surgery, motherhood and careers.

69. Tarte Tatin aux Poires. A simple and delicious tart with beautiful, golden chunks of pear nestled in caramel and pastry.

Tarte Tatin aux Poires

2 pounds firm-ripe Bosc or Anjou pears (4 to 6)
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz. frozen puff pastry, defrosted (or your own puff pastry, if you choose)

Peel, halve, and core pears.

In a 9- to 10-inch ovenproof non-stick skillet or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet heat butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved). Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet. Cook without stirring until sugar mixture forms a deep golden caramel. (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on skillet and stove.) Cool pears completely in skillet.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Place the pastry over caramelized pears and tuck the edge around pears, down into the skillet. Bake tart in middle of oven until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Have ready a rimmed serving plate slightly larger than skillet. As soon as tart has finished baking, invert plate over skillet and, wearing oven mitts and keeping plate and skillet firmly pressed together, invert tart onto plate.

Serve tart warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, ice cream or crème fraîche.

70. Filet Mignon with homemade Bearnaise Sauce. I'm not a huge fan of steak, but when our friend made this for us one evening, with potatoes on the side to pour even more Bearnaise sauce on, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The filet was perfectly cooked and the Bearnasie sauce, oh my god, it was incredible!

71. AOC Minervois La Livinière in the Languedoc Roussillon. I live right in the middle of this small wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, so I'm a bit spoiled. Seven of our neighbor's are wine makers and I have to say, it is convenient to be able to walk up the street, knock on a beautiful, stone barn door and buy wine for as little as 2 euros a bottle. Syrah, Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault and Mourvèdre are the main grape varietals.


72. CC's Coffee House in New Orleans, Louisiana. I was fortunate enough to have worked across the street from the one in the French Quarter, a contributing factor to what is now my caffeine addiction. Their iced coffee sustained me through the hot and humid summers.

CC's Coffee House
941 Royal Street
New Orleans , Louisiana 70116
504-581-6996
.
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