Mouclade

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Meg

mouclade1This is one of those knock-your-socks-off openings to a meal that will have your guests begging for the recipe. I served it on two occasions in the past couple of weeks and both friends said it was so delic… (oops, that’s the word you’re not supposed to use on your own cooking blog) that they wanted to try to make it at home right away. So here’s the recipe — mussels in a creamy sauce spiced with saffron or curry powder. Go for it.

Mouclade / Spicy mussels in cream

This is my first once-a-week-on-Fridays post as we begin the second year of The Everyday French Chef. Even more people have signed up since Tuesday. Many thanks again for your support. For those of you planning to enter the contest to see how many new subscribers you can attract to the site, I need to warn you that one very active reader in New Zealand has already brought me eight new followers! Please send your tallies in to me using the Contact button at the top of this page. The contest ends on Sept. 30, and the prize is a signed copy of Ann Mah’s forthcoming Mastering the Art of French Eating.

In other news, the people at the French-German television channel Arte who are producing a new series on food and art — with an episode on Thanksgiving, for which I cooked cranberry sauce last week — have phoned up twice in the past couple of days. First they asked me to bring the cranberries with me next week when I go down to Vonnas for a Thanksgiving meal prepared by the three-star chef Georges Blanc. They want my humble sauce to sit on the table alongside food prepared by one of the greatest chefs in France. Well! My first thought was, good thing I froze the sauce instead of serving it at dinnertime. My second thought was, good grief, this is a bit intimidating. But then they called again yesterday and asked me to bring corn bread, too! The original plan was to serve corn bread prepared by a man described by Arte as the best baker in Paris — Christophe Vasseur of Du Pain et Des Idées. They will serve his version, but want to compare it with corn bread baked by a real American. That would be me. So now I am doubly intimidated, all the more so because I haven’t made corn bread since I was a kid back in Wisconsin. If any of you have recipes you would like to share, bring ’em on. I’ve got one week to perfect my technique before heading down to Vonnas…

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Poires au caramel

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Meg

caramel pears2Today is the first day of the second year of The Everyday French Chef. Yes, my friends, it’s our first anniversary. When I started this adventure on Sept. 10, 2012, I had no idea how long it would last. But thanks to your support, I can now see that this is a site with a future. We passed 50,000 page views sometime back in August, and more people are signing up every day. Thank you! To celebrate the occasion, I am offering you a melt-in-the-mouth dessert that is perfect for this time of year and remarkably easy to prepare.

Poires au caramel / Caramelized pears

Heading into Year Two, I’ve made a few changes to the site, with a new category, Most Popular Recipes, leading the sidebar at the right of the page. I was very surprised to see that red onion tart — a recipe I invented one day when I wanted to make an onion tart and had only red onions on hand — was the all-time favorite. I plan to update this category about once a month. Next comes Recent Posts, where you can see the latest recipes, followed by my Favorite Food Blogs and a new item highlighting sites that have featured The Everyday French Chef via recipes, interviews or literary writing. Finally there are the Archives, where you can look back at what has been published month by month.

At the top of the sidebar are new icons allowing readers to follow The Everyday French Chef in any of four ways — by email, Facebook, Twitter or RSS. As you probably know, we are in the middle of a contest to see who can attract the most new subscribers to the site by Sept. 30. The prize is Ann Mah’s forthcoming Mastering the Art of French Eating, a Paris-based love story with recipes that has received rave reviews in advance of publication at the end of this month. Beneath the icons is a search bar that can help you find recipes and blog entries that have appeared previously on the site. You may also search for recipes using the drop-down menus in the black bar at the top of the site.

By the way, if there are recipes you’ve been longing to see that have not yet appeared, or if you have any suggestions for improving the site, or any thoughts at all to convey, please leave a comment at the bottom of this post.

As we enter this second year, I have decided to begin posting at a more leisurely pace. Recipes will henceforth appear once a week, on Fridays — instead of twice a week, as they have since November, or once a day, as they did for the first two months. In fact, at the beginning, I was posting several recipes a day, a feat that now seems hard to imagine! This change to a slower pace is partly to give me time to improve the overall quality of the site. At the beginning, lacking a camera, I was shooting pictures of the food with my iPhone, which produced less than perfect results. I am currently in the process of reshooting those dishes. If you take a look at some of the earliest recipes, you will find better images now.

I also want to give myself time for other projects, first and foremost the forthcoming publication of my new book, Desperate to Be a Housewife, about a globe-trotting journalist in search of a story with a happy ending. I expect the book to come out later this fall, and will keep you posted about that. In the meantime, happy cooking!

Posted in Desserts | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Torsades au pistou

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Meg

pasta pistou1We’re having another heatwave here in Paris — reminding us that it’s still summer, even though the kids have gone back to school. So here’s one of my favorite summer dishes: spiral pasta with pistou, the French version of pesto. It makes a perfect meal for hot summer evenings, accompanied by a chilled rosé. And here’s a plus — the dish is so easy to prepare that you can make a lot of it, and use the leftovers to create a colorful pasta salad.

Torsades au pistou / Summer pasta with French basil sauce

Now for some site news. Many new people have been signing up for email subscriptions and joining me on Facebook since I announced last week that I would give a copy of Ann Mah’s forthcoming Mastering the Art of French Eating to the person who sends the most new subscribers to the site by Sept. 30. Many thanks for that! But, but, but — none of you has yet provided a list of the people you’ve sent to the site. I would suggest that you keep a running tally and notify me once a week so that I can keep up with you. Ann’s book, which has received rave advance reviews and is published by Viking Penguin, will come out on Sept. 26, and she has offered to sign a copy for the winner.

Meanwhile, a team from the French-German television channel Arte dropped by on Wednesday to film me making cranberry sauce for a new series about food and art. The first program, which will air in October, takes as its centerpiece Manet’s Dejeuner sur l’herbe (‘Picnic on the Grass’). The second, in November, is centered around Norman Rockwell’s Freedom From Want, in which a 1950s-style American family is enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner. So The Everyday French Chef will be part of that broadcast. The shoot was really fun (see photo below of the producer, Isabelle, and cameraman, Julien). And the best is yet to come. In a couple of weeks I will be heading down to Vonnas, north of Lyon, to meet the three-star chef Georges Blanc and be filmed enjoying his version of an American Thanksgiving dinner! A great way to celebrate this site’s first anniversary.

arte team

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Omelette aux cèpes

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Meg

omelette cepes1One can make a fine omelet with any kind of mushrooms, but the combination of eggs with porcinis — cèpes in French — is out of this world. Which is why so many French food lovers go into the forests in the autumn. The first cèpes of the season have already begun appearing near my place in Burgundy, and thanks to my generous neighbors Bernard and Mireille I was able to make an omelet the other day with porcinis they had just gathered.

Omelette aux cèpes / Mushroom omelet with porcinis

The recipe appears to be simple — slice the mushrooms, fry them in a little olive oil, mix up the eggs, make the omelet and add the cèpes. But appearances can be deceiving. I received a stern lecture from Mireille on why I should never cook cèpes the way I’ve always done, with a little garlic and parsley. ‘No, no, no!’ she said. ‘Ask any real mushroom lovers and they will tell you that garlic overpowers the flavor of the cèpes.’ And the flavor is indeed sublime. So I did it her way, and was not disappointed. She gave me a couple more tips, which I have included in the recipe. Happy cooking!

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Crumble d’été aux prunes, pêches et cassis

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Meg

crumble2We are heading into the home stretch toward the first anniversary of this French culinary site, and as it turns out the most popular category of recipes is desserts. So it seems fitting that I should offer you one of my favorite crumbles, a blend of the great fruits of midsummer. Easy to make, lovely to present and, if I may say so, absolutely scrumptious. At least that was my impression when my guests finished every last bit…

Crumble d’été aux prunes, pêches et cassis / Midsummer crumble with plums, peaches and berries

In the last couple of months, this site has been picking up steam, with an increasing number of requests for recipes — and comment from yours truly — from other sites and periodicals around the world. The Everyday French Chef has been featured recently on a culinary site in Australia (All About Cuisines), a British print and web magazine (French Entrée) and a French blog that offers recipes along with a basket of ingredients to prepare them (Foodette). And next week I will be filmed in my kitchen by the French-German television station Arte (more on that later).

Despite this success, the number of subscribers remains far below my target of 10,000 — the number needed, I’ve been told, for publishers to take interest in a cookbook project. So, as the Sept. 10 anniversary approaches, I’d like to propose a little contest — with a great prize. My friend and fellow blogger Ann Mah is about to bring out her long-awaited book Mastering the Art of French Eating. I will offer a free to copy to the person who brings the most new subscribers to this site by the end of September.

Ann’s book has been winning fabulous advance reviews from writers like Patricia Wells, Peter Mayle and Diane Johnson. Her book will be released on Sept. 26. So get out the tom-toms and tell your friends and family about The Everyday French Chef — ‘the modern cook’s guide to creating fabulous French food without spending hours in the kitchen’. They may subscribe via email by clicking on the little envelope at the top of the site, or through the Everyday French Chef page on Facebook. Keep a tally of the people you know who subscribe, and let me know about it via the Contact page at the top of this site. The winner will be announced on Sept. 30.

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Salade estivale

Posted on August 27, 2013 by Meg

melon bresaola1I had a little contest on my culinary Facebook page last week. I asked followers  to choose among three great summer dishes — and the winner got posted on Friday, petits farcis. At the time the weather was glorious, but now showers have come to my corner of Burgundy, with a hint of autumn  in the air. So today I am posting the second of the three, in hopes that there will still be enough magnificent summer weather to enjoy it.

Salade estivale / Summer salad with melon and bresaola

A variation on the more traditional melon with prosciutto, this salad is as easy to prepare as it is lovely to behold. The bresaola — dry cured beef, Italian style — is less rich than cured ham and makes a nice contrast with the sweetness of the melon. And a touch of mint gives the greens in the middle an unexpected zinginess.

Now then — full disclosure. This salad, which I’m posting as a midweek treat, is not the dish that got the second most votes on Facebook. That was a midsummer crumble, and I will post the recipe on Friday. If you’d like to gather the ingredients ahead of time, buy or pick some plums, peaches and berries. You won’t be disappointed. It’s a winner.

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Petits farcis

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Meg

petits farcis4One of my favorite dishes from Provence is petits farcis — small pieces of zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes stuffed with tiny herb-flavored meatballs. Sweet red peppers are often included, but it’s more difficult to get the shape right. When midsummer rolls around and veggies are at their prime, it’s the perfect time for this succulent dish — which may be served as a starter or a main course, accompanied by a chilled dry rosé.

Petits farcis / Stuffed vegetables from Provence

One of those ‘as many variations as there are cooks in France’ dishes, petits farcis may be prepared with ground pork, ground beef, ground lamb, sausage meat or a combination. The vegetables sometimes include artichokes, onions, cabbage and even zucchini flowers. It’s up to you and your imagination. Occasionally referred to as petits farcis niçois, the dish was most typically found in the Nice region along France’s eastern Mediterranean coast in years gone by, but has now migrated northwards and makes regular appearances on the menus of Parisian bistros. But it’s so much fun to make that I prefer to do it at home. Happy cooking!

 

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Haricots verts aux noix en salade

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Meg

green bean salad2Fresh beans with walnuts, garlic and cilantro — if you have ever tasted this superb combination of flavors, you’ll probably always remember it. And you might even know that it’s one of the signature tastes of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. So what is it doing on a French cooking site? I have to admit that I love Georgian cuisine, so much so that I serve my favorite dishes often in France, especially in summer, when pungent salads and grilled meat, fish or veggies straight from the barbecue can make a perfect supper.

Haricots verts aux noix en salade / Green bean salad with walnuts

I had the pleasure of visiting the republic of Georgia twice in the 1980s while working for Reuters — once in the company of George Shultz and once with Margaret Thatcher. Never mind the politics or the visit to Stalin’s birthplace, the gorgeous countryside, Mediterranean climate or warm-hearted people. What knocked my socks off was the food. Melt-in-the-mouth khachapuri, a flatbread filled with melted sulguni cheese; salads of beets or spinach or dried red beans with garlic-and-walnut sauce; chicken grilled over  charcoal and served with a walnut-cilantro sauce or with tkemali sour plum sauce; fabulous soups and dumplings, and the list goes on.

I love making these dishes, and so do various friends who were also lucky enough to be posted to the former Soviet Union in its last years. At a time of momentous change, we feasted on life — and then there was the food, occasionally weird, often wonderful. I hope you will forgive The Everyday French Chef the occasional foray off the beaten path of typical French cooking. There are a couple of Georgian restaurants in Paris, but French chefs have yet to really discover the delights of Georgian cuisine. Until they do, I have no choice but to recreate these great dishes in my own kitchen.

Posted in 3. Salads | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Saltimbocca à la romaine

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Meg

saltimbocca2For the many years I’ve been making this Roman dish of veal and proscuitto rolled up tightly with garlic and fresh herbs, I’ve always assumed it took its name from the shape of the rolls when they’re sliced after cooking. With only a minor stretch of imagination, they look like little saltimbanques — French for ‘acrobats’ — somersaulting across the plate. As it happens, the Italian name — saltimbocca — translates as ‘jumps into the mouth.’ But is close enough to the Italian word for ‘acrobat’ — saltimbanca — for me to feel vindicated. The unknown originator of the dish no doubt had a taste for word play…

Saltimbocca à la romaine / Rolled veal and proscuitto ‘acrobats’

Whatever its linguistic origins, this flavor-packed dish is a breeze to prepare. While it’s cooking — just 20 minutes — you can make some pasta or a simple salad to serve alongside. In a variation from the original, I usually cut the rolls into thinner slices once they’re cooked to give full display to the pretty acrobat shape. It’s a favorite of my daughter and her teenage friends, and makes a nice dish for warm summer evenings, accompanied by a chilled dry rosé. Happy cooking!

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Grand aïoli

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Meg

When hot weather strikes, no matter where I may be in France, my thoughts turn to Provence. I spent the summer there when I was 19, and fell deeply and irremediably in love with the place. The packed red earth, the shade of the umbrella pines, the cicadas singing in the heat, the dusky figs hanging sweet and low on their branches — all this made my heart beat fast, as though I was coming home to a place I’d known in an earlier life. And when my thoughts turn to Provence, I inevitably want to make aïoli.

Grand aïoli / Cod with vegetables and garlic mayonnaise

Now then, just to be clear. When someone mentions aïoli, they can mean one of two things. The first is the sharp Provençal garlic mayonnaise that bears this name. The second is a dish, sometimes called le Grand aïoli, in which a bowl of the sauce is surrounded by fish, usually cod, hard-boiled eggs, and assorted vegetables. This is a perfect summer dish — fresh, healthy and ever so delicious. Accompanied at dinner by a glass of dry white or rosé, it will send you into the evening in the most mellow way imaginable. If you’re a vegetarian, don’t let that stop you. Simply omit the fish.

Site news: When you have a moment, check out the updated menus for summer. You will find separate categories for everyday and special occasions, for vegetarians, vegans — and, of course, the elegant omnivore. Happy cooking!

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