M. Jacques Armagnac Chicken

A split decision this week ~ our first for 2012 !

Per Nana:

THE BEST CHICKEN I HAVE TASTED IN YEARS.....

This recipe was fantastic.  I can not remember the last 

time I have cooked a whole chicken, but this was wonderful.  

So moist, juicy and tasty.  

Trying to diet over the years, the favorite diet food was chicken,

 so much so that I truly  dislike the taste of chicken.  

Hubby loves his Popeye's and Kentucky fried, and thank

 goodness  they sell by the piece, but I can do without.

(Except for the biscuits)

But this recipe  is what a chicken should really taste like.

The smallest I could find was about 4 lbs and was fresh, not frozen.  

I cut the veggies and stirred them in the hot oil for 

a bit,  added the chicken and the brandy and let it

all warm before covering with foil in my Le Creuset.

At 450 degrees in the oven without checking for 60 minutes, 

the kitchen was smelling good.   After 1 hour, the chicken was cooked, 

but not very brown so I placed it on a cookie sheet and put it under

 the broiler. I added the water to the pan and prepared the gravy which

 was delicious, and removed the chicken from the oven.

Hubby and I truly enjoyed this and I had a thought about either

 adding some Brussels sprouts or turnips to this mix to make

  it even more of a stew type dish.

I'm sure this is a recipe I will definitely be making again and again. 

 The simplicity of the recipe, and the prep time is wonderful.  

For  anyone who works all day and wants a simple recipe to prepare,

 this is really great.

Per Tricia:

Nana got her chicken done first and I was 

delighted to hear how much she had enjoyed it.

 Not to mention how "time friendly" the prep was.

  I was ready to like it.

  I wanted to like it.

  And then things went downhill.

I saw how much the organic chicken cost compared to the 

roasters that were on sale -more than four times the price. 

 But for French Fridays, I splurged.  

To be honest, a 3 1/2 pound bird doesn't really get far in 

our house - but since this was what the recipe called for I 

considered it lucky that I found the perfect match.  

I used a lovely cognac which probably did not serve its

 best purpose in life by being stuck in a pot with a chicken for 

an hour, but there you have it.   The family was ready to devour
 it  and the  kitchen smelled amazing. But my heart sank a bit as
 we took the  lid off and I saw the lack of color.

 I am a big fan of roasted, crispy, crunchy anything.....so that bird 

got put under the broiler.  When I plated the meal I was surprised

 as how little flavor it ended up having. Overall, it was nothing special. 

The family agreed.  Nothing bad, of course, just not the added 

oomph that we thought it might have.  Fun to try things a bit differently, 

but I will not plan to revisit this one~

Bubble~Top Brioche Rolls

A perfect recipe for a cold winter's day ~

Per Nana:

Anyone who has made a New Year's resolution to start

 a diet should skip this week's FFWD recipe.

Hubby and I had the butter waiting before the

 timer went off.  These little rolls are so good.

Seriously, the recipe is a bit time consuming, but well worth it.

I prepared the dough as instructed, and put the bowl in the 

refrigerator overnight.  When I removed it in the morning I thought

 the dough was quite stiff and might turn out tough, but all went well.

My brioches may not have the bubble top effect that

Dorie is showing in her book, but they were delicious.

 About two months ago I started cleaning out the basement,

 sorting thru old pans and cupcake tins intending to purchase new,

 but have not gotten that far yet.  The only pans I had left were

 my popover pans and maybe that is the reason my bubble top

 did not come out as planned.

Per Tricia:

While I have not met a carb I didn't like, I was actually prepared to
 "not like" this one simply because of the amount of time involved.
As I have shared in  previous posts, we have an amazing bakery outlet
(Le Bus) near my office and I do enough damage there. 



But French Friday is French Friday and while I anticipated these
would be good - the results were more impressive than I expected. 
 I also figure that no matter what else I serve company for dinner, if
I have these on the table and my house smells this  good .....the meal 
will be a winner.  My prior "fall back" had been to simply keep
 refilling the wine glasses - there is usually a direct relationship between
wine consumption and meal compliments.  I will now arm myself with Brioche. 

Thank you Dorie !!

Cauliflower Bacon Gratin

Cauliflower gratin and Tricia's creme brulee.  What more could you ask for over the holidays ?  Perhaps Dorie's delicious duck that Nana prepared for Christmas dinner......not to mention a specialty cheesecake from the local "Nuns of New Skete".  An adventure for sure ~



Per Tricia:

While many Doristas have browsed the French Fridays Cookbook

and made dishes in addition to the "selectees", I have barely

been able to make the ones selected each week and have not

strayed. Except for the cauliflower recipe, which I spied when we did

 the potato gratin and promptly made.  Over and over again. 

 It is a family favorite and perfect for the holidays anywhere,

 but especially in Vermont where it has been snowing just enough

 to add the perfect atmosphere

 (in lieu of providing enough to ski......). 

We enjoyed our "Feast of 7 Fishes" for Christmas Eve dinner, 

 but Nana decided to make the lovely duck recipe from FFWD

 for Christmas dinner.  It was delicious !

I also played catch up and made the creme brulee after picking up my

ordered creme brulee dishes at the JK Adams Kitchen Store. 

 I snapped a few photos of the outside after the fact as I forgot to take

 a camera inside when I picked up the dishes.  The store is a real

treat and if anyone ever makes it to south west Vermont, I

would definitely suggest a visit.  www.jkadams.com 

 The first time we visited the area we drove past this industrial building

on the side of the road that surprisingly had a sign indicating there was

 a "kitchen store" in there somewhere. I got immediately excited- even

though I did not recognize that label, I could "tell it was interesting".

They have lovely goods, amazing gourmet food supplies and an

observation booth where you can look out over the manufacturing

floor in the back of the headquarters.  I since found their products as

I travel all over and have come to have a ridiculous amount of  pride

(which I am not technically not supposed to have) when doing so. 

Last note on the creme brulee -the taste was amazing and the

 boys got to do the torch.  I was hesitant and they were over the moon

 to see such a gadget.  I will be hiding it when we return to PA...... 

  

And now, the cheesecake. 

The nuns of New Skete are located in Cambridge, NY.

The monks have a monastery nearby.

It is about 45 from where we were in Vermont and somehow I have

 not gotten over there before.  But this time was different.

It was an adventure and did not disappoint. 

The cakes have been written up in the Rachel Ray

 magazine and other places. They also offer fruitcakes but holidays

 or not, we were not going there. The nearby monks of New Skete

 are the ones famous for their work with dogs and German Shepherds

in particular. It is funny because I bought their hardcover book years

ago in my local Costco, "How To Be Your Dogs Best Friend",

and it felt surreal to be standing at the actual monastery.

 The nuns ship the cheesecake but the real adventure
is showing up (if you can) as they have an honor system
after hours. We were lucky enough to visit when it was open

 so we could buy other goodies as well. 

http://www.newskete.org/cheesecakes.html

 The "deluxe" cheesecake is plain and it was delicious, though  I have

not met a cheesecake that I did  not like. It is a sweeter version with

a very thin crust which more closely resembles a sugar cookie than a

graham cracker.  Hope everyone enjoyed their own holiday goodies. 

 Happy New Year from Nana and I !!

Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is one of our favorites and this French Friday gave us the opportunity to try it at home !



Per Nana:

Many years ago Tricia gave me a creme brulee set with ramekins

that included a kitchen torch.  I thought about using it a few times

 but just never got around to it.  I think that I was afraid to use the

torch for some reason and put it away with all the other

collectibles in the basement.

I was very happy to see creme brulee as one of the selections 

 for December.  However, finding butane fluid became a problem. 

 I tried a lot of various stores, William Sonoma, drug stores where

 cigarettes are sold, etc. and  all of them telling me to go

 to Walmart.  I don't know why this is so difficult to locate, but, viola,  

Walmart had four.  One for me and one for Tricia. 

 I left two for anyone planning on making creme brulee

this happy holiday season.

Dorie's version of creme brulee is a little different

since she uses a jam or jelly base before pouring the

 pudding into the ramekin.  My choice was a little

marmalade, but I did not taste it in the final results.

For the sugar topping I used raw sugar.

After doing this first set, I was on a roll.  

Hubby loved it, so not wanting to waste the rest of the

heavy cream, I decided to try the recipe that came with the set. 

 This called for only cream, less vanilla, and more egg yolks. 

This was equally delicious, and at this point, I think it

 is just a matter of taste on the individual's part. 

Now that I have mastered the kitchen torch,

I wonder if Tricia and her family would like

Baked Alaska for Christmas dessert.  

Tricia???

Per Tricia:

Yes, please !

So far my only contribution to this week has been to taste test

numerous versions of Nana's creme brulee.  She was on a roll indeed

and I have gained at least 5 pounds from her fantastic creations ! 

 My creme brulee will be coming for holiday dessert as we

 are on our way up to Vermont again to celebrate and I have

6 creme brulee dishes waiting from me at a lovely little

kitchen shop who special ordered them for me. 

 It is actually a retail shop located at the "JK Adams" woodworking

 company whose company headquarters is in a small Vermont town. 

They are famous for their carving boards that are sold all over

 the world and by such retailers as Crate and Barrel, LL Bean, etc.

They have  an amazing "cooks store" and I put a few ramekins

on order at Thanksgiving.  I will take photos of this neat shop

when I pick them up tomorrow and post them later, but for now

 I wanted to get Nana's results posted before we head out.

PS- when my younger son's reaction was priceless when he found

creme brulee a la Nana sitting in the fridge.  His eyes popped open

and he turned around slowly, asking "can I"?

He loves this treat as much as his mother, who had it more times

 than she is going to admit while visiting France :)

Happiest of Holidays to Dorie and all the Doristas !!!!

Potato Chip Tortilla

A day late and an ingredient short....
Once again Nana has made it in before the deadline while I spent last Saturday cooking the pork (was to be posted by last Friday).  I beleive this is going to be the holiday trend of playing "catch up" around here.  But I have been enjoying the early results of Nana's cooking - especially the creme brulee, which we will post on another French Friday !

***(update- I "caught up" this morning and added the results to the bottom of this post......)



Per Nana :

I had to make this potato chip tortilla just to prove

to myself that it wasn't as wacky as it sounds.

The recipe is extremely simple and using the chips makes

 short work of the traditional Basque tortilla.

After mixing the eggs with the rest of the ingredients,

 I added this to the potato chips and stirred.

I did think the mixture was a bit too thick so I

added an additional egg which really helped.

 

The cooking method was nice, starting on top of

the stove and finishing the tortilla under the broiler.  

I was pleased with the results, and hubby and

 I both enjoyed it.  

As far as I'm concerned, the flavors were perfect. 

 I will definitely do this one again.

Per Tricia:

Chard-stuffed pork roast anyone ? 

 Nana's results were so beautiful (and delicious) that

I had to make this one right away, even if I missed

the French Friday deadline. 

I was very curious about all the flavors that were combined

 for the stuffing and also happy to get to use the cardamom

 that does not make it out of the spice drawer often enough.

 

Raisins and red pepper flakes ? Not a typical combo. 

And just like Nana, I had to use skewers since we left 

our kitchen twine in Vermont. Twine would have been best.

   The flavors were lovely but I mostly came away

 wondering why I do not serve pork roast more often

when I have company- since this was a fairly

 impressive looking dish for very little effort. 

As usual, Dorie inspires us once again. 

 Now to make that tortilla dish for breakfast tomorrow.....

Update- I was not kidding about making it for breakfast.

It was fabulous. You know you are profoundly behind when

you don't even read the recipe to realize it was a quick

 and easy potato chip omelet.  A keeper for sure !

 Prep time !

   Would the chips be covered...they were !

So far so good....

Out of the broiler- yay !

Now on to the creme brulee !  Kidding.

Chard Stuffed Pork Roast

Nana made it in before the deadline this week and her results are so delicious that I am vowing to catch up over the weekend - Happy French Friday !




Per Nana:

This week's selection is a winner and will definitely

be added to my collection of recipes.  Hubby and I both

 enjoy pork and the addition of the chard stuffing was delightful. 

 

 

I thought the combination of onions, garlic, raisins and

 chard with the added pinch of red pepper flakes was pleasant.  

I considered adding some toasted pine nuts but decided to

 follow Dorie's instructions.  I might try that another time.

 

 

 

As you can see from the pictures, I had to substitute

 skewers for kitchen twine.  With all the planning there is

always something you miss, but the skewers worked just as 

well since the piece of pork was just under two pounds.

 

 

 

I am looking forward to Dorie's suggestion of making a pork

sandwich ( with a little mustard or mayo on seeded rye bread). 

 Sounds delicious, doesn't it? 

Matafan

Otherwise known as "fluffy mashed potato pancakes".
These were fun to make and fun to eat ~



Per Nana:

I made the matafan for dinner to serve

with Italian sausage and a green salad.

Two russet potatoes baked on a layer of  Kosher salt

 for 1-1/2 hours and then put through a ricer.

 I normally use my microwave for baked potatoes, but I

 followed Dorie's directions and really did enjoy the

way these turned out.  

After mixing all the ingredients together,  I covered

 the bowl and let it rest in the fridge until dinner time.

We liked the texture of the fluffy pancakes,  the flavor was tasty,

and I used a little applesauce on the side.  I think I would prefer

a little bit of onion flavor in these pancakes and I just might

try that sometime.

All things said, this is a nice recipe but next time

I would make blini size pancakes as an appetizer

and serve them with sour cream and caviar.  (Ha Ha)

Per Tricia

We love potatoes in this household ....so it was going

to be a long shot for this recipe to fail. 

While tempted to"nuke" the potatoes, I did follow the

directions and roasted them instead.  I was curious to see

the impact of using a bed of sea salt.   It definitely did

 absorb the moisture - see photo of salt where potato rested.

 The ricer was fun to use as well and between it and

 the whipped egg whites,

 the two potatoes really expanded in volume.

The fried pancakes smelled lovely and tasted great.  They were

 a bit on the plain side but as Dorie suggested, there are a

 myriad of ways to enjoy them.  My husband and younger

son tested them and were very pleased - they immediately

started coming up with ideas on how else to enjoy them,

 including creating an "eggs Benedict" type dish where the

Matafan would be used in lieu of the English Muffins.

  I told them I had to clean the kitchen first......:)

PS- I had to share a shot of the wonderful FFWD corn soup Nana

made over the Thanksgiving holiday. We knew when we

 made it the first time that we would re-do it over turkey day

and it did not disappoint. 

We paired it with plain old grilled cheese sandwiches. 

The key was that I got the bread before I left Philly,

from the "Le Bus" bakery store. 

 It was their "Pullman White" loaf and I can not rave

enough about how this bread works in grilled cheese. 

 My entire family was RAVING about it and declared

the simple meal to be one of the best ones ever.  

And I did not even have to separate egg yolks...