Financiers

Our last post.......till we return from France in early May :)

PerNana:

Nana's "Yankee Doodle" financiers......Taking advantage of some

 of the odds and ends of ingredients left from our   recent recipes, I decided

 to use Dorie's "bonne idee"  and make the chocolate financiers.

I thought this was going to be a tricky recipe but it all came together easily.  

 The most important part was making beurre noisette, and even that 

worked for me.  I lined my mini muffin tins with paper rather than butter 

and flour, and they turned out great. I was afraid they might stick to the 

paper but they didn't. As I was chopping the chocolate into smaller pieces 

I realized that I did not have the 5 ounces called for, so I substituted 2 tsp

 of Hershey's cocoa.  It actually worked quite well and made a lovely ganache.

  When they came out of the oven all I thought about was stuffing them with 

whipped cream- they looked like Drake's Yankee Doodle cupcakes.

I actually did serve some with cream and they were good. 

This is a fun recipe and I am definitely going to the vanilla

 version and see how that works out. 

Per Tricia:

Sorry all, I couldn't swing this even if Nana had delivered my little

 tupperwares  of ingredients this week - but for a very good reason.  

Today is my last work day before taking a 3 week vacation with Nana 

to enjoy France.  Hence the downward spiral in my leaving comments 

(sorry  all !!)  and then being able to even get to the recipe.   Things are 

hectic at work and  home as we plan our adventure and we look forward to

 sharing our adventures when  we return in early May.

I will leave you with photos I took this weekend while waiting for my son

 to take a life guarding class.I took advantage of having to drive him an hour 

away and then kill time - so I  road tripped a bit further to the charming town

 of Lambertville, NJ.  I was stalking looking for the "Canal House Cooks"

 location and hoping they had something open to the public. 

Nothing (yet) open for their fans, but a glorious day to be in a lovely town 

and I did manage some paparazzi shots of their location. They have an 

amazing site & wonderful cookbooks if you have not already checked them out.   www.canalhousecooking.com

  PS- Kathy, the Canal House ladies were at the Bridgewater Commons 

mall's Williams Sonoma a week or two ago, but Nana and I couldn't 

swing it !  But we thought of you !! And Mary- I know you get their lunch
 emails so I was thinking of you as I stalked checked out their place :)

Pierre Hermés olive sablé

A novel use for an Easter egg ~ 

Per Nana ~

A very interesting recipe and simple to prepare. When I noticed  that the recipe called for potato starch, only 6 tbsp,  I thought why can't I just use more flour? I had no idea what I could  possibly use it for after making this recipe, plus I  have so many herbs,  spices, etc. left from other recipes.  However, I checked out the super  market and when I read that it was used for gravies and had  many  other uses, I decided not to be so cheap and purchased it.  To make it  even more economical I would share some with Tricia.  The recipe called for oil cured olives so I used "Greek olives", as they  are called in New York.  They have just the right amount of salt and I do  think it went well in this recipe. I  used  Pompeian olive oil, not sure if it is  considered a fruity oil, but it was a better choice than my garlic-infused  olive oil. The dough came together pretty well, and after refrigerating  overnight, the dough was easy to slice. I had divided the dough into three  rolls and planned to only bake one now and freeze the rest.  However,  once I tasted the first sablé - I baked the whole batch and haven't  stopped eating them since. All in all, this was a tasty little treat that  Hubby and I enjoyed it with a glass of wine.  I would like to make a note  regarding the MARTHA WRAP- the foil  backed parchment paper. This is the first time that I have used it and  found that for baking cookies or the above recipe, that the corners curled  up in the process.  I only used it for the first tray of sablés, then switched  to regular parchment paper which lasted through 3 more bakings. I'm not sure if this was intended for baking cookies, I know it only  mentioned being used for cooking  en papillote on the box.  I wonder  if anyone else has used this and had the same problem ?

Per Tricia~

Note the tupperware of ingredients presented to me by Nana.

 Impossibly, I still almost managed to mess this easy recipe up.
First, I completely forgot to actually add the olives as I pondered

 how silky my dough was. P&Q comments showed folks having issues

 of dry, crumbly dough - so of course I figured I had messed up the

 dough  when mine was not dry. After making the logs I realized my

 error, put them back into the bowl and tossed in Nana's adorable

 little container of olives. Which had not been chopped.

 Since she basically did my "mise en place"- I thought they were

 chopped. So I then picked them back out of the dough and chopped them. 

At this point my teenager had to leave the room because he was fearing

 the downward spiral of my mood (or perhaps he could not stand

 watching his Mother's continued failure......)

Aside from user error, the recipe was quite easy. The results were

 good but they missed the mark for my family. The olives were too 

subtle and we just didn't get that perfect balance between sweet and 

savory. The final verdict is that for a cocktail hour we would not 

repeat these when compared to Gougeres or Gerard's Mustard Tart

 or Batons- found elsewhere in the book.

Kudos to our admins for finding a recipe calling for the yolk of a hard-

boiled egg at Easter time - when we had lots of colored eggs to use up !

Lemon-Steamed Spinach

Quick, easy and Spring green ~
Per Tricia~

I was delighted that we ended up with a recipe that was more 

of a trick/technique than a standard recipe on this busy week.  

We celebrate the Easter holiday and while Nana is carrying the load and 

treating both our families to the Easter meal- it was a particularly busy 

week nonetheless. A perfect week for an easy recipe and I put this one to

 the test when I bought the spinach after 9 pm this evening.  The dish was

 knocked out within minutes of my arriving home from the grocery store.

Bonus points before I even tasted it :)

I could not believe that dressing the spinach before steaming it would work

 but it did and my husband raved about it.  Yes, he gets spinach snacks at

 9:00 at night and is happy to taste test any "Dorie food" at any time :)

 I had not dressed spinach with grated lemon zest before so he really 

enjoyed the flavoring while I appreciated the  technique and the lovely

 aroma as  it steamed - the lemon zest smelled wonderful.

My new taste tester.  Still getting used to the fact that cats can jump where dogs
 cannot- and no worries-my family did not get this portion to eat

 Happy Easter and Passover to those that celebrate ~

Per Nana~

I do not own a steamer so I improvised, as you can see from my photo.

Normally when I cook spinach I use olive oil with a bit of crushed red 

pepper and garlic.  As you know, spinach cooks very quickly and is 

done in a matter of minutes. This recipe was a nice change. 

I liked steaming the spinach and we enjoyed the flavor of the lemon. 

 All in all, this was a lovely side dish that I served with fish fillets. 

 Happy Easter to all who celebrate it. 

Ispahan Loaf Cake

Finally, the infamous "Ispahan" adventure ~ 

Per Nana~

For some unknown reason, I was prepared to dislike this recipe

 because I thought it would turn out to be pink with all those rose 

flavored ingredients.  There is something about the color 

pink in food (especially a pink frosted donut) that turns me off.  

However I was really surprised it looked like a normal loaf cake when 

I removed it from the oven. The texture was so perfect and moist,

 and surprisingly (for me) - it came out of the pan in one piece. 

 I did not have any raspberries so I improvised by adding a few drops

 of Penzey's "Raspberry Enlightenment" where the berries should have been.

  I'm sure it wasn't as pretty as fresh berries, but the flavor was there. 

It is a very delicious cake and we enjoyed it plan, without any topping added. 

 Hubby claims this one is a winner.

Per Tricia~

Between the unusual name and the elusive ingredients, 

I expected the  result of this recipe to be exotic.

The cake was lovely, with flavors that typically are not found

 in  my kitchen (but will be with that large bottle of syrup 

and extract......) but were absolutely delicious.

We loved it.

  I made a raspberry coulis for the top and it felt very

 special for a weeknight ~

~ Happy French Friday ~

Orange-Scented Lentil Soup

As expected- the aroma was lovely. The color- not so much :)

Per Tricia:

This week I enjoyed my older "taste tester" being home from college 

on Spring Break, so apologies for the distinct lack of comments left 

for my fellow Doristas. I did manage to make this soup (plus the prior 

week's Cheesy Creme Brulee in duplicate, then triplicate.....for the family

 to enjoy over homemade bread !!) and perhaps more importantly -

 found time to sign Nana and I up for the IFBC in Seattle. 

We are SO EXCITED to join our fellow bloggers and can not

 wait to meet you all in September.  Now back to the soup :) 

I would not have added the orange zest without Dorie's suggestion and

 the aroma was indeed lovely without the taste being overpowering. 

I make homemade soup fairly regularly and this was nice, but I

 probably will not add it to my short list of repeats. 

It was an achievement to locate the actual lentils du Puy- that was the

 toughest part of the assignment as this is a very easy recipe otherwise.

 My taste testers all enjoyed it. In lieu of the cob smoked bacon that is 

still waiting to be cooked, I added smoked kielbasa pieces on top with 

Greek Yogurt and that was a big hit. Nice, but not a repeat for us.

Per Nana:

This week's FFWD recipe is for another pureed soup, this time using lentils. 

 I used Green lentils from Wegmans but Tricia found some lentilles

 du Puy in a local health food store and shared them with me. 

 I am saving them and will prepare this recipe again, or even try Dorie's 

French Lentils (the basic recipe) on page 367 in "Around My French Table".

The flavors were very strange to me. Overall I think the addition of

 ginger turned me off. While the vegetables were cooking they looked 

so delicious that I could have eaten the lentils without pureeing them. 

 It is not the prettiest color for a soup but it was okay.

 I really prefer the lentils as a soup without pureeing them because I 

like to mix some Ditalini pasta to it with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Happy French Friday~

Cheesy Crème Brulee

Adventures with a savory version.....

Per Nana:

If the torch doesn't work, just torch them in the broiler.  

As you can see- I almost had a catastrophe on my hands. 

 After baking the Crème Brulee on parchment in the oven, I

 realized  that the torch was out of fluid and decided to just run

 them under the broiler to finish.   I prepared two of the molds

 for Hubby and myself and put them on the cookie sheet.  

I totally forgot about the parchment paper and the fact that it 

does not broil well, as you can see. When I went to double check 

on the browning, out came the flames. Surprisingly, the only 

thing burning was the parchment.  These were really good. 

We loved them and, lucky me, I have four more to enjoy.  

I used a combination of Monterey Jack and Pecorino Romano

 cheeses because I had both in the fridge and the blend was excellent. 

 One other comment is that baking them at 200 degrees did not work 

well  for me so I turned the oven to 300.  This would make a 

fantastic appetizer  since it can be made ahead and finished as 

needed. Definitely a winner in our house.

P.S.~ for those curious about how my frozen "coeur  a la creme" fared-

 hubby and I enjoyed two from the freezer and they were wonderful.

 They freeze beautifully.

Per Tricia:

What can I say- I love Crème Brulee and now I love it in

 a savory version as well. Like Nana, I ended up using cheese 

I had on hand (shredded cheddar and parmesan) and this could be

 an amazing way for me to  clear the cheese drawer in the future.  

 My taste testers also loved this and I have to say the

 aroma in our kitchen was amazing.

 We did use the torch on one but found it to take a while so I

 put the rest under the broiler. Overall a lovely recipe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I am also sharing a very basic chicken recipe which, believe it or not, I got from the new bottle of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce I bought last week for the "Chicken Diable".  It is crazy easy and crazy good. If you enjoyed the kick the Worcestershire sauce added to last week's recipe- you may want to try this. My family went nuts and I ate so much of it I will not admit to the actual quantity :)

~Savory Balsamic Chicken ~

Ingredients:

• 6  (4 oz) boneless chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp butter, divided
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup  (yes, this much - you better like this ingredient :) Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and pepper, then dip both sides in flour. Heat one tablespoon butter and oil in large skillet, cook chicken four minutes on each side or until juices run clear (be sure internal temp reaches at least 165 degrees). Move onto serving dish. In same skillet, add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and cook 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining butter and pour over chicken.

Happy French Friday !

Chicken Breasts Diable

The Devil is in the details indeed.......

Per Tricia:

Dorie explains that "Diable is the French word for Devil".

  Devil indeed because while we enjoyed this quick and tasty dish- 

the mustard I ended up using was too strong for our taste. I knew 

something was wrong when my husband tasted his chicken 

(the only taste tester I had this week) and said nothing.

 He was waiting for me to try mine. Whoa.

 That Trader Joe's Dijon that was both grainy and from France

 (like it was MADE for Dorie's description) had a bit too 

much kick for us. As in "clear your sinuses" kick.  

But all the same we could tell that with a bit more mild mustard 

this recipe would still be a keeper. The contrast with the Worcestershire

 sauce was lovely and not a combo I would have thought of on my own.

Per Nana:

This week's recipe was absolutely delicious and the sauce was so good. 

Dorie's suggestion of Filet Mignon Diable sounds scrumptious, and

 I would like to try this with pork tenderloin.  I cut two chicken breasts 

in half horizontally because they were a bit large and by doing this I did 

not have to pound them down.  For the sauce I used MAILLE Old Cafe

 whole grain Dijon mustard which was really sharp- just the way I like it. 

The sauce came together beautifully and we were pleased with the results. 

Hubby enjoyed this and I will definitely be making this recipe again.  

It really is quick and easy to prepare.