Lamb & Dried Apricot Tagine - French Fridays with Dorie

Per Tricia~

Even though this is a "French Fridays" recipe I have to share some exciting 

"Tuesday" news. We have a wonderful new addition to the Dorie community 

- my former neighbor, Nicole. She was the sweetie who bestowed some 

gorgeous heirloom tomatoes on me this summer - on the precise day I

 was knocking out a FFWD recipe that required tomatoes. Serendipity. 

Tomato Provençal 

She mentioned she had an interest in the whole cooking/blogging concept 

and with the roll out of "Baking Chez Moi", she made it official. To say I am

 delighted would be an understatement. Please do check out her blog and send

 her a warm welcome. And yes, she put me to shame with the amazing

 accomplishments she knocked out her first post....she is a natural !

www.CanineKitchenCapers.blogspot.com

Now for story #2. I bought a tagine while in DC on business and did

 not even know exactly what it was. I am not proud, but I am honest. 

I found the item in  an antiques/catch all shop and I "caught all". 

I simply could not resist the stunning green color of 

the pottery. Even my cat is quite fond of it. 

Yes, this is the "fond" look- taken a day before making the dish so no worries -both tagine and counter were cleaned ! 

 I later researched to find it's intended purpose .......

but had yet to actually use it. (Hangs head in shame) 

I'm so pleased I could christen it with a recipe from

"Around My French Table" and such a yummy one at that. 

I lucked out with the boneless lamb shoulder at my local

 butcher shop and even had saffron on hand, not to mention

 most of the other exotic spices. 

Rather than using chili's I subbed the "piment d'espelette" 

that this group has come to know and love, and traded ground ginger 

that I had on hand for the fresh grated ginger of the recipe.  

As promised, the aroma was intoxicating and the end result

 was a comforting winter's meal- a sort of exotic comfort food.  

It would have been even better if I remembered to add the sliced almonds on top........

 I served it over French Couscous. 

The tagine is now slated to get a lot of play this season, thanks to Dorie. 

Per Nana~

This is such a perfect recipe for a cold winter night.

 I could not find the boneless lamb shoulder so I went with a small

 2 1/2 lb boneless leg. Hubby was intrigued by all the ingredients going 

into this dish so he offered to help. I asked him if he would cut the meat 

into stew portions,which he did. There was a lot of trimming on this 

piece of meat- fat, silver skin, etc. and I think he was sorry he offered.

 However I must admit,he did a great job. 

I haven't had lamb in years and this was so tender and delicious. 

All the ingredients blended together beautifully and the flavor was 

extraordinary. I served this wonderful tagine over Acini di Pepe, 

which is very similar to couscous. It was so delicious.

The Rugelach That Won Over France - Baking Chez Moi

Per Tricia~

I was a bit worried about the difficulty level of this recipe, given 

some of the feedback from our community's P's and Q's this week.

 But I was pleasantly surprised at how the instructions truly did come together, 

thanks to the very detailed "hand holding" that Dorie provides in this recipe. 

getting a square shape to my rolled dough was one of the more challenging parts ~

While she can always be counted on for making you feel as though she is

 right there in the kitchen providing instructions, I thought this recipe was 

a particularly good (and much appreciated) example of this writing trait.   

It was also the reason why when I read her words about "this is 
easier to read than to do", as part of her instructions for rolling
 up the stuffed dough.....I actually got a bit scared :)  Luckily I had 
no problems creating the rolls and even opted out of chilling. 
I simply cut and baked after applying the egg wash and sugar. 

 It all worked like a charm and was far less labor intensive than
 anticipated. And it was well worth it. The cookie is phenomenal and 
was a huge hit in my house. It is easy to see how it "won over France". 
The dough is simply out of this world and we thoroughly enjoyed
 the filling's mixture of pecan, coconut, cherry and chocolate. 

The aroma alone is reason enough to make this cookie but the taste

 is simply out of this world. This may be my new favorite and will 

absolutely be gracing the holiday dessert table this season. 

Per Nana~

When I first read this recipe I knew it would be good. 
The combination of butter and cream cheese with a bit of flour made
 a wonderful dough that rolled out well after chilling it for two hours. 

The filling of coconut, chocolate, pecans and dried fruit only made it
 better. In my case I used golden raisins instead of cherries because that 
is what was on hand. Unfortunately, when I removed the rolls from the
 freezer after one hour they were so hard I could not cut them. 

They cracked and the filling was falling out. I did not understand how to 
arrange them on the cookie sheet "seam side down". I tried standing them
 up but they collapsed. Fortunately I only baked one tray that way and after seeing 
how that turned out I laid the rest of the slices down and had no trouble. 

I was amazed that the dough turned out so flaky. It looked like puff pastry. 
I plan to do these again before Christmas but I think if I chill the dough in the 
refrigerator it might be easier to slice, or perhaps I will make them in the
 traditional crescent shape. Not matter the shape of these cookies,
 they were so tasty we could not stop eating them. 

 Happy French Friday ~
This marks another recipe completed as we cook along with the "Tuesdays with Dorie" online group.  Please note that we do not post the recipes, per the group rules, but we do encourage others to RUN out and buy their own copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi".  Better yet, buy the book and join the group ! www.TuesdaysWithDorie.wordpress.com 

Tartine de Viande de Grisons

Per Nana~

The tartine that I prepared this week made me think of one of our favorite

 places in Paris called Le Rubis (1st Arr.) at 10 Rue du Marché Saint-Honoré. 

Jim and I made this a definite destination each time we visited Paris. 

After a day of sightseeing and walking all over town, 

we looked forward to relaxing a bit and would stop in 

Le Rubis in the late afternoon for a Kir Royale.  

We would order either the plat du fromage,which consisted of 

bread slathered with butter and slices of cheese spread on top, 

or a plate of country style bread with slices of charcuterie. 

It was so rustic, and absolutely delicious. 

For my tartine I used a hearty country bread, buttered and topped it 

with prosciutto. After adding walnuts I drizzled olive oil on top. I only

 prepared one tartine and served it as an appetizer before dinner. 

Simple, easy and very enjoyable.

Per Tricia~

In the midst of the holiday craziness I found that this recipe also 

had me reminiscing of Paris.  Or perhaps dreaming of a get away ? 

Either way, my mind focused on the bread as much as the toppings. 

I of course wish I could have used the famed pain Poilâne for this 

one but instead I got a hearty country loaf at the local grocery store. 

Luckily, like Nana, I was able to use my souvenir 

bread knife from a prior trip to the 6th Arr.  

A special treat was that I recently purchased a print of a Poilâne loaf

by the wonderful artist Mike Geno. He is a Philly local and a foodie at heart, 

but he has become well known for his portraits of cheese. Yes, cheese. 

They are glorious. Not one to be limited by a single food group, he has 

also done paintings of pastries, bacon and a few other delectables. 

Another favorite of mine was his cannelles painting, as I just recently made

 those little lovelies at home also. He is fabulous- do check out his link:

www.mikegeno.com

Now on to the tartine. With endless creative possibilities I opted to simply

 recreate the version Dorie shared with us. I would love to try the air dried beef 

(viande de grisons) she enjoyed but had to "settle" for prosciutto. The walnuts 

were a lovely addition and I drizzled walnut oil over top. Lovely, easy and a

 very good dinner along with some soup during these hectic holiday evenings.

Happy French Friday~

Taste Tester/Younger Son Chase, Tricia, Dorie, Nana

PS- for those not on Facebook, here is a shot from our visit to Dorie's 

book signing this week in Manhattan. It was phenomenal, just like her. 

Cranberry Crackle Tart ~ Tuesdays with Dorie

Per Tricia~

Team work in the kitchen involves splitting calories as well as work. 

 Nana graciously agreed to do the heavy lifting for Thanksgiving and 

delighted us with a spectacular meal. No surprise there.  We delivered 

the organic turkey from Vermont and she did the rest. Yes, we are

completely and utterly spoiled. And very thankful. 

My easy assignment ? Knock out the Cranberry Crackle Tart for the 

blog. Note to file, Nana is not a huge fan of cranberries but does make 

an outstanding orange relish with them each year. Just not tarts.

The recipe offers options regarding the type of crust to use and I chose the 

sweet tart dough (pâte sablée) for this go around. In fact, I recalled using 

Dorie's recipe for this crust before and promptly made a second batch that

 went right into the freezer. It is so easy to whip up and have on hand- 

all the more important with the holidays closing in.

crust baked, filling ready to be baked~

And even though we are all settled in our new home, I am months away 

from truly "finding" all the items stored and packed away in the process.

Case in point, my hand mixer and my pie weights. I crossed my fingers

 that the KitchenAid would do the trick for the meringue and it

thankfully delivered. For the pie weights I was more desperate creative-
 using my younger son's rock collection from several years back. 

Yes.

Yes I did. 

I have to say that I was a bit intimidated when first reading the recipe

 between the dough prep, the meringue and then incorporating whole 

cranberries -but it truly was not a difficult recipe and the results were fantastic. 

 My favorite moment was when my younger son walked into

 the kitchen and saw the finished creation. 

"Wow."

"Wow"

"Wow"

  "That's really something. What is it ?" 

In full disclosure, I had decided by the second "wow" that this was 

a "company worthy" dessert and that I had to remember this for the next 
time we have guests.  He looked completely incredulous that I could have 
caused such a creation to come out of the oven. I probably should have
 been insulted, but instead I reveled in the moment. Opportunities to 
impress do not come along as easily now that the boys are older :)

This was obviously a seasonal choice for us but the concept of mixing the 

fruit with the meringue and baking it over the crust that had been layered

 with jam is one that lends itself to change ups between the seasons. I look 

forward to playing around with this one as well as enjoying it again

 next year with the cranberries.

This marks our second recipe as we cook along with the "Tuesdays with Dorie" online group.  Please note that we do not post the recipes, per the group rules, but we do encourage others to RUN out and buy their own copy of Dorie Greenspan's "Baking Chez Moi".  Better yet, buy the book and join the group ! www.TuesdaysWithDorie.wordpress.com 

Béatrix's Red Kuri Soup (ode to)

Per Nana~

No red kuri squash to be found so I substituted butternut squash instead. 

This is definitely a winner, one of the best soups I've made. I've tasted

 butternut squash soup before but did not care for the flavor, however, 

I think the addition of the leeks really made this a truly scrumptious creamed soup. 

I prepared half the recipe, which was more than enough for us. 

After pureeing the soup in the food processor I thought it was 

too thick so I took Dorie's advice and added milk. 

For a garnish I prepared some garlic toasts and topped the 

soup with some goat cheese. We both agree that this will definitely be a 

repeat, it was so creamy and smooth- simply delicious. 

Per Tricia~

Like Nana, I also took inspiration from Dorie's Bonne Idée and went 

with the butternut squash. In lieu of the chestnuts, however, which Dorie 

explained when combined with the butternut squash resembles the 

flavor of the red kuru- I went with toasted pine nuts. 

The aroma in my kitchen was out of this world. We love a good 

creamy soup and this rich version hit the spot.  And made a ton !  

We tried it with toasted pine nuts sprinkled on top and then sent a 

version with a French baguette slice and Emmental cheese under the broiler. 

As expected, that was the way to go.  Yum.

 Since we have lots of left overs I plan to tweak spices and seasonings as we try

new each bowl. It is a perfect accompaniment for the delicious Thanksgiving 

leftovers. This will be a repeat for sure but I am also keeping my eye out of 

the elusive red kuri squash and can't wait to try its unusual flavor. 

A quick comment about Béatrix, though not the one Dorie named the 

soup after :) My older son turns 21 at midnight on this very French Friday. 

He was born in 1993, which happened to be the 100th anniversary of 

 Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit". His nursery was dubbed the 

"shrine to Beatrix Potter" and I could not believe the serendipity of MY 

selected theme having a monumental year just as MY first born needed

 a nursery. Well played indeed. And now the kismet of cooking a

 "Beatrix recipe"on his special day. The stars are aligned indeed. 

Neither boy ever did much care for the stories - but they did like this soup :)

Happy French Friday ~

Storzapretis

Per Nana~

 When I first read the recipe for this week's selection I knew this would be a winner. 

The combination of ricotta cheese and spinach is a favorite. 

 I love cannelloni stuffed with spinach, spinach ravioli, as well as fresh

 spinach simply sautéed with olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper. 

This recipe is a bit difficult to work with, everything must be handled gently. 

After boiling the water it must be returned to a simmer in order to cook the 

storzapretis or they will fall apart.  Just in case hubby decided he didn't care

 for the recipe, I had left over beef bourguignon for him. After I baked the

 storzapretis they looked and smelled fabulous and I knew I would love them.

 Guess what - Hubby did too. 

We have both decided that this is one of the best 

recipes from "Around My French Table".

Incidentally, Hubby calls them "ravioli without pasta". 

Good description. 

Per Tricia~

Sorry all, but this will be added to my make up roster. 

In the meantime I look forward to reading our fellow blogger's results ~

Happy French Friday !

Pan-Seared Duck Breasts without Kumquats

Per Nana~

This week's recipe is for pan-seared duck breast with kumquats. 

After reading of the difficulty other bloggers were having to find 

kumquats, I decided to use tangerines instead and hope they had

 enough flavor for the syrup. 

I did not have a fruity wine to use in the sauce so I substituted an 

aperitif wine called Dubonnet instead.  The sauce came together 

well and the taste was pleasant. 

I really enjoyed the duck with the slices of citrus, they really 

complimented each other perfectly. This is definitely a recipe I 

will be repeating, knowing how easy and simple it is to prepare. 

Per Tricia~

My family has really enjoyed the duck recipes from Dorie Greenspan's 

"Around My French Table" and this week was no exception. 

Although I was disappointed to not locate fresh kumquats, I am now

 having fun keeping my eyes open so I can taste them when they are in season.  

My favorite moment of the kumquat hunt was when the salesperson in

my local produce market explained that they "had lots of weird ingredients,

 just not the weird stuff you want". Fair enough. 

In a completely different direction, but still citrus flavored, 

I simply subbed canned mandarin oranges.

 Sacrilege.

 And yummy.

 I drained the cans and just followed the recipe. I also used the delicious 

Saratoga Olive Oil Company's balsamic vinegar which I scored the last 

time I was visiting fellow Dorista, Cher (www.crazyworldofcher.blogspot.com).  

Need to get back up their with Nana to visit both :)

 Another fun revelation this week was that you could buy small

 containers of wine which are effectively "juice boxes" for adults. 

I had never seen containers so small - about 2 cups. Fabulous for 

needs like this recipe, though the salesclerk did not seem to 

appreciate my "juice box" reference. 

As expected the recipe was straight forward, easy and the results delicious. 

I unfortunately gave my duck a bit too much heat or time in the pan and 

it was cooked more than I aimed for, but still very good. The taste testers were 

delighted and we will gladly revisit this one again. Hopefully with kumquats. 

Happy French Friday ~