Waffles and Cream

Per Nana~

If I made the batter for waffles but ended up making crepes,

 does it still count as completing this week's recipe ?

Only kidding, of course. 

I used the old waffle iron that had belonged to Jim's mother, purchased 

around 1950/1960. I had used it for the first time only a few months ago 

when we made the waffles and lox recipe and had no problems. 

Unfortunately, after I poured the batter in this time, it lost power and quit. 

Since I had used only one ladle of the batter I had to think fast

 before the egg whites collapsed. Out came the crepe pan which

 I heated quickly and made five lovely and delicious crepes. 

 I am going to order the waffle plates to go with my Cuisinart panini 

griddle so I can enjoy this delicious batter as waffles next time. 

Per Tricia~

These waffles were not good. 

They were amazing. 

Dorie shared that she was lucky enough to get a copy of this 

recipe from the chef of the Parisian restaurant where she first enjoyed

 them. And it was then it was lucky for us that she shared it as well. 

I served mine with homemade whipped cream, golden sugar and

 then small bowls of warm caramel sauce for dipping. Delicious. 

Typically these recipes have inspired me to use ingredients in a new way 

or to try a new technique but for this week I got a well needed reminder

 at how wonderful it is to enjoy waffles at home. Especially with this recipe. 

PS- I am going to make a deal with Nana to lend her my waffle iron (LOL, which

 she of course gave me.....) if she will make me some of those crepes. YUM !!!

Happy French Friday ~

Next-Day Beef Salad

Per Nana~

On Sunday I prepared a pot roast and used a portion of the top round 

to make this delicious salad. The dressing mixture, using mayonnaise 

and two different types of mustard is really good.  

As delicious as it was when freshly made, it was even better 

the next day when all the flavors had blended together.  

This would be a wonderful addition to a summer barbecue, or any dinner 

for that matter. It is really refreshing. Jim gives this one two thumbs up. 

Per Tricia~

This one was another of Dorie's "non recipe" recipes. 

She basically was sharing a wonderful medley she came up with based on 

left overs. Roast beef cubes, capers,  green olives, tomatoes, tart diced apple, 

pickled peppers, cornichons, etc - on a bed of greens. I chose baby spinach.  

We enjoyed the prescribed combo very much but just as importantly, 

Dorie once again inspired me to be re-think using what is on hand - 

showing just how appreciated left overs can be when you are creative.  

 Happy French Friday~

Crispy-Topped Brown Sugar Bars ~ Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana ~

This was an incredible dessert bar and so easy to assemble. 

Definitely a little dessert that can be put together quickly, having 

most of the ingredients on hand. As Dorie mentions, when the

 chocolate is spread on the base, your toppings can be varied. 

When I was cutting them into squares the aroma of the 

chocolate was so strong, I could not resist tasting a piece.

 Absolutely scrumptious. 

Definitely a repeat recipe to be experimented with. These

 would be a great addition to any cookie recipe collection. 

Per Tricia ~

Yum. 

Crazy yum. 

I can not stop raving about this book- Baking Chez Moi- because every 

recipe (granted, all desserts.....) has been a distinct winner. And even 

among that competition, this recipe may have taken the lead. 

-----------

Rice Krispy treats are almost an embarrassing love of mine. 

Not many people are impressed if you list them as your favorite food but 

the truth is, I just love the treat. I did not expect to get any tips 

involving Rice Krispys from Dorie's book not only provided the bar

 recipe but tips in the back about prepping the cereal with sugar on the stove.

 Genius. Pure sugar genius. 

I used bittersweet morsels typically for making chocolate chips.  

This dessert bar is basically like a chocolate chip cookie separated in bar 

form - plain cookie, then chocolate coating, then sugar coated Rice Krispy on top. 

Heaven.

Winner, keeper, two thumbs up.

Côte d'Azur Cure-All Soup

 

Per Nana~

This week's recipe reminds me of Stracciatella, except for the added garlic. 

A simple soup to make, the most tedious part was prepping the garlic, removing 

the germ and thinly slicing it. When the soup was completely cooked, I thought 

about removing the garlic pieces but used a blender to puree them instead. 

As delicious as this soup was, and we both enjoyed it, the after taste of the garlic 

was a bit too strong. I use garlic all the time for cooking purposes, but not in 

such quantity. That said, I do not think this will be a recipe I will be repeating.

Per Tricia~

I got a kick  out of this recipe because I had utterly no idea what to expect. 

A "cure-all" is not typically synonymous with "yummy" and with these ingredients

 ....I frankly set the bar pretty low. Basically you slice up lots of garlic, add 

water with a very few herbs and later add an egg yolk/Parmesan cheese 

mixture to thicken it up. Nope, this was new territory for me in the kitchen. 

I had shredded Parmesan on hand and went with that.  I was happy 

to give the soup a taste test and very pleasantly surprised by the results.  

The kicker is that if I simply was making soup, I would not reach for this recipe. 

If I needed something while recouping from a cold or hangover ,which is the point 

of this one, well then count me in.  And since I always have the ingredients on

 hand, it has a fighting chance to actually be made :)

 My hubby tasted it (without me exposing the ingredients) and while he guessed the

 garlic, he kept saying it tasted buttery and very creamy. We had fun with this one.

Happy French Friday ~

Veal Marengo & Financiers

                 

Per Nana~

A fantastic recipe, even though I made it with beef. 

Sautéing the small onions, mushrooms and potatoes in

 butter after cooking them was absolutely delightful. 

As we like to say, it gave it that extra "je ne said quoi".  

Because I used beef instead of the veal I had to add some extra cooking

 time, and a bit more liquid. Jim has already stated he would like this 

again, and I will definitely try to find a veal shoulder next time. 

Per Tricia~

I made this recipe last weekend after we had yet another snowstorm,

 and it was perfect comfort food.  I could not believe my luck at finding 

small onions (product of France, no less) in our local Acme Market.

 The veal came from the local butcher shop and was thankfully cubed for me. 

I had the pleasure of my younger taste tester being home for Spring Break 

and he gave two thumbs way up for this dish. In full disclosure, he is still

 getting used to both dorm food and then paying for other meals so he likely

 would have enjoyed any page out of the book. My husband and I also

 enjoyed it and liked the idea of a "stew" being changed up a bit. 

I also decided to do a make up recipe of the financier cookies. 

A financier pan is one of the few baking pans I have not treated myself 

to ......but I found the madeleine pans were a perfect substitute. 

They have gotten more play this week than ever before !

 The browned butter (beurre noisette) smelled heavenly and really added

 a wonderful flavor to this cake/cookie. I finished some in chocolate

 ganache and toasted coconut while others got a dose of the lemon 

glaze left from our recent Baking Chez Moi adventure. They were 

delicious and we all agreed the browned butter was a new favorite. 

Happy French Friday ~

Lemon Madeleines - Baking Chez Moi

Per Nana~

This week's recipe for Lemon Madeleines was so delicious, the texture so light. 

Last week I did a make-up for FFWD and chose the Honey-Spiced Madeleines

 - not realizing we were to do them again for BCM. After reading over the 

recipe for the Honey-Spiced version I realized the difference is in the amount 

of time used for whisking the eggs and sugars (plus the different spices, of course). 

The lemon cakes are beaten until they thicken, making them light and airy. 

My little cakes did not come with the "bump" that Dorie mentioned, but they 

looked pretty good. I wasn't too sure about glazing them, I had never attempted 

that before on these cookies, but the end result was wonderful.  All in all, 

Jim and I loved them and I definitely plan to try other variations. 

Per Tricia~

Lemon is one of my favor flavors.  I will never forget the dinner party when 

my friend Eva showed up at my door with a homemade 3 layer lemon cake 

with gorgeous blackberries on top. I have no idea what I served that night, 

all I can remember is that insanely gorgeous and delicious cake SHE made. 
YUM.

Yes, these little cookies had a lot going for them. Having also done the

 Honey Spiced Madeleine make up last week I recognized how much more

 I preferred this little cookie/cake in the more traditional lemon version. 

I think it suits the lightness of the texture. 

Dorie's recipe made 12 cookies exactly for me but somehow I managed

 to mess up the thickness of the glaze because while tasting wonderful, 

mine was not as thick as it likely should have been. It soaked right into the

 little madeleines and was basically invisible. But tasted delicious.

 Next time I need to cool them longer or thicken up the coating. 

Or both. 

Because there will be a next time with these little lovelies. 

Cabbage and Foie Gras Bundles & Honey Spiced Madeleines

                 

 Cabbage and Foie Gras Bundles

Per Nana~

This week's recipe for cabbage and foie gras bundles was a bit of a challenge.  

Knowing I would not find the proper ingredients I considered skipping it 

altogether, but then I decided it was more important to learn a new technique. 

I knew that foie gras was out of the question but cabbage ? Wegmans had no 

Savoy or regular cabbage except this cute mini cabbage, which incidentally

 worked perfectly, size wise.  I paired that with a foie gras mousse. 

The recipe is simple and I served it at Happy Hour. Life is good..... 

I am sure with real foie gras it would be amazing. 

Per Tricia

I finished off the last of my stash of terrines from the Loire Valley,

 recalling wonderful memories in lieu of the cost prohibitive foie gras. 

This one had my curiosity piqued because it seemed like such an unusual pairing.

 Once I started assembling the little bundles I could not help but think that

 rice should have been added into the bundle. It seemed familiar and yet I 

could not place the recipe I was thinking of. I Googled and found that I 

ironically just enjoyed my first "Galumpkis" or stuffed cabbage roll in 

December while eating dinner in a NY City Deli across the street from 

where we were visiting Dorie on her book tour. Yes, there was a

 cabbage roll connection and Dorie was involved in both parts :) 

 Regardless of any preconceptions, the aroma was wonderful as these steamed. 

My husband and I were surprised by how tasty they were, though we did 

agree that a bit of rice would have been a nice addition for us since would 

have preferred them more as a main dish than hors d'oeuvre. 

Honey Spiced Madeleines

 Per Nana~

I have never made Madeleines before and the process was simple, but

 while going over recipes for future weeks, I realized that next week for 

"Baking Chez Moi" we will be making the lemon flavored Madeleines.  

Doesn't really matter, Jim and I thought these were terrific.

Per Tricia~

I have not made Madeleines in quite some time and evidently I am 

now making up for it. They are a fun cookie/cake and getting the pans

 out to do this week's recipe and prepare for the lemon version next

 Tuesday reminded me that I really should make them more frequently. 

From my memory I had recalled prepping the pans to be a bit of a fussy step.

 I am not sure that I haven't simply encountered more challenging recipes in

 recent days or what, but it didn't strike me as a big deal at all this time around.

 My husband liked the honey spice flavoring and they were certainly

 delicious, but I find that I am partial to the usual lemon flavored ones 

I have made before. So I am very much looking forward to this 

coming week and trying the recipe from "Baking Chez Moi". 

And my husband is looking forward to more Madeleines....

Happy French Friday ~