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Celine's Cuisine

Cool Guys....Wordpress here I am

I have been using Blogger for 2 years now, it was nice at the beginning but lately I felt frustrated by the not that friendly user system they offer, it was taken me hours and days to get answers to my questions, and when you are not a " computer" person you need easy stuff.. not complicated. My husband raved about Wordpress telling me that it would be perfect for my blog.After some thoughts and great reviews I decided to switch to Wordpress today, my new Blog is http://celinescuisine.wordpress.com/, check their cool picture and Story Wordpress Our Story

Make Sunday, Crepes Day!

Sometimes routines are good. I do not have really routines when I cook for my family. I have a Menu for each week and I make my Shopping list before going to the grocery shop and Farmer's Market, but if I see beautiful Artichokes, Spinach, cauliflower, Organic meat, fresh eggs I may end up buying them to add up into my menu!
But since we moved to our new house I instored a Crepes Day! This is so great, easy, delicious and fun!
Every Sunday morning I make the Crepes batter, then put the batter in the fridge, and then around 5-6 pm I am starting to cook them.
The smell of Crepes in the pan ... is so yummy and addictive! No need to call everybody to have them ready to eat they asking about the crepes as soon as they smell them.Then everyone can fill them up with what they want it can be sweet or Savory or both! Crepes are so versatiles. My husband like them with sugar, my kids with Nutella, I prefer mine folded into squares stuffed with Gruyere... and then the last one with sugar and cherries or any fruits ...
I know when kids are all grown up, they will remember Sunday as Crepes day
We have them with hot cocoa, or Cafe au Lait. My husband is the one crazy about Crepes I never make enough, he can eat 10 in a row and not getting any pound!

French Crepes
3 eggs
1-1/4 C. flour shifted
2-1/4 C. milk
2 Tbsp. melted butter, plus more to cook the crepes in
1 tsp. salt
Preheat a pan (Crepe pan or an 8 inch non-stick pan) over medium heat. Mix eggs and a cup of the milk. Add in dry ingredients. Mix quickly. Add in the rest of the milk and melted butter; combine well. You can use also a blender. This is a very thin batter, not like pancakes. Set aside for at least 20 minutes
Put a generous bit of butter (I cut the end of a butter stick and roll it into my hot pan.) Once it is melted, pour about 1/4 cup batter into the pan. Let the Crepe cook for about one minute until golden, then flip and cook on other side about one minute . Can it be more simple that that?
Put butter in the pan each time you cook another crepes..

How do you like your crepes?

Falafel

When I was living in New York city I worked in the Village. One of my favorite place in the entire world, Everyday on my way to work, I passed by a little middle Estearn restaurant called Mamnou's Falafel
the smell in front of the restaurant was very exotic. a friend of mine told me about this place and raved about their Falafel. Falafel??? I had no clue what it was… and actually I never stopped and eat at that restaurant, What a shame! Today some 15 years later I was craving for the smell I loved so much…
The actual origins of falafel are not certain; according to the Hebrew-language paper, Ynetnews, "A possible theory suggests falafel was invented some 1000 years ago by the Egyptian Copts, who brought it with them to the rest of the Middle East."[3] Originally made with fava beans in Egypt, the dish later migrated northwards, where chickpeas were introduced instead.[2] The chickpea was used as a food item in the Levant before 4000 BC.[4]

I found a great Recipe on the New York Times

The classic recipe calls for Pita or flat bread, I used Flour Tortilla ( hey I live in Southern California! i stuffed it with , lettuce, fresh parsley, lamb sausage cut in small pieces and as a sauce I mixed TJ's Greek Style yogurt, grated fresh garlic and their famous Organic Creamy blue cheese dressing!
Results? the smell in my kitchen was not the same as I am dreaming about, but when I put my nose just above them I could smell something great. The discovery of Falafel was worth it, it is very nutritious, exotic, and light and really good and tasty calling for a little Escapade in New York or Middle Eastern....

ARV IDYLL

I can hear you asking in front of your computer" What's that???Arv Idyll I can't even say it. Is is a new recipe from Celine's Cuisine?
No I am not going to share a recipe today only some thoughts about my Ikea's China...

When it comes to china, plates, bowls, glasses and any accessories for my Kitchen this is hard to resist from Ikea’s Stores. I try not going to much because every time I go, I pick things I am not even sure I need but I love Ikea and the Scandinavian Atmosphere. Once, I stepped into their stire I am like Alice in Wonderland, I do not know if this is the smell of their Swedish meatballs or their Cramberries.....In my former life I am sure I lived in Sweeden, on a little island, surrounded by trees, wood , living in a small little white cottage. Everything inside is white too, the wooden floor, the table....Yes I love the Scandinavian Way of life ( the Good way because some people think that they drink and smoke too much) , a respect for the earth and nature, a simple, natural life, they ride bikes, they eat healthy, they have cozy homes for harsh winters, I like their decoration the old and the new style. And of my favorite Blog is still chez Larsson that I consult on a daily basis.


Today I wanted to share with you my daily China: Cream and Dark Blue, prefect for my little cottage... Bowls, Plates and soup plates.. so lovely on my wooden kitchen table with candles, linen napkins, raffia caraffe....
My pictures may look not warm and even little austere but my table setting is always warm and even funny ( forks placed on the wrong side...something is alays missing...). Our meals are always fun and active we play " I spy" with the kids while eating, we play spelling names, we play with colors and shapes of food...
We do not use plastic plates or fork and not paper napkin... never even for pinic I bring sometimes heavy stuff but lately I noticed Bamboo picnic plates and forks..another post soon!

What is your Daily China?




My Daily China ARV IDYLL at Ikea

What's for Lunch?

Vegetable Fish Tuna cakes



I know , here in the States people have really a big meal at dinner time and that's it.In France we have 2 big meals 1 for lunch ( it takes 2 hours between the starter, main, the dessert the Expresso and reading the newspaper or smoking a cigarette), and for diner: soup, main , and dessert.
But we do not eat between meals " on ne grignote pas entre les repas", this is why we need to eat our lunch. For lunch here in the States people eat salads, sandwich... what ever they can eat and working at the same time... or driving at the same time.
We sticked with the French tradition and if sometimes we have sandwich or salad at lunch usually I use Leftovers for a complete meal. Monday my kids did not have school and I needed something quick and good for them. It as noon. Nothing was done and I had no idea about the menu! I opened my fridge, and my pantry : Zuchinis, sweet potatoes, eggs and Tuna! Voila I decided to make healthy Vegetable Tuna Fish cakes.
I grated all the vegetables and when they were cooked I added my Tuna.
Then I mixed with eggs and little of Rice flour.... the result was beautiful and declicious. My kids who never had it before were telling me " C'est bon" my son emptied his plate in 5 minutes.

My Zuchinis, swet potatoes and tuna Fish cakes
Ingredients



2 tbsp Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, crushed
1 red Onion, finely chopped
4 Organic Sweet Potatoes peeled and grated
6 small Organic Zuchinis peeled and grated
2 tins Tuna, drained
Fresh Parsley, shredded
Salt & Pepper
Rice Flour
25g Butter
1 egg







Method



In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and gently fry the garlic, onion for 2-3 minutes, add zuchini and sweet potatoes. Pour un a large bowl and set aside
Add the tuna , to the bowl and mix well. Season well with salt & pepper. Mix everything with one egg.
Take a rounded tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball in your hands. Flatten into a 'cake' and roll in the Rice Flour to coat. Repeat with remaining mixture.
Take the frying pan and melt the butter. Fry the fishcakes for a couple of minutes on each side until golden.

Recipe approved and tested by kids!

My new kitchen, my new home-office, my new life

My Home-Office


My Kitchen with my kids art display

One month ago we found a lovely house for rent, in the same City we have been living for 3 years already! It was love at the first-sight. As soon as I opened the beautiful Hacienda-wooden style front door I entered a dream house with huge windows, high ceiling, 3 fireplaces, beautiful wooden floor, an amazing garden with luxuriant trees and plants and a beautiful swimming pool ideal to cool off during the very hot Summer we can’t tolerate in the Inland Valley anymore, now the kids are getting older and they learn swimming.
We are almost settled and it is always a pleasure to live every second in this house. We all love it!
I have my Home office right in the Family room near the kitchen, when I open the French Door nearby I have a view on the garden and I can hear the birds singing, the water of the water pool… I LOVE it!
This should be the best place to work, write my new recipes, write new columns in local magazines and promote my business… stay tuned and I tell you more about it soon!

Daring Bakers- Feb challenge Chocolate Valentino with Classic Vanilla Ice Cream

My husband is the Ice Cream man in the family! He is the one who bought the Ice cream maker few years ago and it is him who has been in charge of incredible Orange Ice creams. But last year I had an amazaing Strawberry Sorbet experience at Chez Panisse and I started enjoying some ice cream/ sorbet creations .So I was happy to see the new Daring Bakers challenge with Vanilla Ice cream. I love this challenge no too demanding in the kitchen easy to realize with ingredients you have in your friedge and your pantry and at the end you have created someting that you may never have. This is why I love DB challenges because you make things you do not usually make.
So this morning I started to make the Ice cream since I needed few hours to freeze it. I knew right away that the Whipped cream with the egg custard would be fantastic and it was. This ice cream as so rich, creamy and delicious. The cake was a little dry I left it a few extra minutes in the oven but all together it was a pure delight!
Thanks Daring Bakers another lovely challenge I enjoyed tremendously!


THE RECIPES

Chocolate Valentino
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter. {link of folding demonstration}
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

Dharm's Ice Cream Recipe
Classic Vanilla Ice Cream
Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Recipe comes from the Ice Cream Book by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis (tested modifications and notes in parentheses by Dharm)

Ingredients
1 Vanilla Pod (or substitute with vanilla extract)
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Semi Skimmed Milk – in the U.S. this is 2% fat (or use fresh full fat milk that is pasteurised and homogenised {as opposed to canned or powdered}). Dharm used whole milk.
4 large egg yolks
75g / 3oz / 6 tbsp caster sugar {superfine sugar can be achieved in a food processor or use regular granulated sugar}
5ml / 1 tsp corn flour {cornstarch}
300ml / ½ pint / 1 ¼ cups Double Cream (48% butter fat) {in the U.S. heavy cream is 37% fat)
{you can easily increase your cream's fat content by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream with 3 Tbs of butter until melted - cool to room temperature and add to the heavy cream as soon as whisk marks appear in the cream, in a slow steady stream, with the mixer on low speed. Raise speed and continue whipping the cream) or use heavy cream the difference will be in the creaminess of the ice cream.

1. Using a small knife slit the vanilla pod lengthways. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan, add the vanilla pod and bring to the boil. Remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse
Lift the vanilla pod up. Holding it over the pan, scrape the black seeds out of the pod with a small knife so that they fall back into the milk. SET the vanilla pod aside and bring the milk back to the boil.
2. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and corn-flour in a bowl until the mixture is thick and foamy. 3. Gradually pour in the hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the pan and cook over a gentle hear, stirring all the time
4. When the custard thickens and is smooth, pour it back into the bowl. Cool it then chill.
5. By Hand: Whip the cream until it has thickened but still falls from a spoon. Fold it into the custard and pour into a plastic tub or similar freeze-proof container. Freeze for 6 hours or until firm enough to scoop, beating it twice (during the freezing process – to get smoother ice cream or else the ice cream will be icy and coarse)
By Using and Ice Cream Maker: Stir the cream into the custard and churn the mixture until thick (follow instructions on your ice cream maker)

OH! un poivrier in my Garden!

Between the houses searching, the packing, the moving and the unpacking plus my son knocked out his front teeth, I was not able to maintain my Blog!
So indeed last week we've moved to another house. While touring the nice, large and private backyard my friend Jocelyne told me we had some 3 " Poivriers" in the garden, these trees provide peppercorn! She also said that when it's blooming the scent is wonderful.
I thought it will be great to go outside my garden and take some fresh peppercorn from my garden what a treat!

A bientot!

Sexy Paris Hilton eating an hamburger

I know there was a controversy about Paris Hilton eating a huge hamburger in a swimsuit. I am not offended.Not at all. And you?
Do you know when I am offended? When waiting at a red traffic light and on my side I can see someone seating in her car and eating in the most disgusting way its hamburger at 9 am in the morning.... Yesterday I watched that for 5 minutes... yes the red traffic light was pretty long and I was opset because I was late for an apointment. And from the angle of my eyes I saw this women ( she was huge... but this is the truth) eating and enjoying every bite of her hamburger, once in a whille she was cleaning up some driping sauce over her T-shirt. Yes I was offended. It made me sick. I think America can do better than that....

My Little So-Cal Sushine Salad

Rain, rain, Rain clouds, gray, black.... yes you are in Southern California and it is raining!
So I made a delicious simple salad yellow, and golden for a little sunshine in our plates!


Oranges, Dates and Hearts of Palm with Honey Citrus vinaigrette
-8 TO 12 ounces canned hearts of palm sliced
- 5 fresh dates cut in small pieces
- 2 fresh Organic Navel oranges peeled
- Fresh pepper

Honey citrus vinaigrette- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tbspoon Olive oil
- 3 tabspoon fresh squeezed oarange juice
- 1 tbspoon Honey

In a medium bowl, add salad items and vinaigrette items. Toss until coated.
Arrange salad mixture on serving plates.

If you close you eyes when teating this salad you can go exotic... this is a salad you may eat in Morroco too where Palm trees, Dates and oranges grow everywhere a little like here in Southern California. Southern California as so much in commun with Morroco: same climate, weather, vegetation, even landscape....

How do you like your Eggs- The Game

I love fresh eggs. I always have 2 Dozen of Eggs in my fridge. I use them for my Creme Caramel, for my omelets, my Fritata, my Quiches.... you name it.

Last time I made Oeufs Cocotte or Bakes Eggs.
Oeuf Cocotte I love this name! It is just an Egg cooked in a ramekin with any ingredients you like. You can also top it with grated cheese. You bake it in the Oven or the Microwave. I like to cook it in a Traditional Oven.
I serve it usually for Dinner but this is can be great for a light lunch with a Salad or Sunday Brunch.

Celine's Oeufs Cocotte
2 servings

- Butter to grease the Ramekins
- 2 tablespoons of Heavy Cream or Creme Fraiche
- 2 Proscuitto Ham slides, cut in tiny pieces
-2 Organic Free Range Eggs
- 1 cup Organic cooked Spinach
- 1 cup grounded Gruyere, Cheddar and Mozarella mix
- Sea Coarse
- Freshly Ground pepper

- Buttered crispy toasted bread

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two 6 ramekins with butter. Put your ham, Spinach in the ramekin. Break one egg per ramekin without rupturing the yolks, top with your cheese, salt and pepper.

Place the ramekins in a baking dish and place it in the oven for 15 minutes, depending on how you like your eggs, soft, running or harder.
When ready serve it with crsty buttered toasted bread for dipping.

This is a also a great dish for kids, very complete and healthy too!

THE GAME!

The game is easy.You publish on your Blog the recipe related to your favorite “ Egg recipe” with a link to this game.
You leave a comment on this post with a link to your recipe. You e-mail me your picture by e-mail
Email me! with the name of your Blog and your URL.
Before March 10, 2009.
I will publish all the Recap of your Eggs Recipes.

Delicacy for Royalty

Last week at the local Temecula Farmer's Market I stopped at the " Dates" booth. The dates displayed looked so good, I had to get some.
Once I arrived at home I could not resist eating one. It was out of this world, sweet, smooth,creamy almost like honey. I had,1 and 2 and 3. Then I stopped I wanted to show you these beauties.



Originally from Morocco, the Medjool Date was reserved for royal hosts and other dignitaries. Centuries later, in the 1920's, disease threatened the existence of the Medjool Date in Morocco. In a radical move to save the Medjool, the Chariff of Morocco gave the United States, 11 immature palms to replant

Dates may be the oldest tree crop cultivated by man. More that 5,000 years ago this valuable food plant helped sustain desert peoples and nomadic wanderers of the Middle East and North Africa. Dates were also considered a delicacy and served by royalty. Dates were introduced in California in the 18th century by Spanish missionaries. At times, dates are referred to as the "candy that grows on trees."

'Medjool'—formerly exported from Morocco; 11 off-shoots imported into California from Bou Denib oases in French Morocco in 1927; is now marketed as a deluxe date in California; is large, soft, and luscious .

This is a real treat, eating those dates almost from the trees is fantastic. What makes me sad is that only few people know how we have great stuff in Southern California, they do not know how to appreciate it... dates are good for your body rich in vitamins and calories a handful is equivalent to an entire meal. it provide energy and they are easy to take with you everywhere!
Stop eating processed snacks you have the best handy almost in your gardenyard.

BEST OF 2008 and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Best of 2008

Tout d'abord, let me offer you my sincere wishes for a Delicious New Year: may you and yours be healthy, wealthy, safe, happy, and well fed throughout thw new Year 2009

I'd like also to take a moment to say Bye- Bye to 2008, and reflect on the good things it has brought.

Beside the concretization of hands-on Cooking Classes with the Murrieta Community Center, beside some great Private Cooking Parties I conducted in different spots in Southern California, beside my Blog writing consistency, displayed Recipes and columns in local magazines, my soon Website launched, a great trip to SF with our best friends, my comeback to Yoga with Sophie’s Classes, my kids now at school for few hours per day, and finding old friends via Facebook, here below, in no particular order, a list of things that have marked my year:



Favorite new recipe: Pate a choux, for Chouquettes, Choux a la Crème, Gougeres.. Mes Chouquettes

Favorite beautiful French food Blogs : Chez Garance - B comme Bon

Favorite Greenest new habits: using reusable shopping bags, using Lemon/ Vinegar/ Baking Soda to clean everything in my home, getting rid of Plastic Containers, keeping all glass jar to keep and organize things in and around the kitchen.

Favorite new dip : Spinach Artichoke Dip From Trader Joe’s

Most inspiring Food Blog exchange: Laurie, Elra and Flo Dalla Mia Cucina, Elra’s Baking , Bretzel et Cafe Creme

Favorite non food-related reads: Betina at Chez Larsson

Favorite new toy: KitchenAid Stand mixer 5 QT

Favorite new hobby Book : Simple Sewing by Lotta

Favorite restaurant: Chez Panisse

share your own best of 2008 list? The comment section is all yours!

Healthy Snack from Spain

Galettes croquantes et craquantes

Long time ago I saw an article in a French Magazine Elle or Marie Claire I do not remember about some " Galettes a l'huile d'olive" and the article was raving about these tryly delicious snack, at this time it was available in a single shop in Paris, but I was living in NYC.
Last week while strolling at Henry's Market in Temecula, completly by chance I saw packs of "Tortas de aceite" from Spain made with Olive Oil. It reminds me the "galettes" I rad about years ago. I bought one pack and brought it back home. I had the first Galetta with some tea. It was light, crispy, delicious. I am keeping the parchment paper they use to wrap up each galetta, I can use use for my baking or to keep some homemade cookies fresh.
Now everytime I go to Henry's Market I get more galettas, I can't help it!
The ingredients are really natural, this is a no processed food perfect for a morning coffee, afternoon tea, late snack...
I am sure that Laurie from
Dalla Mia Cucina will love that!

My Birthday's Cake.

Yesterday was my birthday. And I felt great about it. Actually instead of feeling down at the end because I was one year older I felt relaxed and 5 years younger?
I am going to share my secret. My day evolved in different layers. First J. made my breakfast, then he was completly in charge of the kids for the day. I went to the famous Glen Ivy SPA . On the day of your birthday the entrance is free.
And I was so lucky that the weather was warm enough to just relax on long chairs nearby the floating pools while reading my Body and Soul Magazine.
I used the sauna, the steam room, the pools, the Club Mud...For lunch I sat under the palm trees with a delicious Citrus and Shrimp Salad for only $ 14.
At the end of the day ( I stayed from 10.30 am to 3 pm), you take a shower with a complimentary exofoliant and you shower with products from the SPA.
I felt completly relaxed, and quiet.
When I came home J. was working with the kids on some wrapping paper decoration for my gift ( a Cookbook) and then later they bake my birthday cake. A yogurt Cake.
He got the recipe from the famous
Chocolate & Zuchini

Gâteau au Yaourt

- 2 eggs
- 250ml (1 cup) whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt (if you use two 125ml or 4oz tubs, you can use them to measure out the rest of the ingredients)
- 200g (1 cup) sugar (you can use an empty tub of yogurt and measure the equivalent of 2 yogurt tubs if you used the 125ml or 4oz kind)
- 80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil (or a bit less than 1 yogurt tub)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (or 4 yogurt tubs)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla paste/extract
- 1 tablespoon light rum

Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round 25-cm (10-inch) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and rum. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together -- don't overwork the dough. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.

I had some frosting left from my Yug Log they used it and decorate with whatever was available in the fridge and the pantry for a festive Birthday' Cake.
I open other presents from my friends: Japanese lovely blue spoons, thank you Kumi. A lovely blue satin purse for my bag, thank you Joanie and a cute necklage/ earings duo from Stephanie. Thank you all.
It was a wonderfull birthday, may be the best thanks to my husband and my wonderful and my friends. I feel lucky.

Californian Christmas with a French Twist

I love Christmas holidays: All the anticipation, the expectation, the cookies, the chocolate, the Christmas tree trimming, the lights decoration, the chestnut Stuffed Turkey, the Yug Log ( Buche de Noel), the gifts and my kids’ smile in front of all their presents..
This year we had some cold-cool days before Christmas, so it was nice having some real wooden logs burning in the fireplace, hot cocoa and waqtching some old French Movies.
For Christmas' Eve we had a small dinner over our home. Nathalie and Jean Marie and their daughter Lili joined us. It was a nice, quiet, and very fun evening as usual when we are spend time with them since we are from the same hometown in France we have so many things and memories in common.
I wanted to cook a Traditional French Christmas Dinner for 4. The kids ate before us a simple but delicious Cheese omelet with French beans.

For the Aperitif, we drank some French Champagne I had some Kir Royal (Champagne with blueberries liquor). With this I served some Goat cheese crostinis ( goat cheese spread on fresh bread, with sea salt, thyme and olive oil, broiled in the oven for 6 minutes. Then we had some Mini Quiches from TJ's.


Christmas ' 08 menu

- Watercress soup served with Crème Fraiche
- Free Range Turkey stuffed with Chestnuts, sausage, liver, herbs and cognac.
- French beans with toasted almonds
- Gratin Dauphinois ( actually it stayed in the oven I forgot to serve it)
- Chestnut cooked in the Turkey gravy
- Belgian Endive salad with Roquefort and walnuts
- French cheeses assortments
- 2 Yog Lugs or Buches de Noel. One with berries and Litchis and the other one with Chestnut and crème de marron a la Vanille .
- Coffee served with homemade Mignardises ( Mendiants, Orangettes and Chocolate Croquants)

Verdict: It was a good meal. Not too heavy. We drank also some delicious Californian and French WinesIt was a wonderful prelude for a long Christmas Day with kids at home in our pajamas!

Tarte aux oignons, herbes, tapenade et Roquefort

Finaly we have been seeing some "Winter" symptoms lately in Southern California. I can't stand having 85 F during the Holidays Season. It does not make sense to me. So when this is gray, chilly, windy outside I enjoy it!

We will trim our Christmas tree later today, my husband put some of the outside lightnings yesterday afternoon. The houses are pretty big and huge here so it takes some time to put everything together. We may go also for a ride to see all the beautiful Christmas decoration of everyone's house too tonight.

For last night dinner I had some Pastry Puff in the fridge resting ( Artisan from TJ's). I looked in my fridge: I had 1 onion, heavy cream, Ricotta cheese, Green and Black Tapenade and some Roquefor cheese rest and Thym herbs.

So I decided to serve this tart for dinner with a Oganic green slad, walnuts, fresh pears with Huile de Noix .

The result: A-M-A-Z- I-N-G... creamy, tasty so delicious. The marriage with the salad/ fruit/ nuts was all perfect... too bad we did not have any wine left... but it was a wonderful satisfiying meal.

Tarte aux oignons, herbes, tapenade and Roquefort - Onion tart with herbs, tapenade spread and Roquefort cheese.

- 1 Puff Pastry ( Artisan TJ's)

- 1 cup heavy Cream

- 1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

-1/2 cup green/ black olive tapenade

- Salt

-pepper

- 1 teaspoon flour

- Roquefort cheese crumble

- Butter

1 onion finaly sliced

Preheat an oven 360 F

Press your puff pastry into a a pan quiche or tart.

In a large pan add butter to brown a little add the onion slices. Cook until translucide. When it is ligthly brown add the flour and mix all together. Then add the heavy cream, salt and pepper.

Transfer this mixture into the puff pastty pan, on the top add tapenade, Ricotta, and Roquefort cheese.

Bake the tart until brown.

On the side:

- Organic green salad

- Walnuts oil

- Walnuts

- Fresh pear sliced

- Salt

-Pepper

One salad/ bowl per person. Spread the salad, top ith walnuts, pears slices, sprinkle pepper and salt then finish with your Walnut oil.

DB' November Challenge: CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

For the first time the DB's Challenge was a perfect timing because I offered to the adults who were attending my kids B'day party.
Usually when I bake a cake through the DB' challenge the quantity is usually so big that after 1 or 2 bites we are done. This time since I bought ( Yes I bought Vanilla Cupcakes for the 17 kids who attended the party... all of them are twins) for the mothers I offered the Caramel Cake . It was a quiet a success. I was very happy with all the process. The caramel was delicious, the frosting out of this world. The cake itself was a little dry I think. May be I should have left the cake chilled out before cutting it.
I may do again this cake... one day!
CARAMEL CAKE WITH CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

10 Tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature


1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar


1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


1/3 Cup Caramel Syrup (see recipe below)


2 each eggs, at room temperature


splash vanilla extract


2 Cups all-purpose flour


1/2 teaspoon baking powder1 cup milk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 350FButter one tall (2 – 2.5 inch deep) 9-inch cake pan.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until smooth. Add sugar and salt & cream until light and fluffy.Slowly pour room temperature caramel syrup into bowl. Scrape down bowl and increase speed. Add eggs/vanilla extract a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down bowl again, beat mixture until light and uniform.Sift flour and baking powder.Turn mixer to lowest speed, and add one third of the dry ingredients. When incorporated, add half of the milk, a little at a time. Add another third of the dry ingredients, then the other half of the milk and finish with the dry ingredients. {This is called the dry, wet, dry, wet, dry method in cake making. It is often employed when there is a high proportion of liquid in the batter.}Take off mixer and by hand, use a spatula to do a few last folds, making sure batter is uniform. Turn batter into prepared cake pan.Place cake pan on cookie sheet or 1/2 sheet pan. Set first timer for 30 minutes, rotate pan and set timer for another 15-20 minutes. Your own oven will set the pace. Bake until sides pull away from the pan and skewer inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool cake completely before icing it. Cake will keep for three days outside of the refrigerator.
CARAMEL SYRUP
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup water (for "stopping" the caramelization process)
In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush. Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber.When color is achieved, very carefully pour in one cup of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and be prepared to step back.Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}Note: For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.


CARAMELIZED BUTTER FROSTING

12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound confectioner’s sugar,sifted4-6 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-4 tablespoons caramel syrupKosher or sea salt to tasteCook butter until brown.
Pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool.Pour cooled brown butter into mixer bowl.In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.Note: Caramelized butter frosting will keep in fridge for up to a month.To smooth out from cold, microwave a bit, then mix with paddle attachment until smooth and light(recipes above courtesy of Shuna Fish Lydon)(Optional)
GOLDEN VANILLA BEAN CARAMELS- makes eighty-one 1-inch caramels
Ingredients
1 cup golden syrup
2 cups sugar
8 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure ground vanilla beans, purchased or ground in a coffee or spice grinders, or 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, softened
EquipmentA 9-inch square baking pan Candy thermometer ProcedureLine the bottom and sides of the baking pan with aluminum foil and grease the foil. Combine the golden syrup, sugar, and salt in a heavy 3-quart saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture begins to simmer around the edges. Wash the sugar and syrup from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes. (Meanwhile, rinse the spatula or spoon before using it again later.) Uncover the pan and wash down the sides once more. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan, without letting it touch the bottom of the pan, and cook, uncovered (without stirring) until the mixture reaches 305°F. Meanwhile, combine the cream and ground vanilla beans (not the extract) in a small saucepan and heat until tiny bubbles form around the edges of the pan. Turn off the heat and cover the pan to keep the cream hot. When the sugar mixture reaches 305°F, turn off the heat and stir in the butter chunks. Gradually stir in the hot cream; it will bubble up and steam dramatically, so be careful. Turn the burner back on and adjust it so that the mixture boils energetically but not violently. Stir until any thickened syrup at the bottom of the pan is dissolved and the mixture is smooth. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, to about 245°F. Then cook, stirring constantly, to 260°f for soft, chewy caramels or 265°F; for firmer chewy caramels. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, if using it. Pour the caramel into the lined pan. Let set for 4 to 5 hours, or overnight until firm. Lift the pan liner from the pan and invert the sheet of caramel onto a sheet of parchment paper. Peel off the liner. Cut the caramels with an oiled knife. Wrap each caramel individually in wax paper or cellophane. VariationsFleur de Sel Caramels: Extra salt, in the form of fleur de sel or another coarse flaked salt, brings out the flavor of the caramel and offers a little ying to the yang. Add an extra scant 1/4 teaspoon of coarse sea salt to the recipe. Or, to keep the salt crunchy, let the caramel cool and firm. Then sprinkle with two pinches of flaky salt and press it in. Invert, remove the pan liner, sprinkle with more salt. Then cut and wrap the caramels in wax paper or cellophane. Nutmeg and Vanilla Bean Caramels: Add 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg to the cream before you heat it. Cardamom Caramels: Omit the vanilla. Add 1/2 teaspoon slightly crushed cardamom seeds (from about 15 cardamom pods) to the cream before heating it. Strain the cream when you add it to the caramel; discard the seeds. Caramel Sauce: Stop cooking any caramel recipe or variation when it reaches 225°F or, for a sauce that thickens like hot fudge over ice cream, 228°F. Pour it into a sauceboat to serve or into a heatproof jar for storage. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for ages and reheated gently in the microwave or a saucepan just until hot and flowing before use. You can stir in rum or brandy to taste. If the sauce is too thick or stiff to serve over ice cream, it can always be thinned with a little water or cream. Or, if you like a sauce that thickens more over ice cream, simmer it for a few minutes longer.

My name is Martha

When we moved to the States in 1993, my eyes caught a Martha Stewart's magazine at my favorite NYC newstand.
Of course I had NO idea who she was. And that the elegant blond woman on the cover page was Martha Stewart. It was love at first sight.
I liked her ideas, her elegance, her European way of displaying things, why to organize a room.
Then months after months, years after years I devored her magazines, bought her books.
My mother ( who does not speak one work of English) has one in her home : Special issue for the Holidays and I know she is using it for some ideas, every year.
So many books, magazines are out there but Martha Stewart are the best. She is a fine lady.

Today I had some old bananas and I wanted my new White Kitchenaid Hand stand mixer to work a little ( I got it for my Birthday 2 months in advance).
It changed my life. This is so easy to make Creme Chantilly, Brioche, pate a choux...
But I wanted something more American.... I made Martha Stewart Banana Chocolate chunk cookies. They are delicious, perfect with different flavors and texture.. and the coarse sea salt gives a nice quick!






Martha Stewart Banana Chocolate chunk cookies



Ingredients
Makes about 3 dozen
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (about 2 ounces), toasted
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Whisk together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts.
Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days.

Petit Dejeuner Compris - Le Jeu - Breakfast included / Game from Bretzel et Cafe Creme Blog

Petit Dejeuner Compris / The Game

Last September the charming Flo from

Bretzel et cafe creme

invited me and other Bloggers to participate to " Your favorite Breakfast", Petit Dejeuner Compris, Le jeu - Game.

Those who know me very well, know that I never, never have the same breakfast everyday. When I travel I love discovering new breakfast types and goodies.

One day I go for toasted baguette butter and coffee, another morning eggs, bacon, hash-potatoes and fresh squeezed orange juice, another one homemade brioche, another one Blueberries/strrawberries/orange and banana smoothies.... the list is long.

For this game I wanted to share a simple one, but delicious

Ricotta cheese with nuts, fresh fruits and dried fruits and Mapple Sirup. The recipe is in the title!

Depending what you have in your pantry and fridge you can be very adventurous and creative.

I love the soft texture of the fresh Ricotta Cheese, the sweetness of the Mapple Sirup and the crunchness of the grappes and nuts! Very yummy and healthy.

Voila

The October DBChallenge - Bake Your Pizzas Like A Real Pizzaiolo

We love Pizzas! The first time I had mine when in Nice South of France, my family was traveling from France to Italy for our summer and the first stop at night was in Nice. We had dinner in a small restaurant on a terrasse. I ordered pizza I was pretty young. 12. When the pizza arrived ( Margarita one) it was huge! My parents were laughing and teasing me that I would never eat the entire pizza on my own. I loved every bite. I ate all the pizza...

Since I have been in love with pizza. When we lived in NYC we had at least one pizza a week. And they were excellent. I remembered ordering one day a Pizza Blanca so delicious with ricotta rich cheese, garlic and olive oil the perfect combination.

But for the DB Challange I wanted all my family to eat. My kids are not into garlic yet. So we made 2 pizzas Tomato/ cheese. And 2 tomato/ cheese/ chicken/olives and on one I added Goat cheese.

I did not toss the dought but my kids help me with the rolling pan. They love doing pizza.

PIZZAS........

Makes 6 pizza crusts (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter).Ingredients: 4 1/2 Cups (20 1/4 ounces/607.5 g) Unbleached high-gluten (%14) bread flour or all purpose flour, chilled - Tsp Salt1 Tsp Instant yeast

1/4 Cup (2 ounces/60g) Olive oil or vegetable oil (both optional, but it’s better with)1 3/4 Cups (14 ounces/420g or 420ml) Water, ice cold (40° F/4.5° C)1 Tb sugar

Semolina/durum flour or cornmeal for dusting

Method:

DAY ONE

1. Mix together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a big bowl (or in the bowl of your stand mixer).2. Add the oil, sugar and cold water and mix well (with the help of a large wooden spoon or with the paddle attachment, on low speed) in order to form a sticky ball of dough. On a clean surface, knead for about 5-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are homogeneously distributed. If it is too wet, add a little flour (not too much, though) and if it is too dry add 1 or 2 teaspoons extra water.

NOTE: If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for the same amount of time.The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl. If the dough is too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, so that it clears the sides. If, on the contrary, it clears the bottom of the bowl, dribble in a teaspoon or two of cold water.The finished dough should be springy, elastic, and sticky, not just tacky, and register 50°-55° F/10°-13° C.

. Flour a work surface or counter. Line a jelly pan with baking paper/parchment. Lightly oil the paper.4. With the help of a metal or plastic dough scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (or larger if you want to make larger pizzas).

NOTE: To avoid the dough from sticking to the scraper, dip the scraper into water between cuts.5. Sprinkle some flour over the dough. Make sure your hands are dry and then flour them. Gently round each piece into a ball.

NOTE: If the dough sticks to your hands, then dip your hands into the flour again.6. Transfer the dough balls to the lined jelly pan and mist them generously with spray oil. Slip the pan into plastic bag or enclose in plastic food wrap.7. Put the pan into the refrigerator and let the dough rest overnight or for up to thee days.

DAY TWO

8. On the day you plan to eat pizza, exactly 2 hours before you make it, remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator. Dust the counter with flour and spray lightly with oil. Place the dough balls on a floured surface and sprinkle them with flour. Dust your hands with flour and delicately press the dough into disks about 1/2 inch/1.3 cm thick and 5 inches/12.7 cm in diameter. Sprinkle with flour and mist with oil. Loosely cover the dough rounds with plastic wrap and then allow to rest for 2 hours.

9. At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone on the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible (500° F/260° C).

NOTE: If you do not have a baking stone, then use the back of a jelly pan. Do not preheat the pan.10. Generously sprinkle the back of a jelly pan with semolina/durum flour or cornmeal. Flour your hands (palms, backs and knuckles). Take 1 piece of dough by lifting it with a pastry scraper. Lay the dough across your fists in a very delicate way and carefully stretch it by bouncing it in a circular motion on your hands, and by giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, move to a full toss.

NOTE: Make only one pizza at a time.During the tossing process, if the dough tends to stick to your hands, lay it down on the floured counter and reflour your hands, then continue the tossing and shaping. In case you would be having trouble tossing the dough or if the dough never wants to expand and always springs back, let it rest for approximately 5-20 minutes in order for the gluten to relax fully,then try again.You can also resort to using a rolling pin, although it isn’t as effective as the toss method.11. When the dough has the shape you want (about 9-12 inches/23-30 cm in diameter - for a 6 ounces/180g piece of dough), place it on the back of the jelly pan, making sure there is enough semolina/durum flour or cornmeal to allow it to slide and not stick to the pan.

12. Lightly top it with sweet or savory toppings of your choice.

C'etait delicieux!

Mes Chouquettes comme a Paris

When we used to live in Paris, as everybodyelse we were living near a great Boulangerie/ Patisserie. For traditional 4 heures on week ends ( Afternoon Snack) I usually stopped to buy a bag of Chouquette. Usually before I reached our apartment located on the 4rd floor without elevator, there was none chouquette left in the bag . So when I felt guilty because I knew that my boyfriend ( now Husband) could not taste them ( and God knows how he loves them he has a big Sweet tooth), I had to run down again to the Boulangerie/ Patisserie and buy another bag of Chouquettes. And for the second round I was good, when I arrived in front of our apartment the bag was still full. Joel would ask if I want some and I would say OK just one or two.....


Now leaving in Southern California where only Trader Joe's display nice desserts and time to time Vallee d'Brumes Pastry Shop, the only way to enjoy delicious desserts is to bake them!
This is why joining Daring Bakers was a great move!
Now I can make my own Chouquettes, it takes no time and everybody love them!
And when I make batches.... up to 30 puffs is pretty good...

Those little cloud puff are light, very versatile. You can use then savory or sweet. Just plain with Coarse Suagr on them or you can stuff them with Creme Chantilly, and top with chocolate sauce, you can make Profiteroles ( stuffed with Vanilla Ice cream) and topped with warm chocolate sauce, or you can stuff them with Blue cheese/ walnut for a great appetizers or Buffet Froid.

Here is the recipe of the cutest, round, light and beautiful name C-H-O-U-Q-U-E-T-T-E-S!

Chouquettes Parisiennes


(About 25 Puffs)

Shaping the mounds of dough is easiest to do with a pastry bag, although you can use a teaspoon.
1 cup (250 ml) water1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons sugar 6 tablespoons (90 gr) unsalted butter, cut into small chunks1 cup (135 gr) flour4 large eggs, at room temperature
Glaze: 1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 teaspoon Coarse sugar is available in the US from Ikea.


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (220 C.) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Heat the water, salt, sugar, and butter in a small saucepan, stirring, until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and dump all the flour in at once. Stir rapidly until the mixture is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Allow dough to cool for two minutes, then briskly beat in the eggs, one at a time, until smooth and shiny.
Using a spoon, pastry bag make a mound of dough with one spoon roughly the size of a walnut and scrape it off with the other spoon onto the baking sheet.
Place the mounds evenly-spaced apart on the baking sheet. Brush the top of each mound with some of the egg glaze then press coarse sugar crystals over the top and sides of each mound. Use a lot. Once the puffs expand rise, you'll appreciate the extra effort (and sugar.)
Bake the cream puffs for 35 minutes, or until puffed and well-browned.
(If you want to make them crispier, you can poke a hole in the side with a wooden spoon after you take them out of the oven to let the steam escape.)
The cream puffs are best eaten the same day they're made.

A room of my own- Part 1

Welcome to my favorite room in the house. This is the room where I read my e-mails, work on my blog, read books, prepare my Cooking Classes menus, listen to my favorite music, drink morning black with sugar coffee, drink my afternnoon Organic tea, snack on some food, call my parents, and friends in France, organize all my paper work...

Retour de Marche ( Back from Farmer's Market)

It was a such beautiful Saturday morning in Temecula Valley to go to the Temecula Farmer's Market. All fruits and veggetables were beautiful and the wonderful scent of Goyava fruits and persimon were every where!

Since I decided to try a " One-day energy fast" based on fresh vegetables and fruits juices tomorrow October 19, paying a visit to my favorite place was again a wonderful experience. I ususally share myvisit with my daughter, she was helping me on counting each apple, plum, tomatoe.. she was holding my wallet for the entire visit. Together we were talking about our future menus: Stuffed large tomatoes, Ratatouille, Plums Clafoutis...Yes, yes I will show you all of that...soon!

What you see on the picture above is what I bought for $ 28. What you do not see is a 10lbs of Valencia oranges.

Almost empty fridge

The weather is still warm in Southern California, but yesterday night I was craving for a Autumn/ Fall meal. I made some Organic carrots with herbs. Because I always have Smoked Salmon in my fridge, I thought it will be nice to have some "pink " fish ( I like this name given by my 4 years old daughter... at this age everything has to be pink) served with Organic Blue Cheese dressing, and Tandoori Nanns. I add some rice leftover.

I liked the carrots a lot. You do not think about eating carrots nowadays. And this is a mistake. When you cut them small thy cook very fast. Mine were perfectly cuts in small slices and cooked, with fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

It was a light but delicious meal: vegetables, fish, rice, sauce and bread. A very healthy meal.. que demande le peuple!

NB: Sorry about quality of my pictures taken late yesterday after the political debate.

Simply Rasberries jam

Last week end we went to Oak Glen, CA located in Yucaipa/ Beaumont area. From Temecula you need about 45 minutes to reach this lovely , bucolic place. In the hills, Applesgrowners associated together to make a " Touristic" place. Of course you find the most of American fair stuffs but also you can pick up your own fruits.
Last week we were lucky to grap the last Rasberries. Our kids loved it. You buy litte square basquets and you fill them with Rasberries you find in the cultivated bushes.
You have tons of differents apples and pears trees. All different sorts and names, colors.... All families, children visiting this place were smiling everybody had a good time. Quality time for everybody. You breath fresh air. You drink fresh Apple cider, grap one apple from a tree... We had great time!
Some rasberries left from last week so I decided to make some little jam.

Add some water and a lot of sugar to your rasberries. Cook for 15 minutes. ready.
It was yummy on my bread this morning.

Daring Bakers September Challenge - Lavash Crackers & Toppings

September Challenge - Lavash Crackers & Toppings

Thank you Natalie from Gluten A Go Go, and co-host Shel, of Musings From the Fishbowl for chosing the recipe for Lavash Crackers from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice (pp 178 - 180).
This is a great challenge!

The Challenge: Make Lavash Crackers and create a dip/spread/salsa/relish to accompany it. This challenge allows for large helpings of creativity and personality, with the crackers, your flavor choices for the crackers, and with your dip/spread choice. You can create your own dip/spread recipe, use one of your favorites, or use one of the recipes we’ve provided at the bottom of this post. Get crazy ! Just be sure to post the recipe along with your challenge crackers so we can see what you made and how you made it (so we can try it, too!).

Makes 1 sheet pan of crackers

* 1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz) gluten free flour blend (If you use a blend without xanthan gum, add 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum to the recipe) or 1/2 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup millet flour, 1/2 cup arrowroot starch, 1 tsp chia seed meal
* 1/2 tsp (.13 oz) salt
* 1/2 tsp (.055 oz) instant yeast
* 1 Tb (.75 oz) agave syrup or sugar
* 1 Tb (.5 oz) vegetable oil
* 1/3 to 1/2 cup + 2 Tb (3 to 4 oz) water, at room temperature

My option: 2 teaspoons chopped orange zest
¼ cup chopped walnuts
were mixed with the dough


1. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt yeast, agave, oil, and just enough water to bring everything together into a ball. You may not need the full 1/2 cup + 2 Tb of water, but be prepared to use it all if needed. Mix the orange zest and walnuts.

2. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: The dough should be firmer than French bread dough, but not quite as firm as bagel dough (what I call medium-firm dough), and slightly tacky. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

3. Ferment at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the dough doubles in size. (You can also retard the dough overnight in the refrigerator immediately after kneading or mixing).

4. For Gluten Free Cracker Dough: Lay out two sheets of parchment paper. Divide the cracker dough in half and then sandwich the dough between the two sheets of parchment. Roll out the dough until it is a paper thin sheet about 15 inches by 12 inches. Slowly peel away the top layer of parchment paper. Then set the bottom layer of parchment paper with the cracker dough on it onto a baking sheet.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Mist the top of the dough with water and sprinkle a covering with Espelette Pepper, dried basil, sea salt, walnuts finely chopped.

5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crackers begin to brown evenly across the top (the time will depend on how thinly and evenly you rolled the dough).

6. When the crackers are baked, remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. You can then snap them apart or snap off shards and serve.



Artichoke dip• 2 cups of frozen artichokes
• 2 cups of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup of Greek Yogurt
• Salt and pepper
METHOD
1 Drain the artichokes from the can. Coarsely chop them.
2 Combine chopped chokes, Parmesan, and Yogurt into a microwave or oven-proof serving dish.
3 Microwave on high heat for 5 minutes, pausing occassionally to stir, to ensure that the dip gets heated evenly. Add fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.

Une Quiche tout simplement!

Ingredients:
Pie crust- Pate a tarte
1 cup Organic flour
¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp hard butter, cut in chunks
3 tbsp cold water (approx)

1. In bowl, combine flour & salt. With fingers or
pastry blender, cup or cut in butter until
mixture is crumbly.
2. Sprinkle with cold water, tossing with fork to
mix. Gather dough together and from into ball,
wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Roll out on lightly floured surface and fit into
9-inch (23 cm) pie plate.


Filling

8" pie crust (homemade- see above the recipe)
4 fresh organic eggs
1/2 cup shredded 3 cheeses
1 Cup Organic heavy cream
1 cup pancetta cut and diced ( bough at TJ’s)
½ cup red/ yellow/green bell pepper diced
1 small onion diced and cut in very small pieces
olive oil
fresh pepper
salt

1. Brown the pie crust by piercing with a fork
several times and bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 min.
2. Saute the pancetta first, then add the onions, then the peppers until cooked
3. Beat eggs, add the heavy cream
4. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of shredded
cheese.
5. Add pancetta/onion/ pepper.
6. Mix together eggs, cream, pepper, onion, pancetta
6. Pour in the lightly cooked pie crust
Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 for 30-45 minutes
or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out
clean. Serve with a side salad


*While cooking, eggs will rise like a soufflé and
settle again when taken out of the oven.

Leftover Savory Bread

I hate throwing away leftovers. Usually I use all leftovers in frittata, omelet, to stuffed crepes.... I had some brocoli, Tuna, Tomatoes left in the fridge from the kids lunch.
After talking to Sophie my Yoga Teacher and friend, she said she will make some " savory cake" for super served with salad. I thought it will be a great idea to do the same with my leftovers....

Leftover Savory Bread... called " Cake" in France...yes we call this a "cake" used as a French word

4 Tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup whole milk
1 cup freshly grated Gruyère
1 cup cooked brocolis
1/2 cup Tuna ( Tuna can with olive oil)
1/2 cup of fresh tomatoes
Fresh herbs : chives, parsley, basil from my garden

Dip- 2 avocados soft
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup Greek Yogurt

Mix all ingredients in a blender.


Directions
Butter a loaf pan and set aside.
Combine the flour baking powder and salt and stir to blend.
Using a whisk, slowly whisk in the eggs.
Whisk in the milk, cheese, brocolis, tomatoes and tuna and oil.
Set aside for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Stir the batter to blend and pour into the prepared loaf pan.
Place in the center of the oven and bake 30 minutes or until firm and golden.
Allow to cool to room temperature.



To serve:
Slice the cake. Arrange on a serving tray and serve with a Avocado , mustard and Greek Yogurt Dip.

Verdict: The beautiful corlorful Savory cake looks so beautiful with a light green velvety dip! It was yummy my husband and myself ate averything for diner with a salad.

Stuffed Organic Zucchinis

I love zucchinis. I love most of Summer vegetables, but Zuchinis are light and delicious. We use a lot of zuchinis in my family's recipes. From sauteed in Olive oil, then topping with creme fraiche and swiss cheese! or stuffed with crumbled eggs with tomatoes and peppers... recipes are from my mom.
In my fridge I always have Ricotta cheese, I use it for savory or sweet recipes. It gives a moist, sweet and delicious texture. Last evening I had only 15 minutes to prepare them before heading to the local library.

Stuffed Zuchinis

- 5 small Organic zucchinis
- 2 thin slice of cooked ham or prosciutto ( I tried with Salmon and it was delicious too!)
- 3 cups Ricotta cheese ( I got mine at TJ's)
- salt
- Pepper
- 3 cheese shedded
- Mint
1 small onion, cut in small pieces
- 1 garlic clove pressed
- 1 Egg Yolk


Clean your zuchinis. Cut them in half and empty the inside with a small spoon, put aside ( the inside you just took off) and sauted with olive oil, onion, garlic.
When cooked, put in a blender add the ham and blend together until you obtain a smooth constitancy. Add salt and pepper.
Mix together the mixture with riccotta and egg yolk. Adjust seasonning.
Stuff the zucchinis with it. Top with shrinded cheese and mint.

Preheat your oven at 375 F. Cook the zuchinis until tender between 25 - 35 minutes.

Delicous with a Frisee salad, bacon bits , homemade croutons and a warm-vinaigrette.

Bon Appetit!

Pink Ice cream for Autumn Day

On my Calendar there is a note saying : Fall Begins! Oh No already! Summer 08' went so fast. Time is flying.Right. Kids are back to school. I have done some Catering in Torrance. My Cooking Classes will start with Murrieta Park and recreation on October 2 at the Murrieta Seniors Center. I have a Cooking Party with Living Valley Editors coming up and my last ad with my new logo will be displayed in the October Living Valley magazine...
I am looking 10 times at my Calendar.. so many things to do and to organize.
But hey I had some time to make a delicious Ice Cream with all fruits I could find: pineaples, grapes, strawberries. I blent the Strawberries with sugar and Yogurt. Then pour the other fruits cut in small pieces. On the top I add some white tiny small meringues find at Trader Joe's.
The Ice cream/ Frozen yogurt was delicious veru fruity and velvety!

Pierre Herme's Chocolate Eclairs Daring Bakers August Challenge

This month's Daring Bakers' Challenge is hosted by Meeta K of What's for Lunch, Honey? and Tony Tahhan. They have chosen Chocolate Éclairs by Pierre Hermé our Famous Parisien Star Patissier. He is the best. I remember discovering Pierre Herme in a "Special" French " Apostrophes" TV show about books and literrature, hosted with another star Bernard Pivot. One episode was about Good French Living in France. He invited some wine makers, some bakers, Chefs and Pierre Herme was there. He was young and Bernard Pivot could not say enough about how talented he was. I rememberred he was shy. At this time we were living in NYC ( we had a Cable with French TV) and I was wondering if one day I could taste Pierre Herme delicious pastries and creations. Actually I never done, because when we go back to France we do not stop for one day or 2 in Paris as we used to do. With the kids now we want to be in our home in the South of France the quickest way we can. So no stop over in Paris.
I was so happy when I discovered this challenge. I skipped the last one for many reasons explained in the post related to it. But I was reasy for this one

PIERRE HERME ECLAIRS AU CHOCOLAT....

I love everything with chocolate in it. But Eclairs au chocolat are one of my favorites. Infortunately every Patries shop I have visited in SO-cal even the best do not have real eclairs au chocolat. The filling is done with wipp cream, with chocolate glaze but the filling with Chocolate the way we eat in France.
So yes, yes I am so happy.
I have done them pretty quickly Sunday morning, while my kids were playing.
verdict.... DELICIOUS. I am a Chocolate Girl my husband is a Coffee Boy.
So I split chocolate and Coffee Eclairs.
I had hard time fiding Coffee extract so it was a challenge to make the the Coffee cream filling and the Coffee glaze. Actually the coffee glaze was done with caramel melange.. in order to be sticky.
Here is only the Chocolate eclairs recipe, I will provide the Coffee one in the next days.
Bon APPETIT!

NB: did I mention that since I joined the DB I gained 6 pounds?



Pierre Hermé’s Chocolate Éclairs
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• Cream Puff Dough (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm

1) Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by
positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.

2) Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.

3) Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.

Notes:
1) The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.

Assembling the éclairs:

• Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
• Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)

1) Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.

2) The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.

3) Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.

Notes:
1) If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles.

2) The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.

Pierre Hermé’s Cream Puff Dough
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 20-24 Éclairs)

• ½ cup (125g) whole milk
• ½ cup (125g) water
• 1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature

1) In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.

2) Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.

3) Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon.

4) The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.

Notes:
1) Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately.

2) You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Chocolate Pastry Cream
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by PierreHermé• 2 cups (500g) whole milk
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 tbsp (75g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
• 7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Velrhona Guanaja, melted
• 2½ tbsp (1¼ oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1) In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy‐bottomed saucepan.

2) Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture.Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.

3) Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat).Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.

4) Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice‐water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.

5) Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice‐water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice‐water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.

[bNotes:[/b]
1) The pastry cream can be made 2‐3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

2) In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream.

3) Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble.

Chocolate Glaze
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1 cup or 300g)

• 1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
• 3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
• 7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature

1)In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.

2) Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.

Notes:
1) If the chocolate glaze is too cool (i.e. not liquid enough) you may heat it briefly
 in the microwave or over a double boiler. A double boiler is basically a bowl sitting over (not touching) simmering water.

2) It is best to glaze the eclairs after the glaze is made, but if you are pressed for time, you can make the glaze a couple days ahead of time, store it in the fridge and bring it up to the proper temperature (95 to 104 F) when ready to glaze.

Chocolate Sauce
Recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé
(makes 1½ cups or 525 g)


• 4½ oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup (250 g) water
• ½ cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
• 1/3 cup (70 g) sugar

1) Place all the ingredients into a heavy‐bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.

2) It may take 10‐15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.

Notes:
1) You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using.
2) This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.

Chez Larsson

Recently I have been addected to a terrific Blog: Chez Larsson. No, this is not a French Blog... even if the writter is using " Chez " in the Blog's name, no this is not a Blog about parenting or kids, no this is not a blog about Food and Cooking, no this is not about Healthy living, Yoga or other Natural way of life, this Blog is about: How to organize your house but in a beautiful Scandinavian Way: a la Ikea/ Martha Stewart way.
And you know what? This Blog made me change. Yes I have to admit a am more a messy/ than organized person. And being a mother full time with my kids at home does not help.
I have bought or read plenty of books or articles about how to be organized in your daily life, 1 day you clean this , the other you do that, I bought the little note book they suggest to use.. it worked for 1 or 2 days. That was it!
For the last week, reading and seeing this beautiful small house so well organized, I had the urge of cleaning up and organizing my home.
This blog is also about doing things by yourself: curtains, cushions...I almost bought a Sewing Machine yesterday on Craigslist.com for $ 20 but I was too late.
Anyway I LOOOOOve Chez Larsson, it helps me keep on track. May be one day I will own a beautiful house in Swedeen, Norway, Denmark.. where you have snow, where you live greener that anywhereelse, where you respect nature....

Pain de Mie

What is pain de mie. This is the perfect bread for buttered toasts and sandwiches. When you see what the industrial food companies use to make Pain de mie you want to stay out of them.

So in my daily quest for a better world, greener, natural and organic I decided to make my own Pain de mie.

It was not that complicated. The texture was very soft and velvety. The smell in my kitchen was umbelievable for hours it was like to enter in a French Bakery.

Every morning I anticipate my breakfast served with Organic Columbian coffee from Trader Joes, Organic butter, my homemade Peache jam spread on a delicious natural Pain de mie.

Here is the recipe!

Ingredients
1 2/3 cups Organic whole milk
6 tablespoons organic butter ( at room temperature)
2 teaspoons salt (sea salt if available)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons instant yeast
4 3/4 cups Organic unbleached white flour

I used rectangle bread/cake pan and for the lid I used Cookie sheet
Directions
Combine milk, yeast and 1 1/2 cups flour.
Beat and let proof 1 hour.
De gas and add butter, salt, sugar, 2 cups flour.
Work in bowl until dough forms a ball.
Knead adding white flour as necessary until dough is smooth and a bit moist.
Let dough rise in buttered bowl 1-1 1/2 hours .
De gas.
Let rest 10 min.
Shape dough to fit a Pain de Mie pan with lid, or use a large bread pan.
Cover and let rise to 1/2 inch from top of pan, approx 30-45 min.
Cover with lid, or cover a bread pan with waxed paper and put a weighted cookie sheet on the pan.
Let stand 10 min.

Preserving food: My Pantry will look so lovely

I used to watch my mother doing all her jars of fruits and vegetables. Everything was from our own Organic Garden or from the nearest forest ( blackberries).
This year since my neighbor's Peach Tree is pouring over our fence, and we harverst all kind of tomatoes, onions, basil, green beans... I decided to try it!

So far I made Cherry Tomatoes preserved in olive oil with fresh Thyme, basil, garlic.
Tomatoe sauce with onions, basil and thyme. Chery tomatoes preserved. Peaches in syrop. Peaches jam. Strawberries jam and Red Currant-rasberries jam.
More to come! I got some Fresh Figs: Fresh fig tart or Figs jam? or nothing at all if I decide to eat them right from their boxes!

Strawberry Sherbet comme Chez Panisse

Here in So-Cal ( Southern California) we are experiencing a very humid summer. The best remedy? Sherbets and ice-creams. After trying at Chez Panisse Delicious Strawberry Sherbet I decided to give it a try!
What a delicious, light, refreshing dessert... I swear this is the natural color no-Artificial color 100% pure and made with love!

Strawberry Sherbet

4 cups Fresh Strawberries
¾ cup water
¾ sugar
few drops of lemon juice

Rinse, dry and hull the strawberries. Puree them with water and sugar. Taste and adjust the flavor with a few drops of lemon. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice maker

CHEZ PANISSE CAFE LUNCH MENU

A few months ago I bought from my local bookstore « Alice Waters and Chez Panisse » the romantic, impractical, often, ultimately brilliant making of food revolution. By Thomas Mcnamee.
Being a French, I was not aware of who she is and what she has accomplished for more than three decades. I was intrigued by the name of this restaurant ( So French), related in some articles or other Food bloggs. But that was it.
This book was a revelation about Alice’s story and the food revolution she made in the USA.
I myself, is trying to educate people how to eat well and healthy through Cooking Classes, and as a Personal Chef. So her words were wonderful to me because, living in Southern California where people are spending a lot of time in their car, working long hours, taking care of their family and children is tough on everyone. No time for cooking. Mothers around me do not like to cook and buy whatever their kids ask when going to the Grocery shop, they end up with a cart full of junk food, sodas, cookies, frozen food, ready-food or they stop by at any fast food or worst the fake “ home cooked” meal from Super Supper, Dream diners and other impostures.
This book is wonderful and every family should have it in its private library.
Anywhere it was with great expectation that I had Lunch at Chez Panisse Café last Saturday. Our dear friend was running the San Francisco Marathon, and I wanted to offer him, his daughter and his wife something special. They have been wonderful friends and helped us a million of times. My husband and my kids were there also.
I called Chez Panisse Café on July 2 around 10 am to make the reservation ( you need to make your reservation 1 month in advance)
Last Saturday was a perfect day to drive over Bridge toward Berkeley. The weather was sunny and fantastic, around 80’s which is wonderful for San Francisco area.
I wore a lovely French Beige” robe chemisier” bought in Paris and my Basque espadrille shoes from Saint Jean de Luz. It was like having a date! Even my husband was teasing me :“ You are not going to sleep the entire week before your lunch at Chez Panisse”.
Anywhere, we were driving in Berkeley and I was surprised to see such a lovely community, cute little cafes and bistros, restaurants, people having picnic in the alley located in the middle of the street. People looked radiant and happy. I was wondering if it was from Alice’s magic. She is a wizard.
We were running a little late, the reservation was made for noon for seven people, so I decided to jump out of the car and go straight to Chez Panisse while my husband was looking for a car spot. And there I was in front of Chez Panisse, my heart beating a little faster than usual. I was almost running up to the stairs to join the Café upstairs. Few people were awaiting to be seated. I was waiting for my turn patiently already spotted our long table ready by the entrance. On the right far from the entrance there was a little terrace covered with wines and in front of the entrance the bar, and on the left more tables and the open Kitchen! The floor was wooden, the tone was brown, a little dark but soft. Then my turn arrived and a friendly lady showed me the table and handed me the menu du jour! I was reading fast.. so many options and choices… I was glad I was the only one of my party… alone in this almost sacred place. Then everybody joined me. As I mentioned on the phone when I reserved the table we were having two young kids with us. Two leather boosters were ready for them. The table was simple with white tablecloth. Because of the wooden floor the restaurant was never noisy and people were not talking loudly as you can see in other restaurants. You have the feeling that customers appreciate to be there, and respect the place. A bunch of people tried to get a table for lunch without reservations but of course this is not possible.
They cancellation policy is tough but fair, if you do not show up they charge $ 25 per person.
Then everybody started to look at the menu. I could not see really anything for my kids so when our server showed up I ask for a suggestion. He proposed a simple tomato-mozzarella pizza, when I ask if they could add some Goat cheese on it because my daughter loves it he said: “ you can order the Goat cheese salad”, I was thinking yes but this is an extra $ 10 my daughter love only goat cheese not garden lettuces.. yet.
Anyway, I ordered a large pizza for the 3 kids and a Goat Cheese salad for my daughter.
The pizza was served with an extra thin crust, it was a beautiful pizza I could taste some of it and yes it as delicious.
Back on my menu, it was hard to make up my mind I wanted to try everything.
For my lunch I chose first : Roasted pepper and romano bean salad with almonds an ricotta salata for $ 9.50.When the salad arrived it was colorful, with green, white, red. I looked a moment at my plate trying to see all the ingredients and the perfect presentation. Then I taste it. It was so pure, so simple so delicious. The pepper was perfectly roasted with full of flavor and sweet, the whole almonds gave a nice crunchy, the beans were perfectly cooked and the Ricotta salata was very thin and salty. The dressing was light with olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs. D-E-L-C-I-O-US and refreshing.

Then I opted for the California white sea bass with green beans, eggplants, yogurt and mint at $ 22.The plate arrived, simple with every ingredients placed in one specific order. The fish was very light, white, pure and soft in your mouth, the eggplant, the yogurt with mint was a such surprise and it was so good with the fish. This is something I will serve for sure with my next fish. The quantity was perfect, but I was almost full. I was eating very slowly every spoon. I was in heaven. It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

Then the dessert. I could not decide between the farm peach and berry cobbler with king pluot ice cream, or the bittersweet chocolate pave with caramel cream, or the farms strawberry sherbet, ella bella Farm strawberries and langues de chat, Crème fraich ice cream with blackberries, raspberries and ossi dei morti…Everyone opted for the Strawberry sherbet, even the kids, but my husband and myself went for the Crème Fraiche Ice Cream at $ 8.75The texture was creamy not too sweet. The ice creams balls were surrounded by Blackberries. Raspberries marmalade and an “S” shape almond cookie was along the plate. I liked the taste of it but it was too dry. I tasted the strawberry Sherbet it was very refreshing almost like eating fresh fruit, it was really delicious the color was gorgeous.
It was a F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S way to end up our feast.

For the wine I had a Bandol Rose Domaine Tempier 2007 a little pricey but really worth it, full of flavor and light at the same time $ 16.23 the glass.

We had some espresso to end up the meal.

During the entire meal I could not stop looking at the lovely water carafe engraved “ chez Panisse” it was too lovely. I regret I did not ask if I could buy one I should have.

The only thing I did not like is that our Server was a little snob and not very nice, I was expecting a more warming service. I guess it was just professional, and everyone working at Chez Panisse looked the same.

I was not the only one to prize my lunch my friends and also my husband loved everything and every moment of it …

Overall it was an amazing lunch, with amazing friends, in a amazing place. A moment I will cherish for long time.

No DB challenge Filbert Gateau with Praline Buttercream.. this is why

This month I have decided to skip the DB challenge for the first time. First it is too hot in Southern California, then this cake reminds me the Opera Cake so I do not understand the point of repeating almost the same challenge.
Summer is the perfect season for all kind od juicy, sweet, colorful fruits.
So I decided to bake a Apricot-red Plum tart-galette instead.

I started with a Pate Brisee from Lindsey ( Chez Panisse).

6 servings
-1 cup Organic flour
-6 tablespoon of real organic butter, chilled and cut into very small pieces
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
-1/4 cup cold water

You just put it together flour, salt and half of the butter. You mix everything with your hands. Then you add the extra butter then the cold water.
You make quickly a big bowl, wrap in plastic and place in your fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Then you roll it as fine as you can an place in a 9" inch cake pan.
You bake it for 15 minutes at 360F.
You cut in small pieces all your fruits ( I used 3 apricots and 3 plums).
When your dough is pale gold, add your fruits. I sprinkle on the top 3 teaspoons of sugar, a pinch of cardamon, a pinch of cinamon, and some butter on the top.
Bake until the dough looks crisp and the fruits are soft.

You can serve it with Vanilla Ice cream or chantilly. We had it plain...
It was Summer in my mouth, just what I wanted and needed on this beautiful, sunny, but very busy Sunday lunch!

The best Soup in the World

This gorgeous garden soup is a favorite from Provence it reminds me my summers when I was a teenager still living with my parents in the Basque country. My family and myself discovered this soup years ago from a great-great cousin family who was living in Provence. Basil was not a commun herb in Basque coubtry back then. Then it became my sister’s soup. Each summer she was devoted a complete morning to complete her soup. Our late neighbors had basil in their vegetable garden and it was a ritual to knock at their door asking for some basil for our favorite soup.
This is a French farm-country soup , since it uses so many seasonal garden vegetables, like carrots, tomatoes, green beans, and squash. “Pistou” is the French version of pesto, a rich and flavorful sauce of healthful olive oil, herbs, and garlic. The colorful vegetable-rich soup and the savory pistou make beautiful music together.
I like to add some grounded Swiss cheese.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup dried white (Navy) beans
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 small carrots, scrubbed and diced
2 small celery stalks, diced
1 medium zucchini or summer squash, diced
2 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
4 cups good-quality vegetable broth
3 cups water
1 cup French green beans, ends trimmed, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
1 recipe Pistou (see below)
1. Soak the dried beans in enough water to cover for 3 hours, or overnight. Drain beans and place them in a medium saucepan with enough water to cover them by 2 inches. Bring to a boll, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 40 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain and set beans aside.
2. Warm olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat and add onion, carrots, celery, and squash. Cook, stirring once in awhile, for about 20 minutes, until vegetables are soft, then add tomatoes, broth, water, and cooked beans. Continue cooking, uncovered, for 30 minutes, then add green beans and simmer 15 more minutes.. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Serve soup in individual bowls with a dollop of pistou on top of each serving and some cheese. Serve immediately.
Serves 6.
Pistou
INGREDIENTS2 bunches fresh basil
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
1 cup raw pistachios
1. Remove basil leaves from stems. With a mortar and pestle crush the garlic gloves, with the basil, and oil then the pistachios.

Happy 4th of July - U.S.A

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY U.S.A

Danish Braid with Apricot-Strawberrie,Creme Patissiere and Almonds filling - Daring Bakers new July Challenge

<Danish Braid with Apricot-Strawberrie, crème Patissiere and almonds



Since I joined the Daring Baking movement, this Danish Braid ‘s challenge has been the one I enjoyed the most!
I love fruits in my baking. Especially Summer fruits. I devour them, I love them I could live eating Summer fruits all year long. From the famous Temecula Farmer’s Market I got Organic Apricots and locally grown sweet Strawberries. All very goods- delicious. So I thought I would use some of them for the Danish Braid filling.
The sweetness of the strawberries and the tartness of the apricots where delicious and very tasty. I added some Crème patissiere and sliced almonds on the top.
The dough was very good even if I forgot and skipped to proof at room temperature for 2 hours. I guess I was so eager to start baking it.
The Danish Braid turned out to be beautiful, and delicious too. I made 2 so we will have some for lunch , tea time and tomorrow for breakfast.
I loved this challenge the dough has a unique flavor full of orange and Cardamone I will use it for other pastries. This is a find for sure!




Why Danish Braid?
• Danish dough is in the family of butter-laminated or layered dough with puff pastry being the ultimate. Danish dough is sweet and is yeast-leavened, however, where as puff pastry is not.
• The process of making Danish dough is less complex than that of puff pastry, but equally as important to achieve best results, and a great starting place to begin to learn about laminated dough in general.
• Danish dough is extremely versatile, and once made can be used for a variety of baked goods. The possibilities are endless.
• Since our ever-expanding Daring Bakers group lives in two different hemispheres, the Danish Braid will allow for fillings that are in season in both hemispheres. Hopefully that will assist with cost factors and availability of product.
• I love pastry and have never made Danish pastry before. When I asked Ben to co-host this month, I suggested several ideas, and the Danish Braid seemed to be the best way for people to have the opportunity to learn, if unfamiliar with laminated dough, and for those familiar, to be able to maximize choices for ingredients not only in the dough, but the fillings, toppings, and the shape of the braid as well.

Some History:• According to many sources, “Danish” was born when Danish bakers went on strike, and Viennese bakers were brought in to replace them, creating what is referred to as Vienna Bread.
• Conversely, it is also said that Danish bakers went to Vienna to learn the techniques Viennese bakers employed, and Danish dough was created there.
• In the early 1800’s, C.L. Olsen spent time in Germany, believing in the idea of gaining inspiration from bakers of other countries. He brought knowledge back to Denmark to introduce “foreign” breads to his country, also hiring people of other nationalities to bake in his family bakery.


DANISH DOUGH

Makes 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients
For the dough (Detrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
2 large eggs, chilled
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the butter block (Beurrage)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DOUGH


Without a standing mixer: Combine yeast and milk in a bowl with a hand mixer on low speed or a whisk. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix well. Sift flour and salt on your working surface and make a fountain. Make sure that the “walls” of your fountain are thick and even. Pour the liquid in the middle of the fountain. With your fingertips, mix the liquid and the flour starting from the middle of the fountain, slowly working towards the edges. When the ingredients have been incorporated start kneading the dough with the heel of your hands until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, around 5 to 7 minutes. You might need to add more flour if the dough is sticky.

BUTTER BLOCK
1. Combine butter and flour in the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle and then beat for 1 minute more, or until smooth and lump free. Set aside at room temperature.
2. After the detrempe has chilled 30 minutes, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle approximately 18 x 13 inches and ¼ inch thick. The dough may be sticky, so keep dusting it lightly with flour. Spread the butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough. Fold the left edge of the detrempe to the right, covering half of the butter. Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center third. The first turn has now been completed. Mark the dough by poking it with your finger to keep track of your turns, or use a sticky and keep a tally. Place the dough on a baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Place the dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. The open ends should be to your right and left. Roll the dough into another approximately 13 x 18 inch, ¼-inch-thick rectangle. Again, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third. No additional butter will be added as it is already in the dough. The second turn has now been completed. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out, turn, and refrigerate the dough two more times, for a total of four single turns. Make sure you are keeping track of your turns. Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least 5 hours or overnight. The Danish dough is now ready to be used. If you will not be using the dough within 24 hours, freeze it. To do this, roll the dough out to about 1 inch in thickness, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze. Defrost the dough slowly in the refrigerator for easiest handling. Danish dough will keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

FRUITS FILLING
Makes enough for two braids

Ingredients

3 Cups fresh Apricots
2 cups fresh Strawberries
1 cup sugar
Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Put the fruit/sugar mixture in a large pan and cook over medium heat about 20 minutes . Pour the cooked fruit onto a baking sheet to cool completely before forming the braid. (If making ahead, cool to room temperature, seal, and refrigerate.)


PASTRY CREAM – French crème patissiere
1/3 c. sugar
2 c. milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. cornstarch
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
Mix sugar, cornstarch and eggs in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in milk gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.



DANISH BRAID Makes enough for 2 large braids

Ingredients
1 recipe Danish Dough (see below)
2 cups fruits mixture ( see above)

For the egg wash: 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

1. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll the Danish Dough into a 15 x 20-inch rectangle, ¼ inch thick. If the dough seems elastic and shrinks back when rolled, let it rest for a few minutes, then roll again. Place the dough on the baking sheet.
2. Along one long side of the pastry make parallel, 5-inch-long cuts with a knife or rolling pastry wheel, each about 1 inch apart. Repeat on the opposite side, making sure to line up the cuts with those you’ve already made.
3. Spoon the filling to fill your braid down the center of the rectangle. Starting with the top and bottom “flaps”, fold the top flap down over the filling to cover. Next, fold the bottom “flap” up to cover filling. This helps keep the braid neat and helps to hold in the filling. Add your Pastry cream and sprinkle on the top sliced almonds Now begin folding the cut side strips of dough over the filling, alternating first left, then right, left, right, until finished. Trim any excess dough and tuck in the ends.

Egg Wash
Whisk together the whole egg and yolk in a bowl and with a pastry brush, lightly coat the braid. Add some coated Sugar and almonds.

Proofing and Baking
1. Spray cooking oil (Pam…) onto a piece of plastic wrap, and place over the braid. Proof at room temperature or, if possible, in a controlled 90 degree F environment for about 2 hours, or until doubled in volume and light to the touch.
2. Near the end of proofing, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven.
3. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so that the side of the braid previously in the back of the oven is now in the front. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and bake about 15-20 minutes more, or until golden brown. Cool and serve the braid either still warm from the oven or at room temperature. The cooled braid can be wrapped airtight and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze for 1 month.

Surprise Inside!

Last Friday I discovered at TJ's some Stuffing Portabellas in their vegetables section. I did not know yet what I would do with them.
Once I arrived at home, I checked what I had in my fridge and my pantry. I had some Boursin French Cheese, Cream cheese. From the pantry I had golden raisins and walnuts. From the garden all variety of fresh herbs but the Cilantro was in my opinion the most appropriate and yes it was.

Spray some Olive Oil on a cooking sheet. In a large bowl mix the Boursin, the cream cheese ( at room temperature), add some Cilantro cut very small, add the walnuts, and the raisin.
Clean up your mushroms and pat them dry. Remove the stem if some. sprinkle some sea salt and fresh pepper in it. Then with a spoon fill the mushrooms cups with the mixture cheese/nuts/ raisins/ herbs.
Cook it in oven ( 350 F) for 15 -20 minutes until you see the mushroom cooked and the mixture nice and soft.
I served them with some Mesclun from my Vegetables garden and it was a such wonderful surprise. The cheese, the full flavor od fresh herbs, the sweetness of the raisins and the crunchy of the nuts was really wonderful and delicate in your mouth.
It was a wonderful Appetizers, light and delicate!

Today I share with your my breakfast and qui je suis- I have been tagged by my Neighbor friend Laurie

Laurie from Dalla Mia Cuccina
tagged me! We connected throughDaring Bakers and we leave nearby! Meme is a nice way to know our Bloggers Pals all around the world. Usually, I am pretty secretive... Merci Laurie!



The rules:
Each participant answers questions about himself. At the end of the post the participant tags 5 people. Their names are posted letting them know they’ve been tagged. They then have to read the participant’s blog. The tagged let’s the tagger know when he’s posted his answers. Here we go!

What was I doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago I was in New York ity, I was running my own Tour Operator company near Wall Street. It was a busy , crazy life but fun with lot of meetings, long hours, but also parties, hanging out with great friends and dinning in a lot of restaurants! And staying in the most amazing places and hotels in France!


What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
- Father’s day Craft at my friend Sharon’s house
- Cleaning the house
- Call my parents and parents-in law in France


Five Snacks I enjoy:- Nutella right from the container with a huge spoon
- Any Summer Fruits
- Saucisson ( dry French Salami)
- All cheeses
- All breads and French Viennoiserie or Patisseries

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

- I will help friends and family providing them comfort and money
- I will help old people without family or friends
- I will have a penthouse in NYC, a villa right on the beach in any Tropical Island, and a Villa in Provence, and one in Basque Country in Ainoa village
- I will hire a personal Chef, a nanny and a housekeeper and a driver I hate driving
- I will travel to Asia, Scandinavia, Mediterranean countries and Africa



- Places I have lived:
Bayonne, France
- Pau, France
- Paris, France
- New York, NY
- La Jolla, CA
- Pacific Beach San Diego CA
- Murrieta, CA


Jobs I have had:

- Air Cargo Assistant
- Export Assistant for a Scandinavian Trucking Company
- Buyer for Shell oil Company
- Owner / CEO Tour Operator Company
- Conduct Cooking Classes – Personal Chef

I tag: -
- Christine from Holy Basil
- Chef JP from The Chef From Hell
- Amy from we are never full
- Re from In food for Love
- Valerie from Aventures Californiennes



A bientot and happy memming!

Ode to B comme Bon Blog

You, me, anonymous readers, bloggers pals have your favorite Blogs. Discovering a blog and loving it at the first sight. This is what we love about Blogs.I discovered this Blog B COMME BON few weeks ago.
How a single person can be so talented? She is an amazing cook and she is a professional Designer. I feel cheated. I love cooking, this is one of my passion but how can you become so adventurous in your cooking and design. How do you manage to change your Food Blog into a piece of Art?
The logo is lovely. The name is wonderful. Valerie is really, really talented and she must be a very happy person. Of course this Blog is known among French Foodies Bloggers. I wanted to share this French Blog with you.
Sorry this blog is written in French, but like me you will love it.
A bientot

Quatre-heure a Midi! Teatime/ snacktime for Lunch

Today Sunday everybody is sick except me. For Lunch I want to do something that everybody will like and enjoy. Furthermore I want my kids do someting different that watching their new videos. Baking! Yes they love baking especially Muffins.
But in our home we bake it from scratch, not from boxes or mix.
When you ask my kids what do you need to bake a cake they know: eggs, flour, sugar... today we add Lemon Zests, Lemon Juice and even fresh Strawberries!
The dough was very good. Usually my husband is the dough taster. And even sick he loved it.
It was fun to do, it was lovely to present and my God it was delicious and light.

Lemon strawberries muffins
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
3 teaspoons finely grated Organic lemon peel
2 organic large eggs
1 1/4 cups self-rising flour
¼ tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Icing Sugar
½ cup Homemade Strawberries Jam
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup whole milk
1 fresh lemon juice + 2 tablespoons
10 small fresh strawberries diced into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Using electric mixer, beat butter, powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon1 lemon peel in large bowl until blended, then beat until fluffy and pale yellow. Add 2 eggs . Beat in half of flour. Add milk and 1 fresh lemon juice; beat to blend. Beat in remaining flour. Add the diced strawberries.
Bake cupcakes until tester inserted halfway into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack. Whisk Icing sugar with powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Whisk the Strawberry jam into remaining icing. Spoon over remaining cupcakes. Let stand until icing sets, about 30 minutes. Garnish with 1 strawberry.

I rarely find Muffins with fresh Strawberries, usually they are made with orange, pineaple, bluberrie....Actually Strawberries in Baking are more used " uncooked" that cooked. And this is too bad because the strawberries' flavor is wonderful once cooked. You find Strawberries Tarts, the fruits standing beautifully on the top of the pastry puff or pate brisee. But the truth is that cooked strawberries do not look nice as other fruits: they loose their texture, and their beautiful color. They look old and they do not appeal for your appetite! Voila! pourquoi they are used uncooked to be plumbed and rosy, like summer fruits should be!

What you should know about Restaurant's kitchens

Recently I worked at a Kitchen's restaurant. Actually it was the first time I stepped into a such big Kitchen's restaurant. It was a great opportunity for me, to work with a great chef, to learn about some techniques. OK, OK you go to a restaurant and you prize the Chef for its Cuisine. But I have to tell you, yes of course Chefs are in the kitchen and cook. But the hard work is around them.
The guys who wash dishes have a huge job, the china, glasses are put in a automatic dishwasher, but the huge pants, pots, you are using are washed by hand. During some days the guys are really in front of a huge mountains of pots. They are sweating a lot , they do not stop.
And depending on their shift, at the end of the day / the night they clean up the floor, all the sinks, they empty the fryer oil.... The 2 guys I worked with were really, nice, helpful and always in a good mood to cheer you up.
Then you have people who do everything : they clean the mussels, they peel the potatoes, they dice the onions, they do all the preparation for the chef and the Cooks. Even if the Cooks do also all the major preparations. This is a big job too. When you crack eggs you crack 60 eggs, when you clean and cut the parsley you are talking about 50-60 bunches, when you clean the salad same thing you have a ton of salad in front of you. All the quantities are huge. Another thing I learn you prepare everything far in advance 1,2 3 days before using it. This way you are ready to cook on demand where the orders are coming. The Chef and its Cooks have their own stations and everything is used upon orders coming.
Cooks are doing also a tremendous job, they second the Chef, and they are the ones in front of all the ovens ( we had 3), the open grill, the stove and the open fryer. When orders arrive they do not breath, they provide and provide like automatic robots. They can't even go to the bathroom!
Safety first. Not sure about that. First you need to wear special slip-resistant shoes. Then be prepared to cut yourself many times and more often to burn yourself.
Each cook is in charge of its own station ( cold) or(hot), the Chef is the one who does both when necessary.
The menus? We had 4 different... so you need to learn what is in every dish. All the different sauce, dressings...
FOH - Front of house they are the waiters/ waitresses. Same here they do a big job.
They handle huge weight, plates and everything need to arrive still nice in front of the customers. First you need to learn what is in the menu and what ingredients are in, then you need to learn how to use the computer to pass the order, this is not that simple. Because when people order something this is like " When Harry meets Sally" every thing on the side... so complicated. At the end some people want to split everything, they split the price of the bottle of wine in two, they want to use 2 different credit cards. So when you have a huge table ....this is really hard work. Next time you go with friends try to use an easy way of payment!
Overall it was a good experience at every level, but this is a very hard business and job. You standing for 8 hours on your legs, you take only 30 minutes of break ( not paid) so you really work 8 hours straight, in very hard conditions.
The best time is when you are in a the Kitchen behind you station and when you see the busboys coming back with empty and cleaned plates : you know that the customer liked what you cooked for him!

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake -

A Taste of Light: Opéra Cake, here is the Daring Bakers ( my #3 challenge)

This recipe is based on Opéra Cake recipes in Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets and Tish Boyle and Timothy Moriarty’s Chocolate Passion.

I checked on different pictures related to the Opera Cake and they all looked stunning and beautiful and delicious!

Yes it was a challenge. I made the Opera Cake Step my step. One day I baked the Joconde. And the day after I made the ganache/ mouse, the buttercream, the sirop...
I did not like the fact that for our challenge no Coffee, or chocolate could be used.
I really think that Coffee buttercream with the Joconde made with almonds will be delicious. And I did not like White chocolate either.
I use white chocolate for the ganache/mousse because I had some in my pantry. And it was easy to use actually.
For the Sirup I used Cointreau for more flavor.
And for the icing I use Lemon icing and Apricot Marmelade to give a nice orange color.
I was not very satisfied with my realisation. The buttercream was not fluffy.
The weight of the Joconde each time I put on the cream or ganache made the cake heavier and heavier.
The cake is still in the fridge I had only once slice. My husband ate half of the cake. This is a good sign.
Mine was too heavy, so I am sure this is not the way it suppose to be.
Next time I will use with ral Chocolate and Coffee!

OPERA CAKE

For the joconde

(Note: The joconde can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept wrapped at room temperate)

What you’ll need:

•2 12½ x 15½-inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans (Note: If you do not have jelly-roll pans this size, do not fear! You can use different-sized jelly-roll pans like 10 x 15-inches.)
•a few tablespoons of melted butter (in addition to what’s called for in the ingredients’ list) and a brush (to grease the pans)
•parchment paper
•a whisk and a paddle attachment for a stand mixer or for a handheld mixer
•two mixing bowls (you can make do with one but it’s preferable to have two)

Ingredients:

6 large egg whites, at room temperature
2 tbsp. (30 grams) granulated sugar
2 cups (225 grams) ground blanched almonds (Note: If you do not want to use almond meal, you can use another nut meal like hazelnut. You can buy almond meal in bulk food stores or health food stores, or you can make it at home by grinding almonds in the food processor with a tablespoon or two of the flour that you would use in the cake. The reason you need the flour is to prevent the almonds from turning oily or pasty in the processor. You will need about 2 cups of blanched almonds to create enough almond meal for this cake.)
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
6 large eggs
½ cup (70 grams) all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. (1½ ounces; 45 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1.Divide the oven into thirds by positioning a rack in the upper third of the oven and the lower third of the oven.

2.Preheat the oven to 425◦F. (220◦C).

3.Line two 12½ x 15½- inch (31 x 39-cm) jelly-roll pans with parchment paper and brush with melted butter.

4.In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or using a handheld mixer), beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add the granulated sugar and beat until the peaks are stiff and glossy. If you do not have another mixer bowl, gently scrape the meringue into another bowl and set aside.

5.If you only have one bowl, wash it after removing the egg whites or if you have a second bowl, use that one. Attach the paddle attachment to the stand mixer (or using a handheld mixer again) and beat the almonds, icing sugar and eggs on medium speed until light and voluminous, about 3 minutes.

6.Add the flour and beat on low speed until the flour is just combined (be very careful not to overmix here!!!).

7.Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture and then fold in the melted butter. Divide the batter between the pans and spread it evenly to cover the entire surface of each pan.

8.Bake the cake layers until they are lightly browned and just springy to the touch. This could take anywhere from 5 to 9 minutes depending on your oven. Place one jelly-roll pan in the middle of the oven and the second jelly-roll pan in the bottom third of the oven.

9.Put the pans on a heatproof counter and run a sharp knife along the edges of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cover each with a sheet of parchment or wax paper, turn the pans over, and unmold.

10.Carefully peel away the parchment, then turn the parchment over and use it to cover the cakes. Let the cakes cool to room temperature.

For the syrup

(Note: The syrup can be made up to 1 week in advance and kept covered in the refrigerator.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan

Ingredients:

½ cup (125 grams) water
⅓ cup (65 grams) granulated sugar
1 to 2 tbsp. of the flavouring of Cointreau ( orange liquor)

1.Stir all the syrup ingredients together in the saucepan and bring to a boil.

2.Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature.

For the buttercream

(Note: The buttercream can be made up to 1 month in advance and packed in an airtight container. If made way in advance, you can freeze the buttercream. Alternatively you can refrigerate it for up to 4 days after making it. To use the buttercream simply bring it to room temperature and then beat it briefly to restore its consistency.)

(Update Note: The recipe for the buttercream that is listed below was originally based on the original but we had some typos. It's all very confusing (we're good at confusing ourselves) but here is the short of it: When testing the buttercream, we tested a modified version (we're crazy like that!!!) that had 2 cups sugar, ½ cup water and 1¾ cups butter. Yes. That's right. 1¾ cups of butter. The eggs remained the same. We ended up with a very creamy buttercream. VERY. CREAMY. But we don’t want anyone to be afraid of our modified version so you have the option of using the original version listed below or the quantities we’ve listed here in this note. If you are still confused and want to cry, then please e-mail us and we will comfort you!!! We promise!!!)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a candy or instant-read thermometer
•a stand mixer or handheld mixer
•a bowl and a whisk attachment
•rubber spatula

Ingredients:

1 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) water
1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract 1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1¾ sticks (7 ounces; 200 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
flavouring of your choice lemon extract

1.Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean seeds or extract in a small saucepan and warm over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves.

2.Continue to cook, without stirring, until the syrup reaches 225◦F (107◦C) [*Note: Original recipe indicates a temperature of 255◦F (124◦C), however, when testing the recipe I found that this was too high so we heated to 225◦F and it worked fine] on a candy or instant-read thermometer. Once it reaches that temperature, remove the syrup from the heat.

3.While the syrup is heating, begin whisking the egg and egg yolk at high speed in the bowl of your mixer using the whisk attachment. Whisk them until they are pale and foamy.

4.When the sugar syrup reaches the correct temperature and you remove it from the heat, reduce the mixer speed to low speed and begin slowly (very slowly) pouring the syrup down the side of the bowl being very careful not to splatter the syrup into the path of the whisk attachment. Some of the syrup will spin onto the sides of the bowl but don’t worry about this and don’t try to stir it into the mixture as it will harden!

5.Raise the speed to medium-high and continue beating until the eggs are thick and satiny and the mixture is cool to the touch (about 5 minutes or so).

6.While the egg mixture is beating, place the softened butter in a bowl and mash it with a spatula until you have a soft creamy mass.

7.With the mixer on medium speed, begin adding in two-tablespoon chunks. When all the butter has been incorporated, raise the mixer speed to high and beat until the buttercream is thick and shiny.

8.At this point add in your flavouring and beat for an additional minute or so.

9.Refrigerate the buttercream, stirring it often, until it’s set enough (firm enough) to spread when topped with a layer of cake (about 20 minutes).

For the white chocolate ganache/mousse (this step is optional – please see Elements of an Opéra Cake below)

(Note: The mousse can be made ahead and refrigerated until you’re ready to use it.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan
•a mixer or handheld mixer

Ingredients:

7 ounces white chocolate
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. heavy cream (35% cream)
1 tbsp. liquer of Cointreau

1.Melt the white chocolate and the 3 tbsp. of heavy cream in a small saucepan.
2.Stir to ensure that it’s smooth and that the chocolate is melted. Add the tablespoon of liqueur to the chocolate and stir. Set aside to cool completely.
3.In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream until soft peaks form.
4.Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate to form a mousse.
5.If it’s too thin, refrigerate it for a bit until it’s spreadable.
6.If you’re not going to use it right away, refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

For the glaze
(Note: It’s best to make the glaze right when you’re ready to finish the cake.)

What you’ll need:

•a small saucepan or double boiler

Ingredients:

1 cup Icing sugar
3 tsp Lemon Juice
2 tbsp Organic Apricot Jam

1. Mix the sugar with lemon juice, heat on a medium heat.
2. add the Apricot jam

Assembling the Opéra Cake

(Note: The finished cake should be served slightly chilled. It can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 day).

Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

Working with one sheet of cake at a time, cut and trim each sheet so that you have two pieces (from each cake so you’ll have four pieces in total): one 10-inch (25-cm) square and one 10 x 5-inch (25 x 12½-cm) rectangle.

Step B

Place one square of cake on the baking sheet and moisten it gently with the flavoured syrup.

Spread about three-quarters of the buttercream over this layer.

Top with the two rectangular pieces of cake, placing them side by side to form a square. Moisten these pieces with the flavoured syrup.

Spread the remaining buttercream on the cake and then top with the third square of joconde. Use the remaining syrup to wet the joconde and then refrigerate until very firm (at least half an hour).

Prepare the ganache/mousse (if you haven’t already) and then spread it on the top of the last layer of the joconde. Refrigerate for at least two to three hours to give the ganache/mousse the opportunity to firm up.

Make the glaze and after it has cooled, pour/spread it over the top of the chilled cake. Refrigerate the cake again to set the glaze.

Serve the cake slightly chilled.

5 easy Ways to Go Organic

Five Easy Ways to Go Organic

I would like to share with you this New York Times arcticle, dtd October 22, 2007, 6:59 am

Got organic milk? (Tony Cenicola/The New York Times)Switching to organic is tough for many families who don’t want to pay higher prices or give up their favorite foods. But by choosing organic versions of just a few foods that you eat often, you can increase the percentage of organic food in your diet without big changes to your shopping cart or your spending.
The key is to be strategic in your organic purchases. Opting for organic produce, for instance, doesn’t necessarily have a big impact, depending on what you eat. According to the Environmental Working Group, commercially-farmed fruits and vegetables vary in their levels of pesticide residue. Some vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus and onions, as well as foods with peels, such as avocados, bananas and oranges, have relatively low levels compared to other fruits and vegetables.
So how do you make your organic choices count? Pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, whose new book “Raising Baby Green” explains how to raise a child in an environmentally-friendly way, has identified a few “strategic” organic foods that he says can make the biggest impact on the family diet.
1. Milk: “When you choose a glass of conventional milk, you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture,'’ says Dr. Greene. People who switch to organic milk typically do so because they are concerned about the antibiotics, artificial hormones and pesticides used in the commercial dairy industry. One recent United States Department of Agriculture survey found certain pesticides in about 30 percent of conventional milk samples and low levels in only one organic sample. The level is relatively low compared to some other foods, but many kids consume milk in large quantities.
2. Potatoes: Potatoes are a staple of the American diet — one survey found they account for 30 percent of our overall vegetable consumption. A simple switch to organic potatoes has the potential to have a big impact because commercially-farmed potatoes are some of the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. A 2006 U.S.D.A. test found 81 percent of potatoes tested still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the potato has one of the the highest pesticide contents of 43 fruits and vegetables tested, according to the Environmental Working Group.

Go organic with kid favorites like peanut butter. (Lars Klove/The New York Times)3. Peanut butter: More acres are devoted to growing peanuts than any other fruits, vegetable or nut, according to the U.S.D.A. More than 99 percent of peanut farms use conventional farming practices, including the use of fungicide to treat mold, a common problem in peanut crops. Given that some kids eat peanut butter almost every day, this seems like a simple and practical switch. Commercial food firms now offer organic brands in the regular grocery store, but my daughter loves to go to the health food store and grind her own peanut butter.
4. Ketchup: For some families, ketchup accounts for a large part of the household vegetable intake. About 75 percent of tomato consumption is in the form of processed tomatoes, including juice, tomato paste and ketchup. Notably, recent research has shown organic ketchup has about double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup.

Organic apples are readily available. (The New York Times)5. Apples: Apples are the second most commonly eaten fresh fruit, after bananas, and they are also used in the second most popular juice, after oranges, according to Dr. Greene. But apples are also one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and vegetables. The good news is that organic apples are easy to find in regular grocery stores.
For a complete list of Dr. Greene’s strategic organic choices, visit Organic Rx on his website.

One cold, rainny day in Southern California

This picture was taken 1 hour after the storm stopped.

Last Thursday was a terrible day in Southern California. We got in 20 minutes rain, storm, hail storm, Thunderstorm...the streets and roads were flooding with so much rain and water. Then suddently there was a huge hail storm right on our block where we live. Our cul-de-sac was all white. The good thing is that I just arrived in front of my home, coming back from the local Library when it happened. My kids could not believe it.
Our beautiful vegetable garden was devastated, so much work ... we do not know if our vegetable garden will survive.
It was pretty sad.
For dinner the only thing I could think of was SOUP, SOUP, SOUP....





For this soup I used all the vegetables I had in my fridge and pantry: corn, tomatoes, French Beans, carrots and peas. For the herbs I used Herbes de Provence and fresh Cilantro.
First I diced all the vegetables,I add 10 fresh Prawns I sauted them in olive oil. Then I add water, salt and pepper. I cooked for 20 minutes.
Then I took off the prawns. I peeled 4 of them and put them back in the vegetable broth. Then I reserved 6 others. In a blender I blended all begetables, prawns amd broth.
The green color ( merci les petits-pois) was amazing and so fresh.

It was an excellent soup, full with delicious flavors, rich, well balanced and healthy. Perfect for an early dinner on a chilly Californian day.


A bientot

Celine

Food Blog and gaining Weight

So many Food Blogs are available now. Some are based on a Specific Country cooking ( French, Italian, Asian...), some are about desserts only, others about Breakfasts, other about lunch boxes....so when opening one blog you can find all kind of edible treasures.
I am amazed everytime: 1. By the quality of the subject. 2. the way Bloggers write,some should be writters 3. the professional pictures displayed... some are pure beauty.4. Some bloggers can write almost every day about a new subject!How do you keep up on this impossible schedule.
I realise that having a Blog is 24/7 job! You need to think about your next recipe/ cooking, then you need to decide when you are going to cook it, then you make your list, go to the food market or grocery shop and then once it is done do not forget to take pictures, then you load them on your computer, then you write...
How do you write your own blog? do you take notes? How do you chose your subject?
More questions for you Edible bloggers:
My 1st question :How do you stay away from gaining weight... because when you write a blog, you cook and if you cook you eat, taste.
My 2nd question is: how do you keep a normal cooking/ baking budget when you write a blog: you need nice dishes and china to present your creations, you need to buy ingredients, sometimes they are expensive.... what is your secret?
A bientot
Celine

NB. By the way on the pictures are some Turrons from Paries St Jean de Luz, Biarrits, Bayonne France Paries

Simple Sunday Menu in hot Southern California

Yesterday was a Hot Sunday in Murrieta...I guess 105F. The menu was simple.
I love Sunday Cooking. I can take my time around the kitchen, improvise some salad, and set the table outside for my family.
I made Organic Roasted chicken, Muhsroom risotto made with the Chicken sauce, and a delicious Mesclun salad from our vegetable garden... for dessert simple Organic local strawberries with sugar and Heavy Cream the best dessert on earth.


Simple, delicious roasted Organic Chicken1 to 2 hours, again, depending on size of chicken

1 large organic chicken
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil First pressed
1 Teaspoon Organic butter
salt
pepper
21 Seasoning Salute ( TJ’s)
1 onion sliced- rings

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Salt the chicken inside. Place the onion rings on the roasting pan.
Rub the chicken with butter and add olive oil. Put the chicken in the roasting pan .
Season the outside of the chicken generously with salt and 21 Seasoning.

Roast the chicken for 15 to 25 minutes at 450°F. Then turn down the oven to 375°F for the rest of the cooking time.
Check if your chicken is well cooked with a meat thermometer.

Once cooked, the chicken should rest for 10 minutes before being carved, to allow the juices to redistribute themselves through the chicken. You can use the pan juices to make a gravy while you wait if you like, although I saved it this time for my Risotto.


Rice is as common in Northern Italy as pasta is in the south, and risotto is a uniquely Italian method of cooking it. The object is for the rice to absorb enough hot broth so that
it swells and becomes creamy while each grain still remains firm. When cooked, the rice
should be creamy, not runny. Only use all the liquid if you need it. If the rice is dry but
not cooked, add a little water and cook longer.


The best rice to use is a medium-grained Italian arborio

Risotto is really very simple to make and doesn't need a lot of time. You do need to stir
for most of the time it cooks, about 20 minutes.





Wild (Dry) Mushroom Risotto
(Serves 4)

1 1/2 cup chicken broth-sauce from your roasted chicken (see above)
1 ½ cup dry white wine
1 1/ 2 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
1 TJ’s Dry wild Mushroom bag
1 ½ cup arborio
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup Heavy Cream

Combine chicken stock-sauce and water. Bring to a simmer and add your dry mushroom This can be done in a microwave. Let it soak for 20 minutes.
Heat 1/2 teaspoons oil in a medium nonstick skillet. Add onion and garlic and saute
2 minutes. Add rice and sauté until the rice is completely covered with olive oil. Add wine.
Pour in 1/2 cup of the broth mixture ( without the mushrooms). Cook over medium heat, stirring every few
minutes. As the rice absorbs the liquid, add a little more. Then add the mushrooms Continue to stir and add liquid as needed. This will take 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in remaining olive oil,
heavy cream . Add salt and pepper to taste.


I love salad. For those who know a little bit my Blog. I am crazy about salads. I use whatever I have in the fridge, pantry and I can say that all my salads are always delicious and different.
The components, ingredients can be different, but the vinaigrette is always adventurous.
I use fruits, dry fruits, cheeses, croutons ( homemade), different oils, different vinegar… it is endless…
So today since our Mesclun was perfect for my Sunday lunch, I just added some grapes, nuts, olive oil, White Balsamic vinegar, some, Kosher salt and fresh pepper.
It was so good with the Risotto and the Chicken.

Croque- Monsieur

There are two versions behind the French croque monsieur sandwich.

When I cook for my kids I make the simplest, most common version (not that different from standard-issue American classic, the grilled ham and cheese). But when I cook for adults I make le Vrai croque monsieur that requires a béchamel sauce. My croque monsieur, based on my family's recipe is layered with jambon de Paris (some American stores display Madrange ham or Ferrarini Roasted Rosemary Ham product of Italy) , Swiss Gruyère, and a rich béchamel sauce, encased between slices of toasted white bread, and topped with more béchamel and grated Gruyère. I like it straight from the oven—the cheese bubbling and golden-brown, melting over the sides of the bread, and with a rich, creamy center.

Croque-Monsieur with Bechamel Sauce


2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
4 slices firm white sandwich bread
4 ounces sliced French ham ( Madrange) or Italian Ferrarini
4 ounces sliced Gruyère cheese
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese


PreparationMelt 2 tablespoons butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Add nutmeg. Increase heat to medium-high and boil until sauce thickens, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat broiler. Place 2 bread slices on work surface. Top each with half of ham and sliced Gruyère. Top with remaining bread. Heat heavy large skillet over low heat. Brush sandwiches with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Add to skillet and cook until deep golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to small baking sheet. Spoon sauce, then grated cheese over sandwiches. Broil until cheese begins to brown, about 2 minutes.

Voila!

Pictures are here....

No comments.....

Daring Bakers # 2 challenge Cheesecake Pops

April's Daring Bakers challenge was very original. It was unusual and I love how you could be very creative with the coating and the decoration!
It was so cute and pretty! My kids loved them and it was hard for them not playing with the little sugar decorations.
But you won't be able to see my realisation because my camera ended it up in my children's swimming pool the same day!

I hope I will be able to make some this week with my old camera!




Cheesecake Pops

Makes 30 – 40 Pops

5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 egg yolks

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

¼ cup heavy cream

Boiling water as needed

Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks

1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white (Alternately, you can use 1 pound of flavored coatings, also known as summer coating, confectionary coating or wafer chocolate – candy supply stores carry colors, as well as the three kinds of chocolate.)

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

(Note: White chocolate is harder to use this way, but not impossible)


Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees) - Optional

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.

When the cheesecake pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety.

Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set. Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed.

Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Le Bonheur and My Dean and Deluca Cup of tea

I miss New York every day! I am having delicious Organic TJ's Orange Spice Rooibos in one of my favorite cup listening Berry.
I can imagine myself walking right from the Subway to Dean and Deluca grab their very expensive strawberries, having some tea and heading to my office on 44 Prince Street. .
How funny today there was a article in the The New York Times I had some snack, lunch or early diner in some places mentionned in the article. Nostalgie.

Perfect Party Cake : Daring Bakers 1st challenge

I feel good about my first Daring Bakers challenge. I loved the recipe at the first sight, the explications were easy to follow. The only thing hard to make was the buttercream. First it was too loose and then too firm. But I managed it. I let it stayed in the fridge for some time.
I never baked this kind of cake before. It was a huge cake with 2 adults and 2 kids in the family we were able to eat only half of it! But it was delicious !!! Even my kids not too fond of desserts ( they love only chocolaty dessert) loved it!

Instead of using Rasperry jam I made some Strawberries maemelade, pureed it in the blender and it gave in my opinion a wonderful flavor.

Perfect Party Cake

For the cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon lemon juice

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
1 cup homemade Strawberries marmelade. Blended.
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Simplest and Delicious Tarte aux Pommes . Tout Simplement.

I guess I am truly and really attached to my mother’s cooking. After the simple vegetables soup she is making, voici the Apple Tart. So simple so delicious. A wonderful smell and aroma all over your kitchen while you bake it, and the anticipation…... Of a warm Apple Tart.
Long time ago my mother was doing all her tarts with Pate feuilletee ( Puff Pastry) only, it was a ritual and that was it. Her Pate Feuillete was buttery and delicious. Recently when visiting my parents I noticed that my mother stopped doing her Pate feuilletee and was making Pate Brisee. I was skeptical because I am not used to this type of crust. But her tart was delicious, and crispy.
She shared with me her recipe.

Apple Tart Tarte aux Pommes

For dough:
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, just softened, cut in 1/2-inch pieces
3 1/2 tablespoons chilled water
For filling:
2 apples (any firm variety), peeled, cored (save peels and cores), and very thin sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (small pieces)
5 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon of heavy cream

Mix together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl; add 2 tablespoons of butter. Blend with hands until dough resembles coarse cornmeal. Add remaining butter and mix until pieces are pretty big.
Add some water, stir, then dribble in more, until dough just holds together. Toss with hands, letting it fall through fingers. If dry patches are too many add another tablespoon water. Keep blending and tossing until you can roll dough into a ball. Flatten into a thick disk; wrap in aluminum foil and refrigerate. After at least 30 minutes, remove; let soften so it’s malleable but still cold.
On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 14-inch circle about 1/8 inch thick. Dust excess flour .
Place dough in a lightly greased 9-inch round tart pan. Cut all around the pan your dough. Heat oven to 400°F
Cover apples on dough in a ring 2 inches from edge. Continue inward until you reach the center.
Add small butter pieces over apples and onto dough edge. Sprinkle sugar over dough and over apples. Sprinkle cinnamon.
Bake in center of oven until apples are soft, with browned edges, and crust gets a golden brown (about 45 minutes)
Remove tart from oven, add some sugar and heavy cream.

Of course you can serve this tart still warm with some Vanilla ice Cream. Pure Bliss.

Une envie de Soupe

Last Saturday night I had a urgent need of soup. The same my mother makes and use to make. She is the master of this one, in fact I was never able to duplicate the same way, it never taste as good as at Home even if I use the same thing!
Anywhere soups are easy and delicious. You just need to clean the vegetables, peel them and cut, chop them. You saute them and add some water and you leave the soup on its own.Voila!
This is a sure way to eat you 5 vegetable serving daily, this is a comfort food, all the family loves it and it stores very well in refrigerator and is actually improved with time. You can even freeze it.





My mother Vegetables Soup

2 cups water
2 potatoes -- medium size
5 carrots -- diced
1 small onion -- diced
1 celery stalks -- diced
1 leek
2 garlic cloves
½ turnip
¾ Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt -- or to taste
1 tablespoon Chicken flavor Bouillon
21 spices from Trader Joe’s
1 teaspoon dry basil

1. Clean well your leek under running water head down. Keep the green and the white. Dice it.
2.Peel all other vegetables, and dice them.
3. Add olive oil in a heavy, large pan with lid. Add all the chopped vegetables. Saute on medium heat until vegetables are softened and onion browned lightly.
4.2 cups of water, the water must be just above the vegetables in the pan
5. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes or until all the vegetables are done. Add the salt and pepper.
6. With your hand blender, blend the mixture

Crème fraiche, sour cream and heavy cream can be added in your plate. Serve with crispy buttered slices of toasted fresh bread


N.B Leaving near Mexico it is easier to find " crema Mexicana" that " Creme Fraiche"

The Daffodil Principle

I received this today....


The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.



It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.




That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting ....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until your kids leave the house

Until you finish school

Until you organize the garage

Until you clean off your desk

Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you get married

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer, spring, winter, or fall;



There is no better time than right now to be happy.

If you want to brighten someone's day, pass this on to someone special.
I just did!

Salad Day

Just a lovely salad made with California Avocados,Celery,Crimini mushrooms, one small apple sliced,some White Balsamic Vinegar,Olive oil and for the finish and the creamy... some Organic Bleue Cheese Sauce from TJ's.
Delicieux and healthy!

Green Day

Another rainy day today in Southern California. Yesterday instead of visiting our Farmers Market I decided to visit our Albertsons
This supermarket is huge and proposes now a wide variety of items. Now they are Green!
I bought some Organic Pears and Mangos. I even noticed that their packages are green too! This is a good thing because most of my Neighbors are going to Albertsons instead of our local farmer market. I really hope they are going to buy Organic ingredients.
Buying Organic is great, but I suggest you to become green in your house too: use cleaning products Green too ( Phosphate-free, Chlorine-Free, no dyes and Biodegradable. And of course their packages can be recycled!
Natural cleaning is also great: got some lemon? got some Baking Soda, got White Vinegar? Great !use them as much as you can and please do not use disposal Whipes to clean up your mess they are the worst filled with hard and harsh ingredients. Buy some use Biodegradable ones.

TAGGED

I got tagged and I only found out what blog tagging few weeks ago, so imagine my surprise when I realized that Anne from A Foodie Froggy in Paris tagged me today. This is the first time I have been tagged!

Six things, you do not know about me and I want to share with you today ( little habits, routines and little secrets...not very important)

1.My handwriting is terrible, sometime I can't read my own script. I lost valuable minutes trying to decode it, it was terrible when I was a student.

2. Every morning I love having a different breakfast, one day :fruits, other day pancakes, bagels, doughnuts, toasted bread...

3. For 2 years when I was living in NYC I stopped eating meats and everything related to that.

4. As soon as I arrive at home I take off my shoes and wash my hands.

5. I keep everything. I do not throw things away. I have boxes and boxes of little things I will keep forever: matches boxes, business cards from restaurants or boutiques, little notes, letters, postcards, recipes...plenty of souvenirs.

6. I love unusual perfumes and fragance. I do not want to wear what everybodyelse is wearing.

I had one for every important period of my life. My first fragance was offered by my husband: Courreges in Blue... long time ago...I am not going to tell the name of the one I put on lately

Rules: Mention the Blog's name that tagged you, add the rules on your Blog, write the 6 things/ habits non-important about yourself, tagg 6 people adding their Blogs Links and inform the person you tagged .

Here is the list of the ones I would like to know 6 things about: Cake in the City

Confiture Maison

La Tartine Gourmande

La Vie a Philadelphie

Dans La Cuisine des Frangines

Tartin & Chocolat,

Sunny Meyer Lemon

We are at the peak of Meyer lemon season here and they can be found perking up in Farmers markets, backyards ,and California groves.
While going through my favorite organic vegetables and fruits booth at Saturday Temecula Farmers markets, I noticed some Meyer lemons. They have been popular lately in any kitchens and cuisine. I really love these plum, smooth-skinned lemons with canary yellow, color of the sun at noon.

Origin and description
The Meyer lemon (Citrus × meyeri) is a citrus fruit, native to China, thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin orange or sweet orange. The Meyer lemon was introduced to the United States in 1908 , by the agricultural explorer Frank Meyer, an employee of the United States Department of Agriculture who collected a sample of the plant on a trip to China. IIt became popular as a food item in the United States after being rediscovered by chefs, such as Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, during the California Cuisine revolution. Meyer lemons are reasonably hardy, but grow well in a warm climate. They are also fairly vigorous and by the mid 1940s the Meyer lemon had become widely grown in Southern California.
Do you know?
The Meyer lemon boasts of its high vitamin C content -- one regular-sized lemon supplies about 30 percent of an average person's daily requirement. Meyer Lemon is essential not only in stimulating appetite and aiding digestion, but also in promoting the absorption of calcium and iron from natural foods.
When buying lemons, choose the ones that are smallish, heavy for their size, shiny. Fresh and firm lemons will last several weeks inside the refrigerator.
Meyer Lemon do not travel well, this is why you find them at your local food markets.
If you plan to use the skin for cooking or for making marmalade and lemon zest sprinkles, choose lemons that are certified organic. If unsure of the fruit's origin, choose the un-waxed batch and remember to wash and scrub them before slicing or peeling.
Since I discovered them, I have used Meyer lemons in most of my Cooking Classes featured here in Murrieta/ Temecula, and most of my students never tasted or seen any, my advice : Meyer lemons, get them while you can!

Here are the top 20 things to do with a Meyer lemon.

1. Make Meyer lemonade. using 2/3 cup juice to 1/4 cup sugar and 2 cups water

2. Make Morrocan Chicken Tajine with Meyer lemons, olives and fennel

3.Candy the peel, dusting with superfine sugar.

4. To a risotto made with mascarpone and Parmesan, add some grated Meyer lemon peel.

5. Rub a Meyer lemon peel around the rim of a demitasse of espresso.

6. Meyer lemon-almond cake

7. Make classic preserved lemons by filling a Mason jar with quartered Meyer lemons, one-fourth cup of kosher salt and enough lemon juice to cover, and letting them sit in your refrigerator for three weeks.

8. Grate Meyer lemon peel into a bowlful of Chantilly cream.

9. Arrange thin slices of Meyer lemons on a pizza crust topped with goat cheese, rosemary and olives.

10. Make Meyer lemon curd. ( see my recipe in this article)

11. Meyer lemon sorbet-ice cream

12. couscous salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette: olive oil, Meyer lemon juice, minced shallot, Dijon, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

13. granita? Just make fresh lemonade, pour it into a casserole dish and freeze, scraping it occasionally with a fork until it’s . . . a granita.

14. Lemon rice salad with spring asparagus would be too.

15. lemon pasta

16. in a lemon-ricotta cake

17. freeze the juice in ice cube trays and then put them into a zip lock until you figure out what you want to do with them

18. Meyer lemon marmalade

19. Meyer lemon mousse

20. Meyer Lemon salsa


Lemon curd is a British spread with a lovely tart and lemony flavour. In my own variant I use Meyer Lemon which makes it perfect. The curd is very versatile and can be used on toasts and muffins or as filling in cakes, pies and tarts.
Once I discovered it I could not stop making it. It’s very simple to make your own lemon curd and I strongly recommend doing it yourself instead of buying a jar in the store, which is filled with preservatives and other “not healthy” ingredients. If you use fresh eggs and butter and sterilize the jar, the curd will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Meyer lemon Curd Napoleon

For the Meyer lemond curd
4 heaping teaspoons grated organic Meyer lemon peel
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
4 Organic eggs

Grate the lemon. Combine with sugar in food processor and blend.

Add lemon juice and eggs one at a time, blending after each addition. Drizzle the melted butte in through the spout.

Pour mixture into double boiler over hot water. Stir constantly over medium heat until sauce simmers and becomes thick. Cover and refrigerate till cool.

For the Napoleon- feuillete
1/2 cup sugar
4 sheets phyllo, defrosted (I used Fillo dough from The Fillo Factory - follow instructions on box)
4 ounces butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. You will need a fairly large surface to work with the phyllo. Keep the sheets you are not using to the side under plastic wrap and damp towel. Take a single sheet of phyllo and lay it flat on the work surface. Brush the phyllo with some of the melted butter and sprinkle with a quarter of the sugar. Lay a second sheet of phyllo on top and repeat the process. Do the same with the other two sheets of phyllo.
Cut the rectangle into 3 x 4 inch rectangles. Using a spatula transfer the rectangles to the baking sheets, with a kitchen brush spread the melted butter on each rectangle and sprinkle the sugar. Bake about 10 minutes or until they have turned golden brown and crispy.
Place a pyllo rectangle on a plate spread on it the Meyer Lemon curd. In the photos I used three layers of phyllo but it does get a little unwieldy to eat.
Strawberries and Oranges for decoration (Optional)

Jour Blanc

The montains surrounding Temecula Wine Country Valley are all white. The weather was very warm for the last days ( in the 80's) and on Saint Valentine's Day, in a short period of time it was windy and chilly. Of course no comparaison with my friends who live East Coast New York City, but the change was quite abrupt.
The result is that we have beautiful white mountains and this is lovely.
Yesterday I baked some Orange Glazed Pound individual cakes and it ended up in a pure disaster :my cakes collapsed(!) in the center - I don’t mind a cake with a crater in the middle; but even the taste was not good I guess I did not mix well and enough the baking powder. Since my recipe was in French using French Alsa Baking Powder I am wondering what went wrong. The only good things was the smell in the kitchen.
No pictures today of my baking but a georgous White Hyacinth in my kitchen.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

Trader Joe's to the rescue!

I am cooking usually from scratch, but some days, some evenings I like shortcuts like everybody else.
I usually buy my fresh vegetables, fruits and eggs at the Farmers Markets in Temecula.
My pantry: my rice, pasta, bread, cheeses and meat at Trader Joe's. We do not have a Whole Foods here, we need to drive to San Diego or L.A to find one. I whish we add one here the meat/poultry/ fish section is the best.
But even wen I used to live in San Diego I was visiting TJ's almost on a daily basis.
I buy new items each time I go there, and I am never disapointed.
Yeterday still sick, I decided to open bags... I made Orange Mandarin Chicken, with organic basmati rice everything was from TJ's!
In the rice I added some French green beans, green-orange-red frozen pepper, soy sayce, madarin orange Chef sauce. I fried all in a wok.
The Organge Chicken was crunchy, golden, with a light orange-honey flavor, the fried rice was delicious and tasty! It was a hit at lunch!

Baked Apples

As I am writting more and more about my daily cooking, I realize how I am still connected to my childhood and my mother's dishes.
I was gifted having a mother dedicated to her family, her house, her garden, and her cooking. Even if today, I am not good with flowers and plants, neither with sewing a button I got her love for cooking!
Yes my cooking is related to my past but I am growing up too so I can be adventurous in my kitchen things that I notice few people want to try. They follow the recipes steps by steps. I never do that or only for baking.
Today I baked Apples, Pommes au four. My mother used to cook them in a traditional way for wednesday lunch ( at this time there was not school on Wednesday) and sometimes for dinner desserts. Apples were baked in the oven with a little touch of butter and jam.
The ones I baked today were small, but organic called "Fancy Gala", they were organic from my Farmer's market.

- 1 cup Californian blond raisins
- 2 TBS brown sugar
- 1tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cardamon pwder
- 2TBS Quince jelly
- 4 gala, cored & cut off the top ( as a little hat)
- sliced almonds (optional)

Prehaet the oven to 350 o. Toss the raisins, and spices, add the brown sugar. Place the apples on a baking sheet and press the raisins mixture into centers, add the jelly or jam.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until the apples are slightly soft.

You can add some mascarpone-honey on the side if you want. The marriage between warm apples and cream/ mascarpone is delicious!

Soupe du Jour

The weather in Southern California has been so terrible lately : rain, cold mornings...that I was drawn to soups. Furthermore I have been sick and everybody got a cold in the family.
What I like about soups ( as for salads see my post of yesterday ) you can use whateveryou have in hand, they are very versatile andthey are quick and easy to make. No specialist equipment, I usually use my hand-hold blender.
Soups feature in every cuisine all over the world: potages, consomes, gombos, broth, soups...
My energy level was so low yesterday and with a full hand of organic carrots I decided to make a Morocan Carrot Soup..
Some fresh (pre-baked Filone TJ's) with real better on it was a pure bliss!
The soup was hot, spicy and very tasty, suddenly I felt much better after I ate it!

Morocan Carrot Soup
- 1 peeled and sliced onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup of frozen 3 color peppers (green, red and orange- from TJ's)
- 2 small sweet potatoes chopped
- 16 oz organic peeled carrots chopped
- Fleur de sel - or sea salt
- fresh grounded pepper
- Ras el anout spices - Morocan spices ( blend of coriander, curcuma, pepper, ginger, cumin, hot pepper)
- 1 TSP all-purpose flour
- Olive oil
-organic chicken broth ( pack)

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and cook the onions and galic, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender, 5 minutes. Add all the ingredients and spices cook stirring for 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth.
Cover and reduce heat to low.
Set aside some vegetables to garnish. In a blender or with you hand-hold blender puree the soup.
Lassle the soup into individual bowls, and garnish with herbs and veggetables set aside.
Serve with warm bread and butter!

One of my 1000 salads

My close friends and family know that I love creating healthy and unique salads.
Salads are healthy, colorful, easy and quick to prepare. The possibilities are endless.
You can mix some warm goat cheese, or a soft egg, bacon, fruits, cheese...
Some are perfect during hot Summer (fresh picked tomatoes with basil, and olive oil are divine)but in Winter some pears, endives leaves and Blue cheese can be delicious. To tell you the truth the best ones are often when my pantry or fridge are almost empty. Yesterday after reading Pascale last post from her famous Blog " C'est moi qui l'ai fait!" I watched her doing her special Sunday Salad through the video available on her Blog http://scally.typepad.com I was craving for some salad.
I opened my fridge. Fresh green salad,fresh grapes,Shepperd Sheep cheese ( from TJ's), bacon. In my pantry, I had some pine nuts and all sort of vinegars. I opted for the Figs Balsamic Vinegar,some fleur de sel, grounded pepper and olive oil. The dish was quite refreshing and satisfying. Perfect for a quick supper.

Having my own food blog, I am learning how this is a big commitment. I envy all " Mr/Mrs BIG food Blogger)their pictures are always amazing, the perfect angle, the perfect lay out, the best dish and spoon, the comments unique, as if they have a very well organized and easy life.
I enjoy spending more and more time on my own blog. I am learning how to shoot food pictures, I try to be creative but this is a hard work.
I am glad I came across some amazing people through their blog and I will share with you their amazing blogs, the ones I can't wait to see and savour every day!

Chandeleur- Crepes Day

Last Saturday it was the Chandeleur in France, an old French tradition where you eat crepes all day long!
Since Valentine Day is just at the corner I decided to wrap my Pot au Chocolat with crepes...the result was of course delicious.
Here is some photos!

PIF- PAY IT FORWARD

Here is a little game I am participating in, since I left a comment on " in the Food for love" blog.
Rules for " Pay it Forward" are simple:
1- Everyone with an active blog can participate.
2- The first 3 people who will leave a comment about this game will receive a Homemade gift
3- I will send you my gift within 365 next days.
4- In exchange, you would "pay in advance" ( Pay it foward) keeping the same promise on your blog ( I won't mail the gift if you do not write the information about PIF game!)

I can't wait to see the first 3 names and comments on my blog!

Je vous présente un petit jeu auquel je participe grâce à un petit commentaire laissé chez " In the Food For Love"

Les règles du "Pay it forward" sont très simples :

1- N'importe qui possédant un blog peut participer.
2- Les trois premières personnes à laisser un commentaire sur ce billet recevront un cadeau mijoté par moi-même.
3- Je vous enverrai votre cadeau dans les 365 prochains jours.
4- En échange, vous devrez "payer à l'avance" (pay it forward) en faisant la même promesse sur votre blog (Je n'envoie pas le cadeau tant que vous n'aurez pas posté à propos du PIF!).

Qui seront donc les trois premières personnes à venir poster chez moi et recevoir un cadeau ?

Healthy and Happy Friday

I think I got the flu or something similar. So today with a little time and zero energy I prepared for myself a healthy meal:
Garlicky Bok Choy, mushrooms, fried rice ( excellent from TJ's), smoked salmon with a goat cheese/ whipping cream sauce.
Actually every texture mixed well in the mouth : the silky Bok Choy, the tender mushrooms, the light rice, the smooth salmon and the creamy sauce!
Voila an excellent lunch... even being sick I was able to taste and enjoy it!

Strawberries in Winter

They are back! Yes, yes Californian strawberries are everywhere. Last Saturday at Temecula Farmers Market my son could not stopping asking for some fresh strawberries.
I remember when I was little in France strawberries I had to wait mid-of June to eat strawberries and never, never my mother would have buy fruits or vegetables off season. But now as an adult living in Southern California I do not need to wait until June to make a wish* when devoring my first strawberry . They will be available from Januray to July...Yes I will bake delicious strawberries tarts topped with whipping cream/ chantilly, yes I will make delicious jams.
Yesterday night, my strawberries were still looking good, I washed them,I cut them in small pieces I sparkled some sugar, a pinch of Organic Whipping cream et Voila!
A delicious reddish dessert!
* A tradition in my family whenever you eat a fruit or vegetables for the first time in the new year you make a wish!

TREASURE IN SHELLS

I love seafood. I love the texture, the original taste. In France, at Fish markets you find Sea Scallops in their shells,closed or oppened. You can ask the fish seller to open it up for you.Inside this shell called Coquille Saint Jacques, you can find two beautiful things: first the white scallop it should be plumped and shiny, then on the side is nested the beautiful orange coral, croissant shaped. You can eat it this is good.
My mother used to cook sea scallops with mushroom, shrimps, bechamel sauce and then she put it back in one shell, add some cheese and breadcumbs and bake it in the oven, as a seafood gratin. The presentation was always astonishing and people could not help saying Oh! and Ah when these delicatecies where presented in front of them.
Here in the States I never seen the sea scallops in their shells, most of the time you find them by the weight at your food market.
A friend of mine bought me those delicious fresh sea scallops, but since I did not have the shells and no time I decided to make something quick and tasty.
In a large pan I poured some olive oil. When the oil was hot I added the fresh scallops seasoned ( salt and pepper), then I glazed them with white Balsamic vinegar, and I added sliced almonds. The smell was delicious. At the very end I added some whipping heavy cream!
I licked all the plate, all the flavors combined so well together.

Galette des Rois

This year I invited all my French friends for the famous galette des Rois.
Again made from scratch I baked the " Frangipane" or " la Parisienne" or" Pithiviers cake" made with Californian Almonds. And I made the one " briochee".
Both were delicious, even if the one briochee a little dry.
The " crown/ couronne" was made my my niece Chloe. The " feve" hidden inside was an almond!


California Almonds for French Sweet Desserts
Do you know that almonds are California's largest tree nut crop in total dollar value and acreage? They are one of the largest U.S. horticultural export. About 6,000 almond growers produce nearly 100 percent of the commercial domestic and supply more than 80 percent of worldwide production. More than 80 countries import California almonds : Spain is the largest market for almonds. Other major importers include Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, China.
Yes, in France we use a lot of Almonds in desserts and one of the most delightful and magical dessert is the Galette des Rois or Kings’ cake served on the celebration on January 6th or Epiphany, or twelfth night, the celebration of the arrival of the magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar, before the newborn Jesus .
Friends, family and coworkers are gathering together every year for this strong tradition served with white wine or hard apple cider.

Pithiviers Cake
Serve 6

Ingredients

100 g/4 oz/1 cup ground California
100 g/4 oz superfine sugar
40 g/3 tbsp real sweet ( unsalted) butter, softened
2 egg yolks
225 g/8 oz puff pastry (paste), thawed if frozen
1 egg, beaten
Icing (confectioners') sugar, for dusting


Beat together the ground almonds, the sugar, butter, egg yolks. Cut off a third of the puff pastry. Roll out to a round about 18 cm/7 in and place on baking cookie sheet. Roll out the larger piece of pastry to a round the same size, but twice as thick. Spread the almond paste in the centre of the thinner pastry round on the baking sheet. Brush all round the edge with water. Place the second piece of pastry on top. Brush with beaten egg to glaze and score the top with the back of a knife in a cross pattern. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and dust the top with icing sugar. Return to the oven for a further 5 minutes or until caramelized. This can be served warm or cold.

Note: Kids love this cake first for the fun tradition of finding the “ feve” inside the cake and becoming the King or Queen for the day, and then they love the sweet taste of it.

It is never too Late!

This my 2007 Buche de Noel.
Everybody helped me decorate this Buche: Chloe my niece, Joel my Husband, my parents (Pyrenneens chocolates), my kids ( little deer).

Voila!

Thanksgiving with a French Twist

Last July a free local newspaper magazine called "Neighbors" liked my idea about editing healthy and natural recipes and it started to edit my recipes.
Every month I am very pleased when seeing my own editorial and recipes edited in this nice and informative paper.
It was a big surprise when Diane Simone the owner and Chef Editor of this paper decided to use my pictures and column to illustrate the paper front page of her magazine.


A Touch of French
THANKSGIVING WITH A FRENCH TWIST
By: Celine


Our first Thanksgiving feast was 15 years ago, in Murrieta at our best friends? house: Jocelyne and Fabrice. We flied from Newark to California on Thanksgiving day.
It was really a cold and chilly day in New York and once we arrived in South California the weather was so wonderful and warm!
We arrived just on time for Thanksgiving dinner.
Our friends? inviting house was full of American/ French families and friends and everybody helped already for the preparation of this sumptuous meal .
First of all, I loved all the food served (but never tasted before): Turkey with cranberry sauce, corn bread, yams, Pumpkin pie?etc and I loved the idea about this very special time to reconnect with family and friends.
I loved also the decoration all the pumpkins, the colorful Autumn leaves displayed on the table, the dishes used for the meal, everything was beautiful!
Of course we do not celebrate Thanksgiving in France so it was a complete discovery.
I love this wonderful American tradition.
Every year now I try to do a mix of French and traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
Here is 2 Thanksgiving dishes with a French Twist.
These recipes have been kids tested. The cauliflower/ potato gratin was devoured in 5 minutes. Kids love Béchamel sauce. In fact I am using it a lot. Served on top of vegetables this is always delicious. So if your kids do not like vegetables you can try to serve with béchamel.
As for the dessert my son who likes only chocolate desserts asked 3 times for the Crème Caramel, this creamy, smooth and silky is lighter that the traditional Pumpkin pie even after a huge Thanksgiving meal!
For further information about my Cooking Classes, Catering and Personal Chef services send an e-mail to celinescuisine@gmail.com or contact Neighbors newspaper.



Cauliflower and potatoes Gratin
Serves 6

2 1/2 cups milk
3 potatoes peeled and cut in small pieces
1 small bay leaf
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch florets (about 7 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
1 generous cup finely grated Gruyere cheese (about 3 ounces)
4 gratings of fresh nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 F. Butter a 1 1/2 quart gratin dish and set it aside.
Make the béchamel sauce. In medium sauce pan, heat the milk and bay leaf to just below the boiling point. Set aside. In another medium pan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, and then sift in the flour. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon in a figure-8 motion, until it lightens in color, about 2 minutes ( until you can smell almost sweet cookies).Gradually whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, whisking to prevent lumps. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. While the sauce simmers, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add the Potatoes. Cook until tender add cauliflowers florets and cook additional 5 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Arrange the cauliflower, florets-side up and potatoes, in the buttered gratin dish.
Strain the sauce and season it with a teaspoon salt, pepper, nutmeg, and to taste. Whisk in the cheese, 1 tablespoon of the butter, until smooth, taking care not to over mix. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower.
Bake until the top of the cauliflower gratin is golden brown and bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve hot.


Pumpkin Crème Caramel
Serves 8

For the caramel base:
3/4 cup super fine sugar
3 tablespoons water
For the flan:
1 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spices
1 1/2 cups Organic pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
7 oz Sweetened Condensed milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
For the caramel base:
1. Melt sugar ( ½ cup) with water in your cake pan and place it on the stove top over medium ?low heat,( 5 minutes) until the sugar has melted and become a golden brown liquid, remove the pan from the stove. Coat the pan entirely with the syrup and set aside.
For the flan:
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine milk and cream until lightly boiling. Meanwhile , in a large bowl, beat the eggs, add remaining sugar ( ½ cup), the salt, and the vanilla and beat until blended. Mix the Pumpkin puree with condensed milk and add it to the eggs mixture. Blend well. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into egg/ pumpkin mixture while stirring continuously.
Then place the caramel-lined cake pan in a deep baking pan that can receive your cake pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan up to the rim. Pour water into the deep baking pan halfway up the sides of the cake pan
Bake for 1 hour or until the flan is set.
Cool until room temperature then refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 1 day before serving.
Before serving run a sharp knife around the edge of the flan and invert onto a platter making sure that the caramel runs down the top and sides.
Bon Appetit!

Since these recipes have been "Public" some of my friends and clients asked me to duplicate the Pumpkin Creme Caramel, this is always a hit!
I invite you to try this delicious and healthy recipe for the Holidays Season!

Olive Oil cake with honey and pine nuts

Those who have tasted my cooking creations know that all my cooking and baking are from scratch.
This is the way we do it in France. We do not use "mixture" from a box adding only water. No, we use real Free Range eggs, real organic flour, whole creamy milk...we cook from A to Z.
At almost 3, my kids know how to bake a cake, they know how to mix eggs with flour.
Most of French food is GMO free. Because items are well labeled, and actually this is the law. You know if you food contains GMO or not. In the U.S.A, this is not mandatory. Only Organic food is GMO free.

My endless search for healthy, natural cooking leaded me to Organic Olive Oil Cooking.

Here is one of my favorite sweet recipe:

Olive Oil, Honey and Pine Nuts Cake
Ingredients:
Serves 8
3 eggs 2-1/2 cups granulated sugar 1-1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil 1-1/2 cups milk 1 cup pine nuts
1 cup honey 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2-tsp. baking powder 1/2-tsp. baking soda pinch of salt confectioners' sugar for dusting

Decoration
1 cup honey
1 cup olive oil
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Butter and flour 12-inch cake pan.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar until blended.
4. Add the olive oil, milk , pine nuts, and honey and mix well.
5. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
6. Add to the egg mixture, stirring until just blended. Do not overmix.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 to 55 minutes.
9. Pour on the still yet cake olive oil and honey
10. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. Loosen the sides with a knife and invert onto a serving plate.

A true anti-diet recipe: The Britanny Kouign Amann cake

Some butter, some sugar and flour, plus a little more butter and sugar...

Ingredients: 150 g of flour, 300 g of butter, 200 g of sugar, a pinch of salt, 20 g of baker yeast, a yellow of an egg to give some colour (not mandatory).
Mix the baker yeast with three lukewarm water spoon then mix with the flour. Add the sugar, then the butter. Turn and roll the pastry 4 times. Let rest 15 minutes between each turn. Put in a dish covered with butter. Scratch the surface of the cake with a fork and put in the oven during 25 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar as soon as removed from the oven and served lukewarm with a glass of cider.

Laduree Paris, Chocolate Macaroons

First time I ate Chocolate Macaroons was in Paris in the famous Laduree Patisserie Salon de The. It was a real chock for my palate. I love chocolate, all my friends, my family know it. I need to eat chocolate everyday this is my drug.
California is a formidable Orchard and I bought last week Californian Almonds. Since I always have chocolate ( pure one 70%) in my Kitchen pantry,I decided to make some Chocolate Macaroons. The same as Laduree, Paris.
Actually, I was surprised to see how quickly and easily you can make those wonderful macaroons

Macaroons:1/2 cup blanched whole almonds 1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 3 Large egg whites Pinch of salt 2 teaspoons granulated sugar Filling1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line 2 Large baking sheets with parchment paper. To make the macaroons: Pulse the almonds with 1 cup of the confectioners' sugar in a food processor until finely ground. Add the cocoa powder and the remaining 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar and pulse until well blended. Beat the egg whites with the salt with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large bowl just until the whites form soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Add the granulated sugar and beat just until the whites form stiff peaks when the beaters are lifted. With a whisk or a rubber spatula, gently fold in the almond mixture. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe out 1-inch-diameter mounds about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake, one sheet at a time, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the tops are cracked and appear dry but the macaroons are still slightly soft to the touch. Transfer the cookies, still on the parchment paper, to barely dampened kitchen towels and let cool for 5 minutes. Carefully peel the paper off the macaroons and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.To make the filling: Bring the cream lust to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder. Add the chocolate and butter and whisk until smooth. Let coot to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes, or until the filling is firm enough to hold its shape when spread. If desired, transfer the filling to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tip. Pipe the filling, or spread it with a table knife, generously on the flat side of half of the macaroons. Top with the remaining macaroons, flat-side down, pressing together gently to form sandwiches.

Temecula Farmer's Market

Every Saturday morning 70-80 farmers and vendors gather in historic Old Town Temecula to offer a wide variety of farm fresh, organic fruits and vegetables plus bakeries ( the croissants and chocolate croissants are delicious), olives, olive oils, cheeses, tamales, hand made soaps and lotions.
The produce are grown locally, sold by the grower and they meet all state quality standards.The Farmer's Market is where "REAL" farmers sell only agricultural products they grow themselves.
Last Saturday, I went early in order to do my little weekly visit. This market is crowded but there is no real problem to park your car.
First I did a quick round all around to see all different vendors. Then I knew exactly what I wanted to buy that day.
I started with my plain croissant ($1 each) those are realyy good almost French taste. Then I stopped to buy Fresh eggs. I saw also Cactus Figs. The first time I had one of these it was during my trip to Morocco with my parents. I remember this taste so particular and unique, fresh and sweet. 1 piece was today ($1), the woman said that each fig was ready to eat... and Gods know how long you need to take off every little cactus splinter. But I got 2 small for $1. Then I bought fresh purple figs, 4 huge tomatoes, fresh prunes, yellow plums....and I got a huge bag of Grapefruits for only $ 3. I also had small but exquisite crispy very sweet apples, perfect for my kids' snacks. Then when you live in Temecula you are surrounded bu vineyards, I bought some grapes too.
Everything I bought was certified organic!
Do you want to know what we are going to eat this week end and next week:
- prunes tart with almond filling served with Vanilla ice cream
- plain yellow plums tart with Puff pastry
- Ricotta topped with pistachios served with Figs cooked in honey
- Roasted Stuffed tomatoes served with rice
- soft boiled eggs served with crispy brad and butter
- grapes preserve for this winter

I urge you to visit this great Farmer's Market, you find great little treasures. Some fruits, vegetables you do not see anywhere else. And this is good for your health.

Olive oil tasting party the perfect summer rendez vous !

Which olive oil do you use? Do you have more than one in the pantry? All olive oils are different and each one, like good wine, has a unique flavor profile.
As you may know, Olives are grown all over the world : France, Portugal, Greece, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt and, of course, Italy. Our own growers in California produce wonderful olive oils, too.
As a Personal Cook and Cooking Instructor, I am always curious about new ingredients, new flavors. Last, Saturday I drove into Old Town Temecula to some Olive Oil tasting at the Temecula Olive Oil Company where they grow and crush their own olives for a variety of products.
So-Cal towns : Murrieta, Riverside, Ontario, Corona are known for their Malls, superstores and Fast –food chains so this is not the ideal spot to find unique, quaint shops and boutiques. Temecula Olive Oil Company (TOOC ) is one of them. The boutique is located on the main street of Old Town ( Temecula) hidden behind plants and leaves. Then once you enter, you love this place, the scents, the wood floor,the decoration, so European. I went straight to the “ Tasting Room” since I told Nancy one of the owner last week that I would stop by for some tasting. In fact I am going to use TOOC products for my cooking classes.

Jennifer was the one who conducted the tasting. She liked the idea that I was French since she went to study in Paris last summer and loved it . I was doing the tasting with another couple. It was the perfect size for tasting. You actually drink little shots of olive oil, straight in plastic tiny cups. We started with the “Mission” Olive oil a nice, warm with a buttery taste oil, than you can use in all of your favorite recipes. Then we had the “Rotture di Oro” that offers a strong “ grassy/oily” taste great . It was nice and sweet.
Then the “ roasted garlic” was a great surprise not too strong, with great flavor. Just perfect.I loved it . So many recipes can use this oil.
The “ citrus” was a pure gem, so light and delicious… perfect for all your baking and salads. It brings some sunshine in your cuisine and your Kitchen! I tried also the “just dip it” oil but was not very thrilled about it. And while tasting it I had hard time imagining how to use it in my cuisine. It supposed to be one of the top selling at the shop…
Then we tasted also two Balsamic vinegars. The “Vanilla & Fig” Balsamic vinegar. First I love the name, very sensuous. It was good but I really could not taste the fig flavor and the Vanilla was too light in my opinion. Then we had the “ White Balsamico” and it hit me. It was really delicious, very fruity and cooling I loved it.
This tasting was really great. Even friends from Temecula did not know about this place and about Olive Oil tastings.
I will host soon an olive oil tasting party, in my own kitchen.
I already know the buffet I will prepare to pair the different oils and vinegars :

- Panzanella Salad
-Roasted chicken with lemon and garlic.
-pasta with fresh tomatoes,roasted garlic and a drizzle of olive oil , and of course Basil from my organic garden.
- A colorful platter of grilled or roasted onions, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini and peppers, drizzled with olive oil.
- My famous Bake Olive Citrus Cake. See recipes below

CONVERSION OF BUTTER TO OLIVE OILBUTTER = OLIVE OIL1 teaspoon = ¾ teaspoon1 Tablespoon = 2-1/4 teaspoons¼ cup = 3 Tablespoons1/3 cup = ¼ cup½ cup = ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons2/3 cup = ½ cup¾ cup = ½ cup + 1 Tablespoon1 cup = ¾ cup

Panzanella Salad (Tuscan Tomato & Bread Salad)
4-5 large vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into large cubes or wedges½ pound stale country-style Italian bread, crusts removed and cubed (about 8 cups)
1 ¼ cups thinly sliced red onions
2 teaspoons minced garlic
¼ cup TOOC white Balsamic Vinegar
½ cup TOOC Extra Virgin Mission Olive Oil
1 bunch fresh basil, stems removed, washed and spun dry, torn into pieces

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepperIn a large bowl, combine tomatoes, bread, and onions.In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar and olive oil. Pour the dressing over the bread salad and let sit for 1 hour at room temperature. Add the basil and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine. Then refrigerate. Serves 4-6.

The Olive Citrus Cake
grated zest and juice of one lemon
grated zest and juice of one orange
¾ cup The TOOC Citrus Olive Oil
1 cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 medium eggs
1 1/2 cups semolina
1 cup ground almonds
tightly packed1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon almond essence
1 teaspoon orange flower water
1/4 cup Cointreau or Grand Marnier

One round springform cake pan, 9-inch diameter, lightly oiled and lined with parchment.Preheat oven to 325°Reserve a little of the grated lemon and orange zest and put the remainder in a bowl with the oil, sugar, salt, orange and lemon juice, and eggs. Beat together with a whisk until light and fluffy and doubled in volume.Sieve the semolina and baking powder into a second bowl and add the ground almonds. Fold the almond essence and orange flower water into the egg mixture. Pour all at once into the dry ingredients, fold together, but do not overmix. Spoon into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the reserved lemon and orange zest over the top.Bake near the top of the oven for 40-45 minutes or until pale gold at the edges and firm in the middle. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Drizzle the liqueur over the top. Push the cake out, still on the loose metal base, and let cool on a wire rack for another 10 minutes. Remove the base and paper. Serve in 8 to 12 wedges, warm or cooled. Do not refrigerate.Serves 8-12. The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

July 14th Bastille Day!

It has been a while since we have celebrated correctly Bastille Day ( French Bank Holliday) on the July 14th!
So when I heard that Muriel and her family was coming to San Diego to give Cooking classes to her best American clients during 3 evenings, I knew I would have to meet her.
But my schedule could not match hers while staying in SD. Then, she mentionned that she will visit the Temecula Wine Country on July 14th.I decided to have a party with her family and our closest French/ American friends.

Because it is very hot and warm right now in So-Cal we will have a BBQ, salad, pizza potluck. It will be an Homemade Potluck. This is what I request fresh not processed food. Actually it will be a potluck with a French Twist since half of the people are French.
Muriel proposed to bring some artichokes… I guess she will do something delicious and very French.
When I was in the Travel Industry organizing customized trip to France for Americans who wanted to discover the real France. I was able to propose to my clients some cooking classes with Marguerite. It is Muriel's Chef name!
Actually you can visit her website http://www.elegantcooking.com/. While working with different providers in France, Muriel was always the one I loved to work with. Always available for me at any time, very well organized, precise and professional. In a few years, she had been one of the Top 10 Cooking classes instructor in Paris her classes are sold out most of the time.
She is amongst few instructors who also conduct a Farmers Market's visit before the cooking class and I think this is wonderful. This is one essential step in the French Cooking. You need to meet, discuss and chat with your butcher, your vegetable/ fruits supplier and cheese maker, this is the best way to get the perfectly ripped tomatoes, soft cheese and some time best deals too!

On July 14th, we will welcome Muriel and her family around 7 pm in our garden. Joel will make his delicious Sangria... wonderful during Summer time.
Since we have delicious Zuchinis in the organic vegetable garden, I will make chilled soup. Soup and summer do go together when you serve this chilled vegetable soup, made creamy with the addition of Vache qui rit cheese / the laughing cow wedge cheese a French favorite since 1921 http://www.thelaughingcow.com/lc/lc.nsf/ProductsL2-Wedges?openpage


Chilled Zucchini Soup
3 1/2 cups chicken broth 8 cups peeled sliced zucchini 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 teaspoon crushed dried basil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper5 Vache qui rit wedges
1. Combine chicken broth, zucchini, onion, garlic, basil, salt and hot pepper sauce in a large stockpot and simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender add Cheese. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. Pour soup into a blender or food processor process until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Makes 8 servings.

Our dearest and best friends: Fabrice, Jocelyne and their daughters will join us. Caroline and Mark will be there with their 2 sons and I guess 2 or 3 couples and few single persons will join us too!
It will be a party for about 20 people. Since this is a potluck I need to review who will bring what…..this is my next task... I will let you know what is a French Potluck.

We do not have Potluck in France. The hosts provide averything guests do not bring anything sometimes, flowers, wine and dessert.... In my opinion Potluck is really a great American idea...because you can taste other favorite casseroles, salads.... people like to show off their culinary talents!

Nutella et moi

This morning my kids and myself were craving for something sweet and chocolaty...I was late on my schedule and I had no time, running around as usual.

Nutella came to the rescue...this Nutella Santwich is the ultimate one but I have more than 10 Nutella recipes in my Cookbook!

Creme Caramel de Maman

My mother has always been an excellent cook. She always says that when she got married she even did not know how to cook an egg! Hard to believe!
She is still using her first Cook book recipes she bought after her marriage. I love this Cookbook, pages are yellow, with some stains ( only few because my mother is very neat), between some sheets she keeps hand-written recipes from her own mother, some aunts...some other recipes are from a French magazine.
This book contains all Classic French Recipes from Pate feuilletee to Coq au vin similar to Julia Child books I guess. I love also the pictures everything look good and healthy.
When I go back home in France visiting my parents and when my mother is cooking I look at her book: I go by the picture first, if the photo looked yummy I am looking for the recipe in the book... but this is tricky sometimes the Coq au vin recipe is located 4 pages prior the picture in a dessert section, so you are turning pages after pages in order to find THE recipe! I do not know how many glasses of wine the editor drank before publishing it!!!
Her cookbook in front of her, I love watching my mother mixing some eggs, flour, milk, sugar, each gesture is perfect and the way she is using her wooden is still magical to me.
My mother's baking were always simple and delicious: fruit tarts ( apple, tart Tatin, Strawberries with chantilly), Crème renversee ( an upside-down caramel custard), oeufs a la neige ( floating islands), crepes au sucre, French Cake , crème caramel.
Now that I have a family to feed I can go on and explore my mother's desserts, I am lucky they have sweet-tooth.
For tonight dessert I made Crème Caramel de maman.

Look in your fridge and pantry for sure you have everything you need to make it right away!

1 c. Sugar
5 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
3 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Butter 8 (6 ounce) custard cups. In small skillet over medium heat, melt 1/2 cup sugar, stirring until it is a light brown syrup. Pour syrup into buttered cups. Place cups in shallow baking pan for easy handling. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large bowl with mixer at low speed, beat eggs, salt, and 1/2 cup sugar until lemon-colored. Gradually beat in milk and vanilla extract. Pour mixture in cups; put hot water in pan to within 1 inch of top of cups; bake 1 hour until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks; refrigerate; with knife, loosen custard from cups and invert onto dessert dishes, letting syrup run down side onto dish

Trader Joe's Style Cooking classes

I love Trader Joe's . I love it. I love it. Five years ago when we moved from NYC to San Diego we did not know anything about TJ's. Trader what? One of my co-worker told me about it. He was German so I guess it was one of his favorite spot in town for cheap and good German beers and food ( TJ's owner is German). The first time I went I was not thrilled about it. I went to the one in la Jolla. Then we moved to Pacific Beach and our apartment was only 1 block away from it. It became our " grocery store".
From the European style daily products, the delicious pre-baked bread, the French Brioche, the frozen foods, the Madrange French ham, the Pizza dough, the black or white truffle oil, the candies, and now their organic frest fruits and vegetable...I do not go shopping elsewhere now . OK now that our Kitchen/ vegetable garden is blooming I buy less at TJ's.
Each time I am going there I try or buy something new. And you know what in 6 years I never been disapointed, never. So when I started my Cooking Class in my kitchen I was using a lot fo TJ's items. During my classes, a lot of people were asking questions about TJ's Products. Even the TJ's cashier asked me once how I was using Brioche or cooking my artichokes.
It was obvious: I will organise a Trader Joe's style cooking class, including TJ's visit, then information about the best pantry items you need in case you have one suprised guests, and yummy easy recipes.
Now I receive more and more requests for this special Cooking Classe and I am glad about it. I am glad to see how people are looking for fresh ideas for healthy and easy meals.

Next Trader Joe's Style Cooking class is scheduled on July 28 and August 25.
And for 4 people or more coming for a Private class the date/ time can be anytime!

Cooking at the Kasbah

Few years, ago I bought my first Moroccan Cuisine book called : Cooking at the Kasbah ( Kitty Morse). I never thought that later I will use this book for my Cooking Workshop classes in my home.
I love this little book: beautiful Morocco photographies, mouthwatering portraits of the local food, so colorful, so unique.
Morocco has always been in my heart. Before I was born, my grandparents used to live in a Villa in Rabat surrounded by Oranges Groves. My mother told me so many stories about her life over there with her parents and three sisters. It sounds like paradise to me: the warm climate, the cuisine and food, the oranges scents, the hamman tradition...
As a teenager I went to Morocco twice and every time and I was falling in love with its souks, Medina, gardens, rituals of the Moroccan way of life and table.
Casablanca, El Jadida, Fes, Rabat.... I loved every villages, every mint teas offered.
And then, with my husband we moved from New York City to Southern California. The climate, the dry landscape, the oranges, lemon, almonds groves, Palm trees with dates, remind me of Morocco.
When I was working on my menus and schedules for my Cooking classes, it was obvious that Moroccan Cuisine will have a large part of it because evenings in So-Cal (Southern California) can be similar to the ones in Morocco.
This is why I named one of my class: a Moroccan feast! Tagine, Chicken couscous with raisins, almonds and pine nuts, sweet cinnamon couscous,dates with almond- pastes will be on the menu. Served with Mint tea!
Already 4 people enrolled this class on July 14, I can't wait to smell in my kitchen all the spices and unique cents... a fragrant haven.

Celine'sTagine of Chicken, Apricots, almonds

Ingredients:
- 6 lbs of chicken pieces
-2 large yellow onions
-2 sticks of butter
-1/2 tsp turmeric
-1 tsp black pepper
-2 cinnamon sticks
-1 lb dried apricots or prunes
-8 tbsp honey
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1cup peeled almonds
-1 tbsp sesame seeds
-oil

Preparation:
In a large pot, melt the butter. Fry the chopped onions until soft, andadd the chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric and cinnamon sticks. Add enoughwater to cover the chicken, about two cups. Bring to boil, reduce heat,and simmer until the chicken is done, adding water if necessary. Removethe chicken pieces.Add the prunes or apricots and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add theground cinnamon and the honey, stir and cook until the sauce has ahoney-like consistency. Add more honey if necessary.When the sauce is almost ready, toast the almonds.Return the chicken to the pot and re-heat. Place chicken in a servingsheet, pour sauce on top of it and top with almonds and sesame seeds.
on top of it and top with almonds and sesame seeds.
I serve it with buttered and fluffy plain couscous.

A squirrel in my Kitchen!

Yesterday I found a cute gray little squirrel in my Kitchen. I never leave my Kitchen door open but I guess yesterday I did. In the morning I left some delicious local strawberries on the kitchen counter because my son said that the ones from the fridge were too cold!
I guess the little squirrel loved the smell. But he tried to hide under my cabinets I could not catch him and I did not want to harm him neither. So I cut some small pieces of strawberries along the path to the kitchen door and I hide behind my Club chair. It worked! He followed and ate every single piece of the strawberry . He was all pink and cute! Then finally he decided to go outside and I closed the door behind him.
The day before I saw also a little bunny in front of the house. I guess our Kitchen garden is very popular amound the little animals.
With the rest of the strawberries I made a: Strawberries with meringue, mascarpone and honey. It was delicious and sweet but very light too. When I have time I will post the recipe.