Banlieue Blog

Kouglof in Kentucky

2008-04-03T15:03:00.011-04:00

As I start to test recipes from France, here in Kentucky, I have to smile when there is success! I took my last French pastry class at Le Notre in October, right before all 'heck' broke loose! I usually try to make the pastry we learn in class at home, just to 'sink' the technique I just paid to learn. With a pending house hunting trip in November, the only thing I had time for was a trip to MORA to buy the special earthenware molds that the chef recommended.

I was so pleased to unpack these lovely molds, and found them in the same condition, just like I picked them up from the shelf at MORA. I got my recipe out, prepped and weighed the ingredients. I knew that I might need a few tries at this recipe, just to nail it.......but, it did work ok.

I will need another try with the recipe. My dough didn't rise in the mold to a real height like they did in class. I wonder if my yeast wasn't fresh enough, or I needed to do the rise with a little warm water near by. I use warm water in a cold oven for the final rise of my Croissants, so this method might work better next time.

The dough however was very easy and supple to work with. Not the usual sticky mess that a traditional brioche dough is. You don't need an overnight, cold proof like you do with normal brioche in this recipe.
My baking in Kentucky continues as spring very slowly approaches! I have finally found some fresh herbs for planting, now, I'm making 'it' home.

Le Creuset (of America)

2008-03-30T12:23:00.008-04:00

Satisfaction: Guaranteed! Lifetime Warranty!
Do you see that written and smirk? Think to your self, yeah RIGHT! Do you keep your receipt, just in case?

Well, my precious blue dutch oven, bought about 30 years ago and used, at least once a week, started to get chips in the bottom of the pan. I thought, lifetime warranty, well, I'll give it a try. In October, while still living in France, I wanted to buy my bearded baby his
first Le Creuset pot. I love going up to the (real) factory store, and my time in France was running out.

I threw my dutch oven in the trunk, thinking that they might be able to do a repair, or....better yet, exchange for a sparkling new one. The lady in the store told me that I should not use the pan anymore, the raw cast iron would leach out into our foods. And, she informed me, no, they don't honor the lifetime warranty if I bought my pot in the USA. So, I bought a new one. The Caribbean Blue took my eye, and I bought my son a blue one.

I decided to pack up my chipped pan in our move and bring her back to America to see if Le Creuset of America would honor the warranty. The lady on the phone told me that I needed a number to include on the packing. I sent it UPS.....didn't cost much, I included a letter and I certainly didn't have the receipt from 30 years ago. No big deal! They determine if the problem was theirs or if I caused the problem. If I caused the problem, I would be offered a discount on another pot, if I wanted. Well......time would tell what they thought!

Well, look what came in the mail. A GORGEOUS brand new dutch oven. Not only is the pan worth it's weight (yep, they are heavy) in enameled gold! The company stands up for the product!

Now, I'm not 'dissing' the French Factory Store, they are very helpful and informative. They try to have the pot in the color you are looking for if you call in advance......the prices are well worth the 2 1/2 hour drive north of Paris! I'm just happy that at the end of the day, satisfaction guarantee, and Lifetime Warranty do mean, just that. Now I can have two dutch ovens bubbling away on my hob!

A trip to the farm......

2008-03-22T13:38:00.005-04:00

Trying to have a little fun in between unpacking, shopping and a daily trip to Lowes, the old man and I signed up for another cooking class! We stumbled on this little place in Midway called, The Honest Farm, one Sunday afternoon.
We walked inside to find a very charming, quaint, big open space. There were some farm veggies to buy, a cold display with homemade yummies like chicken salads, pot pies.....homemade cookies etc. Interesting decor, with a big pot of coffee and tea at the ready.
It seemed like a natural thing to sit down on the great little bistro tables and have a 'cuppa' and a bite of something sweet. The table cloths were wonderful antique cloths that I love and have bought myself on trips 'back home' when we lived in France.
When we got home, I did an internet search on the owner and found that she was a cookbook author, magazine editor, and farmer. What a FIND!! She said she gave cooking classes, and I figured that this was a must on my 'to do' list.

(click on the photo for a great view)

Susie prepared a fantastic brisket, kofta and a wonderful rhubarb upside-down cake. There was also an asperge and egg salad dressed with a simple Vinaigrette. I have to admit, I never liked rhubarb and have avoided it at all costs. Even pulling it out of my garden in France! But, after tasting this cake, I might start to experiment with it! Plus the cake itself was indeed a winner! The class is BYOB and we drink out of Ball Jars......it just adds to the charm. We learned so much, as Susie is very passionate and has great stories to share, along with the cooking demo. There was a copious tasting, I'd call dinner, after the demo. I can't wait till Spring comes and she gets her farm planted and we can start eating fresh veggies!

Basic Food for Dinner

2008-03-11T17:36:00.008-04:00

I found some ground lamb at the grocery......although, I'm having a hard time finding cuts of lamb other than chops (the search for a good butcher is on). The blizzard has passed and we shoveled the snow off the WeberQ. I wanted to cook up an old favorite, Goat Cheese Stuffed Lamb burgers. I had the Goat Cheese already in the fridge. I just needed a 'side' to go with the burgers and green salad.

Enter: Culinary in the Desert and Joe!

Sometimes you just need to take a look at the other blogs and see what 'those guys' are eating! Joe always has something wonderful to chose from, he updates daily! His Four Cheese Mac-n-Cauliflower Cheese looked great, and gave me another excuse to feed the 'Bearded Baby' some veggies!

Bubbling hot from the oven, I knew this was a winner. Check out the link to the recipe at Joe's Blog!

(there is another lamb patty that goes on top of the goat cheese!)

The lamb burgers were great, even with the Goat Cheese (I'm not complaining about American products, I swear!!). The Red Pepper Mayo is another great recipe from a BBQ class I used to teach. This will stay fresh in the fridge for about a week.

The lesson for today......check out the blogs for some great dinner ideas!

The Urge to Bake

2008-03-09T10:52:00.008-04:00

Since I'm just about unpacked and feeling as settled as can be right now......I have had the urge to get back into the kitchen and see if I still 'have it'!
I really haven't done any baking since leaving France, and if you remember I took a couple of classes at Le Notre right before we started packing.
I always think I'll remember each and every thing that the chef tells us (during the class), and I don't always write things down. Well, I got my notes out for the Macaron class and 'damn'.....I didn't remember each and every thing after all. I continued on with each step and 'it' came back. From the triple baking trays, to the twist and turn, and the 2 hour wait before you garnish with ganche!
Note to self: Write everything down, keep your camera next to your station during each class!
I was pleased and relieved that I can still bake in KY.

(click on the photo for a better view)

I found some fresh yeast at my local Kroger that produced a lovely pizza and a 'garlic flat bread'.
I still love Roberto Donna's recipe! My cannele's turned out delish! And my trusty Simac Ice Cream Maker churned out some great coconut ice cream for a 20 year old on spring break. If I can still fit into my yoga clothes, I've got to get started again.
Best wishes from Kentucky!

ps

2008-02-25T20:57:00.002-05:00

for those of you who aren't luck enough to have 'an old man' in tow......he is the one who makes everything happen for me! the mounting of the painting........all the electrical work.....
lucky me!

Have Oven, Will Travel!

2008-02-25T14:13:00.009-05:00

I'm starting to get settled, here in Kentucky. We survived a Tornado Warning and high winds while they were unloading our 'precious' stuff. Snow and ice hit our little 'burb, then the sun comes out and you want to start planting! Welcome back to the 'states'! I did order and receive our 'weather alert radio'. Although I'm not looking forward to any middle of the night sirens again, the basement floor is COLD!

(All my favorite French products, painting by Melissa Werpy. painting attached to my pantry door!)

When we heard that we were going to move in a very quick fashion, I did try to get rid of my convection oven. I just assumed that all houses in the states came with 2 ovens. WRONG, a regular oven & a microwave oven were found in the houses we looked at. Suddenly it looked like my Metro brand oven was going to take a voyage across the ocean! Of course, my dough machine, juicer, big-fat-fryer, and professional crepe maker got included in the shipment.

I decided to do a little relaxing = baking yesterday. I mixed up a batch of Cannele batter. I wanted to see how Pierre Herme would do in Kentucky! Having rested the batter till this morning, I baked off a batch.....bah oui!!! The ladies look luscious. Somewhere, someone described a Cannele as a portable Creme Brulee. Look at that creamy center with a crisp outer-shell.
The French oven worked and I think Pierre is giving me 'thumbs-up' right now!

I've unpacked my Kougloff molds and have yeast in hand.......look out!! Where did I pack my scale.....oh well!!

Hey Ya'll!

2008-01-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

I'm channeling Paula Deen since moving to Kentucky.

Well, I've been in the U.S. for a good 3 weeks.....there are surprises, good and bad. I won't dwell on the bad, ok! We are still waiting for our 'stuff'.......living in limbo, even with a nice view just isn't cutting it anymore!

Having lived in an 'expat' community for a long time, you learn that as 'the new gal', you've got to get out and get your feet wet. Sign up for groups, seek out exercise classes.....find the next cooking class! Well, the mecca of all things culinary is as far as 'the mall'. Williams-Sonoma! I've been super curious about their offerings of cooking demonstrations, so I signed 'the old man' and myself up for the Super Bowl Snack demo.

A full house surrounded our chef/instructor. A place setting, cold drinks and pans were heating on 'the hob'. She did a great job, we grazed while she set out to create the next snack. It was a fun evening. Let's not forget about the 10% reduction you get while attending a class. I had to buy some Alziari Olive Oil.......oh the memories.

Since then, we took a drive to Midway, I met a very interesting young woman and promise to blog about her soon!

Life through Fresh Eyes!

2007-12-24T03:17:00.001-05:00

You already know this, for a fact! I Love Paris! Paris has been our home for the past 23 years! It gets under your skin......you become a part of it! I've even laid claim to monuments and places! But.......in September, we learned it was time to move on.

Where? Why? When?

We will be moving on December 31st......very symbolic, don't you think? Starting the new year in our new home? You will find me in Lexington Ky now. Why Kentucky? Gosh, it was a bit like throwing the dart towards the map and seeing where it landed, remember the Cher movie, Mermaids? Kentucky has all the towns, like Paris, Winchester, Frankfort, even Versailles that sounded familiar!!!! Rolling hills, horses, deer!

Now you might understand my silence these past few months. It is a very emotional experience to pick up 'sticks' and move on. Let alone orchestrate and organize an international move. I promise to update this blog more often......I mean you've got to read about my Reverse Culture Shock!! Discover where I'll be shopping and how I get on with the day-to-day of life in the US.

Someone told me that I will be looking at life with Fresh Eyes.......I think I've been away long enough that this will be a new adventure. This gal logged much International Experience and I believe she might be right. I'm going to take her advice and try to see my new life with Fresh Eyes.

Happy Holidays to all my friends & readers!

See you on the 'other side'.

Les Kouglofs et Brioches

2007-10-30T02:53:00.000-04:00

Continuing with a passion, I was off to LeNotre yesterday. A rainy, cold day is perfect to be captive learning about dough! Safe in the warm kitchen, watching the rain and gazing at the Grand Palais, pencil in hand and camera at the ready. The Kouglof has been a guilty pleasure of mine for years. I do my grocery shopping at Monoprix, get my veggies and fruit at the special fruit stand and finish off my shopping trip with a mini-kouglof, from Le Notre, for the ride home.

Shifting into second gear while driving home and wiping sugary syrup from your chin is a challenge, but well worth it! I've been wanting to learn the secret of a LeNotre Kouglof for years and now is the time!

As you know, baking is all about chemistry. Well.......so is a cooking class! I've taught hands-on in my home for a few years now. I understand the 'chemistry' of a class. You've got shy ladies, new ladies, know-it-all's. It is up to the instructor to bring the class together, create a fun atmosphere for learning and when they leave, they feel like they've experienced something special. I always hope that they feel like they can tackle what I taught. I'm not complaining about this particular class I took, I learned the technique that was taught. The class was flat, if that makes any sense!

Armed with my recipes and yet another planned shopping trip to MORA for molds, I am still thrilled with the opportunity to learn the art of French Viennoiserie!

Les Macarons Monday

2007-10-26T09:26:00.000-04:00

There are times when I have to pinch myself. How lucky can I get? Times when you just don't take things for granted!

I'm talking about last Monday, when I attended a class at LeNotre.

We learned so many tricks and techniques, I couldn't write fast enough! I had a fun group, a French woman who lived in Miami translated all the fine points that I would have lost. The chef was great and even passed on more recipes for us to take home. I couldn't wait to try my hand at home.

The last time I attended a class at LeNotre, I didn't come home and make the pastry and now, I've lost all the secrets and wouldn't want to attempt it till I go to another class. The class was Puff Pastry Inversee'. A tough technique.

After this class, I gathered the ingredients and made the Macarons and I was darned proud of the results.

Take a look at the single Macaron, that is mine!

Enjoy the photos!

Let Them Eat Cake!

2007-10-08T11:44:00.001-04:00

I'm sure by now, any faithful reader, my mom and son included, have stopped checking my blog. If you have thought that I got lost, yes, in a way, I have. When I blog.....I share my 'joy'. That 'joyful' feeling has been way-laid of late. Explanations excluded, ok.

Lets talk about an idea I had last June, it came to fruition a week ago. And boy, was it fun to see it develop and execute! It was also received with excited feedback. It was called the Let Them Eat Cake Picnic!

I've been working with a gal out of Texas for a couple of years now. She runs a tour biz for ladies and it has been great watching her business grow! I got involved by teaching a cooking class for her clients. The successful format is a Hands-On Crepe class. This is a non-stop crepe fest with everybody flipping crepes and eating non-stop. I recently added a Professional Crepe machine and now they have a chance to test their skills on the Krampouz, just like the crepe makers on every street in Paris! The ladies seem to enjoy it and many times they are buying a crepe pan from Dehilleron.

The picnic idea grew out of the fact that the ladies take a tour of Versailles. They usually stop at the market and pick up some sandwiches and Cheryl would pull out a bottle of wine and a tablecloth out of her backpack.
I thought that it might be fun for them to have a real picnic. I would provide a boxed lunch, they would have the opportunity to sample a real quiche, chocolate mousse and my famous business-card sugar cookies!

Living about 10 minutes from the Petite Hamlet I thought I could drop off the lunches, let the ladies enjoy the food and wine and then they could continue on with the tour. I'd pick up the trash and meet them the next day for the Crepe Class. Yep, this was a great plan.

The Culinary gods were smiling down on me the morning of the picnic and the food came together without a hitch. We packed up the boxes and dropped them off in front of the Grand Trianon, I discovered that we could not set-up a picnic inside of the Hamlet or the grounds inside the Trianon. Not to worry, there were plenty of places to set up with ambiance. Friday, Saturday and Sundays there is Baroque Music piped in throughout the grounds and, even you, Can Eat Cake with the ghosts at Versailles!

From Lake to Table

2007-08-06T08:40:00.000-04:00

Long time-no blog! It has been so long, that I had to go through the tutorial to remind me how to do this (not really, but it sounded good). I have no excuses for the passed time.

We spent a week in the UK, I've been hitting my favorite cooking shops, Dinghams and Lakeland. I've also brought back some mature cheddar and my precious little red chillies for the freezer. I hit the Buy 2 get 1 Free sales that dot WH Smith and Waterstones. That is what kept me occupied for a while, but my guys got busy with their fly rods. Take a look at the July prize winner! 'Bearded Baby' was thrilled till somebody beat him out by 1 ounce!!

He was still listed as one of the winners, and invited to a fish-off later in the year. The 'old man' caught his share as well. I've never seen the 'bearded baby' so proud!!

We usually bring a fish back to the hotel and ask the chef cook one of the trout for us. We decided to give them the 3 regular sized trout, one for us and the rest to put on the menu. The big daddy was given to a friend (although it was his wife who had to clean and prep the fish for the freezer). I love how they presented the fish for the evening meal on the menu.

The chef did a great job on our fish dinner. I can't remember tasting a fish that was so fresh! Lovely and juicy and a great little dill sauce napped on the side. This meal is etched in our memory for a long time to come!

Summer is passing quickly. I hope you are having a great one!

Rollin' on two wheels!

2007-06-23T02:41:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday, the clouds and rain lifted for us to enjoy a spectacular 'Paris' day! U.S. Fathers Day, my son and I treated the 'old man' to a ride on the Segway! We've known about the tour for a few years now, but as always, time gets away and the weather turns to winter and who wants to ride around in the cold?? Not me!

Treat yourself to an exhilarating ride through Paris with City Segway Tours! We met our guide at the South Pilar of the Eiffel. The lines were incredibly long on this sunny morning! After getting checked out on the Segway, we hit the streets. Key word, we tried hard not to hit the street. Once we got our confidence, I discovered my Segway didn't have the speed governor hooked up and when I found a patch of sidewalk free of pedestrians, I sped forward! Whee!

Our tour ended about 2 hours later. I must admit, we weren't really listening to our guide but were enjoying manipulating the machine!

We only had two small incidents to speak of, and laugh at! There was a meeting with a speed-bump, which we now call The Extreme Segway Incident! And then there was my almost running over a poor 'water seller' at the gates of the Tuileries! No one was harmed, but the poor guy was happy when I got my machine back in control and left the scene for him to sell bottles of water to tourists!

We hated when we were heading back at the end of the tour, it was so much fun!

A Special Day!

2007-06-13T14:23:00.001-04:00

click photo for closer view

Inquiring minds need to know!

Tour Guide at the Branly

2007-06-06T12:51:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when you 'live' in a city, you just get busy with the day to day and forget to get out and smell the roses.
Even in Paris!!
When you live here as long as I have you start to live life and take this incredible city for granted. When I drive into Paris, I see the Eiffel come into view, and it still does take my breath away. I've often told my son that the tower is 'his' landmark, since he was born here. More often than naught, I'm jockeying traffic running to and from an errand and just forgetting that there might be something new 'in town'.

I have driven by the Musee Branly for years. I've been going to the same guy to get my haircut since I've moved to France and glanced over at the building that was going up to and from his shop. I remember when the garden was planted in the facade of the building, my interest was really piqued! The opening of the museum came and went and the Musee Branly went on my 'to do' list. It is a long list.

Now that 'bearded baby' is back in town, I do like to blast some booty out of the chairs for a family day 'in town'. Next time you visit, you MUST spend some time at this place. It is such a beautiful museum, so modern, well lit, very comfortable. I can imagine cold rainy days spent exploring, there is so much to see. They have a great web-site and I noticed that they have two restaurants. One downstairs and the other upstairs called the Ombres. Well, it was time to splurge and start the summer out right. I got reservations (a must), but not a window seat. No matter, every seat has a view and it is magnificent!

The service was very pleasant and served correctly! Food was great as well! We had the 37euro menu which was good value. I absolutely fell in love with the china. They did serve wine in the trendy Riedel stemless "O" glasses. But the china was Raynaud, from the Thomas Keller collection. Don't you just love those espresso cups? So cool!

I'm sure no matter where you are living there is something that you have not taken the time to visit. It is time to blast your booty up and get out. I need to get the guide books back out and re-appreciate this glorious city I am lucky enough to reside in!

Lunch - To Go!

2007-06-03T02:11:00.000-04:00

Blogging Events are fun! I have participated in a few. I had big idea's for this one, but my photo focus skills were off, and then life events take over and quick trips to the US needed to be made.

Lindy of Toast fame got a great idea for an event. Home-Made Take Out food! She was nice enough to extend the deadline, she had life events of her own to deal with!
Although I don't work (formally), we love to picnic, and my son will be going to work this summer! I happen to think that wraps make a wonderful take along lunch! Filled with flavored mayo or pesto, this becomes a delicious and healthy lunch. Wrapped up in a flour tortilla or some rice paper, the sky is the limit!

Another way to make a take-along hand held lunch is to wrap a filling up in pastry! I just happened to have some puff-pastry in the fridge. NO, not my home made puff dough. The plumber was working on a major problem in our rent house and I needed to create something quick for the family while he was out of the kitchen. Turns out the plumber loves to cook as well, and he watched me put together this 'on the fly' creation!

I had some of my favorite Sacla red pepper mozzarella pesto spread.
I had some Mozzarella slices (new to the grocery store!). Ham & rocket leaves got thrown on for a bit of green. This got wrapped up packet style, scored and baked.

The puff pastry is a bit fragile, but it was wolfed down with three thumbs up! I hate to say, but there was none left for the plumber to sample when he got back after his lunch break!

Thinking of packing this to go? Let this cool before you place in a ziplock or better yet, a Tupperware container. This will be delicious room temp and I bet your friends will be asking you to make more to share next time!

My Angel Baby

2007-05-29T14:32:00.001-04:00

Baby Angel Food Cake Pans......who would've thought they'd cause such commotion packed in a carry-on bag? I've told you before about the TSA guys, who love to search my bags.....I went ahead and bought the special locks so they could unlock and feel free to roam!

Having just returned from a quick trip to the US.....I did manage to get a little shopping done. I found these cute little cake pans and thought they'd be perfect for summer 'puddings'! You know the drill, fresh fruit, a little coulis splashed about. Along with some whipped cream added in for the cellulite factor. I bought 8 pans.

Since this was a quick trip, we did not take our normal (big) suitcases where I usually throw in a duffel bag or two just in case I buy too much. A couple of last minute purchases later and I had run out of room. The cake pans got thrown into the carry-on bag.

You have to really think ahead these days as to what goes in the carry-on bag. Gone are the days when I'd throw in a package of Italian Sausage to bring across the ocean, sausage might be in the dangerous category these days!
I remember one Thanksgiving, many-many years ago when my Dad was alive, he wanted to a Butterball Turkey for our Thanksgiving meal during his visit to France. Well, the rock-hard frozen Turkey in the carry-on bag got dropped. No squished toes, no broken tiles.....but good for a big laugh, we cooked up that bird and my dad was a happy man. (not that anything is wrong with a French bird!)

Ok, back to my cake molds, we were online in security, I had already been asked to remove my jean jacket, which I kept saying was a shirt and 'they really didn't want me to take off my shirt'!! Then I noticed that after I went through, the line had stopped. A group of men had formed around the x-ray of my bag. I just couldn't remember what could be causing such concern, then they called for 'BAG CHECK'. Yikes!
They opened my bag and immediately pulled out my cake molds, I explained that I was going to be cooking mini-angel food cakes for my son who was flying back from college. Then we started sharing angel food cake recipes!! During the next stop, I decided to tell security in advance that those weird looking things that they would be looking at were cake molds.....I sailed through this time.

All in all, the mold made it back, I found some ancient Cream of Tarter in my spice rack and my little bearded angel had cake!

Guess who is Home?

2007-05-16T13:26:00.000-04:00

Home-baked twisted loaf and a healthy dinner of pork filet mignon and roasted fresh vegetables greet a jet lag'd young man!

His first year of college was a great success! And I'm a happy mom that my son is home for the summer!

Expect to see more posts from me!

Flower Class Memories!

2007-05-03T02:12:00.000-04:00

In March, I hosted a Hands-On Wreath Making Class. What fun! Selfishly, I get to see how something is done, then I get to cook for an appreciative bunch.
There was a lot of creativity from the gals. Lunch was a little starter of shrimp and a terrific Green Goddess sauce, Baked Risotto and a sticky toffee 'pud' with homemade ice cream!!
Everyone took home a Spring Wreath. A great start to Spring!

The Profiterole Project

2007-05-02T11:35:00.000-04:00

Way back when, in February of 1987, shortly after we started life in Paris, I took my first Cordon Bleu class. Did you know that the CB was located on 24, rue de Champ-de-Mars back then?

The menu was Bisque de Langoustines, Pintade aux Choux and Profiteroles Glaces with sauce Chocolat Chaud. The Bisque was a bit too complicated for me to tackle, back then. I didn't really appreciate a good Pintade, back than either! But I did indeed love a Profiterole dripping in a warmed Chocolate Sauce!

I bought my Phillips Ice Cream Maker a few weeks before, to make an Orange Sorbet I had sampled with a Chocolate Cake at the CB. This simple machine got more use, and it is still in service today, although I bought a Simac machine back in 2003, a machine I love!

My Choux pastry was a bit loose. I veered from my original CB
recipe. I made the water, butter and flour mix on the stove,
then brought the Kitchen Aid into service to incorporate the eggs.
Yep, I'll try this recipe again. Practice makes perfect!

Just another bit of trivia.....the last time I made this complete recipe was for the 'boss'. Before 'the old man' took over the yoke of the airplane. The recipe worked without a hitch and I thought I was a pretty good cook back then.

Join us for dessert?

Can we have dessert tonight?

2007-04-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

When the 'old man' asked for dessert to be served after dinner one afternoon, I decided to prepare a recipe I've been drooling over from the May issue of Delicious Magazine.

The recipe was a Ricotta and Orange Tart. What really interested me was the use of an Orange flavored pastry. Yum! I've blogged about flavored pastry before. I even teach hands-on classes on Pastry dough. I just love my dough, as you know!

Although you really can't see, there is orange zest and some orange juice in this lovely dough.

.
The dough handled very nicely under the rolling pin. And to my delight, not much shrinkage

This doesn't look like the photo in the magazine......but it did make the 'old man' smile!

Such a light and lovely result. Not heavy after the meal. I will make this one again!

Spring Day-Spring Roll

2007-04-21T06:41:00.000-04:00

Actually it was my son who first worked with rice paper. He took an after school activity class on cooking. The middle-school Science Teacher was hosting at the time. She was teaching the kids Moo Shu Duck. I was impressed and the 'bearded baby' was excited to tell me all about the recipe while we drove home. (this was years ago!)

I've been thinking about items for a healthy lunch. Lunch is where I fall down on the job. There are things in the fridge for lunch, but this is a meal I might skip or just graze the fridge for lunch.
I bought some rice paper, shrimps and prepared to find a recipe. As luck would have it, I turned to Diva Cooking. I knew these gals would come up with something delicious with a modern twist. Check this book out, lots of fun!

Daikon, carrots and rocket, plus the proverbial shrimp filled the wrapper. The sauce was great, a 'take' on a Satay sauce.......this could have been thinned down a little, (speak for yourself, you say??). The thick sauce was too much for the delicate flavors of the Spring Roll, but has potential for other dishes! Next time I'll find a little soy based dipping sauce.

I'm sure the Rice Paper will last forever and be great for summer lunches.

Yes Son, that is Tofu

2007-04-13T07:04:00.000-04:00

If you close your eyes you might think that you are on vacation in paradise! The weather has been that divine lately in Paris. The garden is in bloom and my geraniums are in and survived that cold snap. The herbs are full & ready to be chopped. Can you tell that my dad was a local weather man on TV? Weather was important in our house, it pretty much buttered our bread!

Ok, back to food!! I recently attended the first session of a 4-session cooking class/lecture. This was given by a gal who I have known in the expat community for many, many years. To be honest, she and I are poles apart in our cooking ways. But, again, to be honest, she is doing something right!

I went to her class out of curiosity, and tempted by the prospect of healthy cooking. I wanted to take 'bits' from the class, you know, a little of this and a little of that! I wanted to inflict some 'extreme health' into my cream and butter filled diet! There is a balance, isn't there!

Once I told my family that I was going to this class, they asked if we were giving up meat now!! Lets face it, they were scared! My son from his dorm room in the U.S. had many questions!

Yes, that is Tofu to the left.......Kombu (kelp) and dried shrimp. When Mary started her Miso Soup I didn't think I could eat it. Seaweed and dried up shrimp.....rubbery white cubes??? I do like Miso though!

She made 'her' version which included some Chinese Cabbage. I must say, it was delicious! I felt inspired to make some changes after I left the class. I ran off to the local 'BIO' store for some provisions. Then off to MIDO the Japanese/Korean store, where I now take a written list instead of asking where things are. My accent speaking french to two Japanese girls just doesn't cut it. They take my list and cruise the tiny store.....I write the check and hit the Autoroute homebound!

So.....armed with whole-brown rice, whole wheat pasta and good intentions we are going to eat differently......babysteps---not Boot Camp!!

Paella - On the Weber

2007-04-10T13:47:00.000-04:00

Who can complain about the weather this past week, and it just seems to be getting better and better! Past Easter memories are rainy & very cool ......colored eggs get left for the dog to find because it was just too cold to hunt! Our old dog, T-Bone, just loved to find and eat those eggs left behind.

Tradionally, we do a lamb of some kind, but now that the nest is empty I thought I should plan something different. Way back when, when I first started my blog, it started off with a New Year Eve Paella prepared by my two favorite men!

Paella is a dish to be planned and prepared with the people you love. The twist was, this was cooked out on the grill....inspired by Weber.com. I've been dying to try this method.

We dug out and dusted off the old pan, shopped for the shrimp, mussels, chorizo etc. We were good to go. The forecast was perfect.

The cooking of the Paella went off without a hitch! Our little neighborhood was just filled with the lovely aroma. The 'old man' said that this was a must for the 'bearded baby' when he comes home from college! I'm already planning the menus for the summer!