I thought I’d make something to use up the umpteen egg yolks that come from being a manic macaron baker so a curd it was. Raspberry curd inside chocolate pie shells, topped with fresh raspberries and drizzled with melted chocolate. Don’t they look good?

So what are you waiting for?

Go to Mad about Macarons and get the recipe now!  Happy Mardi Gras!!!

(aka: (Not) mussels and chorizo)

It’s a quick French Fridays with Dorie post this week.  Many of you know that I was quite ill last weekend and I am still only eating very plain food.  So the thought of Mussels and Chorizo (page 316) didn’t exactly thrill me. In fact, it didn’t really thrill me before I got sick – I am not a mussels-eater (oh the irony for the person who lived in Belgium for a year. Trying to explain to everyone that no thank you, I really wouldn’t care for the famous “moules-frites”) so I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do for this one. In the end, Mr Neil ended up making the chorizo-tomato sauce and we pan fried some Atlantic scallops that we already had in the freezer. Needless to say, grocery shopping hasn’t exactly been high on my priority list this week so what he had on hand had to do.

Mr Neil scored a nice dinner out of this – the meaty scallops playing nicely off the smokey chorizo and slight sweetness of the tomato sauce.  I can’t wait to feel better again so I can try this myself – the fact that it smelled good to me is a great sign!  It’s one of those dinners that is simple yet elegant – and oh so easy to prepare.  You can have this on the table in less than 30 minutes, though the sauce is one of those that benefits from overnight in the fridge, allowing the flavours to really develop.

Want to join us cooking through Dorie’s “Around my French Table” in 2012? Join French Fridays with Dorie here.

French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs, rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository.  Go on, treat yourself and join us this year!

Speaking of FRENCH, did you see my latest article for Food Network Canada – all about cooking classes in Paris!  Read right through to the end for a hint of what I have up my sleeve this summer!!!

I’ve been going through my folder of recipes recently and have come across a few old favourites – like these devilled drumsticks. I have my mum to thank for many of these recipes – she photocopied them for me when I first moved to Paris in 1995 – not that I had a kitchen big enough to cook in back then!  They have accompanied me all the way to Toronto where I pull them out every now and then and make an “oldie but a goodie”.  This recipe is not one I had made before and it’s written out in my mum’s handwriting – looking suspiciously like she copied it out of  a magazine, so I have no way of giving any credit where it’s due.  I loved the idea of a quick comfort stew-type dish with chicken, tomatoes and honey and I especially liked the addition of ginger and cinnamon – it lends a little Moroccan flavour to the dish which I complemented by adding some lemon zest and serving it atop fluffy couscous. It’s a wonderful bowl of flavour on a cold winter’s night.

 
It’s so very quick and easy and guess what?  It tastes even better the next day   This one is a keeper – I’ll definitely be adding it to our “make it on Sunday to enjoy through the week” roster

Did you see my latest article for Food Network Canada – all about cooking classes in Paris!  Read right through to the end for a hint of what I have up my sleeve this summer!!!

Liberté has been manufacturing milk products (cream and cottage cheeses) in the Montréal area since 1936.  Whilst the company grew, their production continued to maintain a traditional and artisanal character. In 1964, Liberté continued to manufacture cream cheese and began producing yogurt. With the success of this new endeavour, the company then developed an increasing number of products, all the while upholding its standards of quality and purity. In 2008, Liberté acquired a plant in Saint-Hyacinthe to support its expansion.  Throughout this expansion, Liberté remains true to its artisanal beginnings – indeed, Liberté describes its craftsmen as “Artisans de Nature“.  Meet the Liberté team here.  Whilst Liberté’s focus is on creating natural, delicious products, the company is also focused on reducing its environmental footprint by supporting the development of organic products and farms, implementing sustainable work methods and sharing this information with consumers.

I’m proud to be associated with Liberté and today, I am happy to share an old favourite recipe – coeur à la crème – that my mum has been making for years and years, updated with Liberté Greek Yogurt.

Whether you celebrate St Valentine’s Day or not, you’ll want to file this recipe away as it’s one of the easiest you will come across and it does have a certain “wow” factor, wouldn’t you agree?

What are you waiting for? Head on over to read my post and check out the recipe now!

Since, you know, Nutella doesn’t really go with everything, I felt it might be better to pair this with some melted dark chocolate and I was right.  The jam/ spread has a hint of chocolate only – it’s definitely more fruity than chocolatey so the added chocolate was a nice touch.  Fortunately for me, I had frozen all but one slice of my white bread loaf otherwise I might have eaten the lot served like this.  Chocolate, bread and fruit. A perfectly balanced breakfast, right?

Want to join us cooking through Dorie’s “Around my French Table” in 2012? Join French Fridays with Dorie here.

French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs, rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository.  Go on, treat yourself and join us this year!