French Macaroons for Valentine's Day

Everyone always offers chocolates for Valentine's Day and don't get me wrong, I adore chocolate, but sometimes I like to think outside of the box for gifts. For example, for Christmas I thought WAY out of the box and gave Christophe a helicopter ride to the top of a mountain where he will be guided down hors piste (off slope), snowboarding through powdery snow to safety. He plans to go in a couple of weeks and now I am wishing I had just given him a box of chocolates! Anyway, if you are looking for a slightly different Valentine's idea than chocolates that does not require an avalanche detector, French macaroons are the way to go. French macaroons are often displayed in pastry shops like precious jewels in a jewelry case. Perfectly round made in every color and flavor, they almost look too pretty to eat, but when you take a bite...ooh la la, they melt in your mouth! These delicate cookies made with tender love and care, are sure to please anyone. Here is how to make them or purchase them for a Valentine's gift.

Making French Macaroons:

*this recipe comes from epicurious.com
For macaroons

• 6 oz sliced blanched almonds (not slivered; 2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• Red or pink food coloring

For chocolate raspberry ganache

• 3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (60 to 64% cacao), finely chopped
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
• 1/16 teaspoon raspberry extract (preferably McCormick brand

• Special equipment: parchment paper; a gallon-size sealable plastic bag (not pleated)

Make macaroons:
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Pulse almonds with 1/2 cup confectioners sugar in a food processor until very finely ground, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to a bowl. Sift in remaining cup confectioners sugar, stirring to combine.

Beat egg whites with salt in another bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue to beat until whites just hold stiff, glossy peaks. Add drops of food coloring to reach desired shade and mix at low speed until evenly combined. Stir almond mixture into meringue with a rubber spatula until completely incorporated. (Meringue will deflate.)

Spoon batter into bag, pressing out excess air, and snip off 1 corner of plastic bag to create a 1/4-inch opening. Twist bag firmly just above batter, then pipe peaked mounds of batter (the size of a chocolate kiss) onto lined sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Let cookies stand, uncovered, at room temperature until tops are no longer sticky and a light crust forms, 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 300°F.

Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until crisp and edges are just slightly darker, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool completely on sheets on racks, about 30 minutes.

Make ganache while macaroons bake:
Melt chocolate with cream in a metal bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, stirring until smooth. (Bowl should not touch water.) Remove bowl from heat, then add butter and raspberry extract, stirring until butter is melted. Let stand at room temperature until cooled completely and slightly thickened.

Assemble cookies:
Carefully peel cookies from parchment (they will be fragile). Sandwich a thin layer of ganache (about 1/2 teaspoon) between flat sides of cookies.

Purchasing French Macaroons:

• online purchasing at Saveur du Jour
  

• best known macaroon boutique in Paris with lines out the door Ladurée

picture from HERE

Nutella Cupcakes: A French Twist on an American Classic

This was such a fun idea to do with my French girlfriends because they are always asking me about "those brightly colored cakes you see in American movies and series". I used the Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes recipe, which is excellent, then we iced them with vanilla icing and Nutella. Without a doubt, the Nutella cupcakes were the best and most popular. We even ended up scraping off the vanilla icing and using Nutella for all of them.

Magnolia Bakery Cupcakes

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before .

Creamless "Potiron" Soup

The grocery stores are overflowing with all types of squash right now. Potiron, which is the French version of a pumpkin, is the most popular and widely used. The grocery stores will cut and seed a potiron and sell it in quarters which is great when making a smaller quantity of soup. If you can only find a whole pumpkin, it is easy to cut into quarters with a large, sharp knife and keep in the refrigerator for at least a week. You can also freeze part of the pumpkin for later use.

This recipe is inspired by my adoration for the Creamless Butternut Squash Soup that Terry makes at Sage Restaurant in Tallahassee. It is a hearty meal without all the calories. I make this once a week during the Winter and never get tired of it. This soup energizes me like spinach energizes Popeye!

Creamless Pumpkin Soup
serves 4

1/4 medium sized "potiron" or pumpkin, seeded (you could substitute with butternut squash)
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
6-8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
salt & freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put pumpkin quarter on baking sheet and roast until tender. Let cool then scrap out the interior of pumpkin and set aside. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot. Add onions and carrots, cook for 10 minutes. Add roasted pumkin, potatoes, broth and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Blend the soup until smooth. Add honey, nutmeg, pepper and more salt if needed. If soup is too thick, add some water. Let simmer another 30 minutes. Serve with goat cheese or grated swiss cheese and croutons.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Winter has finally arrived and brought with it cold, rainy weather. It's amazing how our appetites change with the changing seasons. This summer I couldn't even think of eating a meat stew and now it's all I want!

Yesterday was a lazy day at home which was perfect to get some cooking done for the week. I decided to make boeuf bourguignon because it is an excellent dish to reheat over and over. If you make enough, it can easily last half the week or you can freeze it.

This recipe is easy and comes from Christophe's grandmother, Mémé.

Boeuf Bourguignon
serves 4

2 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 2-inch chunks
salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium onions, diced
1 large carrot, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 large button mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons dried herbs de Provence or dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups red wine
1 teaspoon flour or cornstarch
2 teaspoons water

Pat beef dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil and butter in a large heavy pot over moderately high heat. Brown beef pieces well in several batches making sure not to overcrowd the pot. Transfer beef and it's juices to a bowl.

In the same pot, sauté the onions 10 minutes. Add carrots and garlic and continue cooking another 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the beef to the pot along with dried herbs, bay leaves, tomato paste and red wine. Bring to a boil uncovered for 10 minutes then turn down heat and cover pot. Let simmer for approximately 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add the sliced mushrooms to the stew, cover and let simmer another 30 minutes. When the beef is tender enough to be cut with a spoon then it's done. Be sure not to overcook it because the meat will fall apart.

Stir together the flour and water in a bowl. This is called a slurry. Add a couple spoons of the hot bourguignon into the slurry and pour it back into the pot. Bring to a boil for five minutes while stirring constantly. You will see the stew thicken and become creamy. Season with salt and pepper.

At this point, you can either serve the boeuf bourguignon now or let it cool and refrigerate it for the next day. I think it is better reheated the next day but sometimes you just can't resist waiting. Serve this dish with fresh pasta, roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes. Bon Appétit!

Roasted Vegetable Loaf

Here's a recipe from the French version of Food and Wine Magazine, called Cuisine et Vins de France. This Roasted Vegetable Loaf is perfect for picnics, barbecues or apéritifs.

Roasted Vegetable Loaf

• 1 zucchini
• 1 eggplant
• 1 bell pepper (green, red, yellow or orange)
• 1 onion
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 salt or to taste
  
• black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried herbs or 1 teaspoon fresh herbs of your choice
• 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan
• 1/2 cup feta or goat cheese, crumbled
• 3 large eggs
  
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup olive oil plus some for roasting veggies

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a loaf pan with butter or oil. Slice the vegetables so they are approximately the same size and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until golden and tender. Let veggies cool. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl and the liquid ingredients in another bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid. Whisk until completely incorporated. Pour 1/3 of the batter into the prepared loaf pan, top with 1/3 roasted veggies, repeat two more times. Bake for 40-50 mins until a knife comes out clean. Let cool and serve at room temperature.

Apricot Pecan Tart

Last week Christophe's grandmother gave us a crate full of apricots and we accepted gratefully. But what in the heck do we do with an entire crate of apricots? Again, wishing I had a restaurant to bake for!

The apricots lucky enough not to have been eaten already, patiently waited this past week to participate in some kind of delicious dessert. Today was their special day. Since I was thinking about baking for the old restaurant, I decided to pull out my chocolate covered pastry book (accidentally dropped it in a flourless chocolate cake batter), that consists of recipes I have collected over the years. I knew exactly what I wanted to make when I pulled out the book...Chef Terry's Tart Batter. This recipe can be made with lots of different kinds of fruit and can be the filling to a tart dough or you could bake it in a baking dish without the tart dough. It's a great recipe to accentuate really ripe fruit. I chose to make a real tart with the tart dough, only because I can buy flaky, buttery tart dough at the store. It costs 2€ and it's already rolled out. So I will admit that it is rare that I make tart or quiche dough nowadays. It tastes just as good from the grocery store, no joke.
Apricot Pecan Tart

• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons brandy
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans or almonds
• 15 medium sized apricots or enough of another fruit to fill a 9-inch pie dish
• 1 store bought tart dough
  

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or parchment paper a 9-inch tart dish.

Blind bake the tart dough. Once the dough is cooled, remove the dried beans or rice.

In a mixing bowl, whisk the first seven ingredients. The flour may clump up so you will have to strain the batter through a sieve before baking. Halve the apricots and remove pits. Arrange them in the tart dough as you like. Sprinkle the chopped nuts over the apricots. Strain the batter over the fruit and nuts. Bake tart 20-30minutes until firm and golden. Serve at room temperature...with vanilla ice cream!

To talk about Chef Terry quickly. He used to be our chef at the old restaurant and we worked side by side everyday. He is amazingly talented and we exchanged recipes all the time. He actually gave me a lot more than I gave him, but whatever. Now he has taken over the restaurant from us, creating eclectic menus from Asia to France to South America. If you are ever in Tallahassee or are living in Tallahassee, please check it out.

Sage Restaurant
3534 Maclay Blvd.
Tallahassee, FL 32308
Join Sage on Facebook soon!

Gâteau au Cerises

Cherries, cherries, everywhere! Every year at the beginning of summer, the cherry trees produce millions of dark red, juicy cherries. The problem is that the trees produce fruit faster than we can eat it. Cherries from a neighbor, a local farmer, Christophe's grandmother and friends! It's kind of like a dream come true.

Remembering how difficult they were to find and how expensive they were to buy when we had the restaurant in Florida, makes this seem unfair. Now I am only baking for two and I can't keep up! Here is variation on a staple recipe in most French homes.

Yogurt Cake with Cherries

• 3-4 cups ripe cherries, pitted and stemmed
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
• 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 inch cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Pit and stem cherries.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla. In another mixing bowl, blend the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the liquid ingredients to dry and whisk until blended. Place the prepared cherries in the greased cake pan and pour batter to cover cherries evenly. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serve warm or room temperature.

Candied Orange Peel

Hey y'all! I have arrived in the Sunshine State for some "fun in the sun" vacation time. So far, I have been outraged at the prices of food and wine compared to France. The French have been complaining about their rising food prices, but they should be grateful not to have to pay US prices! Besides the price shocks, the weather has been sunny and warm, making me want more fruit, seafood and lighter fare than the last 6 months. Florida is known for its citrus fruit so I decided to candy some Florida oranges. And with the help of my dad's chocolate dipping machine (see the "No more chocolate?" post below), I dipped the candied orange peel in dark chocolate. You could dip the peel by hand at home. These little treats are tasty and healthy!

Candied Orange Peel

-3 or more organic, thick skinned oranges

-water

-sugar

-powdered sugar

-dark chocolate

Peel the oranges by hand, trying to peel in wide pieces. Cut pieces into 1/4 inch strips and remove most of the pith (white part of peel). Soak peels in water overnight. Change out water everyday for 4 days. This will reduce or eliminate the bitter taste of the orange peel. On the fourth day, drain peels and weigh them. Place equal amounts of the peels and sugar in a saucepan. Bring saucepan to a boil. The water from the oranges will extract and create a syrup. Boil mixture for approximately 10-15 minutes or until the peels are candied. If you over candy the peels, they will be hard. Remove peels from sugar syrup and place on a cooling rack overnight. Roll each peel in powdered sugar. This will help the chocolate stick to the peel. Dip candied orange peels in tempered chocolate to create smooth, shiny "chocolate covered candied orange peel". Let chocolate cool and eat!

"Chicken Pot Lasagna"

I bought the ingredients to make lasagna bolognaise over the weekend, but somehow forgot the ground meat. Veggie lasagna sounded boring so I dug through the freezer trying to come up with plan B. I found chicken and that is how I decided to create a "Chicken Pot Lasagna".

Chicken Pot Lasagna
serves 6-8

5 cups chicken stock, homemade* or store-bought
3 carrots, diced
3 celery ribs, diced
2 onions, diced
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
3 T. olive oil
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken, pulled or cubed (about 1 pound)
1 stick (8 T. or 4 oz.) unsalted butter
8 T. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced
1/4 t. freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
sprinkle of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
pre-baked lasagna pasta sheets

*If you are starting with raw chicken, then I would suggest making your chicken sock by boiling the chicken in 6-7 cups of water with salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. This should leave you with the 5 cups needed to make the filling.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large sautée pan, add the olive oil and onions. Cook 7-10 mins until onions turn clear in color. Add the carrots and celery and sautée another 5 mins. Add the mushrooms and sautée until all veggies are tender.

Bring chicken stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Add 1 cup heated chicken stock, whisking constantly. Once mixture has come to a boil, add another cup chicken stock and boil again. Repeat until chicken stock is used or until you have the right texture. If you need more liquid, add some water and boil again. The sauce should be more liquid than a regular chicken pot pie recipe. Add sautéed vegetables, chicken, herbs, spices and s&p to taste.

Layer chicken mixture alternating with lasagna sheets. I used about 1/2 inch of chicken mixture in each layer because I wanted a lot of pasta, but do as you want. I didn't use cheese or extra salt. Cover in aluminum foil and bake 45mins-1hour.

We didn't eat the lasagna until the next day, which I think makes it even better. The outcome was surprisingly delicious! Et voila, you have "Chicken Pot Lasagna"!

Ten Minute Tabouli

The staples we always have in our house are: pasta, rice, lentils and couscous. You can make a thousand recipes with these ingredients, but today I decided to make tabouli. You can mix and match different vegetables and even add chicken or fish to this recipe. But if you only have 10 minutes, follow this recipe and enjoy!

Ten Minute Tabouli
serves 4-6

1 cup coucous
1 cup hot water
1 T. olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 small can of corn, rinsed and drained
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup dijon vinaigrette, recipe follows
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Put coucous in a bowl and pour in hot water, olive oil and salt to taste. Cover bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, dice vegetables, chop parsley and mint. Fluff couscous with a fork. Add all other ingredients, salt and pepper to taste and stir. Done!

Dijon Vinaigrette

We make a batch of this in a glass jar at the start of the week and keep it in the fridge. It is great on everything and much more healthy than any store bought dressing. I am adding measurements, but you don't have to measure this recipe. You can also substitute balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, different oils, etc. Once you make this a couple times, it will become a habit!

2 soup spoons good quality dijon mustard (i.e. Maille brand)
2 soups spoon red wine vinegar (homemade vinegar is best)
1/2 cup plus some olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a jar, shake mustard and vinegar, salt and pepper. Add half the olive oil and shake again. Add the rest of the olive oil and shake. Taste and add what is needed. Drizzle this on everything!