Mustard Batons - FFWD

This week's FFWD is a very simple recipe, Mustard Batons. A nice change from cheesy hors d'eouvres and they are very tasty. Made with just puff pastry, mustard, and an egg, the ingredients are always on hand. The batons would look more interesting with a sprinkling of poppy seeds but my husband doesn't like them so I didn't use them. Another winner from Around My French Table!

Chocolate Eclairs - FFWD

Eclairs are one of my favorite desserts and these for FFWD are very good! We didn't fuss over the way they looked...we just made 'em and ate 'em. I opted for chocolate ganache icing instead of the white glaze. The recipe says to use 3/4 pound of chocolate which is way too much so I decided to go with 3/4 cup of cream per the recipe and add chocolate until it seemed right. I used about 1/4 pound of chocolate and that made a lot of ganache...more than I needed for the eclairs, however, my husband went heavy on the ganache...about three times more than I like :)

In the Cream Puff dough, I substituted 1/8 cup of sprouted whole spelt flour for 1/8 cup of all-purpose flour; not a lot but it added some nutrition and it worked fine. I also changed the baking time & temperature...I baked the puffs for 10 minutes at 425º, then 10 minutes (maybe 15?) at 375º, then turned oven off and left the puffs in for 10 minutes after making a small venting stab in each puff with a paring knife.

Garlicky Crumb-coated Broccoli - FFWD

FFWD for this week - and it was the best broccoli I’ve ever eaten! Broccoli is our default vegetable so we eat a lot of it...mostly plain but sometimes with a sprinkle of lemon juice - it gets boring. I am very glad to now have a new way of serving it! Even though I love mint and parsley, I didn’t use either of them. I just thought they may not be needed and the rest of the ingredients were simply great together: garlic, lemon, butter, salt, and bread crumbs (from a fresh loaf of French bread - made with 1/3 sprouted whole wheat flour :)).

In a burst of uncreativity, we had this with even more garlic and lemon on the chicken (Chicken Thighs Baked with Sage, Rosemary, & Thyme from Bill Devin, Fine Cooking Magazine #46).

Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce & Salted Butter Break-Ups - FFWD

I have been out of town so am posting two items, late, for FFWD. The scallops in the Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce were delicious, however, I ruined the sauce BOTH times that I made it. I started out by making the sauce ahead of time. On reheating it, I burned it. So, I  made it again and forgot the butter so the sauce was bitter. I didn't even realize I forgot the butter until I was writing this post! For such an easy dinner, I really was having an off night. Thankfully, my husband cooked the scallops - and perfectly so. I must try this again.

A couple of weeks ago, we absolutely loved the Salted Butter Break-Ups. This is a huge shortbread cookie. What's not to love? Easy to make and I substituted sprouted whole spelt flour for 3/4 cup of the all-purpose flour and it turned out great!

Savory Cheese and Chive Bread - FFWD

This is our FFWD for this week. It is a quick bread made with chives and cheddar cheese. Compared to the fabulousness of the other AMFT/FFWD recipes, this one was unremarkable. When sliced, the texture was moist & had a soft crumb, however it tasted dry and was on the bland side. We couldn't taste the chives much (out of season?). I even added a little extra cayenne & used extra sharp cheddar. Maybe a little sugar might have given it a boost. It did taste better after it cooled all the way to room temperature. Dorie says this can be served with wine so maybe it is supposed to be mild in taste. If I wanted something like this again, I would just make a cornbread version for more flavor.

Short Ribs in Red Wine & Port - FFWD

 
This week’s recipe for FFWD was Short Ribs in Red Wine & Port. Another great braise!

Even thought this is a fairly involved recipe, I will make it again. The beef cooked for a long time so was very tender. For the meat, I used 4 1/2 pounds of short ribs and 4 1/2 pounds of an on-sale boneless chuck roast (with a good amount of fat) so I got more meat for the buck. In the end, all the meat was the same. I also saved some money by using Ramos Pintos Ruby Port (for $17, this is an inexpensive port) and my new favorite red wine for cooking, Crane Lake Petite Sirah at only $5 a bottle.

There is a lot of wine in this, 1 1/2 bottles, but it didn’t taste winey at all. The sauce was not strong but still had exceptional flavor. Dorie’s My Go To Beef Daube had way much more of a wine flavor. The gremolata of parsley, garlic, & orange zest is what made the beef really perk up here. I won't ever skip the gremolata and this gave me the idea to try a lemon gremolata with John Thorne's Beef with Carrots (earlier posting below). That recipe doesn't need anything else but it might be an interesting addition.

My husband liked the in-progress pictures:)                                                   

Pancetta Green Beans - FFWD

This week’s FFWD. The beans I bought were very tasteless so they needed the boost in flavor that this recipe gave them. Lots of pancetta, butter, olive oil, & salt will do that :). Good & easy side dish...we had this with beef tenderloin & mashed potatoes.

Also this week, I made the Gnocchi a la Parisienne again using mostly sprouted spelt flour for the gnocchi and cheddar and pepper Jack for the cheese. Turned out great. The gnocchi were a little dense but I can whip some of the egg whites next time to lighten them up as the recipe suggests.

Orange-Almond Tart - FFWD

Another terrific dessert from FFWD! This is a shorbread crust filled with almond cream and oranges.

For the crust, I substituted sprouted spelt flour for half of the all-purpose flour. I only needed to add some water and it turned out perfectly. Really great flavor. I am going to try all sprouted spelt flour next time. I also ground almonds to make the almond flour. Worked fine. Our oranges weren't very flavorful but the tart was still sweet & delicious. Like a big cookie.

We had this for dessert after BLTs for dinner - a very good meal :)

I especially liked that I could pat the crust into the pan instead of rolling it out! 

Basque Potato Tortilla - FFWD

From last week's FFWD - I am now caught up with the group!

Very good and easy recipe - we liked it best at room temperature. I sliced the potatoes 1/4” thick so that they would mix in more with the eggs. I used a little extra olive oil - Spanish, even!. Very delicious and that is why the tortilla is  so yellow :). 

Gnocchi a la Parisienne - FFWD

This is from the FFWD January schedule but I just got around to it this  week. This is my favorite kind of dish - it has cheese in it! We really liked this one; it is like macaroni and cheese or bread pudding but with a lighter texture.

So, this dish is made of gnocchi (made without potatoes) that are poached, transferred to a Parmesan-coated casserole, covered with béchamel sauce and Gruyere, and then baked. I wish we had photographed this as soon is it came out of the oven because it had puffed tremendously. Unfortunately, it deflated after just a minute or so.

I made the gnocchi ahead of time and left them on a parchment-lined tray so that it would be easier to add them to the pot of boiling water. I will do the same thing next time, however, I will freeze them first; they stuck a bit to the parchment & it was a bit of a mess. I used a 7” x 9” pyrex casserole which was good: all the gnocchi fit in and there was more surface area for the cheese topping...so I was able to add more cheese!

Next time I am going to add more milk to the béchamel (it was a little too thick - maybe some Sauvignon blanc instead?) and a bit of cayenne (instead of nutmeg) and also some grated cheese. My husband and son thinks that that will be too much cheese, but I think that having cheese in the sauce will be good...we will find out :).

I am also going to try this with cheddar, Monterey jack, and roasted green chiles some time soon (and double the recipe!).

Leek and Potato Soup - FFWD

Another easy soup from the FFWD schedule. 

My husband loved it hot; I liked it hot but preferred it cold.

Like almost every recipe I've tried from from Around My French Table, I will be making this again.

Chicken B'stilla - FFWD

From FFWD Land. This is a very unusual dish...a thick chicken “stew” baked in an almond-lined phyllo crust. Fantastic! Rich, with an interesting combination of flavors.

I don’t care for saffron but once in a while, it tastes "right". I did use it here, even though I considered omitting it. I didn’t use much so it was very subtle...I think the B’stilla would be great without the saffron (still a lot of flavors going on) but, it would also be great with even more saffron than I used. I skipped the sugar/cinnamon topping and used less honey than called for; and my husband added some raisins as we ate it. I will add a few currants next time to the filling (smaller than raisins) and still omit the sugar topping (that would have been too much sweetness for us, especially when adding currants). I usually don’t like raisins or currants in savory dishes but they are perfect here.

I put together the marinade with the chicken and then, right before I started cooking it, I went out of town for four days! I continued with the recipe when I got back & it turned out perfectly. Leftovers lasted for many days and heated up good enough in the microwave (some of the flavor dissipated after two days, though).

Michel Rostang's Double Chocolate Mousse Cake - FFWD

A FFWD recipe and one of the best desserts  I’ve ever had!

My husband is the one who made this and it turned out perfectly. He is a very good baker! Very few ingredients are used in this recipe and there is no flour. He made the “Baked & Chilled” version. We loved the contrast between the chewy crust and softer filling.

Divine!

Paris Mushroom Soup - FFWD

This is a FFWD recipe, a wonderful soup that is easy to make.

I ladled it over a “salad” of raw mushrooms, green onions, & parsley. I used my immersion blender which resulted in a thick, not totally smooth soup.

Leftovers were good for many days, especially with a shot of sherry!

Speculoos - FFWD

I have not posted in a long time - too many days out of town is my excuse. I have caught up lately with the FFWD cooking & baking so will post everything this week to catch up with the group!

Speculoos

These are spiced sugar cookie cut-outs. Easy to make & very good. A FFWD recipe.

I have never done well with cut-outs but I decided to follow the recipe and I am glad I did. Dorie’s method of rolling the dough between sheets of wax paper & then chilling before cutting worked like a charm. 

These spread a bit so I would not use a detailed cookie cutter. I forgot the ginger and they were still delicious. I love ginger so will add it next time!

Beef Stew

This is one of my family's favorites. We love it, even though it is not as rich and complex as the recipes below (John Thorne’s Beef with Carrots and  Dorie Greenspan’s My Go To Beef Daube).

It is a basic & hearty beef stew that is still flavorful with lots of vegetables and no wine. Good for kids :).

Click "Read more >>" below for the recipe.

Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots - FFWD

This week's FFWD recipe was Spiced Butter-Glazed Carrots. Nice recipe, however, I should have doubled the seasonings. The carrots were good, but on the plain side. I like cardamom so really would have liked more of that, in particular.

As for the photo, my husband wanted to showcase my much-maligned talent for serving monochromatic meals. Why did I serve orange buttercup squash with the orange carrots and golden chicken schnitzel when I could have made green broccoli instead?? I even almost made some Yukon Gold potatoes! He added the pumpkin and the orange to the composition just to make it even more poignant (also the tomato - and for what? contrast?). So many of my meals are composed of same-color dishes (as this blog gets longer, there will be more evidence, I am sure). I usually don't even realize it until we plate everything up and then I wish I would have planned better :).

Also this week, I made the Roasted Jerusalem Artichokes with Garlic from Around My French Table and a Borscht recipe from my sister (I think from a Moosewood cookbook). Two things I've never made before & both were great! 

Beef with Carrots

This recipe is a top-favorite in our house, it is constantly requested. With just a few basic ingredients, John Thorne hit on the right combination that alchemizes into the most wonderful dinner imaginable. We have served this to company a number of times and every diner has wanted seconds. Every time. It is very easy to make, too! During the long cooking, the carrots and onion melt down, mixing with the cooking juices to make a dark & rich gravy. I have even made this without the carrots and the end-result is almost the same.

The recipe is from the book Outlaw Cook by John Thorne. This is a wonderful book with a lot of good recipes and techniques as well as interesting and entertaining essays. It is currently available in paperback and John wrote to me that a reissue may be in the near future, although a hardcover edition is well worth having. I particularly recommend Bread and Cheese Pudding (I make a variation which uses Gruyere and wine), Basic Cold-Tossed Noodles (my daughter’s favorite lunch), and the Pecan Pie. Even though I hate regular pecan pie, I love this one (no corn syrup!).

As for the Beef with Carrots, John writes, “The results - given that this is, after all, a very simple dish - were all that I could have hoped for: a meal, in this household at least, whose name still, after several makings, inspires anticipation”. The same is true in our household, too. Thank you, John!!

Beef with Carrots

Outlaw Cook by John Thorne, posted with the author's permission

Makes 8 servings with no leftovers

  2  pounds carrots -- peeled or unpeeled & cut into bit-sized pieces

  5  to 6 medium onions -- cut into bite-sized pieces

  2/3  cup flour -- for dredging (use more as necessary)

         salt & pepper

  1 teaspoon dried thyme -- plus a pinch

  1/2 cup olive oil (approximately)

  4 pounds boneless beef short ribs (large strips) OR other boneless chuck cut into 3" pieces

  5 sprigs  of parsley -- minced

  4 cloves  of garlic -- minced

  2  teaspoons minced lemon zest (not too finely minced)

  1  lemon -- juiced

1.  Heat oven to 300° or convection 280°.

2.  Lightly oil a 7-quart pot or casserole.

3.  Put carrots in pot.

4.  Season flour with generous pinch of salt, pepper, & thyme.

5.  Heat olive oil in a large saute pan until it almost starts to smoke.

6.  Meanwhile, dredge strips of beef in the seasoned flour, shaking away any excess.

7.  Put the meat in the hot oil & turn with tongs to sear on all sides, transferring each piece as it is finished into the pot. Add more oil as necessary.

8.  When all the meat has been seared, put the onion in the pan, adding more if necessary to keep onions from burning.

9.  Cook until onions are translucent & edged with brown, turning often while at the same time scraping up any burnt bits of meat & flour.

10. Scrape all this into the pot.

11. Add parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and 1 t thyme. Toss well to mix thoroughly.

12. Cover, place in oven, and cook for about 4 hours, checking occasionally to make sure that the contents remain at a bare simmer and to taste for seasoning. May need another hour.

13. Serve over mashed potatoes, or noodles or with crusty bread (we prefer mashed potatoes.

Serving Ideas : Serve with a green salad and mashed potatoes, crusty bread, or egg noodles. Mashed potatoes are best :)

• Note: Can be halved or doubled easily (original recipe is for half the amounts posted above...just not enough for us!)

• Note: For 1 1/2 or a double recipe, use a 12-quart pot.

• Advance Preparation: Can be prepared one to two days ahead of time and reheated gently on the stove or in the oven.

• Keeping: Several days in refrigerator.

My Go-To Beef Daube - FFWD

My FFWD recipe this week was My Go-To Beef Daube (no parsnips) served with mashed potatoes.

This is an excellent recipe with a complex and unique flavor due to the brandy and entire bottle of red wine. Everyone loved it! I did use a central coast Syrah as Dorie recommends; I found a $5 Petite Sirah (Crane Lake), quite a bargain and just right for the daube.

The recipe description says this can be considered a version of Beef with Carrots, which we have made countless times using a John Thorne recipe. It is one of my family’s all-time favorites; very easy to make and completely sublime. It has no wine so has a very different flavor from Dorie's daube. Recipe will be my next post!

Edited to add: this recipe is online here: http://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/my-go-beef-daube
 

Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts - FFWD

For my first December FFWD recipe, I made two batches of Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts, both with cashews. Very easy!!

I made the first batch (square dish) almost to the letter. My husband & I liked (but didn’t love) them the first day because the chili powder was a bit too dominant for us; however, it had mellowed by the next day and then they were perfect! The one thing I did differently from the recipe is that I dumped the whole mixture onto the baking sheet instead of separating the nuts & draining excess coating from them. I liked the extra baked-on coating and it was easy to break up the fused nuts once cooled (I rubbed off some of the coating for the photo for beauty’s sake).

 I have several recipes for spiced/flavored nuts that I love but Dorie’s method was new to me. I really like how it is so quick, easy, and yields crispy nuts. For my second batch (round dish), I added 1 T vanilla extract to the egg white and the spices were salt, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and black pepper. Very nice but could have used more sugar and maybe more pepper (vanilla sugar would have been better than the extract because the extract watered down the rest of the flavors - or I will just use more of the spices next time). These ingredients are from our favorite nut recipe which uses pecans and a fairly involved process which takes two days. They are fantastic but using Dorie’s method with cashews was a snap. 

I'm looking forward to making these with the other spice mixtures that FFWDers have tried!

P.S. Last night I also made Gorogonzola-Apple Quiche from Around My French Table and it was excellent :).