Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans and Semolina Cake - FFWD

The final two FFWD November recipes are Pumpkin-Gorgonzola Flans and Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake. The flans were good but did need the recommended honey to make the flavors come together. We made one flan without gorgonzola for daughter who liked it just fine that way. These were super easy to make.

The Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake was not very sweet and had a light flavor and was good at room temperature as well as cold. I really liked it - like a rice pudding that was still very light. I used dates soaked in rum instead of raisins which was a mistake. I like dates more than raisins but the dates were not soft enough for this cake. I think raisins soaked in rum would be more lush and really good here so I will use them next time.

Two more good recipes from Dorie!

Potato Gratin (Pommes Dauphinois) & Meeting FFWD Friends

The 7th recipe for FFWD is Potato Gratin (Pommes Dauphinois). Although I have often made the base recipe, this was the first time I done it in the more classic way with garlic and a little Gruyere. Very very good. We had it with broccolini and sautéed blackfish which was a perfect meal!

Dorie says that this is an ideal recipe for adding things or varying the cheese and herbs...sounds good for using up leftover vegetables.

Other similar recipes that my family loves:

1). Horseradish Potatoes (from a Bobby Flay recipe): no garlic or Gruyere; add horseradish to each layer (at least 1 cup total), end with a layer of cream, cover if need.

2). Scalloped Potatoes (my grandmother’s recipe): no garlic or Gruyere; add grated cheese to each layer and on the top. For 5 pounds of russet potatoes, use 3/4 pound cheese (cheddar & Colby is a good mix because the Colby melts well), salt, pepper, and 5 cups of heavy cream.  Use a 9” x 13” x 2” dish and bake for 1 1/4 hours, covering part of the time. I’ve always wanted to add some roasted chiles to this - maybe next time!

A highlight for me in making this last night was using my new food processor (my first one!) to mince the garlic & slice the potatoes. I got the machine a week ago & am pretty thrilled with it. It even minced the garlic pretty well. No more mandoline for slicing potatoes!

Another recent highlight was attending Dorie’s book-signing last week! It was so nice to  meet Dorie as well as five other cooks, most of whom are members of Tuesdays With Dorie and/or French Fridays With Dorie: Tracey from Tracey's Culinary Adventures, Nancy from The Dogs Eat the Crumbs, Audrey from Food From Books, Mary from Popsicles and Sandy Feet, and Mary’s mom! Their blogs are all beautiful, by the way!

Dorie’s talk was very entertaining and she was so friendly and charming to everyone. And even though the other bloggers have known each other for a while, they warmly welcomed me into their circle. Thank you! It was a fun evening and I am so glad I went!

Harvest Bread

This recipe for Harvest Bread is from the talented Beth at the screen porch.

This is her version of “Schiacciata co luva”. “A grape bread traditionally seen all over Italy in September on into October”. It was fun to experience a tradition that I had never heard of and the bread was unusual and delicious!

I used my bread machine for the kneading & first rising. I am starting to replace white flours with whole grain ones in my recipes so for one cup of the flour, I substituted 1/2 c white whole wheat flour and 1/2 c sprouted spelt flour. Since making this, I have used more and more spelt and I think all spelt would be just fine! Also, the recipe didn’t specify how much olive oil so I used 3 T in the dough. I think 2 T would probably be better because of the cheese - that said, I could have used more olive oil on the top.

DH likes grapes & focaccia so he loved this bread. We are not always fans of honey but a little drizzle was perfect for this bread...and as Beth suggested, I think some gorgonzola sprinkled on top would be amazing.

Thank you, Beth, for a wonderful recipe!   Here is the link:  http://thescreenporch.blogspot.com/2010/10/harvest-bread.html

Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux - FFWD

Week 6 recipe for FFWD is Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux. Very easy one-pot recipe!

Every year, we cook our Thanksgiving turkey in a huge, high-sided roasting pot. It stays very moist (although the skin doesn’t crisp) so I don’t know why I never thought to make a chicken in a pot, also. Thanks to this recipe, I will now do this a lot. The chicken is roasted in a pot and it stayed very moist, although WITH crispy skin. The chicken sits on a slice of bread which gets soaked and crusted with chicken fat :). Also, carrots, potatoes, and a head of garlic are in the pot. DH loves chicken, carrots, potatoes, and garlic, all roasted, so this is already a huge favorite for him.

Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake - FFWD

Week 5 recipe for FFWD is Marie-Helene’s Apple Cake. Mostly apples, not very sweet, and the cake part is very moist, almost like a custard. Everyone loved it! Excellent and easy recipe.

I made 1 1/2 times the recipe for a 9 1/2-inch springform pan. I used a dark Dominican Republic rum and a wonderful vanilla that my daughter brought back from Honduras.

Hachis Parmentier - FFWD

This week’s recipe for FFWD is Hachis Parmentier. Lousy picture but rocking recipe. Basically, a rich beef stew covered with cheesy (Gruyere) mashed potatoes. I made this for my kids when they came home from college for a weekend visit. They totally loved it.


I used a chuck steak and sweet Italian sausage for the meat. Leftovers were great so next time, I will double the recipe - well, maybe triple it.

Last night I made the Quiche Lorraine (it was very good) and today I am making Gougeres for the freezer and the Spicy Vietnamese Chicken Soup for the second time (going to crisp the chicken skin in the oven - thanks to Beth for that idea :). All from Around My French Table...I love this book so far!

Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup - FFWD

Week 3 recipe for FFWD is Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup, richly flavored with with coconut, lime, chile, & cilantro.

This is one of the best soups I've ever had! Very easy to make and I can make it often as the ingredients are pantry staples except for chicken & Chinese noodles. I do have pasta, egg noodles,& rice vermicelli in my cupboard, though, & those would work instead of the fresh Chinese noodles…I liked the texture of the Chinese noodles so I’ll use those when possible. I always have tofu or frozen shrimp which would probably be great substitutes for the chicken.

Gerard's Mustard Tart (FFWD) and Sticky Toffee Cake

Week 2 recipe for FFWD is Gerard’s Mustard Tart flavored with carrots, leeks, mustard, & rosemary. It was very good & we will definitely make it again. Leftovers cold the next day were good, too. Next time I will chop the leeks instead of cutting them into strips; cold, the strips were hard to cut through. This recipe is one of the reasons I'm glad that I committed to FFWD as it is one I would never have wanted to try on my own - and it turned out to be something I would love to make again.

For dessert we had Raquel’s Sticky Toffee Cake from American Masala by Suvir Saran and Raquel Pelzel. It was almost identical to my very favorite dessert of all time anywhere which is Date Pudding with Dark Rum Caramel Sauce & Whipped Cream at the River Tavern in Chester, CT. For years I have tried to make this at home with no luck - until yesterday! What a great day :)

My husband got carried away with the ice cream and whipped cream “garnish” before he realized I wanted to take a picture...anyway, this dessert doesn’t look like much (even at the restaurant) but it is over-the-top fantastic. The crowning glory is the sticky-chewy-baked-on “crust” that forms on the top of the cake during the last 5 minutes of baking.

Gougeres - FFWD

The first recipe for FFWD is for these Gougeres (cheese puffs) from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan.
Great & easy recipe! Mine were mild in flavor, made with Parano cheese. I got 66 gougeres out of the recipe by using a scoop equal to 1 tablespoon. 

We ate the warm Gougeres while cooking dinner which was Haddock & Carrots in Burnt Orange Oil and plain Wehani Rice (rice is not in the picture :)).

The fish was great, too. Light & fresh with a lot of orange sauce for the rice. The recipe is actually for red snapper but the fish market did not have it & the haddock was a good substitute. It is from Recipes 1-2-3 by Rozanne Gold.

Lochen Kugel

This is my version of my grandmother's kugel - it is basically a white macaroni & cheese casserole and not a sweet kugel. Her recipe as written wasn't how I remember the dish so I adjusted it to get this recipe. It is a family favorite! "Lokshen Kugel" is Yiddish for "Noodle Pudding", however, my grandmother spelled it Lochen Kugel.

"There's nothing that butter doesn't make better. " Grammie Rose

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