French Fridays with Dorie - Celebration Week #4 - "The Grand Finale”

After having cooked our way through Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table" for the last four years, seven months, and twenty-one days, our fourth and final celebratory post for French Fridays with Dorie is so amptly entitled ”The Grand Finale“ – meaning that we were asked to „share an original recipe that was inspired by an AMFT recipe or do a recipe that we would like to make-up or just make again“ – giving us a chance to wrap up our French Fridays experience in a very personal way.

Actually, I would like to start out by sending many hugs and huge „thank yous“ to Mary and Betsy for all the hard work they have done for the past three years, keeping the AMFT group interested and dedicated – could not have done it without you lovely ladies! We really do have to meet some day - maybe the European soil will lure you...

Then a big „thank you“ to all you members of the AMFT! You have become my friends over the years and made me feel welcome in this lovely group of bloggers – despite the fact that I am living kind of far away from all of you and despite the fact that I am a bit on the, let´s call it „shy side“ when it comes to sharing personal pictures and information about yours truly – thank you for letting me be me and for never asking me the question that I have been waiting for for almost three years now…there are actually pictures of me on my blog, I just kind of omitted to mention where...

It seems impossible for me to say all the things that I would love to say but there are a few more things that are very dear to my heart and that I would like to write about today.

Never would I have learned all the things that I did learn, never virtually met all you friends that I did meet while visiting your blogs, never cooked so many French recipes or looked up so many culinary terms in the dictionary, had it not been for this amazing AMFT group.

And had it not been for AMFT, our children would not know all of your first names or ask me on a regular basis whether I had already visited your blogs – all of them were on a first name basis with all of you during the last couple of years – they not only know the names of all your blogs but they also know the names of your children, grand-children and your spouses and, yes, your pets.

Our kids patiently tested all of the recipes that I cooked from Dorie´s book – always curious and (almost always) with an open mind – they ate cold dinners and lukewarm soups because they had to wait for that “one last picture“ that was being taken for my post. They have come to realize that the food I put in front of them might be for picture taking, not devouring, and by now they are so used to asking whether this is „for eating or do you need a picture first“ that I almost feel guilty. Poor blogger children, I keep calling them.

And then there is my darling husband who patiently waited in line for hours on end to get the „perfect bread“, or the most „beautiful fruits“, who attended more agricultural fairs with me that he cares to count, just in case there was this "one extraordinary veg" that I "had to photograph" and who drove home faster because the weather was about to turn and I still "absolutely needed" that sunny picture for a post, who taste tested (almost) each and every dish I placed in front of him – so, more heartfelt „thank yous“ are in order here – French Fridays with Dorie was an integral part of all of their lives as well.

And, of course, let´s not forget about the wonderful food – oh, that food – glorious food, delicious food with more known than unknown flavors. We are Europeans after all and although we love all types of different cuisines, we do have a soft spot for French food.

We loved many of the recipes and I have made so many of them on a regular basis that it is not possible to imagine my very small German kitchen without dishes from Dorie happily bubbling away on the stove and filling our house with beloved aromas that we look forward to enjoying, every single time. So, of course, I have Dorie to thank for that!

Although I have not had the fortune to meet anyone in person (yet!) – I still feel as if I have become friends with all of you. I have marveled at pictures of your food, your families, your vacation spots and your props. I made sure to visit your blogs on a regular basis and read through your posts, comment on your creative processes, look at graduation pictures and pictures of your cute babies, beautiful children and lovely grand-children. I have visited your dinner and lunch tables, been part of your parties and invitations and graduations - how could I not feel like being part of your lives in a very special way...Thank you all for allowing me to be part of your lives, I feel honored...

So, dear Doristas, I prefer to look at this Grand Finale not in terms of "Good Bye!" but more in the terms of „Au revoir!“ or as we say around here „Auf Wiedersehen!“ – which pretty much means the same thing really, because I will „see“ a number of you again, I am sure!

Until then, my friends & thanks for all the good times! - Bis bald, meine Freunde, es war einfach unschlagbar!

Cheesy Oat Nibbles with fresh Herbs

After my recent celebratory write-ups for the French Fridays with Dorie group, I thought that it would be a good time to post one of my personal recipes again. My recipe is for fairly simple „nibbles“ flavored with lovely cheese and for that summery Mediterranean flavor, some chopped fresh herbs from the garden.

As far as the cheese is concerned, my first choice for these is Pecorino Romano but any well-flavored cheese with a similar texture like a Parmigiano Reggiano, the well-known fruity flavored cheese with a peppery after-taste, will perform equally well here. Pecorino is made from ewe's milk and is a sharp, salty-flavored cheese. It tends to be widely available, is hard like Parmesan and grates well.

Then, for the chopped fresh herbs from the garden I like to use rosemary and lemon thyme. The combination of piney rosemary and lemon thyme with its thyme flavor along with a subtle essence of lemon is amazing here but regular thyme and a bit of organic lemon zest will be a nice substitute. I love those herbs that grow so abundantly in our garden these days and they add such a lovely aromatic flavor to these nibbles when you bite into them.

These nibbles are very simple to make – place your oats, wheat flour, baking powder, and sea salt in a bowl, add the finely chopped fresh herbs and your grated cheese, then some water to make the dough. Then spread it best you can in your prepared baking pan and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool and cut into triangles or fingers. Done. There is only one thing to remember really here - make sure to strip the rosemary needles as well as the lemon thyme leaves off their little branches before you start chopping away and before you measure them.

They are really nice on their own, not too filling at all and with a pleasant oat, cheese and herb flavor. Perhaps the best way to describe them is like a tender version of oats cakes . They go well as a simple accompaniment to fresh yellow, orange and red cherry tomatoes (go for a variety here if you can), but they are also great to serve alongside some seasonal fruits – actually we think they go particularly well with an assortment of naturally sweet melons, such as Cantaloupe or honeydew melon.

Now, these are as simple as it gets, with just seven ingredients. And they are made from readily available ingredients and are ready for baking in minutes. So give them a try and let me know how they turned out for you.

You could also try adding a pinch of ready made herb salt for variety – then leave out the freshly chopped herbs. Often we get these herb salts as gifts or pick them up at the country fair and oftentimes they linger in our cupboards – this would be a perfect recipe to let your herb salts star in a leading role.

Cheesy Oat Nibbles with fresh Herbs

Ingredients

• 100 grams coarse oatmeal
• 50 grams wheat (plain flour), plus extra for dusting the pan NOTE: you can also use spelt flour here
• 9 grams (1/2) teaspoon baking powder
• 2 gram fine sea salt
• 60 grams finely grated hard cheese such as Pecorino Romano (or use Parmigiano Reggiano)
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary and lemon thyme (or use regular thyme plus some grated organic lemon zest)
• 150 grams water, room temperature
• a bit of butter for brushing the baking pan

Additional

• a quiche or tart pan with removable bottom (about 24 to 28 cm)
• some baking parchment 

Preparation

1. Butter the bottom of your quiche pan. Line with baking parchment, butter some more and flour – tap out the excess flour. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the oatmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
3. Stir in the finely grated cheese, the finely chopped herbs and the water – you will have a soft, sticky dough.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°Celsius (355°Fahrenheit).
5. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and spread the dough into an equal layer – this is best done using an offset spatula that you lightly moistened with water to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
6. Bake the dough round for about 25 to 30 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack.
7. Let cool for a few minutes. Take the dough round out of the baking pan and transfer to a cutting board. Then using a serrated knife or a pizza wheel, cut into equal servings such as fingers or triangles.
8. Enjoy while warm or let cool completely. NOTE: These nibbles are best eaten the day they are made but if you have any left over, place them in a cookie tin and line the layers with parchment paper to keep them from sticking. Keep for a day or two in a cool, dry place and re-heat slightly before serving if you want to serve them warm

We just love these nibbles. The herbs plus the grated cheese are much beloved and familiar Mediterranean flavors - your kitchen will small amazing while they are baking.

Baking these in a tart pan and cutting them into triangles (if you are using a round tart pan) or fingers (if you are using a square or rectangular tart pan) makes them a little bit more refined.

They truly are a cinch to make and perfect to nibble on with some seasonal veggies or fruits on the side or even with a drink while the real star of your dinner is in the oven.

French Fridays with Dorie - Celebration Week #3: ”The Play-It-Again-Dorie Recipe“

After having cooked our way through Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table" for the last four years, seven months, and twenty-one days, our third celebratory post for French Fridays with Dorie is entitled ”The Play-It-Again-Dorie Recipe“ – meaning that we were asked to choose the recipe from the book that we „have made the most often"  or that we "have made a variation of the most".

Although I love to keep making many recipes from the book, there are actually two recipes that I have made the most from Dorie´s book. There is the family-favorite „Chicken, Apples, and Cream à la Normande“ (pages 218-9) that we made back in December 2012. And everybody´s favorite, the Corn Pancakes (page 337) that we made back in June of 2012.

Dorie´s Corn Pancakes are fabulous on their own, or as an accompaniment to roast chicken, pork cutlets, and steaks. But they are equally good in summer with a lovely tangy Cherry Bell Radish Dip or fancied up with lime crème fraîche, fresh salmon tartare and salmon roe.

Who would have thought that a recipe with but four ingredients (corn, flour, eggs, and milk) would prove to be the most requested recipe at our house – I suspect that kids just love the inherent sweetness from the corn and I love the convenience of being able to use a cupboard staple, canned corn, and be able to have a recipe that I can easily adapt to what we feel in the mood for.

I often add chives to the batter and I have translated this recipe many times for friends and, particularly for the children´s classmates who are just crazy about them. I have made them for school lunches and picnics, in summer and in winter and for Food Revolution Day as well.

Corn Pancakes are always a success and always such terrific recipe to have in the back of your mind. No matter what your cooking skills. And no matter what you fancy the day you are making these. Give this recipe a try and you will agree, I am sure.

To see what the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group included in their celebratory posts, please go here.

For copyright reasons, we do and did not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for the Corn Pancakes on page 337 in Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table".

French Fridays with Dorie - Celebration Week #2: "The Never-Doubt-Dorie Moment”

Hard to believe that after four years, seven months, and twenty-one days, the very talented, utterly determined, and quite industrious members of the online cooking group French Fridays with Dorie, finished cooking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. In order to celebrate that momentous occasion, we were asked to post a few celebratory posts for four more Fridays.

Given this week’s theme which is the “Never-Doubt-Dorie Moment”, we were asked to chose a recipe which that provided us with „an unexpected nugget, a new technique, our own bonne idée or some other lesson". Considering that there were about three hundred recipes to chose from, predictably, this proved to be a rather lengthy task. But it was also a lot of fun, as it gave me a chance to revisit all those recipes that I made from this book – no, I did not reach the finish line but I participated in French Fridays for about three years and did my best to make as many of Dorie´s recipes as I could. Not all that bad considering that I am by no means what you would call a native English speaker (it was actually the third language I learned) and in light of the fact that I have a rather smallish kitchen....

For today I chose the Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza that we made back in September of 2013. The technique that I took away from this particular recipe is one that I have come back to many times since - it is actually the making of the crispy, flat puff pastry rounds as bases for this „pizza“ . Since making that recipe for the first time almost two years ago, I have served these crispy rounds with all sorts of lovely appetizers. Everything from honey-roasted tomatoes to walnut-olive tapenade has graced these during the last two years. A wonderful and easy technique that I learned while merrily cooking my way through the bulk of the recipes from Dorie´s book. A technique that I would probably not have tried had it not been for this particular recipe - Thank you, Dorie!

To see what the other members of the French Fridays with Dorie group included in their celebratory posts, please go here.

For copyright reasons, we do and did not publish the recipes from the book. But you can find the recipe for the Fresh Tuna, Mozzarella, and Basil Pizza on pages 166-7 in Dorie Greenspan´s cookbook "Around my French Table".

The Cottage Cooking Club - May Recipes

The month of May marks the thirteenth month of our international online cooking group, The Cottage Cooking Club. As a group, recipe by recipe, we are cooking and learning our way through a wonderful vegetable cookbook written in 2011 by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, called „River Cottage Everyday Veg“.

The Cottage Cooking Club is meant to be a project aimed at incorporating more vegetable dishes into our everyday cooking, learning about less known, forgotten or heritage vegetables, trying out  new ways to prepare tasty and healthy dishes, and sharing them with family and friends.

All the members of this cooking group will make an effort to use as much local, regional, organic and also seasonal produce as is resonably possible.

Since I prepared all ten recipes this month, I will write about each dish according to the order in which I prepared them. My first recipe for this May post is the Pearl barley broth (page 160), from the chapter "Hefty Soups“.

The base of this soup is a vegetable stock (page 130), a recipe in this book that I keep coming back to on a regular basis. The finely diced vegetables in this pearl barley broth include onions, celery, carrots, and parsnip. The spices used are ground coriander, nutmeg, cayenne pepper and mace. Then as herbs some fresh thyme and a bay leaf from the garden and, of course, medium sized pearl barley. Around here, the stores carry pearl barley in three different grades, the medium one being my favorite to use in substantial soups like this one. There was lots of flavor from the spices, the veg and the soup base. Just remember that the pearly barley will absorb quite a bit of liquid and you will end up with a rather thick soup if you prepare it in advance.

Add some wonderful crunchy, homemade croutons and a bit of sour cream and you end up with our kind of comfort-style, feel-good kind of soup. When frying the bread cubes for the croutons, I always add  a clove of crushed garlic to the olive oil - that way, they get a hint of garlic taste to them which we really enjoy.

The second recipe that I prepared is the Kohlrabi carpaccio (page 116) from the chapter „Raw Assemblies“. Before getting started on this recipe make sure to go for small sized kohlrabi (or as hugh points out, "not bigger than an apple") – I used to be a real kohlrabi addict as a child and I still know that when it comes to this lovely veg, the smaller it is, the sweeter it is and the less fibrous it is likely going to be. Always buy the freshest produce you can when putting together these raw assembllies recipes – you do need the crunchiness of the vegetable to stand up to the bold dressings.

Slice as thinly as possible, make a dressing with lemon juice, mild olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and fresh thyme – this is where I used "my darling lemon thmye" that makes this dressing extra special and lemony tasting.Then top with some hard goat cheese.  I also added a bit of cress for a bit of sharpness. This is a very elegant dish and I loved serving it on a large white platter that I placed in the middle of the table so everyone could serve themselves.

The third recipe for May are the very summery and bright green looking Garlicky, minty mushy peas (page 387) from the chapter of „Side Dishes“. Lots of green color from the peas (frozen – as the fresh ones were not appealing – not quite the best season yet) – I do not think that the taste of this dish is affected by frozen versus fresh peas.

All you need apart form those peas is some of the cooking liquid, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper and mint (no – I used Italian parsley because mint and fresh coriander are the only herbs that we do not like in our food). And some fresh vegetables for dipping or a bit of bread to spread it on. Next time I make this, I would love to add some of the pea purée to my salmon burgers, I think that would make a darn good taste combination and be very pretty to look at too.

The fourth recipe is the Courgette bruschetta (page 200) from the chapter of „Bready Things“.  A recipe that I turn to quite often. Love bruschetta and fresh courgettes and grilled bread and goat cheese. Who does not?!

This bruschetta pairs extremely well with tomato bruschetta and it is one of the true rustic treats to enjoy in late spring and then all summer long.

The fifth recipe is the recipe that I would consider to be a „must know“ for all of us, and especially students. The Pasta with Broccoli (page 261) from the chapter of „Pasta & Rice“ is so tasty and so easy to put together, that it is quite simply a cinch to put together. Plus it has very few ingredients and yet it is still one of those very tasty pasta recipes that will come in very handy on those very busy days/evenings when everyone is craving a nutritious home cooked meal with tons of taste.

Boil some fun shaped pasta, add fresh broccoli florets to the cooking water during the last few minutes (if you are pressed for time you can always add frozen broccoli florets here). Warm olive oil with some chili and garlic. Mix everything together. Add fresh basil and shaved parmesan on top and you are all set to enjoy a wonderful dinner.

The sixth recipe for May is the Griddled Asparagus with lemon dressing (page 339) from the chapter „Roast, Grill & Barbecue“.

We are in the midst of asparagus season around here. The season lasts „officially“ until the 24th of June. And presently there is asparagus everywhere. Each and every market offers it and we eat it almost daily. Since there is mostly white asparagus being planted here, that´s what I used for this lovely recipe.

The previously blanched asparagus gets threaded on skewers. Then you brush them with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper and grill either in a griddle pan or on the BBQ outside – this is a recipe that works well wherever your grill or grill pan is.

Serve the hot asparagus with some lemon dressing poured over and some more on the side – so, so good. The dressing with the lemon juice and chopped basil, Italian parsley and chives complements griddled asparagus in the most delicious of ways.

Onto recipe number seven, one of my kids two favorites this month, the Herby, peanutty, noodly salad (page 71), from the chapter of“ Hearty Salads“.

For the noodles I chose to use wholewheat spaghetti instead of the egg or rice noodles that the recipe calls for – I like their nutty taste and that they hold their shape so well when cooked al dente and when paired with a hearty salad dressing.

The dressing consists of rice vinegar, zest and juice of a lime, chili, garlic, brown sugar, toasted sesame oil and soy sauce. The veggies I chose to add to the cooked noodles were green asparagus, string beans and an English cucumber. I replaced the coriander and the fresh mint with basil and the peanuts with sesame seeds – I did change the recipe according to what is available and fresh as well as to what we like. Nothing wrong with adjusting recipes to your family´s taste and preferences. It is a wonderful basic recipe that I think calls for some creative interpretations. I must admit that I really prefer a light dressing such as this one to one of those heavy ones with peanut butter added to it – I never liked those salads and was pleased as punch to prepare an Asian-inspired vinegary dressing for this one.

Recipe number eight is the top favorite recipe at our house this month – the Spicy merguez oven chips with yoghurt dip (page 225) from the chapter „Store-cupboard suppers“ is quite simply put a stellar recipe and, according to the kids, „out-of-this-world delicious“.

Use good potatoes here, the ones that can withstand a lot of heat without falling to pieces. And par-boil them only shortly before adding all those spices to them that are meant to mimic the spiciness of the French merguez sausages. And no need to peel the potatoes, if you give them a good scrub and especially if you bought them at a farmer´s market.

The spices used here are cumin, fennel, coriander, caraway, black pepper, Spanish sweet smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and fine sea salt. Time to get out my wonderful pestle and mortar once again, this is one kitchen gadget that although I do not use it too often, I actually love to use.

Roast potatoes and spices in a hot oven for about 45 minutes and prepare the dip in the meantime with plain yoghurt, a bit of garlic and some cayenne sprinkled on top. And. Enjoy!

Onto recipe number nine for May, the Cambodian Wedding Day Dip as Hugh calls it or the Tyrolean Wedding Day Dip as one of our daughters calls it (hence the bowl I served it in). The recipe can be found on page 299 in the chapter „Mezze & Tapas“.

The dip is wonderful with pita chips or fresh vegetables on the side and consists of chestnut mushrooms, chili, garlic, curry powder (I used a mild one), crunchy peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice, soy sauce and chopped coriander (I used Italian parsley here).

We loved the bit of heat from the chilis, the sweetness from the peanut butter and the creaminess from the coconut milk – an utterly delightful combination of flavors and textures, not to be missed when preparing your next mezze spread.

The last recipe is the Spinach, penne and cheese spoufflé – yes spoufflé, not soufflée (page 43) from the chapter of „Comfort Foods & Feasts“. With cooked pasta, fresh spinach, a sauce béchamel, grated cheese, egg yolks and beaten egg whites – this recipe had a few steps that you had to follow before it was ready to be baked in the oven. I decided to add some chopped fresh wild garlic to the spinach mix.

The kids loved it and I served it with some grilled chicken as a side dish – texture wise, this was my personal least favorite one of the line-up and I think I would be better off using a smaller vessel for t the spoufflé than I did but it was still worth making and I like the idea to use left-over pasta and spinach in a dish that the kids will happily eat.

Another month full of wonderful vegetable dishes – we certainly love the recipes from this cookbook.

Please note, that for copyright reasons, we do NOT publish the recipes. If you enjoy the recipes in our series, hopefully, the wonderfully talented and enthusiastic members of the Cottage Cooking Club and their wonderful posts can convince you to get a copy of this lovely book. Better yet, do make sure to join us in this cooking adventure! There is still time!

„The Kitchen Lioness – Home is where you can be yourself“

For more information on the participation rules, please go here.

To see which wonderful dishes the other members of the Cottage Cooking Club prepared during the month of April, please go here.