FFWD - Celebration Week #4: Grand Finale - Stuff on Toast

Well folks, this is it - this is our last French Fridays with Dorie post, ever.  After nearly five years, it is hard to believe that we are finished cooking our way through Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan, as well as four subsequent weeks of revisiting the highlights.  To put it in perspective, there are five years of high school, and it took five years to complete my double degrees - hence completion of our AMFT journey is a significant feat.

I originally had reservations about joining this group, which sprung from Tuesdays with Dorie.  I had nearly finished baking through Baking - From My Home to Yours with that group (although I came in late), so I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit to another group. Another reservation about joining was that baking, not cooking, is my passion. 

However, when I decided to dip my toes in the water and try out FFwD, it ended up being one of the best decisions I have ever made.  Through FFwD, I have met an amazing group of people who also undertook this project, and with whom I hope to keep in touch now that it is complete.  Also, unexpectedly, I learned a whole lot about cooking that I didn't know before.  I learned to cook mussels, scallops, salmon and duck.  I discovered some great new dishes, like Chicken B'stilla and  Gougeres, and amazing new flavour combinations, my favourite being the many meat and fruit dishes in AMFT.  I found that chopped liver and sardines actually taste good, and are not the foods to be feared that popular television would have you believe. I also made some not so pleasant discoveries - hello caviar in aspic.  I am going to miss this group very much, for many reasons.

There are way too many highlights of FFwD to recount in this post, but here are a few of them.  Cher taught us all to be fearless in our substitutions.  Don't like it, or don't have it - substitute!  I have always been in this camp of cooking, but Cher raised the flag and flew it triumphantly.  I was endlessly entertained by the reactions of Dorista spouses (cue Bill, Bill, Neil and Howard) and the dual perspectives of Tricia and Nana, and inspired by Mary's adventures and enthusiasm for life.  I have loved taking a trip around the world each week (US, Germany, Canada, Greece, Malaysia, Italy, Japan) and learning about regional differences in availability and seasonality of produce (not to mention the weather!).   I was as excited as a child in anticipation during the Christmas and Valentines card exchanges arranged by Alice.  I have had the pleasure of meeting Patty, Kathy, Cher and Betsy. And every week, I have delighted in looking at the LYL posts of all the other Doristas to compare notes and thoughts on each week's recipe,  and receiving words of warmth and encouragement from my fellow Doristas.  Who doesn't like to be told that they did a good job, or wished a good weekend or happy holidays?  There are many other things that I could write here, but so that you don't fall asleep, I will leave it at that.

Special thanks goes to Betsy and Mary for organising our recipe roster and keeping us on track as we made our way through Around My French Table. 

For this, our final FFwD post, we have been asked to  share an original recipe that was inspired by an AMFT recipe or do a recipe that you would like to make-up or just make again.  One of my enduring memories of FFwD will be Trevor's haiku and  Stuff on Toast.  When I think of Stuff on Toast, it always makes me smile - because that's exactly what it is.  No pretentious tartines in my house - from now on, it will be Stuff on Toast.  Accordingly, for my final post, I have made two variations of Stuff on Toast inspired by "recipes" from AMFT.

My first stuff on toast dish, featured at the top of this post, is inspired by Dorie's Goat Cheese and Strawberry Tartine. Instead of goats cheese, I used cottage cheese, and subbed in peaches for strawberries, all atop a piece of crusty white bread.  This makes a fabulous breakfast dish, and is a regular in my house.

My second stuff on toast dish is inspired by Dorie's Nutella Tartine.  This time, instead of nutella with marmalade and hazelnuts, my tartine featured Nutella with raspberry jam and almonds:

Though this alternative combination was nice enough, I  don't think it was a patch on the original.  The marmalade in the original balances out the sweetness of the Nutella, while the raspberry jam enhances it.  Accordingly, in this case, there is much to be said by not messing with the classics.

To all my fellow Doristas - I have enjoyed taking this journey with you very much.  I hope that we can keep in touch as a group, and maybe start a new project in the future.  As the saying goes, don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again.

As a fitting finale, I leave you with an AMFT haiku:

Cooking with Dorie -

It has been an adventure,

French food and friendships

 

Finis.

FFwD - Celebration Week #3: The Play-It-Again-Dorie Recipe - Lemon Steamed Spinach

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, our assignment was to choose the recipe from the book that we have made the most often. 

There are quite a few that I have repeated, including the cardamom rice pilaf, the Ispahan cake and the pork with mangoes and lychees.  However, the recipe that I have repeated the most is Dorie's Lemon Steamed Spinach.  This is just such a quick, easy and tasty side, which goes with everything. 

While the recipe isn't much on paper, it is really good - baby spinach is mixed with olive oil, lemon zest, salt and pepper before steaming for around 3 minutes.  It is so good - I highly recommend that you try it.

To see what the other Doristas regarded as their play it again recipe, check out the LYL section of the FFwD website.

FFWD - Celebration Week #2: The Never-Doubt-Dorie Moment - David's Seaweed Sables

Welcome to week 2 of our French Fridays with Dorie celebration - The Never Doubt Dorie Moment.  This week, we had to choose the recipe from Around My French Table that might not have been our favorite or we enjoyed making or we were skeptical about, but which taught you a technique or gave you an idea or provided a lesson of some kind.

There were a number of dishes that I could have made for this week's submission.  Chopped liver anyone?  However, I decided to go with one of the weirdest sounding recipes in the book that, on first reading, I was sure had flavour combinations that would not work - David's Seaweed Sables.  We made these back in June 2012. 

Who had ever heard of toasting nori (sushi seaweed sheets), then crumbling then and putting them in a sable?  Icing sugar and seaweed is definitely not an intuitive flavour combination.  However, this recipe somehow just works.  When you first bite into the sables, they taste sweet, but then the saltiness hits you, then you get both at once.  The combination is quite intoxicating, a bit like the current trend for salted caramel.  These sables are also visually interesting because the specks of nori look like chives or some other herb - people are always surprised when I tell them it is seaweed.

My initial skepticism about Dorie's seaweed sables recipe was overcome, and I rather like these little sweet and salty cookies.  They would be great as hors d'oeuvres at a dinner party or casual get together, but are just as good to have on hand as a snack.

To see what the other Doristas chose for their Never Doubt Dorie Moment, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

This is my first post for FFWD since returning from two weeks on the East Coast of the US, where I had the pleasure of meeting Kathy, Cher and members of their respective families, and Betsy:

Thanks for taking the time to meet me ladies - it was so much fun!

FFWD - Celebration Week #1: The AHA Moment - Lamb Tagine with Apricots

This week for French Fridays with Dorie, we have to choose your favorite, loved the most, best recipe in FFWD to share this week and explain why, and share our top 5 favorites.

There are many recipes in Around My French Table that I really loved.  When I went back through my FFWD posts to make a list of the recipes that I liked the most, I noticed that a recurring theme was Dorie's meat and fruit combinations - chicken tagine with sweet potato and prunes, duck with kumquats and pork with mango and lychees.  Accordingly, it made sense to me that I would choose one of these meat and fruit dishes as my AHA! moment.  It was hard to pick one dish over another, but I landed on Dorie's Lamb Tagine with Apricots.

 

This tagine pairs meat with fruit in a classic sweet and savoury combination, and jazzes it all up with a mix of spices.  My experience is that the tagine tastes best next day, when the flavours have had time to develop and meld.

 

I have made tagines before Dorie's, but not all of them hit the mark.  This one is particularly good, and tastes fabulous with Dorie's cardamom rice pilaf, or ordinary brown rice.

 

In addition to the Lamb Tagine with Apricots, five of my other favourite dishes from AMFT are:

 

• Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes
• Pan Seared Duck Breasts with Oranges
• Duck with Peaches
• Chicken B'stilla
• Scallops and Double Carrots

 

To see  what the other Doristas regarded as their AHA! moment from AMFT, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

(French) Food Revolution FFWD - Fighting for Food Education - Caramel Almond Tart

Today is Food Revolution Day, a global campaign launched by Jamie Oliver to put compulsory practical food education on the school curriculum.  One of the Doristas, Mardi, is an ambassador for Food Revolution Day, hence for French Friday with Dorie this week, we are hosting a French food revolution.  Mardi has asked us to choose a recipe or technique that we have learned from Around My French Table that we think is a "must know". 

Now, while I realise that pastry is not a necessity of life, it is a very handy skill to have, as pastry can be used as a basis for making meals such as pies and quiches, as well as for making desserts and treats.  Before Dorie, making pastry scared me, as I had had more than one failed attempts at making it.  However, through Dorie, I have discovered a fail-safe technique for making pastry that is quick and easy, and does not even require you to endure the sometimes tricky task of rolling out the dough.

The recipe that is now my go-to pastry recipe is Dorie's Sweet Tart Dough from Around My French Table.  Although it is a sweet tart dough,  I don't see why it can't double up for certain savoury applications because it is not overly sweet (but note that Dorie also has a "good for almost everything" tart dough that can also be used for this purpose).

I applied Dorie's sweet tart dough recipe to making her Caramel Almond Tart from AMFT.  The dough is made in the food processor, so there is no need to fear rubbing the fat into the flour or sticky hands.  I also always just press the dough into the tart pan rather than rolling it out - which means less effort and no breakage, with a perfect fit every time!  Another self-taught tip that I have when using Dorie's sweet tart dough is that if the mixture comes out too crumbly to come together easily, just add a little ice water  to assist in bringing the dough together.  Dorie also taught me how to prevent shrinkage of the pastry during baking by chilling the dough before shaping and chilling it again after it has been moulded into the tart pan.   Here's my pressed-in sweet tart dough, partially baked and covered with toasted sliced almonds in preparation for my caramel filling:

Another skill that I have learned from Dorie is making caramel.  It really is simple when you know how.  You just melt sugar and water together - don't touch otherwise it will crystallise, but gently swirl to get an even colouration, until you get a lovely amber colour:

then stand back and add the cream - it will pop and spit, but just add the cream slowly and don't put your face over it, and everything will quickly calm down: 

et voila - in this case, a lovely caramel cream filling, but you simply change the proportion of cream to make caramel sauce, caramel candies etc - the same basic principles apply:

 

 

Mastery of these two techniques (making pastry and making caramel) results in a wonderful caramel almond tart for your family to enjoy:

 

 

Fun to make, good to eat, and best of all, you know what is in your food because you made it from scratch - no nasty chemicals.

 

To see what the other Doristas learned from Dorie for our French Food Revolution Friday, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website. 

FFWD - Seafood Pot-au-Feu

This is a momentous occasion, because this week, we have finally made it through all of the seafood recipes in Around My French Table - hooray!!

Our final dip in the ocean for French Fridays with Dorie is a Seafood Pot-au-Feu - salmon, scallops and mussels cooked in a light vegetable broth.  I made sure that I chose really nice scallops and used good stock to make sure that this dish tasted delicious.

I liked this, though I have to say it is best to try and finish it all while it is fresh, as it is nowhere near as good the next day.

I had never cooked with salmon, mussels or scallops until FFWD, so this was a culmination of learning to cook all three.  One of my mussels didn't open properly, and I reckon I confirmed Dorie's advice that you really shouldn't use those - I pried it open and it was a gross pasty white instead of a healthy, glowing orange - into the bin it went. 

To see what the other FFWD cooks thought of this week's dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Cheesecake Tart

It is with a significant degree of sadness that we come to the last dessert in Around My French Table for French Fridays with Dorie.  Luckily, it is a good one - cheesecake tart made continental style with cottage cheese, raisins and a pastry crust.

This cheesecake was not too heavy, not overly sweet, and even better, the use of cottage cheese made it virtually guilt free for me.

I love cheesecake, and this one was no exception.  What gives it an extra tick for me is the lower calorie count for my indulgence - sure, it is not as creamy and decadent as a slice of New York Baked Cheesecake, but I feel that I can have it a little more often because it is not quite as naughty.

 

To see what the other Doristas thought of our last dessert, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

 

FFWD - Sardine Escabeche

 

Life is rather like a tin of sardines - we're all of us looking for the key.

Alan Bennett

This week is our second last French Fridays with Dorie seafood dish.  Unfortunately, it comprises a rather oily fish concoction called Sardine Escabeche.

This challenge required us to use fresh sardines, so I dutifully went to the Queen Vic Market to find some (knowing that my suburban fish shop would not stock such a thing).  Fresh sardines were only $6.50 a kilo.  When I asked the fishmonger to fillet my sardines, he flatly refused, but was keen to sell me a 500g tray of frozen sardine fillets for $13!  Ahem - no.  (For the record, my 12 fresh sardines cost the princely sum of $2.55.)

Accordingly, on the night I made this dish, I set about filleting these little guys a la Karen Martini's video:

 

 

I have to say that it is quite a gory process.  I was prepared for it from the video, and wore food gloves to limit the mess.  Still, filleting 12 little fish with all of their organs still intact was not exactly a pleasant task.

 

Once the filleting was done, the rest of the process (flouring and shallow frying the sardine fillets, frying up some veges, adding a large quantity of oil to the veges and simmering,  then pouring over the fish before chilling for 6 hours or so) was quite easy.

 

Unfortunately, I do not understand the European love of putting large quantities of oil on fish.  I can understand that back in the day, it was a means of preserving them, but in the era of modern refrigeration, I just don't get it.  But then, I guess, some people really like oil-covered fish (see Salmon in a Jar). 

 

Thankfully, although this is definitely not a repeat dish for me, it tasted way better than salmon in a jar.  It was pleasant enough for cold oily fish with vegetables - at least everything was pre-cooked.  However, it still doesn't grab me.

 

To see what the other Doristas made of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website. 

FFWD - Pork Roast with Mangoes and Lychees

I had a sense of deja vu with this week's French Friday with Dorie dish, as I had made Pork Roast with Mangoes and Lychees back in 2010.  Granted, the photo back then was a little confronting with all that unrendered fat on the roast, but I enjoyed it very much.  That meant that I was happy to front up for round two.

This time, instead of using a pork roast, I used pork tenderloin medallions - faster and easier to cook, and less waste for one person.  I used fresh mango and tinned lychees (fresh ones being out of season).

I am a sucker for meat and fruit together so I loved this dish.  On the day I made it, I couldn't eat it because I had been having a bad day health-wise, and the smell of the garlic and onions in the sauce made me feel nauseous.  However, next day, I was right as rain and enjoyed every last drop of the sauce.

This was once again a winner for me, and a dish that I would happily repeat - but I will have to be careful of the company I serve it to, because I can see from the Dorista forum comments that the fruit-meat combination (or maybe just the lychees!) is confronting for some.

Visit the LYL section of the FFWD website to get the insight of the other Doristas on this dish.

FFWD - Salmon Tartare

Things are a little fishy again around here at French Fridays with Dorie this week, as our assignment for today is Salmon Tartare. 

This salmon tartare is a colourful dish that, although fairly quick to make, looks impressive as a result of its presentation in food rings so as to show off the layers.

I ate this tartare as an unusual breakfast dish, and really enjoyed the clean, fresh flavours.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this version of salmon tartare, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Waffles and Cream

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we made our second last dessert recipe - Waffles and Cream.  This recipe is basically what it says on the tin - homemade waffles, topped with cream or icecream, plus an optional sauce.  I skipped the sauce and topped my waffles with strawberries instead.

What's not to like - I like waffles and I enjoyed this dessert.  The only thing I would change is not to heat up my waffle pan until I am ready to cook, as mine got too hot and burned the first couple of waffles.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dessert, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Next-day Beef Salad

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we made Next-day Beef Salad.   In my case, it was a misnomer, because the beef was roasted especially so that I could use part of it for this dish.

This salad comprises, cubed roast beef, cherry tomatoes, apple, chilli, cornichons, capsicum, spring onions and capers in a mustard mayo dressing, resting on a bed of greens.  I used spinach for my greens.  Instead of mustard mayo, I used Greek yoghurt flavoured with Dijon mustard, as I don't buy mayo.  I left out the capers for no reason other than that I couldn't find them in my pantry.  I have cornichons left over from another Dorie recipe, but these are also something I would not usually buy.

I fully expected to hate this salad.  I am not a huge salad person generally, and the combination of strong flavours and myriad raw components seemed quite offputting.  However, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this salad. In the future, the only change I'd possibly make is to skip the spring onions, which I found to be rather piquant in their raw state.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the website.

FFWD - Côte d’Azur Cure-all Soup and Salmon in a Jar (really)

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we are heading to the French Riviera for a very sunny Côte d’Azur Cure-all Soup.  The story behind this soup is that it is a little like the French answer to chicken noodle soup - it is meant to have reparative qualities.

Whether it is actually a healing brew or not, I liked this soup (yes, I did).  Unlike its fishy cousin, the Riviera fish soup, this soup had a really lovely, warm, comforting (non-fishy!) flavour. For once, my soup was also thin, so had a pleasing mouth feel.  I served it with toast spread with hummus.

This week, I also made the only recipe that we have been slated to make so far that I deliberately avoided - Salmon in a Jar: 

 

I deliberately skipped marinating the potatoes because I didn't want to waste more oil - I just boiled them and served them with the salmon. 

 

This dish was, I am sorry to say, not my cup of tea, as I always suspected it would not be.  It smells kind of funky, there is no way I'd eat any of the raw veg in the jar, and the salmon remains oily, even when the excess is wiped off with a paper towel.  This recipe was made only to complete the "set", and so it will remain - definitely not a dish I want to repeat.

 

 

 

To see what the other Doristas made of this week's trip to the sunny Côte d’Azur, visit the LYL section of the website. 

FFwD - Veal Marengo

French Fridays with Dorie this week features a stew - Veal Marengo.  Less poetically, it is veal stew with tomatoes and mushrooms - and in our case, potatoes and onions.

I bought veal during my epic trip to the posh end of town for lobster.

I really enjoyed this stew - it was very hearty and flavoursome.  Except for the fact that I found it rather fussy to make, I would make it again.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFwD - Cabbage and Foie Gras Bundles

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe has nothing to do with fish or sealife of any kind.  Hurrah!  However, it is rather a curiosity - you be the judge whether it is good curious or bad curious.

The recipe is Cabbage and Foie Gras Bundles. This recipe involves boiling cabbage leaves until soft, then wrapping pieces of foie gras (in my case, duck liver pate) in the boiled cabbage leaves to form parcels, then steaming them.

In the end, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  It was perfectly edible, but I only made two bundles just for me.  The leftover ingredients will be utilised in a far less exotic fashion.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this week's recipe, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Riviera Fish Soup

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Riviera Fish Soup.  It is a tomato based soup made from fish pieces and with flavour added from the fish head.

I bought a whole fish before reading the entire recipe and the reason behind the request for a whole fish (in case you were wondering, it was so you could boil up the soup with the fish head).  In retrospect, I should have just bought fillets.  I am not sure that the head added that much, and descaling and dissecting a whole fish was a pain in the butt.  My fish fillets were sadly ragged, and I ended up cutting them up with the kitchen shears because it was easier.  I made a half batch of soup only.

I find with Dorie's soups that my versions always end up too thick, and this was no exception.  It is so thick that it is visually unappealing.  I ate half the soup, and even though mentally I had logged that it tasted OK, I couldn't bring myself to eat the rest of this claggy concoction.  The very look of it put me off.  The fishy smell was also disconcerting.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this soup, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Vanilla-Butter-Braised Lobster

 

She's your lobster!

                                                   Phoebe Buffet, Friends

 

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we are back on our extended trip to the seaside.  However, today we are trying something very different - Vanilla-Butter-Braised Lobster. 

 

I had never previously tasted, let alone cooked, lobster, and I was kind of like a rabbit in the headlights for a while.  This was compounded by the fact that Dorie's unabridged recipe involved using 4 live lobsters and 700g of butter!  I didn't even know where to buy live lobster.

 

Once I had time to take a step back, my plan of action was clear.  I would go to the fishmonger in a posh neighbourhood, where they were more likely to stock lobster, and I would ask for frozen lobster (ie one that someone else had conveniently dispatched for me).

 

In this vein, I ventured off to the balmy climes of Hawksburn Village, where indeed I was able to acquire frozen lobster.  However, frozen lobster tends to mean just the lobster tail.  I was fine with that, especially as the cheapest said lobster tail (singular) cost $25.95!

 

The lobster tail went into the freezer until Valentines Day, when I invited Tim to dinner to share in my rather pricey lobster entree.

 

I scaled down the clarified butter to 125g (as a guess), and prepped butter and lobster before Tim came over.

 

To prepare the lobster for braising, you have to dunk it in boiling water for a few minutes.  It goes from this:    



to this:

Inside, once the shell is peeled away, you get very pretty red meat:

The lobster had its revenge somewhat, as its shell is remarkably spiny, so I had to take care in removing it.  However, the shell thankfully yielded up the meat very easily, even if it did prick my fingers.

Once you have your prepped lobster meat and vanilla flavoured clarified butter (yep, you read correctly) ready, it is a very simple matter to braise the meat in the butter.  I halved the lobster tail for an entree sized serving.

I served the lobster meat on a bed of lemon steamed spinach, as suggested by Dorie.  I was pleasantly surprised by this dish - the vanilla flavour was quite subtle (Tim couldn't detect it at all),  and the overall dish was very tasty.  However, with the price of lobster, I won't be serving it too often!

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

If you are a fan of fashion, do check out my travel blog post on the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition which was recently hosted by the National Gallery of Victoria.

FFWD - Chicken Couscous

For our Friday the 13th French Friday with Dorie this week, we leave the seaside and make a journey inland to Old MacDonalds Farm for some chicken - Chicken Couscous, to be precise.  It comprised chicken and vegetables cooked in chicken stock with plenty of spices for kick, and served on a bed of couscous cooked in the broth in which the chicken had been cooked.

This dish is everything that I love - spicy, lots of vegetables and some heft so that I am not left feeling hungry.  I could feast on this kind of dish every night.  I think that if I had bothered with the harissa and raisins that Dorie suggested as extras, it would have been even better.

I was also surprised at how quick this was to cook - it was done in around 40 minutes from start to finish.

To see what the other Doristas thought of  this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Winter Ceviche

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we made Winter Ceviche.  As you may expect, this was another seafood dish, but this timer with scallops.  Although labelled as a winter dish, this ceviche is perfect in summer too, as it uses bright, fresh ingredients and is quite light and served cold. 

Instead of investing in mango nectar for the citrus and mango marinade, I used peach juice from a can of tinned peaches instead.  I imagine the end result would be similar, as both the nectar and the peach juice are sweet and fruity.

You are supposed to serve the marinated scallops on a bed of tarragon, but I issued baby spinach instead.

I enjoyed this winter ceviche (after all, it is based on  the luxury of scallops), but it didn't excite me.   I probably wouldn't make it again, as there are ways to serve scallops that I like better.

To see what the other Doristas thought of this dish, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.

FFWD - Croquants

For French Fridays with Dorie this week, we were assigned one of our last dessert recipes - nutty, meringue based cookies called croquants.

I had wanted to make these for ages, so I was really pleased with this week's pick. The recipe sounded just like cookies that are served alongside coffee in one of my favourite chocolate shops, Ganache Chocolate. 

Croquants are super easy to put together - they are just chop, stir, dollop and bake cookies.  For the nut component of the cookies, I used chopped roasted almonds.

These crispy cookies are perfect on their own, although as Dorie suggests, they would also make lovely icecream sandwiches.

To see what the other Doristas thought of the croquants, visit the LYL section of the FFWD website.