This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was for a very interesting quiche — Apple & Gorgonzola. And, as is my way, I changed it quite a bit. I actually feel a little bad, it seems like I’m always fiddlin’ with these Around My French Table recipes, which I know would be very good great made exactly as written. I just…can’t help myself.

Actually, I usually make changes based on what I have at home or what I maybe don’t like. Take for instance Gorgonzola shudder. I am just not a fan of the blue cheeses, so I swapped that out for some feta and a little cheddar.

Here’s what else I changed this week (and some notes):

1. We went out to dinner Tuesday night and last night, and I just couldn’t make a (delicious!) butter-laden crust in good conscious. So, I made this Whole Wheat Olive . . . → Read More: FFwD: Apple, Feta & Baby Kale Quiche]]>

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was for a very interesting quiche — Apple & Gorgonzola. And, as is my way, I changed it quite a bit. I actually feel a little bad, it seems like I’m always fiddlin’ with these Around My French Table recipes, which I know would be very good great made exactly as written. I just…can’t help myself.

Actually, I usually make changes based on what I have at home or what I maybe don’t like. Take for instance Gorgonzola shudder. I am just not a fan of the blue cheeses, so I swapped that out for some feta and a little cheddar.

Here’s what else I changed this week (and some notes):

1. We went out to dinner Tuesday night and last night, and I just couldn’t make a (delicious!) butter-laden crust in good conscious. So, I made this Whole Wheat Olive Oil Crust from Chocolate & Zucchini. I thought it worked really well with this quiche and was even pretty great tasting! I used a combination of about 6 oz wheat flour and 2.8 oz AP flour and 1/2 tsp of herbes de Provence. And the best part? It was ready to roll out right away. I just had to chill it on the fridge for about 30 minutes before filling it up.
2. I added some greens to the sauteed onions. Baby kale to be precise, but spinach would probably work well too.
3. Speaking of the onions, instead of sauteing them in butter, I used about a tsp of bacon fat. (Hey! Whole Wheat Olive Oil Crust…so it’s okay!)
4. I used half and half instead of heavy cream.
5. I completely misread the recipe and did not par bake my crust first. Doh! So, I gave the quiche 20 minutes at 400 degrees F, then turned it down to 375 and gave it about 20 more minutes. The crust was perfectly done and so was the custard. Whew!

Here are my pictures and here’s a link to everyone’s fabulous quiches.

Placing the crust in the tart pan. The whole wheat crust was a little harder to roll out too, so I got a mini arm workout!

Crust ready for the filling.

1/2 a large, leftover red onion, sauteing.

Onions and kale at the bottom of the quiche.

Half a diced, peeled green apple.

Some feta, grated cheddar and custard added. Ready to go into the oven.

Out of the oven and ready to eat.

Admittedly, I am not a big eater of potatoes. I think of them more as a vehicle for other things: cheese, sauces, crunchy. I don’t think I have ever boiled potatoes and just eaten them that way.

So, I was a little tentative about this French Fridays with Dorie. Surprisingly, I thought the broth gave these potatoes a lot of flavor. Unfortunately, it was mostly of the bay leaf, which I didn’t really like. If I make these again, I think I will omit that and maybe up the garlic? Yes. More garlic (the answer to every question, ever asked). YES IT IS.

Notes: 1. I halved the recipe, worked fine. 2. I used a mix of potatoes (like I did for the roasted chicken a couple of weeks back)! 3. We had the potatoes with some roasted broccoli and sauteed chicken, which was very good.

Here are my photos and a . . . → Read More: FFwD: Broth-Braised Potatoes]]>

Admittedly, I am not a big eater of potatoes. I think of them more as a vehicle for other things: cheese, sauces, crunchy. I don’t think I have ever boiled potatoes and just eaten them that way.

So, I was a little tentative about this French Fridays with Dorie. Surprisingly, I thought the broth gave these potatoes a lot of flavor. Unfortunately, it was mostly of the bay leaf, which I didn’t really like. If I make these again, I think I will omit that and maybe up the garlic? Yes. More garlic (the answer to every question, ever asked). YES IT IS.

Notes:
1. I halved the recipe, worked fine.
2. I used a mix of potatoes (like I did for the roasted chicken a couple of weeks back)!
3. We had the potatoes with some roasted broccoli and sauteed chicken, which was very good.

Here are my photos and a link to everyone’s Broth-Braised Potatoes.

Braising liquid, heating up.

Not a lot going on here. Potatoes in, starting to cook.

I hit the potatoes with a little more salt and pepper after removing them from the braising liquid.

With broccoli and chicken. This chicken. Very good!

Oh, hello French Fridays with Dorie! Nice to see you again. This week: it’s a cake. Yay! I Like Cake! Anyway, this is sort of like a French Poundcake, called quartre-quarts. Sounds good to me. Let’s go have some cake.

Notes:

1. My springform pan was a little smaller in diameter (but deeper) than what was suggested in the recipe. Because of this, mine took longer to bake — about 45 minutes. And I got that split open top that sometimes happens on cakes. That’s okay. Did not bother me at all! 2. I kind of mixed it up and used 2 tsp dark rum and 1 tsp vanilla. Maybe it was the rum, but it kind of reminded me of those alcohol-soaked cakes you can find around the holidays. 3. I loved the crackled brown sugar on top. 4. The cake is all gone now (it didn’t take long). Very dense, pretty . . . → Read More: FFwD: Quartre-Quarts]]>

Oh, hello French Fridays with Dorie! Nice to see you again. This week: it’s a cake. Yay! I Like Cake! Anyway, this is sort of like a French Poundcake, called quartre-quarts. Sounds good to me. Let’s go have some cake.

Notes:

1. My springform pan was a little smaller in diameter (but deeper) than what was suggested in the recipe. Because of this, mine took longer to bake — about 45 minutes. And I got that split open top that sometimes happens on cakes. That’s okay. Did not bother me at all!
2. I kind of mixed it up and used 2 tsp dark rum and 1 tsp vanilla. Maybe it was the rum, but it kind of reminded me of those alcohol-soaked cakes you can find around the holidays.
3. I loved the crackled brown sugar on top.
4. The cake is all gone now (it didn’t take long). Very dense, pretty moist and delicious!
5. Pictures of egg yolks, egg whites and flour is not too exciting so there aren’t as many pictures this week.
6. I will definitely be making this one again.

A link to all the lovely quartre-quarts this week.

Okay, this one is kind of exciting. Whipped egg whites.

Egg whites folded into the cake base.

About to go into the oven.

Finally! Done! When can we eat it? How about now? Now?

Hey, it’s the first French Fridays with Dorie of 2012 (for me, anyway)! And this week….M. Jacques Armagnac Chicken. This is a pretty easy and delicious weeknight dinner. I typically prefer roasted-type birds with golden, crackly skin, but to its credit, this was one helluva moist bird. And, with the new year’s resolutions and all, it’s probably best to not be tempted to eat all that tasty, golden, crackly skin.

Notes:

1. My bird was about 2.75 pounds and I roasted it for 55 minutes. It came out perfectly done and super moist. 2. I used a mix of gold, red and purple potatoes and two rosemary sprigs (no thyme). 3. I added garlic to the pot (duh). 4. I only had fairly cheap brandy. I used that, although, I did contemplate using some marsala wine instead. The cheap brandy seemed to work fine. 5. I wish I had salted . . . → Read More: FFwD: M. Jacques Armagnac Chicken]]>

Hey, it’s the first French Fridays with Dorie of 2012 (for me, anyway)! And this week….M. Jacques Armagnac Chicken. This is a pretty easy and delicious weeknight dinner. I typically prefer roasted-type birds with golden, crackly skin, but to its credit, this was one helluva moist bird. And, with the new year’s resolutions and all, it’s probably best to not be tempted to eat all that tasty, golden, crackly skin.

Notes:

1. My bird was about 2.75 pounds and I roasted it for 55 minutes. It came out perfectly done and super moist.
2. I used a mix of gold, red and purple potatoes and two rosemary sprigs (no thyme).
3. I added garlic to the pot (duh).
4. I only had fairly cheap brandy. I used that, although, I did contemplate using some marsala wine instead. The cheap brandy seemed to work fine.
5. I wish I had salted everything just a smidge more.

Okay, onward to the photos and here’s a link to everyone’s chicken posts.

Onions, carrots, potatoes and rosemary in the pot. Is there room for the chicken?

Yes. If it’s tiny. Notice the sliced garlic cloves.

I put foil around my lid nob knob just in case it wouldn’t be oven-safe at 450 degrees F.

After almost an hour…chicken-y deliciousness.

After removing the chicken and adding water (if I had any chicken stock on hand, I would have used that, I think).

Oh look how moist the white meat is!

Plated and ready for dinner.

Oh geez, I have been so lazy. I’ve made a couple of really nice meals lately and been out to dinner twice and I’ve blogged about none of these things. I need to get my act together here. Let’s kick that off with this week’s French Fridays with Dorie, shall we?

I am a huge fan of lamb but almost every lamb stew I’ve attempted I’ve been disappointed with…until now. I loved this! I’m not sure even why this is the one lamb stew to rule them all, but it was. It just worked for me, you know? I used my sweet curry powder from Penzey’s and also ground cardamom seeds (I ground them in the coffee grinder), so the cardamom was very fresh tasting. I also added a pinch of dried ginger and extra garlic. Oh and a dash of cayenne for a little heat. . . . → Read More: FFwD: Braised Cardamon Curry Lamb]]>

Oh geez, I have been so lazy. I’ve made a couple of really nice meals lately and been out to dinner twice and I’ve blogged about none of these things. I need to get my act together here. Let’s kick that off with this week’s French Fridays with Dorie, shall we?

I am a huge fan of lamb but almost every lamb stew I’ve attempted I’ve been disappointed with…until now. I loved this! I’m not sure even why this is the one lamb stew to rule them all, but it was. It just worked for me, you know? I used my sweet curry powder from Penzey’s and also ground cardamom seeds (I ground them in the coffee grinder), so the cardamom was very fresh tasting. I also added a pinch of dried ginger and extra garlic. Oh and a dash of cayenne for a little heat. Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, I only added one diced apple. Mainly, because it was a fairly big one.

We had this over some cooked bulgur (normally, I would have gone the rice route, but I had bulgur in the fridge). I also served some garlicky yogurt and toasted flat bread on the side.

We’re not supposed to post the recipe for FFwD, but I found it online here, so knock yourself out: Scrumptious Seattle.

Okay, here are links to everyone’s posts and here are my pictures!

Mint ready to be de-leaved and stems tied together.

Onions, spices, plus I added a chopped yellow bell pepper to the mix.

Diced lamb added in. With all the other stuff in the pan, it didn’t sear that well, but it seemed to work out fine in the end.

A fig. Calimyrna to be exact.

Everything added and ready to braise.

Fresh mint leaves on top, about to dish up.