RECIPe
CATALOGUE.
A French Christmas Menu
It won’t come as a surprise that we go all out for food at Christmas. The menu is an elaborate affair, a series of courses that focus on quality ingredients and flavors. People don’t think twice about splurging on quality products like foie gras, cheese, wine, and Champagne to celebrate the occasion.
GRATIN DAUPHINOIS
The gratin Dauphinois (potato gratin) is French specialty from the town of Grenoble and it is made out of top quality potatoes thinly sliced evenly, garlic and cream.
CHICKEN & MUSHROOM PÂTÉ
Indulge in the exquisite flavors of our chicken and mushroom pâté, a culinary masterpiece great for special occasions that combines traditional richness with a contemporary twist.
LYONNAISE GREEN BEANS
This regional method of cooking green beans is popular in the town of Lyon in southeast France.
CLASSIC SALMON TARTARE
Walk in the footsteps of the many chefs who learned how to prepare salmon tartare in French culinary school.
QUICHE AU FROMAGE
This triple cheese quiche is simply sensational. I carefully chose three styles of cheese (hard, soft, and a blue cheese) to create a fine balance of flavors. The nuttiness of the Comté contrasts beautifully with the soft, creamy texture of Fontina, and the addition of pieces of blue cheese on top delivers a little nugget of treasure every now and then.
CLASSIC SHORTCRUST
If you want to make shortcrust in 10 minutes without breaking a sweat, using a food processor is the way to go. This technique is employed by chefs and is even featured in French culinary schoolbooks, so don’t feel guilty about utilizing a food processor. This recipe is extremely popular because it yields a perfect result every time, and the dough is easy to work with. But wait, there’s more! It can be prepared as either a savory or sweet crust, making it versatile for savory tarts, quiches, fruit tarts, and custard tarts.
All Purpose SHORTCRUST
Contrary to what people think, making short crust pastry by hand is straightforward and fast. This recipe is a classic from culinary schools that yields a perfect result every time. The dough is easy to roll out, which is great for building confidence in working with pastry. Even better, this dough can be made with and without sugar, making it suitable for both sweet and savory delights, such as quiches, fruit tarts and custard flan.
FISH A LA MINUTE
In home cooking, à la minute refers to a recipe that can be made in a flash, and this recipe is a fine example. Fish à la minute is a gratifying way to cook fresh fish filets in a one-pot fashion without sacrificing taste. Use any fish with a flaky texture (e.g., cod, halibut or seabass) and bake in the winning combination of shallots, white vermouth, white wine, parsley and olive oil with a sprinkle of bread crumbs. It’s the answer to those long days where you need something fast but tasty.
LE POULET A La BIERE
Known as Coq à la Bière, this dish is typically made with rooster in France, which is hard to come by these days. Therefore, I recommend using a high-quality chicken as a substitute. Coq à la Bière is the North's response to the famous Coq au Vin, with beer taking center stage instead of wine. To ensure a perfect result, it's essential to use a fine-quality amber Belgian beer, infusing the dish with a distinctive malty flavor and a rich color that sets it apart from the traditional Coq au Vin.
CHICKEN IN CREAM BOCUSE STYLE
The Paul Bocuse method uses an entire chicken, including the offcuts and carcass, to create a chicken dish with a sauce. Everything gets cooked together. This approach not only eliminates waste but also imparts additional flavor, avoiding the need for stock.
CHICKEN VELOUTE SAUCE
The principles and techniques for making a velouté are nearly identical to those for béchamel. For instance, the thickness of the velouté depends on the amount of roux used with the stock. It's as simple as that and incredibly effective. Velouté sauces offer versatility, as you can use various cooking stocks to impart specific flavors. Chicken stock yields a chicken velouté, fish stock results in a fish velouté, and so forth.
SAUCE LYONNAISE
This classic sauce uses homemade demi-glace as a base, combined with an onion, wine, and vinegar reduction.
EASY DEMI GLACE
The demi-glace is a valuable shortcut for crafting mouthwatering sauces that can save you hours in the kitchen. It’s created by enhancing stock with meat trimmings, aromatics, wine, and thickening with flour. I'll share a home-friendly method that maintains quality and efficiency, allowing you to prepare a homemade demi-glace effortlessly. Once you master this technique, you'll never look back.
PERFECT PAN SAUCE
Crafting a pan sauce is one of the techniques French culinary students learn early in their training, and for a very good reason; this is one of the key techniques that pave the way to the art of sauce making. Let’s look at this technique in detail and discover the 3-step process known as sauté déglacer.
SAUCE GRENOBLOISE
Fish served with meunière-style sauce with capers, diced lemon, and croutons.
MACARONI AU GRATIN
Macaroni au gratin, is a renowned dish embraced across the globe, including France. I believe that having diverse versions from various countries offers a delicious opportunity to explore and appreciate the nuances. So, let's delve into the French take on this comforting classic.
DUCK LEG CONFIT
Today, though, we're focusing our lens on the marvellous world of duck leg confit, or as the French elegantly put it, "cuisses de canards confites." But don't let the fancy name throw you off. This culinary journey is all about embracing simplicity.
Seafood a l’Armoricaine
Get ready to savor the flavors of Seafood à l’Armoricaine, a special Brittany-style seafood bisque.