L'été de blé- The Summer of Wheat

I just ordered ten pounds of wheat seeds. Not just any seeds, but heirloom, organic seeds. Two kinds. Hard spring and Hard red spring. Here's my plan. I'm hoping to plant, harvest and mill the wheat to create bread baked in the wood-fired oven. This really isn't anything new. In fact, many bakers are getting closer to the grain production process to help create the best grains possible for great artisan breads. It's new for me though.

Along with the seeds, I also ordered a sickle (medium to be exact), and two books. I'm starting from scratch. The first thing we need to figure out is where to plant the garden. Since we won't be treating the soil with any herbicides, I have to figure out how to plant the wheat to best reduce the weed invasion. In years past, the weeds won the tomato vs. weeds battle. This year I'm determined to have amber waves of grain swaying in the breeze.

I've read that birds will be attracted to the freshly planted grain, and a scarecrow will be necessary. How fun! There must be two. A boy scarecrow and a girl scarecrow. Oliver and Lisa seem like good names, don't they? One at each side of the garden. I almost want to call it a field, but I don't think this will qualify for field status. Plot sounds scientific, so for now I'm sticking with garden. A jardin joli. (pretty garden)

I'm expecting the seeds early next week. As soon as we can get the soil ready, the seeds can be planted. I'm looking for a great name for this project. Grain Garden has potential since the abbreviation is GiGi- and I love that! There should also be a really wonderful quote. There are two that caught my attention. "Every woman needs a blowtorch". Julia Child; and "You must do the thing you think you cannot do". Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a little random, but so is deciding to grow wheat! I hope you'll cross your fingers and join me in the journey to create bread, from scratch... Really, from scratch.

Orange Caramel Scallops - French Fridays with Dorie

This week's recipe from Around My French Table (AMFT) is Orange Caramel Scallops.   I like scallops  a lot, and it orange caramel made them perfect. 

Over the past few years, I've been trying to learn more about meats and seafood.  After watching Gordon Ramsey scream "these scallops are RAW" on Hell's Kitchen, I wanted the finished scallops to have nice tender creamy center or perfect crispy outside.   I wanted the real thing already thawed (I have to pretend they're fresh), so Gary set off on a mission to find the scallops.  He returned from Madison with the butcher-wrapped present from the Seafood Center.

The pretty scallops

The recipe is very well written with the perfect amount of detail.  I followed the steps exactly.   I carefully dried each fresh scallop, and heated the pan as I had been taught in a cooking class long ago.   The pan had to be hot enough for me to hold my palm about an inch away from and pan and not be able to count one-one thousand, two-one thousand before the I had to pull my hand away.  

While the pan heated I made the orange caramel.  I've made tons of caramel, and this recipe pretty tough.  The recipe makes dry caramel, aka no water with the sugar in the pan.   The sugar becomes amber colored very quickly.   The recipe has you add white wine and the juice of an orange to the caramel.  If I were teaching a class, I'd have the class gently warm the juice and the wine.  This will keep the caramel from turning into a hard crack, glass-like lump when the cold liquids hit.  I followed the directions and added the liquids.  The caramel did turn into a hard mass, but quickly liquified and reduced to a perfect orange caramel topping.   The small quantity of sugar in the recipe didn't cover the bottom is the pan, so there was little risk of the sugar bubbling up and burning my hands/face with splattered caramel.  Remember that hot sugar is like hot tar.  Always be very, very careful.  Enough lecturing!

The reduced Orange Caramel

Ok, now on to the scallops.  I added the olive oil and then the scallops.  With as much will power as I could muster, I waited the two minutes per side with flipping them.   They were perfect!  Again, I could hear Gordon summoning me to the Hells' Kitchen pass and then saying, "these scallops are perfect".  

One side down, One to go!

I plated the scallops, added the sauce, and completed the meal with Risotto with asparagus.   It was SO good.

The finished meal!

I don't know what's on the April schedule, as always, I'm sure it will be great.   Last week, I also made the Cauliflower Gratin from AMFT.   Even non-vegetables will enjoy it.

Happy Spring!  (though it's snowing out the window right now!)

Salted Butter Breakups - FFWD

Salted Butter Breakups- French Friday with Dorie

After a few savory weeks, it's fun to get back to something sweet.  I read through the recipe and realized I had learned to make cookies very similar to this on my very first day of pastry school.  We used the recipe to learn how to weigh ingredients and smear dough across the marble to shear the butter between layers of flour.  I was going to use that technique then decided to follow Dorie's directions and compare.    The instructions produced a very flaky, smooth and perfect dough. 

The buttery, salty, and sweet cookie was fun to make and eat.  I especially liked the large breakable, shareable size and shape.  I would highly recommend trying this recipe.  

Here's the dough as it's ready for chilling.   The recipe used the food processor which made it quick and easy.

After the dough was rolled out, I brushed it with egg wash, then scored the top.  This is the same pattern as the Bretton cookie from  France.  I added a little extra Fleur de Sel to the top just before I put it in the oven.  It brought out even more of the great salty taste.

Here's the finished Break-up.  Perfect with a cup of tea.  This was a huge hit with Gary!

Next week:  Orange Caramel Scallops!   Have a great week!

Beggar's Linguine- French Fridays with Dorie

Well, it's been a wild week.   Politics, weather, Stephanie's biathlon, family illness ... and earthquakes.   Fortunately, this week's recipe was quick, easy and surprisingly delightful.  

I have to admit it wasn't a recipe I would have read and decided to make.   Fruit, nuts and pasta don't naturally pop into my mind for a combination.   The recipe uses the main ingredients of Mendiant, a French chocolate confection, for inspiration.   I made Mendiants at Le Cordon Bleu, and again at the French Culinary Institutes's Chocolate class.   A Mediant is a disk of tempered chocolate about the size of a quarter topped with a pistachio, a dried cherry or other dried fruit, and an almond or hazelnut.  The disk it to look the medallion a nun would wear.  The confection is simple and delicious.   Beggar's Linguine uses the same ingredients but uses pasta rather than chocolate.  Browned butter adds a nutty and background for the pasta.

The ingredients are very simple.  pasta, butter, dried fruits and nuts.  I substituted dates for figs, and raisins for golden raisins.  Otherwise, I followed the recipe as written.  (Be sure to pick up a copy of the book if you haven't already.)

Two ingredients in the recipe are favorites.  Browned butter and chives.  I love making browned butter.  I love the smell, the technique, and the taste.  This was no exception.  The recipe puts the nut and fruit into the butter early in the browning process.   My instincts were to wait, but I added them as directed.   In retrospect,  I should have waited just a little more.  The fruit ended up caramelizing a little bit and appeared, but didnt' taste, a little too dark.  Garnishing with fresh chives, orange zest, and fresh Parmesan made the dish complete.

Beggar's Linguine would be a great accompaniment for grilled lobster or pork tenderloin.   We enjoyed the dish.  I'm planning to try it again, waiting until the butter is brown to add the fruits.  I'd also add a little more chive and orange zest. 

If you're looking for a dish that's interesting, rich and unique, give Beggar's Linguine a try.

Next week... Salted Butter Breakups!

Green Beans with Pancetta

It's been a crazy week here in Wisconsin. Madison is only an hour away. I've been busy attending rally's to support union members who are fighting to keep the right to collectively bargain.

I took a break to make the FFWD recipe of the week. It took three tries to find fresh green beans in a grocery store. This may have been a recipe to hold off on until summer, but the beans I found looked good.

The recipe is very straight-forward and quick. The pancetta added a very nice flavor. The butter a very nice addition. I'm kind of a vegetable wimp and tend to like vegetables a little overfilled. I followed the recipe exactly, and found the beans still crispy which would appeal to most. I would have likes them cooked a little more.

We ate the beans with fish and enjoyed them.

I'm really looking forward to next week's short ribs!

Orange Almond Tart- French Friday #2

This week's French Friday recipe is the Orange Almond tart.  It's been a busy week surrounded by chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.   This recipe was a nice change of pace, and still very sweet and romantic.

I've made many almond cream tarts. This almond cream is very soft and rich.  It's also called Frangipane.  Dorie's tart uses an interesting crust very similar to shortbread.  It was very straight-forward, and delicious!  Two methods were suggested for putting the crust into the tart pan.   I used the press-in method.  The dough is very soft and this seemed much easier.

One on my favorite things to do in the pastry world is cutting perfect little orange segments from the orange.  This recipe used 3 oranges.  After trimming all the peel from the orange, I slid the knife just inside the membrane on each side and lifted out the the perfect orange pieces.  I don't know why that's so fun, but it is!

The smell and taste are amazing.   The dessert was the finishing course to a great dinner with freinds.  Of course, a Valentine's weekend dinner needed chocolate of some sort, so we made sipping chocolate and had a box of chocolate caramel bon bons from earlier in the week.

For anyone looking for something delicate, delicious, and not too difficult, this is it! 
From my kitchen to yours, Happy Valentine's Day!

Basque Potato Tortilla - First French Friday with Dorie

It's delicious!  You would think one week before Valentine's Day, and with a chocolate event tonight, I'd be thinking about chocolate.   What a great way to start the day!

This is my first French Friday with Dorie post.  This week's recipe is Basque Potato Tortilla.  Don't let the tortilla part fool you.   It's a lovely room temperature omelet-like bruch recipe.   

I started the recipe early this morning to surprise Gary as he woke up.   The potatoes, garlic and onion smelled great as they melded together on the stove top.   I noted that the recipe called for room temperature eggs.  As a pastry chef, I know that a note like that can mean a big difference in the outcome.   I'm including a photo of the eggs in a stainless bowl, set over a bowl of warm water to bring them quickly to room temperature.  A little trick of the trade. 

Rosemary was an option.  I decided to use a little thyme instead of rosemary.   After the vegetables were complete I had a big decision.  Stainless cookware or non-stick?    Dorie mentioned using cast iron.  While I have a cast iron pan, I was way too chicken to make eggs on that surface.  Both skillets were out on the counter.   The non-stick was a sure thing, the stainless... hmmmm.    Ok, I wimped out and went with the non-stick.   It's a new pan with a diamond coating that makes cooking eggs a dream.   I promise to go back and try the recipe with the other surfaces.   This morning I wanted things to go smoothly.

I mixed the vegetables, eggs and herbs and followed the timing exactly.   The eggs puffed beautifully and were ready for the broiler. 

 Within a minute, the top was browned and the whole tortila slid easily on to the platter.   Success!

After about 45 minutes, I tasted the tortilla.   I really like quiche at room temperature.  The eggs and flavor of the herbs really comes out.  This was no execption.  The eggs were smooth, and potatoes, soft but not squishy.   With a salad and fruit, his will make the perfect winter day brunch.  

See you next Friday!  Now back to the world of chocolate...

Winter Snow Day News

Happy February!

It's a snowy day and I'm looking for the perfect recipe to enjoy during a blizzard. I decided to look through Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan (AMFT). As I looked at soups and stews, I wondered if Ms. Greenspan had a website. Ta-da! Through the wonders of a quick internet search, I found it.

After looking around the site and entering my email address for updates,I clicked on the "French Fridays with Dorie". A group of cooks creating her dishes from AMFT and blogging. How fun! I've registered and hope to have the password soon to join the fun. I hope that you'll join me on this journey! I know it's sort of Julie and Julia, but to have the author participating in the process will be great.

For those of you who already own the book, I know you share my love of the book. It's been the hit of the season. In fact, it's a topic at many get-togethers. For those that don't yet have a copy, I encourage you to take the plunge. One of the rules of the "Friday" group is that the recipes stay in the book.

I look forward to sharing the journey as I cook my way through to book with people from all over the world.

For all then iPad owners and bread bakers... Check out Michael Ruhlman's Basic Bread Baking app. Very nice and only $1.99

A Sunday Afternoon of Comfort Food

The first snow has fallen, the tree is up, and it's time for warm, comfort food.   Cooking on a Sunday afternoon is a great way to warm up the house, try new recipes, and prepare great food... and future leftovers. In a previous enty, I mentioned Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan.    Gary, my husband,  came home late last week and asked if I had ever heard of the book.   Well!  I pulled it out, and he immediately flipped to the recipe he had heard about while listening to a podcast in the car.  The recipe was for Hachis Parmentier, the French version of Shepard's Pie.   I suggested we try the recipe, so off he went to the grocery to pick up a few ingredients.

The vegetables were chopped and ready to start simmering with the beef.  Here's the pan ready to start.  It was just what we had hoped for.  The house smelled great, the kitchen was warm, the Packer's were winning.

About three hours later, here's the beef, minus the vegetable, ready for the potato topping.

The mashed potato topping the beef was imbibed with a little cream, butter, and warm milk.  Here's the final prep ready for the oven.

I started cooking around 3 and pulled the steamy, puffy dish out out the oven about 7.  The gruyere was melted and golden brown.

If you have some time to chop, simmer, mash and bake, this is a wonderful, warm winter treat.   I have to admit that it did use several  pans and utensils.  It's not a one-pot wonder, but it's worth every pan.  Thanks Dorie, but a great book and delicious afternoon.

As you're looking for holiday gifts, I would put this book high on the list for your cooking friends. In the words of Julia Child,  Bon appetit!

Our Dear Julia

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking and referencing the great works of dear Julia Child.   Her personality radiates through the pages of her books. At the recent demo day at Bekah Kates, a kitchen store in Baraboo, I used Le Crueset cookware to demonstrate its wonderful uses.  The recipe I made was Julia's Boeuf Bourguignon.   I made it three times, actually.  Once at home before the store opened for tasting during the morning, and another while people shopped.  The smell of the deep, rich sauce greeted shoppers as they entered the store.   Several times people asked me, "it that "HER" recipe?", or, "did you see the movie?"   We all knew who we were talking about.   It just wasn't right not to make it just one more time the next day while spending time with friends.   Julia would have insisted!   As the leaves fall, give it a try!

About a month ago, I had a surprise arrive in the mail.  I had pre-ordered a cookbook and it arrived.   Not just any cookbook.  One of the best I've seem in a long time.   Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking With Julia, just wrote another amazing book,  Around My French Table.   Each recipe is well written and looks delicious.   While it's a beautiful book, it will be used and will be marked with the little sauce here, and a drip or two there.   Ms. Greenspan has a great blog if you're interested in learning more.

Another piece of Julia news!  In late October, ahead of schedule, As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis DeVoto is being released.   I can't wait!   It's hard to imagine a book being better then her My Life in France but it will be fun to see. 

My most recent Julia moment was on Friday.   I made a wedding cake with spice cake and apricot lekvar filling.   The lekvar recipe was Julia's from Baking with Julia.  It's a delicious apricot paste with almonds and hint of brown sugar.  It's similar in consistence to thick applesauce.   The color is a deep pumpkin color which makes it a wonderful topping for scones, too.

Here's my recipe: 1 bag dried apricots (about 1 1/2 cups) 1/2 cups slivered almonds 1/4 - 1/3 cup brown sugar 2 tsp.  grated lemon or orange zest dash of lemon juice 2/3 cup water

Simmer the apricot, water and zest until the apricots are soft.  Combine apricots, brown sugar and almonds in a food processor and mix until smooth.  Spread in a pan, and cool, covered with plastic wrap.  Enjoy on scones, muffins or even as a cake filling.  Will keep 7-10 days in the refrigerated.

Enjoy autumn baking, cooking and entertaining.  Until next time, Bon Appetit!

Everyone is Successful in a Cooking Class

Cooking classes have been part of The Little French Bakery for over ten years.  The age of students has ranged from seven to seventy plus.  Topics have covered the food gamut.  The one thing they've all had in common is everyone has been successful.   As the class unfolds, I learn about the people and why they've decided to spend the day at The Little French Bakery.   I've learned it's not always about the food...

Students sign up for a class for many reasons.  Some want to gather with friends and family for a day together.  They laugh, talk, eat, eat some more, and learn a little about pastry or bread along the way.  I love these classes because for that day, I'm part of a new family or group of friend.   A not-so-invisible fly on the wall.  I learn of family dynamics, old family secrets, and share the bond that brought the group together.  Success!

Others come to pursue the art of bread baking.  They've tried at home, and are ready to master the techniques for great breads.  We talk a lot about ingredients and the role that each ingredient plays in the concert of final loaf.   My favorite part is the moment when the light bulb goes on for each person.   They realize when they may have been going wrong, and how to improve the bread they've been making.   We mix, knead, shape, bake and produce warm, wonderful loaves at the end of the day.   We've bonded with each other and the big hunk of dough we've spent the day with.   Another day of success.

Children arrive for a birthday celebrations.   They walk into the building unsure of exactly why they're there, and enter the world of pastry.  We wash hands, tie on the aprons and create frosting masterpieces around little cakes.   You can't use enough sprinkles.   Each child leaves with a unique cake and a memory that will last a lifetime.  I learn the latest in pre-teen pop culture.  Success!

Last weekend, I had a group of co-workers spend the day making soups.   They divided into groups of two and created three delicious soups, and six variations of scones.  Each person had different skills in the kitchen.  Some cooked often, some rarely.   They shared an interest in being together.  At the end of the day after the recipes, were complete I realized that each person felt successful, each for a different reason.

I can't wait for the upcoming classes this fall to see what new lessons my students bring me!

Time for Apple Pie

Welcome to The Little French Bakery Blog! It's such a great time of year. Perfect for starting new projects and trying new recipes.

As many of you know, Gary and I just returned from Italy. We attended an amazing cooking class on wood-fired cooking. It was so fun to get up every day and fire the oven with the residual heat from the day before. We roasted, baked, grilled and learned many great new recipes. One of the best days was learning to remove all the bones from a chicken and roast it under bricks in the oven. I did it! A few years ago, I was wearing gloved to remove the neck from a chicken if there was a little left. Now... ta da! It's hard to believe that a whole chicken can be roasted in just 12-18 minutes, and be so delicious.

Another of my favorites was an apple crostada. A simple tart crust filled with apples and set on on the oven floor to bake. The first half of the baking was on parchment paper, then 2nd half directly on the oven floor. Wood fired cooking adds such a great dimension to food. Not smoky, but just moist and flavorful.

We arrived back at home just in time for fall and the start of apple season here in Wisconsin. I love apple pie! I've picked up some Cortland and yellow Delicious and am ready to start baking. This time, I'm going to try a new recipe, and bake in the outdoor oven. I'll give it a try and post the recipe if it turns out!

As you bake your apple desserts this fall, try adding some creme fraiche as a topping. It goes so well with apples. Another tip for a new taste is to omit the cinnamon and "usual" spices. Just add vanilla. The French aren't crazy about cinnamon and only use it sparingly. Once you try an apple dessert without cinnamon, you might be hooked.

To make creme fraiche: 2 cups heavy cream 1 T buttermilk Stir together and allow to rest overnight (not refrigerated). In the morning, stir the thickened creme fraiche and refrigerate, covered. It will continue to thicken and sour over the next few days. It can be kept up to 10 days or so. It can be whipped slightly for topping, or added to warm dishes as you would cream/sour cream without separating. Enjoy!