French Recipes

France has a perfect climate and geographical location which makes it possible to locally manufacture most types of foods enjoyed anywhere else. Additionally, the importation of global goods makes it easier these days for the local population to access most products that are otherwise not possible to locally produce at a large scale.

However, the culture around food is unique here. Although Frenchies eat things that some people in the world might judge them for, that doesn’t really matter to them. Their cuisine is unique, diverse, and delicious. They love their outstanding cuisine, and they know they aren’t alone.



1) Bacon And Cheddar:




Ingredients-
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk
  • 5 TB butter
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 strips bacon diced
  • 1 cup cheddar shredded
  • 1/2 tsp fresh thyme minced
  • 1 tsp fresh basil minced
  • 1/2 tsp buttermilk dressing base powder
  • salt
  • fresh ground pepper

-Steps to Make It-
Step 1
Preheat oven to 425. Dice bacon very small, and cook in a small skillet until very crispy. Place on a paper towel to drain.

Step 2
In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter in the buttermilk. When melted, dump in the flour all at once.

Step 3
Stir briskly with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

Step 4
Add eggs one at a time, whisking constantly until blended. Turn off heat, and continue whisking until cohesive and a little bit of a sheen develops.

Step 5
Add in bacon, herbs, cheese, dressing-base, fresh ground pepper and 1/4 tsp salt. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a silpat-lined cookie sheet. Smooth out the edges with the back of a wet spoon, or wet fingers. Bake in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until starting to brown and puffed. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and turn off the heat, poke bottoms of gougeres / cheese puffs with a toothpick or chopstick to let additional steam escape, and put back in the oven (still off!) for another 15-20 minutes to dry out a tad.

Step 6
Serve the gougeres / cheese puffs warm or at room temp. Keeps really well in an air-tight container for several days, simply rewarm in a 350 degree oven for a few minutes.


2) Chocolate Cupcakes:



Ingredients-
Chocolate Cupcakes
  • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup water
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
Chambord Chocolate Ganache
  • 3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
  • at least 50 mL or 1.7 ounces, or a little less than 1/4 cup of Chambord, or other raspberry liqueur

-Steps to Make It-
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line your cupcake pan(s). Bring the butter and water to a simmer and then whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Step 2
Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

Step 3
Beat the eggs and sour cream together until combined.

Step 4
Gradually add the cocoa mixture to the eggs, constantly mixing so that you don't scramble the eggs.

Step 5
Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet. Fill the cupcake cups and bake for about 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate halfway through to ensure even baking. Allow to cool completely before frosting.


Step 6
Over a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water) melt the chocolate chips, heavy cream and corn starch together. Once mixture is smooth, take it off the heat and stir in the liqueur until combined. Set aside and allow to cool so that it can thicken up.

Step 7
add 50 mL of the Chambord but felt that there wasn't enough of that raspberry flavor , so add more a little at a time until you have the desired taste. Or maybe even adding a raspberry flavored filling would help.

Step 8
Once your cupcakes are cool, frost them with a pastry bag, plastic baggie, dip the cupcakes, or  just spread the frosting on with a spoon (if you spoon and spread them, you'll probably only need a half of the ganache recipe).


3) Crepes With Serrano:


Ingredients-
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup flour
  • 3 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • Serrano ham - Thinly sliced 
  • cantaloupe - thinly sliced
  • brie (cut up)

-Steps to Make It-
Step 1
Whirr everything except the ham, cantaloupe, and brie in a blender, pulsing for about 10-15 seconds until combined. Refrigerate and let rest for one hour. This batter makes about 20 or so small 7 inch crepes. Put a little butter in a small nonstick skillet on medium heat. When warm, ladle about 1 oz of batter into the pan, swirling around . When it's ready to flip (usually about 30-60 seconds), it will be dry on top and crinkly around the edges. Use a rubber spatula to peek if necessary, when it gets close to being ready to flip it will release from the pan. Here's a blurry pic of one almost ready to flip.

Step 2
Once you flip, the other side will only take about a minute, so put your toppings on half of the crepe, like an omelet.

Step 3
When done, fold and serve.


3) Seafood, Cornish Hen:


Ingredients-
  • 3 Cornish Hens
  • 2 Lobster Tails
  • 10 Scallops
  • 3 stalks Celery
  • 2 Carrots
  • 6 cloves Garlic
  • 1/2 Red Onion
  • 1/2 lb Walnut Halves
  • 3 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (real stuff, not the grey poupon stuff)
  • 2 Tbsp Sweet Vermouth
  • 2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • 1/2 cup Heavy Cream (Whipped, for garnish)
  • 1/2 oz Dried Shiitaki Mushrooms
  • 1/2 oz Dried Porcini Mushrooms
  • 1/2 oz Wild Lobster Mushrooms
  • 1/2 oz Chanterelle Mushrooms
  • Butter
  • Paprika
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Seafood Seasoning (old bay, etc)
  • Lobster Base
  • Bouquet Garni
  • Thyme
  • Chervil
  • Herbes de Provence
  • Bay Leaf
  • Seasoning Salt
  • cloves


-Steps to Make It-
Step 1
Cut the carrot, garlic, celery and onion into rough pieces. Let your Cornish Hens have one last drink before they go out in a blaze of glory.

Step 2
Remove the breasts from the hen and peel the skin off. De-bone the breasts and set them aside. Take the remainder of the hen, including the giblets and breast bones, and tear them apart into several pieces.

Step 3
Combine 2 tbsp of the Dijon mustard with the sweet vermouth and a few pinches of nutmeg.

Step 4
Brush the breasts with the mixture and top with paprika, seasoning salt, and freshly ground pepper. Let refrigerate.

Step 5
Sear the cornish hen parts in some butter over high heat.

Step 6
There will be a bit of smoke, so make sure your smoke alarms are switched off.

Step 7
Make your bouquet garni by putting the herbs in a cheesecloth and wrapping it up

Step 8
Add the vegetables and bouquet garni to hen. Fill the pot with water until the contents are covered. Add some seafood seasoning and salt. While covered, let the stock boil for 2 hours or so, stirring occasionally.

Step 9
In the meantime, bring a small pot of water to a boil and add a bit a cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and the walnuts. Let boil for about 15 minutes.

Step 10
Drain the water and the end result should be really soft walnuts. Simmer the mushrooms off in some water for about 7 minutes to rehydrate them. Sear the breasts off just to the point of being fully cooked. Do the same for the lobster and the scallops. Thinly slice the breasts.

Step 11
Strain off the stock and reserve about a quart of it (freeze the rest).

Step 12
Take 3/4 of the walnuts, 1/2 of the mushrooms, and about a 1/4 of the seafood and puree it up with a bit of the stock. Add the 2 to 3 Tbsp of lobster base and bring back to a boil - simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to mix.

Step 13
Stirring constantly, add the rest of the dijon mustard, mushrooms, seafood and hen. Simmer for 5 minutes then add the stock and the heavy cream.

Step 14
Make a flour and cornstarch slurry and slowly add it to desired thickness.

Step 15
Garnish with Whipped Cream and the remainder of walnuts (crushed).


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