More French fast food

Day of anticipation. In exactly two weeks, on Sept 6th, I'll be celebrating the launch of my new book, Naughty in Nice

For the past two weeks I've been focusing on all things French--food, fashion, history. After posting on mussels yesterday my thoughts are still in Brittany and on their other famous fast food--the crepe.

If you want a light meal or a snack, you visit a Creperie. Actually the savory ones are called Galettes and are often made with buckwheat flour. They are topped with ham, cheese, fried egg, shrimp, spinach etc. All delicious.
But my favorites are the true crepes--thin crisp pancakes with fruit, chocolate, cream, honey, all of the above...
Sorry, I'm drooling. Have to stop.
My husband makes a terrific crepe recipe which I'll post sometime. It involves a whole stick of butter in the blender mix. No wonder it's so good.

Showing some mussel

Only two weeks to go until Naughty in Nice comes to a bookstore near you.

And I'm continuing my month of French fun and facts with some thoughts on French fast food: Brittany is one of my favorite regions of France. My sister in law has a cute little house there and I love the low key life there, and also the food.  The first time we visited her she took us to a worker's cafe and we ordered the favorite fast food lunch--moules et frites (mussels with shoestring fries). The mussels come simmered in wine and herbs, the fries in a paper tube.

We learned immediately that there is a right and a wrong way to eat them. We picked up our forks. Sue leaned across the table and whispered, "Please don't embarrass me. Watch."  And she picked up an empty mussel shell and used it as pinchers to extract the next mussel. Soon we were old pros and the combination of flavors is incredible.  Easy to cook too, if you don't mind scrubbing and preparing mussels.

Mmm. Now I'm hungry.

Quiche me, my darling

Today I'm sharing my recipe for a perfect Sunday brunch, using the pate brisee recipe from yesterday. My husband is of the "real men don't eat quiche"  variety but he adores asparagus. In fact he'd eat them every night if I let him. So I serve this asparagus quiche and he doesn't complain!

You'll need one recipe of the pate brisee
1 pound asparagus washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion peeled and diced
3 jumbo eggs
half cup heavy cream
three quarters cup swiss cheese.
salt and pepper to season.

First cook the pie shell blind  (baked with sheet of foil then filled with rice or dried beans)
cook asparagus in boiling water for 2 minutes. remove and pat dry.
saute onion in butter. When transparent add asparagus and continue sauteing until asparagus are soft to a prod from a fork.
In mixing bowl whisk eggs, cream and half cup grated cheese. Add asparagus mixture then pour into pie shell. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Place on cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown and puffy (about 40 mins)
You could also substitute a frozen pie crust to speed things up, but it won't be as good!
I also add crumbled bacon to this sometimes. Any other suggestions?

This is Day 9 of my month of French fun... my countdown to Naughty in Nice on Sept 6th.
Add your comments for a chance to win a fun French prize!

Pastry to Die For

Day 8 in my month of French Fun, leading up to the grand release of Naughty in Nice on Sept 6,
and I thought it was time for some favorite recipes.

I absolutely love French pastries. Lock me in a boulangerie or patiserie and I would die happy. But I also love French savory pastries--quiches and onion tarts and the like.

What's more, good savory patry (called Pate brisee) is really easy to make.
For one tart shell take
1 and a quarter cups all purpose flour
pinch of salt
7 tablespoons cold butter
3 tablespoons iced water

1.combine flour and salt in food processor. Cut the cold butter into slices, add to flour and process until mixture turns pale yellow, like cornmeal
2. Gradually add water through feed tube while processing with short pulses. Dought should hold together when pressed between fingers.
3. Wrap dough in plastic film and refridgerate at least half an hour.

4. Spread flour on wooden board, rub rolling pin with flour, then roll out from center until you have a thin sheet big enough to fit over pie plate.

The secret is making sure butter is cold, water is iced and YOU DON"T OVERPROCESS.

This can be baked blind, using dried beans as filler for quiches or filled for turnovers.

Tomorrow I'll give you my favorite quiche recipe.

Bon appetit!

Rhys

Eating Like the French

Day 6 of my month of French fun, in anticipation of the publication of Naughty in Nice on Sept 6th:

If you want to know why French food tastes so good, there are big differences in their approach to cooking.

1. The word processed is foreign to them. The French like their food nautral and fresh.

2. Fresh food means shopping daily at the market, smelling, touching, examining each item bought. This is still the norm in France in spite of supermarkets.
Bread is bought every morning for breakfast at the local bakery.

3. The French are not afraid to use butter and cream (unsalted butter for most things) and yet their cholesterol count is lower than ours. Why is that? Could it be the red wine? Could it be a less stressful life-style? Or could it be all those chemical compounds we put into our bodies in that processed food?

4. Most of the time they eat very simply, and one flavor at a time--a green bean salad with oil and vinegar dressing, followed by a grilled piece of meat or fish, followed by some cheese and fruit. On big occasions they go wild with banquets that would daunt the stomachs of anybody not used to them.

Do you have a favorite French food or food memory? I'll share mine tomorrow.

And don't forget to comment for a chance to win a prize at the end of the month.

A Divine French Recipe

My month of French treats, day 5, leading up to the publication of Naughty in Nice on Sept 6th.

Havings started to write about French food yesterday, I had a brilliant idea. I'm actually going to cook and eat French food every day until Sept 6th. And I'm starting with something basic to go with crusty baguettes. It's called Aioli and it's a basic garlic mayonnaise and will keep in the refridgerator.

8 garlic cloves, peeled

2 egg yoks
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup olive oil
half cap safflower oil
salt and black pepper

Food procesessor with metal blade.

With machine on, drop garlic cloves down the tube until minced. Remove the lid and add egg yolks and lemon juice. Process until smooth.

With machine running pour in the oils in a slow and steady stream. Season to taste. Will keep for about a week. Do not freeze.

Do you have a favorite French recipe you'd like to share? For me they have to be simple. I'm never going to plunge sweetbreads into ice water and then remove the membrane. Ain't gonna happen.

A Taste of French food

Day 4 of my month of French goodies, leading up to the publication of Naughty in Nice on Sept 6th:

How could I write a blog about France without talking about food? If I wrote what I liked about French food I could probably write a thicker book than Julia Child.
I love its simplicity: when we were in Nice last year I got up early and went to the Boulangerie around the corner every morning to buy a baguette and some croissants for breakfast. After a few days the woman recognized me as a regular customer and would dart into the back of the shop to bring out bread and croissants fresh from the oven.

Then sit on the balcony, warm croissants, apricot jam, unsalted butter...

my idea of heaven.

Tune in tomorrow for a recipe!

And leave a comment about your favorite French food for a chance to win a prize!

What I Like About France

Month of French Fun, Day Two....

I've been thinking back fondly to last summer in Nice and I made a list of all the things that I like about France.

1.The food. This is a no brainer. Even the simplest things like baguettes, pate and cheeses taste fabulous in France.

2. The no-rush mentality. Time for a glass of wine, a coffee at an outdoor cafe.

3. The bistros, outdoor cafes, scent of jasmine, maybe a little music. Perfect.

4. Fashionable women. Only Frenchwomen can throw a scarf over a plain dress and look so elegant.

5. Transportation. Trains are clean and run on time. Local buses along the Mediterranean were fantastic and cheap and frequent.

6. So many stunning landscapes. What other country can offer the windswept coast of Brittany, the magic of Paris, the quaint hillside towns of the Dordogne, the highest mountain in Europe and the majesty of the Alps and Pyrenees and the gem of the spectacular Mediterranean coastline with mountains plunging into sea of incredible shades of turquoise and azure.

7. Paris. Enough said.
8. French films. They don't need car chases and explosions to create incredible drama.
9. So many villages that time has forgotten.
10. Fields of sunflowers. Always so cheery as they seem to turn to look at you.

What a treat it was for me to set a whole book in Nice. If you want a taste of the Mediterranean, look for Naughty in Nice on September 6th at a bookstore near you (or you can order online too)

And don't forget to comment for the chance to win a lovely French gift at the end of the month!