ffwd – gâteau basque

Home made strawberry jam, wrapped in a crunchy, buttery cookie-like cake. An oh so elegant version of a simple jam cake. That said, this was really quite easy, split into 2 steps, with a chill in between, But it made for a dramatic presentation. The dough was simple: butter; brown and white sugars; vanilla and … Continue reading ffwd – gâteau basque

ffwd – provençal vegetable soup

As one of our French Fridays recipes for the month of July, the conversation around this has been as much about the weather as anything else. Since I'd already been behind on recipes this month, I felt bad for not completing this one, so I went out and picked up the remaining ingredients I'd need. On … Continue reading ffwd – provençal vegetable soup

ffwd – coddled eggs with foie gras

Let me just start by apologizing to the extremely talented Doristas who chose our recipes this month. So far I'm 0 for 3 in on-time posts, and only 1 for 3 altogether - I might end up batting .250 if things hold up (and I'm allowed to count my late post). Not too bad for … Continue reading ffwd – coddled eggs with foie gras

ffwd – guacamole!

This version of guacamole is a crunchy, veggie-filled mixture. There are so many ways to make guacamole, that it's fun to try something different. I've always loved avocados (plainly sliced with a nice sprinkling of salt - yum), and guacamole, for me, is not an exception. I'm always surprised to find people who don't like … Continue reading ffwd – guacamole!

ffwd – skate (tilapia) with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce

I've never eaten skate before, though I've seen it on a few menus, mainly in coastal cities. To be honest, I still haven't. While we can get a surprising variety of fin fish and shell fish at the better markets in the desert southwest of the US, skate isn't one of them. So when I … Continue reading ffwd – skate (tilapia) with capers, cornichons and brown butter sauce

ffwd – avocado-crab ravioli

This is a combination of flavors that I think is fabulous. And while I thought that the method would likely get a little fussy, this preparation seemed like a fun idea. This is really a simple crab salad layered between thinly sliced avocado. The trick is how the chef that showed Dorie to make it … Continue reading ffwd – avocado-crab ravioli

ffwd – salmon rillettes

As I looked through this recipe, and did a little research, I decided that I would veer slightly off-path with my salmon, but loved the description of Dorie's poaching method, so wanted to keep that. This is essentially a rough spread combining poached salmon and smoked salmon. I've written before about my tightly held opinions … Continue reading ffwd – salmon rillettes

#FRD2014 – part trois – chinese chicken salad

I have been making this salad for, well, decades (!), A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to spend several Julys on Coronado Island. One of the very fun things to do was to listen to the San Diego Pops and watch fireworks. At the venue, you could bring a picnic dinner and … Continue reading #FRD2014 – part trois – chinese chicken salad

#FRD2014 – part deux – stovetop chicken pot pie

For the 2014 French (Food Revolution) Friday, I prepared Dorie Greenspan's classic roast chicken recipe roast chicken for les paresseux. In my post, I suggested several ideas for what to do with the leftover chicken. In this case, I also had some nice juices, some roasted potatoes and onions left over as well. One of my suggestions was … Continue reading #FRD2014 – part deux – stovetop chicken pot pie

ffwd – a French (Food Revolution) Friday

As we did last year, the French Fridays with Dorie cooking group is participating in the international Food Revolution Day. This year, Jamie Oliver is asking people “get kids excited about food” To that end, we are all choosing recipes from around my french table that we think every child should know how to make. I guess that I was really fortunate … Continue reading ffwd – a French (Food Revolution) Friday