all the recipes
In an ideal world, everybody would celebrate everybody’s holidays together, discovering similarities and understanding differences. All of this often happens quite easily when sharing a traditional holiday meal, around the same table, especially when it’s COUSCOUS. Couscous, instead of rice or pasta, is the easiest thing to do. I...
Quite obviously, everyone that we know has their very own "best carrot cake recipe ever" that they’ll stick to forever and never change and that’s all fine and dandy, of course. But just in case somebody would like to try out another version, perhaps to be kindly adopted in your family of recipes, then here’s a fresher...
ONIONS are not just something to be added to dishes as a flavoring. They can be the star of the dish because they’re flavor bombs, especially after partly roasting. Just as a PIE CRUST is not just a bland vessel to contain the pie fillings because it too can make the dish memorable, through its exceptional (and hopefully not soggy)...
This is one of those modified pastry or brioche dough and yeasted cakes you only make once per year, after the New Year festivities and for Epiphany on January 6, especially in francophone countries and regions or for Mardi Gras in February, in many countries overseas. Because it’s a multi-step cake, even when initially mixing it and a...
Just like PILLOWS and INFLATED MATTRESSES ! What interesting puff-pastry architectures indeed ! Originally, the “vol-au-vent” culinary term signified “windblown”, to describe the hollow, light and airy puff-pastry cases or patty cases, prepared and pre-baked, to be later filled with sweet and/or savory fillings, most often...
… an updated & foolproof version with a logical approach for making an even better traditional Greek sweet bread for the Orthodox Easter festivities. The idea behind this recipe and instructions, after meticulously analyzing my own family’s traditional recipes and comparing it to other existing and successful recipes was...
Could this smaller and easier-to-handle yet handsome, home-made and hearty preparation be an eventually possible option for a small Easter or other spring celebration meal for 4 people (in this unusual era and year of lockdowns, curfews and limited-number gatherings) to replace the more usual gigantic leg of lamb or other...
Every country, every region and perhaps also every neighborhood and every household has their own versions of lentil soups, but this one, called «LENTEJAS CON CHORIZO» is my favorite. An intense, spicy, smoky, herby and hearty version with sliced chorizo and extra paprika. It’s a full meal for these colder months,...
After 1 day and 2 nights of still eating all sorts of leftovers, I’m quite certain that you still have small unused, uncooked or unbaked ingredients as leftovers to use up too ! Little bits and pieces of stuff, here and there and everywhere, as well as little jars of stuff in your pantry and refrigerator too, like EGG WHITES most probably...
Believe it or not, your final preparations, whatever they may be and if they require any broth or stock, will only be as good as the broth or stock you use and incorporate into your dishes, whether home-made or store-bought. Many view stock or broth as just an ingredient and most often as a cube or two of dehydrated and compressed powders, to...
A humble wintery cream of leek and potato soup can be brightened up with springy lemony & herby flavors and dressed up with windowpane (or sandwiched semi-transparent layers of) oven-baked crispy leek & potato chips, filled with more fresh herbs too. All of this is because here in France, we thought that spring had already placed a...
A feeling of déjà-vu ? Well, here’s a reinterpreted Greek version of the famous Portuguese “pasteis de nata” custard tartlets as well as the French “flans pâtissiers” and the British “custard tarts”. It’s an easier and crispier version because the crust is made with 10 layers of...
SIX LAYERS IN ALL. Two alternating layers each of sliced brie cheese, fried mushrooms with leeks and aromatic bechamel sauce (made with the vegetable leftovers), all wrapped up in an over-the-top and high whole-wheat crust ... Mushrooms and leeks are pretty inexpensive this time of year and I think I’ve included mushrooms in my...
Are you feeling the 2020 Christmas and/or Holiday Season spirit yet ? I know what an unusual year it has been for all of us. I wish things had been different but they’re not. But all is not lost. You can try to bring that holiday joy back, even though the preparations for this year’s joys will be limited to smaller numbers and smaller...
I have extremely fond memories of shared winter holiday meals, but many actually took place before or after or in between the official Christmas and New Year’s festivities. They weren’t the fanciest nor the best prepared meals, and to be honest, many were whipped up at the last minute. And yet I remember them more fondly, perhaps...