More quenelles

Bouillon de poulet avec quenelles de volailles (Chicken dumpling soup)

It turned out to be a warm night but I had already planned to produce this hot soup but this didn’t matter as despite the sweat dripping down our faces the soup was worth it. The broth base was just plain chicken stock, but luckily I had some pungent roasted chicken stock in the freezer I had made perviously so the dish wasn’t in the slightest bland, this may of been the case if I had used powdered stock. The carrots were soft but still had tooth and the little swiss brown button mushrooms brought additional flavours to the broth. The quenelles were tremendously delectable, soft, spongy and creamy in flavour, extremely simple cooking with a pleasant and enjoyable product.

38 recipes down 82 to go!

Mac ‘n’ cheese

Gratin de macaronis au fromage (Mac ‘n’ cheese)

Tonight we indulged in a creamy warm bake of this all famous dish. I am not a great fan of creamy pasta dishes as I have had a bad experience with packed mac ‘n’ cheese that my friend once cooked for me, I took one mouthful and almost projectile spat it everywhere. Thankfully this was not the case for my french take on the dish instead it was the absolute opposite to that packed muck thats an ongoing insult to food. It had the perfect golden crunch from the melted gruyere and parmesan cheese, al dente little cylinders of pasta and that creamy, stringy and exceptionally rich béchamel sauce with lashings of gruyere cheese giving the dish its silky, velvety texture. A naughty but scrumptious meal to treat ones self once in a while.

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Homemade

Pâté de foie de lapin (Chicken liver Pâté)

Today I made a small little platter of goodies before tonights dinner and this smooth thick pâté was one of the little homemade delicacies. I had to make clarified butter to set on top of the pâté so it can keep in the fridge for a longer length of time, it works as a preserver. When I first sampled the pâté before placing it in the fridge to chill it didn’t seemed to have as much flavour as bought pâté, but once it had set in the fridge for a couple of days the ingredients had time to mellow together and the flavours become more concentrated. Very delicious!

Cervelles de canut (Fresh cheese with shallots and red wine)

This was the flavoured cheese I made from the dried cheese I produced the other day. The shallots, vinegar and chives brought flavour that the plain cheese was missing and the créme fraîche gave moisture and creaminess. Although these additional ingredients improved flavour and texture I still didn’t really enjoy it all that much, thankfully mum and dad did so they are going to take it for lunch on a salad, using it like a cottage cheese.

Pain brié (Olive bread)

Today to accompany the Paté and cheese I made my very own olive and rosemary bread. Its was quite a long process as yesterday I had to make fermented dough and let it prove then refrigerate it overnight to use today. Once I had made the bread dough I had to let it rise for 30 minutes then roll it out to then spread on the olives and finally let it rise for another hour for it to double in size. Once it was baked and came out of the oven it filled the room with mouth-watering aromas and it was very palatable. Outer crunch, bursting with olives and a divine flavour of rosemary all throughout the moist loaf.

Fontainebleau avec un coulis de carotte et cannelle (Fontainebleau with a carrot cinnamen coulis)

As it was another hot night tonight this sounded like the perfect dessert. Much to my dismay it wasn’t quite ‘perfect’ but more unusual and difficult to comprehend Rachel Khoos idea behind the dish. The coulis was sweet due to the natural sugars from the fructose in the carrots which had a dash of cinnamon that is a perfect match for carrots. The cream and quark mix was smooth, thick and bitter which worked well with the sweet carrot coulis. The problem wasn’t the flavours but the whole concept of what seemed like cold carrot soup with a dollop of bitter cream, its almost like a deconstructed carrot cake. I think this is just too odd and eccentric, some things just need to be kept simple.

36 recipes down 84 to go!

I have been a little bust lately so I haven’t had the time to blog so I have four new dishes!

Lapin croustillant à la moutarde de Meaux (Crispy rabbit with Meaux mustard) – 24/01/14

We went to the market to source some unusual ingredients and these rabbit legs were one of them. We were unable to find singular rabbit legs so we had to buy two whole rabbits in which I had to cut off the legs and I also used the shoulder, we have frozen the carcasses with breast and belly meat for a winter casserole. This was yet again another dish my mother seemed to have doubts about, as she would normally stew her rabbit for its quite a tough meat so it needs a long cooking time to tenderise and this recipe only bakes it in the oven for 30 minutes. Luckily the recipe didn’t fail and the rabbit was sweet and succulent. The only issue was it seemed to be a little chewy but as my father stated rabbit is a rather chewy meat so I don’t think the chew factor could have been resolved. The mustard that I brushed over the legs before coating them in panko crumbs brought so much character to the dish, it complimented the flavours of the rabbit meat perfectly.

Ratatouille (Provençal vegetable stew) – 24/01/14

I paired the rabbit dish with the classic ratatouille that my brother adored. The vegetables were well seasoned and divinely soft which was a great contrast against the crunch of the rabbit. Theres not a great deal to report on this dish except for…. yum!

Fromage frais (Fresh cheese) – 24/01/14

I loved making this cheese as it was all new for me. Watching the milk and yogurt mix separate into curds and whey was intriguing and then popping in a tea towel overnight to form cheese by morning was just astonishing! Unfortunately I had squeezed too much liquid out of the cheese so by morning it was quite dry and lacked flavour. Fortunately the cheese wont go to waste as for another recipe in the book I have to make a chive cheese that uses my homemade fromage frais.

Pissaladière (Anchovy, onion and black olive tart)

Today I made this tart for my parents to take for lunch tomorrow as mum is starting back at work for the new year. The base had quality crunch, the anchovies brought bursts of saltines, the olives were juicy and fresh and the caramelised onions were were sweetly soft with the hidden surprise of orange zest that gave a shock factor to the dish. A simple and delicious summery tart.

32 recipes down 88 to go!

Happy Days

Would just like to mention that we just got a new puppy and she is gorgeous! So whilst in the best of moods I have been cook cook cooking away!

Madeleines à la crème au citron (Madeleines with lemon curd)

Today my mother went to lunch at a friends house and she kindly said she would bring a little treat along so of course I volunteered. I thought these were the perfect little baked good items to bring on a warm summers day. Its a light spongy cake with hint of lemon incased around a fresh raspberry piped with zingy sweet, silky lemon curd. When you take a bite you get a mouthful of the lemony sponge, then you bite into the raspberry bursting with creamy lemons curd which keeps the whole madeline lovely and moist. Will be definitely baking again, perfect for an afternoon tea catch up with the girls whilst enjoying a pot of perfectly brewed tea.

Pot-au-feu de joue de boef (Beef cheek ‘pot-on-the-fire’)

Two days ago I made this stew and it cooked for 8 hours on the stove so that the beef cheeks could melted in your mouth and the oxtail fall of the bone. The broth whilst refrigerated for two days separated into a layer of fat on the top that I skimmed off, the clear jelly I kept for the final dish and the impurities from the meat that I discarded as it would of made for a cloudy broth. The broth developed a slight roasted and nutty flavour, the beef cheeks were just vanishing as they entered your mouth and the oxtail meat was sweet and beautifully soft and this was all due to the long cooking process. The two sauces were delicious but weren’t necessary as the soup took on such such intense flavour.

28 recipes down 92 to go!

Busy Busy Busy

I am now back from my sea side holiday and with only two weeks left until school….. its dawned on me that I have just under 100 recipes to do by May. So these next two weeks I am going to be going hard at it in determination to complete the project!

Mousse aux éclats de chocolat (Chocolate mousse with cocoa nibs) – 16/1/14

Whilst in Adelaide we had some family friends from Wales come over for dinner as they are only in Australia for a while whilst partaking in a golf tournament. As it was another hot night and being two teenage boys I knew they would love a cold decadent chocolate mousse. Oh and boy was it decadent! It had the most devine consistency, it was as if you were eating thick cool melted chocolate. The cocoa nibs cut through the richness also giving the dessert texture and balance of flavour.

Oeufs en meurette (Poached eggs in a red wine sauce) – 19/1/14

The saturday morning before we left was the first coolish day in what seemed like ages so I made my grandma and parents this warm cooked breakfast. The sauce was like all the other red wine sauces I have made in the book, velvety and full of flavour. The eggs were cooked to perfection with warm runny yolks and firm whites on a piece of crisp toast.

Bouillon de cassoulet avec des boulettes de canard et saucisse de toulouse (Cassoulet soup with duck and Toulouse sausage dumplings) – 20/1/14

Back to Melbourne and its cool weather so this gave me the perfect opportunity to cook the cassoulet I have been dying to make. Luckily it lived up to my expectations! The soup base was peppery and bold, the dumplings lovely and moist with the carrots and beans to give the cassoulet some bulk. But the only thing that really counts….. my mum loved it!

Quenelles lyonnaises au four (Baked Lyon dumplings)

Tonight we had these dumplings and they blew me out of the water. Whilst making this dish I had my doubts about the flavour as I did with the prawn blancmange, but this time the dish proved me wrong. The quenelles were light and spongy and resembled the texture of a soufflé, I wasn’t too keen on the sauce but was pleasant enough.

26 recipes down 94 to go!

Cool food

With the heat still with us I whipped up some more refreshing meals to keep us cool.

Crème Vichyssoise au chou-fleur glacé (Iced cauliflower and potato soup)

We had this for lunch yesterday, the consistency was rather thin but smooth and was a clean white colour from the milk and crème fraîche. The soup had a pleasant flavour and my father and I enjoyed it chilled as it was refreshing, just what we needed for 45˚ heat! My mother on the other hand couldn’t quite grasp the idea of cold soup so she heated hers in the microwave. I served the soup with some fresh fluffy wholemeal bread from the bakery.

Salade de carrottes râpées at rémoulade de céleri-rave et pommes (Carrot salad and Celeriac and apple salad)

Last night we had some marinated tandoori chicken on the BBQ and I paired it with these two salads from the book that were just superb. The carrot salad was sweet and had a great textural appeal. I had to alter the other salad as celeriac is out of season so I substituted it with celery which has very similar flavour, but I neglected to consider the high water content of celery so thus the salad was rather watery. Despite the salad being a little wet it had great flavour and a wonderful tang from the mustard!

22 recipes down 98 to go!

Salad Chic

My oh my I am here in Adelaide and they are currently experiencing a heat wave with temperatures all above 40˚ so whilst I am here for the week I am going to try and get some of the salads out of the way.

Lentilles de Puy avec un fromage de chèvre, betteraves et une vinaigrette d’aneth (Puy lentil salad with goat’s cheese, beetroot and a dill vinaigrette)

My mother had doubts about how some lentils and beetroot could possible taste decent and be a sustaining dinner, oh but how I proved her wrong. This is one of the most flavoursome salads I have ever had, the dill vinaigrette was so boldly fragrant and was the hero component that brought the black lentils, goats cheese and beetroot all together. Not only did it have impact-full flavour but my mother was all mighty full after her salad as the lentils proved to be quite filling.

20 Recipes down 100 to go!

I am back

I have been oh so busy and with the excitement of Christmas, New Years and holidaying I haven’t had the chance to blog my latest dishes. I had a break from the project but now I am back and getting stuck back into it!

Blanc-manger (Prawn and asparagus blancmange) – 25/12/13

On Christmas day its always a tradition with my family to have a seafood entreé so I decided to chose this recipe as a change to the usual prawn cocktail. The aromas being emitted by the simmering stock were so intensely fishy that I was beginning to question the flavours of the dish. My instincts were correct, this is the first recipe I was unable to finish.I have vowed to sample each recipe but this dish was just too much to handle. It was far too fishy and the texture was difficult to get my head around. My brother and mother felt the same way but my dad loved it and my grandma enjoyed it also.

Poulet au citron et lavande (Lemon and lavender chicken) – 28/12/13

This was an absolutely stunning dish! The honey in the marinade caramelised the chicken in the cooking process to give the succulent chicken a remarkable gloss and a rich sweetness. The lavender was subtle and the lemon added to the delightful flavour of a winning dish.

Brown (roasted) stock – 28/12/13

I had left over carcasses and wings from the lavender chicken dish so I produced this aromatic stock and froze it for later use.

Saucisse at purée de pomme de terre avec une sauce diable (Banger and mash with devil’s gravy)

Today I went to my Primary school to reminisce with two of my best friends, so whilst immersed in nostalgia I thought tonight was the perfect opportunity to have a childhood favorite ‘bangers and mash’ but french style of course. This was a comforting and satisfying meal that was warm and friendly just like the days of blissful Primary School. The sauce was exquisit poured all over the silky mash and lean deli sausages.