Cherry Pie

Same as my Strawberry Tart, but with fresh hand picked cherries.

This is better the next day because the cream will be more like custard.

Ink Squid and Cherry Tomato Fettuccini

I recently found some interesting things in the "World" section of the grocery store:  canned squid in it's black ink.  It is used in spain as tapas, but I thought it would make an interesting color in a pasta dish.  Since I have this horrible habit of adding a dash of fresh cream to anything pasta, the color is just brownish instead of black, but oh my was it good!

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

2 cans squid in black ink

1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved

2 cloves garlic, grated

hidden ingredient: handful cauliflower florets (Eric didn't even notice)

1/4 cup EVOO

1 tsp red pepper flakes

lots of fresh ground pepper

handful fresh parsley, chopped

1 lb Fettuccini, cooked al dente

drizzle of heavy cream

1 cup reserved pasta water

grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

1.  Sautée cauliflower in EVOO and red pepepr flakes.

2.  Add half the cherry tomatoes and stir around.

3.  Add the cans of squid and their ink as well as garlic and set to low until cauliflower is tender.

4.  Don't forget to reserve some of the cooking water from the pasta!  This is to make it nice and creamy.

5.  In a big pot on low, toss the cooked pasta and the mixture of the squid.  Add the rest of the cherry tomatoes, parsley, parmesan, cream and pepper.  If it needs more liquid, use the reserved pasta water.  

When you serve, the fresh tomatoes should be warm but still have their lovely cherry texture that explodes with flavor in your mouth.

Also, I didn't salt.  The squid ink is salty like the sea so you get that natural ocean goodness that tingles in your mouth

When I announced what was for dinner, Eric wasn't too motivated, but he definately licked his plate clean!

Spanish Paella

I finally got around to making Paella without performing sacrilegeous acts such as adding white wine or using basmati rice. The photo looks liquidy.. I should have waited 10 minutes or so before taking the picture. The end result was fabulously delicious and I'm very happy to be making it a little bit more authentic (although I did use an ingredient that would not be approved of).
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
500g (2 cups) BOMB Spanish rice from l'Epicier

This rice is thick and round and a little sticky at the end. It reminds me of arborio rice (blasphemy)
3 tbsp EVOO
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 bell peppers, sliced (1 red, 1 yellow)
3 lbs live fresh mussels
4 chopped merguez sausages (sub pepperoni)
juice from 1 lemon
1 chicken bouillon cube
water (no idea how much.. go for 6 cups)
some salt + fresh ground pepper
2 packets of paellero spices with saffron
optional: jumbo shrimp, chicken, octopus or other seafood. I'm saving for a trip to the US right now, so I made a poor man's Paella.
forgotten: handful frozen peas (I just got too caught up and forgot them)
Directions:
1. In a large thick bottomed skillet, brown the sausages (and chicken if using) in 1 tbsp EVOO. remove and reserve.
2. Add the remaining EVOO and sautée the onions until translucent.
3. Add the Bomb rice and lemon juice and stir around, cooking for 5 minutes. You do not want anything to burn.
4. Add the garlic, bell peppers, and spice packets along with 1 cup broth. Cook until bubbly and turn down the heat. Now you will follow a risotto ish process, adding liquid and stirring around until absorbed, always stirring. If you start getting a stickiness at the bottom of the pan, do not worry. It is the normal paella making process.
5. After the 1st cup of liquid, put the sausage and chicken and/or frozen seafood back in and continue the process until the rice is almost al dente.. about 30 minutes. Do not take my word for it on the timing. I always drink and chat while I cook and never really pay attention to the clock. Use your taste.
6. At this point, you will want to add your fresh mussels or clams and peas (if you haven't forgotten). I also added some red pepper flakes because after tasting, I decided it needed more spicyness.
7. Stir and let cook until the mussels or clams have opened. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve and be satisfied!

I also made this without seafood once, but it's better with:

Big Ass 1/2 lb Burger

I read the Pioneer Woman makes 1 lb burgers. I'm not quite there yet. These 1/2 pounders were pretty hefty and left me full and happy. It's nice to be able to eat a big ass juicy burger sometimes.
Here's my composition for 2 burgers.
1 lb ground beef (I used lean, but I'll use 15/75 next time)
Seasoned and then formed into 2 patties with:
salt/pepper
1 tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp basalmic vinegar
5 squirts Louisiana hot sauce (or Tapatio or Tabasco)
Topped with:
2 shallots, sliced and caramelized in butter with 1 tsp sugar
St Marcellin cheese (or any "fancy" cheese.. use goat or blue)
1 tomato
Batavia leaves
all this on toasted buns smeared with spicy mayo
Next time, I will put this on kaiser rolls. Way better than traditional hamburger buns!

With a side of home fries

Struggling to get your mouth around it = Heaven!

Banana-Nutella Muffins

Muffins! Yum! We're going hiking in the snow tomorrow, so I wanted to make some snacks in case we get avalanched and have to wait in the snow until rescued. These are really easy, especially considering I have no baking skills whatsoever. What a wonderful combination bananas make with nutella. I think you can make anything be delicious with nutella.
Makes 9-10 muffins
Ingredients:
150g flour (5.3 oz)
110g butter (4 oz)
110g sugar (4 oz)
2 bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 tsp yeast
1Tbsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp or more dried coconut
3 pinches salt
9 or 10 tsp Nutella
Directions:
1. Whisk together the butter, eggs, sugar, yeast, flour, salt, coconut, and vanilla extract.
2. When the batter is smooth, mix in the mashed bananas.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C or 350°F
4. Butter and flour your muffin holders (what is up with my vocab.. I can't find the words). Fill them with 1/2 batter, 1 tsp Nutella, and another half batter. Sprinkle some extra coconut on top.
5. Pop in the oven for 20 minutes.

Be happy, you just made easy delicious muffins with a lovely blob of nutty chocolate as the surprise center!

Deluxe Mac n Cheese

I've been in the mood for all things cheesy lately. Since the holidays are now over, I've been waiting to finish the leftovers and get over the "fries night" so I can make something involving a melted cheddar cheese sauce. Along with the little cheddar I had left, I improvised a ton of stuff in the sauce to make it extra special. The hub loved it.
Ingredients:
1 lb cooked elbow pasta
handful of frozen broccoli florets
1 shallot, minced
1 pack bacon, sliced crosswise
1/2 jar roasted bell peppers, chopped coarsley
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup shredded blue cheese
1/4 cup shredded swiss + some for garnish
parmesan for garnish
1 handful chopped celery leaves
1 handful chopped parsley
a drizzle of beer
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp thyme
2 egg yolks
fresh ground pepper/salt
1/2 cup reserved pasta water
Directions:
1. In a large pot, cook the pasta in salted water.
2. In a sauce pan, cook the bacon with some pepper and thyme and drain a bit. Add the shallots and broccoli and stir until tender.
3. Lower the heat and add the beer and milk and heat through. Add the cheeses, celery leaves, pepper flakes. The mixture should not be too thick, but nice and creamy. At this point, I wanted some color, so I added the roasted bells.. nice choice.
4. When the pasta is done, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain and add back into the pot off heat.
5. Mix the heavy cream and egg yolks with the pasta until nicely coated. Then add the cheesy sauce and fresh parsely and stir until evenly coated.

Serve with shredded swiss and parmesan and be blown away!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I'm almost happy the weather has cooled down so I can justify making soup! I stole this Tortilla Soup from Jess and I think I just fell in love. I didn't offer any to Eric because every time I make something you must eat with a spoon, he starts complaining. When I poured myself a bowl of this, I saw him jealously looking over from his plate of fries, so I gave him a bite. To my happiness, he said: Why don't I get to eat that?
HA!
I used dry black beans instead of canned. Nein on the hominy (not sure I've ever seen that in France.) I didn't have any chilies, but I put in 2 Tbsp La Costeña Arriera salsa. Next time, I will add avocado as well.
My toppings were:
Cilantro
Shredded Cabbage
Tortilla strips (home made)
Green Onions
Cheddar + Swiss=Bliss

* this is fight food if you remove the cheese

The Good Shroomz: Girolles

I am in love with mushrooms. Chanterelles, Cèpes, Pleurotes, Trompettes de la Mort, Morilles... how happy I am when I eat you! This time, I found some Girolles at the market. The best time to go to the market is right before it closes. The vendors practically give away their goods! I got practically 600g for 4€... and these usually go for 20€/kg
Anyway, I used them for my D-Day cutlets.

These go well just sautéed and lightly salted. They give out nice juices that give the sauce an earthy flavor.
I've tried these in an omelet as well. The Bomb.com

Mil's Red Handed Meatballs

While grocery shopping, Eric had a sudden urge for one of his mother's inventions: Meatballs with Flageolet beans, or Boulettes en Flag' as I have so wittily renamed it. It was a test, because it is a family recipe and a childhood comfort food that his own sister was unable to recreate.
Well, I passed the test with flying colors because the hub was indeed very satisfied with my remake!
Serves 4-5
Ingredients:
Meatballs
1 lb ground pork (or 1/2 pork, 1/2 turkey)
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
some flour
Dish
1 Tbsp (or more) of margarine or butter
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp thyme
2 bay leaves
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2" pieces
1 large can of drained flageolet beans (use white beans if you can't find flags)
1 cup water
Directions:
Meatballs
1. Wash your hands and take off your rings. Place the ground meat in a mixing bowl with the egg, and mis around with your hands.
2. Add the parsley, salt, pepper and garlic and keep mixing.
3. Add the bread crumbs a little at a time while mixing with your hands. Keep adding until the texture is no longer gooey, but not all dry either.
4. Separate the meat into 6 big meatballs. Eric likes big big meatballs. Roll each meatball around in flour to keep them from sticking to each other and your meatballs are ready to be cooked.
Dish
1. In a big pot or pressure cooker, heat the margarine and brown the meatballs a little on each side. Remove the browned meatballs and set aside.
2. Sautée the onions and garlic with a sprinkle of salt in the same pot until golden. Add the thyme and bay leaves and stir.
3. Add the potatoes and stir around a few minutes. When the potatoes start sticking to the pot, add a cup of water and the meatballs back into the pot. If you have a pressure cooker, close it and cook this under pressure for 5 minutes. If you don't, simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
4. Open up and add the drained beans. Heat through for 5 more minutes.

You are ready to feast!
I only ate 1 meatball and it was more than enough for me.. but my carnivore husband had 2 and the guests we had each ate 1 1/2. We killed it, and I passed the MIL test!

Thai Masman Curry.. Remix

Considering I have a large amount of Thai Masman Curry paste, I keep remixing this dish and making it better and better.
This time I used pork sliced thinly instead of chicken.
I added baby corn...cute and fun
but the serious secret ingredient here is the mega tablespoon of
PEANUT BUTTER
that I threw into the mix.
I finally got around to buying peanut butter in France!
I found a miniature jar of Skippy PB for the outrageous price of 4€ for 340g, but hey, you cannot replace that taste in an asian dish... no way José.
Ah for all of you living on the WEST SIDE of the lake, this is nothing exceptionnal, but please feel my excitement here, people!