Fun with my French family

I love coming home to the Bay Area to see my family! We arrived yesterday and hit up Downtown Pleasanton to pick up our race packets at Fleet Feet, but also let little Woodstock wander around the streets for a little bit.

(Source)

When we finally made it to Alamo, my mom was just opening all of her cabinets and the fridge to assemble all the ingredients of a home-made salade niçoise!!! I know that I lived in the Nice academic region when I lived in France a few years back, but salade niçoise has been close to my heart nearly my whole life (see: my obsession with crêpes).

I love that my mom shares the same passion for French cuisine as I do.

Authentic French mustard for the vinaigrette:

Escargot for the appetizer... I really didn't mind the taste and enjoyed the pesto sauce, but I couldn't manage to get over the fact I was eating a snail. Then I started getting grossed out again. But at least I tried, right? I'm a terrible Frenchie ;)

There's nothing better than a glass of rosé on a hot summer spring night! The candlelight doesn't do much justice to the pink hue of our wine. And shhhhh, don't tell anyone that it's a bottle of SPANISH wine!

I would make a good sommelière, right?? No? Ok, I'll just stick to drinking it then.

My plate of salad topped with freshly-seared ahi tuna. Soooooo goooooooooood.

Finally for dessert, we each had tiny slices of chocolate lover's cake with blackberries. I went a little overboard with the plate decorations haha, awesome.

Then this morning we were all treated to very French breakfasts. Unfortunately, I can't handle a typical French breakfast. I think my cholesterol would skyrocket. So I cut my apple pastry in half, made a cup of blueberry Greek yogurt with granola, craisins and blackberries leftover from dessert, then washed it all down with a lowfat soy mocha latte.

J.D., my mom and I all went shopping earlier this morning to find fun things for our respective House Parties. J.D. and I scored a bunch of goodies -- can't wait for our game night -- and then my mom hit up Trader Joe's for her final groceries for tonight's Williams-Sonoma dinner party. While she was off, we stopped at Baja Fresh next door and shared a mini taco plate for a little lunch.

And now preparations for the party begin! I'm limiting myself to a half a glass of wine or less, since we'll be running 12 hours after the party kicks off. I hope to get to sleep early tonight and then away we'll go to Livermore for the 5K race!! When we get back, I'll post pictures of the party and the race if I ever bother to take any. Just don't hold your breath on that one.....

Hope everyone's enjoying their weekends! xx

Crêpe-inspired breakfast

What's your favorite food of all time?? For me, it's the first thing I really learned how to make. When I was really young, my French grandma always used to make sugared crêpes and I quickly figured it out on my own. Then living in France I used to find crêpe stands all over the country.

Needless to say one of my favorite foods, for both taste and nostalgia, are crêpes.

(Source)

J.D. and I made a batch a few months back, and for some reason I had a hungering for crêpes last night. The desire inspired an idea for breakfast I'd been envisioning for literally over 12 hours.

Let me introduce my Crêpe-inspired oats:

The idea came from the delicious pairing of Nutella, strawberries and bananas in most of the typical dessert crêpe menus.

First I chopped up some strawberries and a banana, since both are running on their last legs (fruit doesn't last too long in this valley heat):

Next up, prepped some quick cook oats on the stove and topped them with the fruit plus a large dallop of low fat Greek yogurt from Trader Joe's (love that store!!):

And now the fun part: NUTELLA!!!! (Plus a little bit of peanut butter for some protein):

Once I was satisfied with my creation -- except for the lack of actual crêpe haha -- I washed it all down with some vanilla soy chai tea.

Yum, yum. I loved playing around with crêpe toppings and just might have to do it again!! ...Or I just might have to make some crêpes soon to satisfy my craving for them.

So why am I on such a French kick lately (well, minus the obvious fact that I am French)??? It all started with the new tablecloth I donned for last night's dinner post. Check it out if you haven't yet!

Continuing the fun with French cooking

After our successful Julia Child dinner last week, J.D. and I are going to have a second round at it tonight. When I went home to feed my dog and make lunch this afternoon, I turned on the Food Network and was watching an episode on Coq au Vin that inspired tonight's menu:

I found a few recipes to make it "healthier" by using less wine (most call for more than entire bottle) and recipes that suggest merely browning the chicken and not dredging it in flour before mixing it into the sauce. Seeing as how Mr. Fox and I hate mushrooms, we're leaving that off the recipe. We also wanted to add in the carrots, celery and potatoes right into the pot with the chicken! I'm so excited to make - and eat - coq au vin. On the side, I'm going to attempt something I just kind of thought up off the top of my head (since we have lemons): lemon butter green beans.

I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

In the meantime, the lovely ladies at Newly Wife have brought an AMAZING website into my life. It's called House Party and you sign up to host parties while companies send you things to stock the party and test out, from food to games to drinks to baby products. Sounds awesome. And I found the one calling my name:

The 2010 French Cocktail Hour Party sponsored by French Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Fisheries!!!!

"Attention, French food and wine aficionados: celebrate the best tastes and treats that France has to offer, at the 2010 French Cocktail Hour House Party™ — Apéritif à la française! You and your friends will travel through the delectable flavors of France, from the comfort of home. Hosts of this fabulous fête will receive special items, including great deals on signature French food and wine — now that’s what we call joie de vivre!"

Gosh, that's so me!!! Promise, people, you won't try to steal my thunder and beat me out by hosting the party!!! If I get selected, you're all invited :) It's not until June anyways! Wish me luck (or la chance).

Joyeux Anniversaire

This weekend, J.D. and I celebrated our anniversary (yup, right word, it really has been a year) at the place I took him for his 26th birthday - The Melting Pot in San Mateo. I guess he registered for some birthday club thing, and included in it was also a space to write in your anniversary.

So come January, he received a coupon via e-mail for a free chocolate dessert for two in celebration of the "anniversary." However, the coupon said wedding anniversary, so that was a little odd to me. Rest assured Mom and Dad, we did not get married without your knowing.

Anyways, we all know how crazy I am about all things French, so a nice fondue meal with ambient French music (that later morphed into French rap, or Raï) was really a nice treat.

The featured menu for this month is Alpine Fondue, tapping into fondue's Swiss history. Nevermind they already feature Swiss cheeses in one of the cheese courses.

We ended up going with the four-course meal (And I, of course, kicked off the meal with a passion fruit vodka, strawberry and mint martini):

-Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue:
Gruyère and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, white wine, a touch of garlic, nutmeg, fresh lemon, and Kirschwasser. Served to dip included Granny Smith apples, celery, cauliflower, carrots and an array of three breads.

-California Salad:
Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, walnuts, and Gorgonzola Cheese, topped with Raspberry Black Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing.

-Coq au Vin Fondue:
Our own interpretation of the cooking style favored in the French countryside. It combines the flavors of fresh herbs, mushrooms, garlic, imported spices, and a hearty Burgundy Wine. Served to dip included two lobster tails, Dijon marinated chicken, sirloin steak, hefeweizen-marinated shrimp, sun dried tomato ravioli, potatoes, broccoli and mushrooms.

-Yin & Yang (free dessert with coupon, heck yes!):
Half dark chocolate and half milk chocolate, artfully swirled in the same pot for that special mix of flavors, we added some Grand Marnier specially to our fondue for taste! Served to dip included strawberries, bananas, marshmallow treats, graham cracker dipped marshmallows, brownies, pound cake and cheesecake.

YUMMY. We've gone twice now, and I would definitely do it again!

Now enjoy the photos taken from my phone (sorry, the lighting was very dim, so they turned out kind of weird):

martini

cheese course

meats and coq au vin sauce


dessert

Hum.

The posts have become rather infrequent lately. I'm super bogged down with five-day-a-week class that requires homework semi-reminiscent of high school. I don't really have the energy for that a second time around. But only two weeks left and then I have a year off.

I'm also getting really busy at work, trying to finish my media guide before our first soccer game at home, which happens to be in two weeks! So quick! Then I'm trying to balance cooking at home with exercising while desperately needing evening naps to keep me going.

It's been a busy two weeks!

Which brings me to the topic of today's post. Has anyone been watching the Next Food Network Star this season? I watched religiously! Well this season's winner, Melissa d'Arabian just aired her first show today. The more I kept watching, I grew to love that she was ALL about French food. The Food Network didn't have too many French cooks on the air.

But the more I learn about her, the more I get a little skeptical. She goes on and on about living in France and her French husband and his French family. Usually that kind of stuff is so exciting for me to hear and read about, but she's almost snooty in how she carries her French-ness.

Anyways, I was still really really really excited to see she made a Tartiflette! It took me back to my days living in France, especially my frequent visits to my dad who was living in Annecy! During my first trip up there, he informed me that the Tartiflette was the official food of the Savoie region (along with fondue, of course). I continually tasted different variants on this yummy potato torte (as Melissa calls it) wherever our French travels would take us (restaurants in Annecy, ski resorts in La Clusaz, even in the South of France near my region of Nice).

So here's the recipe for Melissa d'Arabian's Potato-Bacon Torte (aka Tartiflette):

Ingredients

* 4 strips bacon
* 3 sprigs fresh thyme
* 2/3 cup heavy cream
* 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
* 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
* 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

* 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.

Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Chocolate raspberry (and flax seed?! no way) French Macarons

I tried to make French Macarons in preparation for Jenn's bridal shower next weekend.

Basically I need to make thicker wafers, which can be easily remedied by letting one layer cool, then adding a second afterwards. I think a proper food processor would solve a lot of my problems as well. Because I don't have one, I relied on a blender to mix my powdered sugar and sliced almonds.... buuuut you'd quickly know that it's not such a great idea. So we tried to make the batter thicker by adding a flax seed and water mixture. However, that made the wafers more grainy than smooth.

But the general consensus was still quite good!

So I used the rest of my chocolate ganache mix and dipped my remaining raspberries in it. And then J.D. and I toasted my successful baking with a brand new bottle of champagne!

Here's my first attempt. Photos courtesy of my iPhone (and J.D.)!

Step 1: baking the wafers


Step 2: filling the raspberry-stuffed wafers


Step 3: chocolate-dipped raspberries!


Step 4: finished dessert


Step 5: toasting with French champagne


Step 6: pour another :) and enjoy!