Time to put your apron on!
Bonjour les Amis ! Here I am today with a new Summer recipe. But this time, it is not a recipe I got from my grand-mother or from some old and dusty French cookbook. No, this one has been inspired by one of my favorite brunch places here in Chicago, Southport Grocery and Café. Every dish … Continue reading Rosemary Apple Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette
These past months, I’ve seen Alison Roman’s chocolate chunks shortbread cookies all over my Instagram feed! If you’re a foodie, you’ve most probably seen them too. They look delicious as cookies can be, but my first thought was that they reminded me a lot of a certain kind of French biscuits, the sablés diamant (literally, … Continue reading Les Sablés Diamant – Diamond shortbread
I am Italian, and of course I am proud of our cuisine. A never-ending discussion will start if you ask if it is better than the french one. But I admit that when we talk about bread, the cousins are superiors. And their most emblematic bread, the baguette is something simply delicious. If you've read … Continue reading Classic French Baguette
Joyeuses Pâques! Happy Easter! Today, we decided to cook and bake a very casual lunch for Easter. First of all, we still have half of our cookware still unpacked. Then, we're just both of us, plus our cat Roquette. So nothing fancy today! Just lamb followed by egg custard covered with caramel. Egg custard is … Continue reading Homemade Egg Custard – Our Easter dessert
I’m on a crazy train! I have started a new job last week, moved in our new apartment this weekend and as if it wasn’t enough, I had the great idea the remodel our future kitchen on my own. To be honest, I have underestimated the time it would take - already 50 hours last … Continue reading Country-style Lentils – A Lunchbox Idea
If I should think of the most traditional French homemade dessert, the answer would probably be a Tarte Normande (Norman Tart). It is very subjective. This is probably the first dessert that comes to my mind because it is my mother's classic. She is not an advanced baker and when she has to bake, she … Continue reading The Norman Tart – A homebaked classic
Happy Sunday! Sundays in France we usually have roasted meat for lunch: chicken with French fries, roasted beef (we call it "rosbif"!) with gratin dauphinois, or pork filet mignon with mashed potato and/or green beans. No a good day to start a diet! So today, to make no exception to that rule, will be filet … Continue reading Pork Filet Mignon with Almonds and Plums
If you've already browsed through the Pâtisserie section of my website, you already know that I have a weakness for chestnuts, especially when it comes to the Clément Faugier chestnut spread. [Warning: be prepared if you click on that link, their website looks terrible!] Today, I'm making use of it in the famous Mont Blanc recipe. The … Continue reading Mont Blanc – A peak of sweetness
Rillettes (prononced "ree-yett") are a fancy word for meat spread. They are usually made of pork, duck, goose or chicken, sometimes even fish. The best way to serve rillettes remains toasted bread with some gerkhins. Rillettes are served at the apéritif. While I'm writing these lines, I realize that I should dedicate a whole article … Continue reading Homemade pork rillettes – A tasty meat spread
During a trip to the Vosges mountains in Alsace, Anaïs and I decided to indulge ourselves in the pleasures of local food and wines. Besides great memories, we also brought home an alsatian cookbook and a traditional Kugelhopf pan. You're probably wondering: what on earth is a kugelhopf (pronounced "koo-glof")? Actually, it is very similar … Continue reading The Kugelhopf – An Alsatian Brioche