There is nothing I love more than roasted/baked chicken! Great lobster doesn’t even come close for me. But please note that there is an absolute must for this dish to be as delicious as it should be: the quality of the produce. Your chicken must be free range and corn-fed! An easy way to know…
Category: Recipes
My roasted Camembert – Mon Camembert rôti
(En Français plus bas) This is such a simple “recipe”, that I will only need one sentence to tell it to you. So we have a little room here to go over what REAL Camembert is. In 1790, a law is adopted by the republicans, placing the French catholic church under government control. A few…
From plain turkey to the fanciest of Guinea fowls – De ma simple dinde à la découverte de la pintade vulturine
(En Français plus bas) There I was, trying to find pictures of turkeys to illustrate today’s post, when I stumbled upon shots of one of the most fascinating birds I had ever laid eyes upon: the Vulturine Guinea fowl. I fell in love with their shape, their feathers, their pissed-off look…So today, I’m afraid you’ll…
To Anna with love – A ma grand mère Anna
I think I had already mentioned it, but my family on my mother’s side came from Northern Italy. My grand mother Anna was a true Italian mama, and she left us with a number of wonderful original recipes. I wouldn’t dare assume that it comes from that one side of my family, but I’ll let…
Fast, easy and delicious option for tomorrow evening – Une option rapide, facile et délicieuse pour demain soir
(En Français plus bas) No bla bla today: Get small raw shrimps (live if possible) Dump them in a dry pan and wait for them to turn pink (about 30 seconds). If you are using live shrimp, make sure you put the lid on the pan right away or you’ll end up with shrimp jumping…
Straight from the Farmers’ Market – Purée de potiron
(En Français plus bas) I went to the Farmers’ Market as I always do on Sunday (and Tuesday, and Friday and Saturday and…). I found beautiful organic Brussels sprouts and bought a slice of pumpkin… The sprouts were uneven in size and their leaves had a few spots on them. That was the guaranty of…
Dominique’s secret recipe for lentil & salmon salad
(En Français plus bas) I did not know this, but the only lentils produced in France apparently come from the center of the country: the Auvergne region. I love that part of France. I regularly drove through it when I was attending college in Lyon. The highway between Bordeaux and Clermont Ferrand did not exist…
The Cinderella meets Marie Antoinette Soup – Quand Cendrillon rencontre Marie Antoinette
(In English below) Il ne s’agit pas ici de réinventer la poudre, et certainement pas la recette de la soupe au potiron. Soupe de nos Grand Mères par excellence, il y en a des dizaines de recettes. Voici la mienne: Faites revenir 1 oignon et 200g de lardons fumés dans une cocotte Pelez et coupez…
French Soul Food for the Fall – Nourriture pour l’âme
(En Français plus bas) I call this French Soul Food, but only because I use what we call “Paris” mushrooms (Agaricus Bisporus) and white wine from “The Graves” region in this recipe. Mushroom soup and/or cream of mushroom, in its many forms, is considered soul food in just about any culture… This specific recipe for mushroom soup…
My secret recipe for the French country kitchen fragrance – Le parfum
(En Français plus bas – Bien plus bas) After my sight, my sense of smell is the one that moves me the most. We all have our favorite smells and fragrances. They trigger memories of childhood or other significant periods of our lives. Just a sniff over mom’s Bourguignon can make me feel good and…
The most perfect rack of lamb – Le plus merveilleux des carrés d’agneau
(In English below) Je m’excuse de ne rien avoir écrit au cours des deux semaines passées. Je suis pour toujours victime de mon perfectionnisme… Je m’aperçoit en relisant mes vieux “articles”, que je qualifie souvent mes recettes de simples. Je dois donc être le plus fainéant des “cuisiniers” car voici la plus “simple” des recettes…
Simple delights of my late summer days – Simplicité de saison
(In English below) je crois que c’est le plus vieux souvenir que j’ai de vrais moments partagés avec mon père: cueillir puis ouvrir, peler et déguster les noix fraîches sur l’arbre… Avec les mûres et les figues (qui…
Cook with your kids! Home Made Sardine Rillettes – Cuisinez avec vos enfants! Rillettes de sardines maison
(En Français plus bas) Piano lessons, soccer, drawing and painting lessons, tennis or pony riding; all are fine activities for our children. But what about cooking lessons? Taking time to teach our kids how to cook and how to eat is (or should be) a priority. It is such an amazing opportunity to spend time…
French Culinary Icon: Rabbit in Dijon Mustard Sauce – Mon lapin à la moutarde
(In English Below) Peu de plats sont aussi représentatifs de la cuisine traditionnelle de notre beau pays. Le lapin à la moutarde se place en haut du tableau avec le Bourguignon, les escargots, la soupe à l’oignon, les cuisses de grenouille… J’aime aussi ce plat car il représente “notre douce France”; la France rurale avec…
Norwegian flair in the deep French countryside – Influence Norvégienne au coeur de la Charente
(En français plus bas) We drove up to the Charente region last Saturday to celebrate my brother Dominic’s and his wife Catherine’s 60th birthdays. The Charente region is just an hour north. That’s where Cognac brandy is produced. Another corner favorite corner of my French heaven :0) I mentioned Norway in the title, because since…
So delicious, it’s worth getting sick – Bons à s’en rendre malade
(En Français plus bas) My great grand mother on my father’s side, Mané, was the best cook our family has ever had. She was famous for her incredible stews and her crêpes so thin that one could read the newspaper through them. She died when I was only three years old, but her best recipes…
My coq au vin – Mon Coq au vin
(En Français plus bas) One of my favorite recipes. Granted it is a Winter dish, it was a little cold earlier this week so I decided to indulge. The traditional recipe requires that the sauce be thickened at the end with chicken blood. For obvious reasons, this is not part of my recipe. It is…
Two weeks in My French Heaven with Melanie – Deux semaines de rêve avec Mélanie
(En Français plus bas) I must apologize for the past two weeks during which I did not write for you my dear friends. I also want to thank the dozens of readers and fellow bloggers who sent me e-mails wondering what had become of me: “Is everything OK Stephane? I hope you’re not sick! I…
MY FRENCH HEAVEN 