GRATIN DAUPHINOIS

Here is a real simple and cheap french meal (who said the french were always sofisticated?!), and highly satisfying.

Ingredients

  • 2-3 potatoes per person sliced thinly, garlic, nutmeg, paprika, star anise, butter, creme fraiche (heavy whipped cream), milk, salt n pepper.

The ways of the people

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if you will be using the oven!)

Slice the potatoes as thin or thick as you'd like (thicker means more cooking time), with or without the skin, both are good. Make sure you have rinsed them thoroughly before peeling them and/or cutting them. Do not wash them afterwards, this is very important.

In a Le Creuset pot, place a layer of potatoes and sprinkle with lots of garlic, nutmeg, and paprika powder. Alternatively layer the whole batch of potatoes with the spices. Then cover with milk, add a whole nutmeg cut in 1/2, 2 star anise, a dash of butter and bring to a boil.

Then lower the heat and cook them for about 8 to 10 minutes, stirring delicately once in a while so it doesn't stick to the pot. The potatoes will have a smooth coating over them. If you didn't use a LeCreuset pot, transfer the potatoes to a roasting pan. In either case, Let them sit for 5 to 10 min so that the coating juices come together.

Then, add about a cup of creme fraiche on top of the potatoes and either simmer on the stove for about 45 min to an hour (covered ad very low heat) or place in the oven for 15 min or until potatoes are cooked. This can take up to an hour, depending how much potatoes, how thick etc...

Serve with some mache salade and wow that will stick on to you on these cold winter nights!

Related posts:

  1. TUNA TART
  2. QUICHE LORRAINE

Posted by: Aurelie on January 25, 2010
Category: FRENCH, GO(o)DNESS, MEATLESS, WINTER COMFY

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“IKEA” OATMEAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES

"IKEA" OATMEAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Every­time I go to Ikea, I buy these cook­ies in bulk, they are so yummy! But lately, Ikea being so far away, I’ve had mon­ster crav­ings for these with no time to hike buses boats and train to reach the mecca…ikea.

So… after search­ing all over for a recipe online, here is my shot at it, its soooo easy it hurts! They are as yummy as the Ikea ones, if not bet­ter since they are home­made and fresh

Ingre­di­ents to make the dough (makes about 8 cookies):
  • 1 1/4 cup old fash­ioned oats
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup raw cane sugar
  • 7 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp bak­ing powder
  • 2 tbsp all pur­pose flour (+ a tad to spread on the bak­ing sheet)
Ingre­di­ents to make the choco­late ganache:
  • 4 1/2 ounces bit­ter­sweet chocolate
  • 1/2 cup (100 ml) heavy whipped cream
Details »

Posted by: aurelie on December 23, 2011.
Category: GO(o)DNESS, SWEET Tags: , ,

CHILLED ASPARAGUS AND CARROTS

CHILLED ASPARAGUS AND CARROTS

WITH WALNUT MISO VINAIGRETTE

This is a very fresh and yummy but rich salad that will make won­der­ful spring lunches … the recipe requires quite a bit of ingre­di­ents that can be found in Japan­ese markets.

Ingre­di­ents
  • 10 thin aspara­gus with tough ends removed
  • 4 ounces (120g) of car­rots, peeled and thinly chopped into 1-inch match­sticks
  • 2 tbsp of lemon juice

For the Vinaigrette

  • 2 ounces (60g) walnuts
  • 1 tsp of red miso (or 2 tsp white miso)
  • 2 tbsp mirin
  • 2 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp white wine
  • 2 tbsp rice vine­gar (or any white vinegar)
Con­fec­tion

Boil the aspara­gus for about 2 min­utes in salted water, then diag­o­nally cut into 1-inch lengths. Boil the (match­sticks) car­rots for 2 min­utes as well and drain. Sprin­kle the veg­etable with the lemon juice while still hot

Dress­ing: blend all the vinai­grette ingre­di­ents together using a food proces­sor or sim­ply grind the wal­nuts using a mor­tar then stir in all the other stuff

Mix the car­rots and the aspara­gus with the vinai­grette and enjoy!

Posted by: Maud on March 16, 2010.
Category: GO(o)DNESS, HEALTHY N' LIGHT, JAPANESE, MEATLESS

ZUCCHINI, GOAT CHEESE, PINE NUTS TART

ZUCCHINI, GOAT CHEESE, PINE NUTS TART

Here is a spin on the Quiche Lor­raine for those veg­e­tar­ian out there.
The bat­ter is made the same way, just add any­thing you’d like to make it a quiche.
For this recipe, have the fol­low­ing ready.

Ingre­di­ents:
  • Ready Made 9″ Pie Crust or Home­made one
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup skim milk
  • 3/4 cup heavy whip cream
  • 1 zuc­chini sliced thinly
  • 6 cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 onion chopped thinly
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese (cut in slices or crumbled)
  • 1/4 cup shred­ded swiss cheese ( gruyere)
  • 1 hand­ful of pine nuts
  • herbes de Provence, fresh rose­mary, fresh oregano, cumin pow­der, nut­meg, salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Details »

Posted by: Liz on March 14, 2010.
Category: COMFORT FOOD, FRENCH, MEATLESS

QUICHE LORRAINE

QUICHE LORRAINE

Another quick and easy French classic.

Ingredients:
  • 1 ready made frozen pie crust ( i use wholly whole­some whole wheat 9″ pie crust avail­able at whole foods) or see Maud’s recipe for a home made pie crust.
  • a slab (approx. 1/3 lb) of salt pork , sliced into 1/3″ x1/3″ sticks. (Alter­na­tively you can use Pancetta, a slab of bacon or ham).
  • 2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 1 cup heavy whip cream
  • salt, pep­per, fresh grated nut­meg, cayenne pep­per, star anise.
  • optional: 3/4 cup grated swiss cheese (use emmen­tal or gruyere)

Details »

Posted by: Emilie on March 14, 2010.
Category: COMFORT FOOD, FRENCH, QUICK n EASY, VICE

MIXED HERBS & SALAD

MIXED HERBS & SALAD

Here’s a very refresh­ing piece of  south of France, not just a salad, its THE salad, tak­ing salad mak­ing to an art. Very sim­ply done too.

Ingre­di­ents:
  • 3 let­tuce hearts
  • 1/4 lb aragula
  • 1/4 lb purslane (if you won­der what it is here is an inter­est­ing arti­cle on this edi­ble weed)
  • 1 red endive (chicory)
  • 1/2 bou­quet of chevril
  • 8 strands of flat parsley
  • 20 small basil leaves
  • 8 mint leaves
  • 10 strands of chives
  • 2 tea­spoon aged bal­samic vine­gar (Acetaia Dodi is pure lux­ury but a cou­ple drops can bring a dish to heaven)
  • 4 tbsp fruity olive oil (Sicil­ian is a favorite, try Fran­toia)
  • optional but fan­tas­tic: shaved truf­fles, or shaved parme­san, or a poached egg… depend­ing on the salad’s bud­get I guess.

Details »

Posted by: Alex on March 11, 2010.
Category: GO(o)DNESS, GREEN, HEALTHY N' LIGHT, MEATLESS, VEGETERIAN

CHOCOLATE CAKE EXPRESS

CHOCOLATE CAKE EXPRESS

Tip top choco­late express for those choco­late crav­ings past mid­night. Ready in 20 min­utes top chrono!

Ingre­di­ents:
  • 1 cup ( 200 g — 7 oz) 70% cacao choco­late chips
  • 2/3 cup (150 g — 5 oz) salted butter
  • 3/4 cup (150 g — 5 oz) sugar
  • 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
Instant Grat­i­fi­ca­tion:

Pre­heat the oven to 360 degrees.

Place the choco­late chips into a ceramic bowl that you will have set inside a larger pot on the stove­top (twice the size of the bowl or so)  filled with about 1 to 2 inches of water. Bring the water to a boil stir­ring the mix­ture until it has melted com­pletely. Make sure the water doesn’t spill over into the ceramic bowl and adjust the heat accord­ingly. (this tech­nic is called “bain-marie”, lit­er­ally Mary’s bath…not sure what they did to Mary then.…). This should take 3 min­utes tops. Once the choco­late is melted, slowly add the but­ter cut into small pieces while stir­ring the choco­late, until all has melted.

Beat the eggs and the sugar together with an elec­tric mixer until the mix­ture has tripled in vol­ume. 2 min­utes tops.
(Alter­na­tively, you can beat the egg whites sep­a­rately until they become firm. This will make the cake much lighter, but will also take much more time. You will need to slowly incor­po­rate the fluffy whites into the chocolate/butter mix­ture, spoon­ing around it again and again.….and again…and I find that for a quick fix after mid­night, this method is a lit­tle overkill. You may pass out before it reaches the oven. We are talk­ing about the I WANT CHOCOLATE NEAAAAOOOOOOW ENVY!!)

Finally, slowly pour in the melted butter/chocolate into the sugar/eggs while stir­ring del­i­cately but con­stantly until the mix­ture is homogeneous.

Pour the final mix into a dish pie. Use a sil­i­cone one or rub some but­ter onto a ceramic dish and sprin­kle with flour. The idea is to avoid the cake stick­ing to the dish… although that may not be a prob­lem if you take the whole dish into bed to devour it like a bar­bar­ian before a good night sleep. Trust me only the god­lier of good­ness of dreams will follow.

Bake in the pre­heated oven for 15–20 min­utes.
Voila, its sup­posed to be crusty out­side and melted inside. Insanely deli­cious. Add some whip cream and vanilla ice cream for total deca­dence at 3 am.
Really good the next day too when you have come off your horse.
Enjoy

Posted by: Chloe on March 11, 2010.
Category: QUICK n EASY, SWEET, VICE

CREPES (SWEET OR SALTY)

CREPES (SWEET OR SALTY)

In this chan­deleur sea­son, it’s time for a crepe recipe on Flow­ers of Vice. Here is a very easy and quick one (no wait­ing necessary!).

Ingre­di­ents:

  • 250 g (= 2 cups) white flour
  • 1/2 liter (= 2 cups or 17 oz) milk (tra­di­tion­ally you would use whole milk, but I found that 2% works just as good)
  • 3 eggs
  • salt
  • 50 g (= 3 tbsp) butter
  • 1 tsp orange flower extract (this is optional but it gives a nice sub­tle taste to the crepe dough. You may also add 1 tsp of Rum or vanilla sugar/extract).
  • a small potato and oil (to grease the pan)

Details »

Posted by: Aurelie on February 14, 2010.
Category: FRENCH, GO(o)DNESS, MEATLESS, SWEET, VICE, WINTER COMFY

JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD

JAPANESE CUCUMBER SALAD

This is a deli­cious accom­pa­ni­ment greens to any meal or it also makes for a hyper easy and healthy snack. It’s more fun if you have a spi­ral­izer! It has def­i­nitely become my favorite tool in the kitchen as I spi­ral­ize every­thing that comes in my vicin­ity these days. Watch out!

Ingre­di­ents (4 servings):

  • 1 large eng­lish cucumber
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tea­spoon sugar or 1 table­spoon agave sweetener
  • 1/4 tea­spoon salt
  • 2 table­spoons toasted sesame seeds* or goma­sio.

Details »

Posted by: Chloe on February 6, 2010.
Category: GREEN, QUICK n EASY, RAW

PICO DE GALLO / SALSA FRESCA

PICO DE GALLO / SALSA FRESCA

This is my lat­est chem­istry project in the kitchen, espe­cially as I love the fla­vor of fresh salsa and cilantro with my tofu tacos.  Although this is a sim­ple recipe where all you have to do is throw it into a bowl and mix, truly excel­lent pico de gallo salsa is all about the scale and pro­por­tion of ingre­di­ents.  After a few iter­a­tions of adjust­ing the tomato count and the size of the chopped ingre­di­ents, this fresh salsa recipe should get you off to a good start where you can alter it  to suit your taste.

Ingre­di­ents
(Yields approx. 5–6 cups)

  • 6 medium-sized roma toma­toes (stems and seeds removed), finely diced
  • 1/2 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 jalapeño chili pep­per (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
  • 1 ser­ano chili pep­per (stems, ribs, seeds removed), finely diced
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro herbs (wash and de-stem leaf from stalk)
  • Salt (1 tsp or to taste)
  • Fresh ground pep­per (1 tsp or to taste)
  • Oregano (2 tsp or to taste)
  • Cumin (1 tsp or to taste)

Details »

Posted by: MozzaMatt on February 2, 2010.
Category: HEALTHY N' LIGHT, MEXICAN, QUICK n EASY

CHOCOLATE BANANA TOFU MUFFINS

CHOCOLATE BANANA TOFU MUFFINS

This is a great tasty and fill­ing snack that you can take along any­where you go

Ingre­di­ents

  • 1 cup soft silken tofu
  • 1 ripe banana
  • 1/4 cup oil or soften butter
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or Agave
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp bak­ing powder
  • 1 tsp bak­ing soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup or more dark choco­late chunks
  • 1/2 cup walnuts

Details »

Posted by: Maud on February 1, 2010.
Category: QUICK n EASY, SWEET, VICE

THIT KHO (VIETNAMESE CARAMEL PORK)

THIT KHO (VIETNAMESE CARAMEL PORK)

Wow! I was about to make some thit kho tonight when I real­ized I had lost my favorite recipe dur­ing these numer­ous last moves…argg thank­fully  iphone was here to be my tonight’s hero. Phewww! of course I could kind of remem­ber how to do it…but it’s been a while…and as the best damn caramel pork I’ve ever had, (yes, even bet­ter than mom’s) I wanted to make it right and be ready for the Tết sea­son to begin. I will be post­ing my mom’s recipe here soon though, it’s super extra mag­nif­i­cently good too, and much faster and eas­ier to do so stay tuned!

Note: The coconut water used in this recipe is the clear liq­uid from the heart of the imma­ture coconut. Do not con­fuse it with the white coconut milk (canned and frozen) that is extracted from the grated flesh of the mature coconut. You may pur­chase coconut water frozen; it is usu­ally sold in clear, square or rec­tan­gu­lar plas­tic bags — some­times a few thin slices of coconut meat are included. Pork belly (where bacon comes from) is the desired and tra­di­tional cut for this dish because it has the per­fect bal­ance of lean meat to fat. How­ever, you may sub­sti­tute the leaner Boston butt.

Ingredients:

(Serves 6)

  • 3 table­spoons oil
  • 4 table­spoons sugar
  • 3 gar­lic cloves, slivered
  • 2 shal­lots, slivered
  • 2 table­spoons peeled, sliv­ered fresh ginger
  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds pork belly or side pork, or Boston butt, cut into 1/2 x 1-inch slices
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup fish sauce
  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen coconut water (see head note)
  • 4 hard-cooked eggs, quartered

Details »

Posted by: Aurelie on January 31, 2010.
Category: COMFORT FOOD, GO(o)DNESS, VIETNAMESE, WINTER COMFY

VEGETARIAN TOFU TACOS

VEGETARIAN TOFU TACOS

Ingre­di­ents
(Yields 6 servings)

  • 1 (14-ounce) pack­age extra-firm tofu, drained
  • 1 1/2 tea­spoons chili powder
  • 1/2 tea­spoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 tea­spoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 tea­spoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 tea­spoon salt
  • 1 table­spoon olive oil
  • 3 cloves gar­lic, finely chopped
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 

Details »

Posted by: MozzaMatt on January 30, 2010.
Category: MEATLESS