A French picnic!

Last week a friend of mine was feeling a bit down, so on Monday I decided to steal her away from work to enjoy a warm spring afternoon in a park and a simple, fresh French-inspired picnic.

I did a little research on the usual fare for a picnic in France and settled on four items. For starters, I made Provençal rosemary almonds.

Provençal Rosemary Almonds

2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cups raw almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in the microwave. Mix seasoning into the butter, and then toss in almonds. Bake seasoned nuts for about 10-12 minutes, stirring once, until toasted and fragrant.

Remove from heat and serve warm or at room temperature.

The main dish was a pan-bagnat (or a variation thereof), the traditional sandwich of Nice, based on the Salade Niçoise.

Pan-Bagnat

1 cloves garlic, pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 baguette
1/2 can quality solid white albacore tuna, drained
1/4cup red onion, sliced paper-thin
1 hard-boiled egg, sliced thin
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Tomato slices
Lettuce
Salt and pepper to taste

Split the baguette length-wise and dig out the center to make room for the filling. Rub the garlic all over the inside of the baguette, drizzle on the olive oil along with salt and pepper, to taste.

Layer on lettuce, onion, tomato, tuna, and egg. Add another little drizzle of oil.

Wrap the sandwich tightly in plastic wrap and chill for about 2 hours.

As a tangy side offering, I also made an easy, fresh cucumber and dill salad.

Cucumber Dill Salad

1 large cucumber, sliced thin crosswise (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried dill

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and give it a toss.

Chill a couple of hours, tossing every-so-often, until ready to serve.

Finally, I served it all up with a glass of chilled apple tea. I would much rather have gone with wine, but the local laws of Utah are very oppressive when it comes to alcohol. Thus, one cannot bring it into a public park without the risk of being stoned to death...or getting a ticket after some uptight soccer-mom sicks the cops on you.

Apple Tea

2 bags of black tea (or 3 tsp. loose leaf black tea)
2 cups apple juice, divided

Heat 1 cup apple juice on stove until just simmering. Pour over tea bags/leaves and steep 5 minutes. Remove tea bags (or strain out the leaves) and add the second cup of cold apple juice, to expedite the cooling of the tea. Chill your tea until cold.

Good food, good company, and a sunny afternoon...nice.

French Cooking 1: Delicious Simplicity

When I mention that I like to cook French cuisine, most people I know react either with astonishment, or with a certain "f#$% that fancy French food" look to their faces. Really, I fail to understand how French food always seems to create such diametrically opposed reactions. Either you're amazing, or you're a snob. I think one reason is that so many people think of French food as being long prepped coq au vin, fragile beurre blanc, or the pricey epitome of French retro-chic cooking (à la Julia Child), la filet du bœuf Wellington. As for the negative reactions, well, maybe there's still some post-9/11 anti-French fallout among the "freedom fries" sect. Who is to say?

Myself, when I think of French cuisine, I think of dishes that are simple yet delicious. Take, for example, the cassoulet, simple slow-cooked, bean stew. The stew often includes meat, in the form of pork sausage, duck, mutton, and pork skin. Being a mostly-vegetarian, however, I have searched for, and found, a delicious recipe for a simple and easy cassoulet de légumes (vegetable cassoulet).

Veggie Cassoulet
(via epicurious.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 zucchini, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups drained cannellini beans, liquid reserved
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 dried bay leaves
4 slices crusty whole-wheat toast

Heat oven to 400°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook zucchini, celery, onion, salt and pepper until soft, about 8 minutes. Mix in garlic and cook, stirring, another minute. Combine veggies, tomatoes, beans, 1/4 cup of the bean liquid, thyme and bay leaves in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and serve warm with toast on the side.

Nutritional analysis per serving: 382 calories, 7.8g fat (1 g saturated), 66g carbs, 15.5g fiber, 19.6g protein.

The only change I really made, was to add a small block of crumbled tofu, just to up the protein a bit more. I also made the cassoulet in my 10-in dutch oven. The cast iron gives a wonderful, rustic flavor to the dish!

Bon appétit, tout le monde!

Savory Provençal Sun-dried Tomato Biscotti

Long time no bloggage, yeah? ^_^;

Working from a recipe posted over at 28Cooks (one of my favorite food blogs, to be sure), I cooked up some Provençal biscotti. The original recipe called for more or less the same ingredients, but included green peppercorns in brine...which I have found absolutely impossible to find in my area. Granted, I did find them online for a good price, but I was unwilling to pay $15 shipping to get them. Thus, I simply struck them from the recipe and substituted a teaspoon or two of herbes de provençe.

Never having made a savory biscotti before, I was going into this one blind. I've only ever made sweet biscotti, so this was a fun adventure. The texture is softer than I was expecting, but I think I took them out of the oven a bit too soon. A little longer and they might have crispied-up a bit more. The texture and flavor are indeed savory, and more akin to a scone or soda bread than a traditional biscotti, and is delicious served along side a cup of soup or with a salad.

I think this idea of savory biscotti deserved further exploration.

Roasted Chicken and Pears...with Chef Christopher Walken?

A bit of an off-beat posting today...

I don't remember exactly where I found this, but it cracks me up every time I watch it. It's a home video of Chef Christopher Walken (who knew?) sharing his recipe for Chicken and Pears.

Enjoy!

Cookbooks, Our Community Tomes

I walked up to my bookcase, as I do almost daily, and ran my finger over the dozens of spines that line the shelves. In the middle of the case, next to my DVDs, where I keep some of my cookbooks, I pulled from the shelves a worn, spiral bound tome of recipes, some dating from the late 19th century.

The Clarks Mills United Methodist Church Centennial Cookbook: 1883 - 1983.

It's about as old as I am. My mom must have bought it shortly after I was born, back when we were still living in Greenville, Pennsylvania. The recipes are from the members of the church and their ancestors and range from classic fare like Sugar Cookies (from Margaret Boyd) and Chicken and Corn Chowder (from Cindy Graham), to less conventional family recipes like canned coleslaw salad, Methodist Pie (which seems to be some sort of cheesecake) and a simple casserole called Election Day Special.

As you I read through the book, I find it fun to try and pick out recipes from different eras. "Is this a Depression Era recipe?" "Waikiki Meatballs, must be a post-war recipe from the whole tiki craze of the '50s." Other times I just sit and ask myself, "Who is (or was) Nate Graham? How did he come across the Weaver's Cake? Did he create it, or was it passed down from his mother, or his wife's mother? Did he have a wife? Could he even cook?" There are so mane stories in these recipes...family histories and traditions, treats to help a mother comfort her kids during the Great Depression, everyday staples from over a century ago.

From time to time I can also see a few notes left by my mom, showing that a recipe doesn't work, or is something she needed to try. She used this book often. You can tell from the many stains, burns, and much discoloring through the pages. This cookbook knows its way around the kitchen, and has the scars to prove it.

Clarks Mills United Methodist Church still stands today, at 3813 Hadley Road, Clarks Mills, Pennsylvania. I sometimes wonder if they have made any new cookbook editions or if they could give me a copy of the lost recipes on the burnt pages?

(Bonus coupon! Don't thinks it's valid anymore, though, seeing as how it expired in 1994.)

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This recipe was not only written on the first page of the book, but it was also circled, and the page is stained with the oversplash of repeated preparations.

Indeed, Strawberry Dessert (from Val Osborn) was a delicious treat that I remember well from many an Independence Day barbecue.

Strawberry Dessert

Crust:
2 cups Pretzels, crushed
2/4 cup Margerine, melted
(I'm sure butter would work, too)
3 tsp. Sugar

Middle Layer:
1 cup Sugar
8 oz. Cream Cheese
Container of Cool-Whip

Top Layer:
1 large package Strawberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling Water
2 - 10oz. packages frozen Strawberries.

Mix crust ingredients together; press into a 9x13" pan and bake at 425° for 8 minutes. Mix middle layer ingredients together and place on cooled crust. Mix top layer ingredients together and place on top of cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

I've never tried this one, but the name always makes me wonder about the maker, Bev Carey. Did she only make it on Election Day, or was it a staple dish for her family?

Election Day Special

1 ½ lbs. Hamburger (browned)
Onion

Add:
4 tbsp. Rice
1 can Tomato Soup

Cut enought cabbage to fill a casserole dish 2/3 to 2/4 full. Pour meat mixture over cabbage and bake 1 hour or until cabbage is done.

Note: Bev doesn't include an oven temp, but I'd guess 350°.

Here's a Baby Boomer era sounding recipe if ever there was one. ^_^

Tang-y Tea

2 cups Tang
¼ cup Sugar
1/8 cup Instant Tea
2 tsp. Cinnamon
½ - 1 tsp. Cloves

Mix all together. To make 1 cup, add 2 heaping teaspoons to 1 cup of boiling water.