Friday, October 29, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

The recipe for this week was Marie-Helene's Apple Cake. Now, I have a confession to make. I am not the biggest fan of cooked fruit. My family makes fun of me all the time for this. For some reason, I just never really get excited about it. However, that does not mean that I won't try it, so I was game to make this apple cake.


I made half the recipe and used my 4.5 in springform pan. Even with my terrible apple-peeling skills, I think I had a higher ratio of apples to batter, because the cake was almost ALL apples, and had apples sticking out of the top, not a flat crust on top like the picture. It didn't matter though, because everything ended up cooking fine. Even with my weird cooked fruit phobia, I thought this cake was really good! The rum flavor was really strong as well (which I did not think was bad). It worked great as a quick after-dinner dessert!

Next Week: Caramel-Topped Semolina Cake

Friday, October 22, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - Hachis Parmentier

The recipe for this week was Hachis Parmentier, the French shepherd's pie! I thought this was great, and it also warmed up well for lunch the next day. I don't think I've ever had this dish before (at least not in this form)... I went to England in high school, but I don't quite remember anything like that. However, I don't think I could remember everything I had to eat then. It was a fun trip, though!

Enough about that, onto the hachis parmentier! I made the full recipe, and made the beef broth the day before. It did enjoy making the beef broth. As Dorie suggested, I used cube steak, which I found pre-sliced into small pieces and ready to go. After I made the broth, I did eat the veggies and onion as a snack... yeah, sad. They were really good! The cube steak did reduce a bit, but after adding the sausage it wasn't too bad. I think the total amount ended up to be about 1/3 meat to 2/3 mashed potatoes... rather then 1/2 and 1/2. The mashed potatoes were delicious though, so it was no problem. Overall, I really enjoyed this dish. I would like to make it again, but I think I would make the quick version instead, just to save time for a weekday meal. If you are a meat and potatoes person, (and of course I am!) I recommend this!

Next Week: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

Friday, October 15, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

The recipe for this week was Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup. I really enjoyed making this soup very much. I wasn't initially sure what to expect flavor-wise but when I tasted it I thought it was so delicious!!

I live less than a block away from an Asian market so getting the various ingredients was no problem! I haven't made many soups, but this soup ended up to not be as much trouble as I expected. It was my first time using a "bouquet garni" in the broth as well. I have a feeling cooking along with FFwD will have many more firsts!

Bottom line, I really loved this soup. I liked how the different flavors came together in the broth and the chicken and noodles added a nice texture to the soup. I was even able to refrigerate the leftovers and warm it up for lunch the next day with no problem. I definitely would like to make this again! I am a big fan of all kinds of Asian food so I am always game to try something new. This has been my favorite recipe so far!

Next Week: Hachis Parmentier

Friday, October 8, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - Gerard's Mustard Tart

The recipe for this week was Gerard's Mustard Tart! I was excited to try this because I have never made a savory tart before. I was also looking forward to trying out my new tartlet pans! I always like to take recipes and make them miniature... so you'll be seeing a lot of that from me. Makes them easier to eat! I was able to make 4 tartlets from the original recipe.


I am still getting settled in my kitchen after the move, so all of the equipment isn't all here yet. I had to use a pint glass instead of a rolling pin to roll out the tart dough (which wasn't too bad)... plus my steaming apparatus wasn't perfect, but with the super small veggies it worked out just fine. I thought they turned out well!

I was looking forward to trying these out as my first savory tart attempt. I am a relative newcomer to the world of mustard, but the dijon and coarse grain are my favorites. I still really don't like the regular yellow mustard though... gotta be fancy mustard for me! Overall, this tarts were really good!

Last Week: Gougeres
Next Week: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Friday, October 1, 2010

French Fridays with Dorie - Gougeres

The recipe for this week was Gougeres, yummy cheese puffs! It was the first recipe for French Fridays with Dorie, and I was really excited to get started. Please forgive the ghetto iPhone photo, starting this blog was kind of an impulse decision!


I cut the recipe in half, which I usually do because I don't have very many people around that can help eat the food I make! I have to make the batter by hand because my great Kitchen Aid mixer is still stuck on the East Coast and hasn't made the move out to Oregon yet. Sad! Luckily, I didn't have any trouble making it by hand. I used sharp cheddar, mainly because cheddar is my favorite cheese... that's pretty much it. I guess the puffs weren't as puffy as the picture in the cookbook, but they still tasted good! I think the cheese was a little chunkier as well. Hey, that's why I'm trying all these recipes so I can get better! I am looking forward to cooking through all of these recipes!

Next Week: Gerard's Mustard Tart

First Blog...

Okay, so I decided to jump into the blogosphere... This is my first blog ever, so I will be continuing to learn and make it better! I was mainly inspired to create a blog because I joined the French Fridays with Dorie cooking group. Lately I have been really excited about cooking and I am attempting to try many new things. However, I also could not ignore my favorite hobby, geocaching! I will also be posting about my various adventures finding geocaches, exploring around the great Pacific Northwest! Let's get started!