French Cuisine

This is a great video to show you the classic French dish Croque Monsieur

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dUpBLA2C6I/

However, I 'do' some French dishes, my way, and they work rather well....so here you are.

Moules Mariniere

The worst part is cleaning the mussels.   Put your fresh mussels in a big bowl of cold tap water and leave for a while.  Throw out any which haven't closed after half an hour and also chuck out any with broken shells.

Take each of the mussels, rip off any seaweed and the threads which attach them to the rocks and scrape off any limpets or crusty bits from the shell. Then put them into fresh cold water and leave them till you want to cook them.  You want them as clean as possible or you will have bits in the cooking liquor which you won't want to eat!

They used to advise throwing out any which floated but if the mussels are small they will float.

In a large pan, wok or casserole pan heat white wine, crushed/chopped garlic, chopped parsley and a good knob of butter.  When the liquid is boiling hot tip in the mussels, pop on a lid and shake.  Every couple of minutes shake the pan and you should find that each mussel opens.  Any which don't open are dean and should be thrown out.  As soon as the mussels have opened serve with crusty bead/ French baguette.  You can sop up left over liquid with the bread.

The French serve this with chips, hence the menu item Moules Frites.

http://petitemimine.centerblog.net/6585809-creationanimation-alice-danse-moule-frite

Cherry Clafoutis

In June there is a glut of cherries in the area where our house is, and that includes our garden as well.  Every garden seems to have a cherry tree....not the ornamental, the edible, but what to do with all that fruit!  My neighbour makes lots of jam.  If we aren't there to collect our fruit she collects it and we get some of her jam to enjoy.  And everybody makes cherry clafoutis.

The batter:..........

Beat 2 large eggs
with
180ml milk and 1/2 teaspoonful of vanilla essence
and
65 grams flour and a pinch of salt
plus
25 grams of ordinary white sugar

When the batter is smooth leave it whilst you sort the cherries.

 

Wash and de stalk the fruit.  If you can be bothered, remove the stones, but then you haven't any stones to put on the side of your plate to play Tinker, tailor with.  You need about 450 grams of sweet cherries.

Melt 13 grams or so of butter, preferably unsalted, in a frying pan and add the fruit.  Cook gently till soft, adding 25 grams of sugar so you get a syrup.  This takes about 5 minutes.

Put the fruit into the bottom of your dish. Then pour over the batter.

Cook 20 minutes at gas mark 6 or 220 C until the clafoutis is puffed up and turning a golden brown colour.

Don't open the oven door till it's cooked.

Sprinkle with of icing sugar whilst it's hot and eat warm with cream.  Delicious!

You can make a clafoutis with any fruit.  Raspberries work very well.

In France I have time to cook breakfast.......

I rarely, if ever, have breakfast. but when we are in France life seems much more leisurely so I'm going to try this one on Thursday, which will be our next morning in France. I'm not absolutely sure what a Pullman loaf is but I'm sure I'll manage!

It's lifted from a site I found on good ol' stumbleupon.

 http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MrOqQ/:1N+rCqehK:SLPYnp3K/blogs.menshealth.com/guy-gourmet/perfect-a-%E2%80%9Ctoad-in-the-hole%E2%80%9D-breakfast/2011/06/23/

Shame on the man who misses breakfast. He knows it’s the most important meal of the day, yet he ignores this fact, choosing instead to hit the snooze button or stand in the long line of the coffee shop chain. Worse yet is the man who skips breakfast on the weekend. With no 9:00 a.m. call to the workplace, no morning routine to undergo, no commute, he has no excuse. Breakfast, oftentimes, can define a day.
Chef Dan Silverman, of New York City’s The Standard Grill understands this. He honors breakfast with a menu stocked with strip steak and eggs, Belgian waffles, and smoked sturgeon. Can’t make it to The Standard? Silverman’s created a leisurely breakfast for you to cook at home. It’s a twist on Toad in the Hole, a dish where you punch a hole in a slice of bread, fill that hole with an egg, and then cook the whole thing in butter. Silverman’s version pre-soaks the bread in a savory milk and egg mixture to upgrade flavors. Yes, it takes time. But it’s also a hell of a way to start the day.

Toad in the Hole
Recipe by Dan Silverman, executive chef of The Standard Grill
What you’ll need:
4 slices of Pullman loaf bread, sliced about an 1-inch thick
7 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Tabasco, to taste
How to make it:
1. Cut a hole, about 2 inches in diameter, in the center of each slice of bread (Guy Gourmet tip: The lip of a small juice glass works well. Just turn the glass upside-down and press it through the center of each slice).
2. Whisk together the milk, 3 eggs, ¾ cup of Parmesan, 2 Tbsp of parsley, salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Soak the bread slices in the mixture until well absorbed, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. As the bread soaks, heat the butter and olive oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat (Guy Gourmet tip: If you don’t have a large enough pan to cook all four slices at once, work in batches of two slices. Overcrowding the pan will cause uneven cooking). When the pan is hot, carefully remove the bread from the mixture, allowing some of the mixture to drain, and then place the bread slices into the pan. Crack an egg into each slice’s hole and fry until the egg whites begin to cook through, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Using a spatula, carefully turn each slice and finish cooking the egg to your liking (2 to 3 minutes for over easy; 3 to 5 minutes of over hard) and the bread has crisped.
5. Serve sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan, parsley, a little sea salt, and a lot of freshly ground pepper. Serves 2.

More delicious (and fattening!$) recipes

The French love their patisserie.....there is always a patisserie open on Sundays, often all day, because on a Sunday they love to meet en famille for coffee and cake.  What a good idea!  I think this will go down well with our neighbours next week when we're in France.

Chocolate Chip Lava Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups (210 grams) all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 (11.5 oz) bag milk chocolate chips (I prefer Hersheys)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray. Place 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag, and seal shut. Lay the Ziploc bag flat in the microwave, spreading out the chocolate chips in a single layer. Microwave for 30 seconds. Remove bag and flip, microwaving for an additional 10-15 seconds until all the chips are softened. Set aside to cool.
2. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla and beat until well combined. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined. Add the remaining chocolate chips (1 cup) and stir to combine.
3. Using half the cookie dough, scoop 1.5-2 tbsp of dough, flatten it out a bit, and place in the bottom of the muffin tin. Repeat for a total of 10 cookies. Cut a small tip in the corner of the Ziploc bag, and gently squeeze a layer of chocolate over the cookie. Scoop and flatten the remaining dough and place on top of the chocolate layer. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, until the edges are just browned. As soon as they come out of the oven, run a knife around the edges to make for easy removing later. Cool completely before removing from the muffin tin, running a knife around the edge to help loosen.
These are good as mini muffins, too! Try baking at 350 for 9 mins. E

Read More http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/chocolate-chip-lava-cookies.html#ixzz1tATfVTAG

The French Love Wine Don't They?

The French are well known for their love of good wine.  I also love good wine so I reckon we'll fit right in to the French life style.  It's never too early to start.....or is it?   At least my internet friend who sent me these labelled as the stages of drinking has her thoughts!

Thinking about it.

Just had the one...

or maybe one more....

Now see what happens when you throw caution to the winds!

Celebrate with me

She did what?!$

Think I'll call it a night.

Rubbish, the night is yet young.

Well I'm having a great time.

I'm in lurve....

Not with me you're not.

I thought it was me she cared for.

One too many??

He's perhaps had one over the odds.

I'm quite happy here, thank you.

Sleeping it off.

The morning after.

Paris

I have just discovered this amazing aerial view, with music, of Paris, the city of romance.  Click the link to enjoy.


/http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1QGIv5/:1O_v6oZ8I:Y.3X2c+e/www.gillesvidal.com/blogpano/paris.htm/

Pensions in France (2)

For those who've read the other post re pensions in France this is an update.
Having sent off all the reams of stuff requested by the two different people dealing with my pension request I now have received more paperwork from yet another person, this time one based in Paris.  I might add that it came twice, in 2 separate envelopes but since it's exactly the same paperwork do I fill in both lots and send them back or keep one for my records???  Decisions, decisions.

This lot wants to know 1   bank details.....they already have them but not apparently in Paris
                                   2   details of when I worked in France.... already have this but obviously not in Paris
                                   3   a check list of (I think) contributions to the social security system

So no more blogging until I get this lot completed and in the post.

PS Do any French government departments communicate with another?

Ha! It's a week or so later and I receive another letter, this time to say my pension request has been noted.  Guess where this letter came from  ............ Rouen?     wrong.  Paris?     wrong. This is from an office in Angers.  Work that one out because I can't.  I still haven't been informed if I am actually going to get any sort of pension but even if I do it won't be much as I only worked for a year.

Thought....... we have to go through all this again when my husband's paperwork comes through!

23.05.2012

Well it was all worth it because I'm getting a French pension starting in December......though I had more paperwork to sign to say I wanted to receive the pension.


Postscript!!!   beginning June 2012

Got a letter from Rouen returning my last form because I had signed 2 out of 3 options instead of just one!  And if I'd only looked properly I could have seen it.  I signed to have both 47% of pension from March 2012 and 50% of pension from 12/2012 so I have corrected that one and sent it off again. Let's hope I have finally got it right.

Oh, to be in England

If we do move permanently to France I shall miss springtime, which I don't think is quite the same in France.  Pictures of RHS Harlow Carr taken last week.  I'm not sure there's a garden like it in France.