Culinary Adventures: France Recipe
Recipes Inspired From Around the World~
Culinary Adventures: France
French food, is one of the most iconic and recognizable of foods.
Everyone has their favorite French dish....
Boeuf Bourguognon, Buche De Noel, Cake Le Prantome,
Cheese Souffle, Crepes, Croissants, French Bread,
French Onion Soup, Mousse, Omelette, Pates,
Roasted Chicken, Salad Nicoise...and so much more.....
You can't mention French Cooking without mentioning
Julia Child, The French Chef~
Julia Child brought French Cooking into our homes.
We watched as she made French Cooking look easy and fun to prepare.
She gave us, the at home viewers, the confidence we needed to tackle French Cooking.
Julia Child also taught us about French Wines....and
The importance of enjoying Good Food and Good Wine.
Her cookbooks taught us and still "teach" us,
How to master French Cooking.
Julia Child was a pioneer in the genre of "Cooking Shows"
She made French Cooking look delicious.....
Even in black and white!
I have enjoyed watching her old cooking shows on you tube....
Once again, after watching her shows,
I want to tackle and master French Cooking~
- Apricot-Lavender Jam with Croissants~
- Apricot-Lavender Jam~
- 2 pounds ripe, fresh apricots, pitted
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 t dried lavender buds
- 3 T Bourbon
- 2 t lemon juice
- Remove the apricot pits
- Cut the fruit in half
- Sprinkle the fruit with sugar
- Stir to combine
- Tie 3-4 t dried lavender buds in a small cheesecloth bundle
- Sink in the middle of the fruit
- Stir in Bourbon
- Let macerate overnight in the refrigerate
- After 24 hours~
- Prepare water bath canner and sterilized jars
- Bring the apricot mixture to a boil in a wide pan
- Adding 1/4 t butter to diminish the foam
- Continue to cook, stirring to keep mixture from scorching
- Cook until gel point is reached
- Remove the bundle of lavender
- Stir in the reserved 1 t lavender buds
- Ladle the jam into prepared jars
- Seal and process in a water bath canner for 10 minutes
- Remove the canner lid, turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes
- Remove the jars to sit undisturbed until the jars are thoroughly cooled, 24 hours
- Check seals before storing
- Crêpes ~
- Crepe's with Mascarpone Cheese Filling and Blueberry Sauce
- Basic Crepe Recipe~
- 1 flour
- 1/8 t salt
- 2 eggs
- 2 T sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 T orange juice
- 1/2 t vanilla extract
- 1 t orange zest
- 2 T butter, melted
- oil
Directions:
Whisk together the flour and salt in a small bowl
Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until pale
Whisk in milk, water, orange juice, vanilla extract and orange zest
And flour until combined
Whisk in cooled melted butter
If the mixture is too thick, add a tablespoon or two of juice or water
Until a thin consistency is achieve
Cover and refrigerate batter for 30 minutes
Heat an 8-inch crepe pan or skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute
Cover the surface a small amount of oil until it gets sizzling hot
Ladle some batter onto the middle of the crepe pan or skillet
Immediately start swirling the pan to distribute the batter over the surface.
Cook for 45 to 60 seconds or until light golden brown.
Flip over and cook the other side for 20 seconds
Remove to a plate and repeat with remaining batter and oil
Fill crepes with: Mascarpone Cream Filling and
Top with Blueberry Sauce
Mascarpone Cream Filling~
Mascarpone cream filling is so delicious.
It can be used in fillings, dips and cheesecake.
1- 8 oz container mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 t sugar
1/4 t almond extract
Stir together
Cover and chill
Blueberry Sauce~
Blueberry sauce is delicious on crepes, pancakes, waffles
cheesecake and ice cream
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup water
1 cup blueberry juice or blueberry juice blend
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold water
3 T cornstarch
1/2 t almond extract
1/8 t ground cinnamon, optional
In a saucepan over medium heat
Combine blueberries, 1/4 cup water, juice and sugar
Stir gently and bring to a boil
In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 c cold water
Gently stir into the blueberry mixture
Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon
About 3-4 minutes
Remove from heat
Stir in almond extract and ground cinnamon
Recipe for Apricot-Lavender Jam inspired from: Cooking Melangery
Culinary Adventures France