How to Make Raclette and Other French Foods in the USA

While living in France, my family learned to love some recipes that we really miss now that we're back home. After some experimentation and a few boo-boos, success is mine!

Our first favorite is pain au chocolat. Roughly translated, it is chocolate bread, and it is a favorite breakfast food in France. It is also extraordinarily popular as an after school snack. This food is so popular, they sell them in plastic wrappers in packs of 8 or 10, just like our hot dog buns! Now, keep in mind that the French version uses a type of croissant dough that takes hours to make by hand. I found the following two methods give me a reasonable substitute that my family likes.

First and probably easiest is the crescent roll version. I open a can of crescent rolls, but separate the pastry into rectangles by keeping two of the triangles together. I press the seams with a moist finger to seal them together. One can makes 8 crescent rolls, so it makes 4 French pastries. I have a big family, so I need 4 cans. If you have a small family, you can make do with two cans. Next, take your favorite plain chocolate bars ( like you would use to make S'mores) and cut the bars into strips parallel to the short side, about 1/4" wide. Lay out one rectangle of dough, and put two strips of chocolate on top, set in from each short end enough so that you can take each end and fold it over the chocolate. The edges of the two folds should touch in the middle of the pastry. Once you have folded the dough, turn it seam side down and go on to the next one. Once you have them completed, bake the dough as directed on the package. When they are done, pop them out of the oven and serve them warm. You can use dark or milk chocolate, but traditionally the French use darker chocolates than we do.

The second method is to buy frozen puff pastry squares and follow the rest of the instructions above. These are a little closer to the true texture of the bread dough used in France, but a little more costly to make.

With either method, you could substitute a line of chocolate chips for the strips of chocolate if you don't have bars of chocolate on hand. Since it all melts in the end, it really doesn't matter.

Another favorite food from France is raclette. Now, raclette is a cheese, but it is also a method of cooking, coming from basically the same region of Europe as fondue. Raclette is a semi-firm cheese, with the Swiss version being a little firmer (and tastier, in my opinion) than the French variety. Either will work in a pinch. You can find raclette cheese in many supermarkets now, as well as gourmet food stores and some natural food stores. Raclette uses a special grill that has a flat top and an area below with small trays. The cheese is put into the trays and placed inside the grill to melt. Raclette grills can be purchased at specialty stores for a really "special" price, but T-Fal makes an electric version that I bought for about $40. It is a tabletop appliance.

Raclette is traditionally done like this:

Choose your favorite cold cuts, such as salami, priscuitto ham, olive loaf, etc. Arrange them on a plate in rows or columns that appeal to your eye. Slice (or get the market to) the cheese into 1/3 to 1/2" thick slices that will fit into your cheese trays. Arrange these slices on the meat tray as well.

Next, bake or boil some potatoes whole. I bake them here in the USA, but they were often boiled in Europe. While they are cooking, make a little salad of mixed greens, or shred some carrots into a pile on each plate, or cucumber slices, whatever you have and like. Open a jar of cornichons (these are little dill style pickles the French love). You can buy them at almost any supermarket now, but if you don't have them, substitute your own pickles. This method of cooking is all about the fun, not whether or not it is mechanically correct.

When your potatoes are done, put one on each plate with some of your veggie or salad and pickles for edible garnish. Turn your grill on and let it heat for a few minutes while you get the drinks ready. Every person uses their own tray to melt the cheese, which is then poured over their potato. My kids like to grill their meats on the top, but I prefer mine still cold. It is up to you!. Eat and laugh and talk while enjoying the meats, potatoes and cheese. You can't mess this up! Cold cuts, cheese, baked potatoes- simple and wonderful.

The greatest thing about raclette (other than the quality fun time) is the clean up. In my house, there is rarely any food left, so I usually don't even have to wrap the left overs. There are plates, forks, a few cheese trays, and your glasses. No hot pans with sticky messes, no oven pans to wash, and most everything can pop in the dishwasher.

Now, this is not the cheapest meal you can make, but we treasure it so much that we do this every other month or so. If you like fondue, you are sure to love it. If you have never had fondue, give this a try. I bet you'll fall in love with it, too.

A favorite adult drink of ours is the Kir. It is an aperitif, or before dinner drink. This is easy as pie and absolutely delicious, even if you are not a wine drinker. Here's the recipe:

Chardonnay wine (traditionally French Aligote, but you can't usually get that here)

Creme de Cassis

Chill the wine. In a wine glass, put one part creme de cassis to 3 or 4 parts wine. I say 3 or 4 because it depends on the quality of the creme de cassis as to how much of it you need to make the drink right. When it is done right, the wine will have a slightly sweeter taste than normal.

Variations:

Use: Creme de Framboise

Creme de Mure

Creme de Myrtille

instead of the Creme de Cassis.

OR:

Use champaigne instead of chardonnay for a Royal Kir.

My favorite is Framboise, but I like them all! The cremes can be added to red wines, too, but that is not really traditional.

These are just a few of the things we found that we didn't want to do without just because we came home, so we have incorporated them into our lives here in the USA. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

I am a mother of 4 children and an avid reader. Our family lived in Europe for 3 years and loved it! I have started my own blog, where I plan to write about places we've been, things we've learned, and what we like. I work from home and am currently writing a book. You can follow my progress or share your knowledge by visiting my blog at: http://magickalmomentswithmomman.blogspot.com

How to Ruin Roasted Potatoes and Other Spuds

At New York’s Minetta Tavern, co-chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr nearly upstage their exceptional steaks with an arsenal of perfectly cooked potatoes—either fried, mashed with cream and butter or simply roasted. Here, they explain how to master potatoes at home by identifying and troubleshooting the most common mistakes.

1. Roasting raw potatoes. Simply tossing raw potatoes into the pan before roasting will guarantee tough results because the high water content will steam out over the course of a long cooking time. “You feel more like you’re eating the skin, because the structure just collapses inside,” says Hanson. “It also gets too hard. There’s crispy, and then there’s tooth-shattering.” To achieve that perfectly crispy exterior and creamy interior, parboil potatoes until 3/4 cooked, when a knife tip can pierce the potato, but it won’t slip off when picked up. Drain before roasting for about 20 to 30 minutes at 425 degrees.

2. Starting with a cold pan. Putting potatoes in a cold roasting pan increases the likelihood that they’ll stick. Hanson and Nasr suggest heating a pan in the oven then adding oil. Let that heat to just before smoking before dropping in the potatoes.

3. Crowding the pan. Leaving space between the potatoes helps them cook evenly, so it’s best to keep them in a single layer.

4. Micromanaging. It’s important to let potatoes brown completely on one side before turning them over. “As with most food,” explains Hanson, “potatoes are just not as good if they’ve been handled over and over.”

5. Adding tons of oil. Only use enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan; otherwise, they’ll have a fried quality. “I prefer using duck fat, but I understand that can be hard to obtain for most folks, so olive oil or clarified butter works well too,” says Hanson. For an extra layer of flavor, the duo likes to add a few sprigs of rosemary or sage to the oil.

6. Using the wrong variety. Don’t try to roast a waxy potato like red bliss. It’s better to stick to Yukon golds. Otherwise, the chefs like German butterballs or even fingerlings.

1. Using cold butter and cream. Having your butter and cream at room temperature or warmer helps them absorb more easily into hot potatoes.

2. Over-blending. Using all warm ingredients means you shouldn’t have to overwork the mixture, which can make the potatoes gluey. “You have to treat your mashed potatoes like a mousse: Avoid whipping it too much when you add the butter and cream,” says Hanson.

3. Mashing with a fork. For a creamy result, stick with food mills or potato ricers, which act like a press, pushing the cooked potato through tiny holes. “Mashed potatoes should be smooth, buttery and hot, almost like a puree,” says Hanson. “I completely disagree with people who like chunky mashed potatoes. They may say that it’s ‘rustic,’ but I don’t get it.”

1. Using small spuds. Unless you want really short fries, Hanson and Nasr insist on finding the largest potatoes you can, like Idaho russets.

2. Frying fresh-cut potatoes. Soaking peeled, washed and cut fries in cold water overnight removes excess potato starch, which prevents fries from sticking together and helps achieve maximum crispness.

3. Cooking them only once. Hanson and Nasr subscribe to a two-step cooking process: first, blanching the fries in oil until tender but not browned, and then—when you’re ready to serve the fries—cooking them in 380-degree oil until golden and crisp.

Bobby Flay's Bistro Fries. Photo © David Malosh. © David Malosh

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How to ruin a fried potatoes and other spuds

In New York, Minetta Tavern, co chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr upstage almost their exceptional steaks with an arsenal of perfect potatoes - boiled mashed with cream and butter fried, or simply roasted. Here they explain like potatoes at home to master the correct identification and the most common errors.

1. Raw potatoes roasting. Warf will guarantee hard results simply raw potatoes into the Pan before roasting, as is the high water content in the course of the long cooking time from steam. "You feeling more you eat the skin, because the structure only inside, reduced", Hanson says. "It will be too hard." "It is crispy, and then there is breach of the tooth." To achieve that perfect crispy domestic and creamy, parboil potatoes until 3/4 If a knife tip can pierce the potato, but it is boiled, not on pickup slip. Drain before roasting for about 20 to 30 minutes at 425 ° c.

2. Starting with a cold Pan potatoes in a cold frying pan place, increases the likelihood that they'll keep. Hanson and Nasr beat a pan in the oven heating then add oil. Let the heat just before smoking before dropping in the potatoes.

3. Crowding the Pan leaving the space between the potatoes helps them evenly, so it is best to keep cooking them in a single layer.

4. Micro-management. It is important to let the potatoes Brown completely on one side before they turn around. "As with most food," said Hanson, "potatoes are simply not as good if she treated again and again have been."

5. Adding tons of oil. Use just enough oil to the bottom of the Pan coat; Otherwise, they have a fried quality. "I prefer duck fat, but I understand, which can be difficult to obtain for most people, so olive oil or butter works well understood," says Hanson. For an extra layer of flavor, the duo like a few branches of Rosemary or Sage to the oil.

6. Use of the wrong sort. Not attempt to fry a waxy potatoes such as red bliss. It is better to Yukon gold stick. Otherwise, such as the cooks of German butter ball or even breed.

With cold butter and cream 1. Butter and cream at room temperature or warmer helps make them lighter in hot potatoes.

2Nd over-blending. All the warm ingredients means that you should not overwork the mixture, which can make the potatoes sticky. "You have to treat your mashed potatoes like a mousse: to avoid, it moves too much when you add the butter and cream," Hanson says.

3. Mashing with a fork. For a creamy result stick with food mill or potato of Ricers, which pushed as a press, serve the boiled potato through tiny holes. "Mashed potatoes smooth, buttery and hot, should almost like a puree," says Hanson. "I agree the love chunky mashed potatoes at all not with people." "You can say that"rustic", but I get it it not."

1 With small spuds. Unless you want really short fries Hanson exist and you can Nasr in search of the largest potatoes like Idaho Russets.

2. Fresh-cut potato FRY. Soak peeled, washed and cut French fries in cold water overnight removes excess starch which prevents that French fries stick together and helps achieve maximum sharpness.

3. Cooking them only once. Hanson and Nasr subscribe to cooking steps: first of all the French fries in oil until tender but not browned, blanching and then - when you are ready to serve the fries - cooking them in 380-degree oil until golden and crispy.

Bobby Flay's Bistro fries. Photo © David Malosh.

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Gourmet Gifts And Other Ways To Say I Love You

Expressing your love for someone may require a lot of courage and a great deal of effort. Others may resort to composing songs and writing poems just to let their special someone feel and know how much they love them. Sweet as it may be, your loved one might still think that it is out of fashion. I know it may be hard, especially because it can be very intimidating. Saying "I love you" may be the most common thing to let your loved one feel your affection for them, but it is not the only way. There are many more creative and one of a kind ways to do it. Whether it is your first time to say it, or the thousandth time, or even after doing it over and over again, she will still be surprised every time, especially if you do it creatively. Read on and learn from a few of my suggestions on how to say "I love you" creatively.

If you are one who happens to have a big back yard that is flat and full of lush, green, grass, then you are lucky because that can be used to propose your feelings. You can mow her name and the 3 magic words on the lawn and let her see it from the window of your room upstairs. Oh, and make sure to blindfold her first to fully surprise her.

Similar to the first, you can also do a loving gesture by taking her on a walk down the beach, where you already carved or wrote her name on the sand using a stick or using white rocks or pebbles. If you want to make it more extravagant, you can prepare a dinner for the both of you. What can be more romantic than having a dinner on the beach after watching the sunset with the most special person in the world for you.

There are also simpler ways to do it but just as romantic as the others, like writing sweet nothings on an entire pad of post-it notes and sticking them on her bedroom walls, desk, vanity mirror, car or front door. It is indeed witty, yet I am pretty sure that she will find it cute and lovely.

Lastly, you can give her a present and a card to go along with it. Write a short but very sweet message for her. A perfect gift would be a gourmet gift which you can eat together during a picnic you prepared. Gourmet foods would be the perfect goodies to bring with you on a perfect date in a romantic place. It is thoughtfulness at its best because not only are you giving her a treat, but you are making sure as well that what she eats is healthy and delicious. Also, all gourmet gifts are wrapped in a fancy wrapper, thus, making it elegant and wonderful.

There are a million ways to say how much you love a person. All you have to do is to be creative and make sure that what you are doing is sincere. Keep surprising her every time and I am sure she will be thankful all her life for having you.

David Bennet is a young businessman who loves to surf the web for things he can buy online. Most of the things he looks for are Gourmet Gifts which he gives to loved ones and friends to show appreciation and his love for them.