French Fridays: Hachis Parmentier

Real French peasant food. You may feel the need to toil in the feels before sitting down to this one.

Hachis Parmentier ( pronounced: ah she isss Pah ment eee ay) is the French version of shepards pie. Of course its classed up with the addition of sausages, beef brewed in bouillion, and a generous helping of whatever cheese you may have ripening (it would not be like the French to leave out the cheese!)
 I made this for Sunday dinner, (even though it was just the two of us, and yes, I did eat it all week long for lunches). After a chilly day with the windows open, cleaning house and tilling up all the weeds in the flower bed just outside my kitchen door (next years vegetable garden?) this was such a welcome end to the day.

Dorie calls for you to boil cube steak in water with vegetables, I went one step further and boiled in some beef stock and a cup of red wine I had leftover from cleaning out the pantry and freezer. Hot Italian sausage was added for a little zip, and I kept the carrots I boiled the beef with in the mix. I topped the potatoes off with cheddar, and while I wish I'd used a ricer, (per Dorie's suggestion) there is no room in my life (or my kitchen) for another appliance right now. Dorie's recipes are always a hit with the man, and this one certainly delivers.

While we aren't normally beef eaters, this is a hearty and inexpensive meal that lasts and lasts. By laying some spinach between the meat mixture and the potatoes, and keeping the carrots, you still get some vegetable goodness in there. We served our hachis parmentier with some steamed whole green beans, and a zinfandel. It was a lovely (if huge) Sunday (dinner for two).  

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French Fridays: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Who would think a can of coconut milk could bring so much to the table? As part of French Fridays with Dorie, I made her Vietnamese Spicy Noodle Soup on over the long weekend. I've documented how the man loves Asian food before, so you all know how many points I won with this recipe selection. Lots. And Lots. I'm hoping to for some nice earrings for Christmas, and if I keep cooking soup like this, I might just get them...

I started by brewing up a poaching liquid that will later become the base of the soup. Poaching bone-in chicken (Dorie calls for skinless chicken breasts, but I subbed in some thighs and legs, with the skin removed). Chilis, coconut milk, chicken stock and spices go into a soup pot, and simmer away to gently poach the chicken parts. The result is a flavorful broth and chicken that has taken on a subtle coconut flavor.

 Noodles (again, Dorie calls for Chinese egg noodles, but I prefer rice noodles, and we had then on hand, always a bonus) are prepared in boiling water while I shredded that delicious chicken (I did this while the man - a notorious chicken picker - was still at work) chicken returns to the pot, and I chopped cilantro, mint and basil. I spooned rooster sauce into a fancy little dish. Fish sauce and hoisin made an appearance. The man called to tell me he was stuck in traffic, so I make salad...to kill time more than anything else. When I heard the man's obnoxiously loud car in the driveway, I lit some tea lights - can soup be romantic? - yes soup this good can definitely be romantic.

The broth is at the same time rich and aromatic as it is refreshing,  I'm sure the generous squeeze of lime has something to do with it. It was a winner with the man, and with me as well. Definitely easy, and definitely a soup I'll make again, perhaps with Dorie's suggested curry paste next time? I don't buy many cookbooks (ok, thats a blatant lie, sorry) but Around My French Table has proven repeatedly that its full of classy, simple, and delicious fare. Plus, PICTURES! I love to be able to look at the photo in a cookbook and see if it looks 'right'. I cannot reccommend it enough. More...

French Friday: Gougeres

I'm participating in French Fridays With Dorie, so for the next little while, I'll be 'cooking the book' along with many other bloggers, one recipe a week.

This past week I was blessed with visitors from what feels like another lifetime ago. Years ago, before the man, the kitchen, and the blog; before I really actually knew how to cook, or cared to know, I made friends with some really wonderful people. The kind of people who don't care that its been a year since you saw each other, and that you don't call frequently, but as soon as they see you, you're hugging and laughing and gushing about what they are doing, what you are doing, and everything in between. These are people I like to think of as 'lifers'. They may not be with you day to day, but when your chips are down, they are always there. My chips have been down a few times when these particular visitors were there to rescue me (or just keep me from losing my mind) They, at the very least, deserve a decent spread. 

The first recipe in our selection happens to be the first in Dorie's book, Around My French Table. A recipe for gougeres, cheesy baked goods that rise up to almost hollow puffs (flavored in my case with sharp cheddar, although I think smoked Gouda would be delicious in these as well) I knew these would be perfect for the entertaining. They seemed fairly straight forward, and who doesn't love cheese?

 

My gougeres puffed up beautifully and I pulled them out with alot of surprise that I had done them right...then they fell. Not baked long enough and not stirred over the heat long enough, I learned when I googled it later.  Yes, I google my failures. Really, it wasn't such a bad 'failure' at all... little cheese biscuits with an almost hollow center, thats what they looked like. Noone really seemed too put off by them,apparently it didn't matter. It was a night for catching up and thats exactly what we did. We also went through nearly a whole batch of gougeres, quite a few almonds de provence and a sizable wedge of brie. Obviously, we don't mess around.

I will be making these again, despite my lack of crisp, perfect gougeres on the first try (I never get anything right on the first try anyway) and hopefully it won't be another year before I get to share them with truly good friends.

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