French Archives

The Month of French – French Onion Soup

Great dangers give birth to great resolutions.
~ Auguste Escoffier

The Month of French

Every Wednesday is Experiment Day, where I take a recipe that I have never made and make it. Sometimes, those recipes, with some modification, turn up here on The Good Plate. I really like exploring foods from all over the world, and I thought, why not pick a country, and experiment with foods from that country.

I make a lot of Italian and Mexican food, and I thought it was high time I start looking at other countries, and France was first on my list. So, this is the beginning of a Month of French.

I have always liked French Onion Soup, mostly because I really like onions, but also because I like the cheese on the top of the bowl. But then I thought about it and decided instead of putting the bread inside the bowl and the cheese on top, why not just the soup and an open-faced grilled cheese on good sourdough bread.

We could not finish all the soup in one day, so I used it to make tomato soup a day later. Wow! It was really stupendous. This is also a great soup to make if you have turkey broth that you made from a holiday turkey. I made my broth, put it in a sealable bag, and put it in the freezer.

Pain de Mie or Pullman Bread – Winter is Coming

Winter is coming

You can’t walk down the street without seeing or hearing someone say this. Good for Game of Thrones, their catchphrase really caught on. But, there is more to it than a catchphrase.

Winter really is coming, and with it comes colder weather, shorter days and longer nights. If you are like me, winter brings something really wonderful. It brings baking season. The winter is cold, but my oven is nice and warm churning out cakes, cookies, and bread. My favorite is Pain de Mie, and I’m going to show you how I make it.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I love Chicken Cordon Bleu, but the problem with it is if you are not very careful, the cheese comes out while it is cooking and you wind up with a dried up piece of chicken with a remnant of cheese and some ham. If you’re lucky, they included sauce.

This casserole is so simple, and all the good things about the dish stay right where you want them, inside! Every bite has a little ham and a little cheese.

There is a little bit of backstory with this recipe, but, what recipes do I give without a backstory? When I was making this month’s menu, I wanted chicken and I wanted something that we would have leftovers. I made a note to make some kind of chicken casserole. Then, I was in one of my Facebook groups, and someone mentioned Anthony Bourdain’s book, Appetites. My friend, Chef John Farion CWC, introduced me to his show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. John really loved Bourdain, and they kind of reminded me of each other. John passed the day after Thanksgiving, 2017. Bourdain passed in June of 2018. I’m sure they are together in the big kitchen in the sky.

When John and I were roommates many moons ago at the Villa Carlotta in Hollywood, California, there was a lovely French café called La Poubelle, and the owner, Jacqueline, made the best chicken crepes I have ever had. Jacqueline was good friends with my neighbor, Wally Coover, and we often had crepes at her restaurant. Jacqueline and John did not get along at all. Her daughter, Francois, has now taken over the restaurant, and the crepes are no longer on the menu. When I was thinking about John, and living at the Villa, I thought of those crepes and how delicious they were. I thought I could incorporate some of those memories into my casserole.

Coq Au Vin – Chicken with Red Wine

Coq Au Vin, a chicken with red wine sauce, is famous French comfort food that is simple to make and delicious.

Peach Pancakes with Marsala Rose Butter Sauce

Start your day with a taste of bliss by indulging in Peach Pancakes with Marsala Rose Butter Sauce. This mouthwatering breakfast treat combines the delicate sweetness of peaches, the fluffy goodness of pancakes, and the luxurious touch of Marsala rose butter sauce.

French Cuban Sandwiches

When I first came to work in Glendale, California, I was introduced to two things I came to love, Porto’s Bakery, and their Cuban sandwiches.

What is a Cuban sandwich you may ask? Well, a Cuban sandwich has roast pork, ham, cheese, pickles and mustard on Cuban bread, which is similar to a submarine bread, but it is pressed in something similar to a Panini press without the ridges. If you have never had one, please find a Cuban bakery or sandwich shop and get one. You, too, will fall in love.

My mother used to make Monte Cristo sandwiches when I was particularly well-behaved or turned in a really good report card. Monte Cristo’s are an older kind of sandwich, basically, a ham and cheese sandwich that has been dipped in an egg wash, pan grilled and is served with currant jelly. They can be on any kind of bread, and very good.

Whenever I have some leftover pork roast, I always try to make Cuban sandwiches. But, this time when I had leftover pork, I had sourdough bread, which I also love. I decided to combine the two, and have a French Cuban Sandwich.

Recipes in this Post

I have a friend who has a chicken, who I have named Coq Au Vin. She’s a big orange chicken, and she is going to live a nice long life in my friend’s yard, with plenty of food, water and melon treats. Coq Au Vin even recognizes me when I go and visit with her. Why did I name her that? Well, when she is quite old, and not laying eggs anymore, then she will have the glory of becoming a real Coq Au Vin. It will be a good day for her to die because she will know that she is going to make a wonderful dinner.

Well, until that time, I’m not waiting to eat chicken. I bought a chicken, some nice boiling onions, and large mushrooms, most of which became Bacon Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms. I buy most of my produce at the local Armenian store, and they don’t usually have the kind of wine I would need to make Coq Au Vin, but I did have some Marsala in the pantry. I also had some dried leeks in my pantry, which also went into my dish.

Whole vs Precut Chicken

A word about whole chickens vs precut chicken. You know, you pay more for the meat-packing company to cut the chicken, and you don’t even know if it’s all coming from the same bird. When you purchase a whole chicken, you know everything is from the same bird, and you save money by cutting it up yourself. It takes about a minute, and you can find plenty of videos on Youtube showing exactly how to do it. Here’s my chicken, all ready to go.

cut up whole chicken — Cut up whole chicken

Nancy’s Garlic Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes

This is just the simplest, best-tasting chicken. A former Pan Am stewardess gave me the recipe – you know it’s got to be good!

Blue Cheese Stuffed Fig Tart with Balsamic Honey Glaze

Recipes in this Post

My neighbor who generously gave me the apples to make Apple Pancakes, Apple Stuffed Wontons, and Franks with Apples, surprised me again and brought me fresh figs.

Figs are amazing fruits. Figs are among the richest plant sources of calcium and fiber. They have been cultivated for thousands of years, even before wheat. Figs dated 9,200 years ago were discovered in the Jordan Valley in a house in the early Neolithic village of Gilgal I by a team of researchers from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and Harvard University.

Figs are mentioned in the Bible many times, beginning in Genesis, Chapter 3, verse 7 where Adam covers himself with a fig leaf. Jesus even curses a fig tree in Mark Chapter 11, verse 12 and Mathew Chapter 21, verse 19. I guess there was only one unfortunate fig tree, it has a bevy of other cultural and historical references. A whole chapter is devoted to it in the Qur’an. Sura 95 of the Qur’an is named al-Tīn (Arabic for “The Fig”), as it opens with the oath “By the fig and the olive.” Buddha achieved enlightenment under the bodhi tree, a large and old sacred fig tree. In Greek mythology, a crow angers Apollo having been tempted by a fig. In modern times, we have wonderful Fig Newtons.

The journey to this tart was one of discovery. I had not cooked with figs before, let alone made a fig tart. My only exposure to figs was the ubiquitous Fig Newton cookie. With that in mind, I wanted something that was sweet, but not too sweet, and with a cookie type crust. I also found a French Tart Dough recipe to which I made major changes, and my Stove Top Cooked French Sweet Tart Dough turned out to be perfect for my Blue Cheese Stuffed Fig Tart with Balsamic Honey Glaze.

Lemon Margarita Bavarian Creams

These alcohol-free Lemon Margarita Bavarian Creams are festive and easy to make. You can have them as a dessert for your Mexican-themed dinner. Enjoy!

The Month of French

Winter is coming

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

French Cuban Sandwiches

Recipes in this Post

Whole vs Precut Chicken

Recipes in this Post

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