On Friday night we went to my favourite local, Le Petit Bourg, for dinner. Yannick, my favourite chef, was in a particularly good humour and invited me along to a cookery class on Saturday afternoon. I had a ball! It was all about foie gras - how to choose and what to look for, how much to pay for a decent piece etc. but most importantly we had a liver each to play with. Like play dough really, we softened the liver with our thumbs before finding the vein which we later removed (buy deveined if you can) and prepared our terrines. However as nothing goes to waste in Yannick's kitchen - the sign of a true chef, he tells us, is not what he creates with his ingredients, but what he does with the leftovers - food for thought you'll aagree? So with the scraps and a little more we made the ultimate in amuse bouche (nibbles) a crème brulée de Foie Gras..

Crème Brulée de Foie Gras For 50 Verrines (served as an amuse bouche) 12 egg yolks 375ml pouring cream 300ml full fat milk 375g foie gras Salt, pepper, cardamon and foie gras spices A little truffle/fig oil (optional) Serving : Chutney – Fig for example though many others would do - I have a Christmas one here. Gingerbread Duck confit ( in tiny pieces) Heat together the cream, milk and seasonings. In a blender, blend the egg yolks and foie gras. Add the milk mixture and blend. Sieve. Add a drop of truffle oil if using. In the bottom of a ‘verrine’ (small glass) place a little fig chutney, then some duck confit. Pour some of the foie gras crème brulée on top and bake in a bain marie @ 95°C for 40 minutes. Allow to cool for up to 6 hours in fridge before sprinkling with a little brown sugar. Using a chef torch ‘burn ‘ the sugar. A little sliver of gingerbread can be placed on top.

Well hello again!

It's been a while but we're back for more recipes with the odd anecdote thrown in for good measure .. This month, November with its long winter evenings, is perfect for a decent soup. For a great winter warmer try out this one....

    Cream of Lentil Soup

•  500g/1 lb lentils 
• 2 carrots 
• 1 bouquet garni 
• 1 onion 
• 60g/2 ½ ozs smoked lardons
•  5 shallots, finely chopped
•  4 cloves garlic 
• 2 litres/3 pints chicken stock
•  0.5litre/3/4 pint cream 125g/6 ozs. butter
•  Bay leaves and thyme

 Blanche the lentils (just bring to boil in water and stop then place in freezing water) Cook them in chicken stock with the aromatic garnish (carrots, bouquet garni, onion) Once cooked (about 20 mins) drain them, keeping the cooking liquid. Sweat (don’t brown) the shallots with the garlic, smoked lardons, bay leaves and thyme. Add the cooking liquid, reduce by half, add the cream and reduce again by half. Strain, pushing out the flavors. Then add 150g/6ozs. lentils , strain and blend, strain again. Season. And for that special occasion ;)

  Fois Gras with cream of lentil soup

• Mini lardons, chopped chives and chopped shallots. Fry the lardons and drain well. Fry the shallots in butter. Mix together and drain well.
•  Fry foie gras until browned on both sides. Place in a preheated oven for a few mins. Place the lardon/shallot mix on top. Mix the reheated lentil cream to a mousse with a hand mixer. Place a spoon full in a soup bowl. Arrange the foie gras on top garnished with some chopped chives.

The 'F' Word

Here in France, animals and some humans (Kate ;D) are 'à la lettre'That means that all dogs born in 2010 have names beginning with 'F'
Following the birth of Enya's puppies (that's another story!) we launched an appeal for name suggestions on Facebook and came up with Frenchie (makes sense!)Fado, Filomene and Freckles. A couple of months on and lots of kitchen paper, mopping up etc. we're delighted that all have gone to nice homes - Fado is gone to friends down the road, Freckles off to Paris for 'la vie parisienne', Filomene down to a great home on the beach and Frenchie has gone to a recently widowed man where he's being spoilt rotten. Enya is back to digging holes in a desperate, however unsuccessful,search for rabbits in the field, that is when she's not stuck to the Rayburn or trying to get into Kate's bed!
Happy days!

Macarons....those delightful, delicate, almond-based meringues, filled with delicious ganache, fruit, jam or jelly have been the subject of great amusement in our house for quite a while!
The girls would kill for them, the other half hasn't to date expressed any great opinion on them, but enjoyed telling all in sundry of my culinary disasters, which only encouraged the determined side of my character to come out and succeed.
To be honest I, personally, could take them or leave them..but where there's a macaron there's a challenge....and yeees, I've enfin managed to make the finicky, french delicacies - 'the little black dress of french pâtisserie' as Raymond Blanc calls them!
Cooking to me is not generally about quantities - 'au pif' is an expression I use regularly - Pif a slang word for nose - so basically, just throw it in if the fancy takes you....but NOT where these babies are concerned...there are lots of basic rules....Right now I feel a little like Julie in Julie and Julia after days of expeimenting in the kitchen in a quest to make the perfect macaron!

Macarons
Ingredients
For the pâte à macaron
• 185g/6½oz icing sugar, sifted
• 185g/6½oz ground almonds
• 2 medium free-range egg whites
For the Italian meringue
• 2 medium free-range egg whites(at room temp.)

• 185g/6½oz caster sugar
• 3 tbsp water
For the ganache filling
• 100ml/4fl oz whipping cream
• 100g/4oz dark chocolate, or white chocolate if you wish
• Or lemon curd .....or raspberry jam....or whatever!
Preparation method
1. Heat the oven to 160C/300F
. In a food processor with a knife blade, mix the icing sugar, ground almonds then sieve them to remove any impurities (takes yonks!)
3. In a large bowl mix egg whites, icing sugar and ground almonds to form a paste. Don't overmix!

4. For the Italian meringue, whisk the egg whites on a medium speed until stiff (i.e turn the bowl upsidedown - the mix shouldn't fall out!) Add colouring.
5. Meanwhile, place the sugar and water in a small pan and cook over a high heat until it has reached 117C/242F.
6. Reduce the speed on the mixer to its lowest setting and pour the sugar syrup onto the firmly whipped egg whites.
7. Increase the speed to high and continue to whisk for 2-3 minutes.
8. Using a spatula,fold the Italian meringue mixture into the pâte à macaron until it reaches the ribbon stage. Do not over-mix or the macaroon will crack when cooked.
9. Place the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a 8mm/¼in nozzle.

10. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper and pipe on 3cm/1in discs, at least 2cm/¾in apart.
11. Leave to ‘rest’ for about 10 minutes.
12. Bake in the middle of the oven for 8 - 10 minutes and then leave on a tray until completely cold.
13. Place on cooling tray.

14. Pipe about one teaspoon of ganache/lemon curd/jam onto the flat side of a cooled macaroon and top with another macaroon to make a sandwich.
15. Repeat with the remaining ganache and macaroons and store in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge.

Note: Macarons are best eaten a day after baking. They freeze very well (ungarnished) Remove from the fridge for at least 15 mins. before tasting.

Coquerel Vallée D’Auge

Chicken/Coquerel with cream, Calvados and apples - Normandy on a plate

For 6 people
2 tablespoons olive oil
75g/3 ozs. butter
2 onions, finely chopped
6 chicken pieces/ 1 whole chicken,portioned
A small glass of Calvados
500ml/1 pint dry cider
500g/1 lb mushrooms, finely sliced
500ml/ 1 pint crème fraîche/double cream
salt and pepper
a few shelled walnuts (optional)
675g/1 ½ lbs apples, peeled and cored
2-3 tsp light muscovado sugar

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/Gas Mark 2

In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the olive oil with a little butter. Add the chopped onions and the chicken pieces/cockerel, browning them all over.
Pour the Calvados over the chicken. Ignite the alcohol to flambé the dish. Add the cider and apples.

In a separate pan, melt the remaining butter and fry the mushrooms until they render their juice.

Add the mushrooms and the shelled walnuts to the chicken, season lightly, cover and place in the oven.
Cook gently for about 45 mins - 1 hour (depending on your chicken - real free range ones take longer than others!) Just before serving, add the crème fraîche, heat gently and garnish with parsley.
Serve with puréed potatoes (with a little hazelnut oil)to mop up the juices.

Black pudding with apples

Serves 4 as a starter

500g/1lb2ozs. Firm apples
juice of 1 lemon
4 small/2 large black puddings (boudins)around 500g/1lb 2 ozs. in total
25g/1 oz. Unsalted butter
salt and pepper
1 teasp. brown sugar
1 tablsp. red wine vinegar


Peel and core the apples, then cut the flesh into slices.
Add the lemon juice to a large bowl of water and soak the slces for around 15 mins.

Slice the boudins across on a diagonal.
Melt butter in a heavy pan over a high heat and cook the boudins for around 3 – 4 minutes on both sides.
Remove and set aside.

Drain the apples, add to the pan, season and fry until browned.
Add the sugar and the vinegar and return the boudins to the pan, turning briefly in the sauce.
Cook for another minute or so and serve......

Bon appétit

Camembert with Apple and Calvados

For 8 people:
1 Camembert
1 apple (pink lady)
40 g/1 ½ ozs walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts
5 cl/1 teasp Calvados
2 tablspoons butter

Peel and slice the apple. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and caramelize apple. Flambé with Calvados and leave to cool. Cut the Camembert in 3 disks and sandwich with apple mix. Use the remaining butter (melted) to coat the camembert.
Whiz the nuts together in a food processor. Coat the cheese with this. Place in fridge and serve at room temperature with a green salad and walnut vinaigrette.