French Fridays: Marie-Helene's Apple Cake

This is such a heart warming cake. I enjoyed making it, eating the batter, watching with anticipation as it baked and finally eating it. My son could not wait to try it and started saying how it smelled so good as early as when the butter was melting. That boy knows how to get what he wants.

This recipe was very easy. It had a few ingredients.



I used the 9 inch springform pan, so I made 1 1/2 recipe. It called for 4 large apples, I bought 6...2 Cameo, 1 Fuji, 2 Gala, and 1 Jonagold. The Jonagold was rather large. Almost a pound and here is the proof...



Since that apple was so large, I only used 5. That was a smart decision!

The batter tasted amazing, but I knew that I couldn't eat it all. I had to save some for the cake.



Making 1 1/2 times the recipe increased the baking time for me. It ended up staying in the oven for 85 minutes. That was a really long wait, but well worth it.



For more apple cakes go to French Friday's With Dorie.

Menu Plan Monday

It's time to blog my menu plans again. It helps me to stay better organized and to use what I already have. The kids also like to know what's for dinner and if they are going to eat cereal or not;)

Monday: Roast beef in the crock pot (trying something new recipe to come), rice and gravy and green beans

Tuesday: Chili

Wednesday: late day at work so it's leftovers

Thursday: Soup to use up veggies that I have around-not sure what kind yet-but it will be a soup

Friday: Out for dinner

Saturday: Fresh Orange Pork Tenderloin with Broth Braised Potatoes and Fennel (both recipes from Around my French Table-Dorie Greenspan)

Sunday: Chicken Cacciatore

Yeah, that should work for this week. I will also be making a new cookie recipe and Marie-Helene's Apple Cake.

For more Menu Plan Monday go visit Organizing Junkie.

French Fridays: Hachis Parmentier

Or grown up Shepard's pie. I took my time with this recipe because I was so excited about it. It looked like a great "comfort food" dish. That is just what I needed this week. It was only Tuesday when I made this and it was already a rough week.

I started the dish on Monday during my lunch break. I cut up the veggies and the meat, and set the boullion to boiling. Now I only have an hour and 15 minutes for lunch, take out the drive time, and that leaves about an hour and 6 minutes. So I let it boil then stopped and put it in the fridge.



Got home from work, let it boil again and then simmered for suggested time. My daughter then had choir sectionals, so back in the fridge it went until Tuesday. I got home from work on Tuesday, heated the boullion up and completed the recipe. I did not have to use a boullion cube because of all the "resting" my broth had done. And let me tell you it was well worth the wait.



My only substitution was the Gruyere cheese. I used cheddar jack. We are trying to be on a budget and that was a corner I cut. I can't wait to try it again and again and again.

French Fridays: Vietnamese Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm posting late because life has just been too crazy. This soup was wonderful. I have to admit that I was a skeptic at first, but I am now a believer! I wasn't sure about adding coconut milk to soup, but man was it good. Hubby thought it got better when he ate it the next day.



Hubby even wants me to make it for our appetizer for Thanksgiving!

French Fridays: Gerard's Mustard Tart

Yet another winner for French Friday's. I am so excited because the first two things I made, I am really proud of!

So this week we made Gerard's Mustard Tart. I must say that I was sort of skeptical about this. I mean mustard in a tart with carrots and leeks...what??? I have never used leeks before and wasn't really sure about them. I mean I have had them in something that was prepared by someone else (a chef at a restaurant). But how will it make my tart taste?

So I went on a search of what these leek things are. And what I found out is that the leek is a vegetable which belongs, along with the onion and garlic, to the Alliaceae family. The edible portions of the leek are the white onion base and light green stalk. The dark green portion is usually discarded since it has less flavor. As the leek grows, this part becomes woody and very chewy. One of the most popular uses for the whites and light green stalks is for adding flavor to stock. Leek has a mild onion-like taste, less bitter than scallion. The taste might be described as a mixture of mild onion and cucumber, with a fresh smell similar to scallion. In its raw state, the vegetable is crunchy and firm. (wikipedia)

So, armed with the knowledge that this would in fact be good, I sent hubby on a grocery run. On the list was three leeks. He called and said that they were kind of big, so I told him to just get 2. I still thought they would be similar to a green onion. Boy was I wrong...Here is one of my 2 leeks



So now I have another leek in the fridge for later use.

This recipe was easy for me to follow. I made the tart dough on Wednesday, partially baked it on Thursday and made the tart on Friday. So I never spent very long in the kitchen with it. It worked out great doing it that way because it was a long week at work. Hubby and I enjoyed this right out of the oven for lunch today!

Lemon Pear Breakfast Bread

But it's orange...I did not have any lemon's so I used orange! What is it your talking about? It is a breakfast bread that is moist, nutritious, and totally yummy.

I was looking for something that was easy to grab for breakfast, relatively healthy and not pop tarts (low fat variety). Then when I was in the orthopedic surgeon's office, waiting for her to be finished with her x-rays, I ran across O Magazine. They had several ideas for breakfast, but this one grabbed my eye. It looked so yummy.

The ingredients were easy enough...



Ingredients
Lemon-Pear Breakfast Bread
1/2 cup canola oil and 1 Tbsp. canola oil for pan
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Zest of 1 lemon (I used an orange)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
1 cup purchased pear puree
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
2 ripe pears , grated

Directions
Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 35 to 45 minutes

Preheat oven to 350°. Brush a 9" x 4" loaf pan with oil; line with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup oil, lemon zest, eggs, honey, pear puree, and poppy seeds. Add to dry ingredients and mix until combined. Fold in grated pears.



Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown, slightly cracked on the surface, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 75 to 85 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand until completely cool, about 30 minutes, before serving.



And Voila! Breakfast for the week!

French Fridays: Gougeres

Well, I'm a day late in making and posting.

The first French Friday with Dorie was chosen by none other than Dorie Greenspan herself. This was an easy recipe with a few ingredients.



It came together quite nicely.



Then spooned onto a couple of cookie sheets.



And the results were out of this world.



It is a light as air cheese puff that just melts in your mouth. This will be my new go to recipe for company, holidays, or a quiet dinner with my hubby. Thank you, Dorie, for choosing such a lovely recipe for this

It's been a while!

So it's been over a year, but I am going to be cooking and baking a lot more. I will be joining, hopefully, French Friday's with Dorie. I am so excited about her new book, "Around My French Table"



I am hoping to get to meet Dorie herself at an upcoming event in a few weeks. I just found out about this event last night and am chomping at the bit to go. Hubby said that he would be glad to bring me as I don't drive downtown, I may get lost and then start to cry or something. Anyway, I will post more about the event soon!

Happy Cooking All!