Jambon braise aux raisins verts

Meat


Preparation: 45 mn
Cooking: 1h30 mn


Jambon braise aux raisins verts (grilled ham with green grapes) is a very easy to make, delicious dish. 

Ingredients (for 8 persons)

• 1 kg of smoked ham without bone
• 1 onion
• 2.5 cups of green grape juice
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• lemon juice
• 2 cup white wine
• 2 cups of seedless green grapes
• 1 teaspoon of mustard
• 1 tbl spoon of four

Preparation

• Peel the grapes (don't boil them, it will break them and lose the juice)
• Put the ham in a wide pan, add the peeled grapes
• Chop the onion
• In a bowl, add the onion, lemon juice, 1.5 cups of grape juice, half the wine, half of the brown sugar and stir until obtaining a smooth mix
• Pour the mix on the ham and grapes

Cooking
Cover and cook in the oven for1h 30 mn at350F. Keep moist with the juice


Sauce

• In a small saucepan, add the remaining grape juice, brown sugar, white wine, add the mustard and stir slowly.
• when the mix start to boil, add the flour and stir until obtaining a creamy smooth sauce

Serve
Slice finely the ham, add the grapes and pour the sauce on it.
You can serve with a side of white rice.

Gratin de courgettes

Side dish


Preparation: 25 mn
Cooking: 30 mn


236 Cal. for 200g (7 oz.)

Gratin de courgettes is a very easy to make, quick side dish that is delicious.. 

Ingredients (for 4 persons)

• 2 large zucchinis
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 60 g of shredded parmesan
• 3 eggs
• 250 g of heavy cream
• salt, pepper, a teaspoon of olive oil

Preparation

• Slice a zucchini in very thin slices
• Put the sliced zucchini in a large bowl to let them give back the water for an hour
• Washed them and dry them
• Chop the second zucchini in small cubes
• Chop finely the onion
• Chop the garlic cloves
• Slightly cook the chop zucchini, onion and garlic in the olive oil until they golden
• Break the 3 eggs in a large bowl and mix. Add the heavy cream and stir
• Add the sliced and chopped zucchini and onion in the bowl, add salt and pepper then mix
• Put a first layer of the mix in a large plate. Cover with half of the shredded Parmesan
• Put the remaining mix in the plate and cover with the second half of the Parmesan

Cooking
Cook in the oven for 30 mn at 420F


Tips
When you mix the zucchini with the eggs and cream, make sure to stir well so the zucchini slice do not stick together


Serve
The gratin de courgettes fit well with a cooked meat like roast beef or a beef stew

Boeuf bourguignon

Meat 


Preparation: 25 mn
Cooking: 60 mn


325 Cal. for 150g (5.2 oz.)

Boeuf bourguignon is an easy to make, delicious and cheap traditionnal recipe. It is a typical French comfort food.. 

Ingredients (for 6 persons)

• 800 g of beef (roast)
• 2 onion
• 1 liter of Burgundy wine
• 100g of thick bacon or lard
• 200 g of baby portobello mushrooms
• 250 g of fresh carrots
• one teaspoon of olive oil
• one tablespoon of flour
• one stick of butter
• one head of garlic
• salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves

Preparation

• Cut the beef in thick cubes
• Slice the bacon or lard in small slices
• Slice the carrots in regular pieces and the onions roughly
• Peel the mushrooms
• Peel the garlic cloves and cut them in half, stir regurlarly 
• In a pan, melt half the butter and the olive oil
• Put the beef and the lard in the pan and cook until golden. Do not cook too high to cook the beef completely
• Save the meat in a plate
• cook all the vegetables in the juice of the meat
• Add the remaining of the butter in the pot and melt slowly
• Add the meat in the pot
• add the vegetables and the juices in the pot
• Add the garlic and stir the content of the pot
• Add the bay leaves and the thyme
• Pour the wine in the pot until the meat is covered

Cooking
Cook covered on high for 10 mn
Add a glass of water
Cook on medium for about an hour. Stir regularly to ensure equal cooking of the mix. 
Add wine as needed


Sauce
One the meat is cooked, remove the meat and vegetable and put in a serving pot.
Add the flour to the juice and cook on high stirring regularly until the sauce thickens


Serve
You can serve the burgundy and vegetable either on a bed of linguine or on garlic mash-potatoes.
Pour the sauce over the meat and accompaniment.
Serve with a Burgundy wine (French one of course :) )


Variation
In Provence, there is a variation of Boeuf Bourguignon where olives are added during the cooking.

Civet de lapin flambe au cognac

Meat 


Preparation: 25 mn
Cooking: 60 mn


300 cal. for 200 g. (7 oz.)

Civet de lapin is an easy, cheap and delicious recipe. You can use a domestic rabbit or a wild rabbit. 

Ingredients (for 6 persons)

• 1 rabbit
• 1 onion
• half a pound of baby portobello
• 100g of thick bacon or lard
• 1 liter of Bordeaux wine
• 1 half cup of cognac
• one stick of butter
• one tespoon of olive oil
• salt, pepper, thyme, bay leaves

Preparation

• Cut the rabbit in 6 pieces
• In a pan, melt half the butter and the olive oil
• Put the pieces of rabbit in the pan and cook both side until golden. Do not cook too high to cook the rabbit
• Save the rabbit pieces in a plate and put the juice of the pan in a pot
• Add the remaining of the butter in the pot and melt slowly
• Put the pieces of rabbit in the pan and pour the cognac over
• Lit up the pan to flambe the rabbit
• Add the rabbit pieces to the pot, add the bay leaves and the thyme
• Chop the bacon or lard in small cubes and put to the pan. Cook slowly. Be carfull to not cook too much to make the bacon crispy
• Chop finely the onion and add to the pan
• Peel the mushrooms and add to the pan
• Cook in the bacon fat until the onion become transparent
• Add the bacon, the mushrooms and onion to the pot and pour the wine until all the meat is covered (be careful to not fill the pot with the wine)

Cooking
Cook covered on high for 10 mn
Add a glass of water
Cook on medium for about an hour. Add wine as needed

Quiche aux poireaux

Appetizer


Preparation: 25 mn
Cooking: 30 mn


250 cal. for 100g. (3.5 oz.)

Quiche aux poireaux (leeks quiche) is an easy and quick appetizer to do when you hold a party.

Ingredients (for 8 to 8 persons)

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 leeks
• half a pound of white mushroom
• 1 big spanish onion
• 3 eggs
• Cayenne pepper, salt
• half a liter of heavy cream
• one large crust
• 250 g of Swiss cheese (gruyere or emmental)
• one stick of butter

Preparation

• Cut to root of the leeks and the dried top part, wash them
• Slice the leek in cylinder about half an inch long starting by the white of the leek
• Slice the cylinders in half on the lenght
• Peel the onion and Slice it in half
• Cut each half of the onion in thin slices 
• Remove the feet of the mushrooms and peel them
• Put the olive oil in a frying pan on medium
• Add the leeks and stir until the start to sweat
• Add the onion and mushrooms
• Keep stirring, pay attention to not burn the leeks
• While the vegetable are cooking, butter the tart pan
• Spread the crust in the cooking plate and poke it with a fork. The holes will allow the crust to breath while the cooking
• In a large bowl, break the 3 eggs and batter them until obtaining an homogeneous apparel
• Add the heavy cream to the bowl and gently whip it
• Add the vegetable to the bowl, a pinch of Cayenne pepper, a pinch of salt and mix gently
• Add the apparel to the tart pan
• Spread the cheese on the top ensuring to cover all the surface

Cooking
Cook in the over at 375 degrees for 30 mn
When ready turn the broiler on for a couple minutes until the cheese turn slightly brown (make sure that the cheese do not cook too much and become too hard)> 

Cooking: 30 mn

Coquille Saint-Jacques

Appetizer


Preparation: 20 mn
Cooking: 20 mn


300 cal. per shell



Description

Coquille Saint-Jacques is a seafood-based appetizer often server in festive celebrations like Christmas eve, New Year eve, birthdays, etc...

The dish is usually serve in the scallop shell (coquille) but if you do not have any available, if can be served in ramequins as well.

Ingredient (for 4 persons)

• 4 big scallops or 12 baby scallops
• 12 small shrimps
• 6 white mushrooms
• Half a cup of whole milk
• 4 tablespoon flour
• 1 stick of butter
• Cayenne pepper
• 125 g of swiss cheese (gruyere or emmental)

Preparation
Remove the foot of the mushroom and peel them. Cut them in 4.
If needed, remove the scales of the shrimps
Put the scallops and the shrimps on a clothe in order to absord the juice

Preparation of the bechamel sauce
In a sauce pan, melt slowly on low the stick of butter. Be careful that the butter do not cook and turn brown.

Slowly add the flour, stiring slowly until you obtain a homogenous apparel. Add the milk gradually. Keep stirring so the apparel does not aggregate during the cooking.
Continue to add the milk as the sauce thickens.

Add the peeled mushrooms cut in 4 and a pinch of Cayenne pepper.
Keep stiring until you get a smooth white sauce.

Cooking
Dispose the scallops and shrimp in the shell or ramequin.
Add the sauce until the scallops and shrimps are fully covered.
Sprinkle the cheese until it covers the preparation.

Cook in the over at 450 degrees for 20 mn
When ready turn the broiler on for a couple minutes until the cheese turn slightly brown

Serve hot with white wine or a white beer

Fricassée de poulet

Poultry


Preparation: 20 mn
Cooking: 45 mn
Sauce: 5 mn


340 cal. for 100 g. (3.5 oz.)






Ingredients (for 4 to 6 persons)

• a chicken (2.5 to 3 lbs)
• 3 cups of chicken broth
• 1 liter of white wine (chardonnay)
• half pound of small white mushroom
• half pound of pearl onions
• 2 shallots
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 stick of butter
• Flour
• Thyme, Bay leaves

Preparation
Peel the mushrooms and remove the foot. Slice them in half
Peel the pearl onions
Cut the butter stick in two and slowly melt half in a pan
On low heat, slowly melt the other half in a pot
Put some flour in a ziplock bag and put a piece a chicken in it
Shake the bag. repeat for all the pieces

Golden the chicken pieces in the pan then put them in the pot
Cover with the chicken broth and add a pinch of thyme and a couple bay leaves

In the chicken juice of the pan, put the pearl onions and mushroom and cook lightly
Add to the pot
Chop roughly the shallots then add to the pot
Add half the wine and cover
Cook for 45 mn

Stir from time to time, add thyme and wine as needed

Sauce
Remove the pieces of chicken, the mushrooms and the onions and put them in a serving plate
Add the
rest of wine and the heavy cream
Cook on high until the sauce is reducing

Pour the sauce on the chicken, mushroom and onions and serve on white rice