Yum!

This might be my favorite french recipe that we have tried- French onion soup. The flavor is fantastic. Be prepared and only make this on a weekend when you have time to sit around and wait for it to cook. Just caramelizing the onions takes about 45 minutes and then you still have to wait for it become soup. I promise, it is worth the wait!

French Onion Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 6 large red or yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
• Olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 cups of beef stock, chicken stock, or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock)
• 1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 8 slices of toasted French bread
• 1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1 In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2 Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

3 To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

** A couple of notes- I did not use white wine- we had red, so I used red. Tastes fantastic and the Gruyere cheese is worth trying to find. So tasty.

Enjoy Everyone!!

Recipe was found here

Recette Deux

This could be one of the easiest and most versatile french dishes. Crepes! For a sweet treat they are great with Nutella, fruit, jam, or just a little dash of sugar. If you prefer a more savory dish- try cheese, cook down some peppers and onions, add a little ham or turkey- dinner is done. And tasty!

A Basic Crepe Recipe

1 cup AP Flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted

I would recommend buying a crepe pan- they make life a lot easier! And, our favorite filling- blueberries, cooked down with a little bit of sugar. Bon Appétit!

French food!

Moving to France has been quite the culinary adventure. While there is the occasional super stinky cheese, snails, and random body parts of animals that shouldn't be eaten but are; most things that we have tried are fantastic. The vegetables are fresher, the fruits more juicy, the wall of cheese in the grocery store- yum.
Since we are on a tight budget, we can't eat out a lot but still want to try lots of new foods. So, John and I have started making one French dish a week. I must say, we are becoming quite the chefs. Over the next couple of days I am going to share a few of our new recipes.
The first recipe we tried was a quiche.

Bacon and Leek Quiche
Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1 1/2 stick(s) cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup(s) ice water
• 3 tablespoon(s) ice water
• 1 pound(s) thickly sliced bacon, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 3 large leeks, white and tender green parts only thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon(s) chopped thyme leaves
• Salt and freshly ground white pepper
• 8 ounce(s) cave-aged Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 4 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 1/2 cup(s) heavy cream or half-and-half

Directions:

1. Make the crust: In a food processor, pulse the 2 1/2 cups of flour with the salt. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of small peas. Add the egg yolk and ice water and pulse until the pastry is moistened. Turn the pastry out onto a floured work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until smooth. Pat the pastry into 2 disks, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, roll 1 disk of the pastry to a 12-inch round. Ease the pastry into a 10-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom without stretching. Trim the excess and use it to patch any holes. Refrigerate the tart shell for 10 minutes. Repeat with the remaining pastry.
3. Line the tart shells with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the tart shells for 30 minutes, just until dry. Remove the foil and pie weights and bake the crusts for about 15 minutes longer, until they are dry and golden. Transfer the tart pans to 2 sturdy baking sheets.
4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large skillet, cook the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring, until browned and crisp, about 7 minutes. Drain the bacon, leaving 1 tablespoon of the fat in the pan. Add the leeks and thyme to the skillet, season with salt and white pepper, and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are softened but not browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool. Stir in the bacon and cheese.
5. Divide the bacon-and-leek filling between the tart shells. In a bowl, whisk the eggs with the egg yolks and heavy cream. Season lightly with salt and white pepper. Pour the custard into the tart shells and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through for even baking, until puffed and lightly browned. Transfer the quiches to a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove the rings, cut the quiches into wedges, and serve.

Enjoy! Ps- I don't make my own crust. Feel free to just buy one.

Recipe taken from here

Elevator Music

There is a very interesting happening in our building. For the past week, we have been without an elevator. This wouldn't normally bother me, I don't really use it all that often during the week. The problem is that the elevator shaft is right beside our apartment. So, while they "fix the problem"- I get to listen to the lovely music. Drilling, beating, banging, shouting... ahhhhhhhh.. beautiful.

The irony of this is that last Monday and Tuesday, the elevator was down for a regular maintenance "check-up". Wednesday morning it was up and running again. But by that evening- it was off. They have been working on this thing for 5 business days. I am relatively sure they could have built a brand new one in that time. And, it makes me really nervous that I was riding in that elevator the day it broke.

So now, I just wait for the music to stop, the workmen to go home and allow the rest of the building to enjoy modern convenience.

New Year, New Blog

Hey! Look at me, actually writing a blog. It's only been... over a month?

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday season! John and I have been enjoying his time off. Unfortunately, that is all over now!
Well, first I will bring everyone up to speed on what has been happening over here! The hubby and I had a great Christmas which began with a tasty breakfast and ended with a tasty dinner. In between all of the eating, we opened presents, played with the dog, and went for a walk along the Sea. Wonderful. Even though we couldn't be with our families, it was still a really great day.

For New Year's we had a great dinner with new friends. (French friends) It is always fun to hang out with the french- just because you learn so much about their culture. These two are no exception and are just a lot of fun to be around.

On new year's day, we headed into the mountains. (The plan was to do this the day after Christmas. Unfortunately, the french post is just not that quick and John's GPS Christmas gift didn't arrive until 3 days after Christmas. Hurray for the lack of speed in this country!) With Sadie in tow, we drove for about an hour into the alps behind Nice. I am always amazed at the diversity of our area- right on the Sea, but an hour away there is 3 feet of snow. Playing in the snow was so fun and Sadie really loved it. She is such a snow dog. When we first arrived, John and I hopped out of the car just to take a few pictures. I didn't close my door because I was planning on going right back and letting Sadie out of the car. Sadie didn't want to wait- she saw the snow and bounced into the front seat and then outside. Can't really blame her- it was really beautiful.

Oh, and for anyone who doesn't know, John and I are coming home in March, just for a couple of weeks, but we are looking forward to it! Should be nice to see friends and family, eat at restaurants, shop cheaply, and stock up on peanut butter!

Merry Christmas!

John and I would just like to take a minute and say Merry Christmas to everyone back in the States. We hope you all take a minute or two or three this holiday season to realized how very blessed you are, how great God is, and what a miracle His Son is for each of us.
To me, Christmas is a time to celebrate the gift Christ's birth and to celebrate the life that I have because of that gift. Christmas is a time of traditions, of love, of showing those around you how much you love them. Many people today say that Christmas is too commercial- and in some ways it is. But to me, Christmas is when I give back. It is a time when I can, if you will, pay forward the blessing that Christ gave me with his birth by loving those around me and loving those that come into my path. So, the aspects of Christmas that can be called commercial- gift buying, the baking, the decorating- are all the ways that I show I care.
So, this Christmas, if you feel like everything is commercial and unfeeling or that everyone has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas, remember that God gave us the gift of His Son not so that we can hold onto it for dear life- but so we can share the gift with everyone.

I need to go shopping

I currently have one Christmas present. One. This is possibly be the worst that I have ever done with my shopping. I usually love to buy gifts. The fun of finding the perfect present.. wrapping it up.. and seeing their face light up as they open it. This year, though, is an exception. John is going to be doing well to have 2 gifts under our baby tree from me.
Any one have ideas for motivation? Or ideas for a gift? Maybe I will just wrap up some stinky cheese. He would like that. :-)