Archive for June, 2010

Ginger-Spiced Truffles

Ginger and vanilla combine with bittersweet chocolate to create truffles with a spicy-hot kick. Serve the truffles at room temperature, to bring out the full flavor of the spices.

Couscous Salad with Tomatoes, Olives & Herbs

Israeli couscous, paired with juicy summer tomatoes, cucumbers, and the sprightly tastes of nicoise olives and fresh herbs makes a flavorful and refreshing salad for Summer barbecues.

Springtime Cassoulet of Tarbais Beans, Morels and Toulouse Sausage

Tarbais beans are the traditional beans used for Cassoulet. They only come from a specific area in France, next to the city of Tarbes. They are preferred because some of the other types of white beans tend to break down, while these stay whole, making for a creamier Cassoulet without it becoming mush. Saucisse de Toulouse is also the traditional sausage used in Cassoulet but any one of your favorite “Fabrique Délices” sausages would be delicious.

Strawberries and Triple-Cream Cheese with Basil Cookies

Triple the pleasure with creamy Delice de Bourgogne! This triple cream cow’s milk cheese melts on the tongue like whipped butter. The cookies are extremely light and fluffy, fragrant with sweet basil. With fresh ripe strawberries in simple vanilla syrup, not only is this cheese course beautiful, it is easy to make and absolutely delicious.

Roasted Golden Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons with Citrus Vinaigrette

Golden beets, roasted until tender, then sliced and layered with fresh goat cheese & chive filling — this stunning salad looks so elegant, guests will think you spent hours in the kitchen! But the beets, filling, candied nuts, and vinaigrette can all be made ahead of time, making it an ideal first course for a dinner party. It also makes a great lunch dish, served with crusty bread. You can use any color combination of beets: all gold, all red, or alternating colors!) as well as different nuts, such as candied walnuts or plain, toasted hazelnuts.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

If you’re looking for an indulgent dinner, this has got to be it. Luscious, plump grains of rice are coated with butter, slowly cooked in roasted chicken stock and finished with wild mushrooms, truffles and a dash of cream to create one of the most heavenly risottos you will ever experience.

Almond Sables

Sables are delicate French butter cookies, similar to shortbread. Their unique sandy texture and rich, buttery flavor are due to cooked egg yolk and European-style butter, which has a lower water content than American butter. Sables are quite fragile, so handle with care! Their crisp lightness pairs well with fruit, or adds a finishing touch to ices and sorbets.

Mixed Lettuces with Shallot Vinaigrette

Shallots are small, pinkish members of the onion family, one of the mainstays of classic French cooking. They lend a delicate bite to the vinaigrette. In such a simple dish, quality ingredients make a huge difference, so use a high-quality olive oil, and a light champagne vinegar.

Cassoulet with Duck Confit and Toulouse Sausage

Cassoulet is a rustic, slow-cooked braise made with white beans and an assortment of meats, topped with a crunchy bread-crumb crust. There are as many versions as there are vooks! This version includes tarbais beans, duck confit and the garlic sausages that are a specialty of Toulouse. Tarbais beans have been grown for centuries in Tarbes, at the foot of the French Pyrénées. Extraordinarily thin skin, and sweet, creamy flesh make haricots tarbais the cassoulet bean.

Classic Tarte Flambée

Tarte flambée is a well-known Alsatian specialty. It’s like pizza in that a thin crust of dough is baked in a very hot oven but its toppings are primarily crème fraîche, onions, and bacon. Like many traditional regional dishes, there are innumerable ways of preparing it. Here is one delicious example.