August. The dog days of summer. Lazy days turn into lazier evenings, unless you are a Literate Epicure and it is the second Tuesday of the month. There must have been a frenzy of activity in several Newtown kitchens, and the delicious results were graciously presented at our monthly meeting. This month we explored Dorie Greenspan’s AROUND MY FRENCH TABLE and we were so impressed with the number of wonderful recipes and stories, we decided that we need to revisit this cookbook this winter. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and despite the overwhelming number of available cookbooks on the market, we thought this one deserves another go around in wintery months when stews and soups will reign.
First up on the menu was Charissa’s Gorgonzola and Apple Quiche. Charissa admitted it was her first time making tart dough and though she had read the warning about stretching the tart dough when putting it in the pan. She felt there was still some shrinkage, and it may require a few more tries to be comfortable with the process. She loves that this book presents French food done simply and has made several recipes from the book that were all wonderful. Highly recommended!
Julie made the Corn Pancakes and she was pleasantly surprised that only 3 ingredients came together so nicely. Canned corn, white flour and eggs were pantry items on hand, and the recipe allowed that canned creamed corn could be used also. The recipe mentions that they should be done in a black iron pan, but Julie thought a regular sauté pan or griddle would be just as successful. The end result was very tasty though not complicated, so she made a lovely little green dipping sauce to go with them.
Christine gets the over-achiever award for the night. She and her daughter made Girard’s Mustard Tart, Potato Chip Tortilla, Strawberry Mozzarella Salad and Vanilla Salad. The Strawberry salad was very pretty with the creamy white mozzarella and the bright red bursting with flavor berries. It was really good and since it is so mild, it would probably appeal to kids as well as adults. The Vanilla Salad was a lovely surprise of flavors. Spring greens, with ribbon cut carrots and squash were topped with a vanilla vinaigrette. The balance of dressing to ingredients was perfect and the vanilla was a beautiful note that made the whole salad sing. This is one everyone should try – such a simple twist created a fantastic result. Girard’s Mustard Tart was heavenly. She was a little concerned that it may have gotten a little dark in the oven, but the gorgeous arrangement of the veggies made an interesting design and the flavors were amazing, so no one even noticed. This was another one that got rave reviews and everyone really enjoyed the mustardy flavors. Her final dish was the Potato Chip Tortilla. This is an interesting twist on a Spanish Tortilla that uses bagged potato chips form the grocery! The results were fantastic and definitely on that I am going to try soon.
Janet made the Caulifower Gratin which everyone absolutely loved. She mentioned that she had a little difficulty getting the lumps out of the flour when it was mixed with the beaten eggs. Maybe sift the flour over the eggs or use a blender for this step? Working on those little lumps gave her ample opportunity to cook the bacon “just right”. It has to be just shy of crispy so the additional baking time doesn’t overcook the bacon, but you don’t want it wiggly either, it would remain wiggly in the final product. This also required a lot of bowls and pans since everything is at least partially cooked separately and then combined into the casserole for final baking. The flavors of the gruyere, cauliflower and nutmeg were really good and the final result was not nearly as heavy as one might imagine when reading the recipe.
I made the Chicken Diable for dinner for my family and reserved part of the recipe to share with the group. My family absolutely loved the creamy mustard sauce over the simply sautéed chicken breasts as did the tasters at cookbook club. Both grainy country style and smooth Dijon were used (the recipe calls for either, but since I had both on hand, I decided to use both) and the resulting sauce was absolutely sublime. The majority of the prep time was spent pounding the chicken breasts into thin medallions, but once they were done the sautéing and sauce came together very quickly which was a boon for an after work dinner. I opted for wide egg noodles, but this could have been served with any number of side dishes to sop up that lovely sauce.
Debbie & Allison made another version of the Profiteroles. They opted for a very tasty almond filling, and topped each puff with chocolate and sliced almonds. They were concerned that they didn’t have a better description of how to tell when they were done and felt the end result may have been a little “eggy”. Everyone who tasted them thought they were delicious, and the almonds added great flavor and texture.
Finally, Brenda’s other cream puff filling was Dorie’s Vanilla Pastry Cream. We all loved the light vanilla creamy filling and thought it was a very creative way to spin those original appetizer profiteroles into dessert. She mentioned that she had never made Pastry Cream before and was pleased to discover that it is very close to making homemade pudding. A little egg, cornstarch and vanilla in a double boiler, a lot of stirring and voila – pastry cream! She also really loved the cookbook and loved that there are so many easy recipes that have great results.
Everyone agreed that this cookbook has very approachable recipes and great pictures. It is perfectly appropriate for anyone from a beginner cook to the more kitchen savvy and has entertaining cross cultural references that make it a great read when you aren’t in the kitchen.
Our next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday September 20 and once again we have chosen two different cookbooks – CLEAN START by Terry Walters and KITCHEN SIMPLE by James Peterson. Please check your email, call the bookstore or look for our event on Facebook for more information. Hope to see you!
