A Culinary Tour De France (revised)

Salaam Friends,

Ever wonder why all the great culinary schools in the world are French? And why every cook, no matter where he or she is from, studied French cooking and techniques and talks about French food constantly. Why is French food known as the ultimate food experience? Could it really be all that?

My fellow foodie, Samina, and I had a brief tour De France, culinary style, this weekend..we prepared 5 French dishes...four were successful...one not so much :(

It was a fun experience and going all out with one cuisine really made it feel new and exciting..I really recommend it...next up..Moroccan night!

I'd like to share our recipes with you...I hope you try them (and invite me over). They may seem labor intensive but they're well worth it!

We made French Onion Soup, Salad Nicoise, French Fries (from scratch and trust me it is a big deal!), Steak (the only failed dish) and chocolate mousse (SO worth the effort).

SALAD NICOISE (from Recipe Source with our OWN variations)


Serving Size : 8

Ingredients:
8 oz green Beans -- green, top and tail cut off (or one can green beans)
16 Potatoes -- new, small, peeled
4 Eggs -- hard boiled, sliced
1 tuna steak, simply seasons with salt and pepper and seared or grilled to your liking.
3 Tomatoes -- cut in wedges
1/2 ts Mustard -- dijon
1 Garlic clove- finely chopped
2 tb Vinegar
1/2 cup Olive oil
1 tb Parsley- finely chopped
1 tb Chives -- fresh chopped
8 Anchovy fillets (opt- prefer to omit)
16 Olives -- black

1. In pot of boiling water,add green beans and boil till tender crisp, about 2-3 minutes. Refresh with cold cold water and dry. Or do what we did- use one can of french green beans.
2. In large pot of salted water, bring potatoes to a boil. Cook till tender, about 8 minutes.
3. Combine green beans, potatoes, tomatoes in large bowl.
4. In small bowl, whisk together mustard,garlic and vinegar. Add oil slowly, then parsley and chives. Season with pepper and pour over ingredients.
5. Top with eggs, tuna, anchovy fillets and olives.
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French Onion Soup


Serves 4

2 Tbs. butter OR margarine
4 med. white onions - sliced
3 cups beef or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
½ Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 dash fresh or dried thyme
1 dash fresh or dried rosemary
½ loaf Sourdough or French bread
1/2 cup sliced provolone, mozzarella cheese, Munster or Monterey jack

1. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat
2. Add onions and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
3. Add beef broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and thyme to pot
4. Increase heat and bring to boil, then reduce heat
5. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes
6. Divide into over safe bowls
7. Cut the bread slices into the size of the bowl and toast
8. Top the soup bowl with bread, then cheese
9. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly, in the oven or toaster oven (alternate: broil bread and cheese on a baking sheet then top soup with it)

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French Fries


4-6 russet potatoes (do not substitute this kind of potato for another- these are fantastic)
Salt
Oil for frying

1. Rather than peel the potatoes, you want to keep some skin so cut off one slice from each side of the potato, resulting in almost a rectangular shape.
2. Cut into 1/2 thick slices, then cut into matchsticks.
3. Fry in hot oil for 3-4 minutes, until it's almost cooked through.
4. Drain on paper towels and allow to cool down for 10 minutes.
5. Fry one more time, this time allowing them to brown and crisp.
6. Drain again and season with salt and pepper.

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Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse
from Cook's Central



Dark Chocolate Mousse

When developing this recipe, we used our winning supermarket brand of dark chocolate, Ghirardelli bittersweet, which contains about 60 percent cacao. If you choose to make the mousse a day in advance, leave it out at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with very lightly sweetened whipped cream and chocolate shavings. A hand-held mixer can do the job of a standing mixer in this recipe, though mixing times may vary slightly.

INGREDIENTS
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
2 tablespoons cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
6 tablespoons water
2 large eggs , separated
1 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 cup heavy cream , plus 2 additional tablespoons (chilled)


1. Melt chocolate, cocoa powder, espresso powder, water, and brandy in medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolks, 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, and salt in medium bowl until mixture lightens in color and thickens slightly, about 30 seconds. Pour melted chocolate into egg mixture and whisk until combined. Let cool until just warmer than room temperature, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. In clean bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-low speed until frothy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 minute. Detach whisk and bowl from mixer and whisk last few strokes by hand, making sure to scrape any unbeaten whites from bottom of bowl. Using whisk, stir about one-quarter of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten it; gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula until a few white streaks remain.

4. In now-empty bowl, whip heavy cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 15 seconds more. Using rubber spatula, fold whipped cream into mousse until no white streaks remain. Spoon into 6 to 8 individual serving dishes or goblets. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set and firm, at least 2 hours. (The mousse may be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.)