French Sausage Soup with Lentils

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut. – Ernest Hemingway

We are renting an apartment in Dartmouth. A furnished apartment. Anyone who has ever done that know’s where I’m going with this. It’s always lacking something you feel is a necessity in the kitchen.

The necessity that I miss most? A cast iron Dutch oven – that most useful of kitchen pots. It’s important to have a dish that gos from stovetop to oven without a second thought. Since it’s a necessity, I went looking for one.

What I didn’t want to do is duplicate a pot I have already at the house. I know too well what problems that can cause from my experience of combining two complete households when we moved to the country.

So I went looking, and I found what I was looking for. I bought a Spanish cazulea with a cover – partly because I was too cheap to buy a cast iron Dutch oven. It was $19.99 at Winners. The Dutch ovens started at $39 and went up from there.

Sautéing on the stovetop.

A cazuela is a glazed clay dish which, when soaked in water, can be used to go from stove top to oven. It can also be used over direct flame on a barbecue. I was a little leery the first time I used it. It was so pretty I didn’t want to crack it open on top of the burner...

Have you ever used clay pots? Think about it. Before our wonderful metal pots were in common use ancient peoples had to use something to cook in. Guess what? It was clay!

You do have to soak new clay pots in water before using them the first time, but they are an amazing material that are great for browning things on top of the stove as well as for slow cooking in the oven. They make succulent, tender meats. Just like a Dutch oven, at half the cost!

For longevity and performance a clay pot needs to absorb water before it is introduced to heat. The thicker the clay, the longer it needs to soak. Thick pots should be soaked for at least a couple hours, thinner ones can get away with a half hour.

You don’t need to soak it in water before every use. A process called ‘seasoning’ takes place every time the clay is used which means the more the piece is used the tougher it becomes.

I have gained a great deal of respect for clay since I have begun to use it. I probably will look for another dish or two to add to the collection!

SAo what did I make? Armed with my new covered cazula, I made soup – excellent soup with the French garlic sausage I posted two days ago. I promised you the recipe. I wasn’t drunk when I said it, but I take Hemingway’s advice to heart. I keep my promises.

Ready for the first stage in the oven.

French Sausage Soup with Lentils

Prep: 15 min  |  Cook: 1 hour  |  Serves 4    

200g thick smoked bacon, diced

1 lg onion, diced

1 lg carrot, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

19 oz can diced tomatoes, with juice

1 cup dried green lentils

2 cups vegetable stock

1 lb French Garlic Sausage, sliced

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Soak top and bottom of a medium clay cooker in water for 15 to 30 minutes, if it's a new dish like mine was. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Slowly heat the clay pot bottom over medium heat by turning up the heat from low, to medium low to medium. Don’t stick it on the burner at high heat...just to be safe.

Add the diced bacon, onion, carrot and celery. Sauté until the bacon starts to exude fat and the onions become translucent.

Add the tomatoes and their liquid, the lentils and stock. Add some salt and pepper, cover and bring to a boil. Then cover and place the pot in the preheated oven. Bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the pot and add the sausage and red wine vinegar. Stir well, cover and bake for an additional 30 minutes. If it looks like the soup will dry out, add more stock or water.There’s not a lot of broth when the recipe’s done.

Once the lentils are tender, taste for salt and pepper, adjust if necessary and serve with a crusty country loaf.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

French Garlic Sausage with Pistachios

If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary. – Jim Rohn

I find inspiration in the most unlikely places. Often in recipes that call for an ingredient I can’t get my hands on.

That was the case with this recipe. I was looking at cassoulet recipes and one called for “French Garlic Sausage.” I had never heard of it, and garlic always sends me scurrying to find out more. I love garlic.

There are a few recipes for it, but the most intriguing was one that had chopped pistachios in the mix. Yup, nuts in a sausage. They looked great. Not one to back down from a challenge I bought pistachios the next time I was at a grocery. They are not cheap.

To mitigate the wallet shock buy them at a bulk food store. And resist the urge to get the red ones. They’re dyed. Buy unsalted, shelled green.

Very few ingredients go into these, but they're
packed with flavour.

I usually grind my own pork, but this time I opted for the far easier pre-ground. It was on sale... Lucky I did because I discovered an “issue” in the stuffing process. It had to do with the nuts.

When you use a sausage stuffer the meat passes through the grinder (without the grinder plate) and past a small plastic spacer before it goes through the stuffing tube.

As I tried to stuff I noticed the meat wasn’t coming out very quickly. When I investigated I found the nuts were getting clogged up. So I had to stuff all the sausage into the casings by hand, through the tube, with my finger.

A time setback, but I’ll know better next time.

This sausage has to cure for 3 days. Because it has sodium nitrite the finished product is also pink, kind of like a hot dog. The consistency also reminded me of that a little. It was very smooth.

I made these sausage for a French Lentil Soup. The recipe will follow this one in a couple days.

If you’re looking for a bit of an interesting sausage for the barbecue, or have cassoulet on your radar, give this one a try. They won’t disappoint!

This is the whole 1 kg after simmering for an hour.

French Garlic Sausage

Prep: 30 min + 3 days curing  |  Yield: about 4’ sausage

1 kg ground pork (2.2 lbs)

1/2 cup whole shelled pistachios

1/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup water

3 large garlic cloves, minced (about 1-1/2 to 2 tbsp)

1 tsp whole black peppercorns

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp sodium nitrite

1/2 tsp salt

pork sausage casing (about 4-5 feet long)

Pulse the whole peppercorns and garlic until garlic is ground. Add the pistachios and pulse until broken into medium sized pieces. 

Do not grind fine or the nuts will start to go into a paste. The peppercorns will still be fairly whole as well.

Add this mixture to the pork in a bowl. Then add the coriander, cracked black pepper, brandy, water, sodium nitrite and salt.

Mix with your hands until well combined. The meat should be quite smooth. Let rest for 15 minutes. Then stuff into sausage casings and twist into links. Make 8 if using for barbecuing, or fewer if slicing for in a dish like cassoulet. You can even leave it just one big coil.

Let cure in the refrigerator for 3 days.* After 3 days, bring water to a simmer in a covered pan large enough to accommodate the sausages in one layer.

Add the sausages, bring back to a simmer, cover and let cook for one hour. Remove and refrigerate until ready to use.

You can also freeze either uncooked or cooked.

*If barbecuing, you can omit the simmering step and put directly on the grill until browned and cooked through.

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If you like this post retweet it using the link at top right, or share using any of the links below. Feel free to comment. I'll always try to respond. If you like this post, feel free to share it. All I ask is that you credit me and share a link back to the original.

Duck & Sausage Cassoulet

Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past. – Tryon Edwards 

I start with an apology. Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately. It’s been a hectic first 6 days of 2014. But now I’m back in the saddle, so things should get back to normal, whatever that will become...

We’ve rented a satellite office, read “bachelor apartment,” in the city to help me service my urban clients, as well as a place for my spouse to stay while at college. It appears that will be where half my business growth this year will occur, so I may as well get my foot back in the door. I’ll be splitting my time between there and the “country estate.”

To accommodate my accessibility needs I have also taken the plunge and bought a smart phone. Still learning to use that darned small keypad! I would give you the number, but you know – give me work and you’ll get it!

But back to our bellies... In my last post I showed you how to butcher a duck and make Duck à l’Orange. That recipe used the breasts, so I left you all sitting with 2 duck legs and no way to use them. Sorry about that...

Even if you didn’t butcher your own (it is cheaper that way) you can buy individual duck legs at about 1/3 the cost of a duck breast. No need to worry and buy a left and right – you’re not making a Frankenstein’s monster!

Cassoulet  – French for meat and bean stew – is a wonderful meal to make during winter. It’s been, as we say in the Maritimes, “wicked cold” lately, and will remain so for another two months. So hearty is the way to go for meals.

Making this dish has inspired me with another recipe to try: French garlic sausage. That’s what my original source called for. They have pistachios in them. Of course, you can substitute with another heavily garlicky sausage.

Just remember, garlic is the foe of winter’s illnesses. The more the better.

This recipe make a goodly amount, and would be great for winter entertaining. If making for a larger crowd, add both cans of beans to stretch it, or you can use both type of beans, but purchase smaller cans for a family dinner.

I used only the white kidney beans. Since there's only two of us, tre black beans went back in the cupboard.

This recipe tastes wonderful and is great re-heated, so don’t be afraid to make the “full” recipe, even if there’s only 2-4 people. It won’t go to waste!

Duck & Sausage Cassoulet

Time: about 40 min  |  Serves 6-8

6 slices bacon, diced large

2 duck legs

2-3 French garlic sausage (about 1/2 lb)

1 medium onion

4-6 garlic cloves, diced

28 oz can whole plum tomatoes

19 oz can white kidney beans

19 oz can black beans (optional)

6 cups chicken stock (or duck, if you made it with the carcass)

1 to 1-1/2 tsp thyme

4 cups chard, chopped (1 bunch, without stalks)

1 cup stale bread, grated

salt and pepper, to taste

Slice the bacon and fry in a large Dutch oven or stock pan that has a lid. Remove to a bowl, but leave the rendered fat.

Season the duck legs with salt and pepper and brown on both sides in the bacon fat. Then place the top on the pot and let the duck steam-cook for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool. Add the sausages and cook until browned, then remove.*

Add the chopped onion and sauté until softened, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn.

Add the tomatoes, beans, stock, thyme and chard. Break up the whole tomatoes slightly. Bring the pot to a gentle boil. While the pot comes to heat, slice the sausage and remove the meat from the duck legs.

Add the meats and grated bread. Let cook for a further 5 minutes. Taste the cassoulet for salt and pepper and adjust as desired. You can also adjust the amount of stock if you find it too dry.

* Neither the duck or sausage have to be cooked completely. The meat will finish while simmering.

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Make Brioche with your mixer!

But since you're asking me, I'll tell you my opinion: all cornbread is authentic, as long as it's good, hot, and made with love and fresh ingredients. – Jeremy Jackson 

The quote begs a very interesting question: what makes a recipe “authentic”? Is it ingredients, technique, location something is made? All are valid to argue in the positive and negative.

Consider how you get down from a hilltop. You can walk, roll, bike, run, sled, ski, etc. The end result is getting down the hill in one piece. How you get there is of no great concern, really. It's the end result.

The flour, sugar, yeast, salt and butter.

The same is true with making brioche. It has to be rich and buttery, with a moist, tender crumb. But it's a French classic – it must be difficult. As with all classic French recipes, there’s more fear and mystery surrounding how to  make them than is necessary.

But for a moment, let's talk original. As far as “authentic” goes, look no further than Julia Child. She uses a spatula and her hands. (Of course she would!) I would imagine that is exactly the way she was taught when she was studying cooking in France.

If you want to read how she does it, look here.

Interestingly, the method of choice nowadays is a mixer with a whisk and dough hook. Many fine dining magazines have published recipes that use that most useful kitchen tool. 

If it’s good enough for Fine Cooking magazine it's good enough for me... So I don’t feel that guilty in using my KitchenAid to help me out. Otherwise I would be in for a bit of a mess.

The "paste." before first long rise.

Before being baked, brioche is part dough, part paste, or “pâté de brioche.” Luckily my excursions in overnight raises have conditioned me for what to expect from an 8-hour bread rise. It’s substantially different than when first started.

A few sites lament about “fast” brioche recipes common nowadays where the flavour is not allowed to develop before baking. This also is solved by the overnight rise. The length of time lets “yeastiness” develop that 2-3 hours just doesn’t deliver.

I made this recipe because I was bored one night this week. If it failed all I would be out was a few cups of flour, some butter and eggs. No big deal.

That’s the good thing about baking. If it’s a flop you just throw it out. Luckily this was not. Any fear I may have had about making brioche has now completely evaporated. It’s no more difficult than any other bread.

This was delicious warm and plain, and the next morning toasted with butter. It can be used to make excellent French toast, or even sandwiches. The dough itself can be shaped into rolls, as lining for tarts, or rolled into croissants. They can then be broiled briefly with French pastry cream and almond slivers. Versatility at its finest!

So what’s stopping you from trying your hand at this? Nothing. I know you want to...

Settled in for 2nd rise. Dish is 8" wide x 5" high.

Brioche

Time: overnight, plus 3 hour rise |  Bake: 1 hour  |  yield 2 regular or 1 lg loaf

4 cups unbleached flour

1/4 cup white sugar

2-1/2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3 large eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1 tbsp cream (for brushing)

Place the flour, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl of your mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix the dry ingredients together.

Cube the butter into 1/2” pieces. Add to the flour and whisk until the butter begins to break up. Then add the eggs all at once. Continue to whisk until the mixture looks granular, about 2 minutes. (see photo)

Switch the whisk for a dough hook. Then add the milk and water. Beat the dough until it comes together in a mass, but is very sticky. This will take a couple minutes. Remove the hook.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl so all the dough is together in one mass. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel. let rise overnight, or for 8 hours.

After the first rise, butter your hands and remove the dough to a board. Using a small amount of flour, knead briefly to make the dough smooth. It will still be very moist but will not stick.

If making two loaves, divide in two and place in two well buttered loaf pans, or two fluted “mousseline” moulds. (They have deep flutes and flare out on the sides.)

If using a circular baking dish (like I did), butter it well, line with parchment paper 1” up past the sides and butter the paper. Place the dough in the dish.

Let the dough rise again for 3 hours. It will almost triple in size. 

Preheat the oven to 400°F with a pan (with 1 cup of water in it) on the bottom rack. Brush the loaf (or loaves) with the cream.

Bake the small loaves for 30-35 minutes, or the large one for 1 hour. The loaves are done when they are well browned on top and sound hollow when tapped. 

Note: the large loaf can be tricky because of its size and the dough moisture content. The very centre has a tendency to cook very slowly. That’s why the time is twice that f the smaller loaves.

Remove from the oven and the pans, and let cool.

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Black Braised Pork with Kale

Too many people just eat to consume calories. Try dining for a change. – John Walters 

Mr. Walters was right. We so often sit down and shovel food into our open maws with hardly a thought as to what’s going in there.

This simmers, covered, for three hours.

I’m as guilty as the next person. But every once in a while it’s nice to treat yourself to something healthy AND extraordinary, as long as it's not too labour intensive.

This recipe does not take a whole lot of work. What it does take is time. Three hours of braising, to be exact. But it’s well worth the wait. Pick a day when you’re trapped inside either by pouring rain (like today is going to be) or snow.

This recipe seems quite simple when you look at it, and it is. But something magical happens when all that time elapses: the onions and garlic disappear into the sauce and all the flavours infuse into the meat.

This is not “blackened” in the Cajun cooking sense. If anything this is more Mediterranean (Italy or Provence) than anything. So whence cometh the name?

I called this recipe “black” for two reasons: the black pepper and portobello mushrooms. The decent amount of cracked pepper adds a nice background spiciness, while the portobello gills break down and make the liquid in the pot a very, very dark colour. It certainly makes the green kale pop!

The result.

This is a deep, delicious and complex tasting dish. If you want to step it up a notch try adding 1/2 cup of white wine to the pot if you don’t think you have enough liquid just before you thicken it. Just make sure it’s wine you would actually enjoy drinking.

Here’s a sage word of advice. Choose a piece of pork that is well marbled. It will break down as the dish cooks and render the meat unbelievably tender. Pull apart tender.

This recipe is quite filling. Both the portobello and kale helps in this regard, I believe. A little goes a long way. It’s a bit of an anomaly, because usually dishes that taste this rich are loaded with calories. I can state with almost certain conviction that this one is not.

I do have to admit that this is one of the best things I have made in quite a while.

Black Braised Pork with Kale

Prep: 10 min  |  Braise: 3 hours  |  Serves 4, easily

1.5 lb pork roast

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 medium onions, quartered

3-4 portobello caps, diced large

3 lg garlic cloves

3 cups chicken stock

2 tsp cracked black pepper

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp water

4 cups chopped kale

Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot with a lid. Sprinkle the roast with a little salt and pepper and sear on all sides.

Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic to the pot. Then add the chicken stock, the 2 tsp of pepper, sage and a little more salt.

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the heat to medium low. Let cook for 3 hours. Check periodically to ensure there is still liquid in the pot.

At the end of the time, remove the roast to a plate. You should have between 1.5-2 cups of liquid. Mix the flour with the water to make a smooth paste. Add to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and stir until the sauce thickens.

Add the chopped kale, stir in well, cover and let cook for 5 minutes.

To serve, tear the pork apart into bite-sized pieces. Place some sauce on the bottom of the plate. Pile some pork in the centre and serve.

Be prepared to serve seconds, because you WILL be asked.

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Feel free to comment. They’re always appreciated. I’ll answer quickly and as best I can. Feel free to share this post. All I ask is if you repost, please give me credit and a link back to the original on this site.

French Dressing in a Snap

As the French say, there are three sexes - men, women, and clergymen. – Sydney Smith 

Can't you just taste lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion...

Oooh...snap.

But speaking of snaps, here’s recipe that goes together in minutes. It is amazingly useful for all those summer salads you will be serving, and you probably already have everything you need to make it.

You think it would be easy to find some history about this common, common dressing, right? It’s always interesting when you start to really look and you discover way more (or way less) than you expect.

“French” dressing for salads is not an exception. It’s difficult to find any definitive history about it at all. The only thing I do know is there's nothing particularly French about it. I would imagine if you were dining in Paris and asked for it they would look at you like you had two heads!

“French dressing” means different things in different countries. For example, French dressing in Switzerland is white, using mayonnaise or cream.

In late 1800s America, the term was a substitute for "vinaigrette” – the simple combination of oil and vinegar. Since that was French, it became French dressing. There was nary a tomato within sight of it.

Even as relatively recent as 1894, the recipe in the venerable Mrs. Lincoln’s Boston Cookbook only contained oil, vinegar, onion juice, salt and pepper. It seems the addition of tomato (from ketchup) only occurred in the 20th century.

Mrs. Lincoln's recipe, 1894. Also used as a pickling liquid.

The following is the earliest printed reference I can find for today’s type of French dressing, from 1928:

Put everything together in a small
blender. I use my Magic Bullet.

French dressing base No. 5. For all dressings where cream is used as part of garnish. One-fifth teaspoon mustard (dry), one fifth teaspoon paprika, one-fourth teaspoon salt, one-half teaspoon tomato catsup, one-fourth teaspoon sugar, one tablespoon vinegar, five tablespoons olive oil. Mix thoroughly the mustard, paprika, salt, catsup, sugar and vinegar together, then whip in oil. This gives you a sauce that will stand up, and to which you can add cream, mayonnaise, or other sauces without fear of separating. Whip this sauce thoroughly to emulsify."
---Edgewater Beach Salad Book, Arnold Shircliffe [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago IL] 1928 (p. 243)

The type of French dressing described above is the common one today amid the other bottles of salad dressing at the store. It’s right alongside Italian, Russian, Blue Cheese and Thousand Island.

It is also a very close cousin of Catalina dressing, the main difference being that dressing is supposedly darker red. Some say there is no difference.

I’m hard pressed to spot it. In fact, my recipe for Catalina is quite similar to this one. You can find it here.

Regardless, French dressing is very easy to make at home, especially if you have a small blender, or even just a whisk. It literally goes together in a snap.

French dressing is usually a favourite due to its sweetness. That’s something you have to watch. A lot of extra sugar can come from what type of ketchup you use. 

So err on the side of caution. You can always add more sugar if it’s not sweet enough.

French Dressing

Yield: 2 cups, enough for salad for 8-10

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1/2 cup ketchup 

1/3 to 1/2 cup white sugar*

1/4 cup white vinegar 

3 tbsp lemon juice 

1 tbsp onion powder 

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon paprika 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Combine and shake vigorously or blend. Refrigerate until ready to use.

* Depending on the sweetness of your ketchup. Most ketchup is very sweet. Use the 1/3 cup to start.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Chicken Chasseur (Hunter Style)

Sharing is good, and with digital technology, sharing is easy. – Richard Stallman 

Homey, delicious and very special.

It never ceases to amaze me the reach one has from their own kitchen table. I’ve been blogging since January of 2011. Over that time I’ve gone from zero page views to over 10,000 per month. I have people looking at my blather from every corner of the globe.

Recently I’ve had the privilege to be asked on Fridays to post recipes to a blog from New Zealand called Carole’s Chatter (link here). Carole is a self described “self employed semi retired woman of a certain age.” We’re two peas in a pod, except for the woman part. She “found” me a few weeks ago.

On Fridays she does something interesting. She puts out a call to food bloggers she likes to submit links based on a topic of her choosing. She has contacts all around the world that submit. Yesterday’s posting (here) was French food. I’m there at No. 95 (French Onion Soup).

It’s quite an interesting mix as you can well imagine, since the submission is up to the individual blogger. The topic, although topical, is broad enough for people to post something of interest for everyone. I found last night’s dinner there. Great – very French tasting – and very filling. (Original here)

Chasseur is French for “hunter.” There are probably as many variations on “hunter-style” chicken as there are/were hunters. This type of recipe is most likely centuries old.

Interestingly, as far as I understand, it’s not based on preparing a hunter’s catch. Hunter chicken is a country dish that uses a chicken when the hunter returns empty handed. The wife (not sexist, just the truth) had to be prepared for that eventuality.

Luckily a chicken was always near at hand. Or at least easy to get your hands on, literally.

I posted a recipe for Corsican chicken that is in the same vein. If you’re interested, the recipe is here. 

The recipe I found posted on Carole’s blog was a real winner. Of course, never one to leave well enough alone, I modified it slightly. Not a whole lot, but a bit. I didn’t have a whole chicken, but did have breasts, and a couple other ingredients changed to fit my pantry. 

The end result is deep and delicious and very “French” tasting. I always find it interesting that adding certain flavours to a dish turn it into a very “regional” recipe. In this one it’s tarragon. If you substituted oregano it would be more Mediterranean and completely different.

Here’s my take on it. Thanks go out to Carole, and the original poster.

Chicken Chasseur (Hunter Style)

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 30 min  |  Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless (or 1 chicken, cut up)

salt and pepper

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

200 g white mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp flour

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

2 tbsp dry sherry

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp dried tarragon (or 2 tbsp fresh)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or parsley)

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken breasts. Heat the oil and butter in a Dutch oven or other heavy pot with a cover. Brown the breasts on both sides. Then remove to a plate.

Add the onion, garlic and mushrooms to the pot with the oil/butter. Sauté until softened. Then add the flour and cook for about 1 minute.

Add in the stock, wine, sherry, tomato paste, tarragon and cilantro. Add a little more pepper if desired. Watch out for salt as many chicken stocks are very salty. Adjust if desired.

Slice each chicken breast in half and nestle back into the sauce. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium low.

Cover the pot and let cook for 30 minutes.

Serve atop a pile of buttery mashed potatoes.

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Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.

Sandwich “French” Loaf

All things are difficult before they are easy. – Thomas Fuller 

Here’s just a quickie for a Sunday morning. It’s another bread recipe. I have yet to buy a loaf of bread at the store, and it’s getting on three months we’ve been in the country.

I am finding in the country that a more functional shape of bread makes most sense, unless you’re having company. By “functional” I mean sandwich loaf-shaped.

Beautiful bread brought fresh to the table is a marvellous thing, but sometimes you have to be practical. There’s only two of us here so a loaf has to have more uses than one meal.

That’s where sandwich-shape comes in. It fits neatly into the toaster for morning breakfasts as well as to make sandwiches.

But I hate the thought of giving up on tasty bread. A fresh loaf is delicious, no matter what kind, but I wanted to see what would happen if I used a classic French bread recipe as a loaf. I love the flavour of baguette.

So that’s what I did. It actually worked quite well. The crumb is quite similar, and it has some holes.

My method of overnight raising is a godsend. It takes practically all of the work out of bread making, and all but 2 minutes of kneading. It’s really easy.

If you’re of a mind to have fresh bread on the weekend, why not try this recipe this coming Friday night? In the morning you’re all ready to go. In about an hour or so after waking up you’ll have fresh bread from the oven!

Sandwich “French” Loaf

Prep: overnight  |  Bake: 30-35 min  |  Yield: 1 loaf

4 cups unbleached flour

2 cups warm water (110°F max)

1 tbsp yeast

1 tsp salt

Combine the four ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Then knead briefly until all of the flour is incorporated from the bottom of the bowl.

It will be sticky.

Cover with plastic wrap (or place the whole bowl in a plastic grocery bag and tie), place a towel on top and let rest on the counter overnight.

In the morning punch the dough down, knead for 2 minutes and place in a well buttered 5” x 9” oven-proof baking pan.

Let rise for about 45 minutes until doubled. While it is rising preheat the oven to 425°F with a pan of water on the bottom rack.

Bake the loaf for 10 minutes, remove the water and then bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. The loaf will be hard on top and sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven, take out of the pan and let cool.

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A "Must Know" for your Repertoire, Béarnaise Sauce

A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was. – Joseph Hall 

Dinner's ready!

It’s French week in the country, apparently. Two French recipes in a row. We had the most amazing 1" thick steaks, so what else to do but this recipe? It's a variation on one of the five mother saices of classic French cooking.

The five mother sauces of classic French cooking. The mere mention strikes fear into the hearts of many home chefs. None stands more menacingly than the dreaded hollandaise – that delicious, creamy, lemony sauce with the (undeserved) reputation for “breaking.” It’s perfect on beef, eggs or vegetables. 

If you’re not familiar with hollandaise, it is a sauce made with lemon, melted butter and egg yolks. It’s basically as simple as that. For detailed information on the five mother sauces of classic French cuisine look here. Scintillating information useful for cocktail parties.

Add tarragon and onion/shallots to hollandaise and you have béarnaise, the most perfect accompaniment for steak that was ever created. Do you think I like it?

If you look at the recipe link above, hollandaise does seem a little intimidating. I find my method below for béarnaise far simpler, but that post is the classic hollandaise recipe.

There is no rule that says you can't use the technique below for hollandaise.

I never make mine over a double boiler and have success every time. Truth be told, my hollandaise/béarnaise has only ever “broken” once (or twice) and was easily fixed by adding a few drops of cold water and whisking for a second or two.

“Breaking” is when the butter separates from the sauce. Oh, the horror!! 

It’s disheartening, but not the end of the world. Water works every time, unless you have done something very, very wrong to start. Which you won’t using my recipe below. I can’t understand how you could. This is very simple.

As you can imagine, with 3/4 cup of butter and 4 egg yolks this is not a “diet” sauce. But as Julia Child said: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Actually Oscar Wilde said it first, but who better to quote. 

At a dinner party with James McNeill Whistler, Wilde once said “I wish I had said that.” In response Whistler replied “You will, Oscar, you will.” So even he took others words for his own.

If you have thick steaks the best way to do them is to sear in a very hot
oven-proof pan, and then bake for about 20 minutes at 350°F to finish.
Well done internal temperature for beef is 170°F.

Tarragon is an amazing herb. It is one of the four "fines herbes" of French cooking, and is most often used in chicken, fish and egg dishes. It’s amazing in Béarnaise on steak. 

Tarragon is a good companion plant for your flower or vegetable garden as well, as many pests dislike the smell and taste and stay away from your other plants. You know, if you hang out with a bad crowd you're painted with the same brush.

Making hollandaise or béarnaise is not rocket science. Follow my directions and you’ll be fine. It also takes no time at all. Bonus!

Classic hollandaise is made with lemon juice. Classic béarnaise is made with vinegar (or tarragon-infused vinegar). The recipe has directions for using fresh or dried tarragon, and white vinegar tarragon vinegar or lemon juice. It all depends how strong you want your sauce.

Take your pick. Either method is perfectly acceptable and will give you a stellar result. I like mine strong.

At a restaurant you will find this sauce completely smooth. That is because the initial reduction is pressed through a sieve. I find that unnecessary for a home meal, but suit yourself.

This recipe makes enough for six steaks. If you really love it, fewer. Don’t be afraid of this sauce. I actually find it to be one of the easiest recipes I know.

Béarnaise Sauce

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 3 min  |  Serves 6

1/4 cup white wine 

2 to 4 tbsp fresh tarragon, or 2 to 4 tsp dried 

1/4 cup onion or shallot

1/4 cup white vinegar, tarragon vinegar or lemon juice 

(I used lemon juice)

1/4 tsp pepper 

4 egg yolks 

3/4 cup melted butter 

Melt the butter and set it aside.

Finely chop the tarragon and onion. Combine all ingredients except for eggs and butter in a saucepan. Cook until the liquid has been reduced by half. Allow to cool slightly. 

At this point you can strain to remove the solids if you wish. I never do, so I guess mine is "country" béarnaise.

Over low heat, whisk 1 egg yolk* into the reduction and then 1/4 cup of butter. Alternate yolks and butter, whisking, until all is incorporated. You may not need the final yolk. If the sauce isn’t thick and light yellow use the final yolk. I almost always do.

When the sauce is thick, springy and light yellow remove from the heat. Whisk for about 30 seconds more. You’re ready to go. (I’ve actually left béarnaise out overnight and it looked the same in the morning. I know, I’m a pig.)

If your Béarnaise breaks (butter comes out of the sauce) you can save it by whisking in a few drops of cold water. It goes right back together.

Use on broiled steak, fish or egg dishes.

* A hint: as soon as the yolk hits the sauce whisk it. Don’t give it a chance to cook before being mixed in.

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You know, I really like comments... I really do.

Questions? Comments? Derogatory remarks? Just ask! I’ll answer quickly and as best as I can. If you like this post feel free to share it. If you repost, please give me credit and a link back to this site.