Vin Chaud (Mulled wine)

So delicious!! And French-person approved ^_^

Vin Chaud (Mulled wine)
from the Framed Table

Ingredients:
1 bottle (750 mL) red wine
4 cups (9.5 dL) apple juice
1 orange, juiced and zested
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anises
3 whole cloves
1/2 cup cognac
1 orange cut into half-moons for decor (optional)

Instructions:
1. Combine everything, except the half-moon decor oranges into a pot on the stove, turn to high heat until it boils, then turn down head and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve.

Optional: If you'd like yours a little sweeter, add an additional 1/2 cup of Grand Marnier/Cointreau/Triple Sec

Brown Sugar

Easy, relatively fast, and make the fluffiest brown sugar you could ask for. The whole process is actually really zen.

Brown Sugar
from Brownies for Dinner

Ingredients:
1 Tbs. molasses (or 2 Tbs. for dark brown sugar)
1 cup granulated sugar

Instructions:
1. Pour sugar in a medium bowl, drizzle molasses over the sugar, trying not to touch the sides of the bowl, and use a fork to press molasses and sugar together to combine, until fully combined. Takes 5-10 minutes.

Tartiflette

Tartiflette
adapted slightly from  Meilleur du Chef

Ingredients:
1.2 kg potatoes
2 small onions, sliced thinly
1 reblochon
2 tablespoons of creme fraiche
200 g. of seiten (I got smoked seiten), in small cubes
1 cup white Savoie wine (optional)
2 Tbs. butter
pepper

Instructions:
1. Scrub the potatoes and place in a pot and cover completely with cold water. Put on medium-high heat, and boil until a fork slides easily through the potatoes.
2. Pre-heat oven to 430 F (220 C).
3. Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat, melt the butter, then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the seiten and cook until onions are caramelized and seiten is caramelized on some sides, stirring time to time.
4. Cut potatoes into 1/2" thick slices width-wise, and cover the bottom of a gratin dish and sprinkle with pepper. Spoon half of the onion/seiten mix over the potatoes, drizzle 1 Tbs of the creme fraiche over then place the rest of the potatoes on top, sprinkle some more pepper, then put the rest of the onions, and the last 1 Tbs. of creme fraiche.
5.  Cut the reblochon in half lengthwise, and place on top of everything (cutting into shapes so there isn't reblochon overlapping, if possible). If using, pour the cup of wine over the top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, until reblochon is melted and bubbly on top.

Savoyarde Fondue

Savoyarde Fondue
adapted from Journal des Femmes

Ingredients (per person):
250 grams of cheese:
     1/3 parts Beaufort
     1/3 parts Comte
     1/3 parts Emmenthal or Gruyere
1 deciliter of Roussette wine (or other dry white wine)
1 dash corn starch
1/2 clove garlic, minced
ground black pepper and nutmeg to taste (optional)
1/3 baguette, cubbed
1/2 cup steamed broccoli florets
1/2 cup steamed cauliflower florets

Instructions:
1. In a pan, combine the cheese, wine, and garlic. Gently stir, until the mixture is smooth, combining the liquid with the cheese.
2. Once the mixture is homogeneous, add a small dash of corn starch until a nice thick consistency. Let cook for a few minutes.
3. Add pepper and nutmeg to taste.
4. Use the baguette, broccoli, and cauliflower florets for dipping into the fondue. You can of course use other things to dip.

Raclette

Make sure to account for several slices of raclette cheese for each potato.

Very delicious! And it's a fun interactive dinner. Sorry these pictures are so blurry. Goes perfectly with a side salad.

Raclette

Ingredients:
1 regular package of Raclette cheese
4 large potatoes
3 small onions, thinly sliced
2 cups  sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs. butter
small spicy pickles
2 large tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper to taste
veggie faux pork bacon chunks (optional)

Instructions:
1. Scrub potatoes, and put in a pot of cold water so that potatoes are completely covered. Put pan on high heat and bring to a boil, then turn down medium-high heat and keep at a rapid boil until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
2. While the potatoes are boiling, heat a skillet on medium-high heat, melt the butter, then add the mushrooms and onions. Sprinkle a little salt onto the mixture, and sautee until mushrooms and onions are caramelized. Put aside in a bowl to serve on the table with the raclette. Same with the diced tomatoes and the pickles, put into bowls and serve at the meal.
3. Sautee the faux meat, if using, until caramelized on some sides. Add butter if needed for the faux meat you're using.
4. Turn on raclette machine to 3/4ths the maximum temperature (probably depends on the raclette machine).
5. Lay out the raclette cheese on a plate in an overlapping pattern (traditional), and put the potatoes and (optional) faux pork chunks on top of the raclette machine to keep warm.
6. While at the dinner table, put a piece of raclette cheese in the machine, take a potato onto your plate and cut in half, put as desired on top diced tomatoes, onions, and mushrooms, and salt and pepper if desired. When the raclette cheese starts to bubble and brown, take out, and scrape onto your potato using the (wooden) scraper that comes with the set.

Dark Chocolate Tart

This was super rich and tasty. Unfortunately they do not sell graham crackers in France, so I made this crazy cookie crust thing, but it worked out : ) Definitely will make again when I get back to the states and have graham cracker access.


Dark Chocolate Tart
from dough puncher

Ingredients:
1 graham cracker crust (chocolate or honey)
8 + 1 3/4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used half and half milk and 74%)
1 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs. evaporated milk (or heavy whipping cream)
1 tsp. honey (or corn syrup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs. water

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F (175 C)
2. In a sauce pan (or in the microwave), bring 1 1/4 cups of the evaporated milk to a boil. Take off the heat, and pour over 8 oz. of the chocolate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then, gently whisk to combine.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, and salt together. Whisk into chocolate mixture.
4. Then pour the mixture into the prepared crust, and bake for 18-25 minutes, until the filling is set 3 inches from the edge but center isn't quite set. Let cool for 1 hour.
5. Boil the remaining 2 Tbs. of evaporate milk, and then remove from heat. Then pour over the remaining 1 3/4 oz of chocolate. Let sit for a minute, then whisk to combine. Then whisk in the honey and water. Pour ganache evenly over the pie, tilting the pie to even out the ganache. Let pie sit for 1 hour.

Roasted Vegetable and Feta Cous Cous

Taken in real sunlight! Something I so rarely see. It came out amazing! Even though I had to put my nice warm bowl of food out onto the cold window ledge, and had to time my picture so as not to get a car in the background. I was inspired to do this because it was late-afternoon and the sun was shining in rays into the kitchen, and my bowl caught the light and I though oh! maybe I should try this 'natural light' people keep talking so much about, instead of keeping my food away from the day-star.



Well, here it is! Roasted Vegetable cous-cous. Definitely worth making, and I think it would be fine using the juice of a whole lemon if you wish.

Roasted Vegetable and Feta Cous Cous
from life tastes like food

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked cous cous
1 cup cherry tomatoes (if using grape, cut in half before baking)
1 zucchini, chopped to the same size as the tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
olive oil to coat vegetables
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tbs. dried basil
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190C).
2. Place all vegetables on baking sheet with a lip, and drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top, the mix to evenly coat.
3. Spread vegetables out evenly on pan, and bake for 1 hour (if you don't have a large enough oven, and there are layers of vegetables, bake for 1:30-2 hours, stirring every 30 mins. 2 hours makes the vegetables really caramelized and delicious)
4. Combine cous cous, salt, pepper, and basil in a bowl. Then add 1 1/4 cups boiling water, and cover bowl for 5 minutes. After, fluff cous cous with a fork, and combine with vegetables, lemon juice, and 1/4 cup of the feta.