Beef Bourguignon: slow-cooked beef stew served with carrots, mushrooms, and mashed potatoes. Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Beef Bourguignon: A slow-cooked Burgundy meal

The French are known for their talent and skill in their culinary creations, but perhaps one of their most loved dishes is actually one of their most simple. Beef Bourguignon is a beef stew consisting of beef that has been braised in red wine, beef broth, and infused with flavors of garlic, onion, and herbs. It was actually a meal made and eaten by peasants in historical France, but now it’s become a “fancy” dish to enjoy by people around the world. While it’s name and appearance can look fancy, I’m here to tell you that it’s actually a really easy dish to create.

poulet frites

Poulet Frites

If you remember from a previous post, I talked about a cafe near the Sacre-Coeur Cathedral that I visited during one of my trips to Paris. The cafe had a drool-worthy chocolate mousse that I often dream about and went on a recipe hunt to recreate (which I successfully did here). It also had one of the best poulet frites dishes I’ve ever enjoyed in Paris. Now, everyone and their maman believes they’ve got the recipe for the best roast chicken, and I won’t argue that they don’t. Roast chicken can be enjoyed in so many different ways, and I’ve experienced tasty roast chicken many times in many different places. But there was something unique about the roast chicken I had at this cafe near the Cathedral; it had been lightly coated in a gravy-like sauce that seemed to make the chicken all the more juicy and flavorful. 

Sole Meunière: Fish pan-fried in a lemon-butter sauce. 10 minute meal! Recipe via MonPetitFour.com

Sole Meunière

While I’m usually prepared to slow-cook, braise, and marinade my meats and poultry, I can’t say the same for fish. I’ve learned that fresh, wild-caught fish is most delicious when it’s romanced with simple ingredients. This sole meunière is the perfect example of that. A light dredge in flour, then the fish is off to a pan of brown butter to become succulent and moist beyond belief. This easy fish recipe is then finished off with a drizzle of lemon butter sauce and a garnish of parsley.

pot au feu

Pot au Feu (Beef Stew)

When you find yourself cozying up by a fire with your feet in socks and a blanket over your lap, there’s no better time for a comforting meal of pot au feu to warm your belly. I know this because I grew up eating this dish, long before I even knew what it was called. It’s the kind of meal that haute cuisine scrunches its nose at, but secretly devours with fervor and delight. Pot au feu, literally meaning “pot on the fire,” is a French beef stew made with meat, potatoes, carrots, and any other vegetables you can get your hands on. It’s uncomplicated and incredibly satisfying, making it a revered dish in France. 

braised short ribs

Braised Short Ribs

I have a confession. When I first started cooking, I really had no idea what I was doing. I had thus far viewed myself as a baker and a baker only, so when I’d ask my mom for recipes I could practice my cooking with, I’d be begging her for step-by-step directions. I’d have to plead for actual measurements rather than her version of measurements (i.e. a little bit of this or a dash of that). In any case, I got tired of trying to decipher her recipes and attempted an online recipe for braised short ribs. To say these turned out beautifully would be an understatement; they were some of the best short ribs I’d ever had. I remember the group of family that I had over for dinner that night was oohing and aahing over the short ribs, declaring me a born chef! Can you believe it? I felt like I was in one of those frozen meal commercials, where the hostess pretends she made a homemade meal but it’s really store-bought.

coq au vin

Coq au Vin with Quince

One of my favorite aspects of French country cooking is the ability to seamlessly adapt recipes to incorporate pretty much any fresh fruit and vegetable that you like. Take a galette, for example. It’s a classic dessert made with pastry dough and a fruit of your choice. You could use apples, pears, berries – whatever your heart desires, because the simple fact is that with a touch of sugar, any fruit would bake beautifully on a buttery round of pastry. In the case of this coq au vin, I was able to incorporate the delectable quince I picked up at my local farmer’s market and make this dish feel like it had always been made with this seemingly “exotic” fruit.