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.

pain de mais

Pain de Mais (Cornbread)

Cornbread. Could there be anything more American? This national classic made me ponder whether the French eat anything close to cornbread, as I found cornmeal nonexistent in Paris’s markets. I’ve heard it exists in some of the smaller, international grocery stores there, but it’s definitely not a staple item in their markets’ baking aisles. The French just don’t seem to have the fascination with corn that Americans do. 

gratin dauphinois

Gratin Dauphinois (Scalloped Potatoes)

For me, Thanksgiving is all about the sides. I think that a lot of you share the same sentiment. The turkey, as delicious and necessary as it is to a proper Thanksgiving spread, can be brined, seasoned, and even fried to your satisfaction, but that’s not what makes most of us excited for our day of feasting. Because, to be honest, doesn’t Turkey just taste a bit like chicken? I mean, really, it’s not all that different.

holiday cheese board

Holiday Cheese Board with Quince Paste

Remember the quince recipe I shared last week? I had a couple of them leftover and thought about turning them into a jam. In all honesty, though, I have a lot of jam from the abundance of sweet strawberries we experienced here in California, so I’m sort of over jam at this point (but talk to me in a month or two). I was just about to create a galette with them when I got a better idea. I was writing my shopping list for a gathering I was hosting this past weekend, and was scribbling down cheeses when I suddenly remembered reading about quince paste and how wonderful it is with cheese. And so I created this holiday cheese board with quince paste. 

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.

french pumpkin cheesecake

French Pumpkin Cheesecake

When I share recipes here, I like to give the majority of them a twist that’s unique to my point of view. I wish I could say that I’m a culinary mastermind that dreamt up every recipe here from scratch, but the truth is that most of them have been inspired from another recipe and played around with to make my own. I try not to share recipes that can’t or shouldn’t be tweaked because, well, they’ve already been posted somewhere so what’s the point? But! Sometimes a recipe is just so incredibly delicious that even though it lacks any of my personal twist or originality, I just have to share it. This French pumpkin cheesecake is one of those recipes. 

apple chevre flatbread

Apple Chevre Flatbread

This apple chevre flatbread is the epitome of the kind of food I love to eat. For me, a perfect meal is satiating, but light. It looks a bit fancy, but never at the expense of great taste. It seems that a lot of the more modern restaurants these days tend to sacrifice taste for presentation. I recently went to a well-known restaurant near my home, trying to give their lunch menu another try. This restaurant specializes in the kind of plates that are meant to be shared (tapas, if you will) and are made with simple, quality ingredients. In theory, their menu is everything I idealize and try to emulate in my own kitchen.

persimmon harvest salad

Persimmon Harvest Salad with Maple Vinaigrette

I was inspired to make this persimmon harvest salad with a maple vinaigrette after watching a recent episode of House Hunters International. Do any of you watch that show? It’s me and my sister’s favorite “reality tv” show. My sister will often come over just to watch the latest episodes with me, and we’ll gawk, laugh, and scoff throughout each episode. Our favorite episodes to watch are the ones where they travel to France (obviously). On one of the more recent episodes, there was a woman who was moving with her family from Iowa to France. Once they arrived, they visited a French farmer’s market and found themselves in for some culture shock. They were amazed at all the fruits and vegetables that were available, and they were particularly confused over a batch of persimmons.

pumpkin crepes

Pumpkin Crepes

Since I shared a recipe for pancakes this week, I thought it only fair to share a recipe for crepes as well, specifically pumpkin crepes. Like pancakes, crepes are made with a mixture of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and then cooked in a pan. Unlike pancakes, however, crepes tend to be extremely thin, which is immediately apparent just from looking at the runny batter. 

pumpkin brioche

Pumpkin Brioche with Chocolate Swirl

From time to time, I decide to make brioche. It’s not a weekly habit because, let’s be honest, a girl can’t afford to have bread as rich with butter as brioche is every single morning. But, occasionally, I find myself staring at my morning toast and wishing it was a big fluffy slice of brioche with jam smeared on top. Then I start wishing I was in Paris eating brioche, and then I start wishing I was in Paris eating all of my favorite foods, and then I just curl up and cry. Okay, so I may have exaggerated with the crying bit (well, maybe), but you get the picture.