Educational Trip to Paris

Well Hello Everyone!

I know, I know, it has been awhile!  I have been SO SO BUSY lately!  
This isn't a food post, I am actually posting to advertise my latest venture.  I am taking a group of home school families to Paris!  If you'd like to support us and help us raise money for the trip, please click the link below!  Thank you so much!

Broccoli Cheese Crescent Wreath

Hello Everyone!  Are you all ready for Christmas!
It's the time of year for Holiday get togethers and I just had my annual Christmas Party and Cookie Exchange!  Among other yummies, I am making this recipe.  I found a similar version of it  on a website and then adapted it to fit my tastes.  What a hit this was!  It disappeared almost as quickly as I put it out!   In fact, I ended up having to make another one about 3- minutes into the party!  Fortunately I had enough filling and crescent dough.  YUM!


Broccoli Cheese Crescent Wreath

• 3 cups chopped broccoli (I run it through my manual food processor to make the chunks a little smaller)
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped (again, I run them through the manual food processor for smaller chunks)
• 1 red pepper, chopped 
• 1/4 cup shallots, finely chopped (again, manual food processor)
• 4 slices thick bacon, cooked to a crisp and crumbled
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp. Italian herbs
• 1 tsp. granulated garlic (or two cloves garlic minced, but I don't like raw garlic so I use granulated garlic)
• 2 eggs
• 1 recipe crescent dough or 2 cans pillsbury crescent dough

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a medium sized bowl mix (I used my Kitchen Aid) the broccoli, mushrooms, red pepper, shallots, bacon, cream cheese, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan, herbs, garlic, and eggs.  Roll out crescent dough into a large square and cut into triangles .  On a round baking sheet (I use my round pizza stone), overlap the triangles in a circle with the wide side facing toward the middle.  Spoon the filling into the ring towards the middle (wide end).  Wrap the triangle over the filling and secure by tucking under in the middle.  If desired, top ring with more cheese.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is heated through.  

I made the filling the day before in order to save time, and put the ring together on the morning of my party.  

Help! I need some ideas!

Hello Dear Readers!  I need some Christmas Eve dinner ideas!  Growing up we always had Prime Rib.  This year it will just be Daniel, David, and I for Christmas and I was thinking of making us a Prime Rib, but am just not sure.  So...I need some ideas!  Please share with me what you have for dinner on Christmas Eve!  I would love to try something new! 
Merci Beaucoup!

Pain d'Epices...well...sort of...

I hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!

Pain d'Epices is one of my favorite holiday treats from France.  I have fond memories of eating it along with a nice, hot cup of tea in the afternoon.  You can get it around Christmas at the many Marchés de Noël (Christmas markets) that pop up in towns all over France.  Whenever I am in France for Christmas I usually stock up on it and bring it home because it is so yummy!  

Traditional Pain d'Epices comes from the Alsace region of France. It is sometimes compared to gingerbread, although does not traditionally contain ginger. Traditional Pain d'Epices is made from a dough of honey and flour that is allowed to age for several months, called "pâte mère." Once the aging is completed, spices such as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and anise are added, along with candied orange peel.  Real Pain d'Epices is a labor of love, made by professional bakers who are masters of their craft.  I have never tried to replicate the real thing because, let's face it, it's impossible unless you are a French baker.  

My version of Pain d'Epices takes some of the flavors I love from the real thing, in an easy to make recipe.  This bread comes out moist and flavorful.  I love it with a cup of tea or coffee.  It is my tribute to the French, even if it doesn't come close to the real thing.  I hope you will try it because it's quite yummy.  

Sort of Pain d'Epices

(this makes two loaves)

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 sticks cold butter, cut into chunks
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ground cloves
• 4 tsp. fresh grated ginger (or you can use ground ginger)
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 tbsp. orange zest
• 2 tsp orange extract
• 1 1/2 cups apple sauce
• 3 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two loaf pans generously with cooking spray.  In a medium bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, orange zest, nutmeg, and baking soda.  Set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer, add the orange extract, apple sauce, and eggs.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing well after each addition.  Pour the batter equally into both loaf pans.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  

Enjoy!  

Until next time, happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!

And the winner is...

Thank you to all who participated in the Chex Mixchange giveaway! Congratulations to CHERYL!  I will contact you by e-mail to get your information so that your prize pack can be sent to you!  Stay tuned for more great giveaways!

Potatoes Gratinées and a GIVEAWAY!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I am SO happy to have my mom visiting for Thanksgiving!  David, unfortunately, has to work today, so we will be having our actual dinner on Saturday, but today we're doing a mini Thanksgiving.  We're having a roasted turkey breast, Pommes de Terre Gratinées and roasted brussels sprouts.  This recipe for Au Gratin Potatoes, or in French Pommes de Terre Gratinées is one I learned to make when I was in college living in France.  It's SO yummy and SO easy!  I thought it would make the perfect accompaniment to the roasted turkey breast for my mini Thanksgiving!


Pommes de Terre Gratinées

• 4 large potatoes peeled and thinly sliced (I like to use my Pampered Chef peeler/corer/slicer to do this job)
• 2 cups cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups good Swiss or French/Swiss cheese, like Emmanthal, Comté, Gruyère or Raclette (I like to use a combo of whatever I have on hand, so today I had Emmanthal and Raclette)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. herbes de provence
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13X9 baking dish generously with cooking spray (unless you are using stoneware, then don't spray).  Place one half of the potatoes in the dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix with your hands to distribute, sprinklewith 1/2 of the cheese.  Repeat layer with remaining potatoes, salt and pepper, and cheese.  Do not mix the top layer.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream, eggs, garlic, nutmeg and herbes de provence.  Pour liquid over the potatoes evenly.  Bake covered with foil for 1 hour or until potatoes are soft and knife inserted comes out clean.  Uncover and cook for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and browning.  

I hope all of you enjoy your Thanksgiving!  I'm having a little contest, giving away a Chex Mix prize pack!  The Chex Mix prize pack includes all you need to make Chex Mix for you and your friends!  Do you want to win the Chex Mix prize pack?  Tell me, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?  I also want to know your favorite Thanksgiving food!  Answer these questions in a comment to this post and you will be entered to win the Chex Mix prize pack!  Contest ends MONDAY NOVEMBER 28th at 5pm Central time!  

Quiche à la Raclette (d'Elizabeth)

Bonjour!  It's that time of year again!  The time of year for RACLETTE!  Raclette is a lovely meal and if you have never had it (or heard of it), it is like Heaven on a plate.  Raclette is a meal from the Savoie region of France and Switzerland.  It is made from Raclette cheese melted in a special machine called a "four à raclette"  and poured over ham and potatoes.  It is SO yummy and the cheese has been VERY difficult to find here in Iowa...until now.  I am really excited because the Hy-Vee near my house has a new specialty cheese case which  has, yes, that's right- RACLETTE among a variety of other great international cheeses.  This past weekend my very good friend Lisa came to visit me.  Lisa is one of my oldest friends and we know each other from when we worked together at the French Immersion School in Seattle.  Lisa lives in Madison now and drives down to see me on occasion.  Anyway, she came down this past weekend and we, along with a couple of other friends, drank wine and made Raclette.  It was SO much fun!
The next day, Sunday, I was having my friend Jean-Louis and his kids over for lunch and had leftover ingredients from the Raclette.  I decided to improvise and make a Raclette quiche.  It turned out REALLY yummy and was a total hit!  I decided to make it again for my students today and they ate almost the entire quiche!  Yum!  Serve this with a beautiful spinach salad with raspberry vinaigrette and you have a perfect lunch or light dinner!


Quiche à la Raclette (d'Elizabeth)

• 1 store bought refrigerated pie crust or homemade pie crust
• 1/3 cup Raclette cheese, cut in small cubes or grated
• 1/2 small onion, diced
• 1/4 lb Black Forest Ham, diced
• 1/2 cup leftover boiled new potatoes (such as red or yukon gold), skin left on, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup crème fraîche (or you can use sour cream)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 6 extra large eggs
• 1 tbsp. herbes de provence
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a pie plate or quiche dish generously with cooking spray.  Unroll the pie crust and press it into the pie plate.  Place the cheese, onion, ham, and potatoes in the pie plate and sprinkle with hermes de provence and salt and pepper and mix lightly with your hands to distribute the ingredients evenly.  In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs, crème fraîche, heavy cream, nutmeg, and salt and pepper for taste.  Pour the egg mixture over the mixture in the pie crust, shake very slightly to distribute the egg mixture.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until set in the middle.  Let stand another 10 minutes before cutting.  

Until next time, Happy and HEALTHY cooking and EATING!