Kitchen Therapy

Tag Archives: french food


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Pepper Steak with Potato Gratin and Green Beans

This week’s Bistrot Paul Bert Pepper Steak recipe had so many things going for it!
It had steak, which my husband loves.
It was quick and easy, which I love.
And it included standing back and setting a match to Cognac to make a flame!
(Which sadly my husband talked me out of, knowing full well I’d most likely burn the kitchen down!)

I made simple green beans and a potato gratin which I put into my cupcake pan?!

I mixed a kilo of sliced potatoes with an egg, two cloves of garlic, a cup of heavy cream and some grated cheese.
Then pushed the mixture into a well greased muffin tin.
They turned out great!
It made all the slices and injuries on my fingertips, from preparing them, worthwhile!
(And reminded me why the flame, as enticing as it was, was not a good idea for me!)

The sauce I wasn’t that crash on.
And the whole family loves scotch fillet steaks so I went with that cut of meat.
But I love pepper…

So, next time, and there will be a next time, I will reduce the amount of Cognac and add some mushrooms!
To see what others thought check out French Fridays with Dorie! 


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Puff Pastry Breadsticks and Twists

“Why did they have to taste sooo good?!”
My husband moaned as he sat there clutching his stomach, feeling sick from overeating (again)!
But wait it gets better…
I was trying to come up with a title for my post and he suggested ‘sex on a stick’!

What can I say? He really did like these… his favourite was the sweet chilli twist.

I really wanted long puff pastry straws however the puff pastry sheets that are readily available from Woolworths would have been barely finger length once folded so I decided to use two sheets.

I had three different fillings, so divided the 24cm sheets into 8cm thirds…

 I wanted to try the recipe as Dorie intended with Dijon mustard.
However I was in the mood to play so I also tried an olive tapenade which she suggested as a ‘Bonne Idee’ and the hot sweet chilli sauce we bought at this year’s Sydney Easter Show made by the Chilli Factory.

I smeared on a generous dollop of each topping…

Then topped them with the other pastry sheet.
Since each strip was 8cm long and I was going for long and lean sticks I decided to cut each portion into 2cm strips.

My gorgeous boy wanted to help so he got the job of ‘painting’ each strip with the beaten egg “just like at school!”

Next we topped the mustard strips with poppy seeds, the tapenade sticks with sesame seeds and the sweet chilli one’s with cheese…

The we got real fancy and decided to twist the sweet chilli straws…

After 25 mins in the oven, rotating the trays half way, the final product was truly amazing!

I really liked the mustard and tapenade straws. They tasted so satisfyingly good!
(And I already mentioned my husband loved the sweet chilli one’s!)

I made the gourgeres as well, I joined the French Fridays with Dorie Group a few weeks late and really wanted to make these.

I took the left overs to my parents to save my husband from himself!

To have a look at a range of fillings and techniques used by the other members of French Fridays with Dorie, just click here!


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School Holidays and Vanilla Eclairs!

It’s school holidays in Australia! Yay!
I missed the last two challenges of French Fridays with Dorie. The first week I was sick with the flu and the next we were in Melbourne.
I was determined I was not going to miss another week!
So I decided, despite having 6 of my 10-year-old son’s friends over for the day, I would make this week’s recipe!

The Vanilla Pastry Cream came together perfectly over arguments discussions about why they can’t watch Sucker Punch or Red Riding Hood at the cinemas.
It chilled in the fridge as I stood out in the middle of the street directing traffic so the boys could scooter and skateboard out of our steep driveway at full speed.
It was all good! I was in control and feeling pretty chilled!

Next, the Cream Puff Dough!
I went through a phase some years back when I made profiteroles on a regular basis so I was feeling pretty confident.
Now somewhere between chasing running after the angels as they moved like lightning between our house and the oval at the end of our street
and more ummm… ‘debates’ as to why they can’t play knock and run or go into the National Park surrounding the oval by themselves,
my Cream Puff Dough didn’t… puff!

Hard as I tried, there was no way these babies were going to be filled. They tasted pretty good, but were flat as pancakes!
I learnt something from my house full of tenacious and relentless boys, don’t give up, cos you’ll eventually get what you want if you keep pestering trying!
The second time around I cut a hole at the end of a sandwich bag, filled it with the dough and squeezed out the eclairs!
Yes! This time it worked!

I was pumped! I managed to complete the recipe!
I piled the boys in the car and met a friend who had the rest of their friends waiting for us at the cinemas.
We settled on ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2’.
We sat them all into their seats and just as we started to think okay! They are in a contained space and we can relax for the next 90 minutes or so, we realised we had taken boys, that already had the resources and stealth of seasoned ninjas, to watch a movie that turned out to be an instruction manual on how to get away with absolutely anything!
We sat and watched in helpless terror!

To see more versions of this week’s recipe and read more stories visit French Fridays with Dorie!


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Scallops with Caramel-Orange Sauce


I love scallops!
But I have to say, I was not off to a good start with the orange-caramel sauce.
One minute, the sugar was in the saucepan over medium-high heat, just starting to melt.
The next minute, it was a deep brown and I was yanking it off the stove convinced I had burnt it!
I quickly scanned the recipe and the words “deep caramel colour” stood out to me.
Yay! It was going to be okay! Just keep going!
But while I was doing a little victory dance, my melted sugar started to harden, so in a panic I threw it back on the stove and poured the wine and orange juice on top.
Dorie was right! This caused a lot of bubbling and spattering.
So now I had a mixture of frothy, orange liquid with a hard mangled chunk of caramelised sugar floating in it.
It’s okay, just keep going! It’ll melt! …I think…
And slowly it did! Phew!!!
By the time I had it reduced by half, it even smelled good!

The scallops cooked perfectly and I picked at them as I went along.
Cooked in a bit of oil with some salt and pepper, they were amazing!
The sauce was nice, drizzled lightly over the scallops.
I had a few bites of scallop doused in the sauce and really did not like it.
But a light drizzle added a really nice flavour.

Such an elegant result for so little effort!
I was very impressed.
(I served mine with pumpkin & potato mash and broccolini)

Can’t wait to see what the others at French Fridays with Dorie thought!

 


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Beggar’s Linguine

A basic skill every therapist learns early in their career is how to “roll with resistance” that client’s put up when touching on issues they may not want to deal with.

This week I used every trick in the bag to deal with the resistance I felt towards this recipe!

From simple reflection, “So you don’t think you’d like to try this recipe.”

To double-sided reflection, “I can see that you’re not wanting to do this recipe but you’re not willing to give up either.”

From reframing, “So this is an exciting opportunity to try something you would never have tried before!”

To agreeing with a twist, “Yes, trying this recipe will be a waste of time because you know they won’t like it, but they will be excited about trying something authentically ‘French’!”

You get the gist…

I actually decided early in the week I wouldn’t even bother with this one. It was just too weird and I would skip it!
I mean, it’s not like it’s compulsory or any thing… right…?

But, (sighing), I knew the key thing to resistance is to not provoke it and to steer its energy towards creating positive change! So…

As I boiled the pasta…I rolled with the resistance…

As I chopped the walnuts (we are allergic to all other nuts!), figs and raisins… I rolled with the resistance…

But them something interesting happened…
As the butter boiled and bubbled and the colour intensified and changed…
I felt the resistance… melting…

At the last minute, I decided to add only half the pasta to the buttery sauce. The whole packet felt too much.
I fried up the left over pasta with some eggs.

By this point, all my resistance was gone and I felt great!
I had completed this week’s recipe and made a last minute switch that I knew the kids would like and eat!

As the resistance eased, I could feel my energy return and myself open to new possibilities!

I started to feel excited by the flavours in front of me…

I eagerly bit into the linguine and… I liked it!
I couldn’t eat too much as it was far too rich and buttery! But the taste was good.
My husband on the other hand felt a bit disturbed with the combination. He said it tasted like muesli and called it “breakfast” food!
The kids took a few bites each and said it was ok, but they couldn’t eat much more than that either.

(I felt incredibly satisfied! I “rolled” with my resistance and instead of getting stuck, I opened my self to new experiences and possibilities. And that felt fantastic!)

If you’re interested in trying this recipe for yourself, and see where it takes you, you can go straight to Dorie’s website and view the full recipe here.

To get a great cross-section of views on this recipe I encourage you to click here and see what other’s who participated in this week’s French Fridays with Dorie thought!

 

 

 


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Chicken B’stilla

I love cookbooks! I love to read them, take in the photos and then stack them lovingly on the bookshelf, full of good intentions to return soon and often!

But if I’m to be honest, I don’t return soon enough or often enough. And if I’m to be really honest, when I decide to make something from one of my beloved books, it’s usually something I am comfortable with. You know… we all have our comfort zones. Our grooves… Okay! Our ruts! I admit it! As much as I like to think I’m open minded and expose myself to new experiences, my initial reaction is “play it safe!”

Now that’s no way to live life!

And that’s why I joined French Fridays With Dorie. I knew myself enough to know that I would follow through on a commitment and I would cook recipes that I would normally dismiss.
Recipes like this one!

A “sweetly spiced” chicken pie which has “as it does in Morocco, a dusting of cinnamon sugar over the crust.” Ummm… no thank you!

But I made a commitment…

So I found myself marinating the chicken in onions and spices.

 

Boiling and simmering ’till “falling-off-the-bone tender.” Then whisking, reducing and thickening some more.

 

Spooning into stacked and buttered filo sheets.

 

Then topping with some more stacked and buttered filo sheets before tucking the edges in “as though you were making a bed.”

 

Baking ’till golden brown and serving warm.

 

Yes, I skipped the dusting of cinnamon sugar on the top (what can I say?! I really wanted the kids and husband to eat it!).
I also skipped the almonds (my daughter is allergic).

The final result… everyone loved it! Even my 3 year old!

The only issue we had was that it was so rich and flavourful we couldn’t eat too much of it so I had to make sure we had other bits and pieces to fill up on.

Best of all… feeling amazingly good about myself for stepping out of my comfort zone!

Thanks French Fridays With Dorie!