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Tag Archives: french fridays with dorie


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Coconut Friands

Over here in Sydney, Australia, the school year starts at the end of January and after every 10 weeks of school the kids are given two weeks of holidays.
Except for Christmas when they get 6 weeks off.

We’ve completed Term 1 and are just winding up 2 weeks of holiday chaos fun!

Now I love and adore coconut.
I knew between trips to the movies, putt putt golf, sleepovers and full days of laser skirmish I was going to get this recipe done and posted!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It has coconut after all! (And it is one of the simplest recipes I have come across!)
I find it hard to make time to accomplish the basics, like grocery shopping, with so many activities and kids staying over.
But I was not going to miss this!

I made it in plenty of time! And then the next two days we left the house pretty much straight after breakfast and returned at night time!
So all my ideas of pretty photos flew out the window!
I even bought a pretty friand tin… it made a pattern!!!
But the photo taken with my iphone late at night just doesn’t do it any justice!

I wanted to run away! Skip posting for the week.
Like I did with the Cocoa Sables.
That week the kids had so many school band commitments and performances that, while I made both the Cocoa and Butter Sables, I didn’t get around to posting anything!

I did the same with the Salmon Rillettes.
I like Sardines! And I loved this recipe!
However amidst the Easter and school holiday madness, we decided to go to Melbourne for a 3 day weekend the day this post was due. So I skipped it.

But you know what?
I don’t like how I feel when I miss a week of posting!

I’ve come to understand that completing the recipes each week with the French Fridays with Dorie group gives me a sense of achievement and accomplishment!
It makes me feel goooood!

So while I’ve been cooking most weeks, it’s not  as satisfying as engaging in the entire process of cooking, posting and then sharing this with the rest of the group!

Who knew this would become such a fun and filling part of my life!


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Asparagus with Bits of Bacon

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was simple and delicious.

Toss some oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice over cooked asparagus.
Season with salt and pepper.
Top with bits of bacon and finely diced onion.

What’s there not to like!?!

And it was so easy to prepare and serve alongside grilled salmon, we had time to experiment and play with pink streaks…

What can I say…

Anyway…

Can’t wait to see what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group thought of this dish and how they served it!


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Saint-Germain-Des-Pres Onion Biscuits

I was excited about making these biscuits.
I fried the onions.
Sifted the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
Creamed the butter into the dry ingredients with my finger tips…

And then my 14 year old daughter and her friends asked if I could show them how to use the curling iron to curl their hair for the Taylor Swift concert they were going to.

I was happy to demonstrate.
Last time we went to a wedding I decided to teach myself to curl my own hair by watching a You Tube video!
(It is amazing what’s on there! I also learned how to apply eye make up like the girls from the Hills (?!) and many ways to wear a scarf!)
What can I say? Some things just aren’t “my thing” and I was in awe of what you could learn on You Tube!
I shared my excitement with my wonderful family, and they laughed at me!
Ha! Who’s laughing now!

The curls came out perfect (thank goodness!)
And I returned to my dough.

Not a minute went by before I heard “Muuuuummmmm!”
This was backed by shouts of “We don’t know what we’re doing! We need your help!”

 Four heads and a can of hairspray later I returned to my dough.

My head reeling from the hairspray fumes I finished the biscuits!

But I guess sitting there for an hour didn’t do them any favours!
My biscuits came out flat as pancakes!!!

(Oh! And while I was off curling hair, my husband ate the ham I bought to fill the biscuits!)

Despite the lack of height and filling, I thought this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe tasted simple but nice.
I can’t wait to see how what the rest of the group thought
(and also to see how these should have looked!


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Roasted Salmon and Lentils

My boys ask the same question every day.
“Can my friends come over today”.
It doesn’t matter if they’ve seen their friends all day at school.
It doesn’t matter if they’ve just returned home from their after school activities (which they do with their friends).
It doesn’t matter if they’ve had friends over or been at friend’s houses every day this week.
It doesn’t matter if they’re sick. Or tired. Or what time of day it is.
It’s always the same question.

This question is then followed by,
“Can they stay for dinner?”
And then,
“Can they have a sleepover? Pleeeaaase???!!!!” 

As I headed home from school with a car full of 12 year old boys we were clearly at question 2.
They were suggesting a pizza night! Or maybe a hot dog night! Or tacos!

I told them they could stay as long as they were prepared to eat salmon and lentils.

They all went home for dinner.

Q3 didn’t even come up!!!!

We enjoyed this dish. It was hearty and satisfying.
And surprisingly easy to make!

That’s what I’ve come to love about French Fridays with Dorie. It’s become very much a family thing. We talk about the recipe of the week. The kids ask questions and they feel they are part of something bigger. They are more open and willing to try new things because they believe their opinion of the final product is valued!

I can’t wait to see what the other member of French Fridays with Dorie thought!


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Cheese-Topped Onion Soup

It feels so good to be back cooking with the French Fridays with Dorie group!
Yay!

We returned from Hawaii and jumped straight into the 2012 school year.
Information nights, homework, band practice, sports try-outs, catching up with friends and trying to establish some semblance of routine!

Then there’s all the after school activities. Winding up summer sports and registering and trying out for winter sports has kept us busy!

And so has enjoying the last few weeks of summer!
Hanging out at the beach, the kids learning to surf and kayak.
It’s been fun!
And crazy!
And hectic.

I made the brioche last week…
and loved the Nutelle Tartine!

But I forgot to take photos of the final product!

I’ve always wanted to try onion soup so I knew I had to get my act together this week!

And I think it was well worth it!

We all loved this week’s recipe, especially the cheesy bread on top.
It added so much flavour and depth to the final product.
I will definitely make this again.
But might wait for cooler weather next time!

Can’t wait to see what everyone else at French Fridays with Dorie thought of this recipe!


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Gorgonzola Apple Quiche and Hawaii

We spent two magical, glorious, incredible, fun-filled weeks in Hawaii.

We swam…

We surfed…

We went paddle boarding…

We shopped…

And we shopped some more…

We toured Kualoa ranch on the east coast where Jurassic Park, Lost and Pearl Harbour and were filmed…

My husband loved it here on the east coast of Oahu the  most…

Where the mountains met the coast…

We watched scenes being filmed for Hawaii 5-0 at our hotel… (can you tell my daughter loved this the most!)

And we ate…
Buffet breakfasts, freshly made omelettes filled with vegetables and plate after plate of the sweetest pineapple, papaya, cantaloupe and watermelon you can imagine. Duke’s on Waikiki beach was our favourite breakfast hangout! (pic is of buffet at Hilton Hawaiian Village where we stayed)

We ate Haupia pie on the North Shore at Ted’s Bakery…

Garlic Shrimp and grilled corn at Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on the East coast…

And we discovered the Cheesecake Factory!

We looooved the Cheesecake Factory!!!!!

Between us all we snapped about 2000 pics on our iphones and ipods.
Flicking through all the photos to get to the pics of the gorgonzola apple quiche has been another bonus to this week’s French Fridays with Dorie!

Coming back was hard. We had such an amazing family holiday we didn’t want to return.
But I have to admit it was nice to get back to into the routine of normal life and I realised how much French Fridays with Dorie has become a part of my life! I hate blue cheese with a passion! But I missed the group and the baking and there was no way I was going to miss another week! I knew I could try a different filling but hey, when will I ever have the opportunity to try gorgonzola and apple quiche in my life! I knew this was the perfect time! Fresh from my adventures in Hawaii I made the quiche…

Along with a salad I found in a magazine for American Cobb Salad (I replaced the blue cheese with Haloumi though!)

My family ate the quiche and we loved the pastry and the filling (without the gorgonzola bits!) What can I say! We are not blue cheese people!

So thank you French Fridays with Dorie for again introducing me to a new taste and allowing me to reminisce over two of the best weeks in my life!!! Can’t wait to see what every one else thought of the gorgonzola apple quiche!


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Bubble Top Brioche

I’m not sure how other countries format their school year but here in Sydney, Australia we have 4 school terms that go for 10 weeks each. The kids have two weeks off school at the end of every 10 week term. Except for Christmas, when they have 6 weeks off school.

We are half way through our Christmas school holidays and next week we leave for 2 weeks in Hawaii! Yay!
I can’t wait! It’s been about 15 years since I was last there and I have such great memories from that trip and now I get to make new ones with my children!

My husband is excited for the opportunity to have a break and spend time with his family.
My 14 year old daughter (who couldn’t wait until January 1st so she could announce that next year she’ll be 16) can’t wait to go to Hawaii so she can get a tan her friends will be jealous of.
My 11 year old son has decided he wants to learn to surf (and befriend the penguins that are at the resort).
And my 4 year old son is just outraged we chose to go to Hawaii over Queensland, where all the theme parks are!

I am looking forward to going to the beach, just like we do here at home…
Without having to clean the sand out of my car or wash the endless stream of beach towels!

So I really wanted to do one last French Fridays with Dorie before we take off for a few weeks.
And as usual I picked the least practical day.
We had a great, but very late night, at an Irish/Italian wedding…


Followed by an early to start to meet friends at the water slides. They slid non stop for 8 hours…

And then, to top it off, a bunch of the boys came back to our house for a sleepover.
At 10.30 that night they settled down to watch Batman so I took this opportunity to start the dough!

I was exhausted but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed making the dough.
It felt incredibly good and satisfying.

The next morning I finished the recipe and they returned from the park having discovered new ways to ride their scooters and skateboards…

They ran inside demanding to know what smelled like croissants!

The brioche rolls were fresh out of the oven and they really did smell like freshly baked croissants.
When I pulled one apart it was incredibly soft…

And light. And fluffy. And totally delicious!

They shoved them in their mouths.
Some with jam and cream…
Others with Nutella.

They all agreed Dorie’s Bubble-Top Brioche tasted great!
I can’t wait to see what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie team came up with!


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Potato Chip Tortilla

This week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe was a perfect fit for the week we’ve had!

In Sydney, it is the last week of school for 2011!

It’s a week of school concerts, presentation nights and christmas get togethers at friend’s houses…

There’s a lot of food, a lot of kids and a LOT of driving everyone around!

It’s not just the end of school for 2011…

And saying goodbye to friends going off to high school…

It is also the end of all the extra curricular lessons & activities for the year.

Music lessons…

Sports…

And oh so many parties!!!

 As everything winds up for the year, things get incredibly hectic!

So, for us, this week’s recipe was perfect!
It was easy and delicious.


And as everyone came and went throughout the day, we snacked on the tortilla wedges!

I am looking forward to reading how the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group went with this recipe!


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Chard Stuffed Pork Roast with Crispy Golden Crackling

I love bacon.
I adore bacon.
But that’s’ where my interest in pork begins and ends.

The rest of my family have another love in addition to bacon.
Pork Crackling!

Now when you’re a family of 5, negotiations are just a part of life.
I get to stuff the pork loin with Swiss chard and raisins, and they get crackling!
Everyone’s a winner!

I followed Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, from her book ‘Around My French Table’, right up to the last step.
But instead of patting crushed peppercorns and coriander over the pork roast, I substituted Donna Hay’s steps to achieving the perfect crackling! (My husband just read this and wanted me to stress how incredible the crackling was).

*As soon as you get your pork home, remove the wrapping and place the pork on a plate in the fridge until ready to prepare. This makes the skin dry out, which helps create a crunchy surface.
* To make the crackling really crispy, make sure the oven is very hot – preheat for about 20 minutes at 220 celsius.
* Rub salt and oil into the scored pork after tying. Table salt spreads further than sea salt and helps give the crackling its crunch.

I then cooked the pork for 20 minutes at 220 celsius, then reduced it to 200 degrees celsius and cooked it for another 50-55 minutes.

I peeled potatoes and pumpkin, tossed them in a little oil, salt and pepper and added to the baking tray with the pork when I reduced the temperature to 200 degrees celsius.

We all loved this dish.
It was so delicious!
The stuffing flavoured the meat and the vegetables, really lifting and enhancing the flavours.

The cracking was truly out of this world!
I usually can’t get past the fact that I am eating fat.
But oh my goodness!!!
It was divine!

I am really looking forward to the leftovers…

And I cannot wait to see what the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group came up with!


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Matafan – fluffy mashed potato pancakes


“A cross between pancakes and blini”  is how Dorie Greenspan describes this week’s French Friday’s with Dorie recipe.
She suggested serving them with maple syrup or as an hors d’oeuvre topped with creme fraiche and whatever catches your fancy!
They really are incredibly versatile and can be served at any time of day!
But just as she writes in her book ‘Around My French Table’, they barely made it out of the kitchen.
As I poured each one into the pan, someone was standing by waiting for it to cook and eat!

It’s getting hot here in Australia.
We are spending more and more of our time at parks and beaches…

So these pancakes were a welcome treat!
Light and satisfying enough to eat throughout summer.
You’re only limited by your imagination as to how to serve them!
I stuck to Dorie’s serving suggestions this time, but I can’t wait to see what great ideas the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie group came up with!