In recipes, it is best to state lemon juice quantities in millilitres, rather than simply say the juice of a lemon. Often it is essential to be precise in the quantities one uses. When a recipe calls for the juice of a lemon, it always raises the question, how much is that? Over the years, [...]
Years ago, in 2007, I attended La Varenne Cooking School in Burgundy, and one of the many dishes we cooked there with the chefs was the classic Tarte Tatin. The class was held in one of the beautiful kitchens of the Chateau du Fëy, the home of La Varenne Cooking School and its founder, Anne [...]
This brown beef stock recipe forms part of my Mastery in the kitchen - the foundations of cookery - Stocks, sauces and soups program. To be a good cook you need to master the fundamentals of cookery and stock-making is one of those. The best stock is full of flavour, colour, body and aroma. Good [...]
Clarified butter, also called ghee, is made when the milk fat is rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat. Melting the butter allows the components to separate by density. The resulting clear, golden coloured liquid fat called ghee, has a high smoking point, making it an excellent cooking medium. [...]
Pain d’épices is a Burgundian classic; it is a lovely unusual ‘bread’ or ‘cake’ made with rye flour, spices and honey, without yeast, using baking powder and bicarbonate soda instead. It tastes something like gingerbread, although ginger is not one of the spices I use. In France, it is sold in loaves, sometimes, in [...]
For this rich terrine, use a sharp blue cheese like Bleu d’Auvergne, Roquefort or Shadows of Blue. Serve it as a cheese course with my walnut and onion bread,or with a pear, rocket and salad. Ingredients: 250g blue cheese 125g butter 1 tbsp brandy or cognac 65ml cream or ¼ cup [...]
This is a versatile bread served either fresh or toasted and is a wonderful accompaniment to cheese and wine. I always serve it with the ‘Blue cheese and walnut terrine’, which you will find in the website recipe collection as well. Bread is not time-consuming to make, but it does require a little forward [...]
Frittatas are my go-to lunch when I want a simple quick lunch or dinner and I am longing for some eggs! There are a few other suitable ingredients in the refrigerator, such as cream and a variety of cheeses, a tomato or 2, some spring onions, a zucchini, chili, bacon and lemons. Last Sunday, [...]
For the classic, simple Bretagne ‘Moules Marinière’, the mussels are cooked with white wine and water; I am sure those Bretagne sailors’ wives would have used water only. These days various cooks use cider, beer or even red wine. Add a bouquet garni of bay leaf, parsley, celery stalk, thyme and peppercorns, plus a [...]
Moules Marinière is one of the best-known classic French mussel dishes. The recipe hails from the wives of French sailors living along the northwest coast of Brittany, where most of France’s mussel catch is harvested. It is a typical French provincial bistro dish, in that these Bretagne sailors’ wives could afford to make a [...]
