French Project

For 2010, my new weekend cooking project is French food. Each weekend my goal is to cook something definitively French for dinner. My hope is to expand my repertoire, discover some new flavours, and try to figure out some of the keys to what makes French cooking acclaimed as the best in the world.

Jan 2 – Pissaladière. Rick Stein recipe; amazingly simple and a fantastic new flavour combination of the olives and the onion paste.

Jan 9 – Tarte Tatin. Rick Stein recipe but pretty standard everywhere; amazingly simple and a wonderful, wonderful combination of soft toffee apple, crisp pastry, and cold vanilla ice cream.

Jan 17 – Omelette. Tried to make it as French as I could with mushrooms and shallots cooked in butter, and seasoning the eggs with dried tarragon. Very nice.

Jan 23 – Salade Niçoise. Pretty good.

Jan 31 – Profiteroles. Made the choux pastry alright but didn’t pipe it properly – a mess.