French Fire

 Winter and French food tend to go together. There are plenty of rich dishes that will keep you warm when the temps drop. They are tasty and flavorful, full of protein and taste. The will warm you from head to toe - de la tete aux pieds.

If you want instant French food , then head to Lidl I love their potato gratins which are miniature pies full of cream and potatoes.

These are perfect , good on their own or with squash as I made them for a kind of Franco-American dinner.

This is a nice vegetarian option however if you want true French fire serve then with a hearty cassoulet. This is a mix of various meats and beans originating in the south of France, namely Toulouse. It can be made in a slow cooker. You can add fowl such as chicken or duck along with slabs of bacon and sausages. Use two kinds of pork for a flavorful dish, There beans too , namely both  cannellini and navy along with onions carrots and celery. Garlic is a must along with parsley and cloves. Another hot dish is pot au feu. Thisis a two part meal, with the broth cooked first and then the meats. it does take five hours on the whole, but a perfect dish to make on a snowy day. You can use beef shanks along with vegetables. It's served with a sauce of mustard and sour cream.

A wintry night in means good French food .it should be hot and satisfying. Make either pot au feu or cassoulet for a tasty dinner.

What's on Your Radar

 Everyone has a must cook or bake for the New Year. It could be a new cuisine or a different kind of cake or cookie.it could be an air fried recipe for broccoli or a new salad that involves kale/ I know I';d like to jump on what's left of last year's hot honey trend. It's something I can add to dressings and dips.O can see a hot honey vinaigrette over a grilled chicken salad or perhaps adding a bit to a frosting for Valentine's Day cupcakes.

What are you most excited to make in 2025? Let us know and include a recipe if you can.

To Be A Better Cook

 One of the most often New Year's resolutions is be a better cook. Some sign up for classes. Other pore over cookbooks and websites. hoping they'll up their cooking game. Yet it's just as simple as making simple and little improvements. These can elevate a home chef from a novice to an expert.

Newcomer Tanya Sychynsky, a regular editor at the New York Times cooking section created this article and tips in a how to for yesterday's New York Times Food section.She offers a variety of good advice that makes  for more efficient cooking and running a kitchen. She uses another contributor Samin Nosrat's Whatever You Want Soup. I've done this adding leftover sauteed tomatoes to a tomato soup.It's taking butter and or olive oil. Chicken or pork can be added along with any leftover diced veggies. Try cubed celery, fennel, leeks , and winter squash to name a few. You could add corn for a corn chowder or potatoes too.Chef Nosrat also recommends adding one and a half pounds of boneless chicken too for a heartier potage. For leftover herbs and greens, think pasta with a creamy herb sauce. This is like an Alfredo sauce with the addition of kale, mustard greens broccoli rabe and or mature spinach . Add  a sprig of thyme or  oregano along with rosemary to give flavor. Another leftover dish is vegetable pajeon ,a Korean scallion panckae made with whatever veggies you have in the fridge. Add peppers and kale to a pancake made with flour and potato starch, There's also a dipping sauce made from soy  and ginger mixed with garlic and a pinch of granulated sugar.

Breakfast is an important meal too.There are recipes for slow made ones along with quick ones too. A classic one is Sarah DiGregorios' slow cooked oats.It can take six hours but you could do it the night before and microwave it. There is a savory side that adds chili crisp and, shredded cheddar and pickled red onions along with peanuts. There's also crumb;ed cooked microwaved bacon mixed with marmalade or a fun mix of banana chips and honey. There is the classic maple syrup and butter to fall back on. Yeqande Kemolafe supplies the quick breakfast version of breakfast burritos. These are filled with  fried refried beans and six eggs. Cumin and scallions add flavor along with shredded Montery Jack cheese. Add freshly sliced avocados and a drizzle of hot sauce. Serve immediately or wrap in foil to be reheated in a 400 degree Farenheit oven for about eight minutes. A fun addition would be a spicy and hot cup of Mexican hot coca to round it out.

A good cook learns . Anyone can become one by learning how to be efficient in the kitchen. It takes little time and little effort.

What To Eat in The New Year

With a  new year comes new trends. That applies so much to food too. There are some novel ideas coming out of the culinary world .Will they stick? Maybe.

Regular contributor Kim Severson wrote about these trends that were also covered yesterday in todays' New York Times Food section.We covered the future rice of sauces like Chipotle's which is an easy copy. This is a spicy vinaigrette that could work well with an adobo chicken salad.It's has the kick of chipotle peppers in tt. It could also work well There was also fruit like strawberries that will have added flavors like pineapple and passion fruit bread into them.There is an incredible interest in seed development as per the director of sales Jon Hansburg of Baldor Foods in the Bronx. The company specializes in such delicacies as truffles  and microgreens. Again there was also the idea of better hospitality aimed at customers. This will be apparent as employees  such as waitstaff and cooks will get a better work/life balance.Restaurants will also be warmer to customers ,offering them a haven amiss the turmoil outside.

Another trend not covered yesterday was savory coffees!!. THose liquid desserts with syrup and cream will make way for more saltier brews. Coffees are being mixed with pureed  sunchokes and avocado and be infused with ginger ,lemongrass and rosemary. Yemeni coffeehouses which got their start in Detroit, the country's largest Arab community will be spreading to other areas, bringing their Hawaii spice , a mix of cardamon, cinnamon and ginger. Japan will share its' grab and go gastronomy as even gas stations will offer prepared meals, along with their own brands of frozen foods and salads along with creating coffee bars.Protein consumption will be on the rise as more people go for peanut butter and Turkish breakfasts which expand the first meal with feta cheese and jams. Even orgam meats which usually are ignored could be on the table this year. There are also going to drinks that give the same buzz as alcohol, but instead of being ninety proof they're infused with hemp kava and an amino acid called GABA which calms the brain.

These are some of the trends that will grace 2025. There will  probably be more as the year goes on. These trends are worth trying and should add interest to any diet.

Trends Past Trends Future

 This was an interesting year food wise. There was hot honey and sleepy girl mocktails. Fast foods combat each other with cheaper prices. These were some fo the trends in the year past. What will 2025 bring in?

Hot honey was everywhere, from iced tea to a dip for anything chicken.It's an easy make.Take regular honey, preferably a wildflower kind, add crushed hot pepper flakes and just a tiny splash of apple cider vinegar to cut all that sweetness. You can simmer it on a stovetop or just hear it int he microwave for a few minutes. Add it to everything. it kick;s up a bland buttercream and makes for an exciting rib sauce. As for the sleepy girl mocktail.Use tart cherry juice which facilitates sleep,magnesium and some seltzer.Mix and drink. This is perfect for those sleepiness nights and can help in destressing. Fast food giants like Wendy'd and McDonalds's lowered their prices in competition with each other. This will continue until the summer. Taco Bell joined the nugget competition with their chicken nuggets and covered them with tortilla chips. They're bigger than McDonald's and according to some Tiktokker's tastier.

What's ahead in 2025? it will be a year of sauces.Chipotle's viral vinaigrette will be gracing salads. This is a mix of red wine vinegar ,honey oregano and garlic along with chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This is the perfect lift for any salad. Ranch dressing will still be number one but there will be variations.There will be pickle flavorings along with chimichurri. Fruits will have new flavors.It all started with cotton candy grapes. Strawberries will surprisingly have more flavors. Your next bite into one may be one filled with pineapple, peach or passion fruit mixed with the juicy berry flavor. These will also be higher in nutrients and vitamins too, given that they'll be grown on more organic soil.Hospitality will also be big in the new year with  friendship oozing out of hotels and restaurants. There will be shorter menus and comfortable menus. Value and deliciousness will be important as more and more places offer workers a more reasonable work/life balance.

It's time to ring out the old trends and ring in the mew. 2025 will be interesting and flavorful. Every bite and sip will be intriguing.

Nibble In The New Year

 New Yea'rs Eve demands party food even if it's a party of one. Think fun appetizers and hors'douevres  for a fun ringing in to the New Year.. You can have a wide variety of bites from a mini charcuterie to saucy dippables .It's up to you to decide.

One fun thing is to create a charcuterie or sea-cuterie board. It doesn';t have to be grand. if there's only three or four  - or even two then think a good salami sliced along with slices of prosciutto and mortadella. Have slices or cubes of cantaloupe for a lovely savory - sweet flavor, along with  rounds of toasted Italian bread, crackers, olives and sun dried tomatoes in oil. I would also  include cubes of mozzarella and Parmesan too for fun snacking. A sea-cuterie can have chilled shrimp with  sauce along with crab cakes  You could include herring - a German tradition of ensuring good luck for the New Year along with anchovy fillets. Rice crackers wouldn't go amiss here. You could also have slices fo brown bread for the herring and Italian or zFrench bread for the anchovies. If you want to add canned salmon along with tuna in olive oil ,do that too.It's your board  so have fun with it.A cheese cuterie board is also fun too. Try different varieties of cheeses from Edam to Gouda. Have the centerpiece baked Brie in puff pastry. With this have apple and pear slices and various breads and jams that will go with the fromages.

Hot bites are always welcomed. Air fryer wings and /or drumsticks are perfect nibbles to ring in 2025. have them just oiled and then salted and peppered. These are the best. crispy and fried  and then dipped into a variety of sauces. Have little ramekins filled with barbecue, lemon  butter, and honey mustard.  Serve with little scoops of macaroni and potato salads. These with the chicken actually make for a filling meal. Mini or English muffin pizzas also make for tasty appetizers. These are so easy to assemble and then bake in whether a toaster oven or an air fryer. if there;s more than two people then set up a  toppings bar. Have olives  ,pepperoni,  sliced mushrooms and anchovies. Another fun idea is a basket of fresh from the oven garlic knots . You can get already made pizza dough or make your own. If you're making your own , the give the dough and hour to an hour and a half to rise. These can be baked in either the oven or air fryer. You can sprinkle a bit of Parmesan in for more flavor.  You could have a plate of olives or artichoke hearts as a nice accompaniment.

I'ts New Year. Ring it in with tasty nibbles. They can be cold or hot, but make sure they're delicious.

Between The Holidays

 These days between Christmas and New Year should be easy. No work. Sleeping in. Cooking should be easy too. Think air fryer and microwave dishes that are simple to make. 

I found this with all Lidl products. I just wanted something simple but tasty. I used their chili starter which is just tomatoes with cumin and chili powder and microwaved it with chickpeas and red kidney beans.

I just added a splash of olive oil and water. It was then microwaving it for five minutes .

I added rice  and it was a great meal, simple without too many frills. To add to it I threw in Lidl's El Taquito's avocado bits.

These are the size of chicken nuggets but there's creamy avocado inside a tasty, fiery crust. This gave the chili some oomph. Yes there was dessert.A gain it was Lidl's Favorina brand of Pandora, the Northern Italian holiday sweetbread. Mine was a mini version.

it was a fun treat afterwards. plain simple, but oh so buttery.

This week is a time for rest and relaxation. Keep the cooking simple. Use the air fryer. use the microwave. It's make for easier meals.