Recettes D'Hiver

France in the winter can be a glorious season. Yes, there are endless ski days in the French Alps and Pyrenees Paris sparkles under a crust of snow while the north and western coasts provide a certain gray moodiness. Even the French Riviera gets a bit nippy but still perfect for a walk along the water. It's also a perfect time for hearty French dishes, full of  wine and rich ingredients. You don't have to visit France for them. They can easily be made in your kitchen.

One of the most famous winter dishes is onion soup. This is a lush blend of caramelized onions thyme sprigs, beef stock and dry white wine.It's usually served in piping hot crocks. Thick slices of baguette topped with a blend of shredded Swiss and Gruyere cheeses. The onions are cooked first with garlic until a creamy brown and then beef broth and the wine are added. It's then ladled into individual pots and topped with the bread and cheese. Another hearty and flavorful one is cassoulet. This layered dish has duck legs cooked with cannellini or tarbais beans - which are preferred along with pancetta A pork ragu is added to the stew This is a mix of boneless pork shoulder - Boston butt- along with carrots and crushed tomatoes. Chicken broth and a variety of spices from thyme to bay leaves round out the recipe. More pork sausage,usually Toulouse, made with duck , ground black pepper and pork top it off along  garlic sausage and breadcrumbs . Keep in mind this is a labor intensive dish with the duck confit being made the day before.If you don;'t have the time , the duck legs can be confitted even three weeks before.Then the day of it's cooking the beans and ragu, and then browning the bread crumbs. The whole stew is then baked for half an hour .

For something a bit easier, think raclette. This is a popular ski resort dish  that originated in Switzerland.  Raceltte cheese is used for the dish but if you can't find it then Gruyere or Swiss also works. You can even use cheddar too! Usually a special machine is used to melt the cheese however putting it in a skillet in your broiler also does the trick.It's served with peeled boiled potatoes  along with pickled cornichons and gherkins for some tang.Also have cured meats like ham, prosciutto and slalami. The cheese is melted and then scraped over the pickled veggies and meats. It's a fun, communal dinner, perfect for a Saturday or Sunday night supper.One of the most famous winter dishes is the famed bouef bourguignon. Julia Child had the best recipe for it. This is a combination of cubed lean beef cooked with beef stock, tomato paste and red wine.Thyme, bay leaf and garlic flavor it while two tablespoons of flour thicken it.Ms Child also added braised  pearl onions - an easy make - and  butter sauteed mushrooms to it for more taste. It's the perfect dish for company but also for a Sunday dinner as well. Add hot crusty baguettes with butter and a crisp green salad as sides.

France is  beautiful in the winter. However you don't have to travel there to get tasty and hearty French winter fare. It can be made dans votre cuisine in your kitchen

Jewish Cooking Redefined

Mention Jewish cooking and images of chicken fat - schmaltz and oily latkes come to mind along with a heavy Eastern European influence. Healthy and international dishes never enter the picture. Until now. A new cookbook sets kosher cooking in a hipper, more worldly light.

Paula Shoyer, creator of the famed Kosher Baker blog along with being named as A Woman To Watch in 2015  has written The Healthy Jewish Cookbook ( Sterling Epicure Publishers 2017). This is a great book, a mix of traditional Jewish cooking with  modern and international twists. This is a must have in any kitchen, regardless of religion. The books starts off with a page one meal planning and introducing kids to preservative free foods. It's written in a straightforward style that many novice home chefs will appreciate.Other pluses is that she recommends using whole wheat pasta and and mixing whole wheat into recipes calling for refined white flour.She is a stalwart advocate of always  cooking with  fresh ingredients.The cookbook is also sprinkled with tips from  feeding the elderly to serving buffet style at a Thanksgiving dinner. There is extra advice on how to clean leeks and dealing with yeast. The book is divided into such sections as Appetizers and Salads, Soups and Sides. I like the fact that she puts vegetarian with fish and dairy main dishes. She also keeps kosher by separating the meat recipes in a chapter all their own

What is also striking is the globalization of her kitchen. Yes, she has a healthy and modern takes on brisket (treating it like bouef bourguignon) baked latkes and tsimme but there are recipes influenced by every corner of the globe.Home chefs will love her Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, a kosher take on pho .Dark miso paste and tamari soy sauce lend color and flavor to a home made chicken soup. There's also a recipe for coq au vin, the traditional French that has Chef Shoyer's spin. She makes this dish lighter by subbing in a white wine for a red. Lamb lovers will enjoy her Japanese lamb chop recipe fiery with jalapeno peppers and ginger.  Italian cooking is sort of similar to Jewish and she has many recipes. A cold winter warmer is her Pasta Siciliano , rich with eggplant and pasta, along with her Ribollata, bread soup. Indian and Moroccan  dal and lemtil  soup recipes also figure greatly in the book..Chef Shoyer is well known for her baking. Her dessert recipes don't disappoint. The  picture of chocolate rugelach looks heavenly as does the one featuring  her carmelized apple strudel. There are also bread recipes such as a gluten free challah and whole wheat onion one. Home bakers will flip for her rosemary focaccia which would be great dipped in peppery olive oil or marinara sauce.

The Healthy Jewish Cookbook  is the book to have for the New Year. It is full of good for you recipes that any home chef or home baker can make. Best of all it marries Jewish  tradition with international dishes.