Tying A DInner Party Together

 One of the biggest problems for any dinner party is coordinating the courses . What is the perfect side for roast Cornish hens? Is a cheesecake appropriate for finishing a paella? In other words what works with what/ It is hard to figure out.

Usually a dish's ethnic origins can lead to what the side dishes and dessert will be. A pork shoulder with apples and onions on the side is basically Germanic in background. Think about serving sauerkraut or sauteed cabbage with bacon on the side. Spaetzles are a must if there's gravy.  Dessert could be a lush Black Forest Cake, rich with cherries and kirschwasser (a cherry liqueur ) or a creamy Bienenstich a 'bee sting " cake consisting of two layers of sweet year dough , pastry cream or whipped cream and a topping of whipped cream studded with almond slivers (hence the cake's name . The almonds are said to resemble stingers) Cassoulet or even duck a'orange are perfect dinner party main courses .It 's only right to have French sides. For cassoulet which is a rich stew consisting of pork, sausage and duck, it's just better to have an unassuming green salad with a plain vinaigrette and slices of warm, crusty French bread. What works as a dessert? Anything with an acidic tang such as a lemon sorbet or a lemon tart. You could also have the light  but chocolate-y pots du creme or creme brulee.

Flavor intense dishes such as paella are usually stand alone dishes. You could start it off with gazpacho shots for guests or shot glasses of just plain gazpacho, the chilled vegetable based soup. Also a simple salad works well along with slices of toasted baguette or Italian bread. As for dessert anything lemony as an antidote to they heavily saffron spiced rice and meats. Another option is the Spanish version of creme brulee cream catalana, . This is slightly different than its' French cousin because it has cinnamon added to the sugar on top. A fun dinner party meal is chili. There is nothing like a bowl of it. Of course the perfect side is a homemade cornbread. This can be baked plain or studded with chopped jalapenos. Serving it with nacho chips is also a fun and tasty way of enjoying the chili. Dessert after this can go two ways, You can have bowls of a light fruit sorbet such as lemon or strawberry or something rich and decadent like a molten chocolate lava cake served with a scoop of cinnamon flecked ice cream. A plate of Mexican wedding cookies would be a great touch too.

It is hard coordinating a dinner party menu. Yet remember where the dish came from and then go with it form there. Have sides and a dessert that represent the main dish's country of origin. It'll prove to be a more unified dinner party.

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.

A Century of Advice

 One word of advice for any novice chef - listen to your elders. The more experienced the home or professional cook, the better their advice. They are a rich encyclopedia of what to do and what to make along with how to avoid disaster and what to do if it occurs.

This is how I feel about my Mom whose advice I still follow. Today would have been her one hundredth birthday (and she would not have liked me putting it out there).  Her cooking advice and culinary curiosity is still being followed today. I constantly hear hear her words and instruction with every vegetable chopped and sauce whisked. She herself came from a rich culinary background with a Piedmontese Italian mother and a Swabian German father. She learned from her immigrant grandparents on how to make a mouth water risotto and tantalizing sauerbraten. it was definitely the best of Northern Italian and Southern German cuisine. There were no measurements. Just intuition and instinct with these  century old recipes that came from both sides of the Alps.I learned these recipes young.One of my favorite , especially now i s her pomodori e uovi, the tasty marriage of tomatoes and eggs. I've adapted to fit a vegan lifestyle by using Just Egg an egg substitute. The flavor and texture is there and I think she would have liked it.

Even though she had a wealth of family recipes to use my Mom was also adventurous. She was the first and the only one on the block to get a wok and cook authentic Chinese food. One of my favorites of hers was Ants Climbing A Tree, a yummy mix of ground beef ,soy sauce and scallions cooked with boiled cellophane or rice noodles. I used to make it with the vegan beef and she liked it.There were also fried dumplings which were a great New Year's Day treat. I feel like I'm copying her when I ]m trying new dishes myself like the Ethiopian stew made with Berbere spice. Her motto always was be curious about the world of cooking.She made tempura when it was popular in the Sixties when the US was discovering Japanese food. We had Mexican long before Taco Bell  and those taco kits came to New Jersey.Her forte was French. She was a big fan of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin. Nothing beat her cassoulet on a cold winter's night. She made Croque Monsiurs when everyone was frying up grilled cheese. Again this was another favorite I learned and enjoyed making for her.Baking she got from her German grandmother. Nothing beat her oatmeal lace cookies and moist cakes with homemade frosting.

I always feel I've inherited a wealth of culinary advice and recipes.My Mom is responsible for that. Through her I can continue the tradition of good family recipes and adventuresome cooking.

A Spin On Cassoulet

One of the most comforting of all foods is the French winter classic cassoulet. I'ts a hearty but sometimes labor intensive stew that is a melange of meats and beans. It can be tiring to create however there's a new spin to make the dish easier.

David Clark realizes this and gave it his twist in yesterday's New York Times Food section. His column, A City Kitchen has this new recipe along with a first course and a neat dessert. It is the duck that stands out , though. He slow roasts duck , serving it with mashed white beans sizzled herbs and olives. It's more of an Italianate spin than French. There is rosemary which the original recipe does not have along with green and black olives. As for the duck, Mr. Tanis suggests using only the legs and recommends the Moulard breed, a plumper hybrid of the every day duck. The legs are topped with peppery arugula leaves dressed with lemon and salt. To change it up a bit sub in broccoli rabe. Instead of putting everything into a cassoulet pot or Dutch oven, use a sheet pan for the legs to achieve a nice, crispy skin and tender moist flesh, similar to confit. The beans are still cooked with onions as in the original recipe along with cloves and garlic. They're then mashed with some of the bean liquid and resemble mashed potatoes. (A potato masher is used for this). You could even serve these with roasted chicken too.

As for the first course, Mr. Tanis decides on seafood, namely clams.They're simply steamed and then served with a garlic parsley butter and lime for zing. The butter is actually used for escargots  - snails - but work perfectly with  the clams. It's a mix of unsalted butter, freshly chopped parsley and garlic. The blend is then melted and cooked with lime zest and lime juice. The clams themselves, little necks, are cooked with leeks and white wine.Another alternative is raw oysters on a half shell. As for the dessert, Mr. Tanis goes somewhat light with ricotta paired with a  rhubarb , ginger and cardamon sauce.It's a spin on the Mediterranean treat of the cheese drizzled with fresh honey. Ginger and cardamon  pods are cooked with sugar and water to form a spiced syrup. About a pound of rhubarb is used for this. If you're wondering where to get it so early in the season, check Wal-Mart or Whole Foods. The mix is served on a wedge of ricotta and decorated with pine nuts or pistachios. As for what wine to serve with the whole dinner, try any of the reds such as Tuscany's Chianti Classico or Brunello de Montalcino.

If you're craving cassoulet but don't want the hard work, consider this recipe with or without the first course and dessert. It's an easier way of enjoying duck and beans . This is a simple cook with a deliciously complex flavor.

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

Your Best Ever Mini Guide To French Food

If you can cook French food, you've mastered one of the world's most complex yet most delicious cuisines>Many home chefs shy away from it, claiming it's too difficult. It's really isn;t thanks to a special section to tomorrow's New York Sunday Times. This isn't a spoiler alert.The New Essentials Of French Cooking is a keeper alert.

Melissa Clark is the author of this section which has some classic Gallic recipes as well one for a tagine, a North African dish popular with the French. Ms. Clark is the author of the weekly column A Good Appetite for the Times' Wednesday Food section. She has also  has authored several cookbooks, her last with famed Manhattan andFrench-born chefs, the famed Daniel Boulud and David Bouley. Their work in savory main meals and delectable pastries and have introduced many a
New Yorker to the subtleties of  French cooking. . Ms. Clark offers such basics as steak and omelets and fancier fare like quiches and souffles. What I found truly intriguing was each dish's history. Some like the omelet are adaptations from the  French, They have been around from ancient Rome. The same is true for the classic coq au vin, created by an annoyed Julius Caesar to give to the Gauls.
A variation of quiche was popular in ancient Egypt. Tangines may have entered the vocabulary and the country around the seventies but their history goes back to the Tenth  Century where Berber and Muslim cultures collided.

Another likable aspect is the why master it column  gracing every recipe. Ms.Clark gives encouraging reasons to make the dishes.Many home chefs would balk at the cassoulet recipe but she  explains as nothing more than a humble bean and meat stew. She does point out the negatives, that the dish is not one to make it on the fly. It does take planning as well as marinating the meats.Yet some of the ingredients , such as Great Northern beans  are easy to come by and easy to work with in the recipe. another plus is that she thoroughly explains the steps , offering how tos that any chef, from novice to experienced can follow. For those that are still put off by le cuisine Francais, there are simple recipes. Try the steak recipe with a red wine sauce.It's a mix of Cognac and brandy added to sauteed shallots.The sauce is then deglazed with chicken stock  and then butter and chives are added. This will go well with the butter cooked steaks. Serve with the mouthwatering  Pomme Anna, , a buttery crispy, baked cake  of thinly sliced potato slices.If you get brave enough, finish with a dessert of the airy bittersweet chocolate souffle.

The New Essentials of French Cooking is a must save for home chefs. Itis the best beginner's guide to  French cooking. Save this special pull out and try the recipes.There is nothing like the cuisine Francaise!

Duck Aux Prunes

One of the tastiest fall dishes to make is duck. It can be cooked  a variety of ways, whether  braised or roasted. One of the best is the French way, avec prunes or with plums These add an earthy sweetness, perfect for the chilly days ahead.

David Tanis knows this and it seems he is a true duck lover as seen in yesterday's New York Times Food section. His A City Kitchen weekly column featured a meat , dear to many foodie's and cooks hearts - duck, He goes mad for the Five Spice infused mahogany lacquered ones  from Chinatown, He rhapsodizes about how duck is cooked in southwestern France, French home chefs take the large Musocvy duck whose meat is more like veal, is grilled like steak. Duck legs are used to flavor cassoulets or braised with red wine and prunes.The flavorful fat is used for confit.Mr. Tanis likes to braise the legs with fresh plums and red wine, preferably a dry one. The fruit may be a bit hard to come by right now. The big plump ones are going out of season so aim for the smaller, purpler Italian variety. What's left of them is sauteed in butter ad served with the duck legs.

Is this an easy dish to cook? Braising is a simple method. The meat is to be partially pan cooked before braising however. The legs need to sizzle and brown and then chopped onion is added for more flavor. Tomato paste is also included along with wine and  four cups of chicken broth. Mr. Tanis  does like duck Chinese style so there is the addition of clove, allspice, cayenne and star anise that are added in the first step . You can omit them if you want a more Gallic flavor.It's braised for thirty to forty minutes or until the legs are tender.At this time the plums can be sauteed in a separate pan. Mr. Tanis also garnishes with pistachios ,lemon zest, parsley ,and chives.

Duck is a tasty dish on its' own. Add spices and fruit to elevate it to another level. It becomes a truly magnificent dish, thanks to Italian plums and Chinese traditional spices.

Summer's One Pot Meals

Summer is a time for easy cooking and easy eating. However grilling and microwave gets old fast. What to do ? Try a one pot meal. They're still have that homemade goodness yet are a snap to put together. Best of all - there's only one pot to wash.

One of my faovirtes it pne pot pasta. My family hs made thos for decades, namle with farfalle or bowtie pasta but any other kinds like wagon wheel pasta or those cute shaped ones like paws and cat faces ( you can go to www.pastashoppe.com to pick up these adorable shaped pasta like bunnies and palm trees).There;s no need to cook  the pasta and sauce separately  The pasta cooks in the sauce and the last is a simple mix of just water garlic , oil and tomato sauce .I used a dash of leftover pizza sauce and it gave it a nice bite. The dish  takes only 20 to 30 minutes tops to create. Even better is when it's reheated with  butter or margarine the next day. Chili, usually, considered a winter dish, can be a hot weather fave too. You can even make it in a slow cooker in the morning and have a nice warm meal to enjoy outside. Another plus is as the season progresses you can use fresh picked tomatoes and peppers, especially if you're growing jalapenos. Chili is also perfect for topping those just from the grill dogs too.

Stews, another cold weather staple can be made in the middle of summer.It , too. Again it's just a one pot meal. It's actually great during this time because you can use fresh picked veggies and herbs like carrots and sage. Another plus is that there's always a lot left over so you can freeze some and save it for another warm day. If you're craving biscuits to go with your stew, then head over to your local Dunkin Donuts or grocery store where they're already made, thus saving you heating up the oven.Goulash, a  variation of stew, can be made too during these steamy days . It needs  ground beef along  with paprika for zing  Add some elbow macaroni but that's up to you Turkey can also be subbed in for the beef as well. A French country pot, similar to the country's famed dish, cassoulet, It is rich with kidney and garbanzo beans, along with Italian sausage  and various herbs. It's the perfect Saturday  night dish, served outside with  good Merlot and a loaf of crusty French bread.

Summer is here but that doesn't mean sandwiches an barbecue for dinner.  Cook up one pot meal for a hearty warm weather dish that's easy to make and easy to eat. It's a snap.

Re working Casseroles

One of the most simplest, and sadly, the most boring, is the casserole.Maybe because it has been denigrated to be nothing more than a mix of canned soup and awful ingredients or whether ,we've just made too many of them in the last century, this easy and versatile baked dish has become a culinary joke.All that is changing.The casserole is moving beyond it's soggy, overworked past and re emerging as something exciting and new. Melissa Clark examines this revamped version in today's Wednesday"s Dining section of the New YorkTimes. It now has taken on a sophisticated turn while maintaining it's down home coziness. Gone are layers of mushy noodles and canned tuna.In their place, new ingredients bloom, turning the whole thing around.The dish is becoming as urbane as it's, French cousin, the cassoulet, that Gallic version of duck confit ,spicy sausages, and beans, topped with crunchy,garlicky breadcrumbs.You can create a lasagna or moussaka, both ,technically casseroles, for a family dinner or a welcome party.These dishes don't even have a soup can between them.Most mid century wives were told to make the perfect casserole Using Campbells soup, simply because it was quicker and even healthier.It just created a generation of bad casseroles. Now you can experiment.Take Chef Floyd Cardoz's recipe from his Battery Park City goes back to his childhood in India to create a casserole.He starts out with the typical birwani a baked dish of brown meat, fried onion and a mélange of spices ranging from cardamon to cinnamon, The famed Lower East Side's Fat Radish has a unique turn as well.Chef Nicholas Wilber makes his like a beet crumble.Beets, an unusual vegetable to put in the dish is layered with cheddar and a mix of beet greens and Swiss chard.The crunchy layer is a mix of oatmeal along with hazelnuts and Pecorino cheese and nutmeg.Chef Wilbur also amps up the dish's appeal by making it in copper and stone gratins.Leave the boring brownie pans or glass bakeware in the cabinets.The appeal of the new casserole's all over style serving it in a copper pan or gratin . This also explains the appeal of a Mexican style casserole where style and flavor trumps all.It's a bake of chorizo ,beans and a variety of chiles for a stylish take on the classic tortilla bake. There's a new generation of casseroles ,just waiting to be tried.They're chock full of new ingredients and new flavors. Try them now for a new twist on an old classic.

The Famed Languedoc Region

French regional food is always the best. It reflects the people and their centuries year old recipes. it also represents the land and waters that fresh veggies, organic meat and newly caught seafood come from. This is certainly true in France's Languedoc area, a beautiful section located on the Mediterranean.

Languedoc has always stood in the shadow of its' more famous neighbor, Provence. Foodies go mad for Provencale cooking,from its' bouillabaisse to its' saffron infused sauces. However Languedoc, the region to Provence's east also has some amazing dishes as well. The most famous is cassoulet, that delicious melange of duck and pork, beans and tomatoes. Wild boar is another popular dish being served in the more mountainous and sometimes chillier areas of the region. Confit du canard is another well loved recipe using duck legs poached in their own fat. Truffles also abound here.as so lives. The Langdociennes make a tapanade using olives form their
hillsides. Seafood is also popular and a fish stew . bourride,is made with aioli , the garlicky mayonnaise.

The region also has some amazing orchards. Cherries, apricots and peaches are in abundance, here thanks to the temperate climate. Clafoutis is a thick buttery flan covering dark sweet cherries. 9thanks to the Spanish influence on the regions' most western border) . Almonds figure big here too,. although most Langdociennes would end their dinners with some fruit and possible blue cheese . Blue cheese originate here and they region is proud of it. France's famed lavender honey is also made in this region and is used in creating sweet, floral infused pastries.

Languedoc is every foodie and gourmet;s destination. it is a quieter version of Provence, Yet it's cuisine packs a punch. It has given France andthe world some of th e best known dishes from cassoulet to clafoutis.

Hearty Fall Dishes

Now that it's fall it's time to think about heartier fare. Gone are the literal salad days of summer. Now you can enjoy creating a full meal without a hot kitchen to bother you.

If you're not much of a cook but still would like to make something hearty then think about stews. These are easy to make and don't require a lot of effort.For something different consider adding spices to it like cloves or even cumin to give it a more exotic taste.For a more complicated dish the try making the French cassoulet. This is a melange of beans, pork and duck . Another variation involves chicken and bacon.

Any pasta dish will be rib sticking and something the whole family will love. If you want add steak bits or cut up chicken breasts to the sauce to make it more substantial. You can also keep the traditional chopped meat but substitute lamb, veal or pork for beef. Cannelloni, a crepe type of pasta is another good fall entree. You can make the meat or the spinach version for your hungry crew.

This is the season to get back into the kitchen and cook!Prepare a meal that is not onyl hearty but that will get your family through this cool season!

French Bistro Food

Recently I wrote about the cuisine of Southern France's Provence. Today we're going to explore another facet of la cuisine francaise - bistro cooking. This is what the everyday Parisian is eating, basically simple foods yet just as tasty and well made as the Gallic haute cuisine. It may be for the common folk but it's extraordinary.

Bistro cooking is not unlike the British pub grub. I think the English stole this concept from the folks across the Channel because the French have offered good quality lunches and dinners at low prices for some centuries now. It's sometimes referred to as grand-mere cuisine or grandma's cooking. This is another name for comfort food, warm, rich and satisfying. It could include onion soup, that French classic which is redolent of caramelized onions in beef broth, topped with a rich coat of Gruyere cheese. It could be as simple as those tasty sandwiches the croque monsieur or croque madame. The first is essentially a grilled cheese made with creamy Swiss , and a slice of fresh ham on two slices of white bread. This is then fried in butter and served. A croque madame is the same except that chicken is used instead. Another bistro favorite is steak avec frites - in other words steak, usually well seasoned with shoestring potatoes. All these meals are usually accompanied by a good glass of red or white wine and a freshly tossed salad.

Bistro food can be slightly more complex. There are crepes, a street favorite throughout Paris and the Ile de France. These can be served plain with just lemon and sugar or stuffed with ratatouille, that Provencale classic along with various meats, vegetables and seafood. There is also coq au vin, which is a slow stewed rooster and burgundy stew.Cassoulet is another hearty favorite. This is simply a melange of white beans, pork sausages. chicken or duck slow cooked for hours. For somewhat lighter fare bistros will serve Coquille St. Jacques, scallops served in a cream sauce on a giant cockle shell.


French bistro cooking reflects French tastes but also the true Gallic passion for earthy foods that are filling and comforting. They satisfy a need not just for a flavorful dish but something familiar and soothing.