Desserts de France…

Les crêpes !
Crêpes Suzette mandarine – Crêpes boisettes (berry) – Crêpes little sun – Crêpes soufflées tropicales

More : crêpes compilation (sweet and savory)

Noël et Rois (Xmas and Kings) :
Pompe à l’huile (sweet fougasse) – Nonnettes (fluffy gingerbread) – Flocon de neige (snowflake cake) – Nougat glacé (honey ice-cream) – Galette des Rois (Kings’ cake) – Galette des Rois au chocolat

More : Christmas dessert compilation

Les fruits !
Poire pochée au chocolat – Baked pineapple – Fruity papillote – Tartelette aux figues – Pomme lampion (baked apple) – Crémet aux fruits rouges

Classiques :
Génoise – Cygne et choux (cream puffs and swan) – Millefeuille –Tarte au chocolat – Religieuse (cream puff “nun”)

Regions :
Brioche de Pâques (Easter bread, Provence) – Gâteau de Metz (retro chocolate cake, Lorraine) – Croustade or Pastis aux pommes (apple pie, Gascogne) – Millas (corn and pumpkin, South-West) –Farz fourn (butter cake, Bretagne)

Chocolat.
Coffee sunglasses – Gâteau truffe aux kumquats – White chocolate cinnamon apple cake – Raspeberry choco-carob cake

More chocolate sweets.

Festifs.
Pets de nonne (‘farting nun’ carnival donuts) – Mango coco millefeuille – Star anise mandarin chocolate tarte – Crémet in mint sauce – Gâteau de la bergère (Shepherd’s cake made with potato) – Petits flans a la betterave (sweet beetroot puddings)

More ? French dessert compilation.

La mer. French sea dishes ( compilation)

Menu to navigate in the sea of French main dishes…

papillote de crystal saumon et pomélo (salmon papillote)
papillote de poisson (white fish)
papillote de poisson vanillée (vanilla fish)

Winter bouillabaisse
Summer bouillabaisse
aioli aux pommes de terre nouvelles (with cod fish)
bourride de limande et amaguri
fish cassoulet
choucroute de la mer (seafood Sauerkraut)

morue parmentière (cod and potatoes)
effeuillée de morue parmentière (cod and potato gratin)

calamars au vin (wine stewed calamari)
calamar à l’armoricaine (calamari stew)

carpaccio de daurade au pamplemousse (grapefruit marinated fish)
pétoncles à la nage (mini scallop soup)
ormeaux au beurre (buttered abalone)
salade tahitienne (Tahitian raw fish)
féroce d’avocat (avocado cod)

sole meunière
Mediterranean grilled fish
saumon vapeur aux algues (steamed salmon)
daurade flambée au pastis (anise baked fish)

Pêcher mignon en papillote

Pêcher mignon… the name is lost in transltion. Let’s say cute sinful peach tree ?

Plus a few drops of lemon juice…

Wrapped in shape of papillon (butterfly).

Baked.

Let’s open… Hum, the vanilla and rose flavor is divine.
You can add ice-cream to make it a real dietetic sin. I don’t need that. Oh wait, I had some…

Papillote de crystal, saumon et pomélo

Let’s make a transparent papillote now…
You can see now many chefs presenting their papillote in a special transparent film. It’s only available in shops for pros. Ordinary micro-wave film can be used if you don’t heat too much over 100 degree C. No problem for steaming.

Thinly sliced zucchini with salt and mace. The salmon rubbed with black pepper and a little salt. A slice of pomelo. Bits of young onion.

Last touch : sweet almond oil.

You can see when the fish changes of color. Stop cooking just at that point. It will keep cooking slightly and it will be perfect when you unfold.

A side of nagaimo (raw potato) with negi and onion.

That makes a delicate and delicious Summer lunch.

Minute papillote ! Summer day camembert.

Our July 2012 Daring Cooks’ host was Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie! Sarah challenges us to learn a new cooking technique called “Cooking En Papillote” which is French and translates to “cooking in parchment”.

Snobbish cultural minute :
Unlike what English speakers believe, the word does not mean “in parchment”. Papillote comes from “papillon” (=butterfly). A papillote is something like a butterfly. There is verb too, papilloter (to “papillote”) usually meaning to sparkle and shine like butterfly wings.

That does not affect the recipes at all. I know, I know…

There will be 2 other new recipes (to be posted soon, visit again):

Steamed crystal papillote
Pêcher mignon en papillon

And there were old ones :
Papillote de poisson vanillée – vanilla cream fish papillote
Surprise present in the plate : papillote de poisson

So, take a small camembert. Wrap it in foil. Heat it about 20 minutes on a barbecue, a plancha or in a oven. Be careful from 10 to 15 minutes as it may burst if it’s over-cooked.

Remark : Yes, my camembert looks weird. But it’s normal for Japan. It’s a green olive camembert. That’s not a great invention, but that’s perfect to play with that type of preparations.

Prepare a green sauce in a juicer :

Prepare sticks of bread (semi-stale), toast and rub with garlic.

Bring onto the table the hot papillote, the sauce and the bread sticks.
Cut the top skin of the cheese with a knife, open a big hole and pour some sauce on it.

Dig into with the bread sticks.