A day before + 30 min / 1 hour

 serve 6)

Ideally a rooster, or 1 or 2 chickens (1.5kg, 3.5 lb), cut into 8 pieces or more

1/2 bottle of full-body Burgundy red wine (or Cotes du Rhone)

6 bacon slices (5 oz), diced

0.5 lb (250g) button mushrooms

A dozen small white onions

2-3 cloves of garlic, mashed

2 carrots, peeled and quartered

Sunflower oil, unsalted butter

Bouquet of herbs: 2 sprigs of thyme and 1 bay leaf, tied all together with string

Parsley

Salt and pepper

 

   A day in advance, clean and cut the rooster/chicken in 8 pieces or more. Pour half a bottle of red Burgundy wine over.

 

Add the small white onions, the quartered peeled carrots and the herbs. Cover and put in the fridge.

 

The next day, remove and drain the chicken and vegetables. Put the wine aside for later use.

 

 Brown the chicken pieces with oil in a skillet. Remove the chicken. Using the same skillet, add garlic to the vegetables and heat for a couple of minutes

 

Put the chicken and the vegetables in a large sauce pan. Pour the wine and add salt and pepper

 

Bring to a boil at moderate heat.

 

 Cover and cook at low heat for 1 or 2 hours

 

Heat bacon, onion and mushrooms in a skillet until brown (10 minutes)

 

When the chicken is ready, add bacon, onion and mushrooms in the pan, cook and stir for 2 or 3 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning,

 

Add parsley to the chicken when finish. Prepare rice or potatoes to serve with Coq au vin.

  

Wine suggestion: red Burgundy wine, or Cotes du Rhone red, Morgon

 15 min / 5 min

 serve 6

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup water

3 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 lb unsalted butter

2 orange peels

1/2 cup orange juice

4 tb orange liqueur

Cognac

  Put 1/2 cup of sugar and orange peels in a processor. Stir for one minute. Add 4.5 oz of butter and process. Add slowly 1/2 cup of orange juice. Then 3 table spoons of orange liqueur.

 

Cover and refrigerate.

 

Prepare the pancake mixture. Place ina processor milk, water, egg yolks, 1 table spoon of sugar, 1 table spoon of orange liqueur (or brandy), flour, 5 table spoons of butter. Process for one minute at top speed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

 

 Rub a skillet with butter. Cook one pancake at the time over moderate heat.

 

Put the orange mixture in a saucepan and heat for one minute, then move to the pancake skillet over moderate heat.

 

Place one pancake in the skillet. Turn it cautiously. Fold it in half, than half again. Continue with the other pancakes.

 

Heat 2 table spoons of Cognac and 2 table spoons of orange liqueur in a saucepan. Pour over pancakes. Ignites - cautiously - with a match and serve immediately.

 

Wine suggestion: Cider, sweet white wine

 45 min / 1 hour

 serve 6

 

2lb (1kg) potatoes (waxy potatoes such as pink fir apple, russet)

1 or 2 cloves garlic, mashed

2 oz butter

2 cups (50cl) whole milk

5 oz (160g) French or Swiss Gruyère cheese

1 pint double cream

Salt and pepper

 Preheat oven to 360ºF (180 ºC). Slice the potatoes into thin slices (1/8 inch thick). Rinse in cold water. Drain and dry in a towel

 

Put the potatoes in a pan and cover with milk. Add salt

 

Bring to the boil starting at moderate heat for 5 minutes then low heat for 10 minutes. Stir from time to time.

 

Rub a fireproof dish with garlic and grease it well with butter. Transfer half of the potatoes in the gratin dish. Add half the cheese, double cream and pepper to the layer. Put the second half of the potatoes and cover with the cheese and double cream left.

 

Put the dish in the oven and cook for 1 hour at 360ºF (180 ºC). Gratin Dauphinois is ready when the top is gold and brown.

 

Wine suggestion: Red Bordeaux wine or Beaujolais Villages, not too dry white wine (French Wine Guide).

 20 minutes / 1 hour 10 minutes

 

3 to 4 lbs of lamb (shoulder, neck and breast)

2 tb flour

3 cups lamb or beef stock

4 tomatoes, ripe, peeled, seeded and chopped

5 carrots, peeled

5 turnips, peeled

12 spring onions

1 lb green peas or snow peas

2 garlic gloves, mashed

Herbs: 1 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme

Salt and pepper

Cooking oil

 

Cut the lamb into 2-inch pieces.

 

In a large saucepan or casserole, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Brown over medium heat a few pieces of lamb at a time. Sauté until brown on all sides.

 

Put all pieces of meat in the casserole, add garlic gloves and cook over high heat for 1 minute.

 

 Remove half of the fat. Toss the meat with flour, salt and pepper. Cook over high heat for two minutes.

 

Warm the stock in a different saucepan. Add to the meat. Boil. Stir. Add the tomatoes and herbs. Boil and simmer for 30 minutes over medium to low heat.

 

Add the carrots, onions and turnips. Simmer for 30 minutes again over medium to low heat.

 

Cook the peas in a saucepan with salted water for 5 minutes. Add to the lamb just 5 minutes before serving. Remove the herbs.

 

Wine suggestion: Red Bordeaux, Cotes du Rhone Villages, Cahors (French Wine Guide).

 

20 minutes / 30 minutes

 serve 6

Pie pastry

6-8 slices of bacon, diced

3 eggs

1 1/2 cup of whipping heavy cream

1 or 2 tsp of butter

1/2 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of pepper

1 pinch of grated nutmeg

 

 

Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C)

Put bacon dices in boiling water for 1 or 2 minutes. Drain. Put in a pan and heat till brown. Drain again.

Rool out pastry in a pie pan. Pastry should come about 1" up the sides.

 Beat eggs, cream and seasoning. Add bacon.

 

Pour mixture on the pastry, no more than 3/4 of the pie pan.

 

Reduce heat to 300° F (150°C). Bake for 30 minutes or until pie is cooked. Put a knife in the midle, if it comes clean the quiche is ready.

 

Let the quiche cool. Do not remove it from the pan. Goes well with a salad.

  

Wine suggestion: White wine from Burgundy, Tokay d'Alsace (French Wine Guide).

serve 6

 

 10 min / none

 

 

4 tomatoes

1 lettuce

3 cups potatoes (medium-sized)

3 cups green beans

1 cup canned tuna

6 anchovy fillets

2 eggs

1/2 cup black olives

2 tb fresh green herbs

1 cup french dressing

 

Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes or until ready, peel them and cut them in quarter. Boil the green beans for 15 to 20 minutes.

 

 

 Wash, drain and separate the lettuce leaves. Boil the eggs, peel them and cut them in quarter. Drain the anchovies and tuna. Quarter the tomatoes.

 

Seasons the tomatoes and beans with french dressing.

 

Season the lettuce leaves. Place them around a bowl.

 

Arrange the potatoes in the bottom of the bowl.

 

Decorate with the beans, tomatoes, tuna, anchovies. eggs, black olives.

 

 Pour in the remaining french dressing. Sprinkle with herbs.

 

Wine suggestion: Rosé Cotes de Provence

 30 min / 45 min

 

 

Ingredients

1 lb eggplant

1 lb zucchini (courgette)

4 tb olive oil

1/2 lb yellow onions

2 garlic cloves

1 lb tomatoes, firm and ripe

3 tb parsley

Salt and pepper

serve 6)

 

Peel and cut the eggplant into 3 inches long slices. Cut the zucchini into slices but don't peel. Place those vegetables in a bowl, cover with water and let rest for 30 minutes. Drain.

 

Sauté the eggplant and zucchini with olive oil in a skillet. One minute on each side. Set aside.

 

Cook the onions with olive oil in the same skillet for 10 minutes over moderate heat. Stir in the garlic and add salt and pepper.

 

Peel the tomatoes and boil for 30 seconds. Cut into slices. Lay them over the onions in the skillet. Cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Uncover. Pour the juice from the the skillet over the tomatoes. Raise heat and boil for several minutes until juice has almost entirely evaporated.

 

 Put a third of the tomatoes mixture in the bottom of a casserole. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parsley. Then put half of the eggplant and zucchini. Then the second third of tomatoes. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parsley. Put the remaining eggplant and zucchini, then the tomatoes and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of parsley.

 

 Cover and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Uncover, pour the juice over the vegetables. Add salt and pepper if needed. Raise heat to moderate and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Pour the juice during the process several times over the vegetables.

 

Serve hot or cold.

 

Wine suggestion: Rosé Cotes de Provence

 

 

 

15 mins / 45 mins

1 whole roasting chicken (4 or 5 pounds)
2 tb of extra virgin olive oil
1 tb of minced garlic
1 tb of fresh thyme or 1 tsp of dry thyme
1/2 tsp of fresh rosemary or 1/4 tsp of dry rosemary
1 tsp of fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp of dry oregano
1 tb of black pepper
Zest and juice from one lemon
1 tsp of salt

serve 6)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)

Rinse the chicken

Zest the lemon in a bowl, and the lemon's juice remaining. Add the provencal herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano) and the garlic, cut in tiny pieces, pepper and salt. Add the olive oil. Mix well

Put the chicken in a large plate or bowl. Pour the mix of olive oil, provencal herbs and zest over the chicken

Place the chicken in the roaster of the oven and heat during 45 to 50 minutes

Wine suggestion: red wine such as Volnay, Pomerol or Provence