Epiphany galette

(Found inTexts)
Here is the recipe for the very classic but delicious "galette des rois" (Epiphany galette) in puff or flaky pastry (pâte feuilletée) with almond cream or frangipane . You will also see some professional tips to easily handle the dough, and obtain a nice and regular galette.
January 6^th 2021282 K 24.5 3 hours 8 min.

Natural leaven

(Found inTexts)
Leaven is a natural raising agent, a fermented mixture of water, flour and the microscopic yeasts which are present in the air. It's a delicate living substance, sensitive to the external environment. The recipe is around 4000 years old and dates back to the Egypt of the Pharaohs, via a beautiful...
April 3^rd 20201.69 M 304.0 7 days 15 min.

How to peel a fruit

(Found inTextsStages)
Usually French chefs says "peler à vif", which means to completely peel the fruit (removing skin and core) and keep only the very best of the flesh. Here is a method for grapefruit, but it can be used for all the other citrus fruit, and many other fruits.
February 21^th 2011178 K4.3 35 min.

Checkerboard biscuits

(Found inTexts)
These biscuits are half and half chocolate and almond in a checkerboard pattern, both in colour and flavour.
March 8^th 2012137 K5 4 hours 25 min.

Tartine du pêcheur

(Found inTexts)
This is a French twist on that store-cupboard basic, sardines on toast: sardine fillets in oil and sliced spring onion, topped with a poached egg.
June 1^st 201646 K4.7 15 min.

Tagliatelle with rillons and tomatoes

(Found inTexts)
For this very simple recipe, roast rillons to your taste, tomato and pasta.
June 9^th 20246,926 40 min.

Mashed potatoes with cancoillotte cheese

(Found inTexts)
Potatoes, first boiled, then quickly mashed and baked to a crisp, and served with warm cancoillotte.
June 16^th 20247,569 45 min.

How to extract passion fruit juice

(Found inStages)
Passion fruit are rather strange fruit as they do not really have much flesh, but rather seeds surrounded by a fine layer of pulp. Here is a way to extract the juice.
March 23^th 2011514 K 32.3 20 min.

Saltimbocca

(Found inStages)
Saltimbocca literally means "jumps into the mouth" in Italian. These delicious little meat rolls, made with veal, ham and sage, will do just that!
July 20^th 201571 K4.9 40 min.

Croque-monsieur complet

(Found inStages)
This is a "full Monty" version of the traditional French toasted sandwich: the bread is dipped in beaten egg with cream before cooking, rather like pain perdu, to make the fried bread rich and moist. The French term "complet" here means "with everything": egg, ham and cheese.
June 14^th 201573 K 14.1 25 min.

Pear, grapefruit and pistachio tart

(Found inStages)
A sweetcrust pastry case filled with pistachio cream, topped with pear and grapefruit slices.
February 17^th 201385 K4.3 1 hour 40 min.

Calissons

(Found inStages)
Calissons are a sweet from Provence - Aix-en-Provence is famous for them - made with almonds and candied fruit, covered with royal icing. This is a slightly simplified version, which is every bit as good.
February 12^th 2012138 K 53.3 1 hour 30 min.

"Buttonhole" quail eggs

(Found inStages)
This little appetizer consists of a small finger of toast, a slice of cured ham and three quail egg yolks arranged on a rectangle of egg white. It is a bit tricky to make, but very attractive to serve, and delicious, of course.
June 26^th 2011173 K5 60 min.

Eggs Arsène

(Found inStages)
Eggs Arsène is a rather more rustic version (and definitely more Comtoise in style) of eggs Benedict , that indispensible breakfast dish in Ian Fleming's novels. And you're right, there is a nod to James Bond here.
October 25^th 201848 K5 1 hour 2 min.

You should not push with the sharp edge of a knife

(Found inStages)
When you cut something into small pieces on your working surface, it's an automatic gesture to push the pile with your knife blade. It's a bad habit because this will blunt your blade.
February 21^th 201159 K5 1 min.

How to peel a pineapple

(Found inStages)
For most recipes it is necessary to completely peel the pineapple, and to keep only the flesh which is then often cut into small pieces. Here is a method.
February 21^th 2011201 K3.7 20 min.

Succès praliné (praline meringue)

(Found inStages)
The "succès" (success) is a classic of traditional French patisserie, made with two layers of almond meringue filled with praline butter cream. It's very rich and a little old-fashioned these days, but still has many faithful fans. The original recipe comes from the master chef Gaston Lenôtre, and...
June 20^th 2010365 K 34.1 4 hours 20 min.

How to prepare celeriac

(Found inStages)
When faced with the ball of a whole celeriac, it's not obvious how to tackle it: what do you hold on to? Where do you start? Here's a fairly simple way to go about it.
April 10^th 202226 K 15 min.

Fruit paste : Blackcurrant

(Found inStages)
If you like the taste of blackcurrant, this recipe is for you, the very pronounced taste of blackcurrant and its small acidity, in a delicious treat.
November 6^th 202222 K 2 hours 40 min.

Cajun pulled pork

(Found inStages)
Pulled pork is a joint cooked long and slow so that it can be shredded easily with a fork. This Cajun-spiced version can be eaten like a classic meat meal or served in burger buns.
February 19^th 202338 K 5 hours 20 min.

Films and papers in the kitchen

It's now fairly easy to find a range of papers and plastic films that are invaluable, and sometimes indispensable, kitchen aids. Here's a quick overview of the main products available, and what you can and can't do with them.
August 29^th 2023574 K 93.6

The oven itself (hearth)

The main part of the oven (the hearth) as sold by the producer ("Fayol" company) consists of 9 slabs (to form the sole) and the curved sections which make up the domed oven, plus a keystone which fits in the top.
August 30^th 2024124 K3.8

Roof

Once oven housing is built, it needs protecting from the elements with a roof.
August 30^th 202479 K3.9

Home Automation and CP290 with Excel

If you're using a CP 290 interface to do a bit of home automation and, for example, regulate your heating, you must have used the "Lighthouse" software under DOS and Windows 3.1. Apart from the fact that this software is in English with AM and PM times, and that it wasn't very user-friendly, the...
August 29^th 2023145 K4.2

Start off well to cook well

What do I need to get started in the kitchen? First of all, a good website! That's it, you're there ;-), then a minimum of equipment, and the few products you should always have in your cupboards or fridge. Here are a few things to help you make your choices.
August 29^th 2023308 K 13.6

Make your own hot-wire or styrofoam cutter

A filicoupeur is a hot-cutting tool for polystyrene, which can be used to enhance any piece of polystyrene you've salvaged, and to do all kinds of things with it: model building, model making, arts and crafts, and so on. See here how to make your own.
February 20^th 2024509 K 433.5

Choosing a chopping board

It's a no-brainer, surely? If you want a chopping board, just find a piece of wood, and Bob's your uncle! You can happily chop away with a knife and not damage the table or worktop. But in reality, it's a bit more complicated than that. You need to be careful what you are buying, in particular the...
May 8^th 201246 K4.6

A stable cutting board

As soon as you have something to cut in the kitchen, the best thing to do is to use a cutting board, it protects your table or work surface, and their material is made to protect the edge of your knife, that is to say that it is soft enough, in short it is the ideal thing. But simply put on the...
May 22^th 20215,9825

Good fridge management

We all have a fridge at home – it's an indispensible part of the kitchen and so much a part of the furniture that we tend not to pay it much attention. But often, out of habit, we don't use it properly. Here are a few tips to help you get more from your fridge. .
April 19^th 201126 K4.4

A memo of utensil weights

You will no doubt have come across this problem while cooking: after starting a recipe, when you already have some ingredients in a pan and have maybe cooked them, you need to know the weight of the pan's contents so that you can take half out, or add the same weight of sugar, for example.
May 9^th 201124 K4.6

The mock CAP baker's certificate exam

The next instalment in my life as an apprentice baker at the French INBP professional school. I’m now halfway through training and it’s still as exciting as ever, and exhausting – but maybe I’m just getting old, or both… Anyway, a few days ago we had to go through the mock CAP exam. A sort...
May 1^st 201817 K4.4

The French baguette and UNESCO

As you may have already read here or there, France has initiated for some time the procedure to try to have the French baguette classified as an intangible world heritage by UNESCO. When you put it like that, it sounds a bit namby-pamby, and it would be tempting to imagine an American (for...
March 18^th 202011 K4.9

Coarsely chopped herbs

Although we are in the middle of winter as I write these lines, you should not hesitate to make salads at this time, it is actually quite simple, rather fast, and so pleasant. A while ago, I already told you that a salad is a salad, but a salad with herbs is immediately something much better:...
January 9^th 20219,4744.9

The super powers of cornstarch

I start this new year by evoking an old product, that you most probably have in your cupboards, a white powder, often in a small cardboard package with a slightly outdated look, only the "gluten free" is relatively recent, it is simply cornstarch, hence its name of maïzena. It's used for a lot...
January 14^th 20229,705

Soup vs. potage

It's true that we're finally coming out of winter as I write these lines, and that we'll all be making, no doubt, a little less soup and potages, but even if it's out of season, it really is a simple and delicious dish, which is one of the always easy answers to "What's for dinner this (Sunday)...
April 9^th 20225,868

How easy is it to chop herbs?

Whenever you have fresh herbs - parsley, chervil, coriander, mint, etc. - to incorporate into a recipe, we tell you to chop them up. In this case, "chopping" means separating the leaves from the stems, keeping only the leaves, and chopping them more or less finely. It's not very complicated,...
September 12^th 20238,7485