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.

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 history...(note: the ancient Egyptians seem not to have had exclusive knowledge of the process: in Germany evidence of cooking a fermented dough has been found from 8000 BC (the Neolithic era). The...

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.

Checkerboard biscuits

(Found inTexts)
These biscuits are half and half chocolate and almond in a checkerboard pattern, both in colour and flavour.

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.

Tagliatelle with rillons and tomatoes

(Found inTexts)
For this very simple recipe, roast rillons to your taste, tomato and pasta.

Mashed potatoes with cancoillotte cheese

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Potatoes, first boiled, then quickly mashed and baked to a crisp, and served with warm cancoillotte.

Charcuterie board

(Found inTexts)
Here's a very simple, very quick, and amazing recipe for aperitif plates, made with chips, cheese and charcuterie.

How to extract passion fruit juice

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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.

Saltimbocca

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Saltimbocca literally means "jumps into the mouth" in Italian. These delicious little meat rolls, made with veal, ham and sage, will do just that!

Croque-monsieur complet

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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.

Pear, grapefruit and pistachio tart

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A sweetcrust pastry case filled with pistachio cream, topped with pear and grapefruit slices.

Calissons

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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.

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.

You should not push with the sharp edge of a knife

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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.

How to peel a pineapple

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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.

How to prepare celeriac

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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.

Cajun pulled pork

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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.

Apricot jam with vanilla

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A really flavoursome apricot jam, minimally sweetened, with a hint of vanilla and the discreet crunch of the almond-like kernels.

Apricot jelly

(Found inStages)
An apricot jelly is made using only the pulp of the fruit, removing the skin and any fibrous parts, which requires some cooking. The result is a much smoother, more pleasant preparation, a little less tart than a classic jam.

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 2023615 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 2024132 K3.8

Roof

Once oven housing is built, it needs protecting from the elements with a roof.
August 30^th 202487 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 2023165 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 2023343 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 2024546 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 201252 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 202111 K5

Always secure your cutting board

When using a cutting board, it's very important that it's stable and doesn't move while you're cutting, for safety's sake. Boards have a natural tendency to slide on the work surface, but here are 2 ways to block them effectively.
July 1^st 20256,2995

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 201131 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 201129 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 201823 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 202016 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 202116 K4.9

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 202217 K

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 202214 K

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 202315 K5

The other use for bowl scraper

Your kitchen or bakery utensils may include a horn (left) or a pastry cutter (right). These practical utensils are normally used to scoop the contents of a bowl or salad bowl - the horn - or to cut dough - the pastry cutter. But they also have another, very practical use - let's see what it is.
May 9^th 20262,3563

Hot Dishes and Cold Dishes

When plating or serving a dish—whether hot or cold—on a plate, it’s very important to make sure they’re both the right temperature; in other words: if the dish is hot, the plate should be hot, and conversely, if the dish is cold, the plate should be cold. Is this really important? Let’s...
September 2^nd 20267873

Chopping board

(Found inTexts)
To cut safely, using your knives, on your work surface.
17 K4.4