Macarons (the original French macaroons)

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This recipe really is "of the moment": the success of these small, highly-coloured cakes, in an infinite variety of flavours, is impressive. It's a recipe which needs some care, in order to produce a result worthy of a professional pastrychef. No problem, I will guide you through the recipe, particularly the tricky parts. This variety of flavours means that I test many alternatives, so don't be surprised if in the pictures the colour of the macarons changes, I used the best photograph available...

Hot box cheese

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This recipe is a great classic from Franche-Comté (area of eastern France). A Mont-dor cheese (from this area) is oven cooked in its wooden box with a little dry white wine, and served melted over baked potatoes. It's a dish for a winter evening meal with friends, very easy to prepare, everything goes on the table around which you are sitting.

Baked Camembert with Walnuts

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Camembert can be melted in the oven, like this hot box cheese, but here it has the added delight of toasted chopped walnuts, served on a bed of hot potatoes.

Dipping bread with cheese

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In France, "pain trempette" (dipping bread) is a loaf made to be broken easily into bite-sized morsels, perfect for serving with any dip. The dough is fairly soft and I have added shallots and fried bacon bits. The dip shown here is a hot box Mont d'Or, but there are plenty of other possibilities.

Baked Mont d'Or with diced mixed vegetables

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The classic hot box method is a delicious way to serve Mont d'Or cheese. For a more original twist, this recipe adds mixed vegetables. The cheese is baked in the oven as usual, but filled with the diced vegetables and mushrooms.

Enchiladas

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Enchiladas are tortillas (cornmeal pancakes), filled with a pre-cooked filling, then topped with grated cheese and browned in the oven.

Mini Mont d'Or fondue with "spuds in blankets"

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You may already have come across the Mont d'Or hot box recipe, where the cheese is baked in the oven then poured over potatoes. Here's a version with a twist: crispy ham-wrapped potato wedges to dip in the box of melted cheese.

Frichti from Bruxelles

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A very simple dish, and a bit of a cheeky one at that: Brussels sprouts cooked on the side, diced ham, cubed potatoes, and a bit of grated cheese to bind it all together.

Baked Camembert

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In this recipe, very similar to the hot box, a Camembert cheese is baked in the oven, surrounded by baked potatoes set on a fondue of onions. A delicious and comforting winter dish.

Warm apple feuillantines

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It's a rather long recipe but which never fails to impress, perfect for a special dinner party. It's made up of 3 circles: one almond "tuile", 2 of caramelized brik sheets, with a caramelized apple layer between each, whipped cream on top, and custard all around. Everything, except whipped cream, can be made beforehand.

How to freeze plums

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When fruit is in season, there's sometimes a glut - far more than we can use at once. Freezing is a good solution, but plums and other stone fruit should not be frozen whole; the fruit will be unappetizing when thawed. Here's a simple method for successful freezing.

Clementine sorbet

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To capture the delicate flavour of clementines, we need to use not only the juice, but also a little zest to add a delicious hint of bitternes. Here's a simple method using sugar cubes.

Passion fruit jellies

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Usually to make fruit jellies or (fruit "paste"), it's like jam but you need to cook fruit pulp and sugar much longer. Unfortunately, this long cooking is bad for both vitamins and flavour. In this recipe we use a special jam gelling agent, to reduce cooking time as much as possible .

Polenta with Mont d'Or

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This recipe offers you a way to make polenta that will turn out creamy, with the woody notes of the Mont d'Or.

How to cook pasta properly

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Here is some advice for pasta that's properly cooked and doesn't stick.

Moist cereal bars

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Whether bars or rounds, this recipe produces delicous small cereal cakes.

French baguettes

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This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the dough, which is also very different.

Ice-cream and sorbets

Making homemade ice cream may seem complex, but with the right methods and a few tricks, you can achieve a creamy texture and incomparable flavors. On this page, we'll be revealing the secrets of successful homemade ice cream, guiding you step by step through the various stages of preparation. ...
August 12^th 2024477 K4.0

A Mendeleiev periodic table in 3D

It's an old idea that was in my mind for years: making a real periodic table of Mendeleiev (who always fascinate me) in 3D, where in each element box, there is some atoms (at least) of this element.
August 24^th 2024225 K 15

Elements in the table

It's not always easy to represent an element. Some are obvious because they're used as such (iron, copper, lead...), but for others it's much trickier. In this list, you'll find the objects/materials that have been chosen to fill in the boxes in the table.
August 24^th 202445 K3.9

Electronic controlling of a pump

I needed someday a mechanism for controlling an electrical device (pump) on a water level, it was necessary that the pump is switched on when the level was reached, and works for a short time (20 seconds) and then it stops and the cycle, start again. I found nothing in shops that will make it at a...
August 29^th 2023196 K4.4

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 2023616 K 93.6

Slashing loaves

When it's time to put them in the oven, the dough pieces for future breads or viennoiseries need to be "lamés", i.e. made with a very sharp blade, by making quick incisions at the top, known as "grignes". Let's see how it's done.
August 29^th 2023295 K 43.6

These days more and more websites ask you to create a user account, so that you can be identified before being allowed to access some service or other. To create an account you need to choose a user identity. This is simple, as your email address is used in most cases (ann.other@gmail.com, for...
March 29^th 201321 K4.1

As we use more and more new technology, we leave ourselves increasingly vulnerable to companies who make money out of collecting our personal data. For instance, when we use the internet, we need to be wary of what is collected about what we do, our habits, etc. Here is a list of simple...
April 16^th 201320 K4.0

When professionals get to work in their kitchen, lab or bakery, they are (if they are conscientious) very sensitive to hygiene and cleanliness. It is impossible for a good baker for example to do a day's work without regularly cleaning the table where he or she works, and it is even more...
June 30^th 202122 K5

In terms of cooking, I'm probably not teaching you much, salt is ubiquitous, we put it in almost all our dishes, in varying amounts depending on our taste, some like salty, others less, others still not. Its main role is the flavor, the taste, we say that it is a flavor enhancer, ie it reveals the...
February 20^th 20219,9854.8

The burger is a sandwich that is very fashionable at the moment, and as for all other sandwiches, the worst (often) rubs shoulders with the best (much more rare). In principle, I'm probably not teaching you anything, it's a sandwich made of a small round bun, rather soft, like a sandwich bread,...
April 10^th 202112 K4.9

Do you know the Mont d'Or, this extraordinary cheese from the Haut-Doubs in France, with a unique taste and appearance, which can be eaten both raw and cooked? I'll tell you a few words about it, and with some tips on how to choose it and cook it. .
November 27^th 202115 K5

You maybe know the "trou normand", this old gastronomic custom typically French which consists in taking a (small) glass of calvados, generally between the last course and the dessert? It's something that seems a bit anachronistic nowadays, having a glass of an alcohol of more than 60° in the...
December 18^th 202117 K4.8

Eating fresh bread is always a delight, the crust crumbles deliciously, you take full advantage of the taste of your bread (80% of this taste is in the crust), it is a fleeting moment to enjoy. Who hasn't already eaten the crouton or croutons of his baguette, on the way back from the bakery? ...
June 11^th 202216 K4.7

Nowadays, it's fairly easy to find what professionals use as piping bags, i.e. disposable or "single-use" plastic ones. They're practical, functional and inexpensive, but disposable? That's debatable...
May 28^th 202410 K5

In recipes that use a fine powder (flour, powdered sugar, etc.), you'll often see the advice to sift before using it. To sift is to pass the powder in question through a sieve (a very fine strainer) before incorporating it into your recipe. It's often advice, but is it really useful?
September 3^rd 202512 K3

Ménagère

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Housewife. The term, unfortunately condescending and rather pejorative, used by chefs to refer to someone who cooks at home and is therefore not a professional chef. In France, a "Ménagère" it's also a nice set of spoons, forks and knifes presented in a pretty box. A classical wedding gift...
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Yeast

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Yeast (also called "brewer's yeast" or "baker's yeast") is a living product, made up of microscopic fungi which grow slowly when they are in a warm place.Baker's yeast is for use in breads and viennoiseries. It it is incorporated gently into the dough, then you need to wait for it to work.It should...
43 K4.3

Baking powder

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Baking powder (also called "Alsatian yeast" or "chemical yeast" in France) is a chemical raising agent, mainly bicarbonate of soda (or sodium bicarbonate), which acts with heat to make cakes rise.It is used in most cakes, like for example chestnut cake, added to the mixture, and put in the oven...
26 K4.4

Mont-d'Or cheese

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Mont-d'or is a delicious raw-milk cow's-milk cheese made in Franche-Comté (a beautiful region in eastern France) that has held AOC status since 1981.It is a soft, very flavorful cheese that is sold in a wooden box tied with a spruce strap.
18 K4.3

Jam gelling agent

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Commercial jam jellies are mainly composed of fruit pectin (usually apples), and sold as a neutral-coloured powder.
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