one expat's life

ispahan loaf cake

Posted on 22/03/2013 by oneexpatslife

Through no fault of Dorie’s, this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Ispahan Loaf Cake, was a complete failure. I don’t know why. There are times when it seems that my subconscious is deliberately trying to sabotage a recipe by doing everything possible to mess it up, and yet it still comes out. Then there are other times when I follow the recipe exactly, and it just doesn’t work. This week fell into the later category. Ironic really considering that “ispahan” is a kind of Rose, and thus this week we were making my namesake cake.

For anyone who is interested in Ispahan Loaf Cake, I encourage you to check out what my fellow Doristas got up to this week.

As for mine, well, the darn thing just wouldn’t cook through. Dorie suggests 50 to 60 minutes in the oven. I left mine in for 90 minutes (checking the oven thermometer several times along the way) until the toothpick finally came out clean. But after letting it cool, turns out that the darn thing still wasn’t cooked all the way though. I doused it with whipped cream and hoped for the best. But apparently there are some problems which even cream can’t save.

If anyone has any brilliant ideas as to what I can do to use up a massive bottle of leftover rose syrup and extract, I’m all ears!

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, cake, dessert | 20 Comments

orange-scented lentil soup

Posted on 15/03/2013 by oneexpatslife

We had a strange weather week here in Frankfurt. For a city that doesn’t know how to deal with snow (waiting for it to melt seems to be the preferred clean up method), we’ve had a heck of a winter. And just when we thought that it was over, mother nature decided to send a spring snowfall. It buried all the pretty crocuses and daffodils and brought the airport to a standstill. As I type this post, more big heavy flakes are falling.

What better week for a nice warming bowl of soup. Yes, it was perfect timing actually for this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Orange-Scented Lentil Soup.

Now, I’m a big fan of lentil soup and was looking forward to giving Dorie’s version a try, though I was admittedly a bit skeptical about the orange-scented bit (which Dorie achieves by adding a healthy piece of orange peel to the mix). She also calls for Puy lentils, a household favorite which are always to be found in my cupboard. These little slate green lentils are simply delicious.

Otherwise, there were no more surprises in the soup and it was easy enough to pull together. I topped mine with a dollop of goat cheese and declared it to be delicious. The orange flavor was noticeable but not overwhelming. Really good in fact. This may be my new lentil soup recipe.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, soup | 17 Comments

cheesy creme brulee

Posted on 09/03/2013 by oneexpatslife

I love cheese (seriously, it’s an addiction) and I love creme brulee. But this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Cheesy Creme Brulee, just wasn’t pulling at my culinary heart strings. Sometimes I get excited about the weird-sounding recipes (I was all on board with Olive Oil Ice Cream), but this one wasn’t doing it for me, and I just kept finding reasons not to make it until, lo and behold, it’s Saturday and I am officially late.

So into the kitchen I went, turned on the oven to preheat it, pulled out the book to review the recipe, and half an hour later I found myself still puttering around the kitchen, still completely unmotivated. So I decided that I had better go read how my fellow Doristas did this week, pick up some tips, and hopefully some much needed inspiration for making this dish. Sure enough, tips abounded and the reviews were mostly positive, so armed with the following ideas, I headed back into the kitchen, determined to just make the darn thing:

Because Ei said that she found hers to be a bit greasy, I decided not to butter the ramekins. I don’t seem to remember ever buttering my ramekins when making classic creme brulee, so I reasoned that it should work here too. And it did, no butter needed.
I shredded my cheese instead of cubing it, with the result that my cheese wasn’t really heavy enough to stay put on the bottom of the custard, but instead incorporated itself into the cream as I poured it over.
I turned up the oven temp to 250°F, because I am not a famously patient person. That may have actually been a bit too high because they were bubbling a bit when they came out and had already formed a bit of a crust on top, but they set up nicely and the consistency was perfect.
And finally, I left my kitchen torch in the cupboard and used the broiler to “brulee” the cheese.

But with all those mini-alterations, I did stick with Dorie’s recommended cheeses: parmesan and comte (a personal favorite).

In the end, I’m still left confused by this dish. It was quite rich and definitely needed to be paired with something to cut through that. Dorie suggested Champagne and I decided not to argue with her. It didn’t taste bad; really, could a mixture of cream and cheese ever be bad? Maybe I just lack the imagination needed for this kind of dish, or maybe I need to throw more multi-course dinner parties, but I wasn’t convinced.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, eggs, starters | 9 Comments

spice-poached pears

Posted on 03/03/2013 by oneexpatslife

This is a long overdue catch up from last September. I was on vacation when the rest of the French Fridays with Dorie crew made Spice-Poached Pears, and I thought that I had better get it checked off the list quick, before the season ends.

And I’m so glad that I did. This recipe made the apartment smell like Christmas and it would have felt out of place in warm weather. The pears were gently poached in a honey-sweetened, vanilla spiced bath, and then left to cool in the marinade. All in all, it was pretty darn simple.

We stirred a little of the poaching liquid into some greek yogurt and served it with the pears. The next morning I sprinkled a little granola over.

I have to say that it was very tasty. Maybe not the recipe which I would pull out for a decadent dessert. But certainly one that I can see making again for my husband and myself.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, breakfast, dessert, seasonal - autumn | 1 Comment

chicken breasts diable

Posted on 01/03/2013 by oneexpatslife

Well, this should be an interesting month. For the first time ever, not a single recipe for which I voted made the roster. What the heck! Are my tastes really that weird? Probably best not to contemplate that question for too long. Instead, let’s talk about this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Chicken Breasts Diable.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Dorie knows her chicken. I’ve liked most of the recipes from this chapter of the book and a few have been turned into oft repeated favorites in my house. This week’s offering was an easy main, quick enough to be a weeknight meal. Apparently I’ve been living under a rock or something because I’ve never heard of chicken diable before. In the end it turns out to be a rather self-important name for a simple creamy dijon pan sauce.

So, to wrap up: simple, easy, and tasty. Another keeper.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, main course, poultry | 23 Comments

long and slow apples

Posted on 27/02/2013 by oneexpatslife

I was apparently pretty useless over the holidays and ended up missing quite a few French Fridays with Dorie recipes. Among them was this one, Long & Slow Apples. Not the most exciting sounding recipe in the world, but my fellow Doristas assured me that it was worth the long and the slow.

The long part refers to the oven time and the slow part refers to the low oven temperature. But I thought that it also took a while to get the recipe together, even before it went into the oven. Here’s the deal, first you slice the apples as thin as possible (a job for my trusty mandolin) and then you layer them in ramekins, brushing with melted butter and sprinkling with spiced sugar and orange zest as you go. Then you top your ramekins with parchment paper (my version of the book said nothing about plastic wrap) and wrap them in foil. Then weigh the whole thing down, and into the oven.

Hours later, my apples had shrunk down by at least 50%, and taken on a pale caramel color. To be honest, they just didn’t look that exciting. But looks were deceiving, because they sure did taste good. Delicious in fact. I really enjoyed this recipe, but given how long it took to come together, it would probably have to be a pretty special occasion for me to break it out again.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, dessert, pies & tarts, seasonal - autumn | 2 Comments

2012 – a FFwD year in review

Posted on 24/02/2013 by oneexpatslife

Well, it’s February, and long past time for the ubiquitous year-end posts. Why am I even bothering at this point? Good question, and I guess the answer is that this is more for me than for you. I kind of like looking back over all the recipes I made in the past year with my fellow French Fridays with Dorie cooks and remembering my favorites. We’ll just call this my own personal little FFwD Oscars.

To start with, Dorie has changed the way I roast chickens, earning her m. Jacques’ Armagnac Chicken my Favorite Savory Recipe of the year. Her method is simple and straightforward and the end result is juicy and flavorful. It has become my go-to chicken recipe which I have made more times than I can count. And on the sweeter side of life, Dorie’s Coconut Friands was my Favorite Dessert. This was another incredibly easy recipe and has become the recipe which I pull out anytime I have egg whites to use up. Which means that I make these little cakes pretty much every time I make ice cream.

The one which I least expected to like, and thus the Most Surprising Recipe of the year, was Dorie’s Sardine Rillettes. This recipe caused quite a stir among the Doristas and not everyone was a fan. But I learned that I like sardines and this delicious spread makes a quick and easy party appetizer. This recipe also reminded me once again that the recipes which push me out of my comfort zone remain my favorite FFwD experiences. Whether I end up liking the recipe or not, I enjoy the experience of trying something new.

All of the recipes I’ve listed so far were easy, but the all time Easiest Recipe of the year was Dorie’s Hummus. I eat hummus all the time and had no idea how simple it was to make it myself at home. But, while Dorie’s simple recipes will probably always make my heart go pitter-patter, one which was decidedly not easy, but Well Worth the Effort, was her Blueberry-Mascarpone Roulade. I had never made a roulade before because I had always been too intimidated by the process. But Dorie patiently walked me through it and the end result was elegant and delicious.

While not exactly a true repeat of Dorie’s original recipe, her Nutella Tartine inspired me to start spreading nutella and orange marmalade on my morning whole wheat english muffin, and thus becomes (kind of) the Most Repeated recipe of 2012.

And, as I did last year, I have to pay tribute to my husband for joining me on this little culinary adventure of mine. His favorite recipe, and thus the Happy Husband recipe of the year goes to Dorie’s Top Secret Chocolate Mousse. Did I mention that he has a sweet tooth?

Posted in favorite recipes, french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table | 3 Comments

cheating-on-winter pea soup

Posted on 24/02/2013 by oneexpatslife

Running more than a bit late with last week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Cheating-on-Winter Pea Soup. I actually made it a few weeks ago, but then I was skiing last week and didn’t get a chance to post until today. I can’t tell you how happy skiing makes me. Maybe it’s the Vermonter in me… actually, I’m quite sure that it’s the Vermonter in me… but there is nothing in the world that matches the feeling of swooshing down a snowy mountainside.

Sigh, as you can maybe tell, I wasn’t quite ready to come home. But soup! Today we are talking about soup.

Dorie’s pea soup, made at any time of year with frozen peas, was quick and easy. I made it on a weeknight and had dinner on the table in 20 minutes flat. The resulting soup was a bit thinner than I had expected, but tasty nonetheless. The leftovers are sittin pretty in my freezer, ready for a late night when I have no time or energy to cook.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, seasonal - winter, soup, vegetarian | 10 Comments

coeur a la creme (sans coeur)

Posted on 14/02/2013 by oneexpatslife

I can’t really generalize and say that Germans do or don’t celebrate Valentine’s day. It seems to be split. Some see it as a sweet holiday for lovers. Others see it as an American invention which the local flower industry is trying to import. And still others can’t be bothered to think of it all. If the fact that I can easily walk into most restaurants on the big day without a reservation is any indication, that first group seems to be the in the minority. Which I guess means that I can’t be too fussy with my boss for sending me out of town for work this week. I have the feeling he falls into that last category.

Which means that I made my Coeur a la Creme (aka, Cream Heart), this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, last week. Too bad really because this recipe has Valentine’s Day written all over it. Though, lacking the necessary heart shaped mold, I used my strainer, which made mine more Creme than Coeur.

In the end, I couldn’t have cared less what shape the cake was in, because it was freakin delicious! Imagine cream cheese frosting in cake form. Yum! We topped our cake with passion fruit and, in addition to being very valentiney, it turned out to be the perfect flavor combo. Passion fruit is not overly sweet and I think that it provided a nice balance to the very sweet and very rich cake. I loved this one.

Posted in favorite recipes, french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, cake, dessert | 12 Comments

fresh orange pork tenderloin

Posted on 08/02/2013 by oneexpatslife

Oh WordPress, let me count the ways that you have annoyed me today. Losing my entire post after I clicked the Save button is at the top of the list. So here I am, typing it again. If you lose it again, I may be forced to reconsider our relationship.

And speaking of relationships, I have long had a tumultuous one with pork. It just seems to be such a moody meat which can go from dangerously undercooked to dry and tasteless within the blink of an eye. And then of course, everyone’s idea of perfectly cooked pork is different. Mine falls much closer to dangerously undercooked than dry and tasteless. I like my meat to retain a slight rosy hue. But more often than not, I miss the window and my pork comes out inedible. Blah.

All of which is to say that I approached this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe, Fresh Orange Pork Tenderloin, with a certain amount of trepidation. I’ve been disappointing too many times. Why should I believe that this time would be different?

Okay, okay, that’s probably a bit overly dramatic for a piece of meat. (But seriously!) I’ll settle down now and admit that Dorie’s recipe managed to impress me. I glared at that piece of pork the entire time it was cooking, but I followed Dorie’s instructions to the second, and it came out perfect. Slightly pink in the center, juicy, tender, perfect!

I was so happy with how the pork turned out and will absolutely use Dorie’s method for cooking it again. The fresh orange sauce, not so much. It wasn’t really bad, but maybe a bit too sweet for my tastes. It left me wondering what Betsy came up with to placate Howard this week. I’m guessing that I would have liked his version better.

Posted in french fridays with dorie | Tagged Around my French Table, main course, pork, seasonal - winter | 16 Comments