Croque Monsieur Biscuits (gluten-free or not)

For the last week or so, while eating some delicious healthy homemade packed lunch or another, this thought has consistently crossed my mind… “This meal of roasted  vegetables (or green salad or homemade soup) are so healthy and delicious …but I really just wish that I was eating french fries, or something with cheese sauce…

Brown Butter, Hazelnut, Buckwheat Financier (Gluten-free)

I eat a lot of egg yolks.  Luckily, egg whites freeze well.  That said, the collection of egg whites that I have collected in the freezer recently reached a critical mass.   I considered making pavlova or macaroons, but these delicious treats are as delicate as clouds and what I really needed was a treat that…

Aunt Claire’s Tourtière (with a gluten-free crust)

Last Christmas, my cousin Tanya gave me her mother’s recipe for tourtière.   This recipe is neck and neck with my gluten-free butter tarts for the title of most Canadian post on this blog.   It is a simple, delicious and it would work well with whatever meat is good in your region.  I used…

French Onion Soup Stuffed Mushrooms

Mushroom caps are so good stuffed. Whatever culinary heritage I grew up with did not involve stuffed mushroom caps and now as an adult I can enjoy this delightful dish.

Quarante Quatre Home-made Liqueur

I can’t remember how this conversation started. I suspect it was October when Rachel told us about the Quarante Quatre. It looks funny to type those words. When you say it as an Anglophone it sounds more like “Care Aunt Cat,” where aunt is pronounced in that British sort of way that sounds like you’re…

Cheap and elegant thrills- three ways to steam mussels

I love mussels.  To me, they are just as delicious as oysters but they are WAY cheaper.  Also, as shellfish goes, they are stupid simple to prepare.  Also,  from what I have read, it is actually possible to farm mussels without destroying the environment.  Also, mussels are full of vitamins and iron. Woo hoo! Below…

Potato, Leek and Mushroom Gratin (gluten-free or not)

Its time to make gratins again!  Here is the beautiful thing about a gratin….while it is true that it takes a bit of effort to make, it prepares a large amount of  food that you can then reheat for your dinners all week-long.  With a salad, a gratin counts as a complete meal! If you…

Mi-Cuit and Pickled Plums

On our honeymoon, Chris and I bought a bottle of Pickled French Plums in Washington State.   We ate them with smoked oysters and aged gouda cheese.  The ingredient list was short so I thought that I would try to reproduce them at home.  How hard could it be? Well I made something, and it…

Gluten-Free Cherry Clafouti

  Clafouti is a baked fruit custard.  It is a French dish that (I feel) was invented by particularly unfussy and homey French people.  I love clafouti because it reminds me of a delicious custardy apple cake that my Estonian grandmother used make.  She would slice and layer apples into a baking pan and then…