Cafe Dion

Salade frisee aux lardons - Endive salad with warm bacon and poached egg

Bonjour,

In 2 weeks I am planning my next trip to Paris. I will be taking another certificate course at the renowned French Cooking School,  Le Cordon Bleu, and touring Paris for a few days. I then plan on spending the entire weekend with my family. Nearby in Savigny sur Orge is my husband's and my favorite restaurant. It's called  L'Ardoise (The Blackboard). The Proprietor, whom we named Le Boss,  always serves us our favorite salad. The saled's name is Salade frisee aux lardons (curly endive with hot bacon and a poached egg) and it is to die for! And also happens to be my husband's favorite. So lets go to Paris and enjoy.

 

Salade frisee aux lardons:

1 pound lardons (thick bacon) cut in small pieces
1 large shallot (minced)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons white vinegar
6 large eggs
1  large curly endive lettuce (washed and well dried)

In a medium frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the lardons until crispy (dry them in paper towel).

In a small bowl combine shallots and mustard, whisk in the vinegar and the rest of olive oil, add salt and pepper.

In a wide sauce pan pour about 4" of water, add vinegar and bring to a simmer. Break 1 egg into a shallow cup, gently slide it into the simmering water. Repeat with remaining eggs. Allow 3 minutes  for each egg.

Tear  lettuce (frisee) in a large bowl, pour dressing and toss. Arrange frisee on a plate, top with egg, and garnish with the lardons and French baguette. 

Serve: 6  

A bientôt! See you next week!

© CafeDion 2010

Crepes for Mardi Gras

Bonjour,

Perfect timing for making crepes. Down in New Orleans folks are having a wonderful time; it is Mardi Gras! Time to celebrate good food, great drinks, a lot of dancing in the streets. Beautiful, colorful clothing, lovely beads, in a few words; having fun. Mardi Gras means "Fat Tuesday" in French and it is celebrated on that day. According to legend,  Mardi Gras came to New Orleans from France in the late 1600's. The French explorers celebrated this holiday on the banks of the Mississippi River. Of course, the people of New Orleans added their own touches to the celebration like parades and balls. This carnival is very exciting for  people of all ages. In  the late 1800's the King of Mardi Gras choose the 3 colors that we have today: purple for justice, green for faith, and gold for power. While the original dessert for Mardi Gras is the King's Cake, a friend of mine wanted the recipe for crepes instead, so here we go.

Basic Crepes:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 cup luke warm water
3 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons of butter (melted)
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond extract
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon (if desire)

In a blender combine all ingredients, mix well. Pour the batter into a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it stand in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (up to 2 days). Using an 8 inch skillet coated with butter, over medium heat, pour 2 tablespoons of batter into the skillet. Lift the pan off the heat, tilting and rotating it so that the batter forms an even thin layer. Cook until the top is set and the side is golden. Turn the crepe over using your fingers (best tools) and cook for a minute. Remove the crepe to a piece of wax paper. Cook the rest of the batter, keeping each crepe between a piece of wax paper. Serve immediately with sugar, jam, fresh fruits or chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

À bientôt! See you next week!

© CaféDion 2010

Hawaiian Cioppino

Bonjour,

 

I hope you enjoyed last week's recipe from Hawaii. Here is another one from my late friend George Mendreshora, the former Executive Chef of United Airlines. He prepared this recipe for me at his home in Honolulu. It was "ono", which means "delicious" in Hawaiian.

 

Hawaiian Cioppino

1/2 pound shrimps (peeled and deveined)
1/2 pound of sea scallops (cut in half)

24 Cherrystone clams (cleaned)

1 large Dungeness crab, legs and body

3 garlic gloves (chopped fine)

2 medium onions (chopped coarsely)

1/3 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cup water

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup tomato paste

2 large tomatoes (peeled and chopped)

1 Bay leaf

1 pinch Saffron

1 dash Tabasco sauce

1 sprig of thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Fresh parsley (chopped)

 

In a large pot, saute garlic and onions in olive oil until lightly browned. Add seafood. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, wine, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes and bay leaf. Soak and dilute the Saffron in a couple of tablespoons of water: then add to the stew. Add Tabasco, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer slowly for 15- 20 minutes. When the fish is cooked, remove from pot with a slotted spoon into a deep serving dish and keep warm. Let juices reduce by cooking another 10-15 minutes. Pour the juices over the stew and sprinkle top with parsley.

Serve with toasted French baguette which has been rubbed with fresh garlic and saturated melted butter.

Serves: 4

À bientôt!  See you next week!

© CaféDion 2010

Pasta Salad a la (Dion) Jones

Bonjour,

Well, the weather is acting up again. It is snowing, and I am sitting in front of my computer trying to think of what to say to you. My mind is wondering to Hawaii where I lived for 10 years. In Honolulu, exactly. Those were the good old days. 365 days of sunshine, soft breezes and beautiful beaches. I worked for United Air Lines then and I had a great friend, George Mendreshora. He was French Canadian,  a classically trained chef and the Executive Chef for United Airlines. One day my husband and I were flying back from the "mainland", as we called the Continental US, to Honolulu in first class, and when we opened the menu I saw a recipe he named after me. That was an incredible surprise! It was called " Pasta Salad à la (Dion) Jones". So here it is. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I still do.

Pasta Salad à la (Dion) Jones

1 pound corkscrew pasta
3/4 cup Julienne of beef salami (hard salami)
3/4 cup Julienne of Swiss cheese
1/3 cup red peppers, cooked and diced
3/4 cup green peas, cooked
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Italian  dressing
1/4 cup green scallions, sliced fine 

1) Cook the corkscrew pasta in boiling water with a touch of salt. Then chill with cold water and drain well, (it will stop the cooking). DO NOT OVERCOOK THE PASTA.

2) In a mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients. Adjust to taste with salt and pepper.

3) use your favorite Italian dressing to coat.

Note: You can use any pasta of your choice and adjust the amount of salami and cheese to your liking. 

Serves: 4

À bientôt! See you next week!

© CaféDion 2010