Beef Daube Provencal (French Beef Stew)

This classic French beef stew has become a top 10 favorite meal for my family.  It is a hearty, company-worthy dish with rich, deep flavor that will have your guests raving.  Serve it with a side of egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.  Delicious! 

I have included two ways of cooking this: In a slow cooker and in the oven. 

Ratatouille Stuffed Bell Peppers

So many of my favorite vegetables are in season right now.  It was lunchtime and I found myself in the mood for ratatouille... but I wanted to do something different.  There were quite a few green peppers in my fridge, so I decided to stuff them with the ratatouille.  If you are a vegetable lover, this recipe is for you!  It is delicious and packed with nutrients.  If you are one of those people who are not fond of eggplant, you can can substitute it with another vegetable such as mushrooms or just double up on the zucchini or squash.  

Strawberry Flaugnarde

One Year Ago:  Asian-Style Chicken, Zucchini and Rice

Months ago, my mother surprised me with a cooking class for a day.  One of the things we were shown how to make was a French dessert, apple claflouti.  I had never heard of it before but when I tasted it, I fell in love.  Today, I wanted to recreate this yummy dessert but with a few changes.  Upon further research of the dessert, I discovered that clafouti is made only with cherries and that incorporation of any other fruit makes it a flaugnarde.  It turned out delicious and I cannot wait to try different variations of it! 

Apple Clafouti

One year ago:  Salisbury Steak

Clafouti is a French dessert, which is normally made with dried cherries arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter.  Apples are used in this recipe along with dried cranberries (Craisins, to be exact) and it is very healthy and wonderfully delicious.  Try experimenting with different fruits.

Boeuf Bourguignon

I had several hours of free time today, so I finally did it... I tackled Boeuf Bourguignon, which I adapted from Julia Child's recipe. There are a lot of steps and the process is a bit lengthy but trust me when I say that this is so worth the time and effort! My house smells insanely delicious and my taste buds are in heaven. My husband and daughter love, love, loved it. Unfortunately, I do not have a dutch oven, so I had to alternate cooking between a casserole dish and large pot. Guess it's time to go out and buy one, huh? Husband, are you reading this?

Prosciutto and Smoked Gruyere Quiche

My poor little sous-chef and food critic, Madelyn, has a nasty case of the flu. So far, she has missed two days of school and will definitely not be returning tomorrow. Because she is so sick, I know that the next few days will be crazy and that I will not be able to keep my beloved schedule. So, a quiche is perfect since it can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. While my little angel was sleeping on the couch at 2:00 in the afternoon, I whipped up this quiche. It's really quiche Lorraine, except I used prosciutto instead of bacon.

Orange Creme Brulee - Broiled or Torched

Happy Valentine's Day!

For Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you an amazing French dessert that I absolutely love.  Creme brulee consists of a creamy, cool custard topped with a crispy caramelized sugar crust and it is so addicting!  If you do not own a blow torch, I have included directions on how to use the broiler, which is the method I use.  Also, if you want to get creative, you can use hallowed-out orange peels in place of the ramekins, which is pictured below.  It works wonderfully.