French recipes... Enjoy!
VINEGRETTE
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 to 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons bland oil such as sunflower
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Whisk the mustard and the red wine together in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the 3 tablespoons of oil until the mixture is thickened, then whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning. To thin the vinaigrette, simply whisk in a teaspoon or two of water.
ONION SOUP 
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter at room temperature
3 large onions - yellow is best - peeled & nicely sliced
a pinch - approximately 0.5 teaspoon - of salt
1 cup of your best dry white wine (you might prefer Champagne like King Louis XV of France)
1 extra glass of dry white wine or Champagne for the Chef :-)
3 tins of beef or chicken broth about 14-15 ounces each
1 cup of shredded Swiss cheese
about half a teaspoon of thyme leaves - dried is fine
4 slices of lightly toasted French bread
a bunch of fresh thyme to garnish with
salt and pepper
Preparation:
Melt butter in a large frypan, over medium heat. Add sliced onions, cook and stir for about 15 minutes or until onions are soft and lightly browned. Add wine, stir gently. Combine this onion mixture with the broth. Pour into larger heavy based pot [which has a lid]. Add salt and fresh thyme. Put a cover or lid on the pot. You can now cook the French onion soup for approximately 4 to 4.5 hours. When ready, turn the oven griller/broiler on. Serve the soup into 4 soup bowls. Break the toast into bite-sized pieces. Put toast on top of each bowl, and sprinkle with the cheese. Place on a baking tray in the oven and bake until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, if you and your guests like the flavour.
MADELEINES
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tspn baking powder
A pinch of salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp grated orange zest
2 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva dark chocolate - coarsely chopped
Madeleine pans
Preparation:
Heat butter in small heavy saucepan over medium heat just until very light golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs and sugar in a large bowl with a hand blender until tripled in volume. Lower speed to medium and beat in the vanilla, orange juice and orange zest. Fold in flour mixture a little (1/3rd) at a time. Finally fold in the cooled butter. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until slightly firm.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Apply butter or non-stick cooking spray to two 12-mold madeleine pans and dust them with flour. Drop a generous spoonful or two of batter into center of each prepared mold, leaving the batter mounded in the center. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown and centers spring back when lightly touched.
Remove the pans from oven and tap them sharply against a countertop to release the madeleines, then leave them to cool on wire racks.
Place chocolate in small microwave-safe cup. Microwave on medium (50% power) for 1 minute or a little more, stirring every 30 seconds, until chocolate has almost melted. Whisk a little to make it smooth. Do NOT overheat.
Dip each madeleine into melted chocolate, coating bottom third part of the cookie. Shake off excess chocolate and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Repeat for all the cookies and leave at room temperature for 1 hour or until chocolate is set.
This is the perfect recipe for Chocolate-covered Madeleines, and beleive me, they are so great you are sure to get addicted to them. Enjoy these as simple desserts, but they are great with tea or coffee too.
ECLAIRS
Cream Puff Dough / Pâte à Choux (see below for recipe), fresh and still warm
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Divide the oven into thirds by positioning the racks in the upper and lower half of the oven. Line two baking sheets with waxed or parchment paper.
Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 2/3 (2cm) plain tip nozzle with the warm cream puff dough. Pipe the dough onto the baking sheets in long, 4 to 41/2 inches (about 11 cm) chubby fingers. Leave about 2 inches (5 cm) space in between each dough strip to allow them room to puff. The dough should give you enough to pipe 20-24 éclairs.
Slide both the baking sheets into the oven and bake for 7 minutes. After the 7 minutes, slip the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep in ajar. When the éclairs have been in the oven for a total of 12 minutes, rotate the sheets top to bottom and front to back. Continue baking for a further 8 minutes or until the éclairs are puffed, golden and firm. The total baking time should be approximately 20 minutes.
Baked pâte à choux sliced horizontally - it actually comes out hollow! The éclairs can be kept in a cool, dry place for several hours before filling.
Assembling:
Chocolate glaze (see below for recipe)
Chocolate pastry cream (see below for recipe)
Slice the éclairs horizontally, using a serrated knife and a gently sawing motion. Set aside the bottoms and place the tops on a rack over a piece of parchment paper.
The glaze should be barely warm to the touch (between 95 – 104 degrees F or 35 – 40 degrees C, as measured on an instant read thermometer). Spread the glaze over the tops of the éclairs using a metal icing spatula. Allow the tops to set and in the meantime fill the bottoms with the pastry cream.
Pipe or spoon the pastry cream into the bottoms of the éclairs. Make sure you fill the bottoms with enough cream to mound above the pastry. Place the glazed tops onto the pastry cream and wriggle gently to settle them.
If you have chilled your chocolate glaze, reheat by placing it in a bowl over simmering water, stirring it gently with a wooden spoon. Do not stir too vigorously as you do not want to create bubbles. The éclairs should be served as soon as they have been filled.
Pâte à Choux
makes 20-24 Éclairs
1/2 cup (125g) whole milk
1/2 cup (125g) water
1 stick (4 ounces; 115g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (140g) all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, at room temperature
In a heavy bottomed medium saucepan, bring the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt to the boil.
Once the mixture is at a rolling boil, add all of the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and start to stir the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough comes together very quickly. Do not worry if a slight crust forms at the bottom of the pan, it’s supposed to. You need to carry on stirring for a further 2-3 minutes to dry the dough. After this time the dough will be very soft and smooth.
Transfer the dough into a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using your handmixer or if you still have the energy, continue by hand. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each egg has been added to incorporate it into the dough. You will notice that after you have added the first egg, the dough will separate, once again do not worry. As you keep working the dough, it will come back all together again by the time you have added the third egg. In the end the dough should be thick and shiny and when lifted it should fall back into the bowl in a ribbon. The dough should be still warm. It is now ready to be used for the éclairs as directed above.
Once the dough is made you need to shape it immediately. You can pipe the dough and the freeze it. Simply pipe the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets and slide the sheets into the freezer. Once the dough is completely frozen, transfer the piped shapes into freezer bags. They can be kept in the freezer for up to a month.
Chocolate Pastry Cream
2 cups (500g) whole milk
4 large egg yolks
6 tbsp (75g) sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
7 oz (200g) bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona Guanaja, melted
2 1/2 tbsp (1 1/4 oz: 40g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
In a small saucepan, bring the milk to a boil. In the meantime, combine the yolks, sugar and cornstarch together and whisk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
Once the milk has reached a boil, temper the yolks by whisking a couple spoonfuls of the hot milk into the yolk mixture. Continue whisking and slowly pour the rest of the milk into the tempered yolk mixture.
Strain the mixture back into the saucepan to remove any egg that may have scrambled. Place the pan over medium heat and whisk vigorously (without stop) until the mixture returns to a boil. Keep whisking vigorously for 1 to 2 more minutes (still over medium heat). Stir in the melted chocolate and then remove the pan from the heat.
Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl and set it in an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. Make sure to continue stirring the mixture at this point so that it remains smooth.
Once the cream has reached a temperature of 140 F remove from the ice-water bath and stir in the butter in three or four installments. Return the cream to the ice-water bath to continue cooling, stirring occasionally, until it has completely cooled. The cream is now ready to use or store in the fridge.
The pastry cream can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. In order to avoid a skin forming on the pastry cream, cover with plastic wrap pressed onto the cream. Tempering the eggs raises the temperature of the eggs slowly so that they do not scramble. You may replace chocolate with some soluble coffee.
Chocolate Glaze
makes 1 cup or 300g
1/3 cup (80g) heavy cream
3½ oz (100g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tsp (20 g) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces, at room temperature
7 tbsp (110 g) Chocolate Sauce (recipe below), warm or at room temperature
In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly begin to add the chocolate, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Stirring gently, stir in the butter, piece by piece followed by the chocolate sauce.
Chocolate Sauce
makes 1 1/2 cups or 525 g
4 1/2 oz (130 g) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (250 g) water
1/2 cup (125 g) crème fraîche, or heavy cream
1/3 cup (70 g) sugar
Place all the ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil, making sure to stir constantly. Then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens.
It may take 10-15 minutes for the sauce to thicken, but you will know when it is done when it coats the back of your spoon.
You can make this sauce ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for two weeks. Reheat the sauce in a microwave oven or a double boiler before using. This sauce is also great for cakes, ice-cream and tarts.
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