French

Real Men Eat Watercress (Soup!)

10 Jan 2012
watercress soup with sage

Move aside quiche there a a new super food in town and men love it.

Real men like Napoleon Bonaparte and (yep) Sippity Sup! And we're not the only super-dudes in love with this peppery green bite. It’s said that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, built an entire hospital next to a patch of the stuff because he recognized early on the health benefits it could provide to his patients. Gruff Greek soldiers ate watercress to increase their masculine vigor. Even Roman Emperors said it enabled them to make “bold decisions”. I can vouch for that. I ate Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage and decided to write this super-charged tribute.

In Victorian times elegant ladies jumped on the watercress bandwagon too. It could be purchased in parks and street corners, gathered into posey-style bundles. These daintly little nosegays could be nibbled upon, like an ice cream cone while strolling.

And what a nibble watercress seems to be. It's said to have more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more folate than bananas, and more iron than spinach.

But its real attribute is that manly men like it. The Romans even believed it could prevent baldness. Now I ask you what man wouldn't eat watercress with that kind of information available to him? Still, even if you have a full head of hair (or are in fact a lady) eating watercress still has delicious benefits. Most notably it has a peppery crunch that elivens this vibrantly colored creamy soup made with leeks, and potatoes called potage au cresson. My version is a simple (but manly) take on the classic. GREG

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Creamy Watercress Soup with Sage

watercress soup
By jgreghenry Published January 9, 2012
Prep time: 30
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 2 leeks, halved lengthwise, cleaned, white and light greeen parts roughly chopped
  • 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 clv garlic, peeled & minced
  • 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped
  • 3 c chicken stock
  • 2 bn watercress (about 1 pound), leaves only, plus more for garnish (optional)
  • 6 leaves of fresh sage, rinsed and chopped
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
  • 1 pn each, salt and white pepper, to taste

Directions

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan set over medium heat. Add the leeks, celery and garlic, stirring to coat. Lower the heat and cover the pan, cooking the leeks until softened somewhat, but not yet colored, about 4 minutes. Add the potato and chicken stock. Simmer, uncovered until the potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Remove the pot from the pan and stir in the watercress and sage. Set the pan aside to cool somewhat.

Meanwhile mix the cream and egg yolks together in a small bowl. Set aside.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until very smooth. The strain the soup with a fine meshed sieve discarding any solids. Return the soup to the pan, setting it over medium heat and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cream and egg yolk mixture. Season with salt and white pepper. Garnish with watercress (optional). Serve warm.

Savory Pies- Shepherd's Pie or Lamb Champvallon

06 Nov 2011
Potato Topped Lamb Shepherd's Pie

I could call this Shepherd's Pie if I wanted to. After all, it is the third savory pie in a row in this week long tribute to the genre. But I choose to call this Lamb Champvallon. And I'm not the only one.

According to the Larousse Gastronomique, this classic French dish dates from the reign of Louis XIV. It was supposedly invented by one of his mistresses. But which one? There are 14 (quatorze) officially recognized mistresses. That's a lot of ladies to give credit for this dish to.

The French seem to have a lot of these stories attached to their most traditional foods. It's hard to say how much truth there is in any one of them.

Take this recipe known to the French as Cotes D'agneau Champvallon. If it was indeed a lamb dish brought to the King's attention by a mistress, it seems to make sense that her name may have been Champvallon. But most mistresses get short shrift in the history books. I can find no references to any of Louis' lovers with that name.

So I decided it was time for me to take hold of this lore and redefine the history behind this dish to suit my own needs and my own cooking style. While I am rewriting history I think I'll do a bit of tweeking to the recipe too. Something more suited to the modern palate.

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Alsatian Potato Pie

Potato Pie in Puff Pastry
By jgreghenry Published October 22, 2011
Prep time: 90
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 3 (about 1 1/2 pounds) yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
  • 1 pn coatse salt, plus more as needed
  • 5 clv garlic, crushed with the flat side of a large knife
  • 0.5 t freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1 pn frshly ground black pepper
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 1 medium leek, white and light-green parts only, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise, and washed well
  • 0.25 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 (14 ounces) frozen puff pastry, (such as dufour), thawed
  • 0 all purpose flour, for dusting work surface
  • 1.5 c grated comte or gruyere cheese

Directions

Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt; cook until just tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Drain. Let cool. Bring 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons cream, the garlic, and nutmeg to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook mixture until reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add leek; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk egg yolk and remaining tablespoon cream in a small bowl; set aside. Divide puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into two 6-by-13-inch rectangles. Set 1 rectangle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Add half of the potatoes, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around and overlapping potatoes slightly. Top with half of the leek mixture and 3/4 cup cheese; season with salt and pepper. Repeat layering with remaining potatoes, leeks, and cheese. Brush edges of dough with egg wash. Cover with remaining dough rectangle; gently press edges with a fork to seal. Cut 2-inch slits lengthwise in center of crust, 2 inches apart. Brush with egg wash. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes. Bake pie until golden brown and puffy, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven. Pour cream mixture into pie vents with a funnel. Bake 10 minutes more. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.
Source: Martha Stewart Living

Not So Cowardly Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Honey Crème Madeleines

18 Apr 2011
cowardly lion visits Sippity Sup

I do know how to bake. I do know how to bake. I do know how to bake!

To prove it I conceived Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Honey Crème Madeleines. Sounds delish, huh? But let's be honest. Does the thought of creating classic French pastries at home make you want to bite your tail? Well let me tell you as one "king of the forest" to another; you are not alone. Still, you don't have to "thrash 'em from top to bottomus" to find success. There are products out there in the market that let you "cheat" your way there.

I know I was sent a sample of one such product recently. Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Honey Crème.

Now I love to get sent free stuff in the mail. Especially foodstuff! But as great as most of the products I am sent are, they don't always inspire me the way this Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Honey Crème did. Because one morning I was slathering some of the stuff on a very hot crumpet. Crumpets are not just for tea time. They are also a great way to start the day. And my day was starting off grand. Because one bite of that Honey Ridge Farms Lemon Honey Crème immediately transported me to France and reminded me of the best Madeleine I ever had. It was sweetly lemon and as light and spongy as you could imagine. How could a British crumpet do that? Could it be the lemon crème? Well I am not too cowardly to find out.

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