mers-les-bains

Just before New Year's Eve, we drove north to the English Channel to spend a few days with Jean-Marc's brother. He lives in Mers-les-Bains, a seaside resort town that is straight out of the late 19th century. The town is filled with tall brick houses that have colourful woodwork and are rented out primarily as holiday homes. Since it was the dead of winter, the houses were mostly empty, but it wasn't hard to imagine what it might be like in the summer. We rang in the new year with a delicious seafood dinner, champagne and a tarte normande (almond/apple tart), and worked off our meal the following day on an energetic walk up and down the cliffside hills to the next town. On the way back we could see a storm coming across the Channel. We thought it was rain, but when it hit the coast we realized it was snow. Luckily we didn't have that much further to go!

apple tart

When we were invited to a dinner party with friends last weekend, we offered to bring dessert. I made a carrot cake and Jean-Marc made an apple tart. He's very good at cooking and baking, and tarts are one of his specialties. With this tart, he tried something new: he put a layer of homemade applesauce on the crust before adding the sliced apples. The applesauce was made earlier in the week from apples from a friend's orchard. It was a good addition to the pie and I would recommend trying it!

apple tart

crust (see the alternative crust down below)
1 3/4 cups flour (200g)
1/2 cup of butter (125g)
pinch of salt (if butter is not salted)
1-2 tablespoons of cold water

filling
6-8 medium apples
applesauce (optional)
1 egg, beaten
cinnamon & sugar for sprinkling

directions
For the crust, cut the butter into little chunks and mix it into the flour and salt (if using) with either a knife, pastry cutter or your fingers. Once the mixture resembles a coarse meal, add the water one tablespoon at a time. You may need more or less water, depending on the temperature and the weather, so add a little, mix a lot and then see if you need to add some more. Too much water will make the crust hard. Knead the dough until it holds together. More folding and smearing with your palms will create more of a flaky pastry. Set aside to rest.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. (190 degrees C.) and grease your pie pan. (I don't grease the pan, but Jean-Marc swears by it.) Peel and cut the apples into slices - each quarter apple should give you at least 4 slices.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle about an inch larger than your pie pan. Flip the dough into the pan and tuck in the edges. Spread a little applesauce along the bottom of the crust (1/4" deep) and begin to place the apple slices vertically around the edge of the pie. Start placing the rest of the slices horizontally around the pie until you have at least three layers. Take the beaten egg and brush it all over the top of the pie and then sprinkle the whole thing with a little cinnamon and sugar. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the crust and the apples are brown (our oven was a little too hot, so it got very dark brown!).

Additional Note:
I just made this tart again and this time I switched up the crust ingredients to make it slightly sweeter.  It turned out really well!

alternative crust ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
pinch salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon water

As for the carrot cake, it's the third one I've made since I've been here and I'm still trying to figure out the best recipe. It was good, but I feel there are some changes to make.

the nine hour dinner party

This past weekend we were invited to an annual dinner party in Jean-Marc's home town with all his childhood friends. Normally it happens before Christmas but, since there was a lot of flu going around in December, it got moved to the new year. We were asked to arrive sometime after 4pm, when Epiphany galettes would be served (a puff pastry pie with almond paste filling) and a king and queen would be crowned. Traditionally a "fêve" (nowadays a porcelain figurine) is hidden inside the pie and whoever gets it in their slice, gets the crown. So we arrived around 5pm and sat down for some galette and bubbly. This was the beginning of our evening and it continued until 2:30 am. We spent over 9 hours around the table, eating various courses and discussing everything from politics to local gossip and, of course, food.  Here is a rundown of our meal.

5:00 pm - galette with sparkling wine
7:00 pm - choice of cider or rosé w/grapefruit syrup
9:00 pm - pumpkin soup with croutons
10:00 pm - pork roast and pommes dauphines
10:45 pm - green beans fried with garlic
11:30 pm - cheese course
12:15 am - dessert (we brought apple tart and carrot cake)
1:00 am - coffee/tea with chocolate and mandarin oranges
2:30 am - we went home

I should mention that there were 19 of us, including 8 kids ranging in age from 6 to 14. The kids were awake the whole time and I remember the 6 year-old girls playing twister at 2:00 am. There is definitely a different attitude towards kids' bedtimes here!

christmas in france: the menu

We just got back from four days with the family over Christmas. The meal on Christmas day started at 1:30 pm with apéritifs and ended around 5:30 pm. I think that Jean-Marc's family traditionally has their Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, but this year was different due to one brother and his family spending the 24th with the in-laws. Here's what we had:

apéritifs
kir royale (crème de cassis and champagne)
cashews
crackers

appetizers
prawns
fresh oysters with vinaigrette or lemon juice
foie gras with toasted bread
smoked salmon

main course
pommes dauphine (fried battered mashed potato balls)
turkey braised in sweet white wine with chestnuts and lardons
salad

dessert
îles flottantes (egg white islands floating in crème anglaise)
chocolate cake
carrot cake

It wasn't quite the traditional dinner I have grown up with, but it was all very delicious. The braised turkey was really to die for. One hour before serving, Madeleine, my mother-in-law, put in some peeled cooked chestnuts and it was a wonderful addition. Aside from all the food we consumed, we also had a nice time together, playing games with the kids and going for walks in the countryside. A very nice Christmas, indeed!

christmas in france

It's taken me a while to get into the Christmas spirit. I've been admittedly otherwise occupied trying to find work, but reality set in this week. Since my muffler fell off my car last week, I've been waiting for the mechanic to finish the repairs and have been stuck at home. This meant that Jean-Marc and I needed to get all our Christmas shopping done after his work hours. We did just that on Tuesday evening and then I set about baking for the family. I baked three kinds of cookies (almond pepper biscotti, sugar cookies and espresso shortbread) and found some round cardboard boxes to put them in. In addition to the cookies, I have been making cakes for Christmas. Since I couldn't make up my mind, and we were going to be there for a few days, I decided on a carrot cake with cream cheese icing and a chocolate cake with coffee icing. The chocolate cake is my go-to recipe for an amazingly decadent not-too-sweet dessert. I will post the recipe soon!

I'm not quite sure what to expect for Christmas, other than a lot of great food (Jean-Marc's mom is a wonderful cook). I know that oysters, foie gras, smoked salmon and champagne are all traditional, but it remains to be seen what will be on offer. More than anything, I'm looking forward to spending time together with my new family.

almond pepper biscotti

This recipe is from the Moosewood Restaurant Book of Desserts, but I have altered it a bit because I didn't have the anise seeds that were originally called for. I have made this recipe a couple of times and this time I drizzled chocolate on the biscotti to make them fancier, but I think it was a mistake. These biscotti are tastier on their own; the chocolate is too much competition for the subtlety of the almond and the spice of the black pepper. You may feel differently! Here's my version.

ingredients
2/3 cup whole almonds (toasted)
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 ground black pepper
1 cup sugar
2 cups white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

directions
If your almonds are not already toasted, put them on a cookie sheet in one layer and toast in the oven (325 F.) for 10-15 minutes, until they are fragrant. Set them aside to cool.

Beat the eggs and egg white in a large bowl. Stir in almond extract, pepper and sugar. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt, and mix until well blended. Coarsely chop the almonds and stir them into the dough. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or oiled) and form two logs that are about 3 inches in diameter. I find the dough to be really sticky and just do my best with my hands or a spatula. The logs will spread quite a bit, so make sure to leave enough room between them.

Bake at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) for 35-40 minutes. Cool logs on a rack for about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven to 325 degrees F. With a sharp knife, slice the logs diagonally crosswise into 1/2" pieces. Place the biscotti cut side down on the baking sheet and bake again for 20-25 minutes, just until lightly browned. The biscotti will become firmer as they cool.

(To make the original recipe, add 1 Tbsp anise seeds along with the sugar etc.)

the weather

The last week has been full of extreme weather for this western region of France. It's been quite cold and there have been some snowstorms, but the snow didn't stick to the ground. This photo was taken from our living room window on Sunday when it was sunny and rainy at the same time.