Showing posts with label france. Show all posts
Showing posts with label france. Show all posts

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Cassoulet (Meat Surprise!)

Last month I decided on lazy Sunday to try and make a French Cassoulet. Pretty much it is a peasant dish consisting of slow-cooked meat and beans. What kind of meat? All kinds of meat. Fatty ducks and fatty lamb and fatty pork and beans. I tried to lighten it up as much as I could. I replaced pork shoulder with trimmed pork stew meat, and I used skinless chicken thighs instead of skin-on duck legs.

First you cook up a couple slices of bacon and set them aside. I did not try to lighten up bacon.

Next is the stew pork! You could use chunked leg of lamb if you'd like to have a heart attack.

Boneless, skinless, chicken thighs! I wish I could afford that much duck confit.

Cast iron is getting all dark brown and meat sear-y. Mmmmmm.

Onions and garlic go in to scrape all of the brown bits off the bottom.

Tomato paste, too. For more brown-bit scraping.


Then you toss the meat back in. I didn't take a picture, but at this point you also add about 4 spicy chicken sausages, cut in half down the length of them. So many different meats.

Four cups of chicken stock are next. I like to use the chicken stock concentrate from Trader Joe's, that way I don't have to lug heavy broth up to my apartment where I have no room to store it.

Meats in meat water. You also add a whole ton of great northern beans in here now too. Four cans.


Top with panko breadcrumbs and bake for like, 4 hours.

The finished product deceitfully looks like it's covered with a thick layer of cheese.

Scoop out some into a bowl- you never know what kind of meat you'll get, so it's an exciting gamble.

Cassoulet (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe- no really, I had to lighten a Cooking Light recipe):

  • 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 bacon slices, chopped into pieces
  • 1 lb of chunks of pork
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1/4 cup tomato puree
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 4 cans Great Northern beans, drained
  • 4 spicy Italian chicken sausages
  • 1/4 cup panko
Brown meats and drain. Sautee onion and garlic and tomato paste. Add meats back to pot. Cover with chicken broth. Bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours. Stir in beans. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top of the casserole. Bake at 375°for 1 hour covered, then uncover and cook until brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Bastille Day!

Bonjour! Bastille Day is finally here for real now, not like last week when I just thought it was. I'm celebrating by wearing my tacky Paris tee shirt today, and later I'll snack on champagne and leftover macarons.

Here's your Bastille Day rundown:

The NYT has the places to go for authentic French cuisine if you happen to be in New York today.

The Baltimore Sun has some book recommendations.

Chicago chimes in with restaurant recommendations.

And finally, here are your pictures of the military parade earlier today down the Champs-Elysees.

What are you doing to celebrate?

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter

Friday, June 19, 2009

Bonjour!


OMG, Sammiches is going to France! Duck confit! Macarons from Pierre Herme! Van Cleef and Arpels! French cheeses! French wine! So, I am trying to learn a little bit of French. I'm using Rosetta Stone, and it is totally the best- both because I am actually picking up some vocabulary, and it is fun to "play." Highly recommended.

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dulce de nomnomnomnomsalt

Last night we got some dulce de leche gelato. The recipe, if you are feeling overacheiving, can be found here. It is also sold by Ciao Bella. And although I've done the whole "make caramel out of condensed sweetened milk in the can" thing before, it is not recommended, since it might blow up.
To make it extra delicious, we sprinkled it with sea salt. (I used Sel Gris de l'Ile de Noirmoutier, which can be found here.) Caramel gelato+ sea salt= best most delicious thing ever.

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Viva la France!

The French have a pastry called the "galette" that is usually a great big crepe/tart thing, but SOMETIMES it means a French Belgian Cookie, which is like a small butter-based crispy waffle.


Today I have eaten almost a whole box. You should get some. POINTS: France-3, Me-1

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Summertime Drinks!

Everybody should come over so that we can have a kir, or perhaps a kir royale, and grill a nice dinner of shallot and tarragon marinated shrimps, a crusty baguette, a nice breakfast salad on the side, and pretend we are French.

But what is a kir, you ask? I will tell you.
It is a French cocktail where you pour a tablespoon of creme de cassis (a liquor made from blackcurrants) into a glass of white wine. Ca roule!

Follow OMGSammiches on Twitter