Graduation Day Brunch

Sunday was Graduation Day. 86 degrees and full-sun were in the forecast! Thankfully, Saturday morning found me at the mall panic-buying a dress fit for the heat, without TOO much skin showing (you know what I mean!)! My elegant black and white suit would have left me melting. Hey, it was perfect for the weather a few weeks ago for elegance. Now all I can think about is being COOL!

Emotions in check, I also found the time Saturday after panic-shopping to do a bit of relaxing with some dough! I've been wanting to try Barbara's recipe for English Muffins since she posted it a year ago! Her version had the dough in a cool-ferment. Her muffins have nooks and crannies!
My version had no nooks, no crannies....but tasted pretty good. Fresh yeast in the fridge and I was on my way to relaxation.

I didn't have time to let the dough have that overnight ferment, I wanted to make them on Saturday, ready for Sunday morning!

So, what do you prepare your 'bearded baby' for brunch?

Oeufs Cocotte a la Duxelles!

Baked egg with mushroom duxelles, creme fraiche & a nice mimosa & melon make it a balanced start of the days celebrations!

Sunday was a fresh 'start' for many of us.

Bisous!
It was a perfect day!

Beer-Can Chicken

I've been trying to stop a rolling freight train dead in its tracks with my bare hands. It just won't stop, so I'm giving up and giving in. I'm going to stop dreading and start enjoying!
What am I talking about? It is graduation time, my 6ft tall, bearded baby is going to graduate from High School. I know I'll shed some tears......but darn-it, he has grown into a fine young man, and insisting that he is more than ready to spread his wings......so be it!

Listen, don't let anybody tell you that this 'life event' is easy, it isn't!


Now on to the other joy in my life, food&cooking! Lets talk about chicken on the grill. Comfort food, really! The trick when grilling or roasting is to make sure your bird is moist. Beer-Can chicken does the trick and works a treat. I know this recipe has been blogged about and re-blogged. But, you gotta' love it! Above are all the makings for this meal.....smoked salt (from my mentor/friend) and a French beer! If you have problems thinking about this beer, cola or a lemon lime mix will be fine. I'm sure you can find something worthy!

There he sits, so regal.....so roasted! Moist and delicious! This bird is fit for any graduating senior or senior citizen alike! Now all that is left for me to do is run out and buy some waterproof mascara and pray for sun! Wish me luck, I'll get through this!

Focaccia.......Love this version!

You know my on-going love affair with all things yeasted, right? I have a recipe for Focaccia, I've blogged about this before. It was a Baguette Recipe that I shaped into a Focaccia. It had pretty good crumb, good taste, but really didn't hold up longer than a day.
Surfing around the blogs, I found Coconut and Lime! A great little blog, take a gander.

She posted a Olive & Artichoke Focaccia recipe. The recipe looked pretty easy, no biga, no overnight ferment. I had some fresh yeast in the fridge (surprised?) and thought I'd give her version a whirl!
Of course I had some artichokes from my favorite Sunday morning stop; Galleries Gourmand. I made up the dough, let it rise, pushed it out into the pan. Then let it rise again, right before sticking it in the oven I thinly sliced the artichokes and stuck in some rosemary sprigs. Any expat lady who has attended my cooking class knows that I HATE the taste and smell of rosemary. Yet, it does grow very well in my herb garden.

Really pretty! I knew this was going to be good.

The great thing about this bread is the next day, it makes a terrific sandwich bread! Yes, this one is a keeper!

Quick.....Thai Curried Salmon for dinner!

Dinner sometimes consists of what has been stashed in the freezer and in the bottom of the crisper drawer in the fridge, usually something that doesn't look like a science experiment!. Last night about 6:00, I realized a teenager was hungry! But I was in middle of making Biscotti and talking on the phone at the same time.....you know this was a stretch for me, multi-tasking! My dad always told me I couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time!

Throwing in a third task (dinner prep) is just something us mothers do.....I opened the freezer and pulled out a couple of salmon filets. I had a recipe I've been wanting to try and decided tonight is the night!



A little saute'd shallot, a wine reduction, throw in some red curry paste with some coconut milk....fish sauce and lime juice......you know the drill, salty, sweet, sour and spicy and a Thai Salmon en Papillotes was born. Throw in a little brown rice to score brownie points with my trainer and thinly sliced Mange Tout for that vegetable point on the Food Pyramid!
Tasty! Served up on a Gien plate.......even better!

More than a Mouthful

Nevermind!
This recipe comes from a Food & Wine magazine loaned to me by a friend! A 'grilling issue'. She must have seen my burning plank post and decided I needed some tips, tout suit, for next September cooking classes! I perused the recipes- a good issue- by the way, and found this little burger waiting for me to try!

I had a bag of Scallops in the freezer from Picard, the local frozen food store......had some frozen corn buried as well! Don't turn your nose up at these frosty ingredients, this was an easy preparation dinner, ok!!

You wiz everything in the food processor and leave to firm up in the fridge. Should I tell my trainer about this method of firming up?? Knowing Ms. K......she'll just smile sweetly at my joke and make me do another 12 reps of something that I hate!! We have a close relationship!

Now, let me tell you, I had my doubts that these little fat-free marvels would hold together on the grill, but they did, and they were wonderful! They were fat-free until I stuck a couple strips of bacon on the burger and then made a delightful combo of mayo, sambal Oelek, a big squirt of Sriracha Chili Sauce and a squeeze of Sweet Chili Sauce. MMMMMMMM......my version of secret sauce.

What this burger lacks in visual appeal it gives a big bang for the buck in taste! From start to finish the burgers don't look appetizing, but the taste....wow.....the taste. This is worth a try!