Purchased on a Whim

I've been eyeing some of the speciality flours that the Ferme de Gally have in stock lately. On busy Saturday mornings, they even have a bread machine plugged in making batches of bread to show off this new selection of flour.
I don't own a bread machine and thought this flour was a specific brand just for the bread machine. I finally had time and dug deep in my purse for my reading specs and read the instructions.......low and behold.....this stuff is for regular bakers and bread machine enthusiasts alike!
The brand is Moulins de Versailles.......I figure I would give it a try. Check out the web-site! Not to far from the 'homestead' I wonder if they give tours and perhaps even a demo. I know a whole bunch of 'bread heads' that might be interested, if not about flour, just improving their French!

The result is a delicious bread, but heavy! I mean heavy in weight! It takes two hands to lift the sucker. The recipe on the pack tells you to use a sachet of the SAF brand of dry yeast, since I don't use dried yeast I played with fresh. I'll have to check the amount because the loaf didn't rise. The 'crumb' is nice and you can see the seeds. All in all, worth the 2euro splurge and definitely worth another try!

~side note.....check out the web site for SAF, WOW....lots of recipes and tips. The recipe of the month (Feb) features Focaccia on the grill. Great new find for me!

Hints of Spring

This past weekend was glorious! Little hints that spring is approaching were all over! Bulbs have suddenly bloomed. I even went to the garden center to buy my pansies! I know that I'm really pushing the season, but they are so pretty and lift memories of the grey days. Even the birds are back singing loudly on my morning walk. It really feels spring-like.

Of course, we were in the mood to grill! I thought a simple butterflied (spatchcocked) chicken that was marinated in fresh lemon juice, olive oil and herbs was a great way to celebrate the weather! The result was a juicy and moist bird, even on that blazing inferno of a fire!



My neighbors even decided to have their Sunday lunch out on the patio! I think everybody was feeling good this past weekend!

Having said all of that, my son just sent me pictures of the latest
snowfall from around the campus! He did say he was looking
forward to winter! Click on that photo to enjoy the snow!

Croissant Crazy!

Right about now I have had it with Croissant Dough! Yeah, I know I can go on and on about dough and how it takes me to a quiet-zen-like-place. But I just finished with my Hands-On Croissant Dough class. It went pretty good, actually. And I think there will be a few who will carry on and make them at home. One gal, in particular, called with pride after she took her dough home and made a savory version. Those kind of comments are more than I can hope for in a class like that!
The prep involves making lots of dough for the students to shape and bake. 'PlayDough', so to speak!!

This photo is a great(dark) example of a yeasted-laminated dough and the many layers. There are approximately, 943, but who is counting!!

Toblerone Croissants & Almond Croissant waiting to tempt the students!

A good couple of days work, and two batches of dough left in the fridge......Trust Me.....I won't be making Croissants for a long time. Call me if you are looking to play with some of my extra dough! I'll deliver in the Paris area!! hehe!

The 'Smoker' & The Times

Well, Well, Well!
I have been touting my Stovetop Smoker for a couple of years now. I thought it was a great tool for those expats who live in the city center of Paris and can't grill out anymore!
I've even taught a couple of classes through the years extolling the wonders! You might remember my Tea-Smoked Duck post back in September?

I was perusing the NYTimes Dining & Wine section and there was a great article on the Smoker, along with some fantastic recipes I can't wait to try! I urge you city-folks, order your Stove Top Smoker today!

Stuffed Pizza

Now that the holiday season is long gone.......although tell that to my neighborhood! They still have Christmas lights on! I wonder what the cut off date is for taking lights down.
Anyway, we are trying to get back to our empty nest again. It is lonely, to say the least.
I am cooking, but not as enthusiastically! The 'old man' and myself weren't much into the mood for going out, so I thought I'd whip up a pizza dough. Pizza.....it really isn't cooking dinner is it? I threw the dough together in my sleep and boy did it turn out lovely! Sometimes when you turn on the 'auto-pilot', and something turns out great, that is the day you wish you had invited friends over OR were teaching a class!!

I wanted to experiment a little and remember I had bookmarked a blog entry a while ago for stuffed pizza. Interesting idea, huh! A take on a deep dish pizza with a lid!

I coaxed the dough into the springform pan, had some spinach on hand, there was some feta ready to use, cheddar and a mozzarella ball. I threw this concoction into the pan and topped it with a thin piece of dough. Baked for about 35 minutes and well, it was very good. Check out in this link for a look at the mini version. They are so cute, plus the stuffing ideas are endless! It is a fun way of cooking up a pizza!