Clafoutis + Whipped Cream = YUM!

Pêche et myrtilles clafoutis avec crème : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Recipe for complete and utter gastronomic bliss: clafoutis with cream. YUM!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Finished Product

Finished clafouti : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This the clafoutis right out of the oven! (Those are my petunias in the background. I got them because they reminded me of my maternal grandmother and my mom. The tablecloth is a Provencal design purchased in the town of Ribeauville in the Alsace-Lorraine.)

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Summertime goodness : Peach and Blueberry Clafoutis : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Summer produce is out and it's fabulous! This is a clafoutis of peaches and blueberries about to go into the oven. (Thanks, Virginia, for the inspiration!)

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Salsa!

I enjoy cooking and trying different combinations of foods. This is a photo of some pineapple-kiwi salsa I made recently for a party. It was also the first time I hollowed out a pineapple to be the dish for the salsa.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

I Get by with a Little Help from My Friends!

Making crescent rolls for Thanksgiving in France : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Yesterday, I had to make enough mashed potatoes and crescent rolls for 20 people! They were to be consumed at the first of THREE Thanksgiving dinners I'll be attending before the end of the month. This one was local and featured people from work at the home of the fabulous Faith McLellan and her intern/guest, Carl Nelson. As I was only supposed to be here for 45 days, I didn't pack things like a rolling pin or measuring cups.

My thanks to the following people for making my baking endeavors possible: First, to Mom, for having such a fabulous roll recipe; to Phillip, for sending me the smashed potatoes recipe; to Janeen, for sending me the family cookbook with Mom's amazing rolls; to Gretchen, for compiling the family book; to Christian Fuster, for teaching me the word for "yeast" in French ("levure"); to Kim Wishard, for lending me the rolling pin, measuring cups, and electric mixer that allowed me make the rolls and the potatoes; to Maya, for doing a great job buttering the rolls (we used 2 kilos of butter in the rolls and 1 kilo in the potatoes. That's the equivalent of nearly 7 lbs of butter!); and to Faith McLellan, for hosting a fabulous Thanksgiving feast!

The finished product: Mom's crescent rolls! Yummy! Butter!!

Here's the recipe, if you're interested.

Janell's Crescent Rolls

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 cup milk, scalded

2 eggs, well beaten

1/4 cup hot water

1 yeast cake, dissolved

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

5 cups flour

Dissolve yeast in hot water. Mix one half of the flour, salt, and sugar together. Add eggs, milk, butter, and dissolved yeast. Mix well until smooth. Ad remaing flour. Mix and knead well until smooth and dough does not stick to hands or bowl. Add additional flour as needed to keep the dough smooth. Shape into a ball and place in a bowl; grease top of the dough with butter. Cover with a dish towel and let the dough rise until double in size; about 1 hour or a little more. Punch the dough down and let set for 10 minutes.

In a sauce pan, melt one to two sticks of butter. Divide dough into thirds and shape into balls, set aside. Take one ball at a time and roll it out to about 3/8" thickness and 9-10" in diameter, approximately. Butter the entire surface area. Cut the circle into fourths and then each fourth into thirds for a total of twelve wedges. Roll each wedge from the top (broad end) down to the point. Pinch the end. Place on a cookie sheet about 2" apart. Generously butter the tops of each roll, cover with a dish towel and let rise to double in size, approximately 1 hour.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F / 175 C for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush again with melted butter while still on the cookie sheet. Remove from the sheet and cool on a wire rack.

Repeat with the other two balls of dought. One batch of dough makes 3 dozen crescent rolls.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 11/09