12 Minutes to France

   

No, they didn't bring back the Concorde! But this is a real taste of France, in only 12 minutes time. Elena Horwich came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her Chicken with Herbs de Provence. She says a big secret to make this an authentic treat lies in the fact she uses fennel seeds in the herbs for a truly terrific flavor.  Elena uses chicken thighs as the base, with an indoor grill pan over high heat. She adds that if you follow the recipe, it comes out elegant, light and delicious! Check out her cookbook Meal with a Spiel for all the latest recipes.

The Crispiest, Butteriest Cookies You Can Bake in Three Minutes

And when it comes to these kinds of cookies, you best bet on the butter quotient, simply because in this case, butter does make it better! Gesine Bullock-Prado, who is the author of the new cookbook, My Vermont Table, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about how these self-described "cozy" cookies, and the butteriest you'll ever make. Gesine told Tonia that these are Maple Tuiles, a French cookie by heritage, kicked with the seasonal flavor of maple, arguably one of Vermont's most famous exports. Gesine told Tonia that even though these cookies are fancy French, you only have to bake them for three minutes. Your reward, a crispy, buttery cookie you'll adore!

4 tablespoons (1⁄2 stick; 57 g) unsalted European butter (I use Vermont Creamery cultured butter), at room temperature.

1⁄2 cup (96 g) maple sugar (I use Choice Maple out of Hartford, VT)

1 large egg white, at room temperature

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

1⁄2 cup (60 g) unbleached, all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur)

1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the butter and maple sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until smooth. Scrape the bowl and add the egg white

and vanilla bean paste. Mix until combined. Scrape the bowl again, add the flour and salt, and mix until combined. Alternatively, you can mix this by hand in a bowl with a flat, wooden spoon. In that case, make sure your butter is slightly softer than room temperature.

Place about a teaspoon of the batter on a silicone baking mat and spread into a very thin 2-by-4-inch rectangle. Bake for 1 to 2 minutes, until the batter is golden brown. While the cookie is still warm and pliable, roll the cookie around a chopstick into a tight cylinder. Once you get a hang of the process, you can graduate to making two cookies at a time.

Excerpted from MY VERMONT TABLE: Recipes for all (Six) Seasons by Gesine Bullock-Prado Copyright © 2023. Used with permission of the publisher, Countryman Press. All rights reserved.

Raymond Prado photo credit

A Unique Apple Tart

   

This involves Brandy and Apples. A delicious treat indeed says Yankee Magazine Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso, who wrote the newly-revised Apple Lover's Cookbook. She came by Tonia's Kitchen to share a great idea for French Apple Tarts with Phyllo dough. This being in the French tradition,, Amy told Tonia she uses black pepper, along with ginger to create this special dessert. Dressing the Phyllo dough gives it a very inviting appearance that looks fancy, but is actually very easy to create.

For the apple filling:

• 4 Tbsp. butter
• 5 medium apples (peeled, cored and sliced in to 1/2 inch slices)
  
  
  
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (or a lighter 18 or 10% cream mixed with 2 tsp. of cornstarch)
• Optional: splash of brandy (or whiskey or rum)

For assembly:

• 5-6 sheets phyllo dough (thawed)
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

 

• Prepare the filling: Melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Cut your peeled apples in to quarters, remove the core, then slice into 1/2-inch slices. Add apple slices to your pan and cook, stirring, until apples are tender. Sprinkle with cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Add brown sugar and cream. Stir to combine. Allow mixture to cook, bubbling, until sauce reduces and thickens slightly. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (or make ahead and refrigerate until ready to assemble).

  

  
  
• To make tart: Preheat oven to 350° F. Melt butter and have a pastry brush ready. Have a damp, clean tea towel handy. Brush your pie plate with a bit of melted butter. Remove thawed phyllo from fridge. Take one full sheet and brush lightly with melted butter. Keep the remaining phyllo covered with damp towel while you aren't working with it. Drape the phyllo sheet over the pie plate. Don't try to press it down at this point, as it may tear. Butter another sheet of phyllo and lay it over the bottom sheet at an angle to the first one. Repeat with a third sheet of phyllo, buttering and then laying it over the pie plate at an angle to the first two. At this point, you should have covered all of the pie plate. If not, add another layer.
• Gently press down in the center of the pie plate to make a cavity. Using kitchen scissors, trim the excess phyllo to within 1 inch of the edge of the pie plate. Reserve scraps. Add your cooled or refrigerated apple filling to the pie plate. Fold the edges of the phyllo in towards the filling to make a neat edge. Brush with melted butter. Take the reserved phyllo scraps and one piece at a time, scrunch them up and place on top of the filling until the top is covered (you may need to use an additional sheet of buttered phyllo to cover it all). Dap lightly over the scrunched up phyllo with butter. Place pie plate on to a baking sheet and bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes. Be sure to watch closely near the end to ensure the phyllo doesn't burn. It should be a lovely over-all golden color. As the filling is already cooked, you don't need to worry about the apples being cooked. Just be sure the phyllo is cooked and golden.
• Transfer pie plate to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before eating. Lovely served with vanilla ice cream.

Real French Desserts Are Decadent

  

 

And this one doesn't disappoint. We're talking about a French Lemon Tart done in the authentic French Tradition. Susan Herrmann Loomis, who wrote the new cookbook Plat Du Jour: French Dinners Made Easy, stopped by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her recipe for the amazing, citrusy dessert that comes out super creamy and sweet. Susan told Tonia she takes eggs, sugar and flour along with lemon juice and other ingredients to create a sort of lemon curd, which is then placed in the pastry. It's rich, it's creamy and most of all, it's delicious! This of course is only one recipe in the multitudes she offers, and you can find out more, not only about the food, but Susan's travels, philosophy and general musings on her website 

EQUIPMENT: food processor, one 10½-inch (27 cm) removable-bottom tart pan, double boiler or a nonreactive metal bowl over a pan of water
PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes
BAKING TIME: 12 to 15 minutes
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: simple to medium (the only trick is rolling out the pastry)

For the pastry:
1½ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
7 tablespoons (105 g) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 7 pieces
⅓ to ½ cup (80 to 125 ml) chilled water
For the lemon cream:
7 tablespoons (105 g) unsalted butter
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs
¾ cup (185 ml) fresh lemon juice (from about 3 large lemons)

Zest of 1 lemon, minced (about 2 teaspoons zest), preferably from an organic lemon

Make the pastry: Place the flour and salt in a food processor and process to mix. Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. With the food processor running, drizzle in the water and process just until the mixture comes together; stop before it forms a ball. The pastry should be quite damp. Turn it out onto a work surface, form it into a flat disk, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Roll it out and fit it into a 10½-inch (27 cm) tart pan, then refrigerate for 1 hour, or freeze for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Prick the bottom of the pastry all over with the tines of a fork, then line it with aluminum foil and weight it with pastry weights. Bake in the center of the oven until the pastry is golden around the edges and on the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, remove the aluminum foil and the weights from the pastry, and return the pastry to the oven to bake until golden all over, about 10 additional minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven and let cool.

Make the lemon cream: Place the butter and sugar in a double boiler set over medium heat so the water is gently boiling, and stir until the butter is melted. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition so they are thoroughly blended into the butter and sugar. Add the lemon juice, whisk, and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture is thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove the double boiler from the heat, then remove the top pan holding the lemon cream and let it cool to room temperature. Stir in the lemon zest. If you have made this the day before serving, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before you assemble the tart, so the lemon cream is spreadable.

If you have made this the day that you’re planning to serve it, spread the pastry with the lemon mixture and refrigerate for at least 2 and up to 3 hours before you plan to serve it.

Simple. Yet Elegant. French Inspired Yet Ready in 12 Minutes

 

It's a real taste of France, in only 12 minutes time. Elena Horwich came by Tonia's Kitchen to talk about her Chicken with Herbs de Provence. She says a big secret to make this an authentic treat lies in the fact she uses fennel seeds in the herbs for a truly terrific flavor.  Elena uses chicken thighs as the base, with an indoor grill pan over high heat. She adds that if you follow the recipe, it comes out elegant, light and delicious! Check out her cookbook Meal with a Spiel for all the latest recipes