Vibrant and light vegetable spring time meals are necessary to help shake off the the winter like this fantastic combination of flavours and textures. Balsamic sour cream sauce tops ribbons of crisp zucchini and sautéed mushrooms with shallots. Add delicate ribbons of smoked salmon and capers for a boost of flavour, and a masterpiece is born in less than 30 minutes.

The Recipe

2 medium zucchinis
3 – 4 large shallots bulbs

1/2 lb of mushrooms

4 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
2 cups of sour cream
Smoked salmon
Extra-vigin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh pepper
Butter

1. Chop shallots and sauté with two tablespoons of butter until translucent. Add quartered mushrooms with a pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Sauté another 5 minutes and turn off heat.
2. Make sauce by combining balsamic vinegar and sour cream. Add more or less vinegar to taste.
3. Use vegetable peeler to make ribbons of the zucchini and stop when you get to the seeds (see video). Toss with a several tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, pinch of salt, fresh ground pepper and Herbs De Province (optional).
4. Combine all vegetables, mix well and arrange on a nice platter.
5. Top with a bit of the sauce for decoration, but reserve the majority for individual plates.
5. Garnish with strips of smoked salmon and capers. You can further garnish with more Herbs De Province and fresh cracked pepper if desired.

I LOVE avocado. And I love it layered with either shrimp or a French mustard cream sauce topped with niçoise olives, anchovies or smoked salmon. Lets do Cinco De Mayo the French way…..

The Recipe!!
~ 1 large ripe avocado per person (see video on how to INSTANTLY ripen a hard avocado)
~ 1/2 lb of medium shrimp
~ Butter
~ Sour Cream
~ Niçoise olives
~ Anchovies
~ Sea salt and Fresh cracked pepper
~ Herbs De Province
~ Two fresh limes
~ One lemon
~ Stone ground French mustard
~ Worcestershire sauce
~ Fresh rosemary and Sage leaves
~ Extra-virgin olive oil

Cut avocado lenght-wise and scoop out in one piece with large spoon (as shown in video).
Make mustard sauce by mixing 3 heaping tablespoons of sour cream, two tablespoons of mustard and several drops of worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust to your liking. Top avocado with sauce and and either, olives, anchovies, smoked salmon AND fresh ground pepper and Herbs De Province.
For the Shrimp avocado, sauté shrimp (medium flame) in two tablespoons of butter with 1 teaspoon of crushed fresh rosemary and sage, juice and zest of one lemon, pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cook shrimp for 3 minutes, or until slightly pink and not opaque. Remove shrimp from pan with slotted spoon and put aside. Add two more tablespoons on butter to the pan with two tablespoons of sour scream. Wisk well and place sauce on the shrimp on the avocado. Top with fresh cracked pepper and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

Échine Rôti Prune-Orange

The Recipe!

~ Boneless Pork shoulder (5 lbs)
~ 1 Large can of plums (29 0z / 1 lb and 13 oz) MAKE SURE TO PIT THEM!!
~ 3 Oranges
~ 1 or 2 lemons (to taste – I like two)
~ 1 cup of sweet sherry
~ 4 tablespoons of butter
~ Several sprigs of fresh thyme and several of rosemary

Pre-heat oven to 350
Brown the pork in a large flameproof vessel like a dutch oven (see video) in 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add pitted plums, syrup from the plums, sliced oranges, sherry, zest and juice of 1-2 lemons and herbs.
Cover and cook for 30-45 minutes per pound of pork. Rotate and baste pork a few times through cooking.
How simple. How decadent. Flavours you will be amazed with.

Here is a sumptuous and healthy pasta dish that could be served at any bistro or little French village restaurant. Leeks are very popular in French cuisine as well as mushrooms. Add Emmentaller or Gruyere cheese and it’s pasta like you’ve never had.

The Recipe!

~ 1 10 oz package pasta of choice (I used Hodgson Mill’s Organic Whole Wheat Pasta with Flax Seed)
~ 3 Lb of leeks
~ 1/2 lb of mushrooms (quartered, or large chop)
~ 4 tablespoons of butter
~ Black oil cured olives for garnish (optional)
~ 2 cups of shredded cheese such as Emmentaler, Gruyère or even Parmesean or Cheddar.
~ Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

Well folks, my brother Andre wanted to make a cooking video and so when talking with him, we decided it might be fun to post it here!  He loves to cook as we all did in the family, and so here he makes a special breakfast he made for his son, Noah called ;

Tart D’Oeuf A La Creme

What fun it is to share cooking with your family – even if it is through the miles Via the World Wide Web! Thanks Andre for being a part of my passion, as I know it is yours as well. Job well done!

Pâte à Chou

French puff pastry is so delicate and airy, it lends well with another delicacy – day boat scallops. Topped with a white wine butter sauce and suddenly you are speaking French. Trés Bien mon ami, trés bien.

The Recipe!

Pâte à Chou

~ ½ cup butter
~ 1 cup milk
~ 1 teaspoon salt
~ 1 cup all-purpose flour
~ 4 eggs
~ pinch of allspice

Heat oven to 400. Heat milk, salt, allspice and butter in a large pan until it just starts to boil. Take off the fire and add flour, stirring until well mixed. Put back on a medium fire, stirring until it is a bit drier and it starts to make a film on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool. Add eggs and blend well (with a Cuisinart, mixer or by hand). Place 1 1/2 inch mounds on parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes or until lightly golden brown. After cooling, slice a part off the top of the pastry with a small knife to place the scallops in.

This savory French sausage recipe is great as it is, but when you pair it up with a sweet orange pepper cream sauce, well just write me a note as to how many people fall in love with you after one bite. This dish is dedicated to my mother who would have been 90 this week, and was a great inspiration to me with her teachings in the kitchen at home and in the family restaurants. Sausage was one of her favorites (as pork is very popular in French cuisine) and she dearly loved sweet pepper, so I put them together in a way that is unforgettable. Je t’aime Maman. Je t’aime.

The Recipe!

The Sausage;
~ 1 1/2 lbs of fresh ground pork (about 20 % fat)
~ 3/4 cup of sour cream
~ 1/2 lb of mushrooms chopped fine
~ 4 shallots, chopped fine
~ 1 level tablespoon of Sea salt and lots of fresh cracked pepper!
~ 1 cup of pistachios

Sauté mushrooms and shallots in a tablespoon of butter and extra-virgin olive oil until golden in color.  Combine all of the ingredients well and place on a sheet of aluminum foil in a cylindrical shape, rolling the sausage meat tightly in the foil. Place in the freezer for a few hours so that it can be sliced easily into 3/4 inch rounds. You can keep it in the freezer for a few months as well, until you are ready for a quick and amazing meal. Just let it thaw a bit prior to slicing.
Brown both sides on a medium fire in a pan with 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter.

The Sweet Orange Pepper Cream Sauce;

~ 3 large orange sweet peppers, diced
~ 1-2 large shallots, diced
~ 2 heaping tablespoons of cream cheese
~ 1 cup of heavy cream
~ Several grinds of fresh cracked pepper (I do about 15!!)
~ One teaspoon of sugar or a tablespoon of honey

~deglazing liquids (1/2 cup of white wine)

Sauté peppers and shallots with 2 teaspoons of butter, 2 of extra-virgin olive oil until golden in color in a large sauté pan. 
Move pepper and shallots in a small-medium sauce pot and remainder of ingredients on a low fire. Deglaze first pan with 1/2 cup of white wine and place this with remainder of ingredients. Blend until very smooth with an immersion blender. (Get one NOW if you don’t have one. They have been in French homes for decades, and we are known for our killer sauces……just sayin’……)

Melangé Printanier (Quickly Sautéed Spring Mix Salad)
~ 6 oz of spring salad mix or mesclun.
~2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
~ 2 tablespoons of truffle oil
~ 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil (if not using truffle oil, use 3 of olive oil)
~ lots of fresh cracked pepper!!!
~ 1 tablespoon of butter

Heat large pan on medium heat with butter. When hot and bubbling, shut off heat and add all of the ingredients, tossing until mixed. SERVE IMMEDIATELY – So do this dish when everything else is done.

Pork is an essential meat in French cuisine, and when it’s marinated overnight – it’s killer. Now simmer it gently in white wine and it’s crazy. Now, coat it with an orange zest infused maple syrup and I just don’t have the adjectives to properly describe gastronomique heaven. Go for it.

The Recipe!

Roast Pork with Maple Orange Glaze
~ 4 lbs. pork shoulder
~ 1 cup of maple syrup
~ 1 large orange
~ 1 cup of white wine

Marinate for pork

~ 2 cups of brown sugar
~ 1 cup of  red wine
~ 1 cup malt vinegar
~ 1 cup of soy sauce
~ 2 tablespoons of lime juice
~ 2 tablespoons of TOASTED sesame oil
~ 3 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
~ Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste
~ enough water to barely cover the meat when all the ingredients are placed in the pot

Cut the shoulder into large chunks (approximately 4 inch pieces) and place in a pot  with marinate ingredients overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, when ready to cook, place meat in a large covered pan with 1 cup of white wine and 2 cups of the marinate. Simmer on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Add more wine if liquid reduces too much.  

For the Orange Maple sauce;

Zest a whole orange in a small saucier pot with the juice of that same orange and one cup of maple syrup. (this sauce is good on ANYTHING!) Place on a very low fire o the back right sauce burner (smallest burner). Let thicken, this takes about an hour.

After meat is cooked (1+1/2 hours on a low simmer), drain off liquid and place glaze over meat and cover on a very low flame. Toss meat and cook another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to coat the meat. Place meat in a nice platter and pour off sauce on top of meat.

Young Summer Squash with Carrots and Shallots

~ 6 small young summer squash, cut into thick strips
~ 6 carrots cut into thin strips
~ 5 shallots, diced
~ 1 cup of beef consume or broth
~ Fresh cracked pepper to taste
~ Large pinch of salt
~ 3 teaspoons of butter
~ 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Sauté shallots and carrots in a large covered pan with the butter and oil on a low-medium heat for 20 minutes. Add squash, consume, salt and pepper and cover, cooking an additional 20 minutes, tossing vegetables on occasion. How easy?