Avocat à la Crème

The beautiful tastes of summer are here! Nouvelle Cuisine is a great fusion of new and old French flavours, and here I showcase the both together.

The Recipe!
One ripe avocado per person
1/2 sweet orange pepper, diced for garnish
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, diced
4 tablespoons of honey mustard (or a 50/50 blend of whole grain French mustard and honey)
1 teaspoon of Herbs De Province
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Tomato Honey Mustard Cream Sauce

La Methode:

Make sauce by blending last 7 ingredients.
Slice avocado in two lengthwise, remove pit with knife by hitting pit with sharp end and twisting it out. Remove flesh in one piece by scooping it out with a large spoon. Place both halves on a plate and sprinkle with lime juice and fill pit cavity with sauce. Garnish with diced sweet orange pepper and Herbs De Province. Serve with a nice crusty French bread.

Avocat à la Crème

Champignon Aux Pétoncles

A very elegant, visually stunning and extremely delicious way to please your family and friends. In less than 30 minutes…really.

The Recipe!

2-3 large mushrooms per person (stems carefully removed)
1 lb of scallops, chopped slightly into pieces.
One large shallot, chopped fine
Sea salt and Fresh ground pepper
Butter and extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 of a orange sweet pepper, half diced, half of it cut into slivers
2 slices of bacon, pre-cooked and chopped

Champignon Aux Pétoncles

Champignon Aux Pétoncles

La Methode!
Place one tablespoon each of oil and butter and heat over a low to medium fire in a large skillet. Add chopped shallot and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until slightly browned. Remove from heat and place in a bowl in a warmed oven. Add mushrooms to the same pan with one more tablespoon each of oil and butter, cooking over low to medium heat. Brown both sides, about 8 minutes total time. Remove and place on a warm platter. Place scallops in the same pan with the remaining juice from the mushrooms. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from pan after 2 minutes and place in the center of the mushrooms. Top with the shallot and peppers and pan juices from the scallops. Top with diced bacon. Garnish plate with pepper slivers. Voila!!

Champignon Aux Pétoncles

With grilling season just beginning, I love to take eggplant tossed with herbs and extra-virgin olive oil and combine it with a grilled sausage of choice. Great fresh flavors. See for yourself….

The Recipe!
Two medium eggplant or 2 lbs of mixed Japanese eggplant.
3/4 cup of extra-vigin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon of Herbs de Province
1 tablespoon of Sea salt and one of fresh cracked pepper
Juice and jest of one lemon
1 1/2 lbs of fresh sausage ( I used linguica – a spicy type found commonly in the Boston area)

La Methode;

Slice eggplant into thick strips as seen in my pictures and coat with oil, herbs, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Grill over a nice hot charcoal fire in a stainless steel wire basket, adding the sausage to the grill 5 minutes into the cooking time of the eggplant. Toss the eggplant occasionally to grill evenly. Remove when the eggplant is nicely charred and tender. Add more seasoning if necessary to the eggplant as well a a splash of extra-virgin olive oil and lemon. Toss well and top with grilled sausage.

Asparagus season is here!!! And so is the grilling season. Put the two together and pair it with a fig cream sauce and this is going to blow you away. Asparagus was a vegetable used much and often in the French restaurants of my family, and I eat it often with fond memories still. Figs are quite popular in French cuisine and in today’s fast-paced lifestyle I will use a nice fig butter made by several companies  (I use Trader Joe’s)  instead of trying to find fresh figs and making my own. Kind of like having a prep chef at your disposal!

The Recipe!
2 lbs of fresh asparagus, last 1/2 inch of end trimmed.
Coarse sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of Herbs De Province

The Sauce;
1 cup of sour cream
3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of Fig Butter (found at Trader Joe’s as well as other high end food purveyors)

La Methode!
Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce well in a small saucier pot and place over the lowest flame setting on the back right (sauce) burner, stirring occasionally.

Mix the asparagus in a large bowl with the oil, salt, pepper and herbs.
Grill over a hot charcoal fire in a stainless steel wire grill pan, stirring occasionally until slightly crunchy and slightly charred.

Serve with sauce as a side dish or a main lunch dish with a nice white wine!

Great fresh seafood is at my doorstep here in New England and I certainly enjoy it as much as I can. Living in the number one fishing port in the US certainly has it’s advantages! I love to take a fresh piece of fish, this time Pollock and pan sear it accompanied with a cream sun dried tomato sauce and sautéd purple kale. Wow!! This is great way to enhance the delicate flavours of this fish….

The Recipe!
One fillet per person (about 1/2 lb)
Approximately 9 fresh kale leaves, cut in to trips
Extra virin olive oil
Butter
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Several key limes, halved.

The Sauce:

1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil)
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/4 cup of heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons of whole grain French mustard

La Methode!
For the sauce, add all of the sauce ingredients into a small saucier pan and heat on low, stirring occasionally.
In a large sauce pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and two of olive oil on a low to medium heat. Add the kale and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm in a covered bowl.
In the same kale pan, add two more tablespoons of butter, two of oil over a low to medium fire. Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. If using a thicker cut fish like I did (pollack or cod) heat on one side for 5 minutes and gently turn. Add the limes to the pan. Cook for another 4 minutes, or until it flakes easily. Place the fish on the kale and top with the cream sun dried tomato sauce. Voila!

Oven roasted carrot, sweet onion and asparagus is joined with savory ham to make a fantastic spring dish. Left over ham from easter? this one’s for you…

The Recipe!
2 1/2 lbs of carrots quartered lengthwise
2 1/2 lbs of sweet onion, quartered
3/4 lb of asparagus
1 – 1 1/2 lbs of cooked ham (thank you left-over Easter ham!)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper
Herbs De Province
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar

Carotte au Jambon

La Methode!
Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees (F).
Toss all three vegetables in a light coating of the olive oil, a sprinkling of salt, pepper and herbs de Province.
Roast the vegetables in large baking trays until lightly charred, about 45 minutes.
Layer the vegetables with the ham in a 6 quart gratin dish or 6 quart dutch oven with the liquid from the roasting pans, sprinkling the brown sugar between layers and on top.
Place the dish bake in the oven and cook for another 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss gently to blend the juices. Serve with a crusty French bread!

Patate Douce aux Poivrons

Patate Douce aux Poivrons

Roasted sweet potato and roasted sweet yellow peppers come together for a burst of satisfying, earthy, mouth watering flavours. This is an amazing dish that is filled with great savory/sweet notes. A great dish to help welcome  spring!

Patate Douce aux Poivrons

The Recipe!
4 medium-large sweet potatoes (I used Okinawan which loaded with antioxidants!)
1 Large or 2 medium sweet yellow peppers
1/2 lb of large mushroom of choice
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of Cream sherry
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup of shredded Emmentaler cheese (optional)

Patate Douce aux Poivrons

La Methode!

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Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees (F)
Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 slices, and coat with 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil in a large bowl adding a generous pinch of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, gently tossing to coat evenly.
Roast in the oven on large baking pans/sheets sprayed with a non-stick vegetable oil spray for about 25 minutes, turning potato slices half-way through cooking time. Remove from oven and place potatoes aside in a bowl.
Slice mushrooms in 1/2 and slice sweet pepper in to 1/2 inch strips. Coat with 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil, a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper and coat evenly. Roast on the same large trays (spray trays with more vegetable spray) for approximately 25 minutes, turning 1/2 way through baking time.
Layer vegetables, potatoes first, then sweet pepper and mushrooms. Pour sherry over and sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded Emmentaler cheese if desired.
Bake in the oven, same temperature for 25 minutes.
After placing a portion on each serving dish, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil (this oil is truly the elixir to life – do not be afraid to use it!!)
Voila!!! Enjoy!!

Patate Douce aux Poivrons

Scallop and Shrimp Bernier

Tender large sea scallops and shrimp are gently cooked with whole grains like barley, black lentil and amaranth in an organic tomato base that will have your mouth explode in flavours, not to mention the incredible health benefits from all of the carefully selected ingredients for one of my signature seafood dishes. And guess what? It’s a one pot, very easy seafood comfort dish you can let cook as you enjoy your wine with you family and friends.

Scallop and Shrimp Bernier

The Recipe!

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2 lbs of large sea scallops
1 1/2 lbs of large shrimp, peeled
1 28 oz. can of whole, diced or crushed tomatoes (I used whole)
3 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of barley
1/2 cup of black lentil
1/2 cup of amaranth
2 large onions, diced
2 tablespoons of chicken base (use salt to taste instead-but this ingredient is key)
2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of honey
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Scallop and Shrimp Bernier

La Methode;

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In a 6 quart dutch oven, saute the onion in the butter and oil until golden in colour.
Stir in all of the rest of the ingredients with the exception of the seafood, covering, cooking for about and hour on a low heat, until the grains are tender. Stir every 15 minutes and check to make sure water does not have to be added toward the end if it s too thick.
Stir in the seafood when grains are tender, cover and simmer on a LOW flame for about 10 minutes – until the scallops are barely cooked and very tender. When done, I mixed in 2 cups of baby greens for added color and health benefits. This step is not necessary, but I think it adds nicely to the dish.

Scallop and Shrimp Bernier

Scallop  and Shrimp Bernier

The Recipe!
1 large head of cauliflower
2 leeks
9-11 small sweet tomatoes (like cherry or grape)
1 cup of flavoured bread crumbs
1 1/2 cups of shredded Comté cheese (you may substitute with another cheese)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

La Methode;
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut cauliflower into florets and cut the leaves from the bottom of the cauliflower into slightly smaller pieces.
Place cauliflower and leaves in a large bowl and gently toss with 1/3 of a cup of extra-virgin olive oil, coating well.
Place cauliflower on large baking/roasting trays and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 25 minutes, or until tender and slightly browned, turning 1/2 way through cooking time with a pair of tongs to brown evenly. While this is roasting, prepare the leek. When the cauliflower is roasted, place aside on top of the stove in a covered dish to keep warm as the leeks roast.
Cut and clean the leek, reserving 1/2 of the green portion for great colour and more intense flavour. Chop into medium size bits. Toss in a large bowl with 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil. Place on the same pans that roasted the cauliflower and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Roast until tender and slightly golden, about 25 minutes.

Toss both leek and cauliflower together when they are finished roasting and place 1/2 of it in a gratin or casserole dish. Layer 1/2 of the bread crumbs and 1/2 of the cheese on top. Repeat with the rest of the cauliflower/leek mixture, cheese then breadcrumbs. Top with tomatoes and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and serve!

Here is a French dish of ancient origin. Traditionally made with the Tomme de Laguiole or Tomme d’Auvergne cheese, aligot is a French country speciality still served in the local gastronomy with sausage or pork. The cheese used in this recipe is not found in the states, so Cantal, Emmentaller, Comté or Gruyere can be substituted. A purist could not ague with the substitution of another French cheese as this dish was originally made using bread by monks and  tomme fraîche, Laguiole, or Cantal cheese and prepared it for the pilgrims on the way to Santiago de Compostela who stopped for a night in that region. Potatoes were eventually substituted after their introduction to France. To this day, it is enjoyed for celebrations as a main dish. A hearty winter’s fair for the weary traveler…

The Recipe!
2 pounds potatoes of choice (4 to 6 medium) I used Red Bliss for an interesting change.
Sea Salt
4 tablespoons butter
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled, smashed with the side of a knife and minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1½-2 cups whole milk
10 ounces Gruyere, Compté or Emmenteller cheese, shredded (about 2.5 cups)
Fresh ground black pepper
2 lbs of a nice hearty sausage (I used andouille), browned in advance.

La Methode;
Pierce unpeeled potatoes with a fork several times, and in a 1000 watt microwave cook about 12 minutes (cover with paper towels) or until potatoes are tender.
Mash in large bowl with a good old fashioned potato masher until smooth (or process with a KitchenAid mixer or large food processor). Add cheese, garlic and butter, mash and fold in ingredients. Add milk, fold in well and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with a nice sausage, or place potatoes in individual serving oven-proof dishes topped with herbs de province and brown in the broiler.