Lapin à la moutarde (yes, that's rabbit!)

Whenever we have friends over, I ask them whether they have any dietary restrictions. I did not use to do it at first because it is was very uncommon in France to do so. You just assumed everybody was eating the same food you did... and that, if they did not, they would eat it anyway to be polite! Things changed as the French society opened up: you knew you were not going to serve pork to Muslim or some Jewish people; more people became vegetarian... but it is still a question that most people don't ask. If you are invited and are vegetarian or have a serious allergic reaction to a food ingredient, is is OK to actually tell your hosts about it. You might put them outside of their comfort zone but they will accomodate (and tell their friends how much of an effort it was to accomodate you! But they will be very proud!)

Having lived (and cooked) in the US for many years, this is something that comes naturally to me now... However, beyond the obvious religous-allergic-medical restrictions, the main reason I ask is to make sure that our guests will enjoy the dinning experience as much as they should. Having witnessed rather (very) awkward situations where the dish I serve is obviously not our guest's favorite, asking prior to hosting helps avoid such situations... I also ask because when people tell me that "they eat everything", the "everything" I have in mind is definitively not the "everything" our guests eat by...
No doubt about it, culturally-eating, we all come from different backgrounds.... When Americans tell me that "they eat everything", I have come to narrow it down to poultry, beef, shrimp, and fish in fillet. I generally have to ask back whether they eat pork, lamb, veal, duck or seafood... I just never ask about rabbit.... When Asian friends of ours come and tell me "we eat everything", I know that I have a little bit more choices... but I do have to ask whether they eat seafood (beyond shrimp) and rabbit. I also know that most of them don't care much for strongly-flavored cheese. When French friends come over, I know that my options are almost unlimited. If our friends live in France and are just visiting, I try to introduce them to American food I have come to love and that are hard to find in France to broaden their culinary horizon: wild rice, sweet potatoes, parnsnips, blue corn chips, corn on the cob, corn bread, cranberries, etc. If our French friends live in the US, then the options are unlimited except for snails which, despite cultural clichés, not all French people enjoy (my mother does not like them for instance; our children LOVE them)...If we are hosting a big party for my husband's lab for instance, I make a mix of everything so that everybody has a few safe options to choose from as well as new dishes to try to expand their culinary horizon. Lapin à la moutarde, anyone? Bon Appétit!

Ingredients: 

• 1 rabbit cut in small pieces 
• Shallots (the more, the better) - cut in 4-6 pieces each.
• Bay leaves (1 or 2) or/and Fresh thyme 
• 1 cup (250ml) White wine 
• Salt, pepper 
• 2 tbs Dijon mustard 
• Olive oil 
• White All purpose flour
• Parsley (for garnish)

• In a large pot (I use a cast iron pot with lid), heat some olive oil
• Coat the rabbit pieces in white flour and brown in the hot olive oil. Once brown, take the meat out of the pot.
• Pour some white wine and scratch the bottom of the pot.
• Add the mustard and stirr well; season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the shallots, bay leaves and thyme and saute for a few minutes
• Add the meat back, lower the temperature and cook for one hour, stirring occasionnally
• Serve with pasta or French green beans with parsley.

My Personal Comments

• I ask for the rabbit to be cut in smaller pieces than the regular 6 pieces.

Squid with Saffron Rice - Riz Safrané aux Calamars

Afriend of mine who lives in Italy gave me an Italian cooking book as a wedding present (that's almost 11 years ago!!!) Flipping through the pages recently in search for new ideas, I realized how little I knew about authentic Italian cuisine beyond the not-so-Italian dishes that are served here (or in France). It led me to wonder about Spanish food.  When it comes to Spanish cuisine, I was even more ignorant beyond the tapas, churrios, paella and jamon iberico.... . Strange in a way when you realize that Italy and Spain border France but despite this geographic proximity developed very different cuisines.
One of the spices I wrongly-I-suppose (90% of the world production apparently comes from Iran although in the US, I was surprised to learn that it is still produced in the Dutch Lancaster county (about 2hrs away from Philadephia)) associate with Spain is saffron. My mother used to have tiny tiny red boxes of saffron when we were kids and I remember loving to play with them...(as part of my love to reorganize the spices box!!) but I never realized the value of these boxes until as adult I had to face the shocking price of saffron. Tiny treasure boxes as saffron is indeed one of the most (if not the most) expensive spice in the world!

I generally cook saffron with seafood and rice (like we do in the South of France in the fish-soup Bouillabaisse) and since I have been trying to serve different seafood to my family recently, I thought that it would be a great idea to use squid instead of white fish in this dish.
I served it to my family the other day and my husband compared it to a Spanish paella (which he enjoys more than a risotto) explaining to our children what paella is really about, where it is eaten, what saffron is about, etc.. Yet the kids were more intrigued by the squid (I had asked to have tentacles as well as the head!!) which led us to talk about these little sea creatures too!!
To be honnest, this dish has nothing to do with a paella (no chicken, no shrimp, no mussels, no tomatoes) but yet again, there must be a few different paella recipes in Spain! So why not? All that I know is that we all loved it and I know that I can now put it on the list of dishes that I know will score high with my family. So if you can afford it, purchase a little bit of saffron and try it out. You won't be financially richer but you will be culinary-wise...a little bit of Spain in your home. Because no matter how long I live in Philadelphia, I will have a hard time associating Saffron with the nearby Dutch county! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- 1 pound squid cleaned and cut into pieces
- White rice (about a cup)
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- a few stigma of saffron
- a cup of dry white wine (optional)
- 1 cup of green frozen peas
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil for sauteeing

• In a large pan, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in olive oil
• Add the rice and saute it until fully coated with olive oil
• Add 1 cup of white wine and two cups of water
• Add the saffron
• Bring to a boil and then simmer until rice is fully cooked, stirring often and adding extra liquid if needed.
• Just before serving, add the frozen peas

My Comments

• There are definitively different grade/quality of Saffron. I purchase the small Spanish Saffron from Trader Joe's. It might not be the best Saffron ever but it suits my needs and budget.
• If you like risotto-like dishes, you could use Arborio (short grain) rice. I would not use brown rice in this dish since the squid are already a little bit chewy....

Carrots - Sweet Potatoes Soup Thai Style

"Hmm, elle est super bonne ta soupe maman" did I get as a compliment when I served this Thai-style carrots and sweet potatoes soup a few weeks ago (honnest, that's what they said!). From both my children! I was surprised because I did not expect them to like it as much (it has fresh ginger after all).. How wrong was I! It has become my daughter's favorite soup. And mine as well these days...(just had some for lunch today actually!)
The first comment my children made was that this soup tasted like their favorite mussels recipe, "tu sais la bonne recette, pas celle que j'aime pas" (meaning "the good one, not the one I don't like") and of course I knew which recipe she liked better than the other when it comes to mussels : just timing how much time it takes them to finish their plate is generally a good indication of a pass/fail test!)
All in all, what they really like is the combinaison of lemongrass and coconut milk...so I might try to cook different recipes with this combo so as to introduce new dishes to them.
This recipe from Mark Bittman is rich : so make sure you don't serve two full bowls of it before a main dish. If it's going to be an appetizer, a small bowl will be enough (well, not enough because you might enjoy it so much that everybody will want a second serving!) At home, I generally serve it "as a main dish" together with bread and a salad or I make sure that my children have a piece of fresh fruit for dessert.
Simple. Easy and "super bonne"! Coming from a 5 1/2 and a 3 year-old, it's worth giving it a try, non? Bon Appetit!

Ingredients:
- 3 stalks Lemongrass

- 10 nickel-size fresh ginger pieces (about 2cm)

- 2 cloves garlic, peeled

- about 1 pound of carrot & sweet potatoes, cut in cubes.

- 1/4 ts Cayenne pepper (more to taste)

- 1 quart Coconut milk (about 2 cans)

- 1/4 cup fresh Cilantro (cut but keep the stems)

- Neutral Oil (grapeseed or corn) or Coconut oil salt.

• Grate about 1/2 inch of each lemongrass stalk and cut the rest of in 1-in pieces.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the lemongrass, the ginger and garlic and cooke, stirring until the garlic is golden (about 5min)
• Add the carrots/sweet potatoes, the Cayenne pepper. Stir to coat with oil and cook for about a minute.
• Add the coconut milk, 2 cups of water, and the stems of Cilantro. 
• Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature. Let is simmer for about 15 minutes or until the carrots/sweet potatoes are cooked.
• Take the Cilantro stems out and puree the soup.
• Adjust seasoning. 
• Serve with  fresh cilantro and lime wedges.

 
My Personal Comments: 

• I tend to keep the cilantro stems in the soup and puree them together with the rest.
• Use good quality  coconut milk and not the non-fat version!
• Since I bought coconut oil, I use it in this soup as well.
• I just eat this soup with a piece of bread for lunch or dinner!

Thai Lemongrass Shrimp Soup - Soupe aux crevettes et à la Citronelle

We got our first snow in Philadelphia last week, which makes me long for warmer days already. Since I don't have a trip au soleil planned anytime soon in my agenda, I can only dream of these warmer spring and summer days... "les jours où on met juste une petite chemise, un short, et hop, on s'en va", as would my daughter say refering to the hot days when she only wears a short and a t-shirt!
Since it's winter, soups are au menu at least 3-4 times a week chez nous. And because I always try to introduce new dishes to my children, I have been making this shrimp version of Tom Ka Gai soup lately. I discovered Thai food while living in San Francisco... and can't get enough of it (and yes, I'd love to take a trip to Thailand to visit this beautiful country and eat more authentic food).  Same with my husband, who does not mind having "just" a Tom Ka Gai soup for dinner (if with shrimp, he is a little bit disappointed!). Same with my children who enjoy it but still prefer la Soupe Chinoise that they request more, especially when I am about to serve du potage aux legumes!
As I was serving this soup the other day, we talked about Thailand and the fact that one of his classmates was going to move back there permanently in a few weeks. H. then said "oh, il va manger de la soupe aux crevettest tous les jours alors?" (he is going to eat shrimp soup everyday then...). I don't know if Thai people eat shrimp/Tom Ka Gai soup everyday in Thailand... but I sure could have some often in the cold days of winter in Philadelphia! Bon Appétit!

Ingredients:
- 1.5 L (6 cups or 48 Fl oz) vegetable (chicken) stock
- 4-5 shrimp per person ( or 1 or 2 chicken breast, cut in thin slices)
- 1 Lemongrass stalk
- 4 keffir lime leaves
- 1 cup mushrooms (shiitake prefered)
- 1 small piece of galangal
- a few fresh red chilies (2-3) (or red crushed pepper)
- 1/2 to one can coconut milk
- 2 Tbs (30 ml) lime juice
- 2 Tbs (30 ml) fish sauce
- Fresh coriander or fresh Thai basil
- sugar (optional)

• In pot, grate the end of the Lemongrass stalk; cut the rest of the stalk and keep it for later.
• Pour vegetable/chicken stock and bring  to a boil. Add shrimp/chicken pieces and mushrooms , reduce heat to medium-high. Cook until shrimp/chicken is cooked. Reduce heat to medium heat.
• Add lemongrass stalk, galangal, kefir leaves, coconut milk, chilies and fish sauce. Cook for about 2-3 mn.
• Reduce heat to minimum, add lime juice.
• Adjust the flavor: if not salty enough, add more fish sauce, a teaspoon at a time; if too sour, add a few teaspoon of sugar; if too spicy, add more coconut milk; if not spicy enough, add more chili peppers.
• Serve with fresh coriander or basil.

My Personal Comments

• I serve this soup as a main course for our family. I add a little bit of rice noodle if I feel that they won't have enough that evening.

Broadening Horizon : Steamed Mussels with Lemongrass Curry

This recipe is the perfect illustration of why you should try to cook different things from scratch for your family. Your children are wonderful little human beings who won't stop surprising you. Whatever they do, including finding a new way to destroy your furniture; whatever they say, including new bad words picked up in school, is just mind-blowing to you. All these little steps that they take as they grow is what's make being a parent fun and rewarding (OK, having to wash the sofa cover for the nth time this year is not fun).

We cook mussels a few times a year, which is definitively not enough (they are so good!)... Most of the time, I cook them in a butter-white-wine-mirepoix sauce and we eat them with French fries. The best mussels I ever ate were in Guelph, ON (Canada) at the restaurant of the hotel we were staying. The menu listed Mussels in a Curry sauce and that was really appealing to me that evening. Boy, they were good! So good, I could have had another serving. So good, I almost made us an extra night so that I could eat them again! C'est pour dire!

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Broadening Horizon.... Miso Soup

I love sushi and don't eat enough of them. I used to purchase rolls (yep, I don't make them!) to share with my daughter when she was younger but she was never a big fan of seaweed. I therefore stopped buying them; I only treat myself (my husband likes them but not as much as I do) for special occasions. One thing I enjoyed when going for sushi was having a Miso soup. But then again, it tastes like the Miso soup you pay $$ for is processed. In other words, I could purchase the same (if not better) at a local supermarket and make my own for less money. So, I stopped ordering Miso soup when going for sushi. Then, reading La Fuji Mama blog on Miso soup totally changed my perspective.

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