French
Brunch For Mom
Eggs Benedict is a classic, there’s no denying that, but “classic” is perhaps not the word I’d use to celebrate my funny, youthful, and adventurous mother! For my mom, poached eggs will sit atop crisp potato pancakes, under a blanket of creamy Orange-Tarragon hollandaise sauce. The sweetness of the orange peel plays against the anise notes of the tarragon in this classic French combination, made whole with shallots and Tellicherry black pepper. The sauce is so sumptuous, and the crunchy fried potatoes make a perfect vehicle for it. Not to mention the eggs- nothing says “love” like a perfectly poached yolk, don’t you know! Mother’s Day is May 12th, so make Mom breakfast, and let her know how sorry you are for your teenage years.
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Peel potatoes and coarsely grate using a box grater.
- Transfer grated potatoes to a large bowl of cold water and soak for 1-2 minutes.
- Drain well in a colander.
- Spread grated and drained potatoes with onions on a kitchen towel and roll up jelly-roll style.
- Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.
- Transfer potato mixture to a bowl and add eggs, salt and flour.
- Mix well to combine.
- Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until very hot, but not smoking.
- For each pancake, spoon 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture into the skillet, spreading into 3-inch diameter rounds with a fork.
- Reduce heat to medium and cook until the undersides of the pancakes are browned, about 5 minutes.
- Flip pancakes and cook again until browned, about 5 minutes
- Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt.
- Add more oil to skillet and repeat with remaining batter.
- Keep warm on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan in oven.
- Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl until the mixture is thickened and has doubled in volume.
- Boil approximately 1 cup of water in a saucepan.
- Place the bowl with the egg yolks mixture over the saucepan making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Whisk the mixture rapidly being careful not to let the eggs get too hot - or they will scramble.
- Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk until the sauce easily coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Remove from heat and whisk in Orange Tarragon.
- Cover and place in a warm spot until ready to use. If the sauce gets too thick, whisk in a few drops of warm water before serving.
- Fill a deep skillet half full of water.
- Add remaining lemon juice to water.
- Bring to a slow boil - not rolling!
- Gently crack 1 of the eggs into the water, taking care not to puncture the yolk.
- Repeat with remaining eggs.
- Reduce the heat to a very gentle simmer.
- Cook until the egg white is set and the yolk remains soft, about 3 1/2 minutes.
- Top a warm pancake with a poached egg and drizzle generously with hollandaise.
Le Quebecois Mini Pies
We were recently asked by another spice company to change the name of our Montreal Steak Spice because they owned the rights to the name. Well, okay….
We had to brainstorm a new name, take the labels off of jars in gift sets, redo the store displays, and adjust our website all in a very short amount of time. We were busy! While all of this change was taking place, I recalled a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, ‘We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.’ Change can be good, our store displays are fresh and new our website got a nice update, we have a fantastic new name for one of our earliest blends and an outstanding recipe to go with it. Introducing……Le Quebecois Steak Spice (applause, applause)!
Paying homage to the Canadian Provence were the blend originated, Le Quebecois Steak Spice showcases both the French flair for deft seasoning, and the British love of beef. While usually associated with steak, we tried it in these vegetarian mini pies with great success – you know how how we love to play with our food! Bon appétit.
Le Quebecois Mini Pies
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a deep skillet over medium heat
- Add onion to pan and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes
- Add chard stems and celery, cook about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Add chard leaves, raise heat to medium high and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 4 minutes
- Add scallions, arugula and herbs. Cook for two minutes more and transfer to a collander
- Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out as much liquid as you can
- Transfer to a bowl and mix in cheese, zest, eggs, salt, sugar and Le Quebecois Steak Spice
- Lay out a sheet of filo, cut into 12 squares and brush with olive oil
- Lay the oiled squares into the cups of a muffin tin
- Repeat, alternating the angles of the squares so that they cover the sides of each muffin cup, until you have 5 layers of filo
- Fill each cup with herb mixture and fold excess filo over the edges of the filling
- To top each cup, make another 5 layer filo piece, cut in a round, and place atop of each cup
- Brush lightly with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes until the filo turns golden brown
- Serve warm or at room temperature as an an appetizer or an accompaniment to roast lamb or beef
Piment d’Espelette
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Spice merchant Christmas is coming a little late this year, but it is well worth the wait! The current crop of Piment d’Espelette has arrived at our doorstep, ready to transform our soups, stews, rice pilafs, and most especially egg and fish dishes with its mild heat, and fruity, almost tomato-like flavor. A single sampling of this precious spice leaves no question as to why we are so excited by its arrival!
Piment d’Espelette (pepper of Espelette) originates in the area that joins the southwestern-most corner of France with northeastern Spain, a region historically known as Basque country. Piment d’ Espelette bears the distinction of being the only spice recognized by the AOC, or Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. The AOC guarantees that products which bear its seal will be produced in traditional manners, and originate only from their traditional region (Champagne is a classic example). Therefore, only the superior pepper grown in the ten, tiny approved Basque villages may be labeled “Piment d’Espelette.”
Visits to this picturesque region in late summer and early fall yield visions of festoons of peppers, drying against white stucco houses as they have for centuries. Each October, the end of the Piment d’Espelette harvest is marked by a vibrant festival, complete with parade, that draws upwards of 20,000 tourists. There, the peppers are sold fresh, pickled, or dried and ground, as we carry it. At only 4,000 on the Scoville scale (as compared to 40,000 for Indian Cayenne), Piment d’Espelette’s mild flavor is the cornerstone of the traditional Basque stew piperade, a piquant concoction of peppers, tomatoes, onions, and on occasion, ham and eggs.
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In keeping with Basque tradition, we consume our Piment d’Espelette seasonally; making way for the new crop when it comes. The Basque have another tradition worth imitating- that of the txoko, or gastronomical society. Generations of Basques have gotten together to cook, sing, and experiment with food in thousands of private clubs. Pick up some of the freshest and most flavorful flakes of Piment d’Espelette available in the United States by the ounce, or sweetly packaged in a 1/2 ounce jar for your next txoko, or meeting of your foodie friends. On egin!
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Quatre Epices Cake
This recipe from our friends at Sunset promises a citrus and sweet taste, followed by a glow or a kick — depending on whether the signature French four-spice blend is made with white or black pepper. Well, our Quatre Epices delivers the best of both, with prized Sarawak White and Tellicherry Black peppercorns!
This French Quatre Epices cake delights everyone who tastes it!
Ingredients
Instructions
- Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F, and butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan. In large bowl, beat softened butter, brown sugar and zest until fluffy. Add eggs and beat batter until blended.
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour and remaning dry cake ingredients.
- Blend into batter at low speed one third of dry mix and half of buttermilk, alternately. Spread batter in pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool on rack 10 minutes. Loosen cake from pan with slender spatula, and invert gently onto rack, then re-invert onto another rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- Frosting: Set medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook butter until deep golden brown, swirling occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into a mixer bowl and allow to cool.
- Chill butter bowl until butter is firm enough to beat, about 30 minutes. Add remaining frosting ingredients, except for nuts, and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Split cake horizontally with long serrated knife. Lift off top layer with 2 large spatulas and carefully set aside. Set bottom layer on platter, and spread upper surface with half of frosting. Replace top layer, and spread upper surface with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with nuts.
Notes
Recipe and photo from Sunset Magazine, October 2010.
