Romaine hearts salad

This salad doesn't really require a recipe, but I find I eat significantly more salads when I see how other people are eating them. Visually inspired, I guess. I've has this one a lot recently, so thought I'd share it. (This post by Mark Bittman always inspires me to eat more salads.)

Romaine hearts, washed and torn into pieces
Grated carrots
Ripe cherry tomatoes
Sliced fresh button mushrooms
Nutritional yeast flakes
Balsamic vinaigrette
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Vincent's spicy apéritif dip

1 loaf French baguette bread
extra virgin olive oil
piment extra fort, moulu (ground cayenne hot pepper, like this one from Bahadourian)
nutritional yeast flakes

First, don't knock the nutritional yeast until you've tried it. Not sure how popular it is in the US, but it's very popular here - and with good reason. It's a nutty, rich taste that adds a great flavor to salads, breads and apparently... dips.

Pour a couple glugs of olive oil into a saucer. Add about 2 Tbsp of hot pepper and 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast.

Serve with pieces of bread, mixing the dip as you go and adding more of each ingrdient as needed.

Pasta with pesto rosso

A quick pasta dish that I love.

1 cup of your favorite pasta (mine is fettucine), cooked
1 Tbsp pesto rosso (sun-dried tomato pesto)
1 Tbsp feta cheese, crumbled
a couple black olives, sliced (optional)
fresh basil, snipped

Toss together and voilà!

Claire's traditional Alsatian onion tart

This is my friend Claire's recipe for a traditional Alsatian Onion Tart (la tarte à l'oignon), made with fresh onions from the morning market.

1 recipe pâte brisée or other flaky pie dough (Claire makes her own and adds about 1 Tbsp whole flax seeds in with the flour)
4-5 medium onions (purple and white), peeled and very thinly sliced
3 eggs
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Grated nutmeg
Pinch of cumin

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.



Roll out the pâte brisée and place in a tart dish or pie pan. Sprinkle a pinch of cumin on the crust.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and sauté the onions slowly, stirring regularly, until they are lightly golden. Remove the skillet from the heat.

In a small bowl, beat the egg and cream together. Add a pinch or two of salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Add this to the onions, stirring to combine.



Fill the tart dish with the onion and egg mixture. Bake tart for 25 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown and set. Bon appétit!

Marinated vegetable salad

It started off as a Greek salad... but I just kept adding more and more to it! We ate huge bowls of it with some French bread for dinner the other night. And it's been requested again for tonight.

1/4 head cabbage, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and grated
1 cucumber, sliced and quartered
2 med tomatoes, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 sm onion, chopped
1 cup canned corn
1 handful black olives, pitted and cut into quarters
2-3 cloved fresh garlic, crushed
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
Italian dressing

Optional: feta cheese or sliced grilled chicken

Combine vegetables in large bowl, along with feta or chicken if you're including it. Pour 1/2 cup Italian dressing over top, and also the lemon and black pepper. Stir to coat vegetables lightly. Add more to taste.

Let marinate two hours in fridge before serving. Or don't :)

Empy-the-fridge pasta

Okay, so maybe I could have come up with a more appetizing name for this dish. But at least you know how it came about! Really great way to use up bits of veggies, and the dressing gives a good kick. I usually eat this in a wrap sandwich, but we didn't have wraps... so over pasta it went!

1-2 sliced smoked, sausages Italian sausages, or chipolatas
1 medium carrot, cut into thin rounds
1 large zucchini, cut into thin rounds
1-2 sliced red bell peppers
1 sliced onion
2 crushed garlic cloves
¼ c Italian dressing
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
goat or feta cheese (opt)
hot pasta

Heat a non-stick skillet to med-high. Cook sausage and carrot slices in Italian dressing for 3-4 minutes. Add remaining veggies and sauté until tender crisp. Sprinkle on vinegar or lemon juice. Serve over pasta, with cheese if you want.

Kendra's Mexican lentils

Part 2! See the first part in the post below.

2 tsp taco seasoning (I didn't have cumin)
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil for sautéing
2 cups lentils, rinsed
4 tablespoons tomato paste
5 1/2 cup water (or a little more)
salt to taste
cooked brown rice or quinoa (I did half and half, actually)
chopped fresh tomatoes
chopped fresh cilantro
lime juice

Heat oil in saucepan. Add red pepper and garlic, and sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lentils, and continue to stir and sauté for another five minutes.

Add tomato paste and stir until it is mixed with the lentils a little bit, then pour in the water. Add taco seasoning and salt to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 30-40 minutes until lentils are soft and mixture is thick.

Spoon over rice/quinoa, and top with fresh tomatoes, cilantro and lime juice.

Kendra's lentils with plantains

My friend Kendra, a vegetarian and amazing cook, shared her awesome recipe for lentils on her recipes blog. I adapted it to what I had in the pantry and then ate them two different ways. Here's the first one...

Lentils with plantains over rice

2 tsp taco seasoning (I didn't have cumin)
1 red pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil for sautéing
2 cups lentils, rinsed
4 tablespoons tomato paste
5 1/2 cup water (or a little more)
salt to taste
cooked brown rice or quinoa (I did half and half, actually)
baked sweet plantains (I had some left over)

Heat oil in saucepan. Add red pepper and garlic, and sauté for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add lentils, and continue to stir and sauté for another five minutes.

Add tomato paste and stir until it is mixed with the lentils a little bit, then pour in the water. Add taco seasoning and salt to taste. Bring mixture to a boil, then let simmer for 30-40 minutes until lentils are soft and mixture is thick.

Spoon over rice/quinoa, and top with plantains.

Daim cookies with walnuts

The Daim bar (originally known as Dajm in the original Swedish) is a crunchy butter almond bar covered in milk chocolate. You can buy them at IKEA!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 handful Daim candy bars, chopped
1 handful walnuts, broken



Cream the butter with the sugars using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy (approximately 30 seconds). Beat in the egg and the vanilla extract for another 30 seconds. In a mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients and beat into the butter mixture at low speed for about 15 seconds. Stir in the walnuts and Daim candies.

Using a tablespoon, drop cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet about 3 inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes or until nicely browned around the edges.



Tip: They are even better on the second day!

Middle Eastern chicken salad

I have no idea if this is actually Middle Eastern, but with the yogurt, mint, cumin and parsley... sure tasted like it to me!

2-3 cups rotisserie chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 pot plain yogurt
1 small tart apple, chopped
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 small handful chopped mint
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Let marinate 2-3 hours before serving.

You can serve it with crackers, as sandwich wraps in tortillas, in pita bread pockets, etc....

Food resource for Americans in France... or Europe

I recently found out that many visitors this site are (not surprisingly, I guess) American expats in Europe. Cool. Me too :)

The recipes on this blog are largely made with ingredients available in France and, when necessary, substitutions for American ingredients. If that sounds like your kitchen, you may also be interested in this blog.

I started writing Lyon Eats in 2007, specifically for Americans in Lyon. But some of the posts could be helpful to expats outside our little corner of France as well.

First: The List. An A to Z listing of ingredients used in American kitchens and where to find them - or their substitutes - here. Grits, country sausage, graham crackers... all on the list.



If you live in a French-speaking country or will be visiting one, these posts may be of interest:

Ordering Starbucks in French

Translating the spice rack

Translating the veggie drawer

Translating the fruit basket

And if by any chance you live in Senegal, West Africa... my newest blog is Dakar Eats. We're moving back to Senegal, so you can expect recipes with an African flair coming soon!

Garlicky sardine and tomato pasta

This recipe is for fish-lovers, like myelf. It is not for people who only like 'fish that doesn't taste like fish'. The sardines, tomato and lemon are beautiful together. And did I mention the sauce is ready in the time it takes pasta to cook?

1 small can sardines in olive oil
5-10 Tbsp tomato paste
4-5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp hot sauce (opt)
green olives (opt)
lemon slices
hot pasta

In a small frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp of the sardine oil over medium heat. Cook the garlic for two minutes, turning down the heat if it starts to brown. Add5 tbsps of tomato paste and turn heat up to med-high. Dilute with 1/4 cup water. Add the sardines and stir gently. Once heated through, taste and add more tomato paste/water if desired. Add hot sauce and/or olives if you want. The squeeze of lemon just before serving is not optional. It's delicious.

Serve over hot pasta.

Baked French toast with PB&B

What could be better than French toast? French toast with peanut butter and banana!

1 loaf going-stale-French-bread
6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
ripe bananas
peanut butter (I like natural)
maple syrup

Slice half the bread into rounds. Tear the other half into bite-sized pieces. Place in glass or other heavy baking dish. Bread should almost fill it, but not overflow.

Beat eggs, then add milk, cinnamon and and sugar. Pour over the bread and stir to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Stir every few hours, then let sit overnight.

In the morning, bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes or until browned on top and feels spongy (not gooey or crispy) to touch in the center. Serve immediately (as if you could wait!) with sliced bananas and peanut butter. Honey, jam or maple syrup optional.

Roasted vegetables... with radishes

We eat roasted vegetables often, so when I saw this article on roasted radishes, I couldn't resist tossing them in. The end result: the flavor (like cauliflower, I thought) was a nice contrast and I liked it, but not so much that I'd roast the radishes on their own.

4 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 small onions, peeled
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
8-10 radishes, washed and tips trimmed
8-10 cloves garlic, unpeeled
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
lemon slices

Pour the oil into a large ceramic or glass baking dish, then place in oven and heat to 425°.

Heat a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and carrots, cooking 10 minutes once boiling again. Remove carrots and potatoes, then boil the onions and radishes for 5 minutes. Remove onions and radishes.



Carefully remove baking dish from oven. Add potatoes, carrots, onions, radishes and garlic. Stir once or twice to mix vegetables and coat with oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until just beginning to soften and brown. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice over top just before serving. (Lemon juice over roasted potatoes - yum.)

Fluffly lemon cake with lemonier glaze

This cake was a total accident (keep reading) that turned out amazing. It is so light and fluffy, yet moist. Just the right amount of lemon in the cake, and then the glaze packs a stronger punch so they compliment each other.

Okay, so about the accident... I started off making lemon cookies (this recipe) but substituted yogurt for the ricotta. By the end it looked more like cake batter, so I went with it. Good call, Kari. Good call.

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
3 pots (125g each) of plain, full-fat yogurt
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Glaze
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Cream together butter, eggs, and sugar. Add zest and lemon juice, and yogurt and blend well. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well combined. Pour into a 9x13 non-stick baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° until light yellow and golden on the edges. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Do not over bake. Let cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Drizzle with glaze just before serving.

Fish with tomato, olive and Tuscan lemon sauce

To be completely honest, the lemons don't have to be from Italy. But my friend just came back from a lemon grove in Tuscany and it sounded so much cooler as a title!

2 firm white fish fillets
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 16oz can crushed tomatoes
Pinch of oregano
about 12-15 green olives, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice
Hot pasta or rice

Heat one tablespoon of oil in a skillet over med-high and brown one side of fish. Don't cook all the way through - just until over half is white. (You will finish steaming it in the sauce.) Set aside.

Add another tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add onions and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until translucent. In the same pan add chopped tomato with liquid. Add green olives, oregano, a little salt and pepper. Scrape bottom of pan to get flavorful brown bits mixed into sauce. Place fish fillets on top of sauce, browned side up. Cook over low/medium heat about 10 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. Squeeze lemon over top and serve with pasta or rice.

Glazed monkey bread

I made double batch of doughnuts last week and saved half of the dough - punched it down, then double-wrapped in plastic wrap, then froze it. I pulled out the dough on Friday morning and let it thaw in the fridge all day. Made up the bread that night, baked on Saturday for breakfast.

1 batch doughnut dough
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp butter, melted

glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp milk

Cut the dough into small pieces about the size of walnuts. Combine the butter, sugar and cinnamon. Roll each piece of dough in the mixture - don't worry if it's not even. Pile them all in a greased loaf pan.

Bake ina preheated oven at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes or until browned. While it bakes, combine the powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over the bread, then serve hot.

Beef stroganoff with mushrooms

Comfort food in 15 minutes

2 Tbsp butter
1/2 pound of top sirloin or tenderloin, cut thin
1/3 cup onions
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
2 dashes nutmeg
1/2 cup of sour cream

Melt butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the beef, browning on each side. When both sides are browned, remove the beef and set aside.

In the same pan, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onions. Cook for a minute or two, allowing them to soak up any meat drippings. Remove onions, placing aside with meat.

Increase heat to medium and add the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Sprinkle in nutmeg.

Reduce heat to low and add the sour cream to the mushrooms. If sauce is too thick, add a few Tbsps water. Stir in the beef and onions. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over egg noodles, fettucine, or rice.

5- minute banana pudding

I know. It looks awful - and so yellow. But it was so good and exactly what I was craving.

1 package instant vanilla pudding
2 cups cold milk
2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
8-12 Vanilla Wafers OR Petit beurre cookies
heavy cream (opt)

Whisk together pudding and milk as directed.

Place a layer of cookies in the bottom of a serving dish. Pour 1/3 pudding over them and spread with a spoon. Add a layer of banana slices. Then cookies, pudding, bananas... Repeat until bananas and pudding run out.

You can serve immediately with a drizzle of cream, but the pudding is really, really good after sitting a couple hours so the cookies soften.

Southern heaven. With bananas.

Sweet and sour pork

I love sweet & sour dishes: chicken, fish, pork... Yes, please! This dish takes about 30 minutes to make.

2-3 boneless pork chops, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 large onion, sliced into 8-12 wedges
1 can pineapple chunks or rings, with juice
1 Tbsp oil

Sweet and sour sauce
1/2 cup vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup pineapple juice from can
1/4 cup ketchup

First, make the make sweet and sour sauce. In a large frying pan, mix vinegar, sugar, salt, orange juice, pineapple juice and ketchup. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until it has evaporated to the consistency of maple syrup. Add pineapple chunks to the sauce and set aside.

Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cut pork into bite-sized pieces. Cook in frying pan until no pink remains. Add green and red peppers, carrot and onions for three minutes. Add to sweet and sour sauce and heat.

Serve the pork over hot white rice, with sweet and sour sauce pour over the top.

Whole apple crisp

Serves 2 perfectly.

1 large apple (Canada Gris is good)
2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup oats, uncooked
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt

Cut each apple in half along its equator. Using a knife or melon baller, cut out each side of the core, creating a hole.

For the topping: in a small bowl mix together flour, butter, brown sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt. Press this mixture on the top of each apple. Place in a baking dish filled with about a 1/4-inch of water. Bake in preheated oven at 350° until top is browned and apple is tender, about 35 to 40 minutes.

Spinach & pecan quiche

Look familiar? Well, the idea at least.

1 pie crust (pâte feuilletée)
5-6 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled OR fromage en faiselle OR full fat cottage cheese
handful of whole pecans, toasted
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper



Roll the crust out larger than you pie pan and place it in carefully.

Beat the eggs, then stir in milk, cheese, spinach, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour into the pie pan. Gently fold the pie crust dough in over the eggs mixture. Place pecans on top.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 30-20 minutes or until firm and golden.

Oatmeal cookies with cranberries and orange zest

These won't win any points for looks, but oh wow are they good!

3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter; softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp orange zest

Cream butter and sugars, beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Mix dry ingredients together, and add gradually, incorporating to the mixture on low. Stir in oats, cranberries and zest. Shape dough into 2 inch balls, place on greased baking sheets and flatten slightly.

Bake in preheated oven at 325° until lightly browned, about 12-15 min. Remove and cool on wire racks.

Mushroom & sausage quiche

This variation on a traditional quiche is different in that the crust is folded over before baking. It changes the texture, but also make it more firm and easier to transport...on a spring picnic, for example!

1 pie crust (pâte feuilletée)
5-6 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup frozen mushrooms, thawed
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled OR fromage en faiselle OR full fat cottage cheese
2 chipolatas (or other sausage) sliced thinly
salt and pepper





Roll the crust out larger than you pie pan and place it in carefully. Sprinkle the mushrooms and sausage evenly on the bottom of the crust.

Beat the eggs, then stir in milk, cheese, salt and pepper. Pour into the pie pan over the sausage and mushrooms. Gently fold the pie crust dough in over the eggs mixture.

Bake in preheated oven at 350° for 30-20 minutes or until firm and golden.

Brunswick stew

This recipe is from Brunswick, Georgia. It's like a barbecue stew with pork, chicken and/or beef - whatever you've got leftover from other meals works great. So delicious.

1 tsp butter
1 garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 cups chicken broth (or water + bouillon)
1 lg potato, diced
1 cup cooked chicken (grilled is best)
1 cup cooked pork, shredded (smoked is best)
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 small can corn, drained
1 cup peas
1 cup lima or white beans
1 cup sweet tomato-based barbecue sauce
hot sauce

Get a BIG pot.

Over medium-low heat, melt the butter and sauté the onions and garlic, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken broth, potatoes, chicken, and pork. Increase heat until it reaches a rolling boil, stirring every few minutes.

When the potatoes are soft, add the tomatoes and the liquid. Then add the barbecue sauce, corn, peas, and beans. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. Add hot sauce to taste and serve hot.