France - c'est magnifique!

Another meal down and another fabulous experience.

Experiencing French food is truly a pleasure – not that I even scratched the surface LOL. The smells in the kitchen when you cook are mouth-watering and the combination of the flavours is exquisite. I am very keen to explore more French dishes.

Once again I took my family along on the adventure and going by the number of empty plates I think my cooking was enjoyed.

So without further adieu  let’s get rating J

Preparation time: (how long does it really take?)

Coq au Vin - 25 minutes to prepare – then about an 70 to 90 minutes to cook – The recipe I used saw me cook the mushrooms separately so you will need to factor that in. The mushrooms take only a few minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook – you add them in after the chicken has cooked for around 1 hour.

Tartiflette - 20 minutes to prepare – then about an 25 minutes to cook – depending on how you wish to cook you potatoes before combining the ingredients your preparation time might vary. I used the microwave to help soften the potatoes so for me it was quick.

Mousse au chocolat - 25 minutes to prepare – then a couple of hours to chill in the fridge – Again using the microwave to melt the chocolate will speed up your prep time.

Ease to cook: (what does it involve?)
Coq au Vin – You do need to spend a little time to soften the onions and brown the chicken, but once you have done that it is simply a case of adding the remaining ingredients, setting it to simmer and sitting back to enjoy the smells that will fill the kitchen. This is also a great recipe for a slow cooker so if you have 8 hours up your sleeve before serving than cooking this will be a breeze.

Tartiflette – Apart from softening the potatoes and warming the onions and bacon the only hassle with this dish comes in combining the ingredients. Set aside 5-10 minutes to layer everything together.

Mousse au chocolat – A few things to do here – melt chocolate, separate eggs, beat egg whites, mix chocolate and egg yolks, fold ingredients together - but well worth it and not too time consuming

Overall: (i'll use a scale of empty bowls - 5 empty bowls is the best - 1 empty bowl not the best J)

Coq au Vin – 5 empty bowls – this dish was a joy to eat. The meat falls of the bone and when combined with the spices and flavours produced from the onion, mushrooms and wine your taste buds will think they have died and gone to heaven.

Tartiflette – 5 empty bowls – I have had a few variations on potato bake in my life, but this was simple, filling and didn’t leave you feeling like you had swallowed a bottle of cream.  Potato can be bland, but the white wine combined with the onion ensures isn’t. The cheese layered across the top is also a winner for me and something I will use again. It provided a wonderful flavour and does a great job of holding the potato together when serving.  I definitely recommend you give this one a go – you won’t regret it.

Mousse au chocolat – 3.5 empty bowls –  you usually can’t go wrong with chocolate, but when you start mixing in raw egg things get interesting. The taste was spot on, but my trouble lay in the setting of the mouse. Unfortunately after 2 hours in the fridge my mousse had not set as hard as I would have liked – not sure if I had not left enough time or if I had missed something, but having said that I will continue to investigate more recipes and practice to find a recipe that will do that trick.

So with that said I wish you all a merry Christmas – may it be safe and happy – I hope Santa finds you all easily enough  – I am trying something a little different from the norm... I decided rather than posting individual pictures for you all I have collated them into a video. Hope you enjoy :-) (If you prefer photos let me know and I can add them)

And for those who are on the edge of their seats waiting to find out where I’m going next my next destination will be decided on Boxing day (26 Dec) J