Week 12: Back in action!

We ended up taking a few unexpected weeks off here at chez Maureen. To explain, as you may or may not know, France is the land of holidays, most of which fall in or near the month of May (August aside, which is just one big long holiday in most of Europe). First there are the school holidays. The French school calendar is specifically designed to make parents crazy. Every six weeks there is a two week break. We hardly had the Christmas tree taken down and it was February ski break. Barely vacuumed up the last of the Easter grass and it’s mid-April and already time for the next round! Two weeks later, one of which we spent in an unexpected winter paradise in the Black Forest in Germany, and here comes May…

May 1: Labor day (fell on a Sunday this year to everyone’s chagrin)

May 5: …wait, you didn’t know that last Thursday was a holiday?  Even in a proudly laïque country like France full of professed atheists, everyone celebrates the Feast of the Ascension.  And the state is generous enough to give us all the day off to attend religious services (or start the long weekend a day early.) But don’t worry, France is not patriarchal about its religious holidays, August 15^th is one too. (Feast of the Assumption, of course!)

May 8 : nope, not Mothers’ Day. The end of World War 2. Another douzy this year as it too falls on Sunday.

May 16 : Pentecost Monday, because why not?

In fact by mid-May a full five day work week starts to seem like an outrage.

While all these holidays and days off sound like great fun, they have taught me some important lessons: 1) I love Franziska’s kindergarten, and by extension her teachers and everyone who makes kindergarten possible; 2) this blog’s existence depends on it. Once upon a time I used to imagine that a vacation meant having lots of time to do all kinds of relaxing and productive things one doesn’t get around to during a “regular” week  (calmly preparing, photographing and writing about five-star meals for example). But as of September 2012, vacation for us means more work. Vacationing with grandparents helps, no doubt, but it is still way more exhausting to plan days of entertainment for a toddler than it is to ship her off each morning to our nearest organized-by-professionals entertainment, aka kindergarten.

That said, we are now back in business here with refreshed palates and renewed motivation. I weighed the potatoes this morning and there are only 20 lbs (9 kg) left, plus the 2 kg (4 lbs) I used for our lunch today. That’s almost a reasonable quantity of potatoes for a family of 4 to have stocked in their cellar (almost). With some extra dinner guests and a bit of dedication I estimate we could actually be done eating potatoes by the end of the month. Not the  time to be deterred by the warming temperatures and the blossoming trees. Contrary to what you might be told, warm weather does not mean the end of potato season and everyone knows that apples are the year-round fruit par excellence.

Keep interest piqued with these delicious springtime favorites:

Hungarian casserole

Dorset apple cake

Tempting potato cake

Marmelade de pommes râpées au gingembre (Apple-ginger marmalade)

Hungarian casserole

I found this recipe looking for ways to use up a small post-Easter overstock of hard-boiled eggs. I’m generally pretty lenient on expiration dates but given that Easter is now over a solid month behind us and I don’t want the FDA to shut my blog down, I will not recommend that you use your leftover Easter eggs for this recipe. It’s advisable to hard-boil some new ones. That said if you have leftover eggs and crème fraiche on hand (which if you’ve been faithfully following the blog, is by now a staple in your fridge) the recipe can be whipped together quickly when last-minute lunch guests hint that they are expecting a potato delicacy (pretty much everyone who comes over these days is expecting a potato delicacy).

All credit due to the foodmaven.com

Potatoes, about 2 lbs (1 kg), peeled, cooked and sliced ¼ inch (½ cm) thick

Hard-boiled eggs, 4, sliced (really you can use as many as you have)

Crème fraiche, or sour cream, about 2 cups (approx. 460 g)

Garlic, 1 clove, crushed

Salt + pepper

Butter, 3 Tbsp (50 g)

Breadcrumbs, ½ cup

Paprika, sweet, Hungarian (of course!), 1 tsp

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C)
2. If you haven’t already got peeled, cooked and sliced potatoes lying around, get to it! Boiling whole potatoes, peeled or not, takes a long time. Handling them while they’re still hot is less than pleasant (see Gnocchi). I recommend peeling, slicing and then boiling. If you’re disciplined enough about slicing thinly, they might even be ready by the time you’ve gotten the rest of the ingredients together.
3. In a small bowl combine the crème fraiche and the garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper and a splash of Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper if no one objects.

4. Grease a baking dish with 1 Tbsp (15 g) of butter.
5. Start with a layer of about 1/3 of the potato slices. Then 1/3 of the egg slices topped with 1/3 of the crème fraiche mix. Repeat twice. If you’ve done your math correctly you should not have any potatoes, eggs or crème fraiche leftover. If you do or if you ran out before the last layer, return to step 2 and start over.

6. Sprinkle on breadcrumbs. Add small pieces of butter on top with a dash or two of paprika.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

8. The original recipe suggests letting it stand for 10 minutes before serving. If you can keep your hungry guests distracted with some interesting hors d’oeuvres it’s probably worth waiting. I couldn’t and everyone still took a second helping.

Hungarian casserole

If you have leftover eggs and crème fraiche on hand (which if you’ve been faithfully following the blog, is by now a staple in your fridge) the recipe can be whipped together quickly when last-minute lunch guests hint that they are expecting a potato delicacy (pretty much everyone who comes over these days is expecting a potato delicacy).

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• Potatoes about 2 lbs (1 kg), peeled, cooked and sliced ¼ inch (½ cm) thick
• Hard-boiled eggs 4, sliced (really you can use as many as you have)
• Crème fraiche or sour cream, about 2 cups (approx. 460 g)
• Garlic 1 clove, crushed
• Salt + pepper
• Butter 3 Tbsp (50 g)
• Breadcrumbs ½ cup
• Paprika sweet, Hungarian (of course!), 1 tsp

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
• If you haven’t already got peeled, cooked and sliced potatoes lying around, get to it! Boiling whole potatoes, peeled or not, takes a long time. Handling them while they’re still hot is less than pleasant (see Gnocchi). I recommend peeling, slicing and then boiling. If you’re disciplined enough about slicing thinly, they might even be ready by the time you’ve gotten the rest of the ingredients together.
• In a small bowl combine the crème fraiche and the garlic clove. Season with salt and pepper and a splash of Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper if no one objects.
• Grease a baking dish with 1 Tbsp (15 g) of butter.
• Start with a layer of about 1/3 of the potato slices. Then 1/3 of the egg slices topped with 1/3 of the crème fraiche mix. Repeat twice. If you’ve done your math correctly you should not have any potatoes, eggs or crème fraiche leftover. If you do or if you ran out before the last layer, return to step 2 and start over.
• Sprinkle on breadcrumbs. Add small pieces of butter on top with a dash or two of paprika.
• Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

The original recipe suggests letting it stand for 10 minutes before serving. If you can keep your hungry guests distracted with some interesting hors d’oeuvres it’s probably worth waiting. I couldn’t and everyone still took a second helping.

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Dorset apple cake

I knew that I had taken on preparing too many dishes for a Sunday afternoon coffee hour when I left the baking powder out of the apple cake. This sounds totally cliché but I’m afraid it was only the beginning. I also was quite sloppy about peeling the stalks of white asparagus I planned to quick whip into a cream of asparagus soup I would have prepared *just in case* the coffee hour turned into dinner. It did and though our guests were of course terribly polite, finding pieces of woody asparagus stalk in what is usually a delightfully smooth soup was, at the least, disappointing. The moral of the story: the cake tastes good with or without baking powder and our woody stalk chomping guests are still our friends. Nonetheless to avoid such moments in the future Jan has generously sponsored a German asparagus peeler (asparagus is a big deal in Germany):

Dorset is a county in south-west England along the coast of the English Channel which, for you geography buffs, coincidentally puts it directly across the water from Normandy. The original recipe (leavening agent included) can be found here.

Flour, self-raising, 2 cups (225 g) (This is clearly the culprit for my flat dense version of Dorset apple cake. In some parts of the world, flour is responsible for raising itself. No just hanging out and leaving it to the baking powder to do all the work. If you don’t happen to have such self-sufficient go-getter flour, add 1 tsp of baking powder per 3/4 cup of flour (100 g).)

Cinnamon, ground, 2 tsp

Butter, chilled and diced, 8 Tbsp (115 g)

Light brown sugar, 1/2 cup (115 g)

Egg, 1, large, beaten

Milk, 6-8 Tbsp

Apples, 1/2 lb (225 g), peeled, cored and diced, the recipe suggests Bramley or Granny Smith but I use only Normandy organic

Raisins, 3 ½ oz (100 g)

Raw sugar (demerara sugar), 2 Tbsp

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
2. Grease a deep cake tin and line with parchment paper.
3. Mix together the flour, the cinnamon and probably the baking powder.
4. Cut in the butter until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Some people use their fingers in a rubbing motion to achieve this result, I prefer a pastry cutter.
5. Stir in the sugar. Add the egg and the milk. I would error on the side of 8 tablespoons of milk, maybe even more, as the cake can otherwise be a bit dry. (To note, the Germans have permanently solved the problem of dry cake by making it culturally acceptable and practically required to put whipped cream on pretty much everything.)
6. Stir in the apples and raisins.
7. Pour batter into the prepared cake tin. Sprinkle the raw sugar on top.

8. Bake 30-40 minutes until golden.
9. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.
10. The British source of the recipe suggests that the cake should be served with a little custard. It seems to me that custard must be the British solution to dry cake. Since our coffee guests were German, we stuck with whipped cream.

Dorset apple cake

Dorset is a county in south-west England along the coast of the English Channel which, for you geography buffs, coincidentally puts it directly across the water from Normandy.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• Flour self-raising, 2 cups (225 g), see Note below
• Cinnamon ground, 2 tsp
• Butter chilled and diced, 8 Tbsp (115 g)
• Light brown sugar 1/2 cup (115 g)
• Egg 1, large, beaten
• Milk 6-8 Tbsp
• Apples 1/2 lb (225 g), peeled, cored and diced, see Note below
• Raisins 3 ½ oz (100 g)
• Raw sugar demerara sugar, 2 Tbsp

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F (180° C).
• Grease a deep cake tin and line with parchment paper.
• Mix together the flour, the cinnamon and probably the baking powder, if necessary.
• Cut in the butter until it has the consistency of breadcrumbs. Some people use their fingers in a rubbing motion to achieve this result, I prefer a pastry cutter.
• Stir in the sugar. Add the egg and the milk. I would error on the side of 8 tablespoons of milk, maybe even more, as the cake can otherwise be a bit dry.
• Stir in the apples and raisins.
• Pour batter into the prepared cake tin. Sprinkle the raw sugar on top.
• Bake 30-40 minutes until golden.
• Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack.

Notes

The British source of the recipe suggests that the cake should be served with a little custard. It seems to me that custard must be the British solution to dry cake. Since our coffee guests were German, we stuck with whipped cream.

Flour: If you don’t happen to have such self-sufficient go-getter flour, add 1 tsp of baking powder per 3/4 cup of flour (100 g).

Apples: the recipe suggests Bramley or Granny Smith but I use only Normandy organic

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More great uses for potatoes and apples when this week continues:

Tempting potato cake

Marmelade de pommes râpées au gingembre (Apple-ginger marmalade)

Keep in touch below. Comments, suggestions and your pertinent questions are always welcome!