Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The French Country Table



 Face it.  We will read any French cookbook out there.  It is a sickness. An addiction.  We love it and that is that.  By now, the biggest differentiation between French cookbooks is the photographs. 

Ryland, Peters and Small, always a favorite publisher for cookbooks, publish the French Country Table.   They understand the value of photos, good recipes and basic bookbinding.  The thick muted paper has an old-fashioned feel and is the perfect vehicle for a country cookbook. 

Writer Laura Washburn has taken many of the familiar French dishes and given them a bit of twist.   There is a roasted chicken, but with guinea fowl.  There is a gratin with macaroni (yes, it is just a macaroni and cheese).  The clafoutis is rhubarb instead of cherries.

The pictures are lovely.  It is no wonder that Martin Brigdale has won numerous awards on three continents for his food photography.  The photos show the food at its best!  


 Your carrots should look like the above left carrots, especially if you procured them from one the vegetable vendors pictured!
Carrots with cream and herbs.

2 lbs. mini carrots, trimmed, of medium carrots
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
a sprig of thyme
2 tablespoons crème fraise or sour cream
several sprig of chervil, snipped
a small bunch of chives, snipped
fine sea salt

If using large carrots, cut them diagonally into 2-inch slices.  Put in a large saucepan (the carrots should fit in a single layer for even cooking.) Add the butter and set over low heat.  Cook for three minutes, until the butter has melted and coated the carrots.  Half fill the saucepan with water, then add a pinch of salt and the thyme.  Cover and cook for 10 – 20 minutes, until the water is almost completely evaporated.
Stir in the crème fraise and add salt to taste.  Sprinkle the chervil and chives over the top, mix well and serve.

If you have ever passed one of those sad bags of “baby” carrots in vegetable section, now you have a great idea of what to do with them.  Whip up these carrots in cream and you, too, can transport yourself to the French countryside.



SEE VIDEO TUTORIAL >>

Related Posts:

  • Delectable Dishes From Termite HallOriginally, Termite Hall was coaching inn located halfway between the Mobile, Alabama courthouse and Spring Hill College. It was known appropriately … Read More
  • Maple Syrup CookbookIt might just surprise you to learn that the state tree of West Virginia is the Acer saccarum. But we just call it the Sugar Maple. They call it … Read More
  • Boulestin’s Round-the-Year CookbookA meal worth eating must take at least an hour and a half; apart from that fact that it is not healthy to eat quickly, there is the point of view whit… Read More
  • The Mistress Cook!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-fo… Read More
  • The Pleasures of Slow FoodIn his introduction to Corby Kummer’s The Pleasures of Slow Food, Eric Schlosser lays out the premise for the Slow Food Movement. It stands, he tells… Read More
  • The Vicar’s Wife’s Cook BookIn 2007, Waitrose Food Illustrated magazine and Fourth Estate publishing ran a recipe competition. The winner would win a book contract. Nigel Slat… Read More
  • Bottega FavoritaIn 1982, Frank Stitt boarded a plane for his native Alabama announcing that he was moving to Birmingham to open a world-class restaurant. People laug… Read More
  • EdibleOne day Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian compiled a little newsletter about food in Ojai. They dubbed it Edible Ojai and for a couple of years they t… Read More
  • Cold Dishes For Hot WeatherIt seems that EVERYONE is talking about the weather. It seems funny that during this horrible "hot" spell, no one is raising the issue of global warm… Read More
  • The I Love Trader Joe's CookbookI love Trader Joe's. I never thought of making it a career, though! Cherie Mercer Twohy did think of it and here is The I "heart" Trader Joe's Cook… Read More
  • The ColonySeveral bloggers including Cachagua Store, Lost City, Off The Presses, and Restaurant-ing through history have mentioned The Colony by Iles Brody in t… Read More
  • X-treme CuisineAfter some foofy cookbooks last week, we thought we offer up the flip side today with Robert Earl's X-treme Cuisine. Gone are the tailgating and wedd… Read More
  • Palmer House Cook Book !-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family… Read More
  • The Beekman 1802 Heirloom CookbookWell, we think the Fabulous Beekman Boys, Dr. Brent Ridge and Josh Kilmer-Purcell, are famous and just getting more famous and fabulous as the days … Read More
  • A Girl and Her PigWe couldn't wait till April Bloomfield's book came out.  When we heard she was writing a cookbook, we haunted Amazon until it got a publication d… Read More