Ham and Emmenthal Fluffy Tart, a Trixified Cousin of the Souffle, for a (Sort of) French Friday with Dorie

I know this isn't the exact recipe for this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish - a classic cheese souffle - but it's a close cousin. It's not that I have anything against souffles, mind you; in fact, I am a huge fan. I've made them in the past, as I'm sure many of you have, and I agree with Dorie that their difficulty level is highly overstated.

That said, I have been following recipes to the letter lately as part of the Joy the Baker cook off that I recently participated in, and this has left me itching to experiment a bit. And so I decided to try a fluffy tart.

Crispy Kale Chip Tortilla ... Cooked in Glorious Duck Fat, for a Trixified French Fridays with Dorie

Doristas, as you read this I am stuffing my face in New Orleans. I will check out all of your lovely tortillas when I return!

Unlike last time - we will speak of the bland pork roast no more - I am not going to be at all cranky about this week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe. Granted, I changed the whole thing around,  but not because I thought the original tortilla was lacking. It's just that ... well, it was full of potato chips. And I love potato chips - maybe a little too much.

You see, I have been depriving myself of all carby goodness in anticipation of my trip to New Orleans (see above). And so I set out to devise a carb-free version of the potato chip tortilla using kale chips.

Chard and Pecan Stuffed Pork Roast with a Boozy Tart Cherry Sauce for FrenchFridays with Dorie

I have one word to describe this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish, a chard-stuffed pork roast: bland. No, wait, I have another: boring. Hang on, here are some more: a waste of perfectly good ingredients that would have been much more interesting used in another way.

But what do I really think?

South Asian Style Braised Lamb Curry for a Trixie-fied French Fridays with Dorie

At first I was excited when I saw that this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish was a lamb curry. And then ... I read over the ingredients list. Figs. Apples. Honey. Golden Raisins. That's a lot of sweet components in a dish, even for one with supposedly Moroccan overtones.  And to balance all this sweet fruitiness? Trace amounts of cardamom and a couple of tablespoons of Madras curry powder ... a mild curry seasoning if ever there was one. Plus - I'm sorry, Madras curry powder is fine, but I simply don't believe you can get a rich, deep flavor from a curry powder that comes in a tin.

Needless to say, I had other ideas.

Savory Stuffed Pumpkin for French Fridays with Dorie

 

Those of you who were worried that I had been body snatched when I followed last week's French Fridays with Dorie pissaladiere recipe to the letter can relax. I did as I pleased with this, what she calls "pumpkin stuffed with everything good." But then, that's rather the point of this dish: Fill a 3-4 pound pumpkin with an assortment of savories - starch, protein, cheese - bake, and wait for the whole to emerge as greater than the sum of its parts. And does it ever!

Pass the Pissaladière ... It's French Friday with Dorie

Are you sitting down? No, really. If you aren't, please do. Or at least hold on to something. Okay, here goes ...

... For this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish, I played it pretty straight and stuck (more or less) to the recipe. And I liked it.

I know! First time for everything, right?

Olive Tapenade Spatchcocked Chicken for French Fridays with Dorie

A bowl of corn veloute notwithstanding, I have not exactly been the most active Dorista lately. But I just couldn't miss this week's French Fridays with Dorie. You didn't think I would pass up an opportunity to spatchcock something, now did you?

Stop it! There is nothing untoward about spatchcocking. It is simply the removal of a chicken - or other bird's - backbone, and a subsequent flattening of the bird before roasting or grilling in order to facilitate even cooking. As if by magic, both the thighs and the breast are simultaneously  finished at an optimal state of juiciness.

Spicy Tequila and Peach Habanero Chutney Ribs for an Inspired-By French Fridays with Dorie

Today's French Fridays with Dorie recipe was supposed to be a jam and cola spareribs dish, but ... well, you know me, right? While I am sure that Dorie's glaze is fine, it sounded a bit too sweet for my taste. I love the spices she used - Chinese 5 spice and ginger - but the jam and cola combo sounded, if I am being honest - cloying. When there's a sweet component to my food, I need it to be balanced with something sour or spicy.

Enter these tequila ribs, which actually started with a jar of peach habenero chutney. The label claimed it was spicy, but I have learned to grow suspicious of such claims. I bought it anyway, hoping to be proven wrong, and I was - this stuff was gooey fire all the way, and I loved it.

Spring Vegetable Pot au Feu for French Fridays with Dorie

I haven't been very regular with my French Fridays with Dorie posts lately. To be honest, I just haven't been all that inspired by the dishes (with the notable exception of the bacon, asparagus, and egg salad, which I wish I'd made, and the quiche, which I completely futzed with).

But her warm weather vegetable pot au feu really appealed to me, partly because it's more of a method than a recipe, and partly because of that lovely, squishy poached egg, which I'll get to in a moment.  The basic idea here is that you successively saute and simmer some spring veggies in chicken or vegetable broth to create layers of flavor, and finish the whole lot with chopped herbs or an herb coulis of your choice.

Spinach, Pancetta & Goat Cheese Crustless Quiche for French Fridays with Dorie

 It's been an appalling two whole months since I did a French Fridays with Dorie post. This is due to a number of factors: my trip to Prague, Krakow, and Vienna (which I've been posting about here, here, and here); the fact that I really haven't been terribly inspired to make the Dorie dishes lately (except the pepper steak - I wish I had found time to make that!);  and, finally, the fact that I just started a job cooking in the kitchen at the Desert Cafe, a Middle Eastern restaurant in Baltimore. I love it! But frankly,  I don't feel much like cooking when I get home.

And by the way, if you live in the area, come by on a Tuesday or Friday lunch or Wednesday dinner, and make sure to order the Trixie Truffle or the Mango Tango, my very own dishes that the owner put on the menu. Fun! And yes, I am still the online food and drink editor at a local magazine and I do other freelance writing projects ... so  ... whew, to say the least.

Linguine with Sweet Melted Onions for (Sort of But Not Really) French Fridays with Dorie

 

I'm pretty adventurous and open-minded when it comes to food (if I do say so myself). I rarely wrinkle my nose at anything, and I'm game to try just about any dish you'll put in front of me. That said, I also know that there are certain flavor combinations I'm just not wild about. 

Case in point: dessert for dinner. Just ... no.  Not for me.

So when I read the ingredients list for Beggar's Linguine in Around My French Table, this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish, I knew I was going to have to make some serious changes. All those figs and dates in my pasta just added up to an unpleasant cloying sweetness in my mental palate. I realize that there are some traditional pasta dishes that call for raisins - I've even made one - but for me, in a savory dish the sweetness should be the accent, not the focal point.

Cheese & Chive Bread for French Fridays with Dorie

I love a good savory quick bread. It's the perfect solution for those times when you must have bread, only you forgot or didn't have time to get started early enough to make a yeasted loaf.  So I was happy to see this cheese and chive bread on the list for this week's French Fridays with Dorie.

Breadhead that I am, however, when I read the recipe I had a feeling that the ingredients were going to need a bit of a boost. In my experience, savory breads like this tend to suck up flavor like a sponge, and so they need a little extra help. Now, I can't say for sure that the bread would have been on the bland side as written, but I can tell you that mine came out quite nicely.

Green Beans with Pancetta for French Fridays with Dorie

If you've read my last couple of French Fridays with Dorie posts, you might have started to get the idea that I'm some sort of cranky, complain-y curmudgeon. But nothing could be further from the truth, I assure you! I just call it like it see it. And happily, the way I see it this week is all positivity, rainbows,  and kittens.

Basque (Purple) Potato Tortilla for French Fridays with Dorie

I hope you won't be disappointed that I have no ever-so-slightly off color  story or amusing anecdote for you to go along with the recipe like I did last week. No, I am afraid that this week's French Fridays with Dorie post is a relatively tame affair. But then, tameness goes along thematically with the dish itself, in my opinion.

I'm not saying that the Basque potato tortilla wasn't good. It was ... fine. Luckily I didn't follow the recipe to the letter, but instead went ahead and put in some leftover rosemary and thyme and dusted the top with some sweet paprika or I think it really would have been impossibly bland. Oh, and I used purple potatoes, as you can see. That didn't really affect the flavor but I thought they were a fun and colorful touch, don't you?

Chicken B'Stilla for French Fridays with Dorie

I first had chicken b'stilla at a Moroccan restaurant in D.C. many, many ... okay, many ...  years ago, and (culinary naif that I was) I thought it was quite the exotic dish. For one thing, I had never before experienced cinnamon in a savory preparation, something I now know is fairly common to many North African and Middle Eastern cuisines. For another thing, the fragrant herbs and spices, particularly the saffron, were not tastes that I was used to.

Alas, shortly after I ate there, I heard a rumor (from a very reliable source!)  that  - how shall I put it? is this a family blog? - certain types of explicit adult films were shot in the very same restaurant space after hours. I'm no prude, but the visual of what may or may not have been occurring on the very table upon which I had blissfully and innocently enjoyed my b'stilla was enough to prevent me from ever going back.

Double Chocolate Mousse Cake for French Fridays with Dorie

I'm just going to come right out and say it: This is one ugly cake. Just look at it - short of a faux antique paint job on a chest of drawers, how many visually appealing things can you think of that are covered in hard, crackly wrinkles?

Paris Mushroom Soup for French Fridays with Dorie

Even though I don't believe in making resolutions, I did make a New Year's decision to join in on the fun over at French Fridays with Dorie, inspired in part (and I believe unbeknownst to her!) by the indefatigable Mardi of Eat Live Travel Write. Each Friday, members of the group post a predetermined dish from the fan-tabulous Dorie Greenspan book Around My French Table.  I know, I know - as if I don't have enough to do ... but something about the discipline of the project (not to mention the recipes) really appeals to me. It's so easy to get caught up always trying to create that "new now next" recipe, that cooking from an actual book - not a blog, not a Web site - feels quite comforting and almost old fashioned. Of course, we'll see how well I keep this up once culinary school starts back up, but my intentions are good!