Hard Hat Area - Under Construction

Please forgive the mess as I struggle with a rebuild!

FFwD - short ribs in red wine and port

Step One - go to your bank and arrange financing.  Short ribs are $6.59 a pound and we need 9 pounds plus a bottle of wine for the ribs, a bottle of wine for the cook, and a bottle or two for dinner, and don't forget the port!

Luckily this is so good you'll be glad you invested the money and the time.  This is very easy to make; just chopping and time in the oven.  Be sure to invite someone special to share it with!

Dorie suggests making the ribs the day before if you have time and I think its an important step.  Short ribs have lots of fat and allowing them to chill overnight makes it much easier to remove most of it.

What elevates this recipe to amazing is the gremolata.  This was new to me.....an Italian condiment consisting of citrus zest, garlic and parsley or cilantro.....and it complements the robust flavor of the meat and gives it all a wonderful freshness.

Our good friends Al and Mary shared this with us and I think we were all in agreement.....it was amazing!  Something I'm trying to figure out is how to get good pictures of the food with a house full of hungry people.  Anyone have any solutions to this?

You'll want to read the other reports of the french friday cooks.

Vacuum Sealers

I think I need one. I know I want one. Wonder which one I should get....not the $400+ one that's for sure! Anyone have any ideas?

FFwD - Pancetta Green Beans

How could I have made these three weeks ago and still be late with my post?  My excuse?  I was out of town attending the baby shower for my first grandchild!  His name is Beckett and he will be here around May 22.  We're all a bit baby obsessed these days:)

When a recipe calls for pancetta I normally use bacon as until recently pancetta wasn't readily available in our grocery stores and when I could find it I didn't want to pay the price!  But for this recipe I used pancetta and I'm so glad I did. The sweet, smokey, salty taste was excellent with the crisp tender green beans. We loved this recipe and I'll make it again and again and again.

Be sure to visit the french friday site and check out everyone else's post.
french fridays with Dorie

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award!

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

This is so exciting!  Lola Kitchen's first ever award!  Thank you so much to Kathy Copy and paste, and pay it forward to as few, or as many SISTER bloggers that you feel deserve it. No rules apply...just mention who it came from: Thanking you in advance!


1. dancewhileyoucook
2.  inpursuitofhobby
3.  Life on Autumn Trail

FFwD - Orange Almond Tart

This is one of my favorite french friday recipes!  This is the kind of tart that makes everyone say "WOW" and "can I have another piece".  There are several steps but it is well worth the planning and effort involved to get it done.  I unintentionally didn't part bake my crust, just forgot that step, and it turned out fine.  I think the crust would have been better the next day but honestly it was fine the day it was made and mostly consumed.

This is something I'll make again and again and look forward to using pears the next time I make it.  The recipe calls for almond flour but I just ground almonds in the food processor and it worked fine.

When we were making speculoos Dorie said to put the dough between two pieces of wax paper for easy roll out.  This really works and its how I roll everything now.  I was telling my daughter in law about this and she says, yes that's how she always rolls dough.  How did I miss this tip?  Seems everyone has been using it for years and I'm new to the party!  The only thing is.....I'm maneuvering around the kitchen to anchor the waxed paper between my hip and the counter top as I roll the dough.  Its not a perfect system or maybe I've missed another tip!

FFwD - Basque Potato Tortilla

This recipe is very similar to the frittata we often have as a Sunday night supper.  In fact, about the only difference is the proportions of potato to egg....we like a little more egg and a little less potato.  This is a delicious and easy recipe that works for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  I served it along side a beet salad with a lime dressing, but that's for another post!

  For dessert I played catch up again and made Marie Hélène's Apple Cake and Cinnamon Ice Cream.  This cake is a keeper!  One thing I would caution people on.....when using dark rum stick to one that's not too over powering.  I've tried Meyer's and all I can taste is rum but for this I used Bacardi's and its much smoother, complementing instead of dominating.  Check out everyone else's experiences at The French Friday website.