Baguettes

That's right baby, I made these!  These are the baguettes I used for the Grilled Sardine Croutes in my Imagining Avignon post.  They were surprisingly easy and I plan on making these again this Sunday to go along with lunch.  This recipe comes from French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.  I'm sending this recipe over to Susan at WildYeast for her YeastSpotting event.  Enjoy!

Baguettes adapted from French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano

Yield:  4 baguettes 

Ingredients:

1 tsp. active dry yeast

4 1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 c. warm water

2 tsp. salt

1 egg, plus 1 tsp. cold water, beaten.

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the water and the yeast and let rest for 5 minutes.

2.  Add the flour and the salt to the water/yeast mixture and mix until it holds together.

3.  Turn the dough out onto your clean counter and knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

4.  Put the dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with Saran Wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 hour.

5.  Gently deflate dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces.  Roll each piece into a baguette shape and transfer loaves (two to each pan) to non-stick baking pans or use a baguette shaped baking pan.  Cover with Saran Wrap again and let rise until nearly doubled (another hour).

6.  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In the bottom of the oven, place a baking pan or a cast iron skillet to warm.  Boil some water on the stove in a kettle.

7.  Score loaves diagonally with a sharp knife.  Brush the baguettes with the egg/water mixture.

8.  Place the loaves in the oven.  Add the boiling water (about 2 cups) to the cast iron skillet in the bottom of the oven to add steam to the oven.  Quickly close the oven door to trap the steam.

9.  Bake the loaves for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more until golden brown.

10.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until thoroughly cool before slicing.

Imagining Avignon

Joan over at Foodalogue has been hosting a wonderful food event titled, "A Culinary Tour Around the World".  Each week, she and participants travel virtually to other countries through the food.  They "meet" people along the way as they dine their way through the country.  Joan started this event not only to satisfy her traveling bug, but to bring awareness to organizations that help fight hunger such as BloggerAid and World Food Programme.  I am so honored that Joan asked me to join their group in France this week.  I had so much fun imagining myself bicycling through southern France and sitting at farmer's tables, that I plan on joining them again.

When Joan and the others caught up with me, I was in a little town in southern France called Avignon.  Avignon has a long history, however, it is probably most famous for the Palais des Papes.  In 1309, Pope Clement V declared Avignon to be the residence of the Papacy instead of Rome.  Seven popes eventually resided in Avignon, however when Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1376, a schism occurred in the Catholic church and a small band of cardinals declared a second pope, an antipope, in Avignon.

The Palais des Papes

Today, Avignon is a beautiful town, perfect for wandering through, and a base for exploring Provence.  It was here that I "met" my wonderful guide, a gardener named Michel.  He was the caretaker of a small castle in a little town called Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  It was an hour or so drive to the north, so I settled into his little Peugeot and watched the countryside pass.  The fields of sunflowers and lavender were in bloom (in my imagination, it is always summer) so the time passed quickly and I used it to get to know Michel a little better.  Michel's castle was owned by a rich Parisian couple who spent two weeks in the summer and two weeks in the winter in Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  The rest of the year, Michel and his wife, Aurelie, cared for the castle and it's grounds.

When we arrived at Michel's home, Michel's brother, Benoit, and his family were also there for Sunday lunch.  Benoit gave me a two cheek kiss in greeting and invited me to join a game of petanque.  As he looked like he took it very seriously, and I am not really a sporty type, I politely declined to see what Aurelie was up to in the kitchen.  Aurelie was preparing a simple sandwich called Sardines Grillees Croutes on homemade baguettes.  I found an approximation of her recipe in Rick Stein's French Odyssey.

Grilled Sardine Croutes adapted from Rick Stein's French Odyssey

Serves 3

1 tin sardines, in olive oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 chunks of baguette

3 romaine lettuce leaves

1-2 nice tomatoes, cut into very thin slices

1 jar roasted red peppers

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

6 anchovy fillets, in olive oil

Directions:  

1.  Open the sardine tin.  There should be three small chunks of sardines inside.  Open each chunk up by cutting down the middle.  Put the sardines on a cookie tray and broil for 3 minutes.

2.  Begin assembling sandwiches.

3.  Open up each chunk of baguette.  On the bottom halves of the baguette chunks, lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Lay romaine lettuce leaves, tomato slices, red onion slices and roasted red pepper pieces on in that order.  Top with sardines and anchovies.

4.  Serve top half of bread alongside.  Also serve with 4 hard boiled egg quarters.

5.  Eat with a fork and knife.

For dessert, Aurelie unwrapped a chunk of Saint Andre cheese, a triple creme cow's milk cheese, and placed it on a communal tray with some prunes.  We also had Aurelie's freshly made yogurt alongside.

After eating, we toured Aurelie's garden.  She had lots of raised vegetable beds, fruit trees, and even a bee hive from which Michel extracts honey in the fall.  It was a very pleasant day in the sun.  We eventually settled in watching Benoit and Michel play a couple of very serious rounds of petanque while sipping on a nice Burgundy.

All too soon, it was time to head to the big city of Grenoble for my flight out of France.  Joan and her travel buddies are off to Portugal next week.  I had been planning on meeting them in Ethiopia in three weeks, but I had so much fun on this adventure that they may see me before that.  If you are interested in joining Joan and crew yourself for their culinary tour, just click on the Foodalogue badge above.  Until then, A bientot!

Pizza Margherita

I have been craving pizza ever since my parents came to visit a few weeks ago and we ordered a Beer Garden pizza from our local pizzeria.  The crust was very reminiscent of crusts that I've tasted in Rome.  The toppings, too bizarre to make sense, but delicious, were a combination of sauerkraut, sausage and pickles.  Again, I know it sounds bizarre, but it was yummy.  I've been thinking a lot of those pizzas in Rome and how simple but delicious they were and have been trying to recreate them ever since.  This was a recipe I found a few days ago, it comes close.  I didn't have a pizza stone so I think that would probably make a difference too.  It was still the best pizza I've ever made though!

Pizza Margherita  adapted from The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman

Time:  about 3 hours largely unattended

Dough:

3 cups all purpose or bread flour

2 tsp instant active dry yeast

2 tsp coarse kosher or sea salt

2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil.

1 cup water

Toppings:

Fresh mozzarella

Sliced tomatoes

Fresh basil leaves

Rosemary

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt

1.  Combine flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor.  Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and the oil through the feed tube.

2.  Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch.  If dry, add another tablespoon or two of water and process for another 10 seconds.

3.  Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball.  Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; let rise until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours.

4.  When the dough is ready, form it into a ball and divide it into 2 or more pieces if you like; roll each piece into a round ball.  Place each ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let rest until the balls puff slightly, about 20 minutes.  

5.  Roll or lightly press each dough ball into a flat round, lightly flouring the work surface and the dough as necessary.  Let the rounds sit for a few minutes; this will relax the dough and make it easier to roll out.  If you have a peel and baking stone, roll or pat out the dough on the peel, as thin as you like, turning occasionally and sprinkling it with flour as necessary.  If you are using baking sheets, oil them, then press each dough ball into a flat round directly on the oiled sheets.  Then roll or pat out the dough, as thin as you like, flouring or oiling your hands if necessary.

6.  Top with salt and sprinkle with rosemary, sliced fresh tomato, extra virgin olive oil, a little fresh mozzarella, some fresh basil leaves, and salt.

7.  Bake at 500 degrees or higher for about 6 - 12 minutes until nicely browned.

Joie de vivre in America

As a teenager, I had the privilege of traveling to Grenoble, France for a summer.  I fell in love with the French way of eating seasonal, local produce, simply prepared and eaten al fresca.  For dessert we would have plain yogurt and a little bit of cheese.  Lunch was often succulent tomatoes drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, or perhaps warm salad of red potatoes, green beans, anchovies or tuna with a mustard vinegarette.  Simply lovely.

I came back to the States, and life went on.  I went to college, started working, got married, had kids, and somehow forgot about the simple joy of eating.  I loved to cook, but tended toward the more "American family" type of cooking like lasagnas, casseroles, spaghetti, anything that could be put down quickly.  However, this type of cooking was also horrible for me.  Finally, I was 75lbs overweight and I hit a wall.  I wasn't happy, I was tired all of the time, and I knew I needed to change.  I was desperate and even contemplated one of those diet programs where you eat the pre-packaged food because I didn't trust my own body and sense of how much food I needed.  It was in this desperate hour that I found the book French Women don't get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.  Suddenly, I remembered what I had long ago forgotten.  That simple joy of eating.  I've lost 31lbs since finding her book and have found not a diet, but a joie de vivre, a joy of living.  

This blog is dedicated to my quest to live a French life in America.  Viva la France!