Roasted sausage, potatoes, and onions

Mmm this was tasty and easy, another 'made while in France' recipe.  I took inspiration from another recipe I have with Kielbasa sausage which is one of my favorites for a quick and simple dinner back home.  I didn't measure anything, so that is why all the amounts have question marks by them.  I plan to try this back in the States, with perhaps Italian sausage or Kielbasa.  10/10.  p.s. the little white chunk at the top part of the bowl is a piece of fresh goat cheese I had with it :) 

Ingredients: 

1.5 lbs. (?) red potatoes, cut in bite-sized pieces
3 T. (?) unsalted butter
1 T. (?) olive oil
1 medium red onion, cut in half cross-wise, then each half cut in half, sliced thin (you will have half-circles when slices separate)
salt and pepper, to taste
granulated garlic (1/2 tsp.?)
paprika (3/4 tsp.?)
thyme (1/4 tsp.?)
4 Diot sausages, sliced in slightly less than 1/2" rounds

Directions: 

1. Line a medium baking sheet with aluminum foil.  Heat oven to 375°F (honestly, not terribly sure about temp...)

2. In a microwave safe bowl, cook potatoes (uncovered) on HI power for 8 minutes.  Be careful when removing from microwave!

3. Stir in butter and olive oil, then mix in the sliced red onion.

4. Season with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika, and thyme, stirring to mix well/combine.

5. Pour mixture onto prepared baking sheet.  Nestle sliced sausage pieces evenly throughout mixture on sheet.

6. Transfer to oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, stirring about halfway through.  Serve up and enjoy!

Chicken bites with pasta

Last night I decided to just wing it and make a recipe up off the top of my head.  I wasn't originally planning anything in particular to go with it, so when my friend suggested we have pasta (which was already ready), I happily accepted, and glad I did--it went perfectly!  We also topped it with some shredded cheese about halfway through eating it, which was even better.  I didn't take any pix, as I wasn't sure it was even going to turn into anything.  On the contrary, it was super good and I want to make it again!

Ingredients:

around 2 T. of butter, divided
1 large shallot, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced in thin half-rounds
300g (around 10oz) chicken breast, cut in bite-size pieces
salt and pepper, to taste
splash of dry white wine (probably 2-3 T.)
herbes de Provence (maybe 1/2 T.)
1 Knorr chicken pod + around 1/2 c. water (I would say 3/4 c. chicken broth or stock)
rotini pasta, cooked according to package directions (no idea of amount, would say around 3 servings' worth)
shredded cheese, to top

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt 1 T. of the butter.  Add the shallot and cook until softened and beginning to brown very slightly.

2. Add remaining 1 T. of butter, then add the chicken, plus salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until chicken is starting to brown all over, stirring frequently.

3. Deglaze pan with the white wine, add the herbes de Provence and the chicken broth.  Cook for additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and sauce has started to thicken slightly.  Serve over pasta (or with desired side), top with cheese (if desired) and enjoy!

Peanut Brittle (the best)

Made this back in December/holiday time.  Family recipe: this is my late Aunt Sue's recipe for peanut brittle, which is the best I know of (far better than the one my mom and I tried a few years back at my old house).  Easy and tasty--10/10!

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. water
10-12 oz. raw peanuts
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. unsalted butter, plus more to butter pan(s)


Instructions:

1. Prepare a large baking sheet or two by buttering it/them well (original recipe calls for 14 1/2" x 17" sheet).

2.In a large, deep pan/pot, stir together sugar, corn syrup, and water over medium heat, until sugar dissolves.  Place lid on pan and cook for 3 minutes.

3. Remove lid and continue cooking, using a candy thermometer to monitor temperature.  Stir occasionally and cook until reaches 234°F (soft ball stage).

4. Add peanuts and stir frequently, continuing to cook until mixture reaches 300°F (hard crack stage).  Immediately remove from heat (at 300°F) and stir in remaining ingredients (salt, baking soda, vanilla, butter).

5. Pour onto prepared sheet(s) and spread out as much as possible.

6. As candy cools, loosen edges and pull gently to stretch candy thinner (be very careful of the peanuts--they stay hotter much longer!)  Break hardened pieces off and set aside until you have all small pieces.  Enjoy!

Duck Breasts with Sautéed Mushrooms & Port Wine Sauce

Delicious!  10/10, though tricky to cook correctly on my mom's stove (as it is electric).  We had to cook longer than what it said, and even then, it was still a bit underdone (and thus returned to the pan again).  Still, highly recommend to make it, plan to do so again at some point!  And when I do, I'll be sure to add in the pix (thought I had some, but apparently not).

Link to original recipe: http://www.chefjacques.com/by-htm/

Ingredients:

(for the mushrooms)
3/4 lb. assorted mushrooms (we used a dried/reconstituted mushroom blend plus some dried/reconstituted porcini--highly recommend!)
2 T. olive oil
1 heaping tsp. finely chopped shallots
1/8 tsp. of bottled minced garlic
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

(for the sauce)
1/2 c. port wine (I think we used ruby port)
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. butter
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

(for the duck breasts)
1 duck breasts, 5-6 oz. each
2 T. butter
1 T. oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Instructions;

1. Clean (or reconstitute and drain, if using dried) mushrooms.  Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 min.

2. Add the shallots and garlic, sauté for 1 more min.  Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a plate and keep warm.

3. In the same skillet used for the mushrooms (still over medium high heat), add the port wine and vinegar.  Bring to a boil and keep cooking until reduced to 1/4 c. (around 4 min.)  Remove from heat and whisk in the butter.

4. Lightly salt and pepper the duck breasts.  In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, melt the 2 T. of butter and 1 T. of oil together.  When the butter and oil combo just starts to brown (watch carefully!), add the duck breasts, skin side down. Sauté for 2-3 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of your duck breasts (ours should have probably gone 4-5 min per side).  Remove from pan and allow to rest for 5 min. before serving with sauce.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Another great recipe from here in France!  I modified it just slightly based on ingredients I had on hand.  Again, I plan to make this again once I'm back home to compare--it's very good, everyone here has been enjoying it :)

Link to original recipe: https://www.errenskitchen.com/chocolate-chip-spiced-oat-bars/

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 c. of type 55 and 1 c. of type 65)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
slightly more than 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 c. salted butter (I only had unsalted, so I added just over 1/2 tsp. to it), melted
1 1/2 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. rolled (old-fashioned) oats
1 1/4 c. chocolate chips, divided

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease and flour a 9" x 13" baking dish (I used glass).

2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and sugar.

4. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla.

5. Stir in the oats.

6. Stir in the reserved flour mixture gradually, followed by 1 cup of the chocolate chips.

7. Spread mixture into prepared baking dish and transfer to oven.  Bake for 30 min, or until center is set.  Let cool in pan, serve, and enjoy!

Leek and Roquefort Quiche with Lardons (diced bacon)

This is the best quiche I've made ever!  While I still do love the zucchini one a lot, this one is even better, I think.  It is so very tasty--I could have eaten far too much of it, honestly.  I'm hoping I can replicate the results back in the states.  I modified the recipe that I found on the link below (which is in French).  Enjoy!

Link to original recipe: https://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_quiche-roquefort-et-poireaux_16147.aspx

Ingredients:

1 refrigerated pie crust (pâte brisée in France)
5 leeks, about 1" diameter each, white and light green parts only (was about 5" of stalk for each)
olive oil (guessing around 1 T.)
125g (around 4.5 oz) chopped bacon (lardons in France--used fumée (smoked) kind)
3 eggs
pepper, to taste
1/2 c. crème fraîche (épaisse (thick))
3/4 c. 2% milk (demi-écrémé)
90-100g (around 3.25oz) roquefort cheese, coarsely crumbled

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F or the temperature indicated on the package for baking the crust.  Roll out crust to line a pie plate and prick all over with a fork.  Bake according to package directions.  (My package had no directions, only baked for 5 minutes.  It wasn't fully baked, but that worked out fine.)  After shell has baked, reduce oven temp to 375°F.

2. Meanwhile, cut prepared leek sections in half, then cut in 1/4" sections crosswise to make half-rounds.  Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low to medium heat (I'm really not sure, as this isn't my stove--just know that you don't want too much heat or you'll burn up the leeks!)  Add the leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until leeks reduce and start to just very slightly brown.  Transfer to a bowl.

3. Add the chopped bacon/lardons to the skillet and cook until just starting to brown at edges.  Remove using slotted spoon and transfer to same bowl as leeks.

4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the 3 eggs and pepper.  Add the crème fraîche and milk and whisk in.

5. Whisk in the reserved leek and bacon mixture, followed by the crumbled roquefort.

6. Pour into the prepared pie shell, then transfer to oven.  Bake for 35-40 min, or until the center is set.  Let cool and enjoy!!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cookies

Another tasty cookie recipe tried out here in my French friend's kitchen :) As with the other cookie recipes I've tried here, I will hold off on rating it until we get back and try with American versions of the ingredients--this time including the buttermilk (I used the powdered version from back home as a substitute, following the directions on the canister; will try with regular buttermilk back home).  Even so, these are very tasty!  I made simple icing/glaze (powdered sugar, milk, vanilla) instead of what was listed in the original recipe, and only made half original recipe amount, as flour is not easy to come by here, plus didn't know if we'd like them, so didn't want to waste ingredients.

Link to original recipe: http://jensfavoritecookies.com/2014/04/08/vanilla-buttermilk-cookies/

Ingredients: (amounts listed are for half batch)

3/8 c. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/3 c. buttermilk (made with the powder substitute version (plus the water, which was added after wet ingredients as indicated on canister)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (I used half type 55 and half 65 again)

Icing (if desired; they are also good without, but I recommend icing them): scant 2/3 c. powdered sugar, milk (didn't measure, but guessing I used maybe 2 T.), small splash vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Using electric mixer, combine and cream butter and sugar.

3. Mix in the egg and vanilla.

4. Mix in buttermilk.

5. Mix in all dry ingredients (salt, baking soda, flour).

6. Drop rounded spoonfuls (dollops around 1" in diameter) of dough onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2" apart.

7. Bake for 11-12 min, or until edges are golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 2 min. before transferring to cooling rack.

8. If icing: whisk icing ingredients together in a small dish.  Use just enough milk to make a thick, sort of syrupy consistency (if it is too thick, it won't stick; too thin, it will soak into the cookies or just run off of them).  Once cookies are cooled, dip each, top side down, in the icing, just enough to coat.  Place cookies on cooling rack for excess to drip off, or, if you don't mind some excess on your plate, just put them on a plate :)  Enjoy!