Mindy @ Mindy's Mouthful and I decided to do a little ping pong recipe challenge. She picks German dishes, and I pick French dishes. Some we have made, but most we have not. You are welcome to join in. We have decided to make it every two weeks for the next few months, so you have time to pull something together! Email her, or me your dish link, and the two of us will post them along with ours. You must create a link back to our blogs as well...
Today's Monday's Mouthful is 'Champignons de Paris'- Champignons- refers to dishes made with mushrooms, or recipes served with a mushroom sauce; Champignon- is French for edible 'mushroom'*. I felt this would leave it wide open for a variety of dishes for us to make...
I decided to make a dish from my past... I had a brunch for a friend's birthday, when she visits France once a year with her niece (lucky girl!) she brings me back goodies to cook with. I have some EVO, and some prized truffle oil; not to mention herbs de provence that are great. I had made truffled mushroom cream sauce crepes originally, but decided to add an addition of the Grand Marnier to make it a little different. Just thought it would be fun to combine like I always do when I cook...
In this house, all three ingredients are adored! I have learned from many of you that truffle oil can be drizzled on just about anything; including eggs for which I had never tried until a few months ago! My hubby also adores Grand Marnier cooked or served on plenty of other goodies like this. Champignons in this post is a sweet savory dish- Crepe Suzette aux Champignons.
I did a saute of mushrooms and herbs de provence to achieve a subtle not to earthy flavor with the extra addition of truffle oil; have your crepes cool and ready to fill with the mushrooms and goat cheese- set aside; then make a caramelized creme sauce, and yes, this dish will be flambeed! Once the sauce is well heated, sugar is caramelized, pour on the liqueur in and reduce to an almost syrup state. Pour over crepes and light with a match stick to make it the authentic dish is was meant to be. Serve on warm plates with a mixed green salad and of course, more goat cheese!
The savory cheese and sweetness of the crepes will compliment the dish, and make for a light and flavorful supper!
Mindy's 'Champignon' post is Couscous aux Champignons, and I love the creative energy she puts into her dishes...
In two weeks our next Monday Mouthful is- (you have plenty of time to enter the next one!)
Spaetzle
This recipe is from The German Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Authentic German Cooking
by Mimi Sheraton
Makes about 4 cups Spaetzle, or about 6 servings.
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, well beaten
1/4 to 3/4 cup water
Sift flour and salt into a bowl. Add egg and mix. Add water gradually
until batter is stiff but smooth. Press dough flat on a plate or
floured board. With a sharp knife, scrape small pieces of dough off
and drop into boiling salted water. There should be only one layer of
Spaetzle at a time in cooking water. Boil gently 5 to 8 minutes, or
until you try a few and find them done. Remove from water with
perforated spoon and drain.
Spaetzle may be served in pea, lentil or
tomato soups, or as a side dish with meat or game. In the latter case,
hot melted butter is usually poured over them just before serving.
They may also be sauteed in butter until a bright golden color.
Toasted breadcrumbs or grated Parmesan cheese may also be sprinkled
over them.
*Champignon (sham-pee-NYOHN) The French word for an edible "mushroom", generally the button variety. The term aux Champignons refers to dishes garnished with mushrooms, or served as a sauce. ('Food Lover's Companion', 2nd Edition, Author- Sharon Tyler Herbst, pg 103-104; under Champignon. This is my source of information, as well as my Le Cordon Bleu culinary reference, pg 119) I picked this last week as my muse for this dish. Unfortunately, Wikipedia does not recognize the actual dish; it only provides you the definition- 'mushrooms'.
PS- I am making changes on my site, so the colors may be different, as I noticed the text color before this was too harsh on the eyes... If I could put up a 'WORK IN PROGRESS' Sign I would!