| While living in France, my family learned to love | | | | to 1/2" thick slices that will fit into your cheese |
| some recipes that we really miss now that we're | | | | trays. Arrange these slices on the meat tray as |
| back home. After some experimentation and a | | | | well. |
| few boo-boos, success is mine! | | | | Next, bake or boil some potatoes whole. I bake |
| Our first favorite is pain au chocolat. Roughly | | | | them here in the USA, but they were often boiled |
| translated, it is chocolate bread, and it is a | | | | in Europe. While they are cooking, make a little |
| favorite breakfast food in France. It is also | | | | salad of mixed greens, or shred some carrots |
| extraordinarily popular as an after school snack. | | | | into a pile on each plate, or cucumber slices, |
| This food is so popular, they sell them in plastic | | | | whatever you have and like. Open a jar of |
| wrappers in packs of 8 or 10, just like our hot | | | | cornichons (these are little dill style pickles the |
| dog buns! Now, keep in mind that the French | | | | French love). You can buy them at almost any |
| version uses a type of croissant dough that takes | | | | supermarket now, but if you don't have them, |
| hours to make by hand. I found the following two | | | | substitute your own pickles. This method of |
| methods give me a reasonable substitute that my | | | | cooking is all about the fun, not whether or not it |
| family likes. | | | | is mechanically correct. |
| First and probably easiest is the crescent roll | | | | When your potatoes are done, put one on each |
| version. I open a can of crescent rolls, but | | | | plate with some of your veggie or salad and |
| separate the pastry into rectangles by keeping | | | | pickles for edible garnish. Turn your grill on and let |
| two of the triangles together. I press the seams | | | | it heat for a few minutes while you get the drinks |
| with a moist finger to seal them together. One | | | | ready. Every person uses their own tray to melt |
| can makes 8 crescent rolls, so it makes 4 French | | | | the cheese, which is then poured over their |
| pastries. I have a big family, so I need 4 cans. If | | | | potato. My kids like to grill their meats on the top, |
| you have a small family, you can make do with | | | | but I prefer mine still cold. It is up to you!. Eat and |
| two cans. Next, take your favorite plain chocolate | | | | laugh and talk while enjoying the meats, potatoes |
| bars ( like you would use to make S'mores) and | | | | and cheese. You can't mess this up! Cold cuts, |
| cut the bars into strips parallel to the short side, | | | | cheese, baked potatoes- simple and wonderful. |
| about 1/4" wide. Lay out one rectangle of dough, | | | | The greatest thing about raclette (other than the |
| and put two strips of chocolate on top, set in | | | | quality fun time) is the clean up. In my house, |
| from each short end enough so that you can | | | | there is rarely any food left, so I usually don't |
| take each end and fold it over the chocolate. The | | | | even have to wrap the left overs. There are |
| edges of the two folds should touch in the middle | | | | plates, forks, a few cheese trays, and your |
| of the pastry. Once you have folded the dough, | | | | glasses. No hot pans with sticky messes, no oven |
| turn it seam side down and go on to the next | | | | pans to wash, and most everything can pop in |
| one. Once you have them completed, bake the | | | | the dishwasher. |
| dough as directed on the package. When they are | | | | Now, this is not the cheapest meal you can make, |
| done, pop them out of the oven and serve them | | | | but we treasure it so much that we do this |
| warm. You can use dark or milk chocolate, but | | | | every other month or so. If you like fondue, you |
| traditionally the French use darker chocolates than | | | | are sure to love it. If you have never had fondue, |
| we do. | | | | give this a try. I bet you'll fall in love with it, too. |
| The second method is to buy frozen puff pastry | | | | A favorite adult drink of ours is the Kir. It is an |
| squares and follow the rest of the instructions | | | | aperitif, or before dinner drink. This is easy as pie |
| above. These are a little closer to the true | | | | and absolutely delicious, even if you are not a |
| texture of the bread dough used in France, but a | | | | wine drinker. Here's the recipe: |
| little more costly to make. | | | | Chardonnay wine (traditionally French Aligote, but |
| With either method, you could substitute a line of | | | | you can't usually get that here) |
| chocolate chips for the strips of chocolate if you | | | | Creme de Cassis |
| don't have bars of chocolate on hand. Since it all | | | | Chill the wine. In a wine glass, put one part creme |
| melts in the end, it really doesn't matter. | | | | de cassis to 3 or 4 parts wine. I say 3 or 4 |
| Another favorite food from France is raclette. | | | | because it depends on the quality of the creme |
| Now, raclette is a cheese, but it is also a method | | | | de cassis as to how much of it you need to |
| of cooking, coming from basically the same region | | | | make the drink right. When it is done right, the |
| of Europe as fondue. Raclette is a semi-firm | | | | wine will have a slightly sweeter taste than |
| cheese, with the Swiss version being a little firmer | | | | normal. |
| (and tastier, in my opinion) than the French | | | | Variations: |
| variety. Either will work in a pinch. You can find | | | | Use: Creme de Framboise |
| raclette cheese in many supermarkets now, as | | | | Creme de Mure |
| well as gourmet food stores and some natural | | | | Creme de Myrtilleinstead of the Creme de Cassis. |
| food stores. Raclette uses a special grill that has a | | | | OR: |
| flat top and an area below with small trays. The | | | | Use champaigne instead of chardonnay for a |
| cheese is put into the trays and placed inside the | | | | Royal Kir. |
| grill to melt. Raclette grills can be purchased at | | | | My favorite is Framboise, but I like them all! The |
| specialty stores for a really "special" price, but | | | | cremes can be added to red wines, too, but that |
| T-Fal makes an electric version that I bought for | | | | is not really traditional. |
| about $40. It is a tabletop appliance. | | | | These are just a few of the things we found that |
| Raclette is traditionally done like this: | | | | we didn't want to do without just because we |
| Choose your favorite cold cuts, such as salami, | | | | came home, so we have incorporated them into |
| priscuitto ham, olive loaf, etc. Arrange them on a | | | | our lives here in the USA. I hope you enjoy them |
| plate in rows or columns that appeal to your eye. | | | | as much as we do. |
| Slice (or get the market to) the cheese into 1/3 | | | | |