Sauteed Parsley Potatoes (Poelee Pommes de Terre)

In French, poêlée de pommes de terre aux fines herbes translates to "sautéed parslied potatoes". They are a cross between pommes rissolées, pommes parisiennes and Lyonnaise Potatoes. The potatoes are sliced, pan-fried then diced and sautéed in parsley oil.  The dish is complete in no time.

My favorite way to serve these kinds of potatoes is with a steak salad. I grill a tri tip sirloin steak, slice it thin and mix it with red oak leaves and a simple lemon and olive oil vinaigrette. This is probably one of my favorite meals of all times!

Quinoa and Brown Rice Side Dish Recipe

Cooking quinoa is as easy as cooking rice: count one part uncooked quinoa to 2 parts water. However, brown rice takes a little longer to cook, so I parboiled the brown rice first and then added the quinoa for the remainder of the cooking time. Since quinoa is pretty bland by itself, I added a little kick using a paste made from tomato paste and Serrano peppers.

The addition of grilled summer vegetables and garbanzo beans completed the meal. I served the quinoa and brown rice medley as a side dish with escalope de dinde (turkey scallopini).

Asian-Style Strawberry Napoleon Recipe (Mille-feuille Fraise Noix de Coco Dessert)

Mille-feuille, called "Napoleon" in the U.S., is a very popular French dessert. Traditionally [according to Wikipedia], a mille-feuille is made up of three layers of puff pastry, alternating with two layers of cream pâtissière, but sometimes whipped cream or jam. The top is usually glazed with icing or fondant in alternating white (icing) and brown (chocolate) strips, and combed.

I’ve made traditional mille-feuilles many times before, and I was in the mood for a change. I assembled a gluten-free version using layers of Vietnamese coconut paper called bánh phông sữa. They are paper-thin sheets made of coconut milk, sugar, cassava and condensed milk. I flavored the dessert with fresh strawberries and a coulis de fraise, which is a strawberry sauce. This dessert is bake-free and so easy to create, that I had the girls do the assembly. They had so much fun putting them together and even more making them disappear!

Roasted Creamer Potatoes

Creamer potatoes are potatoes that are harvested while they're still young. I recently bought these apricot-sized potatoes at the farmers' market. They were so cute, I couldn't resist!

I roasted them whole with skins on and rubbed them in butter flavored with oregano flowers from our garden. The potatoes have a crisp-skin on the outside, while the inside is tender and moist. If you can't find creamer potatoes, you can use Yukons that have been cut into quarters, but it's not the same as having each bite wrapped in crispy potato skin. Mmmmmm.

French Cauliflower Salad Recipe (Salade de Chou Fleur)

Today's recipe is an easy and healthy salad called "chou-fleur vinaigrette". During my childhood in France, it was a dish that was served fairly frequently at the cafeteria of my elementary school (carottes Vichy too!). Cauliflower is boiled, then coated with vinegar and oil and sprinkled with flat-leaf parsley. That’s it! Who says French cooking has to be complicated?

I've mentioned quite a few times lately that I've been trying to eat healthier. Cauliflower is a big part of that because it's packed with fiber and vitamin C. But cauliflower salad is not a full meal by itself, so I added hard-cooked quail eggs and a piece of bread on the side. It’s a simple, quick and healthy summer meal. Rachael Ray would be proud!