Lyonnaise Potatoes

Pommes de terre lyonnaises is a crisp, yet tender potato dish. The potatoes are parboiled for faster cooking before being sautéed in butter. Sliced caramelized onions and parsley are added to the dish for color and a mild contrast of flavor. These potatoes are the perfect accompaniment to meat. I recently served them with lamb chops.

Lyonnaise potatoes originated in the city of Lyon which is located in East-central France in the region called Rhône-Alpes. The region is famous for being one of the main centers of French gastronomy. It has produced several beloved French dishes, such as coq au vin and marrons glacés. I haven't made a lot of dishes from Lyon in the past, but that will soon change. Bon appétit, and stay tuned!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Palmier

If you're planning on having a romantic meal on Valentine's Day, check out these adorable heart-shaped puff pastry appetizers. They're called palmiers. I've made a different version before with a traditional basil pesto, but today I decided to make them with sun-dried tomato pesto. Not only does it taste great, but the red color makes these little treats perfect for Valentine's Day.

Even though palmiers look really fancy, they are ultra simple to make. If you're in a real hurry, you can even use store-bought pesto. Don't worry, I won't tell.

Salsify in Butter with Capers

Salsify in butter is a very simple yet tasty dish. I blanch the salsify and then sauté them in butter. A little lemon and some capers balance out the flavor. I garnish the dish with curly parsley for color and voilà, a delicious 5-minute side dish is ready.

This dish reminds me of the lunch meals from the cafeteria of my elementary school in France. It was usually served au gratin, but that's another recipe. Before you start thinking that my school served incredibly gourmet food, you should know that while salsify may not be very familiar to many in the US, in France it's down right common. The flavor and texture is similar to leeks or white asparagus, but less fibrous. It's one of my favorite vegetables, and if you give it a try, you'll fall in love with it as well. Given that this it takes about 5 minutes to prepare this recipe, you have no excuse!

Yorkshire Pudding (Popover)

Yorkshire pudding batter contains very basic ingredients that I'm sure are already in your kitchen; eggs, milk, flour and oil (or fat drippings). The final product is greater than the sum of its parts, and there are few things more dramatic than a basket full of Yorkshire pudding.

Food has an incredible ability to evoke memories, and for me, Yorkshire pudding really takes me back in time to my childhood vacations in England. I stayed 2 years in a row at Tracy's house during Easter break in 1989 and 1990. It's been almost 20 years since the last time we met but we've kept in touch ever since. Tracy is an amazing cook, and I have fond memories of her delicious meals. A typical dinner would be roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, some greens and carrots and a wonderful banana mousse. Tracy, if you're reading, send my love to your lovely girls Emily and Alice!

Tarte Tatin aux Pommes (Upside down Apple Pie)

 Tarte Tatin sounds like a fancy dessert, but really, it's just an upside down caramel apple tart. I made a simple tart shell using dough called pâte brisée. Instead of filling the shell though, I placed slices of apples that were cooked in a caramel sauce into the mold and then covered them with the tart shell. The tarts then went into the oven to cook the shell. 

You really should eat these treats almost as soon as they come out of the oven. To plate, just flip each mold and the apples will now be on top. If you wait too long, the caramel will harden and it will be difficult to unmold.  If you flip the tart out and let it sit, the crust will get soggy. This has never been a problem at my house because the smell of freshly baking apples always manages to gather the entire family in the kitchen.