French Hazelnut Meringue Cake

"According to legend, the recipe for this delicious pastry came from a fifteenth-century parchment found among the fallen stones and rubble of a monastery in area of Crocq, in the Creuse - one of the 83 departments created during the Revolution, when so many monasteries were destroyed. The monks cooked this creusois cake in ceramic tiles that were themselves creuses - hollow, concave, or curved…

Christmas Cookies #8: Canelés (Cannelés) de Bordeaux - French Sweet Little Treats

If you have never tried Canelés I highly recommend them, it is a classical specialty from Bordeaux, France. They are quite unlike any other petits fours and you are going to love them. Imagine a perfect bite of caramelized crêpe of a most delicious flavor with pastry cream melting in your mouth, crunchy outside and soft at the center.

Roast Game Hens with Mustard - Le Coquelet 'A La Moutarde, Friday Dinner Idea!

This is not your everyday recipe cause it is reach and buttery. But when you have friends over or there is family gathering, that is a perfect dish. I love to make something special for Friday dinner. It's the end of the week, kids usually don't have any homework and we can have long dinner together. My husband always has a nice bottle of wine and we allow ourselves to have any dessert we like. The recipe is French, hence the secret is in the sauce. I highly recommend it, the sauce is wonderful!

Bûchettes de Noël - Cocoa Meringue

Bûche de Noël is a classic French Christmas cake whose name translates as "yule log." These bûchettes, meaning "little logs," are intended to be mini-versions of this classic made with, instead of cake, the crispest, lightest, cocoa meringue. They are a perfect accompaniment to hot chocolate, coffee, tea, eggnog, Cognac, or even milk.

French Pot Roast - Boeuf à la Mode

NUTMEG and MACE are Sister Spices.

Mace resembles nutmeg, but is more pungent. It is the traditional spice for pound cake, but is also enhances the taste of cherry pie, chocolate dishes, and whipped cream. It is very good, indeed, in seafood and fish sauces, or in chicken fricassees, or French pot roast. But since it is on the potent side start - as with all spices - with a pinch when experimenting, adding more if a fuller flavor is desired.