Carine Clary, Author at The FrangloSaxon Cooks

Cheddar Chive Popovers

December 24, 2020 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Popovers are the preferred “bread” of those who a) forgot to buy dinner rolls, b) forgot to buy dinner rolls and have no intention whatsoever of making them, and c) people who really like popovers. Full disclosure – ‘C’ is me. It’s a blender mix that you pour into a popover pan (pictured below) or into a regular muffin tin.

Traditional English popovers are called Yorkshire Pudding and use rendered beef fat instead of butter in the mix. Both taste good and I’ll bet some lard, if you have it, would be good too, especially if you are serving pork loin but butter is the old reliable. If you use the popover pan they will be very traditionally tall but the muffin tin works well if you like them smaller. In either case you’ll fill them about half to two thirds full. And if you don’t have or like cheese or chives just skip that and you’ll just have wonderful hot bread, but I have to say that the slightly charred cheddar is really tasty.

First you will want to preheat the oven with the pan inside and melt the butter on your stove top. Next you’ll just break out the blender and drop in all the ingredients blending until very smooth. The rise comes from the egg whites so make sure everything is room temperature to achieve maximum volume. Once blended spoon some melted butter into each cup and then fill about half way with the batter.

Pop the popovers into the oven and time it so you don’t forget to turn down the heat after 10 minutes. Also good to keep the oven door closed until removing them. If your oven doesn’t have a window you can peek towards the end but make it quick.

Once finished scatter the chopped chives over it all and enjoy with your rib roast or bone in individual ribeye that I have here.

Cheddar Chive Popovers

Author: Carine Clary

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ cup melted butter (or rendered beef fat)
⅓ cup grated cheese
1 bunch of chives, snipped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450.
Place eggs, milk, butter, seasonings and and flour in a blender and blend until smooth.*
Grease popover or muffin pan & put in oven for a few minutes.
Remove and spoon in about a teaspoon of butter or other fat, fill each cup about ½ to ⅔rds full, then top with about ½ tsp. of the grated cheese & chives.
Cook for 15 minutes at 450, then reduce to 350 for another 10 minutes, or until brown on top.
This will make 6 popovers using the popover pan or 12 in a muffin pan.

Notes

Tips:
Can be whisked together if you don't have a blender. Beef fat from the bottom of the roasting pan can (and should) be substituted for the melted butter. Do not open oven door while baking, this will deflate the popovers and will make them look like nasty little hockey pucks.

Calvados Chicken

December 8, 2020 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

This is what you want to serve if you’re having a holiday dinner party so welcome your guests with something different. Calvados Chicken is a quick but elegant saute with all those things that warm you up and deeply satisfy your taste buds.

With cream, apples, mushrooms, and Calvados (apple brandy) you have something that’s rich and filling and relatively fool proof.

The key to success with this is browning the chicken without overcooking it. So you’ll want to brown it so it develops a nice crust on the skin then set it aside. To do this let the butter get bubbly then put the chicken in skin side down and then don’t move it. After a couple of minutes shake the pan gently and if it’s browned it should release on its own. You should then turn it and cook on the other side then remove.

Next you’ll brown the apple slices in the same pan and set them aside when they start to color. Follow them up with the mushrooms and shallots.

Then mix together the Calvados, chicken broth, heavy cream, cornstarch and water and pour over the mushrooms and shallots. Stir over a medium heat until thickened and then carefully lower the chicken (skin side up) into the cream sauce which should not cover the chicken (if you want that nice brown crust to be visible). This will allow the chicken skin to retain its crunch and it will look better when it’s plated.

You may stir in the apples with the sauce but I like to leave them out of the sauce and serve them on the plate next to the chicken but either way is fine.

Since this dish is rich I always pair it with some steamed veg like the asparagus here and/or a salad and rolls.

And there you have it. All the flavors of the fall season to keep you warm and satisfied.

Calvados Chicken

Author: Carine Clary

Ingredients

For the Chicken:
2 lbs. boneless skin on chicken breasts*
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium apples, peeled and cut into slices
1 box mushrooms, quartered
⅓ cup shallots, or one large shallot diced
For the sauce:
¼ cup Calvados
1 cup Chicken broth (1 can)
¼ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
For the garnish:
garnish with chopped parsley & paprika

Instructions

Melt the butter in a skillet and brown the chicken over medium heat. Set aside. It won't be cooked through. You will finish in the final sauce.
In the same pan brown apple chunks for a few minutes. Remove & set aside.
Saute mushrooms and shallots till golden for a few minutes.
Stir in the chicken broth, cream & Calvados until well combined then add the cornstarch mixture and cook over low flame until slightly thickened.
Now replace the chicken breasts (skin side up) & apples and cook over a low flame for about 5 to 10 minutes.
Remove chicken and slice diagonally if using breasts.
Pour sauce over the chicken and garnish with minced parsley and a bit of paprika.

Notes

*You can use bone in but there will be a little more work at the end if you want to slice it before serving. You may also substitute 4 chicken thighs of about the same weight.
White meat gets overcooked fast, so make sure the final cook in the broth never comes to more than a simmer. When you remove the breast, slice into the middle first. If it’s still pink put it back in the pan for a few….but careful not to overcook.

Carrot Pumpkin Cake

October 23, 2020 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

I love one layer cakes and a spicy one layer cake with pumpkin and carrot….what could go wrong? Ok, you could burn it or drop it upside down on a dirty kitchen floor (and really, is there any other kind of kitchen floor?) but otherwise this Carrot Pumpkin Cake is a quick to make winner. And it does not need to be round. You can bake it in your standard square brownie pan, adjusting baking time for the size of the pan.

To start you want to beat the eggs, sugars, and oil until very light. This will ensure a lighter texture. The pumpkin puree and buttermilk need to be mixed well and added alternately with the sifted flour and spices. As for the spices you can use what I’ve suggested or add some extras. I once put in an extra teaspoon of cardamom and it was great.

The recipe calls for sultana raisins which are fat and juicy and are my favorites but you could substitute small black raisins or even chopped dates in equal amounts. Soaking the raisins before folding them into the cake makes them even juicier and if you pass on the bourbon soak, try some orange juice or water with a little vanilla in it, or some orange liqueur like Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Be creative!

When it comes to the walnuts you may put some in the batter but I prefer a rough chop and then an application to the sides. Another option would be to ice only the top of the cake and then cover that completely with the nuts. And although it doesn’t call for it in the recipe I splashed out and bought some gold lustre powder and glitter bombed the nuts before adding them to the cake. Very festive.

I can’t close this without mentioning my special love for this icing. It’s butter cream and cream cheese – not too sweet – and with the vanilla and orange flavoring it’s very good. I ate fingerfuls of the leftovers so there’s that for proof.

Since this year’s Halloween is likely to be a low key affair with little to no gatherings or trick or treaters try gathering the family to taste this delicious cake.

Carrot Pumpkin Cake

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Southern

Ingredients

For the Cake:
2 large eggs, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
½ cup toasted walnut oil (or other neutral oil)
½ cup pumpkin puree*
¼ cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tsps. ground cinnamon
2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1½ cups grated carrots (on a box or hand grater, not food processor)
½ cup white sultana raisins, soaked in bourbon
For the Icing:
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (or orange juice)
1¼ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
½ cup roughly chopped walnuts

Instructions

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
Grease a 9" springform pan & line with parchment; set aside.
In a large bowl combine the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and vanilla, beat well to combine, about 4 minutes. Mixture should be light.
Whisk together the pumpkin and buttermilk.
Sift together the flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir into the wet ingredients in three parts alternating with the pumpkin buttermilk mixture; stir until just combined. Batter will be thick. Add in the carrots and raisins; gently fold together until incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool.
For the icing:
Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium-high speed until completely smooth. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added beat on high-speed for 1-2 minutes.
Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake, decorate with nuts, then slice and serve. Store this cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days.

Notes

*Some pumpkin purees are watery some are not. If you open the can and see that it is strain for 20 minutes or so over a bowl.

Shrimp Stew

October 13, 2020 by Carine Clary Leave a Comment

Several things set this apart from a typical Shrimp Stew. Adding tomato paste to the roux at the end, fresh grated nutmeg, and home made shrimp stock, a recipe for which you can find here. I don’t usually make the shrimp stock on the day I’m making this because this is supposed to be a pretty quick & easy recipe if you have the stock on hand. My MO is to make ahead and freeze (and that goes for all stocks I have time to make). If you can’t do that you can check out Kitchen Basics Seafood Broth or Better than Bouillon’s version. If none are available water will do fine.

As always, first you make the roux. You’ll mix the flour into the oil and cook over a low flame until it’s the color of a football (approximately) then stir in the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute.

Next in are the vegetables. The heat from the roux will soften them up after a few minutes then it’ll be time for the tomato/shrimp broth dump. Stir those in well and add all the seasonings. Let cook until it smells insanely good then add the potatoes. And note that the pictured amounts are for half the stated recipe. This half amount will feed four if you’re serving other courses.

Below you’ll see everything right in the pot sweating and steaming its way to a savory finish just waiting for the potatoes and finally the shrimp.

And here at the end is your reward. A warm comforting bowl of fall in New Orleans. Enjoy!

Shrimp Stew

Author: Carine Clary

Cuisine: Creole

Ingredients

For the roux:
½ cup vegetable oil (or olive oil, butter, lard)
½ cup flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
For the stew:
1½ cup chopped onion
⅔ cup white part of green onions, sliced
⅓ cup chopped celery (including leaves if possible)
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes with liquid (or 3 cups peeled, seeded & diced fresh tomatoes)
3 cups shrimp stock (or water)
2½ tsps. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne (or red pepper flakes)
3 bay leaves (or ½ tsp. powdered bay leaf)
1 tsp. dried thyme (or 3 springs of fresh thyme)
several gratings of fresh nutmeg
2 lbs. white potatoes, peeled & cut into 1 inch cubes
2 lbs. whole fresh medium or small shrimp, peeled & deveined**
1 tsp. lemon juice (or vinegar)
For the Garnish:
sliced green onion
finely chopped parsley

Instructions

In a heavy bottomed 6 to 8 quart pot, heat the oil and stir in the flour. Cook over low heat stirring constantly until the roux is peanut butter colored.
Whisk in the tomato paste and cook for about a minute then add the onions, celery, and garlic.
Cook for 3 to 4 minutes then add the tomatoes* with their juice (if using canned) & shrimp stock, seasonings & lower the heat cooking for half an hour, then add potatoes and cook until done. The potatoes will take about 15 minutes depending on how finely they are cut. Smaller equals faster.
Add the shrimp and cook for five minutes.
Finally, add lemon juice, chopped parsley, and chopped green onion to taste.

Notes

*If you use fresh tomatoes boil a pot of water, stick a large fork into the stem end of the tomato and lower into the water. Hold in the boiling water until the skin breaks (about a minute or so) then remove and peel.
**If you have only large shrimp cut them in half.

Cheddar Chive Popovers

Calvados Chicken

Carrot Pumpkin Cake

Shrimp Stew

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