3 French Cooking Day

Another busy and fun cooking weekend!  I had my girlfriends over Friday for a French cooking day.  We became Julia Child acolytes and made her boeuf bourguignon, (which I just can't get enough practice at) gratin Jurassien (baked scalloped potatoes with Swiss cheese.  To.Die.For.  I may or may not have had 1/4 of it all by myself...) and tarte Tatin with organic apples and pears (which my brother-in-law made for us since he is the fabulous baker of the family.)  What an amazing dinner with the best of friends and family.

The Boeuf.

The Gratin.

The Tarte.

The Delicious.

I encourage you to give one or more of these a try - there is something here for everyone. The boeuf and the gratin are gluten-free (omit the flour in the boeuf or use a substitute), the gratin and tarte are vegetarian, and all of them are unbelievably delicious, and I guarantee you'll have a happy family around the dinner table.  Even better because almost all my ingredients are locally sourced, from the grass-fed beef and bacon I picked up from my local butcher shop, to the organic fruits, vegetables and herbs from my CSA.  Support local and whole foods!

Bon Appetit!

3 Pastrami & Brie Sandwich

I'm not normally one to post recipes for sandwiches, unless they are of a controversial nature like the grilled cheese I posted a while back.  Okay, I'm totally kidding, except I think the pastrami and Brie combo is somewhat controversial for a lot of people.  But trust me!  So good.  So good.

Yesterday I visited my local butcher shop, Findley's, and got some amazing meats - freshly made pork sausages, (jalapeno cheddar, bratwurst and a garlic version which helped us win 2nd place in the chili cookoff last week)  Delmonico-end ribeyes, (ahhhhhhh *jaw hanging aslack*) house-smoked hickory bacon and this totally amazing pastrami.

For the bread, I used an earthy and rustic organic sprouted wheat bread from Harry's [Wholefoods] bakery, which actually tastes really great.

I toasted the slices, and slathered on plenty of real mayo (I like Duke's brand because they don't add sugar, and not because it's a health thing, it's their original recipe) and lots of brown deli mustard.

Now...controversy!  Brie.  A good, French double cream Brie that starts melting as soon as you get it to room temp.  Two thick slices.

I topped the slices with some organic lettuce, and sliced red onion (critical!  Must have onion, and it must be red, and it must be raw.)

Assemble thusly.

Devour.

It's so heavenly.  The earthy crunch of the toasty bread, the salty pastrami with the luxurious creamy Brie, and the spicy kick of that mustard....just heavenly.