French Cuisine - Joie De Vivre!

Bonjour! Our French cuisine inspired collective was an amazing experience! We had a taste of delicacies from all parts of France that pleased the palate as well as the eye.

First up was Sumaiya's Quiche. She is a budding little chef. We are immensely proud of her efforts and we all thought her spinach quiche was delicious!

Next we got to taste Faizah's Chicken Cordon Bleu with Dijon Caper Sauce.

The sauce was very well received and complimented Safa Umm Mansur's dishes.

Safa Umm Mansur made a delicious Ratatouille and Steamed Mussels in a rich Broth. Yum!

Last but certainly not least, we got to taste a truly unique dish.  Safa made  French Savory Palmiers  filled with pine nuts, goat cheese, pesto, sun dried tomato, olive oil and more. Palate Bliss!

Sharria and Fatma were deeply missed. We hope to see you both at the next collective meeting.

Homemade Buttermilk Brine

Yesterday, I was playing around with buttermilk brine for chicken breasts.

Everyone from the south knows that in order to get moist chicken, you have to soak it in buttermilk for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.

Good news is that you can make buttermilk at home with 2 ingredients I'm sure you have on hand:

1 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice

I soaked the chicken for about 1 hour since I was short on time and they were so tender and juicy!

Dessert Staples

I always want dessert. Always.

I keep these things on hand in my cupboard so that If I ever fancy something, I'll have most of what I need:

• Unbleached All-purpose Flour
• Baking Powder (MUST)
• Fast Rise Yeast
• Shortening or Margarine
• Brown Sugar
• Confectioners Sugar
• Nufachatel Cheese or Cream Cheese
• Honey
• Salt
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Oatmeal
• Peanut Butter
• Cream Cheese
• Eggs or Egg Substitute
• Powdered Mill or Almond Milk
• Graham Crackers
• Vegetable Oil
• Vanilla extract
• Nut Assortment 

Using the above ingredients, you can make almost any desert:

Doughnuts

Cake

Cheese Cake

Pie

Muffins

Cookies

Brittle

Crepes

Souffle

French Vanilla Souffle

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, separated
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preparation:

How to make vanilla soufflé:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter a large soufflé dish and roll 1/4 cup of granulated sugar throughout the dish, making sure to cover all the interior surfaces. Set aside the prepared soufflé dish.

Bring 1 cup of the milk to just steaming in a medium saucepan set over low-medium heat. Stir together 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, and the remaining 1/3 cup milk until it forms a smooth batter.

Slowly whisk half of the hot milk into the batter, making sure to combine the ingredients until they are completely smooth. Add the tempered batter back to the hot milk in the pan and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly. Stir and cook the mixture until it has thickened, for about 1 minute. Stir the butter into the mixture and allow it to cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites on medium high speed until they become foamy, and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Continue beating the egg whites on high speed until they hold stiff glossy peaks.

Gently stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the vanilla mixture, then carefully fold in the remaining whipped egg whites. The vanilla mixture should be evenly colored and light and bubbly, without egg white streaks or marbling.

Spoon the soufflé mixture into the prepared dish and allow it to rest, covered, for up to 30 minutes or bake right away for 25 to 30 minutes (slightly longer at high altitudes) until the soufflé has risen with a crusty exterior. Serve the soufflé with a dusting powdered sugar and a few plump berries, if desired.

This vanilla soufflé recipe makes 6 servings.

Biscuits!

Here is my tried and true biscuit recipe that you can make from home in a flash!

My tip: Keep everything cold. Even the bowl and your hands. The colder preparation makes for the flakiest biscuits.

Easy basic biscuits-Good for breakfast or dinner.

2 cups all purpose flour
3Tbs baking powder
1Tbs Salt

5 TBS cold almost frozen butter cubed
3/4 cup cold milk

Directions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees 

In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and mix until the mixture looks crumbly. Pour the milk a little at a time and mix until it forms a ball.

Place the dough  on a generously floured surface. Knead 10 times.  Roll to 1/2 inch thick.  Cut out in desired size Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees  for 12 to 15 minutes.

Hey Mr.President!

This collective meeting was super fun! Alhamdulilah! The ladies were told to pick a president's favorite food. We had a few scuffles as Barak Obama is naturally a crowd favorite. Sharria won in the end. Doesn't she always win?

This was a meeting full of hearty rich and savory dishes. I think we all went home with a tummyache!

Sharria baked a delicious slab of  Honey Mustard Salmon, one of Obama's favorite hometown dishes.












Fatma made one of President Bushs's favorite dishes: Chicken Pot Pie













Mam Marie chose Jimmy Carter. She playfully dubbed her Lamb Peanut Stew "The African Carter"/













Faizah chose Hoover. Creole Gumbo was one of his favorite dishes.

Safa Umm Jameel chose Lincoln. She made 2 dishes: Oyster stew and Chicken Fricassee. Both of which were very delicious.  She stuck to the original recipe and method of cooking. Superb!

On the Barbie!

In June, we had a lovely time at Safa Umm Jameel's. She treated us to a nice & relaxing day on the deck. Of course we had great food!

We have a little open secret in the Collective. At any time can a member be called on to fulfill the duties of another. We use that option often. You'l see how we all came together for this meeting! (photos taken from the net)



Safa Umm Jameel provided the main dish! She broke out with the Steaks & Shrimp Kabobs.
Hard Labor: Faizah manned the grill & Fatma assembled the Kabobs.

Faizah didnt have time to make her dish. Sharria came through. She made a really good Chicken Salad.

Safa made a nice slab of Salmon on the grill

Fatma made a delish fruit tart! It was a refreshing end to a nice backyard meal.

Good times!

African Cuisine Blog

I love this site!

You can find all the "Best" west African dishes here:

http://littlemissgastronome.blogspot.com/