Oct 7

Oct 7 French Cooking: Pea Veloute, Pork Roast and Sweet Treats

We're sending summer off today (officially) with a French meal that is truly fantastic. This is quite possibly my favorite meal from the summer portion of A Kitchen In France. If you need to catch up on the series, search "French Cooking" on the blog or read our original post talking about the journey. We've got two desserts again this week and a main dish that is almost as good as the starter. If you like bacon, this menu is for you.

STARTER: Chilled Garden Pea Veloute
I should start by saying that I did not serve this chilled, I served it tepid warm. It was mostly because of timing but we all liked it at the temperature I served it. Pea soup is something me and my grandparents love. Add a little bacon, the garlic cream and you've got something special right there. I will say this. If you are shelling raw peas, you need a lot. I had one pound of pea pods and I managed to only fill the bottom of a bowl. I added frozen edamame (because that's all I had in the house that was green) to make up for the lack of peas. It turned out quite tasty.

MAIN: Black-Pig Pork Roast with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
I'm not sure where to get black pig anywhere around here, nor am I even sure we have black pigs in northern Illinois. But it is apparently a delicacy in the French country! Instead, I simply picked up a 3 pound pork tenderloin. It's wrapped in bacon, surrounded by garlic and thyme, drizzled with olive oil and roasted. It's quite delicious and so easy to put together. The garlic mashed potatoes are the perfect compliment, just as easy to whip up and so tasty. It's a classic dinner that anyone would enjoy and made even better with the bacon.

DESSERT: Peach & Cherry Papillotes
This is basically fruit and a red wine syrup baked in a parchment paper packet. It's delicious, it's easy and it's a great dessert for those cool summer nights the closer we get to fall. Serve it with a small piece of pound cake and you have one heck of a dessert. This is something you could whip up really quick with company and it will impress them.

DESSERT: Red Berry Barquettes
Barquettes are fancy shaped mini tart molds. They look like little baskets and are super cute but if you don't have a barquette mold (like me) don't fret. You can use mini tart molds or you can just make it in a regular tart pan. It will turn out tasty either way. I love this recipe because it's totally customizable. Being a red berry tart, you can use whatever kinds of berries are available to you at the time: strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, red currants, etc. The recipe calls for a cranberry jam but I used a strawberry jam instead. It was so delicious. A perfect treat to hang on to summer if you're not ready to let go.