La Cuisine Normande

Greetings from Austria! It has been a bit of a struggle to keep up with my posts, as in the last 4 weeks I have been extremely busy and have visited 8 countries! Things will begin to slow down now, as we will be spending the last 4 weeks in Italy and Spain.

As promised, I have shared with you some delicious recipes that we learned during our stay in Normandy. Nadia and Jean Marc do not measure ingredients, or follow a recipe. I asked them many questions and have tried to make the proportions as accurate as possible for my own record, and for you to try at home! I hope that you experiment and have as much fun in the kitchen as we did!

Exciting Discovery! – Fresh Cream can be found at Whole Foods! How exciting!

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Jean Marc’s “Oysters Over Fire”

Oysters are not my favorite seafood items; they are raw.. the texture is unpleasant, and I just am not into them! When Jean Marc said that we would be having “Oysters Over The Fire”, I was relieved because the oysters would not be raw! This was definitely one of the most delicious meals I have ever had, in my life! Andrea and I were able to help prepare the meal and learned how to make this delicious, simple dish!

What you need:

• Oysters
• Cream Fraiche
• Diced White Onions
• White Wine
• Shredded Fromage ( we used Emmental Gruyere)
• Cracked Pepper
• Flour/Oil/Water Mixture

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450F degrees. First, bring a pot of water to a boil, and place oyster in the boiling water for about 3-4 minutes, until the shells open. Next, mix together flour, oil, and water until you have a thick, dough like batter. You will use this batter on the baking sheet to keep shells from tipping over. Place marble sized amounts of this dough mixture on pan, and place an oyster on each dough marble to hold the shell in place (see below).

“After Boiling Oysters, They Will Easily Open & You Can Position Them On The Baking Sheet” 

Next, pour a splash of white wine into each oyster shell, add a dollop of fresh cream to each oyster, sprinkle the chopped onions, pepper, and lastly cheese on each oyster.

“Prepping The Oysters With All Of The Fixings”

Bake oysters for about 10 minutes in oven. The cheese should be bubbling and a toasty shade of golden brown. Serve with a bottle of white wine, and some artisan bread. Enjoy!

“Voilà! The Finished Product”

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Nadia’s Nettle Tort (Ortie Torte)

What are Nettles? I didn’t know either. They grow in Nadia’s backyard like weeds, and sting your hands when you touch them. They are a herbaceous perennial flowering plant that is.. drum roll.. edible!

What you need:

• 2 Bowls of Nettles
• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Cream
• 1/4 Cup White Cheese
• 1/4 Cup Crushed Hazelnuts
• 1 Pie Crust
• Butter

Directions:

Preheat over to ~ 350 degrees F. While oven is preheating, flash boil the nettles in about a 1/4 inch of water (only need to do this for 1 minute). Place only crust in a pie pan in over for 10 minutes. While the crust is in the oven, mix together the nettles, eggs, sugar, fresh cream, white cheese, and crushed hazelnuts. Remove empty pie crust after 10 minutes, and add filling. Cook crust with filling for 10 minutes. Remove nettle torte, and top with extra crust (see picture), and also top with a few slivers of butter and sprinkle lightly with sugar. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Enjoy hot, preferably on the french countryside, with a bottle of red wine!

“Tres Bien!”

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I love love love the “Crepe Parties” at Nadia & Jean Marc’s house! They are delicious, easy, fun, and you can make them right at the table! All you need to make a traditional Gallete ( Buckwheat flour crepe, usually for savory additions) or a Crepe ( desert crepes) is a pan, and a few ingredients!

La Gallete

What you need:

• Buckwheat flour
• 1 egg
• Water
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil ( optional)
• Oil or butter for the pan
• Skillet pan will do if you don’t have a crepe pan!
• Any toppings that you would like, examples are: Fresh Cream, mushrooms in cream sauce, cheese, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

Crepes

• Flour
• 3 Eggs ( or 4 depending on the amount of batter you need)
• Milk (whole milk preferred)
• Butter, Cinnamon, Vanilla (All Optional!)
• Oil or butter for the pan
• Skillet pan will do if you don’t have a crepe pan!: lemon juice, sugar, nutella, peanut butter, marmalade/jam, fresh fruit

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together until you have a pancake batter consistency, not too thick. With a ladle, pour a thin amount onto a pan. Let one side cook, and flip to other side just like a pancake. The Crepe or Gallete should be thin enough that it should not take more than 1-2 minutes to cook both sides. Serve immediately with all desired toppings and with a glass of French vins. And enjoy every bite!

“Crepes With Fresh Cream and Tomate” 

“Gallete With An Egg, Mushrooms & Fresh Cream, & Tomate With Salt & Pepper”

“Crepe With Fromage”

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Blackberry Marmalade

This delicious and very easy process can be done with any fruit that you have. Canning the marmalade will preserve it and will make storing over the winter months easy. Add marmalade to bread, crepes, ice cream, and almost anything else!

What You Need:

• Blackberries
• Sugar
• Large Sauce Pan
• Strainer
• Canning Jars

Directions:

First thing’s first – place all blackberries in a sauce pan with about an inch of water, and heat until boiling. Remove from heat, and strain blackberry mixture to catch all of the seeds (and possible spiders). You are now left with liquid fruit. Return to your large sauce pan, and add fruit juice and sugar. For every liter of fruit juice that you have, you will add about 3.5 cups of sugar. Now reduce for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Once these steps are complete, you are ready to can your marmalade! Using a mini funnel (see photo below), fill mason jars with marmalade, tightly close the jars, and then place the upside-down for about 10 minutes. Here you have it – Blackberry Marmalade. Fresh, Easy, and Delicious! We were even able to send a jar home to our moms.

“Large Sauce Pan”

“Blackberry Patch”

“Here You Have It!”