Vanilla Eclairs

I decided to half this recipe because I did not want 20 of these babies sitting around my house. (Unfortunately, I have a slight pastry addiction....) These are really good, and surprisingly quick and easy. I made the pastry cream before my kid's bedtime, the eclairs after they were in bed, and they were all eaten (by my husband, I swear) within the space of an hour or so. We didn't refrigerate them, just ate them.

Unfortunately, my eclairs were not very puffy. I think I undercooked them, and when I set them down too sharply on the counter, they deflated. So, I didn't want to take time to make the glaze because they were not pretty, I just dusted them with powdered sugar. Even though they were flat and glaze-less, they were good!

Salted Butter Break Ups

What can I say....I am a sucker for butter and sugar. These quirky little beauties are essentially butter and sugar at their simplest, and the addition of kosher salt was inspired.

I used salted butter (who am I kidding, that is what I always use...) for these cookies in addition to the kosher salt, and I though the salt level was perfect.

I've also noticed a trend with these French recipes. The savory ones are hit or miss for me, but the sweet ones.....divine!

Savory Cheese & Chive Bread

I have never had a savory quick bread before, only sweet, so this was an interesting turn of events. The bread was like a big savory cross between a muffin and a biscuit.

I did not like that the recipe was vague on the salt. I am sorry, but I have no idea of the salt level of the different cheeses. I used Gruyere, and I only used 1/2 tsp of salt. It was not enough. However, it was still good paired with the soup I made to go with it.

The next day, the bread was even better! If I were to made this again, I would probably use a more flavorful cheese, and eat it the next day.

Pancetta Green Beans

Why I liked this recipe:

1. Loved that it was a side dish. Most days I just want to grill/bake some meat and have a couple of sides. This is perfect for me.
2. We are from the south....so that usually translates to all our vegetables having absolutely no bite to them at all if they are cooked. I liked that these green beans were crisp tender, but my family would eat them because they were so flavorful with the pancetta.
3. It was easy.

Why I didn't like this recipe:

1. Unfortunately.....I don't like pancetta. I never had pancetta before, but I knew what it was (sorta like a non-smoked bacon). Well, around here we have a lot of country ham, and at a certain time of year we can obtain "hog's jowl" (or hog's jaw). That is what pancetta tastes like to me...and I just don't love country ham or hog's jaw. I loved the recipe as long as I ate around the pancetta.

Would I make this again? Yes, but I will be using thick cut bacon.

Basque Potato Tortilla

This was a very simple recipe. You slowly cook some potatoes, onions, and garlic in some olive oil until the potatoes are tender. Then, you add some eggs and let them set up on the stove top. Lastly, you run it under the broiler for a couple minutes to brown the top. I added some shredded white sharp cheddar to it after I got it out of the oven. It was pretty good. We all ate it, but it wasn't something my kids were clamoring for me to make again.

If I did make this again, I would cut the potatoes much, much smaller and use less. The potatoes were too much the focus for me. I wanted more egg. Also....I kind of don't like well done, browned egg. So, it wasn't a winner for me. I might do something similar to it again, though. We love breakfast for dinner!

Gnocci a la Pariesienne

I was rushing around trying to get this made and feed my family...and I forgot to take a picture of it! But, here it is after we ate it! It was a nice recipe. An interesting change. I don't know that I would make it again. I might. I really like the dumplings. I wonder how my chicken and dumplings would taste if I made them like this? Hmmmmmm. Something I am going to ponder. I loved the light texture.

Michel Rostang's Double Chocolate Mouse Cake

This cake was delicious. I ended up baking it and serving it warm, and loved it. I really enjoyed this, my husband and children did as well. I didn't go to the trouble of using my spring form pan. My springform is 9 inches, and it called for an 8 inch one. I didn't want it any thinner then the one in the picture in the book, so I opted for my deep dish pie crust. It turned out perfectly.

I am anxious to try this again, but next time I am going to go with the "to serve the cake cold" option because I thought the mousse was so delicious.