Audrey

I’ve been back to living in in Brittany for a year now. A year marked by exciting new adventures, making memories with old and new friends and indulging back into the French way of life that I missed so dearly. And of all the old routines I rekindled with, the one I perhaps love the most is going to my hometown farmers’ market every Sunday morning.

This Queen of Sheba Chocolate Cake is one of Julia Child’s most famous recipes, and for all the right reasons. It’s a simple cake recipe that yields a rich chocolatey taste with hints of almonds and a thin layer of chocolate buttercream to wow your guests. If you are learning French baking and need a staple dessert up your sleeve, the cake is a must!

A wildly popular side dish in France, Vichy Carrots feature perfectly tender carrot coins cooked in butter, sugar, and water until it reduces into a sweet buttery glaze, which is then finished off with fresh parsley. This easy and inexpensive recipe is a perfect weekday side, that feels luxurious enough to brighten any festive meal as well!

Literally named “Chicken in a Pot”, Poule Au Pot is a traditional Sunday dinner in France. This rustic yet healthy dish consists of a whole chicken cooked with vegetables in a flavorful broth (no store-bought stock needed!). For such a simple recipe, the result is an incredibly flavorful dish, with fall-off-the-bone chicken guaranteed every time!

This Mediterranean-style Lemon Olive Oil Cake is light, not too sweet and yields delicious fruity notes from the olive oil combined with citrusy flavors from the lemon zest and its juice. It keeps moist for days and bears a just so slightly crunchy top, which reminds of fried doughs. A perfect cake for an afternoon tea!

A popular Creole dish, this Sausage Rougail is a tasty stew of smoked sausages with fresh ginger, onions, tomatoes, herbs and hot peppers. It yields delicious smokiness combined with spicy flavors, with all the comfort of a warming, saucy dish. A one-pot, easy family meal that’s on the table in 40 minutes, and always pleases!

Here’s to true comfort food with a French Style Macaroni Gratin! This rustic dish features macaroni pasta smothered in a rich cheesy white sauce, blanketed with salty bacon bits, breadcrumbs, an extra helping of cheese, and then baked until bubbly underneath and crispy on top. This easy dish is on the table in about 45 minutes to please the whole family.

This deliciously rustic recipe from Brittany combines staple ingredients from the region: pork, shallots and amber beer. Plump, bone-in pork shanks are slowly braised in amber beer with spices, until fall-off-the-bone tender and incredibly fragrant. This is a robust, hearty dish to comfort the soul during Winter – yet I find it elegant enough to serve for a romantic dinner too. 

If you’re like me, a heartwarming soup made with seasonal vegetables never disappoints over Winter. And from my weekly rotation, this Roasted Carrot Soup has to be one of my favorites. Simple to make and affordable, this soup is creamy, satisfying and boasts delicious sweet flavors from roasted carrots. It’s also a great make-ahead and freezer friendly recipe. The perfect soup to cozy up to on colder days!

As another year is coming to an end, I am sharing today my annual “10 Most Popular Recipes”, which I know a lot of you are always excited about! It’s surely been a rolling-coaster-kind-of-year for us,  as it started with a big move back home to Brittany, France.