fall

Comforting, nourishing and full of flavor, a simple Butternut Squash Soup is a cold weather staple. This easy-to-make, no-frill recipe requires just a few classic ingredients to create a naturally thick and creamy soup (no cream needed) with hints of sweetness and warmth. This is a simple and traditional soup recipe for everyone to have in their repertoire. 

A classic from the French repertoire, this Chicken Chasseur is a stew originally born from hunters returning home with their bounty of small game and wild mushrooms. In this classic version of the dish, bone-in chicken pieces and loads of mushrooms are braised in tomato sauce with white wine and fresh herbs, with a big dollop of butter to enrich the sauce at the end.

This Tarte Fine aux Pommes – literally “Thin Apple Tart” – is a French bakery staple in the Fall. It features a thin puff-pastry crust with no raised borders, thin apple slices for topping and crisp caramelized edges. I love how it’s quickly put together, requires no tart pan, yet makes for an utterly delicious and elegant dessert. It’s light, flaky and best enjoyed by hand.

Pork chops, apples and cider collide in this typical dish from Brittany – a French region famous for its apple orchards and pig farms. These Pork Chops with Apples served in a cider-spiked creamy sauce are a favorite recipe amongst Brittany home cooks, as it’s a simple one-pan dish that boasts delicious sweet and savory flavors. It’s rustic, perfect for Fall and a great square meal for the whole family. 

A warm, cozy yet healthy-ish meal is what we often yearn for during the colder seasons – and this French Lentil Soup is just that. Made with heaps of lentils, carrots, celery, ham and spices for good measure, this soup is a simple recipe that delivers big flavors. It’s hearty, filling and with a texture that is both creamy and chunky. This is a delicious staple for a weekday dinner to cozy up to.  

Here’s to Fall baking at its best! This Apple Cinnamon Galette, or a “Tarte Rustique” as we call it in France, holds all the deliciousness of an apple pie but with half the work. This rustic-looking fruit tart features a flaky all-butter crust, folded in a free form manner over crisp apples. It is an uncomplicated Fall dessert that doesn’t require much time to assemble nor does it require a pie dish. It’s laid-back, comforting and always a crowd pleaser. 

In my kitchen, October is meant for relishing in the fleeting season of mushrooms, and today’s recipe sure makes the best of it. The blend of mushrooms, crème fraiche and grainy mustard makes for an utterly creamy and flavorful sauce that’s the perfect topping to plump pork chops.

Fall is just around the corner! And after fresh, juicy vegetables all Summer long, it’s that delicious time of the year to relish in all kinds of root vegetables… and today’s recipe is all about beets! In this Fall-perfect dish, beets are braised in white wine until sweet and tender, mingled with chopped kale, goat cheese and crusty bread.  It is a simple, unfussy side-dish or light dinner, and it’s a wonderfully different way to enjoy beets.   A dish inspired by the “Betteraves à la Poitevine” The inspiration for …

Here it is, the infamous Calvados and Apple Flan from Normandy! On a recent trip to Normandy, we ate at La Ferme St Michel, and I had the most amazing Calvados and Apple Flan for dessert. It was tender, fruity and intensely fragrant, thanks to the Calvados Apple Brandy. So of course, as soon as I was back in in my kitchen in Canada two weeks later, I couldn’t resist making one (and it certainly won’t be the last one I will be making this fall/winter)! Being from Brittany, I …

The classic French Apple Cake gets a twist with the use of spelt flour; adding nutty notes to its signature buttery crumb filled with big apple clusters. Like in many countries through Fall and Winter, the apple cake is a classic in households. Of all, the French version is probably one the most unpretentious and bare. With no use of cinnamon like in America, nor crumble top, nuts or glaze. A cake reminiscent of the German Versunkener Apfelken or the Russian Sharlotka, both made in similar ways, with more fruit …