Atelier Fraisier (Strawberry cake workshop)

First, I want to thank you all for your help, dear you !
I received your comments and mails and really, truly, I felt lucky and glad to have all your ideas and recipes.
In two weeks, I'll be in holiday for some days, I think I'll try one or two recipes at this moment and of course, I'll post them.

And I realized one thing : dear anglo-saxons readers, you're SO strong and clever to come and read my blog ! Most of all if you cook my recipes.
Because ALL is different between our countries !
Inches, cups, onces, liters, cups, fahrenheit, celsius ... 
So, I must translate FIRST and I'll cook after. 

Today, I want to share with you some pictures.
Last year, in november, for my birthday, four of my dearest friends offered me a voucher's cooking lesson.
I was very happy and just had to find the necessary time, you know.

Almost one year after ( it was coming almost obsolete), I took my short courage between my hands, and with a friend, we decided to use this morning, in this workshop.
To learn to prepare a Fraisier.

"Holly cow", as my dear Internet friend, Dr CaSo taught me in a comment ...

One entire morning to make a cake !
Of course, we learned to prepare E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. But, OMG ! I won't do it anymore.

I'll post the recipe soon, when I'll receive it from the pastry chef.
Today, I'm just going to share with you some pics of this experience. Great experience. And only experience. AH !

Follow me :)

My sweet, dear, loved and only fraisier of my life. And I must warn you : If someone tries to touch to my rose, I'll wrench all his fingers !
I made it twice. I was very proud of my first rose. The pastry chef came, looked at it and said :
"Right. Yes. She's nice. But do it it again !". And he crushed my rose. 
Of course, I crushed his head.

And I did my rose once again, glowering at him and at everyone one who tried to approach myself.

We spent a good morning, really. And we'll eat this cake tonight, for sure.
Except the rose.
NO-ONE-WILL-EAT-THIS-ROSE !

Help ! I need somebody ...

Dear friends, dear readers, dear lonely visitor, dear YOU ! 

This post, much more than all the previous post, is for YOU ! 

I need YOU !

Super dupont. French version of  Uncle Sam ! 

Here what I bought some month ago, in july, during the American Week, in my supermarket : 

I bought it because it's a typical american product, here, in France. No one eats it.

And now, I absolutely don't know what to do with it ! 

Of course, I found a lot of recipes with it.

But I'm looking for a REAL recipe, a recipe you, friends, reader or visitor, use to bake to your children your family or even just for you. 

And as always, please, something easy. Now you know my blog. 

A lot of recipe use chocolate too and as I'm totally crazy about M&M's, I think this weeding could work. 

So, today, I'm appealing you : please, help me and write me YOUR usual recipe in comments sections or in my mail address : axellethefrenchcook@gmail.com

I don't promise I will bake it all. I'm not saying there will be a winner ! 

I'm just asking you for help. 

Thank you so much for your participation ! 

Zucchini and rice gratin, with some language lessons !

When you're studying languages, as I did, and when you're a teenager, as I was, the first things you learn about those new languages are rude words.

And how to say "I love you," ok.
It can help.

But learning bad words is so fun ! And most of all, a swearword seems much more light in another language than in our. As if it had less impact.

And as I was a very fun teenager, my first goal beginning a new language, was to learn a maximum of rude words.
I'm pretty good in arabian, thanks to my mother and my uncles.
I'm good enough in spanish, thanks to a trip in Spain, years ago.
I'm a huge professional in Italian, of course ... thanks to my life over there and thanks to a teacher that we loved a lot and used to teach us those kind of words.
She used to say we had to know the real language and not the one of books.
"Oh, please, students ! Don't forget that "puttana" (bitch) is a real insult ! Never use it ! Most of all against a woman, of course ! Did you hear me ? Right ? ... But don't forget : "Puttana" takes 2 T ...".
She was a great teacher.

Strangely, one language resisted me : Russian. I've learned how to say I love you, of course (pronounced "ia tiebia liubliu"), but I never knew a bad word.
Now I realized it, I'm calling for help :
If one of you knows a bad word or two (or more) in Russian, please, tell it in comments. I would be glad to learn it.
Because I'm a fun adult.

So, you can now guess that I know of lot of rude words too in english.
If you want me to teach you some french bad words, you can ask too in comments section ! I'll be glad to increase your vocabulary.

And today, I just want to show you how to cook those fucking zucchini once again.

I'm just so fed up with zucchini ! Being creative with zucchini is, for sure, easy. But, in gratin, with cream, curry, onion, grilled ...etc, zucchini stay zucchini !
And at the moment, this is the last recipe I'll post with this vegetable because I WON'T EAT IT ANYMORE FOR YEARS !
But at the moment, here's a good and fast recipe with zucchini again.

You'll need :

• 4 fucking zucchini, so ...
• 1 white leek
• 1 egg
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 20 centiliters of milk
• 100 grams of rice
• Olive oil and herbs of provence
• Grated cheese.

Your oven must be preheated at 180°C (350°F / Th 6)

Step 1 : 

Make brown onion and garlic on a low fire, with a pinch of salt. 

Step 2 : 

Meanwhile, cook your rice.

Step 3 : 

When your onions are a little bit golden, add leek and let it cook until it comes fluid.

Step 4 : 

Then those famous zucchini ! High the fire and let it brown for 10 minutes or so. Add one tablespoon of dry herbs.

Step 5 : 

Whisk egg, milk and a little bit of nutmeg, if you have. 

Step 6 :
Arrange zucchini in a oven pan, add cooked rice, stir all this.

Step 7 :
Finally, pour your egg mixture and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Step 8 :
In the oven for 20 minutes.

That's it ! It doesn't look very tasty, but it is. Maybe it would be better with béchamel, if you want to try it !

Recapitulative :

• 4 fucking zucchini, so ...
• 1 white leek
• 1 egg
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 20 centiliters of milk
• 100 grams of rice
• Olive oil and herbs of provence
• Grated cheese.

Your oven must be preheated at 180°C (350°F / Th 6)

Make brown onion and garlic on a low fire, with a pinch of salt.

Meanwhile, cook your rice.

When your onions are a little bit golden, add leek and let it cook until it comes fluid.

Then those famous zucchini ! High the fire and let it brown for 10 minutes or so. Add one tablespoon of dry herbs.

Whisk egg, milk and a little bit of nutmeg, if you have.

Arrange zucchini in a oven pan, add cooked rice, stir all this.

Finally, pour your egg mixture and sprinkle with grated cheese.

In the oven for 20 minutes.

Pork in casserole (roti de porc "bonne femme").

This week end, my sister and my brother in law came to eat at home. I'm always happy to cook for family or friends.

We're living in a small apartment, so, usually, in summer, we can't invite too much people.

Because, with heat, they could get transformed in puddle and we could lose them.

Bad way to say to your friends you love them.

So, usually, in summer, we are invited and when fall comes, we've got a State Secretary's planning.

I've got one millions invitations to give back.

But this is fine, because I can try new recipes and I love it. I don't know if my guest too, but they are nice and like to take risk.

Here what I cooked this past sunday.

• 1 piece of pork to roast, about 1,5 kilograms
• 300 grams of good bacon
• 1 large onion
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 25 centiliters of white wine
• 30 centiliters of chicken or veal stock
• Some rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• Olive oil (or another kind of oil, no matter) and butter. 

Step 1 : 

In butter and olive oil (we can say 25 grams of butter and 5 tablespoon of olive oil... this was NOT a light dish !), let brown on a low fire onion and garlic. 

Step 2 : 

When they are transparent, add pork, on a medium fire and make it brown too, for severals minutes on each side. 

Step 3 : 

Then, take it out of the pan and let brown bacon. Rhhhhaaaaaaaaa ! Love that ! 

Step 4 : 

Pour wine, stock, rosemary and bay leaves. 

Step 5 : 

Add pork and let t cook for one hour, on a low fore, turning it time to time. 

Bon appétit ! 

This pic is a pity.

But, as often, when I've got guests, I forgot to take the last picture. This one is the only one I could save, for the following diner.

Recapitulative for 6 persons :

1 piece of pork to roast, about 1,5 kilograms

300 grams of good bacon

1 large onion

5 cloves of garlic

25 centiliters of white wine

30 centiliters of chicken or veal stock

Some rosemary

3 bay leaves

Olive oil (or another kind of oil, no matter) and butter.

In butter and olive oil (25 grams of butter and 5 tablespoon of olive oil), let brown on a low fire onion and garlic.

When they are transparent, add pork, on a medium fire and make it brown too, for severals minutes on each side.

Then, take it out of the pan and let brown bacon.

Pour wine, stock, rosemary and bay leaves.

Add pork and let t cook for one hour, on a low fore, turning it time to time.