Making a Great French Omelette Takes A Bit of Practice First Time Around

QlinArt's French Country Style Omelet vs Chef Jacques Pépin's French Country Style Omelet

Ok, right off the bat, my omelet obviously doesn't look esthetically appealing compared to Chef Jacques Pépin's perfect oval and creamy omelet on the right side of the picture.   However, since I like my omelet to be a little wet and creamy inside, just like Monsieur Pépin likes his, my omelet turned out amazingly rich and delicious with all the butter and fragrance from the chives.   As far as working on the presentation, I can fix that with continuous practice.   I haven't mastered the technique just yet, but I'm convinced that I will soon.  Chef Pépin was not joking when he said at the beginning of his video that making an omelet is quite difficult and that a simple dish like this one is not all it's cracked up to be.

In fact, the 'omelette with chives' that I made this morning was incredibly succulent that I couldn't help myself but to savour it all and not able to leave one bite for any of my loved ones.  How selfish of me, but, hey, when the others aren't present and there's a warm plate of good food waiting around, I ain't wasting it.  You can't eat an omelet after it's been refrigerated.   It needs to be eaten fresh!  Oh, and a little change I made to this omelet was to add a dash of fish sauce instead of salt.  Only Vietnameses would understand the reason of my doing so.  For most who have grown up with Vietnamese families, fish sauce in eggs is exquisite and it is very hard to go back to regular salt when it comes to cooking eggs.

I've included Chef Jacques Pépin's omelet making technique video just below in this post and the simple recipe for you to try out.  Let me know how yours turns out, I would love to hear from you!

Recipe of French Country-Style omelet by Jacques Pépin "au pif":

4 eggs beaten vigorously

pinch of salt

pinch of freshly ground pepper

chopped chives

butter

Follow the technique from the video! Would love to read your comments!

Bon appétit!

Long Weekend Brunch Prepared by Little Chef Serena

QlinArt is pleased to present talented little Chef Serena who was more than happy to prepare fluffy pancakes for this weekend's brunch. How could I say no to a little cook who wears her Chef's hat so well?

Thanksgiving weekend in Canada meant long days to feast and to enjoy the time off.  What better way to spend it than diving into life's simple pleasures ; eating great food with wonderful company.   The sun was shining, temperatures hitting the 20s celcius in October, and 3 days of indulgence in recreational sleep and cooking.

Eating fresh-from-the-oven croissants, fresh fruit and pancakes on a late Saturday morning was a good way to kick-start the well-deserved long weekend.   These lighter-than-air pancakes, also referred to as 'soufflé American-style pancakes' by renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay are so easy to make, that any 3 year old can prepare the batter from scratch and watch each ladle of it brown slowly on the griddle.     Watch little Serena, my friend Farah's daughter, prepare the batter nonchalantly as she was distracted by our happy 13 year old dog wagging his tail, 2 sleeping cats, and the movie Ratatouille all just a few feet away from her.

The recipe of the soufflé pancakes can be found here by just clicking on the picture below.

Enjoy the video and bon appétit!

Light and Fluffly Pancakes with Coconut and Caramelized Bananas

Wouldn't you agree that this picture shows a shameless breakfast dish, which one would indulge in without guilt or regret? These delectable American-style pancakes were the fluffiest, lightest and yet most sinful ones I've ever prepared. The bananas were smothered in a sweet syrupy and boozed up caramelized sauce, flambéed in rum. As a final touch, a sprinkle of unsweetened shredded coconut added crunchiness to this dessert-breakfast-lunch on a Sunday rainy afternoon.
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I may be one of the few who truly enjoys rainy and cold weekends for the sole consoling feeling that I can sleep in with the soothing sound of the trickling rain on the bedroom window. Once I'm awake, I only had a desire to make a meal that would only create guilty-pleasure. Isn't nice having those once in a while?

I made a good stack that early afternoon, and soon enough....they were all gone!

To make the fluffiest, tastiest and lightest pancakes.....follow this recipe:

Preparation time : 10 minutes, Cooking time : 10-15 minutes

Recipe 'au pif':
1) to make the batter:
150 g all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
3 eggs (separate the yolks from the whites)

75 ml water

125 ml milk
Oil to cook

Mix all ingredients from set 1) except for the egg whites to make the batter. Whisk vigorously until you obtain a smooth texture.

Using an electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until they've into a meringue, white and firm.

Slowly fold in the eggwhites into the batter gently with a spatula until well incorporated. Your mixture should be light and fluffy.

In a hot flat pan non-stick pan (brushed with a little oil) pour in a good ladle of batter and cook 1 minute each side. Repeat until you run out of batter.

2) To make bananas in caramelized sauce:
1/4 cup granulated sugar (or 1/2 that amount if using raw cane sugar)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp good quality rum
2 ripe bananas
a handful of unsweetened shredded coconut

In a hot pan, melt the sugar on high heat until the sugar turns into a liquid (but does not burn). Immediately add in the butter and swirl the butter around and stir sugar and butter with a spoon.

Add in the bananas and spoon the sauce over them.

Add in the rum, and flambé (optional - using a lit match just over the sauce).

add a little bit of water to lighten the sauce and remove the stickiness caused by the sugar.

Ladle some of the sauce again over the bananas.

Pour the bananas and sauce over the pancakes and sprinkle with shredded coconut.

Enjoy and serve with fruits, yogurt or a good cup of tea or coffee.

Makes 8 good sized pancakes.

France's Fig Tree Treats - Blueberry Scones

After welcoming a heap of snow since New Year's day, I couldn't pass the occasion to go outside of the city to get fresh air and tranquility. I just came back from a 3-day cross-country skiing trip in Rawdon - just about 40-50 minutes north of Montreal, with a couple of friends who own a cottage there. Right beside their cottage was a beautiful spa which was the perfect retreat after a full day of skiing. It was the ideal way to treat ourselves after a hectic year and busy holiday dinner parties. We had packed so much food with us since we had a little kitchenette to prepare our own meals. For the ski trails, I brought along at least a dozen of France's delicious blueberry scones. France is the young bakery-talented daughter of my colleague called Ron, and who just started introducing to our company her delicious baked goods under the name of Fig Tree. Her baked goods and homemade jams were a hit this past holiday. She peaked at the right time. People were buying her homemade goods to offer as gifts or simply to savour over breakfast or as a snack..

My personal favourites are her blueberry scones which are low in fat and sugar. Muffins and scones are sweet treats that I would rarely crave for because of their heaviness and highly sweet taste. I also find them usually dry and too big to finish in one sitting. France's scones, being low fat take away some of the feeling of heaviness, but they still do fill you up quickly. What I like most about them is their subtle sweet taste. She also makes mini sized scones which many of us found very practical to eat as a quick snack. These mini scones were perfect for our ski trip - easy to pack and the ideal size to snack on for a quick 5 minute break. They're also great to keep in your freezer if you want to save some for later.

I don't have the recipe of these tasty scones, but am going to try....;)

In the meantime, I've enclosed an excertp of the list of some of her best treats if ever you are interested in trying them out! You can contact France directly for more information.

Fig TreeGourmet Bakery Selections
Scones – All scones are baked fresh daily, with fresh ingredients. Freeze well… if they last. J
All scones can be made into minis, for the same price (16 instead of 8). Excellent for appetizers, or nibbling!

Contact:
France Liboiron
(514) 730-7185
FigTree.Organics@gmail.com
Serving Montreal and Ottawa

Yogurt Parfait - Healthy Breakfast Idea for Rush Mornings

Labour Day weekend just flew by. Summer vacations are nearly over for most of us. Kids are going back to school and we’re all dreading the early morning traffic jams, unless you work later shifts, like I used to a few months ago. Aaah, those were the days when I would just sleep in and wake up in full daylight and miss the morning and afternoon rush hour peaks. Now that I’m back to a regular 9 to 5 work schedule, I know that I’m going to have a hard time getting up early mornings in pitch darkness, thinking we’re still in the wee hours of night, now that days are getting shorter and temperatures are going to soon drop to a level where you just want to snuggle in your warm bed.

While this thought is going on in my head, I need to remind myself that “toute bonne chose a une fin”, all good things come to an end. We’re not there yet. I’m here, now, still enjoying the beautiful weather and savouring the succulent berries summer has left to offer. With the late blooming summer this year, Quebec strawberries and blueberries are still around and they’re perfect for a healthy breakfast that can be whipped up in minutes.

This yogurt parfait is made up of healthy combinations of fruits, nuts and most importantly, honey and cinnamon. The latter two ingredients are sworn by many to be beneficial to one’s health when eaten together. I discovered this while reading Aapplemint’s beautiful and inspiring blog.

Preparation: less than 5 minutes

Recipe “au pif”:Fresh local berries and fruits (anything you like and you can find; strawberries, blueberries, pomegranate, kiwis, bananas)
A handful of chopped nuts (almonds, pistachios, brazilian…)
A handful of cereal of your choice (bran, oats, rice krispies…)
A container (750g) of nice creamy mediterranean plain yogurt (or 2% yogurt will also do)
3 tbsp honey (or 2 tbsp raw can sugar), or to taste
2 tsp of cinnamon powder

The day before, you can prepare the nut-mix by chopping them, and the fruits (wash and cut them, if needed).

Also in advance, you can mix the cinnamon and honey with the yogurt. Mix well until well blended and desired sweetness is attained. Transfer the sweetened yogurt back into its container and chill until ready to serve with the toppings.

Fill small cups or bowls with dollops of the chilled yogurt. Top with berries, nuts and cereal. Add more honey or cinnamon if desired.

Serve and enjoy.

It’s a gratifying morning treat which can also be served as a refreshing dessert .

Staying Thin with Beer

It's a secret most Bretons in France have kept for generations. They consume beer and they stay thin. The crêpes, I mean.

That would be the day, wouldn't it, to drink as much beer as you'd like and not get a beer belly. Especially this time of year, it's hockey season and the Montreal Canadiens have made it to the playoffs. So, most guys AND gals in Montreal are cheerfully rooting for the Habs this year rallying every week either at the Bell Center for a live game or gathering at local sports bars to watch the game on the big plasma TVs, with a jug of beer. Quite intense. Having said that, I hope I'm not jinxing their chances of winning the cup this year. Go Habs Go!

So, moving along with the recipe which, by the way, is really good. It started when I tasted these amazing crêpes made by a friend of mine who is originally from the Republic of Cameroon but whose cooking influences are mainly French. Her crêpes were spongy and buttery. She mentioned that a touch of beer in the batter can make wonders to your crêpes. My eyebrow raised. Beer? First thought that popped in my mind was, what would that taste like? She told me the beer wouldn't alter the taste, but make the crêpes fluffier. Curious, I was looking for more information on the internet and cookbooks. To me, this was newly discovered information, but apparently it was a very well known tradition with the more established cooks and the French for years. Another friend of mine who is of French and Italian descent (we're a mix of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds here in Montreal) replied with enthusiasm "Of course! Beer makes crêpes fluffier and lighter", or "plus légère" as she explained more precisely.

It made sense, the yeast in the beer causes the batter to expand and form pockets or bubbles. When the batter is cooked it "sets" and the pockets remain, giving the crêpes a soft and spongy texture. Plus, the beer creates a thinner batter.

On weekends, I like to prepare the crêpe batter the night before, let it rest overnight and make a fresh batch in the morning.

See how thin and spongy they are...mmmh

Preparation : 5 minutes (let sit 1 hour or overnight), Cooking time: 30-40 minutes (depending on how quickly you get a handle on it)

Recipe "au pif":
2 cups all purpose flour (500g)
pinch of salt
6 eggs
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp Cointreau or Rum
2 cups (roughly 1 can of beer)
2 cups milk (1%)

1 tbsp brown sugar (optional)

1/4 melted butter and oil (half and half) for cooking
Put in flour in a big mixing bowl.

Make a small well in the center and add in the oil, Cointreau/Rum, eggs and sugar (optional).

Whisk until you reach a thick paste. Gradually add in the milk and the beer and whisk until you reach a light, velvety and silky texture.

Let it sit for an hour or overnight in fridge, covered.

Whisk again to blend all ingredients into a soft and silky batter.

Heat large skillet and grease it with about 1 tsp of butter-oil mix (I like using a silicone brush to grease the pan).

Ladle the batter and pour in hot skillet, starting with the center of the skillet and swivel the pan around until the pan is evenly covered with a thin layer of batter. Cook for 30 seconds. Flip over crêpe with spatula to cook other side for 30 seconds. Slide the crêpe out of the pan onto a serving plate. Repeat until you run out of batter.

Edges are even crispy...

Makes approx. 20 crêpes.

I usually cut the recipe in half to make about 10 crêpes for breakfast in the morning for 2-3 hungry people. Takes no more than 15 minutes to cook. Enjoy with more Cointreau, sugar, whipped cream, fresh berries, or just plain!

Scrambled Eggs Vietnamese style

Back in university, I would visit my cousin Lili in Ottawa one weekend and join her and her roomates for a huge brunch. As we were eating an omelette prepared by one of her roomates, my cousin and I looked at each other obviously having the same thought "is there any fish sauce around?". My cousin's roomates were looking at us obviously thinking "what are you talking about, eggs are eggs, what's the big deal guys?". The big deal is (and any vietnamese would agree with me), fish sauce makes an AMAZING difference in the taste of eggs, whether scrambled or in omelettes. It just adds that extra "umpf" flavour, and not a "fishy" one as most would anticipate. So as I was eating my breakfast-brunch this morning, I thought this was the perfect time to write about it and about how easy it is to prepare, like any other egg dish. Most of my friends of different ethnic backgound (Greek, Austrian, Colombian, French..) have just discovered this great combination and were amazed by the wonderful flavour fish sauce can bring to eggs. Mind you, scrambled eggs with fish sauce doesn't look any different from regular scrambled eggs western culture is used to, but do trust me on this, it tastes a million times better!

Recipe "au pif":
4 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
some ground black pepper
Some oil for cooking
Whisk eggs and fish sauce in a bowl and scramble in a hot pan. Remove from heat until firm and soft in texture(not too firm) and slightly runny. Keep scrambling and serve hot with bread and butter.

Serves 2.

Enjoy and let me know of your experience tasting these yummy eggs!

BBQ Brunch at my cousin Lili's

A Brunch is one of the easiest meals to prepare. Because it's a combination of two meals, you can throw in anything you want - particularly foods you enjoy eating for breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, my cousin and I both felt like having croissant with rillette de Mans. I feel rillettes are so much tastier than regular pâtés, as they have more fat content. As a result, they melt in your mouth. For the BBQ, we simply threw in some chicken wings, marinated in a bit of fish sauce (nuoc mam - in vietnamese) and lemon grass. Refreshing asian flavours bursted in our mouthes as we savoured the chicken wings. We had also put a couple of duck sausages on the grill. And what a surprise, my cousin bought these sausages at Costco. They were not too salty and very yummy. But this meal was not complete without a nice tossed salad made of Arugula (aka Roquette salad -has a nutty taste), bocconcini cheese, Boston lettuce and nice bright red plump flavourful tomatoes, accompanied by a very simple balsami / olive oil vinaigrette. What a wonderful way to spend your mid-day with someone who loves eating as much as I do! We toasted this meal with a nice glass of Perrier mixed with apple juice. Our version of apple cider (without the alcohol).

And of course, we couldn't end our fine meal without dessert! Two crème brûlées from a local pâtisserie, were slowly savoured til the last bite. And of course our excuse to eat more, we couldn't leave our Washington white cherries to waste. After all, their main purpose was to help us digest this amazing brunch. Simple and easy meal to put together, with a gourmet-satisfaction.