Lemon Scented Crepes With Mascarpone Whipped Cream and Chambord Soaked Raspberries

This is a terrific Brunch! Light, lemony...perfect for Valentines Day!

So let's not delay- sweets for the Sweet!

I altered Wini Moranville's Master Crepe recipe (for the crepe portion) found in The Bonne Femme Cook Book:

For Crepes:

3/4 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted, plus additional butter to the pan

Pinch of Salt

1 tsp lemon zest

For Mascarpone Creme:

8 oz Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Raspberries:

1 Tbsp Chambord or other raspberry liqueur

1/2 pint of fresh or frozen raspberries

To Make Crepes:

Combine milk, water, eggs, flour, sugar, melted butter and salt in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Pour through strainer into a medium bowl. Gently fold in lemon zest. Refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

After the batter has rested, remove from fridge and stir gently to combine. 

Heat a crepe pan or small skillet over medium heat. Brush pan with butter and pour 1/4 cup batter into the center of a hot pan. Swirl to spread the batter out into a thin layer. Return pan to heat and allow to cook until edges become lacy and the crepe dries - 1 to 2 minutes depending on how hot the pan is. Using a thin pancake turner or spatula, flip crepe and cook for about 30 seconds more.

Stack on plate and keep warm. You might need a bit of parchment or wax paper in between crepe layers.

To Make Mascarpone Whipped Cream:

In a medium bowl combine combine cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla and set aside.

In another bowl, beat whipped cream until still peaks form. Do not over beat as it will curdle. 

Fold whipped cream into the cheese mixture a little at a time until well combined. Whip again slightly to add a little more air.

To make Raspberries:

Pour Chambord over raspberries and stir. Let sit for 5 to 30 minutes stirring occasionally to ensure all the liquid is absorbed.

To assemble:

Take a crepe and spread enough whipping cream to cover half of the crepe in a thin even layer. Fold crepe in half and then in half again to form a triangle.

Pipe a bit more whipped cream on the top of the crepe and cover with raspberries.

 

And there you have it! 

Enjoy a slightly sweet treat with your Sweetie!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Orange-Walnut Pancakes & Portabella Baked Eggs

This was a beautiful and easy brunch!

I loved the pancakes, but the mushroom was something really special!

I think if you had a brunch for a crowd these mushrooms would be ideal.

Portabella with baked egg, Orange-Walnut Pancakes and a Bloody Mary.

For the Pancakes...Here's what you need:

1 1/4 cup flour (sifted)

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg separated

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp sugar

pinch of salt

1 cup milk

3 Tbsp melted butter (plus a bit more for frying)

handful of chopped walnuts

1 Tbsp orange zest

2 Tbsp fresh orange juice

Here's what you do...

Mix flour, powder, sugar, egg yolk, milk vanilla, salt, butter, orange zest and juice together until well combined, but still has lumps.

Beat egg white until stiff peaks form. 

Fold egg white into pancake batter

Let the mix rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Now add the walnuts. 

Heat your pan or griddle and cook scant 1/4 cup batter (per pancake) for about 2 minutes (until bubbles appear) on one side and another 30 sec to 1 minute on the other until set.

These have a very light orange flavor with the hearty walnuts in each bite- YUM!

Now to the Mushrooms!

Here's what you need:

Large Portabella Mushroom caps

garlic powder

salt

pepper

eggs

Parmesan Cheese

parsley

Here's what you do:

Preheat broiler to high.

Spray mushrooms with either olive oil or butter flavored cooking spray. Sprinkler garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Broil mushrooms until tender- about 5 minutes on each side.

Oh my the delightful smell...

Remove mushrooms from oven. Switch oven to Bake and set at 400 degrees. 

Break one egg into each mushroom and sprinkle with desired amount of Parmesan Cheese. 

Return to oven and bake for about 15 minutes, or until egg is set and whites are cooked.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle with parsley for a fresh, pretty plate.

This is so pretty and delicious!

Happy Brunching Everyone!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Happy 2nd Birthday La Bonne Vie!

So I guess I took a sabbatical. I traveled a bit, cooked a little, tried a lot of different foods, wines and cocktails. It was good. I needed some time to rest and reflect.

I love that today is La Bonne Vie 2nd Birthday...and that this is the first blog back from a short break.

Today, I just want to take time to remember.
I want to remember Mason. I want to remember why I began cooking and logging it all into this diary in the first place. I want to remember my favorite pictures and foods. 

And I want to celebrate it!

Mason & How It All began...

Mason...

I lost my dear friend, Linda H. Mason in May 2014. You will see me refer to her throughout this blog as Mason. 

The loss is tremendous.

And Thus It Began...

So what did I do...I began to cook! 

Mason and I loved food! Mason had a few standby recipes...a cheese ball, cornbread...oh- and a fudge recipe that was out of this world!!! Other than that, she really didn't enjoy cooking. But we loved eating what I cooked. I thought: I should begin cooking, creating, and exploring as a way to heal through the loss of my friend.

She always encouraged me in my writing too. I would often take my work to her home and read my manuscripts to her.
Why not combine these two things...the cooking and the writing?

Mason also loved anything French. I love French food. One of my favorite movies is Ratatouille- a movie (set in France) about a rat who becomes a chef. (I named my cat after the main character, "Remy"!)

It was coming together: Mason lived "the good life"- "la bonne vie". She had many friendships, cooked, ate, enjoyed the company of others...enjoyed French stuff...

Yes- that's what I would do! I would begin a blog to diary recipes, tastes, smells, and adventures that remind me that:

life is good. 

It doesn't have to be stuffy food, or expensive food, or require super-skills in the kitchen...just easy, creative, fun, "catching up over a good meal" kinds of dishes. We humans often connect over a good meal. Mason and I always did our best "catching up" over a lunch or dinner.

So join me, won't you? Join me on an eating, drinking, cooking journey to explore the good life...the way Mason would- over a good meal!

Favorite Pictures and Food...

One of my first pics and one of my first food blogs!

The famous fig tarts from Christmas! Also the cover of my Facebook page.

You know I love Halloween!!! This one was especially fun!!!

Probably my most favorite blog I have ever written, and it had almost nothing to do with food.
If you haven't read it, it is called We Are Stewards. This picture was featured in that blog post.

Awesome Asparagus Tart!

Loved my Kitchen Decor this past Christmas.

Naughty Nog with Peppermint Rim.

Food and Wine Festival in Disney World this year!

Merry Mice!

Dennis' favorite meal from this year: Pumpkin Risotto!!!

Savory pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Sour Cream.

The most adorable Turkey Cheese Ball Ever!!!

It's been a good year! 

As I look back and remember, I'm filled with joy all over again.

I remember the verse that has given me so much hope:  "What, what would have become of me had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living!" 

Ps. 27:13 AMP

So now, I invite you to celebrate with me! What goodness have you seen in your life over the past year? 

Now- Celebrate it!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Lemon Cream & Strawberry Crepes

I love crepes.

Making crepes has taught me so much. I've learned technique...how my stove cooks...how long to let the pan heat...the sound the butter makes when the pan is ready for the batter...how to swirl, flip, and slide it on to a plate. I've learned to embrace my crashed crepes...you know, usually the first of the batch that tear, fold, crash into a mess in the pan. 

You don't rush crepes. You practice crepes.

Once you get in a rhythm, crepe making is peaceful. It's rather methodical. I find that I look for reasons to make crepes. 

This particular crepe recipe is filled with something sweet. 

I use the La Bonne Femme Master Crepe Recipe for these, but you can use your favorite store bought or tried and true recipe. I found the filling recipe on Pinterest (Love Bakes Good Cakes).

Here's what you need for this super easy, ultra delicious recipe:

1/2 cup lemon curd

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 pint strawberries- chopped

Here's how to make it:

Make crepes according to La Bonne Femme (or favorite) recipe. Beat curd and cream on high for 3-5 minutes.

Oh my! I heart lemon curd!!! It was actually the filling in our wedding cake.

So- then you spread the lemon cream mixture along the bottom of the crepe. Top with strawberries.

Then just roll them up, drizzle a little more cream, top with strawberries, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Voilà! Lemon-Strawberry-Crepey Goodness!!!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Greek Quinoa Salad- Quick. Easy. Greek.

I love Greek Food!

Olives, cucumbers, tomatoes, feta...a little tang, a little spice, a little creamy from the olive oil or yogurt...it's just delightful!

On one particularly sunny day, I made this Greek Quinoa Salad. It was light, refreshing...and very Greek!

Oh look- its our Uncorked wine glass in the background!
Uncorked is an event supporting our local symphony and opera.
The Hubs and I attended Uncorked last year. Mason and I used to go to the opera,
so it was a nice way to remember and honor her.

I found this recipe on Pinterest. I love all of the fresh herbs and produce in this dish. It would be perfect on a hot day!

Lemons!

So here is what you need:

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 cup diced tomatoes (I used halved cherry tomatoes)

1 cup diced cucumber (peeled and seeded)

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 tsp fresh chopped mint

1 tsp fresh chopped parsley

1 tsp fresh dill

juice of 2 lemons (3-4 Tbsp)

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

coarse salt and fresh black pepper to taste

*I added cooked shrimp to mine to increase the protein.

What you need to do:

Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Allow to cool.

Mix everything together in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours for flavors to mesh.

That's it! Really- that is it. 

You will be amazed by the wonderful flavor in this dish. And all you do is cut, cook, cool, mix!

Look at all of that fresh goodness!!!

There you have it. Quick, Easy, Greek.

La Bonne Vie Y'all!

Spring Brunch!

Not only was this beautiful, but it was easy and so, very delicious!

We had this Pre-Easter Brunch last week when all the grocery stores had bunches of fresh asparagus. Hooray! 

These pretty green veggies match tangy Gruyere perfectly! We served this tart with fresh herb crepes, creme fraiche (actually we used sour cream, because it is what we had on hand), and caviar.

My stars- this was delicious!

Asparagus - Gruyere Tart

(I adapted this one from the Hip Foodie Mom blog.)

Here's what you need:

1 sheet of puff pastry

1 bunch thick stock asparagus

Dijon (or Honey Dijon) mustard

1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere

good olive oil or truffle oil

balsamic vinegar

freshly ground sea salt and pepper

Here's what you do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll out the puff pastry on parchment and lightly score a 1" boarder around the edge. Prick the puff pastry, then bake for 15 minutes.

Brush Dijon or Honey-Dijon mustard on the puff pastry (except the boarder). 

Sprinkle Gruyere on top of the mustard.

Place asparagus over the cheese alternating tips and ends.

Brush asparagus with oil.

I used this wonderful white truffle oil from Olive Chattanooga.

Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Cool; then drizzle with good balsamic vinegar.

Fresh Herb Crepes with Creme Fraiche and Caviar

(I used my tried and true La Bonne Femme Cookbook for the crepe recipe. I just added herbs to the Master Crepe Recipe in cookbook.)

Here's what you need:

3/4 cup 2% or whole milk

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 Tbsp melted butter

pinch of salt

mix of fresh chopped herbs (whatever you have on hand)

extra butter for the pan

caviar (your favorite)

creme fraiche or sour cream

Here's what you do:

Place the first 6 ingredients in a blender to combine. Scrap side once and finish blending.

Pour through a sieve to remove any lumps and store in fridge for 1 hour to overnight.

Add the herbs to the batter and gently stir until just combined.

Heat pan over medium heat. Add butter and then a scant 1/4 cup to the pan, turning pan until well spread across the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until edges are dry and slightly golden. Flip and continue cooking for 30 seconds. Remove to a plate and keep warm.

Get the creme fraiche (or sour cream) and caviar ready!

Now it's time to serve this delectable brunch!!!!

Using a pizza cutter, slice the asparagus tart into small rectangular servings. 

Fold the crepes into small triangles, top with creme fraiche, and caviar.

We served ours with a very dry Blanc De Blanc- delicious!

This was so flavorful! And easy!

It was so delicious. I think we will have to make it again soon.

Happy Brunching!

La Bonne Vie Y'all!