Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

It is never to soon to plan a trip.  As you probably know we will be leaving soon on a motorcycle tour of Alaska.  This is David’s dream trip.  Paris is mine.  So I have been researching places to stay in Paris for June of 2012.  I found the perfect apartment in the 7th Arrondissement five minutes away from the Eiffel Tower and steps from Rue Cler, the famous market street.  It is on a quiet residential street and has a king size bed in the separate bedroom, both a tub and shower, a lovely living room furnished in Brittany antiques, and a full compliment of books (in English), CDs, DVDs, etc.  But this is what I really liked.  The kitchen is complete with a new stove with rotisserie oven.  I have found that most apartments for rent in Paris have only a microwave and a 2 burner hob.  It is also less expensive than staying in a hotel.  I am booking it today.  In celebration of my great find, last night I made Ina Garten’s Lemon Chicken with Croutons from her Barefoot in Paris cookbook.

All over Paris you can find rotisserie chickens.  The drippings from the roasting birds baste sourdough croutons beneath them.  Following Ina’s directions,  I sauteed sourdough bread cubes and put them on my serving platter.

I roasted my chicken.

I felt like I needed more pan juices to pour over the chicken and croutons so I added a can of chicken broth to the pan drippings.

And dinner was served.

You can find the recipe for Lemon Chicken with Croutons here.

The weather cleared yesterday for the most delightful day.  As I mentioned in my previous post, Jane of Blondies Journals and her husband are vacationing in Asheville this week.  Penny of  The Comforts of Home and I got together with her for lunch on Wednesday and all of us got together yesterday at Lake Lure for brunch.  The menu included items that I have posted before.

Here I am preparing the Mexican Benedicts.

You can find the recipe here.  We also had Potato, Tomato and Rosemary Gratin,  Tropical Fruit Salad and Apple Bread.

David served Mimosa’s and Bloody Marys.  Jane and Alan know our home town well because their cottage is on a lake a few miles from where David and I grew up.

The day was cool but pleasant.  Captain David loves to share the lake and it’s history with everyone.  Does anyone look bored yet?

This is the reason I enjoy blogging so much.  Without having my blog I never would have met Penny and Jane.  We had a wonderful day together.  Our husbands are pretty special too.

Thanks Penny for the pictures.  I didn’t get my camera out once.

This has been a busy time for us.  David will be leaving on his motorcycle ride to Alaska at the end of the month.  I will be flying to Anchorage on June 9th to ride along with him.  He has been outfitting the bike for the last few months, so we decided that we needed to take a test ride to see if all of our gear and the two of us would fit.  We went with our riding friends Ron and Jackie on a weekend trip along The Blue Ridge Parkway.  I think we have worked out most of the kinks. It’s the human kinks we can’t work out.   It’s a shame that we can’t also give ourselves younger bodies that would allow us to get on and off the bike with ease and allow us to ride for hours without aches and pains.  I am also trying to figure out how to pack everything I will need in two soft saddle bags. I will be away for three weeks.   It’s not easy even though we are shipping my riding gear and helmet to our first hotel in Anchorage.

We spent the night at a quaint inn just off the parkway in Little Switzerland.  The Alpine Inn is run by Susan and Ron. Susan serves a delightful light breakfast in the morning.  She makes many varieties of sweet breads and she shared this apple bread recipe with me.  Each room at the inn has a panoramic view of the mountains from it’s balcony.  Breathtaking.

I baked this apple bread once already.  It is in the oven again.  The first time I made it, it did not cook enough and the middle was still soft.  The recipe says to cook it for 45 minutes but mine took 1 hour.  Be sure to test the center with a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.  The flavor of the bread is wonderful.  That is why I am making it again.  Tomorrow I am having a brunch for a visiting blogger,  Jane of Blondies Journal and my good buddy Penny from The Comforts of Home.  Jane and her husband are vacationing in Asheville.  Yesterday Penny (who lives in Asheville) and I had lunch with Jane at a restaurant in the downtown area.  It is always so much fun to put a face and personality to the wonderful bloggers that you love to read.  Since Jane and her husband have a summer place on a lake in Michigan, I thought it would be fun to show them Lake Lure.  We will all have brunch and then go for a boat ride around the lake.  Here we are at lunch yesterday.

I will try to take more pictures tomorrow.  But in the meantime, you can enjoy this bread along with us.

APPLE BREAD

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups self rising flour
1/8 cup buttermilk
2 cups chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter a loaf pan.  Cream sugar and butter until smooth.  Add other ingredients except apples.  Mix well.  Fold in apples.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Printable recipe

I know I was on a roll with my Provencal dinner, but until I actually prepare the whole meal for the recipients of my donation of a meal for six, I will defer from posting the recipes.  The most heartwarming response from all of my blogging buddies on the clafoutis has me reeling.  You are all wonderful people.  Susan of Schnitzel and the Trout alerted me to a recipe for clafoutis that she prepared from Barbara’s blog Moveable Feast.  Barbara then commented to let me know about the recipe.  The beauty of it is that it can be prepared ahead of time.  Racheld of Lawn Tea gave me great tips on assembling the clafoutis in the winner’s home when I deliver the dinner.  I will be preparing Barbara and Susan’s recipe soon to see how I do.  All of you are very supportive.  Thank you.

Now on to Big Bang Chicken.  Doesn’t that name grab you?  I do not know the origin of the name.  Maybe it came about because you get a “big bang” for your buck with this.  It is a great company dish for very little money.  The recipe was in The Fresh Market & Friends Cookbook;  A 25th anniversay publication.  The Fresh Market now has more than 70 stores in 15 States.

To give you some background, a couple of weeks ago I went to The Fresh Market in Hendersonville.  The Fresh Market and I have a long history.  The very first Fresh Market was started in Greensboro, NC where David and I lived for many years.  The year was 1982 and this innovative food store had just opened.  Imagine my delight in walking into a grocery store illuminated by soft lights with classical music playing in the background and artfully arranged vegetables and flowers filling my eyes.  There were bins of specialty grains and a whole section for gourmet jelly beans.  The smell of coffee was in the air and samples were available for sipping.  The deli displayed wondrous plump rotisserie chickens and the bakery looked like something out of a Paris Patisserie.  I was in love.  A weekly visit to The Fresh Market became a routine.

When we moved to the North Carolina Mountains I was happy to see that The Fresh Market had preceded us to the area  I visit the Hendersonville location at least once a month.  I saw their cookbook on my last visit and knew that I had to have it.  Many of the recipes in it are from people from Greensboro and each of the recipes underwent a thorough vetting to determine it’s goodness before being  included.

This chicken casserole is very easy to assemble and has a special kick of flavor from the marinated artichoke hearts and the sherry and fresh herbs.  Served with rice, crusty bread and a salad, you can’t go wrong.

BIG BANG CHICKEN

3 tablespoons olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
all-purpose flour
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, sliced
2 (6 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, with juices
2 (15 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, with juices
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sherry
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.  Dridege chicken in flour then place in pan and brown for 10 minutes.  Add Garlic and bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.  Add artichoke hearts, stewed tomatoes and mushrooms; remove from heat and place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Cover and bake 30 minutes.  Remove from oven, add sherry, fresh herbs and spices then bake an additional 30 minutes uncovered.

Printable recipe

I am working on this one.  How hard can it be to cook a simple cherry pudding that has it’s roots in the South of France?  It is important that I master this recipe because I have donated a Provencal dinner to a recipient at a local fundraiser held here in Lake Lure recently.  It was purchased during the silent auction part of the event.  Here is my menu.

The problem with a clafoutis is that it is best served straight from the oven.  We had this one for breakfast this morning.  After all, a clafoutis is nothing more than a baked pancake with fruit.  It puffs up beautifully, but deflates quickly.  My recipe needs adjustment and I need a larger (10-inch) quiche pan to make it cook properly.  The center of mine was not cooked.  Also the cherries ( I used frozen ) bled into the custard after a few hours.  So I am analyzing my recipe and trying to figure out a way to cook it at least an hour before I deliver it and still have it looking good and ready to be gently re-heated in the oven.  I will keep experimenting, because we loved this recipe.  Any suggestions would be welcomed.

CLAFOUTIS

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 to 16 ounce package frozen pitted sweet cherries
1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
4 eggs
small pinch of salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup Kirsch
extra confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease a shallow 10-inch porcelain oven dish with1/4 inch sides with 1 tablespoon of the butter.

Spread the cherries in a tight layer in the bottom of the dish.  In a mixing bowl whisk together the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the eggs and salt until well blended.  Sift in the flour, stirring at the same time with the whisk.  Whisk in the milk and kirsch.  Pour the mixture over the cherries.  Cut the remaining 1 tablespoon butter into shavings and scatter over the surface.  Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons confectioners’sugar.

Place in the oven and bake until the surface is golden, about 40 minutes (less in 10-inch pan).  Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar.  Serve lukewarm.

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