à table !

For the past three years, I've been learning to cook à la française. Mostly thanks to Philipp's mother, Monique, who is an incredible cook. She would have liked to have her own restaurant, but is content preparing tasty meals for her friends and family. She makes it seem so easy -- even when there are 10 ... 15 ... 20 people! Sometimes I ask her how she's prepared a certain dish, but usually I just pay attention to what she prepares and her way of arranging things on a plate. I've learned that it doesn't take much effort to make a dish look really special, just by paying attention to the details.

I want to share a really easy but delicious recipe that I got from Monique, but originally from one of Philipp's sisters. (all the women in the family are fantastic cooks!) It's perfect for an evening when you don't have the energy to do much, but you still want to make something nice. You can even impress guests with it, even though it's simple. (and get to enjoy your time with them while it's in the oven!)


Flaky Salmon Roll

refrigerated pie crust or puff pastry
sour cream
shredded cheese
smoked salmon (or vegetables, or pieces of ham, bacon, etc.)
salt, pepper

Unroll the pastry and spread on the sour cream. Sprinkle on some shredded cheese, then layer on the salmon or other ingredient of your choice. Sprinkle on some more cheese and some salt and pepper. Roll the pastry in on two sides, like an ancient scroll. (how else can I describe it?) :) Bake it in an oven, at the temperature suggested on the pastry package. You'll be able to tell when it's done, but usually not less than 30 minutes. Serve with a fresh green salad.

Here's a picture of the Flaky Salmon Roll I made Monday night. I used only part of the pastry, because I also wanted to make a dessert (see below). I still had a little extra dough, so I made a little fish to put on top of the roll.






We had three sad looking apricots that had spent a few days too many in our fridge's vegetable drawer. I don't have a high threshold for eating "old food", but I didn't want to throw them out. So I took part of the pastry for the Flaky Salmon Roll, and made a mini apricot tart. It was super-easy.




Melt some butter in the bottom of the pan, then spread the pastry dough out. Chop the apricots, and mix them with some honey. Pour the apricot-honey mixture onto the dough, and sprinkle some chopped pistachios on top. (I still had some extra dough, so I made a little heart.) Bake alongside the flaky salmon roll.




You may have noticed that I don't give any measurements, because usually I just wing it. It's been a learning experience, when I do use recipes, because all the measurements are in metric. But I'm getting better.

If you decide to try either of these recipes, enjoy ... and please leave a comment! I'd like to know how you adapt the recipes to your tastes.

Bon apétit!