French Dinner

Haddock with Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine

I am exhausted. My body is struggling to adjust to my new schedule, which is really a lack of schedule. Some mornings I'm up early and at work, standing for up to 8 hours. Others I'm trying to sleep in because I was in class till 12:30 AM. And I'm busy like never before.

Believe it or not, I haven't cooked very much. I'm baking in school, and then eating simple lunches and dinners to fight weight gain that can be a hazard of my occupation. I'm also busy reading Julia Child's book, "My Life in France", and she describes in such detail the food that she eats and cooks. It makes me hungry. All week I've just wanted some time to cook a nice meal and use my new crepe pan.

I invited Leah and Hong to join me last evening after I got off work to cook a "French dinner". I received a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and have barely cracked it open. Leah and I leafed through the recipes looking for ideas. We settled on a white fish is a lemon butter caper sauce, (a little improvised and not really a recipe from the book) and the Gateau de Crepes a la Florentine, or Mound of French Pancakes Filled with Cream Cheese, Spinach and Mushrooms.

It was quite the undertaking. Leah and Hong cooked up the crepes while I prepared the fish. The crepes turned out beautiful and we set a few aside to have with jam and Nutella, while we finished the crepe gateau extrodinaire. Although quite labor intensive, it was amazingly rich and delicious and worth all the effort. I had a reheated slice for breakfast this morning and I think it tasted even better (if possible) after resting overnight. My photos don't do the gateau justice.

Leah making crepes

Leah's lovely crepes

My fish dish

On a side note: I suffered my first cut from my chefs knife last night. I'm a little embarrassed. I used that knife to skin the fillets of Haddock, and beautifully minced up the shallots for the gateau. It wasn't until I went to brush the pieces of minced shallot from the blade, that I got careless and brushed at a bad angle, and sliced a thin flap of skin from the inside of my index finger on my left hand. Wow that knife is sharp, and shallot juice in a cut stings! Thankfully it was minor, only bled a little and a little rubbing alcohol and bandage fixed it right up.

This coming week I'm working a lot, and of course more school. My posting may be a little delayed due to working and going to school on both Monday and Tuesday. (More sleep deprivation here I come. This was a lot easier when I was 20). I also hope to continue trying recipes from my new cook book along with trying some baking on my own at home. Stay tuned.