Welcome back!  Today, we have a very iconic dish from England: Shepherd's Pie! Despite the name "shepherd's pie", it's not always made with lamb, as the dish originated as just "cottage pie", which applied to both beef and lamb. The "pie" comes from the crust of mashed potatoes, which sometimes is just at the top (like we did) or all around the meat, like an actual pie crust. Overall, it's a great dish that, although a bit complicated in the different parts, is totally worth making! Shepherd's Pie Makes about 4 servings Ingredients: Filling: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup) 1 pound ground beef/lamb 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley 1 teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary 1 teaspoon thyme 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons tomato paste 1/2 cup red wine 1/2 cup beef broth 1 1/2 cup mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas) Salt and pepper to taste Mashed Potato...

Welcome back!  Today, we have instructions for a cooking essential: Brown Butter. This is used very commonly in baking, especially with cookies and cakes, but can also be used elsewhere to get that aromatic, nutty flavor that is a lot deeper than normal butter. Plus, this recipe also encompasses preparing clarified butter, which is good for recipes like this  Dover Sole . Brown Butter Makes about 80 grams Ingredients: 1 stick butter (8 tablespoons or 110 grams) Directions: Put the butter in a pot on the stove at small heat. You can cut it to speed things up. Once the butter is covered in very little bubbles but the milk solids at the bottom have not browned, you have clarified butter . At this point, the water has evaporated and the milk solids are at the bottom, so what's left in the middle is your clarified butter. Once the melted butter is light brown and starts to have a nutty flavor, but before the milk solids start burning, you have brown butter! Take the pot off the sto...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an interesting French cake: Financiers! Financiers have a couple of origins; some say it comes form the traditional gold bar-shape of the cake while others say it was popular among the financiers  in Paris who worked what could be considered the French version of Wall Street. Whichever it is, there is no doubt about the interesting texture of this recipe! It's typically a little hard on the outside but soft and light on the inside. It also seems to harden when you chill it, changing the consistency considerably. It's something that really needs to be experiment with to find the perfect version! Financiers Makes 9 financiers (we have a Lekue 9-cavity mold) Ingredients: 60 grams powdered sugar 30 grams almond flour 30 grams cake flour 1/8 teaspoon baking powder 2 large egg whites (about 60-65 grams) 50 grams brown butter (this is essential for getting a good flavor) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon honey Directions: Beat the egg whites a little so tha...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a classic: Apple Pie? Not quite the American dessert, this is a French style apple tart that is actually much different from your standard apple pie. It consists of a custardy filling known as pastry cream, used in cream puffs (though we added more flour to make it thicker so it doesn't fall apart as a pie) and the like, and a layer of apples on top. You could substitute the apples for other fruits like peaches or pears, but apple is the classic way to go.  Apple Tart with Creme Patissiere Makes a 10" tart Ingredients: Crust: One Basic Pie Crust You could use an Almond Flour Pie Crust if you wanted. Filling 2 cups milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cake flour 2 tablespoons corn starch 4 egg yolks 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean 2 apples, thinly sliced Juice from 1 lemon Directions: Add pie weights and pre-bake the crust at 375°F for 20 minutes. Don't forget to poke some holes into the crust! Prepare the filling: T...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious roast chicken recipe! This gets you one whole roasted chicken, which is great for multiple meals. This type of preparation is known as "butterfly" chicken because you're pressing the chicken into a butterfly shape by taking out the backbone. This is handy because it cooks faster than a normal whole chicken as it's thinner and the surface area is larger. Plus, we cook it with a nice, tangy sauce. Roast Butterfly Chicken Ingredients: 1 chicken (about 4 pounds) 1 lemon 1 onion Herbs like thyme, rosemary, oregano, and pepper flakes Salt and pepper Olive oil/butter 1/4 cup white wine (optional) Directions: Remove the backbone from the chicken with poultry shears. Turn the chicken around and press down to flatten it. Put it in a baking/roast pan. Spread the olive oil/butter, herbs, salt, and pepper on top of the chicken. Cut the onion and lemon into chunks/wedges and place them in the dish around/under the chicken to give it some fl...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another delicious fruity tart, this time with pear! This tart uses a frangipane  for the filling, which is an almond custard that's sweet and nutty. It's used notably in king cake, eaten during Epiphany and Mardi Gras. This specific tart is also known as tarte bourdaloue , named after the cafe where it was first made, likely with this iconic design. French Pear Tart Makes a 10" tart Ingredients: 1 pie crust (you can also use an almond flour crust ) 1/2 cup butter, softened 60 grams (1/2 cup) confectioner's sugar 2 eggs 1 cup (110 grams) almond flour 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 tablespoon dark rum 3 Bartlett or Anjou Pear, ripe but still firm Juice from 1 lemon Directions: Bake your pie crust at 375° for 20 minutes with pie weights. In a bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the butter and sugar together. Crack in one egg at a time and mix. Add in the vanilla extract and rum and mix. Add in the almond flour and flour. Onc...

Welcome back! Today, we have a delicious pot pie recipe! This type of dish has a long history all the way back to Romans, who cooked meat in a similar manner: in a pastry shell. It's come a long way since then, and is now known popularly in the US as pot pie! Chicken appears to be the most common meat put in the dish, but you really can put anything you like; same goes with the vegetables, you really can mix and match with whatever you have in your pantry/fridge. Chicken Pot Pie Makes 4 pot pies Ingredients: 1 whole cooked chicken breast, diced (about 2 cups) 3 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 stalk celery, diced 3 tablespoons flour 2 small carrots, diced (about 2/3 cup) 1 medium russet potato, diced (about 2 cups) 1/2 cup corn 1/2 cup frozen peas 1 1/2 cup broth 1/2 cup heavy cream Salt and pepper to taste Herbs like fresh thyme (optional) 1 egg for egg wash 1 puff pastry Directions: Steam the carrots and potatoes in advance so they...