Soufflé magic with Daniel at On the Ridge

Over January, at On the Ridge, in Queensland, I enjoy working and planning menus for the year’s classes.  I love to cook a variety of  dishes, playing around with ingredients, just for fun. Soufflés are not new on the menu at Cooking on the Bay; there is usually a goat’s cheese soufflé in our French [...]

By |2016-12-07T19:32:42+11:00January 23rd, 2014|Desserts - fruit, French food, Fruit in season, Musings, Recipes|Comments Off on Soufflé magic with Daniel at On the Ridge

January at On the Ridge! Day dreaming of La Varenne

January is always a precious time for me. The cooking school is in recess and I spend the month at Kureelpa, Sunshine Coast, where On the Ridge Cooking School was created. It this idyllic place with wonderful valley views and further out to the Coral Sea, surrounded by peace and tranquillity, warmth and blue skies. [...]

By |2016-12-07T19:32:43+11:00January 23rd, 2014|Books and reading, Culinary Travel, Culinary writing, France, France and cooking, French food, Musings, Travel|Comments Off on January at On the Ridge! Day dreaming of La Varenne

We are now back in France, I am excited, but our last visit to France was not to be envied!

I love travelling in France; I love the food, wine, people, countryside, history and language, everything about it really. However, our last trip in June…was a test of my devotion. I constantly said to myself – I love France, I love being here! And I really do and did think that. But do not envy [...]

By |2015-02-19T14:36:54+11:00July 29th, 2013|Barging on the Betty B, Cheese, Food, France and cooking, French food, Musings, Truffles|Comments Off on We are now back in France, I am excited, but our last visit to France was not to be envied!

Tartiflette and Matthieu Megard’s Mountain Man cheese

Tartiflette is my current favourite winter potato dish. It is made with potato, onion, bacon and cheese gratin, perfect for wintry Sunday lunches. According to Julia Child there are hundreds of French potato recipes and Larousse Gastronomique lists 9 pages of potato dishes! This one is very special. I found this recipe, below, on the [...]

By |2016-12-07T19:32:50+11:00July 17th, 2013|Cheese, Cooking classes, France, French food, Potato dishes, Recipes, Travel|Comments Off on Tartiflette and Matthieu Megard’s Mountain Man cheese

A French Odyssey – Journey through France

We enjoyed wonderful French classes last week - a perfect time for French cooking with the exciting Tour de France travelling around the beautiful French countryside and Bastille Day, the French national day on the 14th August. Here are a few photos showing how we enjoyed the days cooking together .

By |2013-07-14T03:46:42+10:00July 14th, 2013|Cooking classes, Desserts - fruit, Food, French food, Musings|Comments Off on A French Odyssey – Journey through France

‘MFK Fisher among the pots and pans: celebrating her kitchens’

 'MFK Fisher among the pots and pans: celebrating her kitchens’, by Joan Reardon. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. It was Mary Francis who said ‘...all one needs to cook is a mortar and pestle and the full awareness of all your five senses...' This book was sent to me by my dear chef friend Cathy, [...]

By |2016-12-07T19:32:50+11:00April 3rd, 2013|Culinary writing, French food, Musings|Comments Off on ‘MFK Fisher among the pots and pans: celebrating her kitchens’

Fig and frangipane tart

Whilst visiting France in 2007, I attended the La Varenne Cooking School in Burgundy. The local 2 star Michelin chef, Patrick Gautier, spent a day cooking with us. Figs were in season and so he presented a regional favourite, this simple fig tart; it is light and delicious. I added the frangipane to the pastry [...]

By |2013-03-12T00:43:34+11:00March 12th, 2013|Desserts - fruit, Figs, French food, Fruit in season, Recipes|Comments Off on Fig and frangipane tart

Honey roasted fig clafoutis

A clafoutis is a dessert hailing from the Limousin region of France, in the north western part of the Massif central. The capital is Limoges. It is traditionally made with cherries, but may also be made with plums, pears, figs, apples or blackberries. It is simply a pancake batter poured over fruit in a fireproof [...]

By |2016-12-07T19:32:50+11:00March 12th, 2013|Desserts - fruit, Figs, French food, Fruit in season, Recipes|Comments Off on Honey roasted fig clafoutis
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