Ingredients

2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
sliced bread

Directions

Mix eggs, milk, then flour. Dip bread and fry at medium heat both sides (until golden brown). Sprinkle sugar on top.

There really isn’t much of a trick to making good French bread, at least not with respect to ingredients. The technique is not particularly difficult either, though it takes at least a little practice to do well:

Ingredients
———–
1/2 plus 2 cups warm (about 100-110F) water
Approximately 7 cups of flour (bread flour is best, but A.P. will do
in a pinch)
1 tablespoon salt
2 packages active dry yeast

Directions
———-

1. Empty yeast into 1/2c. warm water and stir to dissolve the yeast. The water must be warm but not too warm, as this will kill the yeast. Let the mixture stand briefly. Some bubbles should be noted, indicating that the yeast is good.

2. Add to the yeast mixture 2 additional cups of water and 1 tablespoon salt and 2 cups of flour. Stir into a relatively smooth batter.

3. Add to the mixture 4 additional cups of flour and stir until it becomes very difficult to stir the mixture. Turn out the dough onto a
clean, floured surface.

4. Knead the dough until it is free of lumps, rather elastic, and almost satiny in appearance. During this process, it will be necessary
to add more flour, perhaps 1 or 1.5 cups or a bit more, depending on how damp the flour is. Enough flour has been added when the dough has only a hint or almost no stickiness. Too much flour will make the bread rather tough. Form the dough into a ball and place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to oil all surfaces. Place a damp towel over the bowl.

5. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes. After rising, punch down the dough and return to bowl and recover.

6. Allow dough to rise until again doubled, about 1 hour. Punch down dough and divide into two equal pieces. Form each piece into a long, thin loaf (this recipe makes two quite large loaves, or you can divide the dough into more pieces and make small baguettes, suitable for sandwiches). I find that it is easiest to form the loaves by taking a piece of dough in both hands and stretching it out by pulling and slapping the dough against the work surface. The dough will be quite elastic – you need to be assertive with it when forming loaves. Place the loaves upside down on a baking sheet or a stone. Some people say to grease the baking sheet or cover it with cornmeal, but I have found that the lubrication is not needed and that the cornmeal tends to burn.

7. Place a damp towel over the loaves and let them rise for perhaps 20 minutes, until almost doubled. While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 375F. I find that it is handy to use an oven thermometer, as ovens vary substantially in temperature.

8. After rising, place the loaves into the oven. The loaves need to bake for about 40 minutes. During the first 20 minutes, spraying the
loaves with water (from a plant mister, for instance) every few minutes will improve the quality of the crust.

9. Remove loaves from oven. Turn the loaves over and rap the bottoms gently. They should sound rather hollow. If not, they are probably underdone and should be baked a bit longer. Enjoy this bread soon after baking (the same day, preferably) as it goes stale rather quickly. Note that, once it is stale, it still makes great garlic bread.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

2 eels (3 1/3 pounds)
6 ounces butter
½ cup oil
2 lemons juice
1 table spoon brandy
1 bottle “côtes-du-Rhône”
9 ounces small mushroom
3 onions
24 small onions
3 shallots
1 bouquet garni
1 big glove of garlic (crushed)
1 table spoon sugar

Directions

Skin, gut, wash and cut the eels into sections. Put these pieces in a terrine and soak 2 hours in lemon juice.
Peel and wash the mushrooms. Peel the shallots and the onions. Chop separately the shallots and the big onions.

Steam the onion and 2 ounces butter. Add the drained and dried pieces of eels. Add garlic and shallots. Brown lightly in a large frying pan.

Warm softly the wine with the bouquet garni in a pan.

Baste the eels with the brandy and flame. Add the boiling wine. Salt and pepper. Cover and cook ½ hour.

Put the small onions, 1 ounce butter and sugar in a pan and cover with water. Cook until complete evaporation.

Cook slowly the mushrooms with an ounce of butter and lemon juice..

Drain the eels and keep them warm. Reduce (2/3) the cooking juice and filter it in a conical strainer. Thicken with butter and flour. Add 2 ounces butter. Whip. Add the mushrooms, the frosted onions. Pour this sauce on the eels.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

1 small pumpkin (4 ½ pounds)
7 ounces fresh thick cream
2 cups poultry broth
salt, pepper, nutmeg
10 croûtons
chervil

Directions

Cut a hat in the pumpkin. “Dig” the pumpkin carefully – you mustn’t make a hole in the skin. Remove the stringy parts and the seeds. Cut the pulp.
Steam 20 minutes the pieces of pumpkin.

Heat the chicken broth.

Purée the pulp and add progressively the boiling broth. Add the cream and well blend.

Season with pepper, salt and nutmeg.

Bring slowly to a boil.

Dice the croûtons.

Pout the soup in the pumpkin. Add croûtons and chervil.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

4 big onions
2 ounces butter
1/5 cup oil
1 ounces flour
1 bouquet garni
2 gloves of garlic
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup Madeira
3 egg yolks
3 1/2 Gruyere cheese, grated
1/2 long thin loaf of French bread

Directions

Peel and slice finely the onions. Peel and crush the garlic.
Brown the onion in heated butter and oil. Add flour.

Add white wine and reduce. Add 4 1/2 cups water. Salt, pepper. Add the bouquet garni and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook slowly an hour.

While the soup cooks, cut the bread. Dry the slices in the oven.

Mix the eggs and Madeira.

Withdraw the croûtons from the oven and increase the temperature (410°F). Put an ovenproof dish containing water in the oven.

When the soup is ready, remove the bouquet garni, add the eggs and mix quickly.

Pour the soup in bowls, add croûtons and cheese. Put the bowl in bain-marie in the oven. Cook 10 minutes.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

1 capon (about 5 pounds)
11 pounds cooking salt
1 truffle
juice of truffles

Directions

Pluck and gut the capon. Pepper the interior. Slice the truffle and put the slices under the skin. Pour the truffle juice in the capon.
Switch on the oven (maximum temperature).

Put a layer of salt (4 pounds) in a big stewpan. Put the capon on it and cover it completely with the rest of salt. Cover the pan.

Cook 1h45 and never open the oven.

When ready, turn out the salt shell and break it with a hammer.

(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients
2 heads butter lettuce or 2 quarts choice greens
1/4 cup each safflower oil and olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
Chévre or Brie

Directions
Tear the greens into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, whisk together the oils, vinegar, salt, pepper, mustard, and shallots. Place greens in a bowl and pour over dressing, and mix well. Serve with a plate of cheese.

Ingredients

makes 8 servings.

4 eggs
1 pint light cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup ham, cut in julienne pieces
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese
1 tablespoon butter
9-inch prebaked pastry shell

Preparation
Beat the eggs lightly and blend in the cream, salt, and nutmeg. Mix the ham and cheese and place in the baked pastry shell. Pour in the custard and dot with butter. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for 35 minutes or until slightly puffed and browned. Let cool five minutes, then cut in wedges.