Another colourful dish. I love pasta.

This meal was improvised with a courgette, yellow pepper, tomatoes, a red anion that I fried in a pan with chorizo slices. I had no basil in the cupboard for this one, but it would have been a nice addition. I added some of my "magic herbs" instead: Knorr Secrets d'Aromes.

It's a family favourite (my mum uses it instead of salt to season her food now) and I stock up every time I go home.
Every one I've introduced to these herbs loves them, which means I actually have to bring some back for others now too!

They're a great addition to any roast vegetables, sprinkled over chicken breasts, in salads...

A convenient and cheaper alternative to chicken when it's just a dinner for two!
The vege were roasted with a bit of olive oil and rosemary.

Eggs fried on top of tomatoes (fresh if they're in season, tinned otherwise) or ratatouille. Add a few herbs... Yum!

If you have ever been to France, you or your kids have probably ordered a "steak hache - frites" at one point or another.


To most, a steak hache looks like any other burger. However, it's actually minced steak as Le Charcutier anglais explains. Unlike the usual burgers that contain in excess of 20% fat (the mere
thought of picturing a fifth of what I'm eating being pure fat fills me with dread), steak hache is subject to strict rules: 5 to 15% fat. It makes for a rather healthy and tasty protein intake!

Here in the UK, I buy extra lean beef mince  (around 5% fat) and shape 125g patties using my beloved burger press. This was bought for me by my mum as a Christmas present a few years ago and it's changed my life! I'm now able to enjoy one of my favourites from home on a regular basis! This investment will set you back less than a tenner and allow you to make as many as you want. Well worth it.

I usually buy 500g or a kilo of mince and make 125g steaks out of it. I freeze them and take them out as needed. They defrost quickly in the microwave (or in the fridge if I'm really organised) and only cook in a couple of minutes on each side in the pan (for medium rare). Side with with your favourite frites or with a salad, depending on how healthy you want to be et c'est pret!

Condiments such as butter (melting on top with thinly sliced shallots), mustard, tomato ketchup are a great match for steak hache. Enjoy!

Another summer plate: melon, parma ham, mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and a balsamic vinaigrette. Just delicious on a summer day!

A couple of tips to pick the right cantaloupe melon: the heavier it feels, the sweeter it will be. If the stalk come off easily, it means it's ripe., although it's quite rare that UK supermarkets sell them already ripe. The most important thing for me is to smell them. I've made a few of my British friends laugh telling them the best way to choose melons is to sniff them (cue childish jokes and sniggers from all present, including myself!) but the stronger the fragrance, the riper the melon. Enjoy!

A few years ago, I offered to cook Christmas lunch for my British family.  The turkey and all the trimmings was set to be the main course. This allowed for the Entente Cordiale to be maintained with the help of Delia Smith's recipe.

I found that recipe online, as most people do these days, planned the whole process to the Nth degree. I'm such a control freak that I even had a project plan prepared, listing order with precise dates and times what need to be done in the two or three days leading up to Christmas lunch. Some will call it over-kill, others will probably question my sanity (it's ok I've made my peace with it), but it made the whole process a completely stress-free operation! Now, how many can honestly claim not to have been stressed out the first time they prepared Christmas lunch??

Desert begged for a French touch. I therefore decided (a month ahead) to try and make a buche de Noel. That's Christmas log to the rest of the world. These deserts vary a lot on form, depending on your taste and the region buy them.  Ice, mousse, creme patisserie, vanilla, chocolate, fruit... Each year, everyone from your local patissier to the greatest chefs try and reinvent this classic.

The choice was easy for me: it had to be chocolate... but with a little something to give it a twist. Associating chocolate with orange is a much-appreciated combination which was sure to deliver a rich and sophisticated taste. I then looked up ideas of to present the masterpiece and found that macaroons would be a good way of decorating it.

I found great macaroon recipes on Pure Gourmandise. It's all in French, but I'm sure the translation tool on Google Chrome will do a decent job for you ;)

An orange zest sponge rolled with a rich chocolate ganache, orange and chocolate macaroons and voila! A typical Frenchie creation: doesn't look that great despite clear dedication to the cause, but tasted pretty awesome!

The cake and the macaroons were a success and French / England relations were kept safe!

After a lot of procrastinating, I have finally decided to take the plunge. The numerous pictures of food I have taken over the past four years (over 300 of them), will finally have a raison d'être. That's "reason to live" where I come from.
Actually maybe not all of them. Partly because although I cook decent food (the chef likes to congratulate herself on a job well done), presentation isn't my strongest suit. You might think some dishes look like a dog's dinner, the dog might actually say that just a couple of bits of parsley on the side of the plate would have made it a bit more appetising. One of the aims with this blog will be to work on improving the presentation of my meals and, who knows, gather a few insights on how to do it, should I gather a few readers!

In these posts, I'll share pictures of food I've made / eaten / enjoyed either at home or elsewhere. I live in Hampshire (UK) but am French, if the blog's name didn't give that away. I therefore enjoy all sorts of food, and the experience of eating them. But enough about me, you can find out about yours truly on my About page.

So... First post, first bite. Of what? The choice wasn't easy.
  This first bite dates back to July 2010, in the UK. A sunny day begged for a healthy and colourful plate.

Prawn slices and baby leaf salad 

The prawns are quickly fried in butter or olive oil with a bit of Espelette pepper powder, which gives them just a bit of a kick and great flavour.
I then lay them on a nice slice of toasted sourdough bread (stock must have been low that day as it was replaced by Ryveta) with soft cheese.

The baby leaf salad was complemented by spring onions, tomatoes and my mum's vinaigrette. Yum!

Frenchie's mum's vinaigrette