This baked eggs with salmon recipe is perfect for a brunch or a nice ‘entrée’. As a starter, it would also be great with a glass of good white wine. In French, we call them ‘oeufs cocotte’ which would be translated as ‘chick eggs’ (special thank to Clotilde from Chocolate & Zucchini for her great translation) . Once you’ve tried these ones, don’t hesitate to try new combinations. What about replacing salmon and chives by mushrooms and parsley?!

Preparation time: 5 minutes – Baking time: 6 to 8 minutes

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 eggs
7 oz (200 g) of smoked salmon chopped scraps
6 tablespoons of creme fraiche
2 tablespoons of small chives
4 slices of bread
Butter
Pepper

Instructions

1/ Preheat oven to 500° F (260° C/Th 9).

2/ Grease 4 ramekins with butter or margarine and chop small chives.

3/ Dispose salmon chopped scraps in the ramekins. Pour small chives on top keeping some aside for decoration. Add half a tablespoon of cream into each ramekin.

4/ Break one egg into each ramekin and top with creme fraiche and some pepper.

5/ Fill half of an ovenproof dish with boiling (or very hot water) and put ramekins on it. Bake in oven for 6 to 8 minutes depending on how you like your eggs cooked.

6/ Top with some more small chives and serve with toasted bread.

Whether it’s rum or wine, a sweet alcohol always enhances good fruits flavors… Here is a strawberry and peach salad recipe made with dessert wine. You can use any white wine as long as it’s sweet. You can recognize them easily thanks to their stronger yellow color. Some of the most famous French dessert wines are Montbazillac and Sauterne but, of course you can use a cheaper wine… I used a 3 euros one Just add more sugar if it doesn’t taste good enough. Good wine makes great dishes so don’t hesitate to use it if you have one at hand!

The salad on the picture is topped with pine kernels but I also love making this same recipe replacing them with mashed almonds. Use whichever sounds better to you…

Preparation time: 15 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

3 peaches
3 nectarines
1.1 lbs (500 g) of strawberries
1 glass of white wine (sweet)
1/4 cup (50 g) of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla sugar
4 mint leaves
A handful of pine kernels or almonds
1 3/4 cup (450 ml) of water

Instructions

1/ Get wine, sugar, vanilla sugar and water to a boil. Let it boil smoothly until the strong alcohol smell is gone. Set aside.

2/ Clean nectarines and peaches, cut them in half, take bone off and slice them.

3/ Clean strawberries, slice their top off and cut them in half (cut pieces in half again if your strawberries are big).

4/ Pour fruits into the syrup so they marinate.

5/ When marinade has chilled, serve fruits in individual cups topped with sliced mint and pine kernels or mashed almonds.

Forget your instant mashed potatoes mix… Making authentic mashed potatoes is fast, easy AND tasty! Some like their mashed potatoes with a more liquid texture, don’t hesitate to add milk if they don’t look smooth enough for you.

Preparation time: 10 mn  Cooking time: 30 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

2.2 lbs (1kg) of potatoes
1/2 cup (120ml) of milk
3 tablespoons of creme fraiche
2 tablespoons of butter
1 pinch of  nutmeg
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Cut potatoes into 2 or 4 pieces depending on their size (bigger pieces will need more time to be done).

2/ Boil potatoes into salted water for 30 minutes (they’ll be easier to mash if overcooked). Let them chill.

3/ Peel and mash potatoes (you can use a a food mill or potato ricer, if you don’t have any use a potato masher or heavy fork.)

4/ Pour mashed potatoes into a pan heated over low heat. Add milk, butter, cream, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir well.

5/ That’s it, ready to serve! Easy, right?

The herb mix used in this stuffed chicken breasts recipe is commonly used in French cuisine, we call it ‘fines herbes‘. It’s a mix of chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon… Perfect with fish and white meats.
I cook herbed mascarpone stuffed chicken quite often because it’s really easy and quickly made. Fines herbes are really tasty and trust me the herbs and wine sauce is to die for with mashed potatoes .

Preparation time: 10 mn  Cooking time: 20 mn

Ingredients (for 4 servings)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
9 oz (250 g) of Mascarpone cheese
4/5 cup (20 cl) of dry white wine
2 tablespoons of butter
1 handful of chives
1 handful of parsley
1 handful of chervil
1 handful of tarragon
Salt & pepper

Instructions

1/ Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C/Th 6).

2/ Rinse and chop chives, chervil, parsley and tarragon.

3/ In a bowl, combine mascarpone cheese with herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.

4/ Open chicken breasts by entering a knife in the center. Slice to both sides being careful not to break it.

5/ Stuff them with the herbed mascarpone. (If there are thiner parts of the chicken breasts you can’t stuff, top the stuffed chicken breast with a layer of herbed mascarpone and finish with a layer of chicken.)

6/ Dispose chicken breasts in an ovenproof dish. Pour white wine over them and top each chicken breast with a piece of butter. Top with salt and pepper.

7/ Bake in oven for 25 minutes.

Serve right away with boiled potatoes, rice or broccoli. Perfect with mashed potatoes.

Everyone knows chocolate is great for improving the mood… So why should you refrain from eating it?! Get ready, this molten chocolate cake recipe is a killer! The one on the picture could have been baked a little less so the center would have been more liquid… You’ll just have to try and adjust the cooking time to your own tastes. Whenever the borders are done, you can take them out of the oven. The bigger the ‘uncooked’ area in the center, the more liquid your molten chocolate cake will be.

Preparation time: 15 mn (+ 1h in the fridge) Cooking time: 6 to 7 mn

Ingredients (for 4 to 6 cakes)

7 oz (200 g) of dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
1/2 cup (110 g) of butter
1/4 cup (50 g) of golden or brown sugar
3 tablespoons of whipping cream
1 tablespoon of flour
1 tablespoon of corn starch
2 eggs

Instructions

1/ In a salad bowl beat egg and sugar until mixture gets a lighter color. Add flour and corn starch and whisk.

2/ Heat a large saucepan half filled with water.

3/ Dice butter and 5 oz of chocolate and put it, along with the whipping cream, in a smaller saucepan or a metal bowl. Put in (or over, depending the size) the heating water. (This technique is called bain-marie; it’s the best way to melt chocolate without burning it).

4/ Mix molten chocolate in with egg and sugar mixture until it gets smooth.

5/ Leave preparation for 1h in the fridge so mixture gets thicker.

6/ Preheat oven to 410° F (210° C / Th 7).

7/ If you’re going to use a muffin mold, grease it. If you have round pastry cutters, line baking tray with parchment paper and place pastry cutters on it. Cut pieces of parchment paper a little bigger than the height of your pastry cutters, circle them and cover pastry cutters sides with it (as shown on picture).

8/ Fill 2/3 of the pastry cutters with chocolate mixture. Cut the 2 oz of chocolate you have left into small pieces and add on top of the chocolate dough; push it a little with your finger so it gets inside.

9/ Heat in oven for 6 to 7 minutes.

10/ Take chocolate cakes out of the oven and pull carefully parchment paper first and pastry cutters next. (If cooking paper doesn’t come out easily, they’re not cooked enough… Don’t break them! Put them back in the oven a minute more).

11/ Serve right away alone or with vanilla ice cream or custard.

You want to add it a white chocolate melted heart? Check the Dark and white chocolate molten cake recipe!