French Recipes

• Andouillette - Andouillette is a type of sausage that historically comes from Lyon, Cambrai or Troyes. Traditionally it is made from the stomach and colon of a pig, but nowadays the contents may vary, though it usually includes the intestines of a pig, cow or calf. It has a rubbery texture, and very strong animal-like flavor and smell, that if you are unused to it, you may find disconcerting or even unpleasant. Andouillette is usually eaten hot, but may be sliced and eaten cold.
  
  
• Beef Bourguignon (French: Bœuf bourguignon) - A stew prepared by cooking beef in red wine with carrots and onions. Garlic and herbs are used for flavoring, and lardons (cubes of bacon prepared from the back fat of a pig) are usually used in the recipe. The dish is garnished with mushrooms and onions.
  
  
• Blanquette de veau - Veal poached with aromatic vegetables in water or stock. The vegetables are then discarded and the sauce thickened by adding cream and egg yolks. Mushrooms and onions are also added to and cooked in the sauce.
  
  
• Bouillabaisse - This is a fish stew, from the Provençal region, and especially the city of Marseille. The dish is prepared by cooking a variety of fish and shellfish (as many as a dozen varieties) with celery, leeks, onions and tomatoes, in stock flavored with herbs and spices. When the dish is served, the fish and stew are placed in separate bowls, and the stew is poured over "rouille", which is French bread seasoned with bread crumbs, olive oil and chili.
  
  
• Coq au vin - This well-known French dish is prepared by fricasseeing chicken in wine with lardons (cubes of bacon prepared from the back fat of a pig), mushrooms, and garlic. Traditionally, older roosters are used when preparing coq au vin, as they contain more connective tissue, which results in a richer broth. According to legend this recipe was eaten by Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul, but it unclear if this story is actually true.
  
  
• Escargot - Snails - often eaten as an appetizer - normally cooked in garlic butter.
  
  
• French onion soup - According to legend this soup was invented by King Louis XV (or perhaps King Louis XIV) when he returned to his hunting lodge and had to improvise a new recipe from an almost bare larder. This soup is made from onions and beef broth, and topped with cheese and croutons.
  
  
  
• Pot-au-feu - A spicy stew made with beef and vegetables (carrots, celery, leeks, onions and turnips).
  
  
• Quiche - Quiches are baked dishes made with heavy cream, and eggs in a pastry crust. Traditionally cheese is not used when making quiche, but nowadays, most recipes do include some cheese. Quiche Lorraine is simply quiche with some bacon in the mixture. Quiche Alsacienne is the same as Quiche Lorraine, but with onions added.
  
  
  
• Crêpes - Crêpes are thin pancakes made from wheat flour that are originally from Brittany (French: Bretagne). There are both savory (crêpes salées) and sweet (crêpes sucrées) varieties available.
  
  
• Éclairs - Éclairs are hollow baked pastries (made from choux pastry - a very light version of pastry), which when cool are filled with pastry cream (crème pâtissière), custard or whipped cream, and then topped with either chocolate or icing.
  
  
• Profiteroles - Like éclairs, profiteroles are made from choux pastry, but they are however much smaller. They are normally filled pastry cream (crème pâtissière) or whipped cream, sometimes glazed with caramel, and often served with chocolate sauce.
  
  
• Chocolate mousse - A creamy dessert made from eggs and cream, and flavored with chocolate.
  
  
• Crème brûlée - A vanilla custard base topped with a hard layer of caramel made by burning sugar under a grill, blowtorch or other intense heat source.

Related Links

• French Recipes & Cookbooks