Recipes
Gros Pain
Gros pain, or “big bread,” was the regular daily home bread of every French family when I was a kid. It is a bit coarser in texture than a baguette and less expensive, and it keeps longer.
Brioche
Brioches are buttery, moist, light breads made with a yeast dough. The perfect accompaniment to a café au lait in the morning, brioche can be made as a large loaf or small individual ones.
Crab Cakes with Avocado Sauce
Delicate to handle, elegant and refined in taste, these crab cakes have just enough bread in them to hold together, with some mayonnaise added for moisture and flavor.
Mussels Poulette and Gratinee
This dish was on the menu of my aunt’s restaurant when I was a kid. Rich and flavorful, it was always a winner with her patrons.
Choux á la Crème
Similar to ones my mother used to prepare, these cream puffs are filled with blackberry preserves and whipped cream and served on a simple but particularly flavorful chocolate sauce.
Crystallized Puff Paste of Orange
Caramelized puff pastry rounds are covered with pastry cream and orange segments and finished with a glaze.
Chocolate Paris-Brest Cake
Resembling a wheel, this French pastry is thought to have been created by a Parisian pastry chef to celebrate the famous bicycle race from Paris to Brest, in Brittany.
Puerto Rican Pork and Beans
My wife, Gloria, often prepares this dinner when we have guests. A satisfying one-dish meal, it can be cooked ahead and refrigerated or frozen, and it is even better reheated.
Pork Loin Tournedos with Cream and Calvados
In this rich dish, pan juices that result from browning boneless pork steaks, or tournedos, are deglazed with applejack and the sauce is finished with heavy cream.
