Christmas gingerbread sandwich cookies

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Mömmukökur (Mamas Cookies)

My mother only makes these gingerbread cookies before Christmas, but they are excellent at any time of the year. When I was little, I really thought it was my mothers own recipe.

Different people have different ways of making Mömmukökur. My mother makes them very thin and bakes them until they are dark brown and crisp. Others make light brown, thicker cookies that soften quickly once the icing is on. Mother allows them to stand until completely cooled, before putting in tins for storage. This is to ensure that they will stay crisp. Then, just before Christmas - usually on Þorláksmessa (December 23rd) - the four of us (my parents, brother and I) sit down together and make cookie sandwiches, sticking the cookies together two by two with vanilla butter icing.

125 g butter/margarine
250 g golden syrup
125 g sugar
1 egg
500 g flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 portion butter icing

Melt together the butter, sugar and golden syrup and mix well. Cool. Stir in the egg. Mix together flour, baking soda and ginger. Add the syrup mixture and knead until smooth. Store in a refrigerator over night. Flatten out until very thin and cut out shapes with cookie cutters or a glass. Bake at 200°C, until the cookies area a proper gingerbread brown colour. Cool completely before icing.

Note: Dont use this recipe to make gingerbread houses – this gingerbread is too fragile.

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Lemon Velvet Pie

   I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! We sure did. My little brother Doug came down from Salt Lake to spend the weekend here. It was so nice to see him again and catch up. It had been a long time. Hes moving to New York City in January. It makes me sad hell live so far away, but at the same time Im happy for him. He has accomplished so many things in his life and I could not be any more proud of him. Love you Doug!

   As for this lemon pie, it really was amazing. It was one of the MANY we had for dessert after our Thanksgiving feast. You would not believe how many pies we had! It was so awesome. This one in particular was a huge hit! We all loved it. Ive never had anything like it. It is very creamy, velvety and lemony. Totally delish!


Lemon Velvet Pie
Adapted from: Plain Chicken


Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 Tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
2 Tablespoons cold water
6 egg yolks
1 1/2 cans (14 oz cans) sweetened condensed milk (2 cups)
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the crust:  Combine all ingredients and press into a the bottom and sides of an 8-inch springform pan. Or you could use a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie plate.

In a small bowl mix together the gelatin and cold water. Let stand for 5 minutes. Heat in microwave for 14 seconds. Set aside.

For the filling:  In a large bowl combine egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. With an electric mixer, beat on high speed for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined. Beat in gelatin, whipping cream and salt on low speed. Add lemon juice and beat on low for 30 seconds. Pour into prepared crust.

Bake for 22-25 minutes or until center of pie looks set when gently shaken. Cool for 1 hour. Cover loosely and refrigerate atleast 2 hours or more before serving.

For topping:  Place the heavy cream in a chilled mixing bowl. Whip until the whisk begins to leave tracks in the bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and whip until cream holds medium peaks. Spread on top of pie and serve!

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Chicken Ranch Pizza

  Its no secret we are big pizza lovers here at the Lofthouse pad. Our favorite BBQ Chicken Pizza is one I make a lot, so I decided it was time to try a new kind. I saw this Chicken Ranch version on one of my favorite food blogs, Fake Ginger, but forgot about it until I saw it on Pinterest a few weeks ago. I printed the recipe and added it to our menu last week.

  The results were absolutely DIVINE! There are literally no words to describe how delicious this pizza was. The flavor... was simply perfect. It definitely ranks as high as my beloved BBQ Chicken, and thats saying a lot!



Chicken Ranch Pizza

1 pizza crust (try my favorite homemade pizza dough )

For the sauce:

2/3 cup Ranch dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced

For the toppings:

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 chicken breast, cooked and cut into small pieces
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a 16-inch round pizza pan with olive oil. Stretch pizza dough to fit in the pan.

In a small bowl mix together the Ranch dressing and minced garlic. Spread mixture evenly on the crust.

Evenly sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese and all of the cheddar cheese over the sauce. Then spread the chicken, tomatoes and green onion over the cheese. Top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until pizza dough is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Slice and serve. Enjoy! ♥

 

 

 

 

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Nami Nami turns 5 today!

This beautiful girl keeps me from blogging more often these days :)

My little foodblog, Nami-Nami, turns five today. Its been five fun years, and although Ive been blogging less frequently during the last year or two (Ive got a good reason, trust me - see above), Im still enjoying it immensely and have no plans of stopping in the near future. Hope that you, my dear readers, will stick around as well :)

For those of you who have actually tried some of my recipes - would you mind naming your favourite one?

Here are links to some of the recipes that youve mentioned in the comments:
Canadian Apple Cake (November 2005)
Colorful quinoa salad with crayfish and avocado (February 2010)
Minimalist banana bread (May 2009)
Upside-down onion pie (January 2006)
Blueberry tart (April 2006)
Carrot ragout (December 2007)
Caraway teacake (December 2009)
Spiced rhubarb cake (June 2009)
Warm Ginger and Carrot Salad with Feta Cheese (November 2005/June 2009)
Raspberry focaccia (August 2008)
Mocca cake with toasted almonds (April 2006)
Kama muffins (June 2009)
Kama and mascarpone truffles (September 2005)
Creamy swede and pearl barley (March 2010)
Salmon confit (November 2009)
Toffee apple cake with cranberries (January 2007)
Cranberry upside down cake (December 2005)
Filo tartlets with beetroot and cheese (August 2006)
Plum cake (August 2008)

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Menu Plan Monday 8

   I have some awesome recipes to share with you guys this week. I cant wait! First I have an amazing cupcake recipe Ill share tomorrow, and then I have a great dinner idea Ill post later this week. Okay, well I have to go now. I must get back to Pinterest because its so spectacular and I cant stay away from it for more than 10 minutes. : /  Heres what Im cookin up this week...

Monday

PWs Chili*

cornbread

Tuesday

Taco Cupcakes*

beans & rice

Wednesday

Strawberry Chicken Salad

Thursday

Easy night

(sandwiches)

Friday

~Kitchens Closed~

(take out or something easy)

Saturday

Grilled BBQ Chicken

Savory Roasted Potatoes

veggie

Sunday

Tomato Soup*

grilled cheese

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Apple compote

200 g dried apples (slices)
1 1/2 liter water
75-100 g sugar

2-3 tbs potato flour or cornstarch
100 ml cold water

Wash the apples and soak in the water with half the sugar for about 12 hours. Cook until soft. Make a paste with the starch and cold water and stir into the compote to thicken. Add remaining sugar, or to taste. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle sugar on top. Serve warm or cold, with cream if preferred.

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Fish pancakes Fisklummur

My mother sometimes deliberately cooks more fish than is necessary for one meal, and uses the left-over fish and potatoes to make these pancakes. They are popular with the whole family, and an excellent way of using up leftovers and getting finicky eaters to eat fish.+

This is really more of a guideline than a recipe. It recipe will yield enough pancakes for 2 people.

Take leftover cooked fish pieces (preferably plain poached or steamed fish, about 1/2 a fillet), remove any bones and flake with a fork. Put in a bowl with finely chopped, cooked potatoes (2-3 small ones); one small, finely chopped onion; and garlic to taste.

Stir in some flour (approx. 3 tbs in a recipe for two), and 1 tbs potato starch or cornflour. Flavour with salt and your favourite fish spice mix . Add one beaten egg. Thin with milk to the consistency of thin porridge. Fry in a medium hot skillet until golden and serve with potatoes, melted butter, and tomato wedges on the side.

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Nami Nami Easter Brunch 2012

On Easter Sunday we hosted yet another Easter brunch to our dear friends - something of a tradition by now, as weve done this for almost five years, I believe (see overview of 2009 and 2010 and 2011). This year we were twenty people in total - 16 guests and our own little family of four.

Heres an overview of this years table:



And here are the individual dishes, with links to recipes, where appropriate.



We started with Mimosa cocktails, using freshly squeezed orange juice and Spanish cava. We also drank wine, apple juice and water, followed by tea and coffee later:



Crostini with dill-marinated pork tenderloin and a dab of Meiras cognac-mustard (based on a Bon Appetit recipe):


Our friends Kristiina and Paavo brought along this delicious salad with alfa-alfa sprouts and various citrus fruits:


I had composed a salad of avocado, mango, pumpkin seeds and mozzarella cheese:


Liina (also a food blogger ) had baked this delicious savoury Italian pizza pie, using wild boar meat and Estonian goat cheese:


Estonian home cheese, SÕIR, which I had seasoned with roasted caraway seeds. This was especially delicious with home-baked rye bread (courtesy of our friend Kristiina again):


Fun focaccia shots, topped with sun-dried tomatoes (I got the idea from Kerstin Rodgers inspirational Supper Club: Recipes and Notes from the Underground Restaurant):


Marinated olives (a mix of Kalamata, green Greek and black Amfissa olives) with Aleppo chili flakes, roasted garlic cloves and caperberries (inspired by Kerstin Rodgers again):


Our friend Piret brought along a bowl of wild mushroom salad:


A Mason jar full of beetroot-pickled quail eggs. Ive written about them before, this time I used beetroot juice, balsamic vinegar, caraway seeds, salt and pepper. I find that 12 hours is more than enough to dye and flavour the quail eggs:


Thinly sliced cold-smoked salmon from my favourite fishmonger, Pepe Kala (this was especially delicious on top of all those boiled eggs we ate):


Thinly sliced Estonian "lardo" or Ristemäes herb-crusted lard:


There were three desserts. First on the table, a traditional Easter pudding, paskha. Very creamy, rich and delicious. I added raisins, dried sour cherries, pistachios and flaked almonds to the paskha mixture:


There was also a cardamom-scented apricot and curd cheese cake, topped with almonds:


And a very traditional Estonian curd cheese sheet cake, cut into small pieces to feed loads:


Our friends Liina and Tauno also brought along a traditional Russian Easter cake, kulitch, that they had bought on a weekend trip to Narva:


What was on your Easter table?

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Pineapple pudding Ananasfrómas

A decorated pineapple fromage

Light and frothy cold puddings made with egg and thickened with gelatine are known as "frómas" in Icelandic and as "fromage" in Danish. Those who know their French will realise that this is the French word for "cheese". How it underwent the change in meaning from French to Danish is not known.

This recipe is in all likelihood originally Danish. This is a popular dessert in my family that my mother makes  for special occasions. With a bit of adjustment, it can be adapted to other kinds of flavours. For example, I adore the lemon version.

Ingredients:

250 g sugar
5 eggs, whites and yolks separated
12 sheets of gelatine
2 cups double cream or whipping cream
2 small cans (8. oz.) pineapple rings in juice, cut into small chunks (retain 2-3 rings for decoration)
Pineapple juice from the can
juice from 1 lemon

Method:
In separate bowls, whip together the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks, and whip the egg whites until stiff.

Soak the gelatine sheets in cold water for about 10 minutes, remove and squeeze out the water. Put about 200 ml (4/5 cup) of pineapple juice in a saucepan and add the gelatine. Over low heat (or in a water-bath) melt the gelatine in the pineapple juice, stirring well to eliminate lumps. Cool to room temperature (plunge the bottom of the saucepan into cold water to speed up the cooling process). Pour through a sieve into the egg and sugar mixture, stirring constantly and carefully to mix. Add the lemon juice and stir in carefully. Fold in the cream and then the pineapple pieces. Finally fold in the whipped egg whites.

Pour into bowls and allow to set. These can be either a couple of big serving bowls, or individual serving bowls or dessert glasses. Decorate with remaining pineapple rings and whipped cream. Red cocktail cherries can be added for a bit of colour.

Serve cold, with or without whipped cream.

This pudding makes an excellent filling for sponge cake. To use, allow to set enough to be spreadable without running, and smooth on top of one cake layer, allow to set and top with another cake layer.

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Traditional Icelandic fish soup halibut soup Fiskisúpa lúðusúpa

This soup is among the oldest recorded Icelandic recipes. Its sweet-sour taste is unusual for fish-based soups.

Traditionally, the recipe is given for halibut, but you can also use salmon, trout, wolf-fish or lumpfish, or other fatty fish.

1 1/2 kg fresh fish with bones, cut into pieces to fit in the pan
1 1/2 litre water
2 tbs white vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves

50 g flour
100 ml cold water

1/2 lemon
20 prunes
1-2 tbs sugar
200 ml water

potatoes
parsley

If the prunes are dry, soak them in water for an hour or so, or cook them in a little sugar-water with the zest of the 1/2 lemon until soft. Keep them whole.

Put water, salt, vinegar and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the fish. skim off the scum when the liquid boils again. cook the fish until it loosens from the bones. Strain the cooking liquid into another saucepan, leaving a little in the pan with the fish to keep it moist.

Mix together the flour and cold water into a smooth paste. Bring the strained cooking liquid to the boil and pour in the flour paste in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

When the soup is fully cooked, add the lemon juice and prunes, and if they were cooked, the prune cooking liquid with them.

Arrange the fish on a serving dish and surround with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with chopped parsley. Serve on the side with the soup.

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Spaghetti Braid

     I think without a doubt, my Taco Braid  is the most popular recipe on my blog! I have received so many sweet emails from you awesome readers and have also had my family and friends telling me how much they love it! It means so much to me for you all to take time from your day to email me or leave me a comment. I really do love and look forward to reading them. I want you all to know how much I appreciate it!  : )

    Because the Braids are so popular, I have been trying to think of ways to create a new one for you all. I was talking to my hubby last week telling him about my idea for this Spaghetti Braid. I thought it would be so delish to put some Spaghetti fixins inside this great pizza dough, but without the noodles! (Less carbs, right?! ha)

   Kale thought it sounded awesome, and he also gave me a little idea. He told me once I wrap up the braid, I should somehow make it taste like garlic bread. I was shocked! "What a genius idea!" It sounded like a perfect way to finish it off! So thats what I did. It turned out AWESOME! Let me know if you give it a try!

SPAGHETTI BRAID

Recipe By:  Holly Lofthouse

• 1 can Pillsbury Pizza Dough
• 1 pound lean Ground Beef
• 1 1/2 cups of your favorite Spaghetti Sauce ( I use Ragu Traditional)
• 2 tablespoons Cream Cheese ( I used 1/3 less fat version and it was great!)
• 2 cups shredded Mozzerella Cheese

Glaze for the top:

• 2 tablespoons Butter, melted
• 1/8 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/8 tsp Dill Weed
• 1/8 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unravel roll of pizza dough and lay out onto a greased cookie sheet. Set aside.

Cook the ground beef in a large skillet and cook until browned. Drain the grease. Pour in the spaghetti sauce and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer 5-10 minutes or until sauce is thoroughly heated.

Dough should now be room temp and easy to work with. Shape it out onto the cookie sheet and form into a large rectangle. Down each side of dough, cut 2 inch wide slits with a pizza cutter.

Spread beef mixture down center of dough. Take the cream cheese and dot evenly over the meat.

Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top and start to braid the dough over the top of the filling. Criss-crossing to form a braid and making sure to cover any holes.

Microwave butter to melt completely. Add in all the seasonings and mix well. Brush evenly over the top of the braid.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle the braid evenly with parmesan cheese. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

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Red and White Pasta

 

    I really dont think it gets any easier than this for a simple and delicious meal! Only four ingredients. Yep, thats it. This is my go-to dish to make on weeknights after Ive had a long day at work. My kids just love it, and they are the pickiest eaters on the planet! Pasta... Cheese.... It has Kid-Friendly written all over it! : )

   The recipe comes from my favorite cookbook I always talk about, The Food Nanny. Her recipe calls for a homemade Alfredo sauce that she makes. It is amazing, but when Im in a hurry and dont have a lot of time to make dinner, I just use a bottled Alfredo sauce. It works out perfectly.

   I believe another reason I love The Food Nannys cookbook so much is because a lot of the book has menu planning and preparation ideas. It is what gave me the idea to plan out meals for a week or two in advance, so I always have homemade meals to make my family. I remember when I used to go to the grocery store with absolutley no idea what I was going to make for any meals. I would spend a couple hundred dollars on a bunch of odds and ends, and we would always end up eating out or grabbing fast food. It was such a waste of money.

   Now before I go to the store, I will plan all of my meals and write down all the ingredients I need. I will also go through my pantry and fridge to see if I already have some of the items Ill need to prevent me from buying what I already have. It has been such a money saver! : )

Red and White Pasta

8 Servings

• 1 pound box Penne Pasta
• 1 (26 oz) jar meatless Spaghetti Sauce
• 1 (16 oz) jar Alfredo Sauce
• 3 cups shredded Mozzerella Cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil and cook pasta in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain.

In a 9x13 glass baking dish, spread 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce on bottom. Pour half of the cooked pasta on top. Pour half the alfredo sauce, half the spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of cheese evenly over pasta. Repeat with remaining pasta, sauces and cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until hot & bubbly!

 

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The Ultimate Cheesecake

   A few weekends ago, I was craving cheesecake. Big time. I was tempted to drive down to the nearest grocery store to buy one, but every time we do that I regret it. They never taste as good as they look. I  decided it was time I attempted a homemade cheesecake.

   I did some searching on the net, and found this one from cutie, Tyler Florence on The Food Network. The recipe had 5 stars and over 400 positive reviews. It sounded like a winner to me! I also figured anything with the word Ultimate in the title, must be good, so I gave it a shot.

   The Verdict? It was AMAZING! One of the best cheesecakes Ive ever tasted. Period. I topped ours with a simple homemade Strawberry Topping, that took it to the next level!


The Ultimate Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 30 squares)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
dash of vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon lemon zest

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients together with a fork until evenly moistened. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick spray.

Pour crumbs into the pan, and using the bottom of a measuring cup or smooth bottom of a glass cup, press crumbs into the bottom and 1-inch up along sides. Refrigerate crust while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on low speed for one minute, or until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat slowly just until combined. Do not overmix! Gradually, add in sugar and beat until creamy. (About 1 minute)

Add sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest. Periodically, scrape down sides of bowl and beaters. The batter should be well-mixed, but not overbeaten. Pour the filling into the crust-filled pan and smooth top with a spatula.

Bake for 45-50 minutes. (Be careful not to over bake!) The center will still be slightly jiggly. (It will firm up while it chills) Let cool for 30 minutes, and then loosely cover with saran wrap and chill in the refrigerator for atleast 4 hours. Carefully loosen the sides of the cheesecake from the pan with a thin spatula or knife, and then carefully remove sides of pan.

Serve with Strawberry Topping, if desired.

Strawberry Topping:
1 (10 ounce) bag of frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
or 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Pour sliced strawberries and vanilla in a medium bowl. Sprinkle sugar over the top. Mix together and slightly smash the strawberries with a fork. Cover and store in refrigerator for atleast 1-2 hours. Serve over cheesecake!

Linked up at: Totally Tasty Tuesdays
Trick or Treat Tuesdays

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Blogger Spotlight Cook Bake Decorate

   Its that time again to introduce to you another fantastic blog! Im especially excited about this one. Her name is Muriel from Cook Bake and Decorate!  I just ♥ Muriels blog! Her blog is filled with really cute decorating ideas and a ton of yummy recipes. She definitley speaks my food language. Everything she makes Ive either thought of making or have made before. Shes another foodie twin of mine ; )  She has an amazing dessert to share with yall today, so here she is.....

  Hi everyone!  My name is Muriel Miller from the blog Cook Bake & Decorate, and I am seriously more than honored to be a guest blogger on Hollys blog today! I have loved Hollys blog from the second I came across it and have tried and LOVED so many of her recipes. It has been so much fun getting to know Holly through her wonderful blog.

  I am originally from Orem, UT but am currently living in Houston, TX right now. I have always had a passion for food and it wasnt till I got married 4 years ago that I really learned that I have a love of cooking and baking too! When I started my blog a few months back, I would have never imagined that I was going to meet so many fun and wonderful people out there that share the same passion for cooking as I do!  On my blog I also like to share fun design or decorating ideas that either I have done myself, or things that I have fallen in love with either through magazines, or photos on the web. I hope you will all stop by sometime and say Hi! And I want to give one last shout out to Holly for allowing me to share my blog with all of you! Thanks again girl! You Rock!

  Now for my recipe, I am going to share with you an amazing pie recipe that my mom has been baking for our family ever since I can remember. It has become one of my husbands favorite desserts that I bake for him and I hope it will be one that you and your families will all love!

Peanut Butter Pie:
Recipe:
For the Peanut Butter Goodness:
3/4 cup Peanut Butter (we prefer creamy but if you like a little crunch then use crunchy P.B.)
1 cup Powdered Sugar

For the Pudding:
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
1/8 tsp. Salt
3 cups Milk (whole milk is best)
3 Egg Yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the Meringue:
3 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tarter
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1. To start, mix together the peanut butter and powdered sugar till it forms into little balls. (You can add more powdered sugar if needed) Set aside. Now I just use a frozen store bought pie crust because Ive actually never made a pie crust from scratch yet. (Its on my to do list) So you just take a fork and poke holes on the bottom and sides of the crust before it bakes so it bakes evenly. Bake defrosted crust @ *400 for 10-12 min. Let crust completely cool then sprinkle 1/3 of Peanut Butter Mixture on to the bottom of the crust.

2.  Now take all the ingredients for the pudding (except for the butter and vanilla) and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. When done boiling remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into the pie crust about 3/4 of the way to the top.(you may have some pudding left over) Now sprinkle another 1/3 of the P.B. mixture on top of the pudding.

3.  In a chilled bowl, beat egg whites till fluffy. Mix in the cream of tarter and sugar and beat till stiff peaks form (about 5-7 minutes) Place meringue on top of pudding and then sprinkle remaining 1/3 of P.B. mixture on top and bake @ *375 till browned on top  (about 8-10 minutes watching closely)

4. Let pie chill in refrigerator for 3-4 hours.
Enjoy!!!


  

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Maison Pic Valance France Restaurant review

Sorry about the hiatus. Weve just spent 10 days travelling (and eating!) in Normandie and Bretagne with our little family. While we unpack our bags and upload the photos, Ill share some photos from our last trip to France in August 2009. Back then we were still three - our daughter just 7,5 months old - and we had a chance to eat in two 3-star restaurants. Excellent meals both, and Ill start with Anne-Sophie Pics restaurant, where we had a lunch, a full tasting menu and breakfast.

Anne-Sophie Pic (born in 1969) is the head chef at La Maison Pic in Valance, France. Shes a third-generation la chef cuisinier of the family restaurant, which was previously run by her dad and grand-dad. She earned the third Michelin star already at the age of 37, and is one of the only two female chefs in France and of female chefs in the world to win the accolade. Earlier this year she was also named the Worlds Best Female Chef (you can read an excellent synopsis of her culinary credentials and history here). Even before that last award, I was extremely excited about the chance to have lunch and dinner at her restaurant. Valance isnt on most tourist routes, but as we were driving down from Lyon to our friends wedding in Sauzet further South, it was conveniently on the way. Lucky me :)

Anne-Sophie with her dad and grandfather:


Upon arrival we had some nibbles in the courtyard, while our room was being prepared. From left to right: tomato and lemon macaroon, basil and ricotta sphere, peanut marshmallow, foie gras and apple:




That was a great alternative to the more usual nut selection:


After settling into our spacious room, we headed for lunch at Bistrot Le 7. The name Le 7 is an homage to Route Nationale 7, a famous motorway connecting Paris and Côte d’Azur (The French Wench has written more about it).


Le tarte fine croustillante de saumon salma, légumes croquants aux aromates (for me):


K. was very pleased with his tomato starter - Les tomates de variétés anciennes, crémeux de mozzarella di bufala - one of the reasons why hes so supportive of my grow-as-many-tomato-varieties-as-you-can hobby:


For the main course, I went for the veal dish - Le poitrine de veau, confite aux aromates, etuvée fondante de fenouils et poivrons rouges:


K. chose the cod - Le cabillaud, cuit sur la peau a lahuile dolive,fondant de carottes des sables a la fleur de thym:


For dessert, I opted for the classic strawberry-basil combination - Le fraisier version 2009; biscuit pistache, sorbet basilic (for me):


K. opted for the cheese plate:


We were very pleased with our lunch - it was flavoursome and very pleasing to the eye.

We had a pretty late dinner. I apologise for the quality of the photos - there wasnt any natural light, of course, and we didnt want to use the flash. We opted for the News Menu (or Menu Actualités), which was the one of the tasting menues on offer.


I loved the personal touches on the cutlery and dishes (see also the amuse bouche plate above):




Summer truffle:


Veal sweetbread:


Foie gras:


Lobster tail in a spicy broth:


I loved the cucumber crocant that accompanied this subtly flavoured fish:


Rinse-bouche: coffee granita with Limoncello foam:


A beautiful cheese board:


Mignardises:


A very pretty dessert with raspberry sorbet:


Overall the food was very tasty. We appreciated that Anne-Sophie Pic came to personally greet us at the end of the meal and speak about the difficulties of travelling and dining out with a baby :) She had seen our little daughter, sleeping at the Reception (we had asked about being allowed into the restaurant with the baby and they assured us its fine and that theyre happy to babysit the baby during our meal - which the kind receptionists ended up doing. Very thoughtful).

However, when looking at the visual side of the meal, it was all quite pared down and beige-brown (NB! Im talking about dinner here!). We had another 3-star meal during our trip (@ Régis Marcons restaurant), which was visually much more entertaining and impressive (our only other comparison is with lunch @ El Bulli in 2008). The only real eye candy was the dessert.

Breakfast - croissants and other pastries, yoghurt verrines, some fresh fruit:








Oh, the hotel gave our daughter a little present - a green soft frog with Maison Pics shawl. She loved (eating) it :)


Heres me, my daughter and the Chef, just before we checked out:


Would I go again? Yes, definitely - both for the food, for the hotel, and for the beautiful chef :)

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