French recipe

Finding a French Recipe for every Part of the Day

French cooking is considered very upscale and is often referred to as Haute Cuisine. The beauty of French cooking is that even the simplest French recipe comes across as high fashion cuisine. Different regions in France offer different flavors and textures of foods. Some regions focus on creamy and buttery sauces while others focus on olive oil and herbs. With such delightful variety, it is no wonder that French cooking is popular among cooks from every walk of life.

Breakfast
A typical French breakfast is usually light, such as jam on bread or breakfast cereals. Other popular French breakfast items are viennoiseries and croissants. Viennoiseries is a sweet pastry. However, this is not usually a breakfast that French people have every day. Croissants and viennoiseries are usually weekend fare because that is when people tend to have more time to go to the bakery to get them fresh.

Lunch
A French lunch is generally light, but decadent nonetheless. A Crepe Basquaise is a large crepe that is filled with smoked chicken strips and includes grilled peppers and onions. A Pain Bagnat is lighter fare with layers of tuna, cucumber, tomato and pepper. It makes a light, refreshing lunch. The strong Italian culinary influence in French food is seen in several of the vegetarian dishes such as Lasagnes de legumes du soleil a l'huile d'olive au thym which is a baked dish of zucchini, eggplant and tomato in thin layers of pasta.

Dinner
The herbs that are used in French cooking are flavorful but work to bring out the natural flavors in the food. Herbs de Provence is a French herbal blend of rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf, thyme and lavender flowers. This is excellent on poultry and other meats. A wonderful French recipe for dinner involves Cornish hens, seasoned with herbs de Provence. Cook them in just a little water and sherry for a flavorful broth. This can be served with seasoned, raw vegetables. Terrine de Saumon aux Epinards - Riz Special is a salmon and spinach terrine with special rice. It is a somewhat light dinner option.

Dessert
There are a variety of decadent French desserts that will spoil you. Poire Belle-Helene is a hot and cold with pears, vanilla ice cream and chocolate. The pears are heated and the ice cream is hot. What a treat! One of the best known French treats would have to be Mousse au Chololat. This cold dessert is a treat for all of the senses with its beautiful presentation, delectable taste and heavenly aroma, Pommes au Four is an French recipe that many people in the United States may recognize because it has been adopted by many Americans. It is a special treat of oven baked apples with sugar and cinnamon.

Coffee
You can not discuss French recipes without mentioning coffee. France makes coffee an experience. It is strong and aromatic, preferable an espresso because a strong coffee helps with digestion. According to French fashion, you should serve a square of dark chocolate with your coffee because it is believed that dark chocolate heightens and enhances the flavor and aroma of good coffee.