recipe – Francois et Moi

Scandinavian Gatherings’ Sugared Gingersnaps

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 03 Dec 2018 12:00:12 +0000

As a kid, I was very aware of my Scandinavian heritage, but other than token Holiday decorations like the Swedish Star and Angel Chime Set, we mostly celebrated American Christmas traditions, that is until I got older and we discovered all these amazing Scandinavian traditions we’d been missing out on, and now ALL WE CELEBRATE are Nordic traditions. lol. My daughter, Sylvia, is almost two and I’m bursting with excitement to teach her about our heritage and traditions as she grows. My parents introduced Sylvia to Pepparkakor, a crisp Scandinavian ginger cookie, and they are her ABSOLUTE favorite. My blogger friend, Sarah of Room for Tuesday, invited me to join her Cookie Swap Blog Hop, and I thought it would be the PERFECT time to share my favorite Pepparkakor recipe from Melissa Bahen of Lulu the Baker‘s book, Scandinavian Gatherings. Throughout winter months and especially around the holidays, I try to gear into the Hygge mindset which is all about finding joy in simple pleasures. Melissa’s sugared gingersnap recipe is just that: a simple pleasure. Restrained in decoration, and SO darn delicious. I dare you to try to eat just one! Without further ado, here’s Melissa’s Sugared Gingersnap […]

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French Croissant Workshop for Mother’s Day

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 12:18:52 +0000

The art of French croissant making is something my Mom (blogger at Seam Sew Cool) and I have always wanted to learn. So per her birthday request, we signed up for Craftsy’s Online Class: Classic Croissants at Home, and spent the weekend in my kitchen chatting, sneaking bites of that oh-so buttery dough, and of course, mastering the technique for classic French croissants. The croissant workshop made a fun birthday gift, and so it got me thinking that it would also make a fantastic gift for Mother’s Day too. (It’s coming up, kids!) It’s a creative way to spend time with Mom, while learning something new. Here’s how it came together: I picked up the croissant ingredients, a bouquet of flowers (just because), and any additional tools we needed ahead of time. I wrapped up the new croissant tools with a pretty bow for her to open when she arrived. On Saturday, I pulled out a few fun aprons and had some French tunes humming in the background. If you’ve ever made French croissants, you know there are a lot of steps and a lot of breaks in between while the dough refrigerates or rises. My mom and I made them over a Saturday afternoon + Sunday morning so that we could have fresh-from-the-oven croissants for breakfast on Sunday, but you could also make and […]

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Fresh & Crunchy Saltwater Pickles

francoisetmoiblog@gmail.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:16:17 +0000

Pickllllles! Oh do I love pickles. Especially the ones you find at Yum! Kitchen any time you order one of their gourmet sandwiches. Have you tried their pickles? They’re bright green, crunchy and salty, and they’re tough to find anywhere else. Thus I decided to make some at home, so that we wouldn’t need to buy a sandwich every time we had a craving for one. After a bit of research, I found that what helps these babies retain their color and crunchiness is that they’re actually soaked in saltwater rather than vinegar. Also known as half sour pickles, saltwater pickles need to be refrigerated, and also have a shorter shelf life than traditional vinegar pickles. But let’s be serious, their shelf life isn’t really an issue–they usually disappear within a few days! Ingredients*: 8 pickling cucumbers (short cukes) 1/8 c + 1 tbsp sea salt 4 c water 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1/2 heaping tsp black peppercorns 1/2 heaping tsp mustard seed 1/2 heaping tsp coriander 6-8 small fresh sprigs of dill two – 1/2 gallon mason jars with lids recloseable bag + rolling pin *Proportions are for two 1/2 gallon jars of pickles. Step 1: Wash and dry your cukes. Place 4 pickles in each jar. Step 2: In a […]

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