Cooking french food - recipes for half-wits

[Doobs]

We are taking my Dad to France for his 70th as he enjoys nothing better than insulting people in a foreign language and he is fluent in French. There are 9 adults and 4 kids and each couple is going to be responsible for making 2 evening meals.

Since we are in France i thought i should choose something French but most of my cooking involves bunging a large lump of lamb in the oven for a long time, not exactly advanced stuff.

So does anyone have any nice French recipes that wouldn't be too diffuclt to cook for a large group?

Merci.

[Pete Franklin]

what part of france are you going to and what time of year- this would help with availability of ingredients and local specialities etc.

[Doobs]

It's about 20/30 miles east of Le Mans - Château de Saint-Paul, Saint-Michel-de-Chavaignes. We're going in mid-September.

[escargot]

Then you'll be wanting a baguette, a pot of rillettes & a nice tanic red to cut through the fat.

Job done.

[PaulHogan]

Coq-au-Vin

Chicken
Bacon joint
Shallots
Garlic
Bay leafs
Bouquet Garni
Button mushrooms
Red wine

I usually allow one breast and one leg per person.
A big knob of butter and a good slug of olive oil in a frying pan. Brown the chicken a few pieces at a time and put in a casserole dish. Ditto the bacon joint cut into 1”ish cubes. Ditto the shallots and then pour the remains of the oil/butter into the pot too. Add four cloves of crushed garlic, a few bay leaves and a couple of bouquet garni. Add a bottle of cheap red wine (two bottles if making a huge pot full) and top off with water if necessary to cover all the ingredients. Bring to the boil on the stove and then either put in the oven on a really low heat (gas3 or equiv) or reduce to a simmer on the hob and put the lid on. It’s ready in an hour but it doesn’t hurt for it to have up to two hours. 15 minutes before you want to eat it throw in a load of button mushrooms.
Serve with mashed potato (or dauphinoise if you’re feeling flash) and French stick.

[Pete Franklin]

A decent cassoulet shouldnt be too difficult http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1400/raymond-bl...

or failing that i would go for confit duck- couldnt be easier- buy a large tin of confit duck legs (great quality available over there)- remove from the fat and brown skin in a frying pan and then chuck in a moderate oven for 15mins. serve with sauteed potatoes and a crisp salad. or if you want to get more adventurous/ involved confit the duck legs yourself: salted for 6-8 hrs, then rinsed and dried, submerged in duckfat with garlic and herbs and put in a low oven (130dc) for 3hrs and then the same process as mentioned above.

Edited by Pete Franklin on Tuesday 9th August 10:58

[Doobs]

escargot said:

Then you'll be wanting a baguette, a pot of rillettes & a nice tanic red to cut through the fat.

Job done.

That's exactly the kind of thing we want for lunch. Bread and cold meats and wine ... haven't tried rillettes but i have seen the recipe thread for them on here and looks mighty good stuff.

PaulHogan said:

Coq-au-vin recipe

Cheers Paul, sounds nice and simple to do for a large crowd and has wine in it! Spot on.

Pete Franklin said:

A decent cassoulet shouldnt be too difficult http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1400/raymond-bl...

or failing that i would go for confit duck

Hmmmm that cassoulet sounds like just the ticket but duck ... now that would probably be a bit more interesting.

Thanks for the ideas chaps ... I am now very hungry and there is still an hour until lunch. Dont think I'll be able to get rillettes in Old Trafford - booooo.

[escargot]

You'll do well with Rillettes where you're going as the Sarthe is the home of it.