Easy and impressing Petits palmier recipe

This is a great finger food for a party or a snack. If you know me, I love easy but great looking and tasty. This is my version of the favorite French cookie. I threw this recipe together for Christmas but anytime is time for the little Palmier. Enjoy!

Petits Palmier recipe

Makes around 15 

Preheat 350 Degrees.

1 Pillsbury refrigerated croissant dough package, (seamless is best but other wise just seal the cuts together with fingers)

1/4 cup brown sugar,

2 TBSP Cinnamon,

3 TBSP butter.

In a bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon together. Lay your dough flat and spread with your fingers the sugar mixture.

Melt the butter in a bowl in microwave. Pour the melted butter evenly on the dough and sugar and spread with fingers.

Roll the largest part to the middle and the opposite part to the middle too.

With sharp knife or floss cut 1/2 an inch pieces.

Lay on a cooking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Let cool.

Original Christmas French Truffles recipe

This is another recipe i taught at my French cooking class. We make these truffles at Christmas time.  I used to make them with my Mother and she would always tell me that without butter it would not taste as good. The original version is with the cocoa powder. It is very strong and not everyone is a fan of it if you don't like dark chocolate. The white chocolate is my twists on it. It is the best ever and a great gift for friends anytime!

Isabelle Thornton French Truffle recipe

Makes 20-30

¾ cup Heavy cream,

10 ounces Semisweet baking chocolate ,

2 Tablespoon butter.

1 Tablespoon extract (Orange, Cherry, coconut) Optional.

Coating:

1 Bag white chocolate chips .

Peppermint candy crushed.

Cocoa powder for other coating choice.

{Cocoa powder for original French recipe }

In a sauce pan, bring the Heavy cream to a boil on medium heat.  Remove from the heat and add the chocolate chips. When melted add the butter to melt also. Add the extract.

Strain into a bowl and let cool. Store in fridge over night or for 8 hours.

With a small scoop form the balls. If the chocolate becomes too soft. Chill a little more.

If coating with Cocoa powder roll the balls in a small bowl filled with cocoa powder.

If coating with chocolate. Place your chocolate balls on a parchment paper in the freezer for  1 hour. 

Place your white chocolate chips in a small crock-pot to melt or in a small bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Let cool a little bit and with 2 forks dip into the melted chocolate. Tap one fork on the edge of bowl or crock-pot to remove excess.

Let cool on Parchment paper and sprinkle the top with  crushed  peppermint

Store in fridge for up to 10 days

Use the best baking chocolate you can find.

French Truffles with White chocolate and crushed peppermint sticks.

You might like my French crepes recipe and fillings

Best French crepes and fillings recipe

I taught a French cooking class Saturday. It took me a whole day cooking at least 85 crepes for a crowd. It was a lot of fun and i really love cooking and sharing with others. I think it comes to me naturally. Crepes are very easy but you need to know some tricks like swirling the pan to spread the batter evenly, cooking on medium heat and buttering the pan after each crepes with the paper towel.  All cooks have their little tricks and i have been making crepes since i am a child. This recipe is perfect, the proportions perfect. I put it together and i hope you give it a try. Flipping the crepes in the air is always a happy experience with the kids and i have many memories of doing it. The lemon custard is a little short cut i made up. Of course you can make custard from scratch but in the states you have many things available to you to cut time. Using a pudding mix is one of them and i am highly satisfied with the result. Alright, i am sharing my little secrets. Cooking for me is a happy experience and i hope to be sharing my talents with more students in the future.

Isabelle Thornton Crepes recipe

3 cup milk,

4 eggs,

1/4 cup sugar or Agave nectar,

2 cups flour,

Pinch of salt,

1 Teaspoon Extract of choice (vanilla, Anise, or orange flower water )

Butter or vegetable oil for pan.

Whisk all the ingredients with an electric whisk.

The batter should be as a very light pancake batter.

The non-stick  pan should always be buttered or oiled. Do this with the paper towel after each crepe.

Use a small amount of batter and roll it around to make a thin layer of crepe batter. On medium heat.

With spatula, lift the edges when cooked and flip around.

You want a light brown color like when you cook pan cakes.

You can keep the unused batter in the fridge to make more the next day.

French Fillings:

Nutella and whip cream. Add Raspberries in summer.

Lemon custard: 1 box Lemon pudding mix. Replace the milk in the instructions by Half and half. 

Whip cream on top of crepe. (This is truly amazing! Add some lemon zest too in the custard, to die for. Hide it from the kids)

Granulated sugar. Sprinkle on top of crepe for crunchy texture when eaten.

Powdered sugar.

Jam. Orange marmalade is a French favorite.

The best Alsatian apple tart recipe

Alsatian apple tart recipe

You will need:

4 to 5 apples

3/4 pound shortcrust or sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe below)

2 Tablespoon Apricot Jam,

For the custard filling:

2 eggs

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Heavy cream

1/4 tsp Vanilla extract

Shortcrust pastry recipe

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt,

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

3, 8 tbsp iced water

In bowl, mix all the ingredient until fine crumbs form. My kids love to do this. 

Preheat at 400 degrees your oven. Roll your dough thinly and use a 9 inch pie pan. Prick with a fork. Place parchment paper on pie shell and add a layer of beans and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove and brush with the jam. Bake for 5 more minutes.

Turn your oven to 350 F

Custard filling

Beat eggs, sugar, add the cream and vanilla extract.

Place your apples thinly sliced and peeled in your shell. Poor the custard in. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until a knife inserted comes out dry. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

This is a perfect pie for any event and will impress your guest.

Thanksgiving is coming up. Try it!

You may like: Original French Truffles recipe

Mysterieux Vintage carnival party ideas

Welcome to the Mysterieux and bizarre Carnival party

Here is your ticket lucky one! Enter our tent, let me introduce you to my family...

We have the skeleton child dolls

One of them laughs, cries and says Maaaamaaaa 

We have the Man child

We have the snake charmer

Who charms himself

And me, La Madame without a face

We have our Mermaid

Oups...She can't stay too long out of the water

We have Monsieur le Werewolf 

And his little brother

Have something to eat

It's Mysterieux and delicious 

Venomous? No ones has complained yet?

Joining Le Mysterieux Carnival party

Party ideas

1. Buffalo chicken pizza recipe. 
2. Chocolate suckers tutorial in chocolate chips filled glass
3. Eat my heart appetizers. 
4. Alsatian apple tart recipe. Coming soon 
5. Paper plates, cups and napkins from Target.
6. Skeleton head from Target
7. Root beer drinks with paper strips around them.
8. White pumpkin on top of pot with net ribbon around the stem.
9. Black tree.
10. Trick or treat banner from Target.
11. Tablecloth from Target.
12. Black cake stand with paper strip around the edges.
13. Glow in the dark spider jar craft.

Top 19 Most Kids Friendly French Food

1. Crepes- Crepes are basically thin pancakes that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, depending on their filling. They are so easily customizable that it would be impossible to find something to stuff them with that a child wouldn't enjoy.

2. Quiches- This food is child friendly because it is filled with very basic foods: egg, vegetables, and cheese. All of these are encased in a flaky pie-crust like casing.

3. Croque Monsieur- while this may sound complex, it is actually just a hot ham and cheese sandwich, which is something your child is probably fairly used to eating. It is simple and definitely child-friendly.

4. Chocolate mousse- If a parent were to tell their child they are going to be served a fluffy chocolate dessert, it is doubtful that many of them would decline.

5. Tarte aux Fruits- As you may have guessed, this is simply a fruit tart served for dessert. Yum!

6. Fresh Baguettes- If your child will like anything in France, it is sure to be the exquisite breads available. They are made fresh and are insanely delicious.

7. Frites au Four- While the name may be confusing, frites au four is actually just french fries. They are a bit different than their Americanized counterpart in the way that they are not deep fried and are much healthier, but they are still child-friendly.

8. Cassoulet- This dish is a soup made with beans and meat. Simple ingredients normally translate to a child-friendly meal.

9. Clafoutis- This food is a dessert made from fresh fruit and custard. Hard not to love that combination!

10. Steak Frites- As long as the child does not have an aversion to red meat, this dish will be a hit! It is simply steak with the traditional french style fries. The main difference, however, is that the dipping sauce for this dish is mayonnaise rather than ketchup.

11. Pain au Chocolat- This dish is a combination of two child favorites: fresh flaky bakery pastries and chocolate. It is simply chocolate wrapped in a pastry. Delicious!

12. French Omelet- As long as your child is a fan of eggs, this omelet will be a hit! Omelets in America generally have lots of extra ingredients stuffed within the omelet, but French Omelets are really just herbs and cheese.

13. Yogurt Cake- This is one of the most basic cakes in France and is the first cake most French children learn to make. It is simple and delicious!

14. French onion soup- Most people are familiar with this soup. It is something that most children would enjoy and is easy to make.

15. Crème brûlée- Crème brûlée is literally translated as "burnt cream". It is a dish made of custard with a layer of hardened caramel for the top layer of the dish.

16. Crespéou- This dish is a sort of layered egg dish with vegetables and other egg toppings. It is an incredibly popular French food

17. Gougères- Gougères are cheese puffs that would be child-friendly as long as that child likes the taste of cheese

18. Quenelles- This dish is the equivalent as an American dumpling. Delicious, simply, and child-friendly!

19. Fondue- Most people have probably heard of fondue but may not know it is originally a French dish. Children will like this because they are able to choose what it is they want to dip in the cheeses and other dippings.

Author Pam Johnson enjoys traveling and blogging. She is a contributing writer for travelinsurance.org.

After school French snack or Nutella tartine

Nutella tartine is an open face sandwich. Very favorite in France.

This is a pretty tour d'Eiffel plate. I got it a long time ago.

I got the glasses because they have the shape of the Bonne Maman preserve's jar. Apricot there. Yum!

Do you have a favorite after school snack?

French party on Monday

Merry Christmas! Our past few days and Christmas Eve diner

We saw the lights at Thanksgiving point and saw Santa's reindeer.

The kids were so exited to see them. They are very pretty animals and they have a soft fur.

Then, we had some snack at their food area. Potato soup, quiche and chili fries.

It was soooo cold outside.

Tonight is our French Christmas Eve diner.

Ham, Roasted potatoes, Roasted carrots and turnip.

Pigs in a blanket.

This is pretty much my portion. I will have more veggies though.

Everything is so good and tasty!

I made some Pain aux raisins, a French pastry. Santa will be spoiled.

I wish you to all a Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus!

Lots of love!

The Thornton family

French bread, pear and leek stuffing recipe

This is my recipe...

Frenchy's French bread, pear and leek stuffing

1 loaf of 1 day old Country French bread,

1 package of mild sausage,

1 leek,

half a package of cooked bacon,

2 pears,

1 heart of celery,

1 box of turkey or chicken stock,

2 cloves of garlic,

1 onion,

cook the sausage in pan, before it is done, brown minced garlic and cut onion. Then add sliced leeks. cook a little,

Add cut celery and pear pieces,

When pear is tender add cubed bread and stock. 

Place in oven dish. In oven at 350*

stir once in a while until the desire texture.

Orange, rosemary and bacon Turkey recipe

I love this combination. So tasty!

I have never seen it anywhere. I love the orange flavor. Bacon on the top of the Turkey is something i do a lot.

I thought i would post my Thanksgiving recipes. They work for Christmas too.

We have a turkey in France for Christmas. 

The steps:

1 Turkey,

I like fresh Turkey because i can freeze the left overs and use it in soups later.

Half a package of uncooked bacon,

3 to 5 oranges,

Rosemary bunch,

Wash your Turkey, Some people wipe it dry. I don't.

Stuff your Turkey with oranges (slice the oranges a little) and rosemary.

Cut slices of oranges,

Separate the skin from the flesh on the breasts. Slide slices of oranges and rosemary inside.

Lay bacon slices on the top of the turkey like on picture.

Cook at 325* until the bacon is crispy. Then cover with aluminum paper until the turkey is done.

Follow time per pound on the turkey's wrapper.

Fireflies and Jellybeans

French pumpkin soup recipe

It all starts with a pumpkin.

French Pumpkin soup

1 small pumpkin, (for pies, i used the flesh of a big one before it works too)

1 potato per person (here 6)

2 leeks (freeze if you get more)

1 sausage package,

1 tablespoon Chicken powder or 2 broth cubes.

Garnish: croutons, Swiss cheese. Essential here.

Cut your pumpkin. Cut the skin off too. You want chunks.Use half and freeze the rest for more soup later.

Cut your potatoes,

In a non stick pan, brown your sausage.

Cut your leeks and add to sausage. cook for few minutes.

Add your potatoes and pumpkin. Cook for few minutes.

Add water to cover everything and add the broth cubes or powder.

Cook until potatoes and pumpkin are tender.

Serve with croutons and Swiss cheese. 

Beyond yummy!!

Pumpkin party