France

This is used in some Escoffier recipes, notably the Sauce Perigueux.

Black winter truffles (Tuber melanosporum) are seasonal, so if you want them out of season, you need them preserved. Most commercial preservation methods rely on heat, which reduces the flavor both in strength and complexity. You can preserve them yourself in good quality Madeira. I use Sercial Madeira.

This is a beautiful and delicious crowd-pleaser! The "heart of the cream" is a simple combination of cream cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar with a touch of vanilla and lemon zest. It makes this beautiful white confection that people always return to for seconds. Dressing it with a bright red raspberry or strawberry sauce makes it even more eye-catching and tasty.

I served this as one of the desserts at the Old Colony Club's 2025 Past Presidents Night Gala, and many people wanted the recipe!

In the United States, Cassoulet Toulousaine is the most well-known of the three classic cassoulets of southwestern France, and maybe the easiest to get the ingredients for because D'Artagnan sells an excellent Cassoulet Kit.

This is maybe the most expensive cassoulet to make because of the confit duck legs, but the flavor is extraordinary! It takes a couple of days to make, so plan ahead. The general procedure is:

1. Prepare all ingredients.
2. Make a rich pork stock.
3. Soak the beans overnight, then boil them until tender.
4. Assemble the cassoulet.
5. Add the stock and bake for hours at low heat.

Be sure the read the note at the end about the celebrated cassoulet crust.

This one is for a special occasion! You make a simple stuffing of mostly crab meat, fold fillets of sole over the filling, and poach. When it's done you reduce the cooking liquid and enrich it with lobster stock and butter.

A paupiette is just a thin fillet of fish or piece of meat filled with something savory. They are typically braised or baked in wine or stock. They're very popular in France, and you can often buy them ready-to-cook.

This French trout dish is easy to prepare and you can have it on the table in half an hour. Besides the fish, it uses only 5 ingredients that you probably have in the house already, so it's a good recipe to know if you're sometimes lucky enough to get fresh trout!

The Clafoutis Limousin, or cherry clafoutis, is the best known of this traditional and simple dessert style. It can also be made apples, pears, plums, or berries. If a menu says only Clafoutis (also spelled clafouti), they mean the cherry version.

The clafoutis is not elegant or elaborate, it's simple country fare, essentially just a pancake batter poured over cherries and baked, served warm from the oven.

The flamiche is a leek quiche. It's a mild dish because the oniony leeks are first stewed until they are tender. Some cheese enriches the flavor while keeping this quiche suitable for vegetarians.

I don't know where the name comes from: leeks are poireaux. I got this recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but they make no mention of the etymology of the name.

We love fresh trout. This is an easy and delicious recipe for a weeknight. You can use either slivered almonds (shown here) or sliced almonds. The slivered ones retain more crunch and less of the buttery goodness, so it's easy to choose.

This is a tasty soup with few ingredients. The veloute technique is easy, just like making a roux-thickened sauce, so if you find that easy then the whole thing is easy.

The French name for this fall and winter warmer is Potage Veloute aux Champignons.  The French classify soups in three broad ways: a potage is a thick soup, a soupe is a thin soup with veggies and whatever else in it, and a consomme is a perfectly translucent broth clarified from an excellent stock. This potage can be made with chicken, beef, ham, or vegetable stock, or if you use dried mushrooms then the strained mushroom soaking liquid can be used for some or all of the stock. 

For the dinner at which this was served, it was followed by the fish course and one of our diners is vegetarian, so I made a veggie stock from the trimmings of the vegetable course and added the mushroom soaking liquid from some dried wild mushrooms.

This is a simple and delicious preparation for fillets of sole or trout that is easy to make on a weeknight. You toast the sliced almonds in butter, and then pan-fry the fish in butter and dress it with the almonds.

I did the one in the photo with a full cup of almonds because Lorna likes it that way!