EpiCurious Generations

Everyone has their own take on this classic.  This is an easy weekday meal to prepare and there are usually leftovers that can be brought to the office (or school) for lunch the next day. In France, this is called hachi parmentier and it is made with duck confit and buttery mashed potatoes (great as a weekend version when entertaining and really easy to make - I'll try to make it for the next post).

Every once in a while I crave a chicken salad or club sandwich.  When this happens, I go to the grocery store and buy a roasted chicken and within minutes after arriving home I can sit and enjoy a little of what I consider one of my favorite comfort foods. This sandwich is a little different in texture because of the Naan bread.  You can now find this leavened, oven baked flat bread at most grocery stores.  It is oval or round in shape and I cut in quarters and toast it to add a little crunch to the sandwich (it also makes this open faced version easy to eat).

The cooler weather is just around the corner and I have to admit that the Fall is my favourite time of the year.   The best days are weekends spent at home relaxing while something slow cooks in the oven.  If there is a fire going, music playing and the house smells wonderful, I am truly happy. I found some short ribs at the market the other day and was inspired to cook an end-of-Summer, pre-Fall slow roasted meal.  I was going to freeze it for Kat to bring back to school but we ended up having it for dinner because everyone was home (this also makes me very happy).

It's summertime and the fruit is amazing.  Recently, when we were invited to a party and I asked if I could bring something, this idea came to mind.  Actually, it was inspired by my husband who suggested we buy a wonderful chocolate fondue that we found in Switzerland (that is actually from France) to bring back as gifts for friends and family in Montreal. The fondue preparation itself is presented in clay jars that stay very warm once heated and work extremely well to keep the chocolate melted and at the right temperature.  We bought two flavours:  Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with red pepper aroma (actually quite spicy and really good) and Dark Chocolate 70% cocoa with sea salt.  Both were amazing and added a little twist to the traditional basic chocolate fondue.  The jar needs to be heated on medium power in the microwave for two minutes at a time until the chocolate is the right temperature and consistency.  Very easy.

Served here with baked Lays potato chips or toasted baguette In our family we use the expression ''mish mash'' to describe a dinner when we will just go through the fridge and freezer and put a bunch of easy (but good) things together to create a meal.  Actually, this is one of our favorite ways to eat because everyone prepares their favorite item and it all comes together buffet (or tapas) style.

A little while back, I asked my mother to send me our favorite family recipes so I could put them on the blog.  She quickly obliged and sat down at the kitchen table to neatly and clearly write them out for me.  I received them a few days later in the mail with a lovely note (it still makes me happy to receive something in the mail - thanks mom).

For some reason, all the men I know seem to have a soft spot for these crisp gingerbread cookies.