Tarte Tatin

'I burnt the apples!', she exclaimed. And that is how a long story began. Because this happened more than 100 years ago. And she was one of the two sisters Tatin. Probably nobody would know her name except of the few hunters and travelers who stayed at the hotel, owned by her and her sister, about 100 km south of Paris. But there were some clients in the restaurant at the hotel who were waiting for the apple tarts they had ordered. And she, who was responsible for the kitchen things, had to do something. What exactly was her mistake - probably nobody will ever know. Was she tired, distracted by something or just absent-minded? We will never know. But she lacked of time and she had to do something with the caramelized apples she had in the pan. So she put the tart pastry onto the apples, baked the cake and turned it upside down. Little bit frustrated, little bit nervous she served the upside-down apple tart to the clients. What was their reaction? They were fascinated and wanted more. Because the caramelized apples tasted far better than the ones used in the classical apple tart. 
How did the story continue? A man from French restaurant Maxim's heard about this little treasure and wanted to know the key to it. He found a way to take the recipe and that is how Tarte Tatin, named after the above mentioned lady, became part of Maxim's menu and made its official entrance to the golden culinary pages of the world. 
That is how a mistake turned into something appreciated all over the world. I like this idea very much. Not so exaggerating like turning lemons into lemonade but I suppose, sometimes there is opportunity even in the worst situations. In fact, being involved into the situation makes you some kind of blind to all the possibilities around. But they still exist.
I rarely admit I have made a mistake. But now I 'burned my apples'. Literally and figuratively. And I have to decide what to do with the 'pastry', with the 'clients' and how the story should continue. In other words, I should decide what my future steps should be. 
The things which are obvious in the pictures are that I am a little bit angry. And anxious. And that is why I was thinking I should not publish this post. But this is my place. And the tart is still tasty. So here is the recipe, taken from a book about the French cooking.

Bouillabaisse a la Marseillaise

I bet, you could not write the name of this dish if you are not french. Well, if you can, congratulations. I could not. I could not even pronounce it. But I can prepare it, I can enjoy it at lunch time, for dinner or even as a breakfast on early Saturday or Sunday mornings.   

Bouillabaisse is a French seafood stew, which home is supposed to be Marseille, but it is widely served in the coastal little ports of Southern France. It was once a cheap fishermen meal, which seafood ingredients depended on the daily catch. So, different kind of fish could be included, the most important thing is to put at least four varieties, every one of which delivers its own taste. Fish should be lean and fresh. The way I prepared the recipe is based  on the one from here. I added orange peel and wine.
There is a little rule conserning the serving of bouillabaisse - seafood in one dish and soup in another. But it all depends on you and your personal preferences. I like the fish to be hot, so I spoon a ladleful of soup onto it.

Steak tartare

Some years ago a friend of mine went to Paris with his family for two or three weeks . 

We met soon after he came back from his journey and he told me enthusiastically how much he and his wife liked the French cuisine. There was only one huge disappointment, he said. A kind of steak presented in the menu. 

'We ordered it and, Good Lord, the garçon brought us a heap of minced meat, some chopped onion, a raw egg yolk and some spices. We could not believe our eyes', my friend said, it was like somebody has stolen the ingredients from the chef before he was able to prepare the dish, even before he could mix them. 

So, in short, my friend and his wife sent the dish back to the kitchen angrily, asking the chef to prepare the tartare on the grill. 
Yes, this is a true story. I tried not to laugh when I heard it and I would have probably forget about it, but one of my colleagues came back from France this summer. He spent there some weeks with his friends and when they ordered Steak tartare…, well, you already know the end of the story.

So, the moral – if you don’t like the taste of raw meat, Steak Tartare should not be amongst your orders. But if you are a devoted meat lover like me and my three beloved ones, this is a good and easy to prepare dish which is best enjoyed with a glas of good red wine. 

It is not a good idea to prepare the mixture of the ingredients in advance and to put it in the fridge - everything should be mixed some minutes before serving or even like in the case of my friend - everybody should prepare their mixture in their own plate. Meat and eggs should be very, very fresh and from a trusted source in order to avoid any digestive complications. Classical recipe calls for hot pepper sauce as an ingredients, but we like it with fresh chopped hot peppers.

Chocolate lava cake

Same ingredients like yesterday's chocolate tart (except the salt), but different amount of them and different result. Chocolate lava cake is a popular French dessert, served worldwide. Its consistency makes it so popular, and namely the soft runny chocolate centre. 

Legend says it was a result of a chef's mistake - the cook took the individual chocolate cakes too early from the oven and the chocolate oozed out when cut in the middle. The right baking time which determines the consistency is around 10 minutes, but it depends on the oven you use and don't bother - if you overbake slightly, you will have just a moist cake.

Baked Brie with jam and walnuts

Brie has the reputation of one of the best French cheeses. I don't know whether this is true, but it is at least one of the best known. I like its nutty, truffle-like taste and this recipe lets this taste celebrate. Baking makes the soft texture of the cheese get creamy and runny when pressed with the knife. The flavours of the cheese develop. The jam provides sweetness, which makes the salty taste of brie even more obvious.
I saw the original recipe here and I made only few changes replacing the puff pastry with a phyllo dough and it was absolutely delicious.