Bastille Day - French Cuisine Recipes

This Chef is a Francophile. I like movies by Jean-Luc Godard, ye-ye pop music by Serge Gainsbourg, and pommes frites, yes French Fries.)

There is more to French cuisine than French Fries of course and I've learned how to make a few recipes for this Bastille Day on July 14th -- the cheap$kate way, of course. So read on to see scrumptious videos and food photography, that I hope inspires you to try a recipe or two. And click on any recipe name to go to my blogpost with all the yummy photos and delish recipe instructions.

This French holiday is celebrated as the turning point of the French Revolution on July 14, 1790. Hey, this sounds like a fine excuse to celebrate French cuisine, to me! So I'll start with one of my favorite ones, a hearty Cassoulet casserole.

One of my early L.A. jobs in the Biz was as a videotape editor. Lunch was often in a neighborhood restaurant run by a charming French couple. My favorite dish was a comforting plate of Cassoulet. It reminded me of a rustic home cooked all-in-one dish: a bean casserole version of Mom's Cajun rice dish, Jambalaya.

A classic Cassoulet is made with confit duck legs, sausage and white beans. I've yet to find duck for 99c or less a pound but chicken quarters from a local Latin market do fine; as for sausage, 99c only Stores always carry it.

A French mirepoix of veggies includes: onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrot and celery. They will sweeten this stew with slow cooking on the stove top and in the oven.

In fall and winter months I make a Cassoulet almost every few weeks, and always have leftovers to enjoy and share.

My next Francophile recipe really does use the cheapest veggie, onions. French Onion Soup uses half a dozen roughly sliced onions, that are cooked down until caramelized to a sweet brown hue.

 I get them from my local Latin market anywhere from 4 pounds for a dollar. Go ahead and use the least expensive white or yellow onions.

French Onion Soup comes together with red wine (cheap is okay,) a fave broth, butter, and a little flour to thicken it. A pretty simple recipe, but oh so delish, especially when it's finished off topped with cheese and a slice of crusty bread.

My favorite fries are double-fried French Fries, and that's a tasty mouthful. Soggy fries were the norm until McDonald's came on the scene and changed forever the way Americans look at French Fries.

It became all about the crunchy outside and fluffy inside. Any anyone can do it if you follow my method in the video below. But you have to go to the end of the video for my French Fry tutorial, as the first part is all about British-style beer battered fried fish.



You would think a world-famous French chef would do French Fries right? Wrong -- I reviewed Chef Ludo Lefebvre's Fried Chicken Truck.

You can get French Fries with his fried chicken. Maybe it was an off day, but the fries were limp and soggy. I'm willing to try again when I run across the truck. Maybe they are great, just not when I was there. So check out my Cheap$kate Dining Review for French Chef Ludo's Fried Chicken and French Fries Truck to see for yourself.



But Chef Ludo  Lefebvre did turn my head around for his French Cheese Omelet. Man, is it tender and so good. The French method is to whip eggs first, then lightly scramble them with butter until almost done, but eggs still slightly moist. You finish by adding cheese and gently folding the egg into an omelet shape.

My omelet experience is with middle American diner-style where the eggs are solid and a bit dry. Now I make my omelets the French way, and you can too if you follow my recipe video below.



I grew up watching Julia Child cooking French food on her Public TV cooking show. And she literally wrote the book on French cooking called "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Her personality was larger than life, and I had to do a video in her honor, after she passed away. My recipe homage is a bit silly, but it is done with heart. Check out my version of Julia Child's Crepes Suzette -- done by her nephew, Julian Child!

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French stew, at least until the Cheap$kate Cuisinier gets ahold of the recipe. Beef is too expensive, but pork is the right price, so I turned the recipe into a Pork Bourguignon.

All the other classic ingredients are included like: mushrooms, onions, tomato paste and of course, cheap red wine. To get that rich beefy flavor I include beef stock.

I didn't know there was a French-style Yogurt, so when I saw it at my local 99c only Store, I had to try it. Boy, is it creamy and flavorful. Yoplait is the brand and some buy this brand just for the cool jar.

I like to add fresh fruit to plain yogurt. I find that pre-mixed yogurt with fruit is loaded with sugar and way too sweet for me. Below is how I do it.

So do click on any recipe name to see my original blog post recipe, and dig in!

Viva la France and bon appetit!

Bastille Day - French Cuisine Recipes

This Chef is a Francophile. I like movies by Jean-Luc Godard, ye-ye pop music by Serge Gainsbourg, and pommes frites, yes French Fries.)

There is more to French cuisine than French Fries of course and I've learned how to make a few recipes for this Bastille Day on July 14th -- the cheap$kate way, of course. So read on to see scrumptious videos and food photography, that I hope inspires you to try a recipe or two. And click on any recipe name to go to my blogpost with all the yummy photos and delish recipe instructions.

This French holiday is celebrated as the turning point of the French Revolution on July 14, 1790. Hey, this sounds like a fine excuse to celebrate French cuisine, to me! So I'll start with one of my favorite ones, a hearty Cassoulet casserole.

One of my early L.A. jobs in the Biz was as a videotape editor. Lunch was often in a neighborhood restaurant run by a charming French couple. My favorite dish was a comforting plate of Cassoulet. It reminded me of a rustic home cooked all-in-one dish: a bean casserole version of Mom's Cajun rice dish, Jambalaya.

A classic Cassoulet is made with confit duck legs, sausage and white beans. I've yet to find duck for 99c or less a pound but chicken quarters from a local Latin market do fine; as for sausage, 99c only Stores always carry it.

A French mirepoix of veggies includes: onion, garlic, bell pepper, carrot and celery. They will sweeten this stew with slow cooking on the stove top and in the oven.

In fall and winter months I make a Cassoulet almost every few weeks, and always have leftovers to enjoy and share.

My next Francophile recipe really does use the cheapest veggie, onions. French Onion Soup uses half a dozen roughly sliced onions, that are cooked down until caramelized to a sweet brown hue.

 I get them from my local Latin market anywhere from 4 pounds for a dollar. Go ahead and use the least expensive white or yellow onions.

French Onion Soup comes together with red wine (cheap is okay,) a fave broth, butter, and a little flour to thicken it. A pretty simple recipe, but oh so delish, especially when it's finished off topped with cheese and a slice of crusty bread.

My favorite fries are double-fried French Fries, and that's a tasty mouthful. Soggy fries were the norm until McDonald's came on the scene and changed forever the way Americans look at French Fries.

It became all about the crunchy outside and fluffy inside. Any anyone can do it if you follow my method in the video below. But you have to go to the end of the video for my French Fry tutorial, as the first part is all about British-style beer battered fried fish.



You would think a world-famous French chef would do French Fries right? Wrong -- I reviewed Chef Ludo Lefebvre's Fried Chicken Truck.

You can get French Fries with his fried chicken. Maybe it was an off day, but the fries were limp and soggy. I'm willing to try again when I run across the truck. Maybe they are great, just not when I was there. So check out my Cheap$kate Dining Review for French Chef Ludo's Fried Chicken and French Fries Truck to see for yourself.



But Chef Ludo  Lefebvre did turn my head around for his French Cheese Omelet. Man, is it tender and so good. The French method is to whip eggs first, then lightly scramble them with butter until almost done, but eggs still slightly moist. You finish by adding cheese and gently folding the egg into an omelet shape.

My omelet experience is with middle American diner-style where the eggs are solid and a bit dry. Now I make my omelets the French way, and you can too if you follow my recipe video below.



I grew up watching Julia Child cooking French food on her Public TV cooking show. And she literally wrote the book on French cooking called "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."

Her personality was larger than life, and I had to do a video in her honor, after she passed away. My recipe homage is a bit silly, but it is done with heart. Check out my version of Julia Child's Crepes Suzette -- done by her nephew, Julian Child!

Beef Bourguignon is a classic French stew, at least until the Cheap$kate Cuisinier gets ahold of the recipe. Beef is too expensive, but pork is the right price, so I turned the recipe into a Pork Bourguignon.

All the other classic ingredients are included like: mushrooms, onions, tomato paste and of course, cheap red wine. To get that rich beefy flavor I include beef stock.

I didn't know there was a French-style Yogurt, so when I saw it at my local 99c only Store, I had to try it. Boy, is it creamy and flavorful. Yoplait is the brand and some buy this brand just for the cool jar.

I like to add fresh fruit to plain yogurt. I find that pre-mixed yogurt with fruit is loaded with sugar and way too sweet for me. Below is how I do it.

So do click on any recipe name to see my original blog post recipe, and dig in!

Viva la France and bon appetit!

Top 9 Recipes of 2015

As far as year end lists go, this is one you can really sink your teeth into. And all of my top picks are deliciously cheap to make. Just click on any recipe name to see the original 2015 blogpost, or play any embedded video below. The ranking order is random and not by delectability, so go ahead and dig in!

First up is an oldie but goody, creamy Fettuccine Alfredo. While I first published this recipe in 2010, it has proved to be one of my most popular. So in 2015 I brought it back as a stop motion animated video. Enjoy.



I changed how I make omelets this year. 99 thank to local French born celebrity chef Ludo Lefebvre. You may now him from the NBC cooking show The Taste. My second Top 9 Recipe is for a Cheese Omelette made in the French manner.

 American-style is to brown the outside and cook the eggs until solid all the way through, while Ludo's way is more slow and gentle, finishing with a moist interior. Basically a slow scramble until you gently roll the eggs into an omelet shape like this:

Here's my arty animated version of Chef Ludo's French-style Cheese Omelette.



I've never got why recipes call for pounding meat into a thin wafer that's fried, baked or sauteed into dry shoe leather. I guess it's tradition at work. Well, for my third Top 9 Recipe I turn the tables and toss out that tainted technique. Here's how I do Chicken Parmesan in Marinara Sauce.

Just put on some Dean Martin tunes, grab a bottle of Chiante, and give this Italian crunchy-coated classic a spin:



We are in the shivering days of winter and for my forth Top 9 Recipe you will want to rustle up a bowl of bubbling Green Split Pea Soup with Ham. My version is comfort food for the soul. So put on a slow-cooking pot of it to get your kitchen toasty and aromatic.

I don't know about you, but I'm starting some today.

For years end it's a party! My fifth Top 9 Recipe will get the ball rolling for any gathering: Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts.

It really is my cutest video recipe for the year. To make this appealing appetizer a little more light, I show you a turkey bacon version, too. Roasted porcine wrapped mini-cabbages are a flavor-bomb powerful enough to wage war on the most embedded taste buds.



I seldom cook with beef because it's just too darn expensive. But I made an exception with my sixth Top 9 Recipe of Pasta alla Genovese. This cut of cow is the right price for about $2 per pound, called beef shank - not too bad. It's one tough cut of beef that I wrestle into tenderness by slow braising it for hours in white wine with a pot full of sliced onion.

While you need patience waiting for this Italian classic, your reward is a deeply beef flavored pasta sauce any Italian grandmother would approve of.



I make the seventh Top 9 Recipe more often than any other: Mexican Chicken Tinga.

This recipe is a 2fer. You can scoop it onto a plate of rice or just stuff it into a taco or burrito. Plus it's so cheap and easy to make, with very few ingredients to deal with, just a couple of canned items, onion, garlic and chicken. It's crock pot cuisine that freezes well -- I pack it into a container for office lunches. When you try it, I think it will be a favorite for you too.



Loco Moco, a Hawaiian bred entree, is my eighth Top 9 Recipe. If you are a calorie counter then scroll on, but if you break your fast from time to time then cheat with this decedent breakfast of sticky rice, a fat ground beef patty, gravy, and it's all topped with fried eggs - now that's a mouthful.

This recipe came about after a vacation trip last summer to the tropical island of Ohau, Hawaii. I spied locals, shirtless and in swimming trunks (possibly surfers on a late breakfast carb-loading break,) carrying piled plates to their tables. It looked like too much, but I eventually gave it a go and boy was it good. Substitute a low-fat ground chicken or turkey patty if it makes you feel better.



Finally my ninth Top 9 Recipe is my cheapest yet, a Black Pepper Stir Fry with chicken and celery. One of the least expensive veggies is a head of celery. I always end up throwing away a few stalks, so I decided to make a recipe before that happens next time, and this is the result of my fugalness.

Although I never eat at Panda Express, that doesn't mean I can't ripoff a recipe from there. I usually get mine from cheaper restaurant takeout stations in Chinatown for a lot less than what Panda Express charges. Just click here to see how fast and easy you can make it.

It has been a fruitfully abundant year of recipes here at the Cheap$kate Chateau. I did the heavy lifting for you, so now all you have to do is pick a recipe link and save yourself some hard earned cash by trying out any of the above.

And make sure to keep checking in here from time to time, while my tastes are cheap, my recipe flavors are top shelf!