Episode #8, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

A beautifully cooked burger. A glass of red wine. The weekend or evening arrives, and comfort is savored with every bite and pairing sip.

The final episode of season 3 of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen is one I saved intentionally to conclude this year’s French Comfort themed recipes. Burgers, no matter what the protein, dressed with fresh vegetables and spread, topped with a buttery, toasted brioche bun are perhaps the definition of simple, comfort food with a dash of French finesse.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e8/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #7, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

Cherry trees in full blossom in April. Little did I realize the gift I had in my new garden with two dwarf cherry trees. Situated just outside my reading nook window, their beauty from spring through the summer and early fall gifts me with not only beauty but gorgeously delicious brilliant red cherries for making . . . you guessed it – Clafoutis aux Cerises or Cherry Clafoutis.

As I share in today’s episode, clafoutis can be made with any fruit you have available (but don’t say that too loudly as technically a clafoutis is only made with cherries) – the more in season, the more flavor, but frozen works well also. In fact, while I made this recipe with cherries for the first time in July – fresh cherries just hours before picked off of my tree – for today’s recipe I am using frozen cherries from my tree. Still absolutely delicious.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e7/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Crêpes. Buckwheat crêpes (or galettes) are both delicate and hardy. Filling and satiating without being too much.

Adding quality ingredients to fill the crêpe make it all the more special, and the good news is only a few ingredients are necessary. Yep, simple and delicious. One of the best ways to step into the kitchen and have fun creating something you cannot wait devour.

My first savory crêpe was enjoyed in Paris about eight years ago. Melt-in-my-mouth it did, and I have forever since been a fan. Find the

Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e6/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #5, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

Seafood.

Simple. Scrumptious, Seasonal and Fresh.

In fewer than 20 minutes, this meal, like many shell-fish dishes is done and on the plate with a complementary sauce.

Finding a high quality sherry wine elevates the entire flavor experience, so the next time you find yourself in the seafood section of the market and the fresh sea scallops catch your eye, grab a handful.

I thoroughly enjoy making this dish in the middle of the week as I know with confidence I will be satiated, and it won’t take long to make.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e5/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #4, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

Yesterday was Friday, and guess what I had when I came home from work? Yep, A comfort pasta dish. In fact, the comfort pasta dish that while not enjoyed often, when chosen to be enjoyed is deeply savored – Spaghettia alla Carbonara.

I have been eating and then cooking this dish for decades. My mother began cooking this dish when we were young children, and it was a special occasion to cozy in and be home with our family.

Such a simple dish – eggs, cheese, bacon (pancetta) and pasta (plus a few extra ingredients – aromatics and a spice) to add lovely layers of flavor.

While admittedly, not a French comfort recipe, it is a comfort recipe, and I would be remiss if I did not include in this season’s line-up of recipes as it has brough immense comfort, albeit fleeting, throughout the past twenty years, and usually always on a Friday.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e4/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #3, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

Today’s recipe is one I stumbled upon making last fall while visiting my parents after an emotionally rough season for our family due to loss and health struggles. Looking for comfort, I looked to none other than Julia Child and found my favorite way to make a French apple tart – double the apples!

The filling for the recipe is akin to apple sauce, and the topping makes it look especially special. The double apple approach may take a touch more time, but it is absolutely worth it.

Choosing to use my personal pastry recipe, and Julia Child and Dorie Greenspan’s filling, I am confident you as well will find this classic recipe a bit more special and full of comfort and dependable flavor for savoring this fall.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e3/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #2, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

A simple nibble to enjoy in the evening before the dinner is served.

A reason to sit down, slow down and savor the company who has gathered or simply wind down the day.

Gougères provide the savory comfort that can only come from cheese and butter.

Simple to make, and easy to freeze, so you have many to enjoy down the road with out having to mix up anything, only patiently waiting for them to bake, Gougères are a French favorite and beloved and recognized to have origins in Burgundy.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e2/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

Episode #1, Season 3, The Simply Luxurious Kitchen

A simple dish that tastes decadent and fresh all at the same time. Sorrel Chicken. Inspired by my time in Louviers, France, in Susan Herrmann Loomis’ kitchen, Susan introduced me to an herb I had not grown in my herb garden until this year – Sorrel. A lovely citrus flavor large oblong leaf of a plant, the magic it brought to this simple wine sauce made an impression on my tastebuds.

Find the Recipe here - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts3e1/

View more episodes of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen on TSLL Blog - https://thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/category/vodcast/

One of my favorite recipes that I make as a meal, but can also serve as a side salad, is my sweet potato, chicken and arugula salad. Marrying vegetables, crunchy healthy carbs and protein, this dish is a meal one evening and my lunch the next day. And what's even better is that it is simple to make.

In today's episode of The Simply Luxurious Kitchen discover how to make a salad perfect for fall and winter (and really year-round), as well as learn what the actually difference is between sweet potatoes and yams. After all, Thanksgiving is just around the corner here in the states, and even the grocery stores have been labeling them incorrectly . . . sort of. I'll explain it all, and the history of how the shift of "misnaming" came to be common practice.

I do hope you enjoy the episode. Click on the video below for episode #7 of the second season!

Check out the Show Notes for the recipe - https://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts2e7

Simple weeknight dinners that provide a healthy balance of what we need as well as beautiful flavors are what I gravitate towards. Oh, and preferrably simple as well! One of my go-to week-night dinners was taken up a notch after I took a trip to San Fancisco this summer and enjoyed a lusciously slow baked King salmon at Boulibarin the Ferry Building.

The depth of yum, as I describe it in this week’s episode, is elevated as the quality flavors included in the vinaigrette turn a simple dish into a luxurious weeknight meal.

By incorporating the quality staples we have in our épicerie into our seasonal dishes, the improvement of flavor and thus our dining experience, can be tremendous. Let me show you how to take a basic salmon, vegetables and rice recipe to an entirely new level of delicous. 

Visit the full show notes and find the recipes there as well - https://www.thesimplyluxuriouslife.com/vodcasts2e5

For some time there has been one skill in the kitchen that has been an unknown to me, but when I finally decided to explore it, my experience and flavors were taken to an entirely different level. The skill I was intimated to learn initially in the kitchen was how to make delicious sauces, inspired by French cuisine.

Perhaps that is a lesson to apply to all arenas of our lives, and it is something we talk about often here on the blog. What we fear is often a road sign letting us know where we need to travel if we wish to grow, but also if we wish to step into the life we want to live. Our fear acts as sort of wise fortune teller who actually does have the map toward are dreams’ materialization. We’re not talking about having doubts, remember as shared before in TSLL’s second book, the two are entirely different. What we fear is something we do not know, and thus it is curiosity and courage that will help us take the first step to learning and seeing what is around the corner.

Discovering that sauces are absolutely a skill any one of us can master if only we have the proper teacher, cookbook or guide, was a game changer for me as I mentioned above. Every dish that was complemented with a sauce made of the renderings and finished with the right flavors from either wine, butter, stock, aromatics, acids such as lemon (but there are many more), and/or herbs took the entire dish to a new and delicious level. And it didn’t take all that much more time to do. I simply needed to learn how to do it.

I have been exploring sauce-making for years (and making many mistakes along the way), watching other cooks whip them up effortlessly, but it was with the guidance of Susan Hermann-Loomis and the cookbook by James Peterson Sauces: Classic and Contemporary Sauce Making that gave me the specific and direct skills to have the confidence and the success I was searching for.

In today’s episode, to demonstrate just how simple a classic French sauce can be that will elevate any dish you wish to pair it with, I am making Citron Beurre Blanc, a version of the classic Beurre Blanc (I will demonstrate and share the recipes for both, as well as the history). Paired with a simple Herbed Trout recipe, a scrumptious dinner will be on the table and ready to enjoy in fewer than 20 minutes.

As well, I will take you back with me to Louviers, France, and share with you the highlights of my cooking class with Susan Hermann-Loomis this summer. I do hope you enjoy this episode, and thank you for stopping by.