The country of the month for November

[Susann]

My husband really likes to challenge me! Ladies and gentlemen, the country of the month is...Monaco. So far, I have learned that the cooking involves a blend of French, Italian, and Meditterranean cooking, with a lot of seafood (which hubby won't eat!!!). I have also learned that the adjective form of Monaco is Monegasque(Monagasque recipes).

As always, any suggestions or web sites would be greatly appreciated. I will continue to share my findings. Thanks everyone!

[emilycat]

Susann,
I think that your country of the month "game" is the neatest thing! I'm thinking about starting to do this myself, and having my boyfriend over for one special dinner each month so I don't have to do it by myself! Such a great idea! I've been newly inspired http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Susann]

Emily-I am glad you like the idea. It really is a lot of fun, even though I get more of a kick out of it than my husband.

Another idea I had is to get wine/beer from that country to go with the meal.

Anyway, let me know if you try it! I will be interested to know what countries (we also do states and regions)you get to!

By the way, I found the following recipe for a Monegasque Lemon tart. Does anyone have any ideas on how to lower the butter content?

1 1/2 c flour
2 lg eggs
1/4 lb unsalted butter plus 1 tsp softened
4 oz almonds skin removed
1 c sugar
2 c lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange
1/2 c fresh breadcrumbs

Heat oven to 400. Sift flour into a bowl. Beat eggs lightly in another bowl. Stir flour with a fork. Stir in 1/4 lb butter, continuing to mix with a fork until a crumbly mixture is formed. Turn dough out onto a floured work surgace and knead several times.
Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan with remaining butter, then press dough into pan evenly, shaping it up around the edges.
Trim edges, then roll out leftover dough and cuti nto several long thin strips to garnish.
Crush almonds to a powder with a mortar and pestle or processor. Stir sugar into lemon juice until dissolved, them mix in the almonds and zest. Stir in the breadcrumbs and mix.
Line tart shell with wax paper and fill with pie weight. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove wax paper and weights from shell, allow to cool. Pour lemon juice mixture and crosscross remaining dough pieces on top. Reduce oven temp to 325 and bake for 45 minutes.

[andreajackson]

What is this game? I have seen your posts before and have been very curious as to what it is. Please explain, I would love to try this.

[Susann]

Andrea, On the first of the month, my husband picks a country, state, or region. I research and make recipes from that country. We have been married almost 2 years now and have done this for about 14 months. So far, we have done Indonesia, New Zealand, France, Hawaii, Jamaica, southern U.S, Canada, England, Greece (my favorite), midwest U.S.,Chile, Texas...I can't even remember the rest! It is a lot of fun for us (even though my husband laughs that I am such a teacher!!!) and people on this BB have been very generous with helping me.

Sorry I didn't explain when I originally posted!

[Natasha]

Originally posted by Susann:
Andrea, On the first of the month, my husband picks a country, state, or region. I research and make recipes from that country. We have been married almost 2 years now and have done this for about 14 months. So far, we have done Indonesia, New Zealand, France, Hawaii, Jamaica, southern U.S, Canada, England, Greece (my favorite), midwest U.S.,Chile, Texas...I can't even remember the rest! It is a lot of fun for us (even though my husband laughs that I am such a teacher!!!) and people on this BB have been very generous with helping me.

Sorry I didn't explain when I originally posted!



Thailand, Australia, Mauritius, Spain and Ireland are just a few others that would be fun if you haven t already done them!

[Susann]

I hope no one minds-just bumping this up. Anyone????

[emilycat]

Susann,
I'm not exactly a purist when it comes to baking, but I've always used Land O' Lakes light butter in all of my baking,(I can't remember the last time I've bought real butter) and everything has turned out well, including pie crusts, which I'm assuming this is tart crust is similar to. If you don't want to risk using pseudo-butter, you might try using one of CL's pie crust recipes. I know they've had recipes for lattice pies, and I certainly don't think you would ruin the authenticity of the dessert; you'd only be altering the crust. In fact, now that I think about it, I think using a CL pie crust recipe would work great. Good luck -- it sounds wonderful!

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 11-04-2000).]