French Fancies

I just spent an incredible weekend living the life of Riley in the French Alps.

We had the opportunity to go for a three day break to Morzine with fellow couple and close friends Emma and Dave. It was a once in a life time opportunity to go to this very prestigious and elite skiing town which had a thriving atmosphere as it was overrun by rally cars and mountain bikers during the Summer, to take in the views and eat lots of great food.

This is the part where I tell you, I am still a normal human being who eats naughty foods and sometimes too much of it, just like everyone else. But as expected, the food in France, Oh My God.... I actually had THE BEST CROISSANT of my life and I don't care how cliché it is to say. My only regret is gobbling it down too fast that I didn't get a photo of the big, golden, crispy pastry. 

Never the less, plenty of food snaps were taken in my usual, blasé style.

The bakery from where we purchased said croissant was frequented on more than one occasion and the following three photos, I am sure, will explain why. 

I had a Croque Monsieur, of course, but it wasn't hot which was the only minor criticism but it was still incredibly delicious and very suitable for a slight hangover which we may or may not have been suffering. I also had a raspberry éclair which was filled with creme patissiere and oh my god. I will leave it there. 

As great as the bakery was, there were many, many more good meals to be had. The next photograph may shock you. 

Yes, that is a huge hanging contraption filled with steak. This was, may I add shared between three men and I also indulged in a little alongside my deliciously creamy risotto. This was the best steak I have ever eaten it tasted like heaven. It was full of flavour and so well cooked. This was an unlimited option and the steak was replenished once this large amount was finished. It was a lot but it was good!

And last but not least, the one meal I have to speak about, which was admittedly, extortionate but another once in a life time experience that we will never forget, is the meal in the mountains.

Literally, so deep into the mountains that you can't drive up to it, the waiters drive down to a car park and collect you. The panoramic view of mountains all around was unbelievable. You can see through this photo of us at the table, what we looked out onto. 

This is where I had my own, fantastic steak experience. I ordered the sizzling hot plate steak. And what I got was a beautiful large hot plate, with a large portion of stunning and tender steak slices to cook at my own pace to my own liking. It was excellent. And the potatoes that came with it were so good, I could have bathed in them! They buttery, creamy flavour was something I would never be able to replicate and my mouth is watering thinking of them now. Oh dear!

Here is the steak, with THOSE potatoes and the most delicious garlic butter ever! Oh God take me back!

Got to have it rare!

This of course was followed by a Tarte Tatin. What else! And well, just look at it. 

If only I could explain how well cooked the apples were, how delicious and crumbly the pastry was and how creamy and vanillary the ice cream was! Great way to finish a meal.

And finally, it wouldn't be a jaunt to France without trying the wine. We had a lot of Gamay. It was peppery which is something I wouldn't have normally thought would be nice but it worked. Especially with red meat. So much so that we brought some back! 

But this wine... 

Was easily my favourite. We had it in the fancy mountain restaurant and it was so smooth and light it went down rather quickly. 

All of this food was great but of course, there is a risk of feeling heavy and bloated. However, in the Alps there is so much walking and scenery to take in, that we were averaging 20,000 steps per day, making us feel a little less guilty and a little more hungry. Perhaps we would have reigned in the indulging had we been sedentary the whole time, but I am glad we didn't. I mean, just look at it! 

I have thoroughly enjoyed reliving my French dinning experience here and I hope you have all seen that sometimes, it is okay to just go out and enjoy life. 

If you have had some excellent foodie experiences share them! Let's see some photos and reminisce about great food together! 

Homemade fish tacos - Friday night feast

This is one of my favourite recipes! It is a "taco" so it feels naughty, however, it is anything but. It is also a feast and if you serve it the way I did, it feels more indulgent as you grab at ingredients to stuff your home made tortilla so it's bursting with flavour!

First thing's first, make the tortilla. This is sooo easy I don't know why more people don't do it.
You need 100g of flour - use whatever healthy flour you have, I used a mixture of brown and rye as that's what I had in.

Mix the flour with around 60ml of water. Add it slowly as all flour is different, sometimes it may need more, sometimes a little less. Use your judgement to get a nice firm dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes and make yourself busy.

Now roll the dough out, this makes four for me so split it into quarters. I'm not that good at getting a super thin dough but roll it out as thin as you can and then slap it on a dry non stick pan

Can you see the bubbles?

Caution! Do not leave unattended. These tortillas cook soooo quickly. As soon as it starts to puff up, flip it over. This will only take a minute or two. 

Now clean up the floury mess before the other half comes in a shouts at you for leaving footprints all over the floor *flashbacks*.

Chop up your chosen fish, I would recommend haddock, it is cheap, sustainable and is filled with seven essential vitamins and minerals. Chop up your peppers - by choosing different colours you are getting even more vitamins. I also grilled spring onions whole to give them a sweetness and a char that is delicious. 

Whilst chopping I also diced the chilli, lime and coriander for the dressing. The next step is to cook it all. Just whack it all in one pan to save on washing up! 

While this is all sizzling away, it's time to make the dressing. This time I wanted a nice fresh and light tasting sauce so I took my greek yoghurt and mixed it right in the pot, (this is what real home cooking looks like).

Grate the zest of one lime into the yoghurt, squeeze the juice from half the lime in, chop some chilli and throw it in, as much or as little as you like and then add coriander or other herb of choice. Coriander is my fav!

Once everything is cooked put it on plates for everyone to help themselves like so...

Squeeze over extra lime and voila! Enjoy x

For full recipe details go to my Recipes page