In this installment
French-inspired foods for dinner
Farm Bread
Saucisson Sec Salami
Mini Brie Cheese
Palmiers
French-inspired foods for dinner
Now it’s time for a French inspired finger feast that will happily satisfy a couple folks and finish the day with flavor. While the foods are all made here in the States (and three of the four are made by Zingerman’s!), folks in France would feel at home nibbling on cheese, salami, great crusty bread and something sweet for the final meal of the day.
- Set the salami on a plate and the cheese on a plate and let them come up to room temperature. They taste better at room temperature.
- Place the naked loaf in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes
- Take the loaf out of the oven. Careful—it’s hot! Grip the “twice baked” loaf with a towel in your hand. Slice the bread perpendicular to the cutting surface with a good serrated knife. Cut the slices in half for smaller pieces.
- Leave a sharp yet simple knife on the plate (or cutting board for a rustic presentation) with the salami and slice “coins” of salami to eat.
- Use a butter knife or even a spoon to cut and serve the brie.
- Eat the palmiers for dessert, serve with coffee or tea or cordial or wine or whatever you like!
Farm Bread
Imagine sitting around a French farmhouse table waiting for dinner. This would be the bread the family would serve. Like French pain au levain, it’s an organic white-wheat flour mix made with a sour starter. Its crust is crisp, its flavor subtle, never tiring. Fortune Magazine called it the best mail-order-bread around.
Saucisson Sec Salami
The artisan meat world is exploding with incredible producers making small-batch charcuterie from local, heritage breed animals. This Saucisson Sec from Il Porcellino Salumi in Denver is one of my new favorites: a traditional French-style pork salami with garlic, pepper and red wine.
Where producers might get creative with obscure ingredients to make their charcuterie stand out, this salami went for true, straight forward pork flavor. And hit the mark.
Mini Brie Cheese
After years of folks asking for a small, bloomy-rind cheese, Zingerman’s Creamery has released their latest, greatest creation: an oozy, woozy, Brie-style cheese. Right from the start, it’s been tasting impressively good—buttery, mushroomy, almost meaty in the finish. Unlike the large wheels of brie they make in France, this little beauty is small and compact and develops its flavors quickly so it’s ready to enjoy in less time. A star of any cheese tray and the perfect pairing for the salami. Made from pasteurized cow’s milk.
Palmiers
Palmiers remind most folks of the fanciest elephant ears from the fanciest county fair ever. We just think they’re delicious.
Made with lots of fresh butter, sugar and a bit of organic flour, this traditional puff pastry cookie has legions of fans here in Ann Arbor and throughout the country. Each palmier is about the size of your palm (that’s where they get the name, by the way, but it sounds fancier in French). The buttery flavor is balanced with the crisp sweetness of the sugar that jackets the pastry, but it’s the flakey, feathery light texture that impresses the most. The perfect something sweet to round out the rich, decadent, meaty, rich and satisfying meal.