· 250g of plain flour

· 3 eggs (the general rule is 1 egg per 100g of flour + 1 extra for the pot)

· approx 1/2 Litre of milk (put more milk if you like thin crêpes, less if you would like thick ones)

· a pinch of salt

· magic ingredient:a bottle cap of brown rum.

DIRECTIONS

Cook the crepe on one side in a frying pan previously greased with butter, flip it, and fill it to your liking

My favourite savoury

1 egg, 1/2 slice of ham & enough gruyère cheese, salt and pepper. (plus sliced and fried mushrooms when I feel like it)

My favourite sweet

Leave a nut of butter melt on the crêpe, making sure you spread it all over. Throw a pinch of salt over it. Take the crepe out of the pan, spread some raw sugar & shape the crêpe as a roll

Isabelle’s recipe

I just use one more egg (4 in total) and 50 g butter in the dough which saves me buttering the pan too much afterwards. The temperatures need to be hot (usually on 3 on stovetop) but not extremely hot.

The quality/freshness of the ingredients -chocolate, eggs - is very important.

· 10 eggs

· 10 Tbsp caster sugar

· 250 g dark chocolate

· 50 g butter

· 1/2 Tsp salt

Serves 8 persons

DIRECTIONS

Melt the chocolate with butter in a water bath (put water in a big pan, heat it without boiling, and place in this big pan a smaller one with the chocolate and the butter, so the chocolate won't burn)

Separate the whites and egg yolks, keep the white in the fridge for the moment

In a big bowl, mix the yolks with the sugar (it must become clear) and add the melted chocolate & butter

With your hand-mixer, beat the egg whites (& salt) into snow (it must become strong)

Incorporate the egg whites into the chocolate, little by little, without “breaking them” (roll from the bottom to the top, in a circular movement)

Place in the fridge for 6 hours.

Feel free to be creative in your presentation; you can leave it in the big bowl for a family dessert or put the “mousse” into nice glasses for a dinner with friends!

· 1.5 kg meat : 1 fatty piece (blade, boneless, shoulder bone-in, ) & 1 dry piece ( tender chuck, knuckle)

· 4 marrow bones (optional), salt the ends

· 750g - 1 kg carrots (whole or large pieces)

· 1 or 2 turnips (whole or large pieces)

· 6 medium potatoes (750g - 1 kg approx)

· bouillon (chicken or beef based broth)

· 1 bouquet garni : tie together 1 piece of leek,or celery, sprig of thyme, bay leaves and parsley

· 1 big onion with 5 cloves nailed in the onion

· 5 peppercorns and 1 Tsp salt

Serves 6-8

DIRECTIONS

Put the meat in a large pot and cover it with water, boil it and skim, then, add the marrow bones and re-skim

Add the bouquet garni, onion, salt & peppercorn, carrots & turnips and cook gently (top with water when needed)

Half an hour before serving, peel the potatoes and cook them separately with some bouillon

When the potatoes are cooked, remove from the bouillon and serve in a big dish with the “pot au feu”.

Delicious served with mustard and red wine (a cabernet merlot for example)

With a “pot au feu”, you can have more than one meal: keep the meat juice for soup with bread croutons and melted cheese; use the left-over meat to make a meat salad (without cutting the meat, break into small pieces and add a strong vinaigrette, shallots and slices of gherkins), or make the French “hachis parmentier” (mix the meat, put on the bottom of a oven dish, place some mashed potatoes on top, add some cheese and put in the oven for a few minutes)!

· 1 packet of short crust pastry

· 6 slices streaky bacon

· 6 eggs, beaten

· 9 Tbsp of cream

· a little milk if required

· 3/4 Tsp salt

· 1/8 Tsp pepper

· 1/8 Tsp nutmeg

Serves 4-6

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 200°C

Roll out the pastry so that it is slightly bigger than a 9" pie dish. Line the dish with the pastry shell. leaving. Cover with tinfoil and add heavy unmeltable stuff (like knives or dry beans) to avoid bubbles and pre-cook the pastry in the oven for 5-10 mins. Remove pastry, empty beans or knives and leave to one side

Place bacon in a large skillet, and fry over medium-high heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels, then chop coarsely. Sprinkle bacon into pastry shell

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg. If your mix is too thick, add a little bit of milk to make it more liquid (maybe 1 or 2 Tbsp). Pour mixture into pastry shell

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 150°C, and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from the edge comes out clean. Allow quiche to sit 10 minutes before cutting into wedges

Quiche Lorraine is delicious with salad and a light red wine

· 1 lb of bologna (delicatessen)
If you cannot obtain use Xmas ham or luncheon for a cheaper option

· 1 can (15 oz) of sweet peas

· 3 middle size potatoes

· 4-5 middle size carrots

· 5-6 eggs

· 1 bunch of spring onions

· 1 bunch of fresh dill

· 5-6 middle size cucumbers (pickled with salt not with vinegar. Keep in fridge for a couple of days)

· Ground black pepper

· Salt to taste

· Mayonnaise to taste

Serves 6-8 persons

DIRECTIONS

Put in a large heavy-base pan (cast iron is best) some olive oil and gently cook the courgettes (pealed and sliced). Remove from pan

Then, cook the eggplant (sliced and unseeded) in the same pan (if necessary, add more oil) . Remove

Cut the onions into thin round slices and again, fry in the same pan with more oil as necessary until caramelised. Then add tomatoes (cut in quarters)

Finally, put all the vegetables together (don’t forget the capsicum - remove the seeds and white pulp and cut into thin slices). add the salt, peppercorns, thyme and 2 garlic cloves. (as you wish, crushed or entire clove peeled and cook on a slow heat for 1 hour

Serve with cooked rice and the meat or fish of your choice, and with a strong red wine