French Dessert

Charlotte Russe
(Serves 6)

A custard-filled cake, made of sponge cake or lady fingers. Invented by the French chef of a Russian czar, the lady behind the title is a guess.

1 3/4 C milk
3 eggs (beaten)
3/4 C sugar
1 pkg. Knox gelatin
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 C whipped cream
24 Lady Fingers or strips of sponge cake

Custard: in a double boiler, cook milk, eggs and sugar together, stirring, until it becomes a thick, creamy custard. Be careful not to boil! Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Add gelatin to 1/3 C warm water, once it softens, stir gelatin to dissolve. Add gelatin to custard, mixing thoroughly. Cool. Fold in whipped cream.

Assemble: Square off one end of the lady fingers or sponge cake, and line a spring form pan with straight side down.* Pour custard into pan, cover lightly, and chill for at least 5-6 hours or, better, overnight. Unmold on a serving plate and cut into slices when ready to serve.

* Traditionally, a charlotte mold is used, a clay-flowerpot-shaped metal pot.

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Tips & Glossary

Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving.

Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute.

Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores.

Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores.

Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400.

The three great pedigreed French cheeses are:
• Brie (East of Paris)
• Camembert (Normandy)
• Roquefort (Southwest France, from sheep’s milk)

There are also wonderful lesser-known cheeses:
• Beaufort (Rhone Alps, hard, yellow Gruyere-type)
• Chevre (Loire Valley, soft, goat’s milk)
• Comte (Alps region, hard, yellow Gruyere-type)
• Emmental (Alps region, “Swiss” cheese with holes)
• Gruyere (hard, yellow cheese—originally French, now most is Swiss)
• Tomme (means “cheese”; soft, many varieties, all from skim milk)

Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores.

Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous:
• Dijon ( from the town in Burgundy)
• Meaux (from Meaux, east of Paris; whole-grained; made by Pommery).

Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor.

Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
Basic Roux: 1 part butter to 1 part flour. Melt butter and add flour, stirring vigorously, till it becomes a paste-like consistency. At this point, add slowly whatever liquid your recipe calls for