Spice up your Cooking!

5 French tips to spice up your cooking:

Tip #1- Use a pinch of Herbs de Provence to enhance the flavor of your steacks, gratins or quiche: This wonderful blend of rosemary, marjoram, basil, savory, and thyme is a basic found in every French kitchen.  Note that French Herbs de Provence do not contain Lavender. Thyme is used quite often on its own as well, to season a fish or sliced potatoes.

Tip #2- Give an amazing flavor to your soups or stews with a Bouquet Garni: A bundle of herbs (usually parsley, thyme and bay leaves) tied together with string, cooked with the other ingredients, and removed prior to consumption. Try it with a Blanquette de Veau (Veal Stew), Boeuf Bourguignon, or Pot au Feu (Beef Stews), or simply in your favorite soup.

Tip #3- Sprinkle Fleur de Sel atop your favorite foods just prior to serve them for maximum flavor: Fleur de Sel is a hand-harvested sea salt collected by workers who scrape only the top layer of salt before it sinks to the bottom of large salt pans. It is an artisanal product that contains more mineral complexity than table salt.

Tip #4- Spice up your scramble eggs or Piperade with a pinch of Espelette Chili Pepper: This variety of Chili Pepper has been cultivated in the French town of Espelette, in the Southwest of France, since the 16th century. Espelette peppers are hand-picked and hand-sorted over the course of ten weeks, starting in mid-August. It is famous for its robust peppery and slightly smoked flavor.

Tip #5- Use Flavored Salt for a spicy, quick and easy effect: French Sea Salt can be found already flavored, with different types of spices - Garlic and Parsley, Herbs, Truffle, Espelette Chili Pepper... So easy to season your foods directly in your plate!

Bon Appetit =)