Salmon with Boursin Cheese & Tomatoes en Papiotte

We'd been driving for 3 plus hours south east from Dijon to Thonon-les-Bains to visit friends. Normally this trip would be filled with some good music, sleeping (for me) and talks of future travels and projects. This time, with our 9 month old daughter, it was filled with Nirvana's MTV unplugged album on repeat (it was a surefire way to get her to sleep), and talks of potentially stopping at the next rest stop, what she was going to eat, and diapers. Wow, how times have changed.

So after what seemed like endless driving on the French highways, mediocre rest stops and not much napping on my part, a late lunch and a little rosé in the garden of our friends' home was welcome. And for lunch? A wonderful fillet of salmon baked en papiotte (in a parchment paper pocket) with boursin cheese and tomatoes. It was so delicious and so flavorful. Even our 9 month old daughter loved it!

Mom Miranda’s Tourtiere (Quebec Meat Pie)

Last night I had dinner with my family and was reminded of a fantastic meal that I had only a couple of months ago. 

We had all just arrived home for the holidays a few days before Christmas. Upon entering my parents' house, we were greeted with the smell of my mom's cooking--- just in time for lunch!

My mom had prepared a meat pie. Her version of the Quebecois Tourtiere. She had actually prepared three of them... two for lunch and one, wrapped and ready for the freezer to enjoy on another day.

Lunch was amazing. The pie's crust was flaky and the meat filling was delicious. My mom served the meat pie with green beans simply sauteed with garlic.

So, how was I reminded of this fantastic lunch last night? Because that third meat pie made an appearance! Thawed and baked to perfection, it tasted exactly like the lunch we had a couple of months ago. 

Rice with Merguez Sausages & Veggies

People always ask me how I decide what to make. And to be honest, it really depends.

Sometimes I get inspired in the grocery store or market, buy a whole bunch of stuff and then make up combinations on the fly depending on what I bought and what's left in my kitchen as the week goes on.

Other times, I read a book or see a recipe and that inspires me to go shop for specific ingredients (and of course, during that trip, I usually pick up lots of other stuff which I will find ways to use throughout the week).

There are times when I might just start to crave a specific taste or texture, often some form of comfort food, and try to replicate that nostalgic feeling.

And there are times when I just get stuck in a rut and keep making the same thing over and over and over.

But the other day, I asked my husband what he would like to eat. He often lets me know what he feels like or makes mention of a favorite dish, and I try to accommodate it into my crazy "to make" cooking/baking list" but it is very rare that I come right out and ask him point blank. But and did. And one of the things he mentioned was sausages with rice and tomato cooked together like his mom makes. Of course. It has to be like his mom's. And of course, I know that I can never come close to replicating his mom's cooking.  But, I thought I would give it a shot from my memory of this dish.

Blanquette de Veau (French Veal Ragout)

So, the plan was to surprise my husband with one of his favorite meals. A dish his mom used to make for him often, and that he always requests when we go to visit. Blanquette de Veau. It's basically a veal stew or ragout of sorts with a creamy sauce.

The goal was not to make it better than his mom's (because that would be virtually impossible), but just to foster a little nostalgia and warm and fuzzy, like a dish from your past should.

Quiche Lorraine

The Quebecois make tourtière around the holidays. It is a meat pie made usually with minced pork and sometimes also with veal or beef, onions, and spices.

Pies are not really a tradition in our household around the holidays, although I have toyed with the idea of trying to make one. But instead, in a similar theme, I decided to make Quiche Lorraine for my husband. Again, not something I usually make during the holidays, but I know he has been missing France lately, and in anticipation of our trip there next month, I thought it would be nice to get in the spirit. Plus, it is great for entertaining. It could be a cocktail hour treat (and could be made into little bite sized quiches), or could be served just like this in small slivers, or of course, for a holiday brunch.

This recipe is so versatile, because you could really add whatever you want to make this quiche your own. My in-laws don't like cheese (go figure... they are French and have unlimited access to some of the best cheeses in the world, but won't touch them with a ten foot pole), so we often omit the cheese, or you could add mushrooms, spinach, sausage, bell peppers.... the list is endless as long as you keep the eggs, milk, and cream the same.

So make your own holiday quiche or ring in the new year with a quick, make ahead brunch.

Quiche Lorraine

Makes 1 Tart

1 Tart Shell (See my recipe for a Homemade Whole Wheat Pastry Crust or a Regular Pastry Crust)

Filling:

6 slices bacon, cut into pieces

1 Large White onion, finely chopped

4 Eggs

1/2 cup Milk

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp White pepper

1/4 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Extra Old Cheddar (traditionally, Gruyere cheese is used)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll on a floured surgace until about 1/2 cm thick. 

Place into a tart tin (preferably one with a removable base). Prick all over with fork. Cover with foil and fill with pie weights or beans. Blind bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, remove weights and foil, and let cool in the tart pan. 

Reduce the oven to 375 degrees.

To make the filling: In large skillet, fry bacon pieces over medium-high heat until the fat renders. Transfer the bacon onto a paper towel lined plate.

Dispose of the fat from the pan, then sautee the onions until they soften.

In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, cream and dijon mustard. Stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add in the bacon, onion, and grated cheese (at this point, you could add whatever fillings you want to the egg mixture). Pour the egg mixture into the tart shell.

Bake in the 375 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the quiche comes out clean. Let cool on a rack until ready to serve. You can serve warm or room temperature.

If you want to make it ahead, do everything as above, but let the quiche cool completely, then refrigerate.  You can reheat in the oven at 350 degrees until warm, about 15-20 minutes.

Tarte au Flan (French Custard Tart)

Flan is essentially custard. Therefore, a tarte au flan is custard baked in a tart shell. And it’s my husband’s favorite!

Now for those of you who have been following my blog, you are starting to wonder if all things are my husband’s favorite, but I assure you, they aren’t. In fact, my husband is the guinea pig for all my experiments, successful or not and he rarely makes any food demands. So, it is only fair that every once in a while, I recreate his childhood favorites. And this is one of them.

A piece of tarte au flan can be purchased at any French boulangerie and you can find whole tarts for sale in pretty much every French grocery store. I only know this because every time we land in France, on the way home we are forced to stop to pick up a piece for my husband. You can get a variety of different qualities from the really rich and eggy boulangerie types, to the light, made-from-powder, grocery store types. But in the end, all are flan, and my husband loves them all.

I have attempted many times to recreate this favorite. I have tried many different recipes, some which were dense and lumpy, and others which didn’t set in the oven. After much experimenting, I think I have finally found “the one.”

So, here it is. I hope that whoever eats yours gets as much pleasure from it as my husband does!

p.s. The tart shell is so easy to make in a food processor, but if you don't want to do it from scratch, you can buy a frozen tart shell or roll of tart pastry.

Tarte au Flan

Makes 1 tart (10 inches or 26 cm)

For the Pastry

1 1/4 cups Flour

1/8 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, cold and cut into pieces

2-3 tbsp Ice Water

For the Flan

300 ml Milk

3 Eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Flour

2 tsp Vanilla

Icing Sugar for dusting

To make the pastry:

In a food processor, mix the flour and the salt. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles grains like oatmeal. Add the water, 1 tbsp at a time, pulsing until the dough just comes together in a ball.

Form the dough into a disk, wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

To make the flan filling:

Heat the milk until warm (can do it in the microwave). In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar. Whisk in the flour, then the warm milk and vanilla.

Roll out the dough and place in a relatively deep tart pan (I used the classic pyrex 26 cm tart dish). If after this process, the dough is very soft, place the tart shell into the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Farenheit).

Pour the flan filling into the tart shell and bake in the preheated 180 degree oven for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to about 165 degrees and bake for another 30-45 minutes until the filling is set.

As an option, you can dust with icing sugar. Or, you can dust with icing sugar, set the oven to broil, and caramelize the top of the tart.

Let cool completely before serving.

Easy Sweet or Savory Crepes

Crepes are basically an unleavened French pancake. We usually pay a fortune for all different sorts of crepes in restaurants, cafes, and creperies, but what many of us don’t realize is that they are super easy and inexpensive to make. Also, all of the ingredients are pantry staples so this recipe doesn’t require a lot of forethought. As far as equipment goes, you really don’t need one of those fancy crepe pans that you see in the restaurants (unless of course, you want one!). All you need is a regular non-stick pan (of any size) and some kind of flipper or spatula.

Once you master the basic technique, you can use your imagination and fill them with just about anything. Think about all the different types of crepes you have eaten or seen on menus… sweet crepes like crepes suzette and savory crepes filled with spinach and ricotta.



Now think about all of your favorite things….Think Nutella, chocolate and marshmallows, smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers, lobster or even ice cream! Crepes are a clean canvas that you can dress up any way you like.

They are so versatile, you can use them at your dinner parties, or as a substitute for bread when you haven’t had time to run to the store.



This is really as easy as it gets. Crepes seem high maintenance, but really, they are very easy. You can make the batter up to 24 hours in advance (or maybe more, I never tried) and just put it in the fridge.

For my crepes, I made three different kinds: Nutella and Banana, Banana and Condensed Milk, and Scrambled Egg with Cheddar. You can use whatever fillings or toppings you like. Just to get you started, here are a few ideas...



Ideas for Savory Crepe Fillings:
- Ricotta Cheese and Spinach
- Scrambled Eggs with Cheese (and bacon)
- Ham and Cheese
- Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, Red Onions, Capers
- Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil
- Grilled Veggies

Ideas for Sweet Crepe Fillings:
- Nutella & Banana
- Nutella & Marshmellows
- Fruit Jam
- Fresh Fruit with Whipped Cream
- Sauteed Apples, Peaches, or Pears
- Ice Cream or Sorbet

Easy Sweet or Savory Crepes
Serves 2
(makes 8 crepes using a 8 inch pan)

1/2 cup Flour (you could use whole wheat if you like)
1 Egg
1/2 cup Milk
1/4 cup Water
1/8 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Butter, melted
Optional: 1 tbsp Sugar (for sweet crepes)

Just a note: for sweet crepes, you can add 1 tbsp of Sugar in with your batter to sweeten it up a little. My husband loves his batter with this little bit of sugar. For me, I like to skip it and keep my crepe batter versatile. Then I can use the same crepes for sweet and savory!

In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients (including optional sugar) except melted butter and beat well until smooth and combined. (If you are making ahead, cover and place the bowl in the fridge for up to 24 hours)

Add melted butter and beat well.

Very lightly grease a non-stick frying pan over medium heat (I like to use butter because of the flavor). Slowly pour the batter into the pan, tilting the pan so that the batter coats surface evenly. Be sure not to pour too much batter. You just want enough to coat the pan.

Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, until just brown. Remove from pan and fill with your preferred fillings. Serve flat with toppings, folded over, or rolled.

Patriotic Vanilla Cake with Butter Cream Frosting

So, it was my husband’s birthday. And instead of making the usual chocolate cake, I decided to go for something a little daring… vanilla. Vanilla cake with buttercream icing. Risky right? Well, it was. Risky because it wasn’t the go to chocolate cake that you saw in one of my previous blogs. And risky because I wasn’t 100% certain that he would love it. Well, okay, that’s a lie. He loves sweets. But chocolate is hard to compete with.

I surprised him with a small early birthday party last month when we were in France with a small gathering of his close friends. For this occasion, we ordered a turtle shaped cake (raspberry sponge inside) to play on his French nickname “Tortue” (literally- turtle). The cake was stunning! Thus, the stakes for his actual birthday cake were even higher. Not only was I competing with my own staple rich chocolate cake which he loves, but I was also competing artistically with the turtle cake.

So, what was I going to do? Flavor wise, I decided it would be vanilla. Something different and equally tasty (I hoped). Esthetically, I knew I could not pull off a cool shape like the turtle. I was stumped. I had no idea what I was going to do. Then, the night before, I had an idea. The patriotic French husband’s birthday cake. Layers of red, white, and blue vanilla sponge complemented with a vanilla butter cream frosting.

The impression this cake makes immediately depends on how you decorate the outside. I went for a plain looking cake (white with blue writing), because I wanted the impact to come when the cake was sliced.



Now you are probably asking… did he like it? Well, I think you can see that for yourself.

Patriotic Vanilla Cake with Butter Cream Frosting
Makes a 3 layer cake - 9" Round

1 ½ cups Butter, Room Temp
2 cups White Sugar
9 Eggs
3 tsp Vanilla
4 ½ cups Flour
4 ½ tsp Baking Powder
¾ tsp Salt
¾ cup Milk

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each egg is added. Add vanilla and stir.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, and salt.
Add dry ingredients about 1 cup at a time, alternating with milk and mixing well.

Optional Step: To color the cake: Divide the batter into 3 equal portions in 3 separate bowls. To each bowl, add a few drops of food coloring as necessary and mix until color is even. ( I colored one red, one blue, and left the third without coloring).

Lightly grease three 9” (23 cm) round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Fill each cake pan with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pans. Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting

3 cups Icing Sugar
¾ cup Butter, Room Temp
3 tsp Whipping Cream
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
Optional: Food Coloring

Cream butter with vanilla. Add icing sugar and cream. Beat well until light and fluffy. Add more icing sugar to thicken or whipping cream to thin as necessary.

When the cakes are cool, shave the tops of the bottom 2 layers to that they are even. Add an even layer of frosting onto the bottom layer of cake. Place the second layer on top and add a second even layer of frosting. Place the final layer of cake on top. Frost the entire cake with the remaining icing. Decorate as desired.

In Search of the French Sandwich...

So, we are in France. And the entire week leading up to this trip, all I could think about was finding a sandwich upon landing. No joke.

At this point, you probably think I am delusional. I mean, who gets excited about food and can’t stop thinking about it for a whole week leading up to a trip? And not just any food-- a sandwich of all things?!? Yup, that’s me. I even wrote it on the “To Do” List.

Crazy as it sounds, the sandwiches in France are the absolute best. They are simple, but perfect. The crunch of freshly baked bread which cannot be replicated anywhere else, the creaminess of the butter, the saltiness of the ham, and the pungency of the cheese. There is absolutely nothing better than a great French sandwich.

Now, you are probably thinking that this is an easy craving to fix right? Well, it should be. Flying into any French airport would give ample opportunity to satisfy this sandwich craving. But we usually fly into Geneva airport, then drive into France. And the recently renovated, lone snack bar in the “Secteur Francais” of the Geneva Airport serves sandwiches, but overpriced and really not that good. Perhaps it’s because they are sitting in a refrigerated vitrine all day. Or perhaps it’s the price that leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

So, we need to find the fix en route. The problem is that upon leaving Geneva Airport in a rental car (a Citroen if we are lucky, and a Fiat Punto if we aren’t so lucky…this time with a German license plate), there is so much stress to find the right roads to France while avoiding the Swiss highway tax, that we cannot even think about find a boulangerie to satisfy the craving.

Once successfully in France, after either navigating the correct roads or sneaking onto the highway and gunning it to France before someone notices we don’t have the vignette (Swiss highway tax sticker), we find ourselves on a highway, laden with gas stations and rest stops stocked with overpriced, mediocre fare that doesn’t do justice to the real French food, let alone the sandwich. And before we know it, we are either home, sans sandwich, or pulling up to a crappy gas station in a vain attempt to satisfy the craving before lunch time.

But this trip was different. We decided we could no longer play this silly game. We needed the real thing. The real sandwich. The crusty bread. The salty ham. So, we pulled off the highway into a small town in search of a cash machine and a boulangerie. Conveniently, we found both right across from each other. What a treat it was to walk into the boulangerie. The smell was intoxicating. And of course, it was stocked with fresh sandwiches, tarts, flan, meringue. It was all there, just as I remembered it. But, this was not the time for gluttony. Only 1 hour off the plane, and 1 hour away from a home coming lunch, we needed to deal with the task at hand. We made straight for the sandwiches, and not being able to resist, we took two. One Jambon Cru et Raclette (Cured Ham and Sort of Stinky Cheese) and one Jambon Blanc et Fromage (Cooked Ham and Cheese).

Once in the car, we attacked them one at a time. And boy, were they delicious. Everything I had been dreaming of. That crunch. That chewiness. That saltiness. It was all there.

And before we knew it, we were on the road again. Direction: Home. Objective: Lunch with the family (Pate, Pork Chops, Salad and Gratin Dauphinois).

Perhaps one sandwich would have been enough???

Ravioles du Royans

Ravioles…nope, I didn’t say Ravioli… I said RAVIOLES. What is the difference you ask? Well, as you know, Ravioli are traditional Italian stuffed pastas, either round or square. Ravioles du Royans are a specific dish; a speciality of the Dauphiné region in the Rhône Alpes in France. The concept is the same- stuffed pasta- but these ones are tiny and filled with a blend of cheeses and herbs.

These tiny parcels of rich goodness are the perfect cure to a long, hard day. Enjoy them with a little bit of chicken broth, tossed in salted butter, or kick them up with some cream and cheese “au gratin” style.

Now, you are probably wondering…”Are we about to make these tiny things?? They probably take ages to make!” Yes, they do take some time and patience, but once you get in the swing of things, it is quite easy and sooooooooo worth it. Plus you can make loads and freeze them for later.

But if you are not convinced, or you want to try them before you invest the time in making them, here are a few other options:

1. Buy them and try! The brand we most commonly buy is “Reflets de France.” Depending on where you live, the cost of these little guys ranges and of course, you may not be able to find this brand. But in the view of my husband, these are the best.
   


2.  Make them slightly larger (use the same filling, but use a large mold or just cut them to the size you like). Given, they won’t be exactly the same cute little ravioles, but they will be just as tasty
3. Invest in a pasta machine with a ravioli maker. Haven’t tried it (I prefer doing everything by hand), but from the looks of these things, you just put the filling in one place and roll the pasta, and the pasta is stuffed for you.

But after you have tried all those options, nothing really is quite as satisfying as making them 100% by hand. Invest a couple hours doing it and you will have enough ravioles to last you for all those nights when you just couldn’t be bothered to spend more than a few minutes in the kitchen.

Try it. It’s worth it!

Ravioles du Royans
Makes about 6 dozen ravioles

For Dough
6 Eggs
600 grams Flour (I used a mix of 400 grams white and 200 grams fine WW and it was great!)

For Filling
160 grams Fresh Goat's Cheese
120 grams Parsley
250 grams Gruyere, grated
1/4 cup Butter
1 Egg
1 Egg Yolk
Salt
Pepper

To Make the Dough: 
In a bowl knead eggs and flour until a paste.

To Make the Filling:
Chop the parsley finely and then fry in a skillet with butter. - Remove from heat and add eggs, lots of pepper, goat cheese, grated Gruyère, salt. Mix well and put it through a mill/ pulse with blender if needed. Let stand a day in fridge.

Preparing the Ravioli: 
Roll out the dough to #1 setting on pasta machine. Use small ravioli mold (approximately 3/4 of an inch square)(must be well floured!!) to fill pockets with filling (only about a hazelnut size of filling). Place sheet of pasta over top and use rolling pin to seal edges and cut ravioli. Remove raviole from mold.

Cooking time: 
A few minutes in boiling, salted water or chicken broth

Serving Suggestions:
- Serve with chicken broth
- Drain and toss with salted butter (and top with freshly grated parmesan)
- Place in an oven proof dish, add some cream and grated cheese, and bake for about 15 minutes until bubbly and golden on top

Cooking is Contagious: Simple Brioche

Everyone says that smiles are contagious. And it's true. They are.

So is cooking. Once a household is invigorated by the smells and tastes of great food, others are somehow inspired to take on the task and try to recreate their favorite recipes.

Take my husband for example. He is the most patient, willing, taste-tester that exists. He will always try my creations and provide critique. He will also provide some ideas of his own (which I will then attempt to execute).

Then, every once in a while, he will become so inspired by an idea that he will try his own hand in the kitchen (albeit, it's usually when I am not around so perhaps its his hunger that inspires this flurry of activity).

Oh well. I'm not complaining! Regardless of the inspiration, when I returned home, I was greeted by the smell of freshly baked goods. On inspection, I found the suspect. Peeking out from under its hiding place was the muted yellow flesh of a perfectly baked loaf of Brioche. Yum yum!

What is brioche you ask? Well, it's basically a yeast leavened bread which is rich and tender because of the addition of eggs and butter.

The French (a.k.a- my husband) love brioche because it has a delicate crumb, can be made slightly sweet, and works well as the base for a tartine with butter, jam or NUTELLA!! And we all know how the French love a good tartine!! Let's eat!!

Simple Brioche Recipe
Makes 1 Loaf

375 grams White Flour
1 Tbsp Instant Dry Yeast
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 pinch Salt
1/3 cup Whole Milk, Slightly Warm
80 grams Unsalted Butter, melted but not hot (at Room Temp)
2 Large Eggs plus 1 Large Egg, Room Temperature

In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.

Make a well in the middle and add the milk. At the same time, slowly incorporate the milk with the flour and yeast by stirring gently with a fork.

Add the butter, one piece at a time while continuing to mix, now with your fingers.

Add 2 off the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each to ensure they are incorporated. Once both the eggs are added, knead the dough until it is elastic and smooth.

Cover with plasic wrap and let proof in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, until it doubles in size.

Once doubled, punch the dough down with your fingers, then gently knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a log or into 4 balls and place in a greased loaf mold and cover. Let rise for another hour.

Preheat the oven at 230C/450 F.

Brush the brioche with the remaining beaten egg.

Bake until golden brown - about 30 minutes or until internal temperature reaches about 185 degrees. Remove, unmold and let cool on a rack.

T is for Tartine

Nutella & Caramelized Banana Tartine

If you are going to bake bread, then you had better understand the concept of tartine.

Definition: tar·tine (tär-tēn') - A French open-faced sandwich, especially one with a rich or fancy spread. [French, from Old French, diminutive of tarte, tart.]
From: The New Food Lover's Companion, 3rd edition, by Sharon Tyler Herbst, published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc.

Well that's all fine and good, but what does that mean exactly? For me, it means the perfect balance of bread and spread. There are really an infinite number of possibilities, but I really believe that simplicity reigns in this case.

In its simplest of forms, a tartine could be composed of a slice of bread and butter (salted, of course). A little more intriguing would see the bread spread with Nutella. For a more worldly touch? Add Vegemite. As comfort food? Add PB & J. For a sophisticated feel? Add fig jam, crumbled blue cheese, walnuts, and a drizzle of honey.

A piece of bread can transport you to any place in the world, at any time of day, without a lot of effort. It is a medium by which to communicate flavors, bring back memories, and convey feelings.

Here are some of my all time favorites (in no particular order):

• Nutella

• Nutella with Caramelized Banana (slice the banana, sprinkle with sugar, and torch it!! or, broil it until caramelized)

• Butter & Good Quality Shaved Dark Chocolate (shave it with a potato peeler or grate it)

• Butter & Jam (I love St Dalfour Jamswhich are all natural, sugar free, meaning only natural sweetness!)

• Cream Cheese, Thin Shaved Red Onion, Smoked Salmon (topped with caviar anyone??)

• Grilled Chicken & Mango Chutney

• Grainy Mustard & Emmental Cheese

• Sliced Crisp Red Apple & Sharp Cheddar

• Fig Jam, Crumbled Blue Cheese, Walnuts, and Honey Drizzle

The question now is: When does it become a sandwich??? Well, duh, when you add another slice of bread!

So why not? Why not rid ourselves of this confusing, half sandwich ''tartine" (a.k.a. "open faced sandwich) and give in to the conventional sandwich?

After much deliberation, here is my conclusion (and please, feel free to drawn your own)… as the tartine is a French term, and the French are known for richness and moderation, two slices of bread warrants more spread, more filling, and more calories to maintain the same balance of flavor and texture as the tartine while maintaining the svelte French figure (reference the book, French Women Don't Get Fat). Therefore, one slice is better. I mean, you have to remember also, we are not talking about your typical white sandwich bread here. We are talking about a thick slice of freshly baked, rustic country bread. With two slices, how would you fit it into your mouth? Let's go try....