Thursday, February 9, 2012

French Friday with Dorie: Nutella Tartine

OUR FRENCH LUNCH THAT I WOULD LABEL DESSERT...YUM!
It's my day with Honey and we are making a fancy French Toast, not the dipped in eggs and fried kind, but traditional toast, or Nutella Tartine, for lunch.

I first got into Nutella several years ago, when we  brought home our adopted daughters #4 and #5 from an Eastern European orphanage. Upon arrival, they struggled with our American diet.  America has such an abundance of good foods to choose from, yet we quickly learned that while in the orphanage "prison" where our girls were rarely allowed out, their palates had not developed a liking for even regular foods.  They had lived on bland, unsweetened mush for breakfast, the same mush for dinner and nothing in between, and some days, the menu was just "nothing."  But the children dream about chocolates and oranges and strawberries...mostly sweet foods and candies, and on rare occasions, possibly at Christmastime, charities brought treats to the children, and these were usually some version of hazelnut chocolates.  The flavor of Nutella was the flavor of fairytales.

FRESH OUT-OF-THE-OVEN BAGUETTE--I READ YESTERDAY THAT THE FRENCH OFTEN EAT THEIR BAGUETTES WITH CHOCOLATE
It did not take the girls long to figure out that Nutella was a dream come true.  In their country, hazelnuts, which grow on bushes, are plentiful and used in chocolates and desserts and are readily available if one can afford such luxuries.  I often came home to find empty Nutella jars carefully placed back in the cupboard where I was expected to discover that their contents had magically disappeared.  To this day, Nutella is a favorite food for the girls and also for all their European friends.  If I place a jar of Nutella in their Christmas stockings or as a fun additional birthday gift, the girls feel loved.

HONEY STIRS THE NUTELLA
I too enjoy Nutella, especially the homemade version.  We like to spread it along with a few white chocolate chips inside croissants, give them 10 seconds or so in the microwave until the chocolate spread is melted, and then bam them with powdered sugar and cocoa.  This simple, yet dreamed about, dessert is mentioned in a more sophisticated form by Dorie where she writes about a patisserie-bought pain au chocolat, a croissant with a rectangle of chocolate in the middle." 

HONEY MAKES SURE THE NUTELLA IS GOOD
After melting the Nutella inside the croissant we like to additionally stuff it with sliced fresh strawberries or bananas...and the result is divine.  But I'd never thought to add chopped hazel nuts as a garnish. YUM!

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Today will be more simple.  Honey and I made from scratch baguette breads and I have sliced rounds that are just Honey's size.  After toasting our rounds, we spread them with freshly made raspberry jam, drizzled the hazelnut spread over the tops, and then we garnished our toasts with Fleur de Sel and  toasted, chopped Hazelnuts.  Honey bagan her lunch by carefully picking off each nut piece and eating it like it was a new delicacy.

The important verdict is in.  Honey loves this lunch treat!  We will make it for whoever shows up to visit us today as this particular delicacy only takes a couple of minutes to prepare.  Nice.

Note:  Sunday we will enjoy a family from Moldova, the smallest of all the Eastern European countries; coming for a cookout dinner.  I'm thinking they will enjoy the croissant version of this tartine as an appetizer with some fresh fruit.   I was wondering what they might like and now I have this great idea because of today's French cooking.

THE TASTIEST LUNCH HONEY HAS EATEN IN A LONG TIME!
This Nutella Tartine would make a perfect Valentiine's Day breakfast for the one I love.  Perfect with a cup of hot cocoa. And with fresh raspberry jam, the color is right, the taste is fabulous, and we will honor this "Most Chocolate Day of the Year."

Happy Valentine's Day to all my Cyber Friends!  Eat lots of chocolate and have a wonderful week!!!

18 comments:

  1. Yum, your stuffed croissants sound delicious. Great ideas. And your homemade baguettes look quite impressive. I took the lazy route and bought broiche. Then this morning I went one step lazier and used a whole wheat english muffin. Still tasty though.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are making me hungry :-) And it was Honey approved, so it must be good.
    It's great to see that you have two girls baking along with you on TWD now. How fun!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Those look great! I had to use a berry jam myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You have the cutest kitchen helper I've ever seen! I loved this one!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, I loved your Nutella memories, the stories of your children adapting to American life should be a Nutella Love commercial. I am so curious to know more about your international family - how wonderful. And, Honey, she's a doll. Thank you for letting me wake up to this beautifully-written Post. My first read this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  6. What a sweet story! Honey is adorable as ever. And your fruit and nutella stuffed croissants sound crazy delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Where did you find hazelnuts around here? I've casually looked the past couple years and never found any.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Such a story - thank you for sharing that! I've always had a sneaking suspicion that Nutella is the glue that holds the world together. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. It's been a while since we've seen Honey! What a cutie. I'm sure your company will love these tartines.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love that you used a homemade loaf of French bread - it's beautiful! And that little helper of yours is absolutely adorable! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. So sweet, love your photos;-) Homemade french bread fresh out of the oven sounds heavenly....

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a lovely post. Your baguette looks fantastic. Only thing better than a baguette & chocolate... a baguette & brie!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Kris, you have some of the best stories. Your family is so special. What great treat to be able to make these with Honey. I also wanted to tell you that I was a commercial lender for so many years, and out of frustration left. My bank had been closed by the FDIC in Jan. 2009 after being a top 10 community bank in Jan. 2008. The new bank that bought us didn't have a good ethic, and treated the clients horribly, so I left and went to do client development for a wealth management firm. I completely understand what you are going through with the commercial appraisal business.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely story and so glad you thought of Nutella when your little girls didn't like any American foods. Fortunate for you Honey was there to test the Nutella!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The story of the orphanage of your adopted children is heartbreaking but on the other hand I'm glad you provide a different life to them with lots of love (and Nutella). Looks like Honey really enjoyed the Nutella too! Homemade baguette AND raspberry jam! Judging by the looks of your tartine, it was effort well-spent.

    Oh oh, I do hope you'll get a chance to try out the Nutella Banoffee Cream Pie. Let me know how it goes?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Looks like Honey gives this two thumbs up. She seems to be savoring her treat. Happy Valentine's Day.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I had the same reaction as "Dessert by Candy" about your story. It was both heartbreaking and inspiring to find out how something as simple (and as taken for granted) as Nutella is such a treat. We are very lucky and we usually forget it. But it is also clear that the true lucky ones are your family and friends. You are amazing and I love reading your posts each week. And don't even get me started on how cute that little Honey is...oh my, she is just gorgeous:)

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm so glad your girls found such a warm and loving family. I love reading about your adventures with Honey in the kitchen, too. Everything looks amazing - homemade bread and jam, with Nutella - beautiful!

    ReplyDelete