A Garden in Your Bowl

So it’s been a few weeks since I wrote. Getting back after the holidays, starting a new job all of that fun jazz has gotten in the way of me writing. But I’m back and I’m ready to cook. While in Italy we had an amazing dinner one night, it was a bistro attached to our hotel. For all intents and purposes, it should have been a decent quick dinner after a long day of walking. But it was so much better than that. A delicious meal of fresh from the farm foods as we learned that our waitress/chef/baker also spent a few days a week out on a farm in the countryside and brought fresh produce in with her.

I had never heard of ribollita before we got to Italy. Our first few days in Florence I saw it all over the menu, but let’s be honest, who’s going to fill up on soup when there’s pasta and wild boar to eat? However for whatever reason on this night, I saw it on the menu and decided it was a necessity. What came out was a steaming bowl of a Tuscan garden on my table. The flavors were so rich, I nearly licked the bowl clean.

So you, like I did, are asking yourself what is ribollita? Well it’s a Tuscan peasant soup that literally translates to reboiled. The base of the soup is minestrone, however after it’s cooked, its left to cool and sit in the refrigerator for a few days, like all good leftovers should. Then as its getting reheated, very stale Italian bread is added to it. The bread soaks in the broth and softens, making it more of a stew than a soup. It takes some time, because honestly the minestrone is delicious on its own, but if you wait the extra day or so, the flavors really knock you out! Besides, it’s perfect for a cold winters night.

13 cups (or more) water, divided

1 1/4 cups dried cannellini (white kidney beans; about 8 ounces)

12 large fresh sage leaves

8 garlic cloves; 5 sliced, 3 chopped

4 tsp (or more) fine sea salt, divided

6 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus additional for drizzling

1 large onion, chopped

2 large celery stalks, diced

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 large unpeeled Yukon Gold potato, scrubbed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed, quartered through core, sliced crosswise

1 large pinch of fresh thyme

1 small bunch kale cut crosswise into 1-inch ribbons (about 6 cups)

1 small bunch green chard (about 4 large leaves), center stem removed, cut crosswise into 1-inch-wide ribbons (about 6 cups)

4 cups thinly sliced savoy cabbage

5 large plum tomatoes, chopped

1 good Parmesan cheese rind

Pinch of dried crushed red pepper

3 cups low sodium, light chicken broth (if you’re being Vegetarian Friendly, then Vegetable Broth

½ loaf of stale Italian bread, cut into 1 inch pieces

Overnight, Soak beans in water. When ready to start cooking, combine 8 cups water, beans, sage, and sliced garlic in large saucepan. Bring to boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until beans are tender, stirring occasionally and adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls to keep beans submerged, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, depending on age of beans. This can be done a day ahead of time.

In a large pot, I used my Round Dutch Oven, heat 3 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion; sprinkle with sea salt. Cook until onion is translucent, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic; stir 2 minutes. Add celery, carrot, potato, fennel, and thyme; cook until vegetables are tender and begin to turn brown in spots, stirring often, 15 to 18 minutes. Add kale, chard, cabbage, tomatoes, Parmesan rind, 5 cups water, and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add beans with cooking liquid and crushed red pepper. Add 2 cups broth and season with salt and pepper.

Take off the stove and let cool. You can either let this sit for a few days, or overnight (I chose to do it overnight).

When you’re ready to reboil, Add bread to soup and simmer, stirring often to break up bread into smaller pieces and adding more broth by 1/2 cupfuls to thin, if desired. Season with sea salt and pepper.

If you aren’t able to get the bread as stale as you’d like, you can do what I did. Turn the oven onto 250, lay the cut bread on a baking tray and put in oven. Check every 10 minutes. The bread should not be brown, just incredibly dry.

Serve the bowl with a little cheese and a drizzle of good olive oil

From the Saints Indeed

The Vin Santo Barrel's at Avignonese

My husband and I just got back from two wonderful and delicious weeks in Italy. Whenever I travel I am always amazed at how young our country is. When standing inside the necropolis under St. Peters Basilica, something that was built in the 1^st century A.D, and they kept speaking about “The New Church” which was built over head (meaning the basilica that was built in the 1600’s), I was reminded that not much in the United States is still standing from the 17^th century. So other than an amazing amount of art and history and architecture, we also took in some food and beverages. And while I will write a post solely dedicated to the delicious Italian foods we had, I decided to write today’s about a new to us dessert wine we found: Vin Santo!

On most dessert menus in Italy you will see an offering of biscotti and Vin Santo. We had our first taste of it on one of our last nights in Florence. We were at a delicious wine bar and decided to try some and were pleasantly surprised. It was sweet, but not sickeningly so and coats the palate really nicely. It wasn't until we did a vineyard tour and five course tasting at Avignonesi Vineyards in Montepulciano that we learned more about this delicious wine.

Vin Santo literally translates to Wine of the Saints, or Holy Wine, as it was once used in masses. While there’s lots of question as to where it originated, in honesty, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter however, it where it is now. The Italian government regulates wines (ever wondered why some of your Chiantis have that label around the top that says DOC?) and of course, it regulates the production of Vin Santo’s. In order to be called a Vin Santo, the grapes must be aged for 3 years at least, most vineyard age theirs 5-10 years. While on our tour of Avignonesi, we were walked through their Vin Santo vault and told about how they create their wine. To start, the winery must use its best grapes, they are harvested and laid out to air dry from October through April, the longer they dry, the higher the sugar levels and therefore the higher the alcohol content. In April they will have a gathering where they will taste the Vin Santo that was barreled 10 years previously, so this April they will taste the barrels from 2002. Once the barrels are tasted, they will be bottled and the grapes from the previous season will be crushed and placed into those barrels. Unlike with other wines, where the oak barrel is meant to last no more than 5 years, Vin Santo barrels are used until they fall apart. This is because there is madre inside, or Mother Yeast. The Avignonesi vinters have no idea where their yeast came from, they do not create it. It is within each of their barrels and they assume the original yeast was started when the vineyard started in the mid 15^th century; It is like this for most well known makes of Vin Santo’s. So when the barrels are no longer fit for use, they open them up, scoop out the yeast and place it inside a new barrel, but of course every time this is done yeast is lost. So the goal is the keep the barrels as long as possible and maintain the madre.

So the crush goes into the barrels, the barrels are closed with a wax seal to mark the year they were barreled with the madre and the grapes and are left in a room that isn’t climate controlled, which for those of you wine drinks out there, know that is unusual. Generally when fermenting the barrels are placed underground or in cooler rooms in order to keep the sweetness of the wine to a certain level. By allowing the natural heat and cold to contact the barrels, the end product becomes much sweeter.

Bottles of Vin Santo at Avignonesi (which are only sold in 350mL) are sold from between 180 to 210 Euros depending on if it’s a red or white Vin Santo.

We had the complete fortune to taste both while at the Vineyard and I can say without a doubt it was the best wine I’ve ever had in my life. We were told that some American’s likened it to Maple Syrup, after having a taste I informed the lovely people in the tasting room that this was wildly incorrect and that if maple syrup tasted anything like this I would be bathing it in daily.

Avignonesi’s Vin Santo was like a kiss from the Saints, soft and sweet. The wine was more viscous that any I had ever had, but the viscosity made it stick to your mouth better and ensured that you were able to enjoy ever last drop. So while in the past I may have scoffed at purchasing a $300 bottle of wine, I can assure you that I'm saving every penny I have in order to buy an Avignonesi Vin Santo. I hear 2011 was an excellent harvest....

Looking forward to this one in 2017!

Ice Cream Cinniminions!

When my husband and I were registering for our wedding, he decided that he wanted an ice cream maker. I found it amusing and went along with it. I mean, how often do people make homemade ice cream? Especially when you can go out to the store and buy some.

I let it sit for a while before attempting to make a Guinness ice cream one Super Bowl. It didn’t turn out how I had hoped (icy and hard) and the ice cream maker sat in our cabinet for another two years. It wasn’t until last Thanksgiving when I had the idea that cinnamon ice cream would go really well with the pie I was making for dessert. And I figured why not test out the old ice cream maker.

This batch was everything that my Guinness batch wasn’t; it was creamy and smooth and delicious. I’m not a huge fan of cinnamon, I loathe Big Red gum and generally avoid adding too much of it to any breakfast dish I make. But this ice cream was different. It had a subtle flavor, more vanilla like, with a hint of the cinnamon; just enough to notice it and make it delicious as its own dish, or bringing out the best flavors in an apple pie.

And since that point I’ve decided to make special ice creams for holidays. Last Easter I made a deconstructed s’mores bar with graham cracker ice cream (I’ll post that at some point too). But for this Thanksgiving I went back to my year old ice cream making roots and alongside my pork fat crusted apple pie (see previous post) , made a delicious batch of cinnamon ice cream. The recipe is really easy and you can get an attachment to your kitchen aide mixer for $80 or buy a standalone (Ice cream makers)

The key to this recipe is grinding the cinnamon yourself. I’ve done it with a zester, with a mortar and pestle or you can do it with a cleaned out (VERY WELL so as to not taint the flavor) coffee/spice grinder. I promise you, it takes time, but it’s worth it. Fresh cinnamon makes 150% of a difference. And make this the night before you serve, it takes time to set.

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup heavy cream

1 TSP vanilla extract

2 TSP FRESH ground cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar and half-and-half. When the mixture begins to simmer, remove from heat, and whisk half of the mixture into the eggs. Whisk quickly so that the eggs do not scramble. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan, and stir in the heavy cream.

Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Remove from heat, and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside to cool. If you just leave it out on your counter, this takes about 2 hours. I would recommend stirring it every 20 minutes or so. The mixture will continue to thicken.

Pour cooled mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you are using a Kitchen Aide Ice Cream Maker attachment, I recommend keeping it in the freezer for at least 3 days before you make the ice cream. You want the bowl to be absolutely freezing. The recommended 15 hours just isn’t enough.

Also, I should warn. All of the manufacturer’s directions say that the ice cream will actually turn INTO ice cream while you’re mixing it. I have never found that to be the case. It will thicken up, and will look like the consistency of melting ice cream but you will need to put it in an air tight container in the freezer for at least 10 hours before serving.

Pizza, Pizza!

Being born to two die hard New Yorkers in Brooklyn, and then moving to the suburbs of Philadelphia when I was 8 meant that my parent's spent years, YEARS trying to find good New York style pizza. I grew up loving the huge pies, with paper thin crusts; to me, that is pizza. Seven years ago I moved to Chicago, and while Chicago is known for it's stuffed pizza, it's just not the same. And quite frankly, I don't think as good. I know I've lost some of you there, but I can't lie. I'm not saying stuffed pizza isn't good, I'm just saying there's better out there. There's something very satisfying about picking up a slice of pizza, folding it in half, turned your head to the side and taking a bite. The idea of cutting my pizza into pieces so I can eat it is seemingly sacrilegious.

Growing up, my dad used to make pizza from scratch. I distinctly remember him coming into my first grade class and making french bread pizza. The class and the parent's loved it so much, they asked him where his pizza place was. He informed them he didn't have one, as he was a doctor. No one believed him. I always loved making pizza with him. The anticipation of waiting for the dough to rise, spinning it in the air like a champion pizza maker, the smell of pizza in the oven, it's a reminder of childhood.

So, when I moved to Chicago and couldn't find pizza that I liked, I decided to start making my own. Now I should add, since I've been here I've found some pretty amazing places (Piece, BoilerRoom, Santullos). I have a hard time buying pizza that I know I can make, so these places give me things that I can't, like the BoilerRoom at the BoilerRoom. Meatballs soaked in PBR and a spicy giardiniera. But I digress.

So, home made pizza! It's not that hard and it tastes so darn good!

If you become committed to the homemade pizza cause, I would recommend going to Bed Bath and Beyond and buying a pizza stone. You can get them for $25 or $30 and they do make a difference. They're also great for baking cookies. If you want to spend a little more money and have a lifetime guarantee, Williams Sonoma has one for $50. We have it and love it.

The important thing here is to have fun with it! Put on as much or as little of every ingredient as you'd like. Add pepperoni, add sausage and peppers, go CRAAAZZY!

Ingredients:

Dough

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 packet Quick Rise Yeast

1 TBS Olive Oil

Pinch of Salt

2 Cups Hot water

Toppings:

Quick Sauce

Can of Crushed Tomatos

2 garlic cloves minced

1 pinch of sugar

1 TSP Crushed Red Pepper

1 TBS Italian Seasoning

2 TSP Garlic Powder

2 TBS fresh Basil, chopped

2-4 Cups Shredded Mozerella Cheese (depending on how cheesy you like it)

Crushed Red Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Garlic Powder

You can do this by hand or with a mixer. If you use a mixer, use the dough hook. Combine flour , olive oil and salt in a bowl, mix well and then add yeast. Mix in ONE cup of the hot water. Dough should be soft and smooth, without being sticky and all of the flour is included. If it isn't, add water one teaspoon at a time until it is. Once dough is fully mixed, cover with a dish towel and let sit for 45 minutes.

If you're not in the mood to make a sauce, I recommend getting the Barilla Tomato Sauce. Their Roasted Garlic and Tomato and Basil are actually rather good and it saves you some time.

To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and heat until warm. See, I told you it was quick!

After 30 minutes, preheat oven to 400. You want it hot so the crust gets crispy.

On a well floured surface, roll out dough. If you want to play pizza maker, throw it in the air (just be aware flour will rain down on you!). Once dough is thin and is laid out and fits to the edges of the pan, stone ect, sprinkle the crust with some olive oil and then seasonings. As much or as little as you like. I like it a little spicy, so I add probably 1TSP of crushed red pepper, but you can just add a pinch. A few shakes of garlic powder, and a few shakes of seasoning.

From there add the sauce. Make sure to cover all of the pie, save the area closest to the edges. You want some crust! Cover with as much cheese as you'd like and then sprinkle some more seasoning on top.

Throw it in the oven for 20 minutes. Keep checking to make sure that the crust isn't burning. After 20 minutes the crust should be a shade of golden brown. If it isn't put it in for another 5. Keep checking until the crust is golden.

Take it out of the oven, let it cook for 5-10 minutes, that cheese is REALLY hot! Slice and enjoy!

I like my pizza really saucy and cheesy....but that's just me.

I Was Told There Would Be Punch and Pork Lard Crusted Apple Pie at This Event....

Until last year I had never been to an apple orchard before. And since last year was such a terrible growing season for apples, by the time we got to the orchards in late September the apples were off the trees. I was not about to make the same mistake this year. So I spent three hours researching U-Pick Apple Orchards in Illinois (I should admit now, I have an obsession with researching), trying to find the least hokey, best possible orchard that also has cider donuts. I mean, how can you pick apples without getting the amazingness that is a cider donut?!

So we ended up finding Prairie Sky Orchard in Union. Wonderful small orchard, not a tourist trap, just apples and a barn with autumnal delicacies such a cider donuts, cider, pies ect.. I plan on going back again next fall. Anyway, after getting a peck of an awesome hybrid of Jonathan and Golden Delicious called JonaGold apples, (for those of you who were unaware of how many pickled peppers Peter Piper picked, its 10lbs), we had 10lbs of apples.

And what does one do with 10lbs of apples? Well, when there are two people there are only so many apples you can eat. And I can tell you now, if the old adage of “An apple a day…” is true, we’re set for a while. Anyway, we had all of these delicious apples and I figured a pie would be perfect. I’ve made pie crusts in the past, but to be honest, I’m not a huge crust fan. So this time, I wanted to make something really delicious. After much research I came across a recipe from Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate. The pie crusts base is butter and pork lard, instead of the usual butter and Crisco. The lard makes the crust insanely flaky and extremely rich. While I kept the integrity of her crust recipe, I did tweak the insides. What resulted was a delicious, flaky, rich pie that I plan on making again. I served this with some homemade cinnamon ice cream I whipped up (recipe forthcoming). They complement one another really well. To make this crust you will need a kitchen scale, the ingredients are in ounces and pounds.

For the Crust (this will make enough dough for two stuffed pies ie top and bottom crust, and one bottom crust)

7 ounces cold cubed butter

3 1/2 ounces frozen cubed pork fat ( I bought this from The Butcher and Larder, but you can probably get from any butcher shop in the area)

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

1 pound, 2 ounces all purpose flour

1/2 cup ice water (more or less)

1 egg

Place butter, flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment. On low speed, start mixing. About halfway into mixing, add frozen pork fat and mix until the fat resembles small peas. Then add the beaten egg with a tablespoon of iced water. Work with mixer for one second then take off stand and mix dough with hand to feel moisture. You may need to add more water if you are unable to incorporate all of the flour mixture. I added another 2 TBS of water to get everything. From there, wrap dough in plastic and put in the fridge. Let it sit at least 4 hours, preferably over night.

For the Filling

5 JonaGold Apples (or another sweet baking apple like Honey Crisp)

2 Granny Smith Apples

2 cups Apple Nectar (you can get this at any organic food store)

Kosher salt

Pinch of black pepper

4 tbs natural cane sugar

1tsp AllSpice

1tsp Cinnimon

1/4 cup corn starch

Egg white (for top of pie)

Peel and quarter apples, cleaning out the core. On a mandolin or with a sharp knife, slice the apples paper-thin and place in a bowl with all other ingredients other than egg white and let marinate for at least 1 hour.

Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator and cut off roughly 1/3 of the dough. Cover the remaining dough and place back in refrigerator. From the dough you’ve cut, cut that in half and place ½ on a well floured space. Roll out flat and place in the bottom on a pie dish, make sure the edges are overhanging by at least an inch. Take apple mixture, drain the liquid (but keep it! You’ll need it) and place on top of dough. Take one cup of the liquid and place it in the mixture.

Roll out another circle of pie dough, but only the circumference of the pie tin. Cut four small slits in the middle so that the liquid and steam can release. Place dough on top of apples and roll the overhang dough around so that it curls. Refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, brush pie with egg white and sprinkle with sugar; I like more sugar, others like less. Bake for about 1 hour. If top of crust starts to get too brown, turn down the oven.

Take the pie out, let it rest and serve!

B-B-B-Bird is the Word!

I grew up in a house where we didn't eat a lot of roasted chicken, in part because my mom is deathly afraid of birds and also my dad has a thing about salmonella to the point that I had no idea that chicken could be juicy until I was in my mid-twenties (We won’t even talk about the family practice of microwaving chicken breast for a minute after it was grilled). So when we did eat chicken, it was cut up into things like tacos, grilled along burgers or breaded and placed inside parmesan.

So it took me years and years and years to finally decide to roast my own chicken. I wasn't sure what to do, I wasn't sure how long it was really supposed to cook and I wasn’t sure how I knew I wasn't going to get salmonella (it’s challenging to microwave a whole bird!). My first attempt wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, and each time I roasted a bird, it got easier and easier. And now I can proudly say that after living on my own for 10 years, I've finally broken the Jones Family Fear of Chicken.

With that in mind, after shopping this past weekend I decided that the chicken roasting season had begun. So I purchased a bird, a bunch of root vegetables and a lemon and got to work.

I have to say, last night’s chicken was probably the best I’ve ever made. In part it’s because I deglazed the pan after I cooked it. And I roasted the vegetables in another pan, rather than along with the bird, which is what I had been doing in the past. But I think a lot of what worked this time was the seasoning. The chicken turned out beautiful, golden and really pretty awesome. (Hey, I’m the only one on here, so I've got to toot my own horn!) And of course the vegetables alongside it were pretty delicious too.

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken

4 cloves of garlic, peeled whole

1 lemon (zested, and quartered)

¼ cup Italian seasoning

4 tbs olive oil

3 tbs whole peppercorns

3 yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 onion, chopped

15 Brussels sprouts, cut in half

2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped

2 turnips, peeled and chopped

2 cups of whole baby carrots

3 tbs white wine.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a shallow pan, put 2tbs of olive oil and add ½ of the onion, all of the parsnips, sprouts, turnips, carrots and 1 garlic clove salt and pepper to taste. Cover pan with tin foil and place in a high rack in the oven.

In a large round pan (I have around Le Creuset), place remaining olive oil and onions. Cover chicken with lemon zest. Make sure to work it into the skin. Once chicken is covered with lemon, insert lemon quarters, remaining garlic and peppercorns inside the carcass of the bird. Finally take the Italian Seasoning, salt and pepper and cover the bird. You can see from my picture that it’s got a good coating on it. Make sure the chicken goes into the oven breast side down.

Put the bird in the oven for 25 minutes. At this same time, take the foil off of the vegetables, stir them around and place back in the oven uncovered. Once you have finished the vegetables, take out the chicken, flip it and put it in for another 35-40 minutes (or 165 degrees). At this same time, take the foil off of the vegetables, stir them around and place back in the oven uncovered. Remove the chicken from the oven, let it sit for 5 minutes in a separate pan.

While the chicken is resting, place the pot and the juices and whatever onions or garlic has fallen out of the chicken, on the stove on medium heat. Add the wine and 3 tbs of cold water and wisk. Let the broth come to a boil.

Carve the chicken, spoon the broth over it and serve alongside the vegetables!

Put a little Alsace in your Lorraine!

Okay, so maybe this isn’t quite a post about Alsacian foods. However I did make a pretty awesome combination of French and German last night. I went to The Butcher and Larder on Saturday http://thebutcherandlarder.com (seriously, a must go!) to purchase some pork lard, for a pie crust I’m making tonight, (posts to follow) and I saw some delicious fresh made sausage. I ended up purchasing two of the Atomic Hot Links and four SaucisseToulouse. For those of you who haven’t frequented butcher shops or Hot Doug’s, Saucisse Toulouse is a French style pork sausage traditionally featured in cassoulet. It’s a mild sausage, but pairs really well with strong flavors.

Anyway, I picked up the four Toulouse’s, but not having the time or materials to make a cassoulet, I thought I would just grill them up and put them on some crispy French bread. I made a quick moutarde violette and German Potato salad from a recipe I found in Ferran Adria’s new cookbook (a must buy!) The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria http://www.amazon.com/Family-Meal-Cooking-Ferran-Adria/dp/0714862533

So I should say here that per my previous post "All Hail the Mustard King" I saidhow I used to dislike mustard, and I placed it slightly above Mayonnaise in world of condiments. I think it's important to note (more for my husband than anyone else) that this recipe involves not only copious amounts of mustard, but also... MAYONNAISE (gasp!).

To be honest, I wasn't totally sold on the potato salad, but my husband seemed a little enamored by it, so I thought I would just do it. To my surprise, it was delicious and something I would make and eat again. I know I should have already learned the lesson that recipes from certain chef's are always going to be delicious...but like a child who's told not to touch the hot stove and does, I have to learn for myself. Every.Single.Time.

So here you are. Mayo, Mustard and Sausage. A meal that is quick, easy to make, delicious and gourmet!

Ingredients:

Crispy French bread, cut into pieces slightly smaller than the sausage excess center bread removed (in order to get the full sausage taste)

SaucisseToulouse

¼ cup of stone ground Dijon Mustard

2 tbs grape jam

4 large yellow potatoes

4 tbs low fat mayonnaise

3 tbs Dijon mustard

3tbs heavy cream

5 medium size gherkin pickles

2 tsp minced chives

2 scallions (bulbs only) minced

4 tsp pickled capers (juice removed)

For the Sausage:

Heat grill on high, cook until thorough about 10 minutes

For the quick moutarde violette:

Combine Stone Ground Dijon and Grape Jam together, blend until there are no remnants of jam and the mixture is a violet color. Should taste on the sweetish side, but still have the kick of the Dijon

For the German Potato Salad:

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add potatoes whole, cook until soft. Remove potatoes from water and cover with tin foil until you complete the rest of the recipe. In a separate bowl combine mustard, cream and mayo, wisk until fully blended.

Chop pickles and combine with scallions, capers and chives in a bow.

Remove potatoes from foil, take off skin and cut the potatoes into chunks.

Add potatoes and pickle mixture together.

Finally, fold in mustard mixture until everything is covered.

Season with salt and pepper to taste

When serving the sausage, we found it best to cut the bread and then butterfly the sausage. Add the moutarde violette to the inside of the butterflied sausage and then again to the bread.

And enjoy!!