I had some leftover pâte brisée that I didn’t want to throw away, so here we go…of course, you can replace mussels with scallops or shrimps. This is just very easy to make and the use of those mini tarts are versatile. I ate eight of them for lunch with a salad, but obviously those types of bites are more appropriate for entertaining as a pass-on appetizer or on a buffet display, than as a main course…besides no one would eat those as a main course, unless very hungry and nothing else to eat.

I have to say that I am still hungry so I could have easily eaten some extras, but no no, let’s stay moderate especially when pâte brisée has some nice amount of butter, like this one. Usually I make dough with olive oil, but this one is the traditional pâte brisée. Well, a small amount of butter never killed anyone, so let’s be kind to butter and not demonize it.

This is a very short story: 1) Left over pâte brisée, 2) little time to cook and 3) hunger, there is nothing else and nothing exciting behind those tartlets. Well, yes there are my adorable and colorful mini molds I brought back from France. They are quite small, about 1.5 inch diameter, you can see the mussel fit right in.

Ingredients for about 30-40 bites or 6 people

For the pate brisée (traditional)

•  8.8 oz (or 250 g) flour
• 1 yolk
• 4.4 oz (or 125 g) butter, diced
• one pinch salt
• a few tbs water

For the filling

• 30-40 mussels
• 2 tbs fromage blanc or thick yogurt such as greek yogurt
• 6.7 fl oz (or 20 cl) crème fraȋche
• 1 tbs parsley
• a few drops of meyer lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the pâte brisée

In a mixing container, add flour, yolk, a pinch salt, water and butter. Mix all ingredients together carefully to incorporate butter but do not mix too much or the dough will break apart when rolling it. Form a ball, and wrap in plastic. Let rest in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

For the filling

Heat olive oil in a pan, add mussels, stir for a few minutes, then add yogurt and cream, lemon juice, parsley salt and pepper. Stir for a few more minutes, then remove from heat.

Roll dough in a flat surface and using a cookie ring, cut out circles to fill your molds. Add one mussel in each mold and fill it with cream/yogurt mixture.

Cook in a pre heated oven at 370F for about 20 minutes or until the tartlets are nice and lightly brown.

I know that some of you might think that woman at Citron et Vanille doesn’t make real food, those bites and tiny little things cannot satisfy a hunger, and does not seem like “food”. Real people want real food. I will have to somehow disagree un petit peu!

I love to serve LOTS of small bites, full of flavors when I entertain. Now for example if this will sound more real to you, you can take a regular size plate, place some sprouts, spinach leaves and place with 3 or 4 bites, and top it off with the sauce. Does it sound more real? If you do actually present it that way, it will look not only very real, but incredibly flavorful as well.

I don’t know about you, but my favorite dishes to prepare are appetizers and hors d’oeuvres. I never liked gigantic plates of food in front of me, I find this overwhelming to look at, never knowing where to start.

I rarely use tofu and fish, probably because in my mind tofu is vegan and mixing it with fish defeats its purpose, well the combination of those two ingredients made the bites very moist and soft. For the harissa sauce, there are a few different versions but I like this one. You can decrease the degree of the heat by adding more or less chili peppers. You can make extra harissa and use it with grilled meats or fish, or even spread it on sandwiches or just on toasted bread. The proportions I list here will give you extra, so if you want less, decrease proportions. You can keep the sauce in an air-tight container for about one week.

I just realized that this weekend is Mother’s day in the US, in France is the last Sunday of May, so I imagine many celebration dishes will be all over the web. This could be a nice way to start the celebration of motherhood, thinking about it, my mom would like it, it is somehow like her, soft inside, with a touch of fire on the outside. So happy mother’s day to American moms!

Ingredients for about 10 bites

For the bouchées

• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) extra firm tofu
• 4.23 oz (or 120 g) cod or any dense white fish
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
• paprika
• cumin
• salt and pepper
• spinach leaves for decoration
• alfalfa sprouts for decoration

For the harissa sauce

• 2 red bell peppers
• 2 red chili peppers
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 3 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the fish-tofu bites

Blend all ingredients in a mixer and grind to a fine consistency but not too fine, you still want to see the “green” inside. Form small balls the size of a walnut. Place in a sheet and broil under broiler. Broil until golden brown on all sides.

For the harissa

Char broil, red bell peppers and red chili pepper under broiler, until the skin has grilled and starts detaching from the peppers. Remove from the oven, let them cool. Peel and remove the seeds from peppers.

Blend all ingredients in a blender into a smooth purée-type of consistency.

Serve in ceramic spoons or in small dishes. Place one spinach leaf, some alfalfa sprouts and one fish-tofu bite topped with harissa sauce.

I made a pizza a few nights ago, something I don’t do as much as I used to, and I had leftover dough I didn’t want to through away. I just hate to throw away food and more so doughs that can be used in so many different ways. I have been thinking to combine goat cheese and lavender on some sort of a tart or small bites, voilà, c’est fait en un tour de main (it’s done in a hand twist if you have dough of course). Those canapés are tiny, about 2 inches in diameter, even though they seem a lot bigger by looking at the picture.

As much as I dislike lavender as a scent, I would never buy lavender soaps or fragrances, but I adore lavender in food, it feels like Provence with its warm and sunny days, vibrant colors and flower fragrances. Lavender is like vanilla for me, the smell in fragrances makes me cringe but I love cooking with it.

The particularity of pizza dough, is that it needs to cook fast at high temperature, to get a crisp bottom and not chewy. Usually I bake it in a very hot oven, at high temperature and the dough is always perfect. Well, it’s perfect for me, since I like it crunchy and not soft and chewy.

I used large oyster mushrooms, but any mushrooms such as cremini, would work fine. You could also use eggplants, that makes a great combination with goat cheese.

Never throw away leftover dough of any kind, you can always use it, it makes beautiful bites so when unexpected guest show up, they come in handy.

For about 12 canapés

• pizza dough or pate brisée
• 1/3 lb mushrooms
• 12 slices goat cheese
• honey
• lavender salt
• 1 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Sauté mushrooms, in olive oil, add salt and pepper and let cook until the water evaporates.

Roll dough very thinly, about 2 mm thick. Cut 2 inches circles with a cookie ring. Place some mushrooms, top it with goat cheese. Sprinkle with lavender salt and honey.

Bake in pre-heated oven at 400F for about 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown and cheese has melted.

Serve hot.

The weather is getting a little warmer than the past days and the snow is melting which did not prevent me from going shopping today for warm clothes since I realized that my suitcase is filled with summery clothes. Eh oui, c’est l’hiver! During this cold weather, my mom bakes, since visitors keep dropping by my parents house to chit chat, and sweets are always welcome.

Another one of my mom’s favorites…those small coconut macarons. They’re very small, about 1.5 inch wide so you can put a few in your mouth at once and still have room. Bouche means mouth so bouchées refers to something that fits in your mouth.

I have always loved macarons growing up, and many boulangeries (bakeries) still sell them here. What we call macarons in this region of France is not the traditional macarons that look like round little sandwiches filled with cream, like the Parisian macaron you can find in Paris at Ladurée that come in different flavors.

Nancy’s Macaron is a round shaped cookie made out of coconut or almond. Macarons in Nancy is a specialty and sold in many specialty stores, you can find them in some other regions of France as well and but with a different recipe and therefore texture. Macaron de Nancy is a specialty from this town, and was created in 1793 by two Benedictine nuns also called “Soeurs macaron” Sisters macaron. The recipe of the macaron was kept secret and transmitted throughout the centuries, there is still a street in Nancy called Rue des Soeurs Macarons, Macaron Sister Street.

Knowing how much Catherine of Medici brought from Italy to France, we can also assume that Macaron was brought to France from Italy since its name macaron derives from Maccarone, but its origin is still controverted.

This recipe is quick and easy to make requiring just a few ingredients. So if you love coconut as much as I do, you’ll love those little mini macarons, that go perfectly well with sweet dessert wine or champagne.

Ingredients for 24 bites

• 1 tbs flour
• 3.52 oz (or 100 g) sugar
• 5.30 oz (or 150 g) coconut flakes
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs quince jam

Preparation

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar and coconut. Add aggs to the mixture and stir until you obtain a smooth paste. Add quince jam, and stir. Fill in your mini silicon molds, or other individual mini molds. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 360F until the macarons have turned golden brown. Let them cool and remove from molds