7th Heaven

This post will be simple and to the point. There will be a recipe to follow this news:
THE WEBSITE IS LIVE! After much anticipation and excitement, www.thefrenchtranslator.co.uk is now up and running. I couldn't have hoped for a better site and I owe it all to the technical whizz I live with and his web designer. Actually, the only thing I did was write the text for it. So thank you, fellas - the work you have done is so much appreciated.

Right, so after that lovely news, as I mentioned before this post is short and sweet...in fact, it is short and savoury, as today's recipe is The Hairy Bikers' Tartiflette. I went to see the Hairy Bikers' Tour last week and they were fantastic. So charismatic and so entertaining. Also, the Tartiflette is French and this is a blog for a French business. A match made in heaven.

Tartiflette 
Prep Time - less than 30 mins 
Serves: 4 
Level: Moderate

Ingredients:
 • 1kg/2lb 4oz Charlotte potatoes, peeled
 • 250g/8oz bacon lardons
 • 2 shallots
 • 1 garlic clove
 • 100ml/3½fl oz white wine
 • 20ml/7fl oz double cream
 • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
 • 1 whole Reblochon cheese (about 450g/1lb), sliced

Method: 
1. For the tartiflette, preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 7.

2. Cook the potatoes in a saucepan of salted boiling water for 5-10 minutes, or until tender.

3. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.

4. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan until hot and fry the bacon, shallots and garlic for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.

5. Slice the potatoes thinly and layer into an ovenproof gratin dish with the bacon mixture. Pour over the double cream. Season with salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Layer the Reblochon slices on top.

6. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is golden-brown and bubbling.

 And here's the French:
Tartiflette 
Préparation: Moins que 30min 
Niveau: Assez facile 
4 Personnes

Ingrédients :
 • 1kg pommes de terre pelées
 • 250g des lardons
 • 2 échalotes
 • 1 gousse d’ail
 • 100ml de vin blanc
 • 20ml de crème
 • Du sel et du poivre
 • 1 fromage Reblachon en tranche (environ 450g)

Méthode :
1. Préchauffez le four à 200°C

2. Faites bouillir les pommes de terre pendant 5-10 minutes

3. Egouttez les pommes de terre et les laissez de refroidir un peu

4. Frisez les lardons, les échalotes et l’ail pendant 4-5 minutes. Déglacer la poêle avec le vin blanc et poursuivre la cuisson jusqu'à ce que le liquide se soit évaporé.

5. Tranchez finement les pommes de terre et les couche dans un plat à gratin allant au four avec le mélange de bacon. Verser sur la crème. Assaisonner avec du sel et beaucoup de poivre noir fraîchement moulu. Couchez les tranches de Reblochon sur la tartiflette.

6. Cuisez la tartiflette au four pendant 10-15 minutes, ou jusqu’à ce que le fromage soit doré et bouillonnant.

And there you have it, a short and savoury blog post,

Á bientôt mes amis!

On its own; number 6

Well, what a busy couple of weeks...no, hang on; I mean "chilled out couple of weeks".

After the translations I did for the American company, I decided to take a bit of time off to research some more recipes for you lovely readers (as if I need an excuse to get baking!) and it was good but I'm glad to get back into the swing of work now. Freelance translation sites are great for getting work in but I'm beginning to think I should perhaps pay to join one of them as many of the jobs are open to members only, but I cannot afford to do so until I am paid. The crux of many situations - money.

However, I do not have a totally negative, money-orientated blog for you today. My website is actually starting to take shape and is looking pretty great thanks to a certain technical whizz I happen to live with and also thanks to his wonderful web designer too. I adore anything vintage and this website definitely has a vintage feel to it. I'm not giving anything away as I want to post the URL in a blog when it is complete in a couple of week's time...so watch this space.

Also, I have spent a portion of this afternoon submitting my blog to blog directories in the hope that I can gain some more traffic and if people like what they read and are curious to know more about me and the business, they will get in contact; like I said, here's hoping...

So, on to the usual portion of my post; a recipe. Now, I have not gone for the roast I said I may translate as I got given the most wonderful sticky toffee pudding recipe the other day (it's a Nigella recipe so I'm hoping she won't mind me translating it) - it is so so easy to make, even if the method of pouring boling water over the pudding mix makes you gasp in horror, like I did!

This tastes wonderful and the technical whizz who I mentioned before loved it (he will eat almost anything but seemed to really enjoy this one)

So, Nigella's Sticky Toffee Pudding - in English first:

Serves: 4-6 (depending on portion size)
Level: Easy

Ingredients for the pudding mix

• 100g dark muscavado sugar
• 175g self-raising flour
• 125ml milk
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 50g unsalted butter (melted)
• 200g sultanas/dates/raisins

Ingredients for the sauce

• 200g dark muscavado sugar
• 25g unsalted butter (in cubes/blobs)
• 500ml boiling water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C and grease a 1 and a half litre dish/tin.
2. Mix the sugar and flour in a bowl. Mix the milk, egg, vanilla extract and melted butter together and add it to the cake mixture. Combine the mixture with a wooden spoon and then fold in the sultanas/dates. Pour the mixture into the prepared bowl/tin.
3. Sprinkle the sugar over this and then blob the butter on top of the sugar. Pour the boiling water over this (honestly!) and put the dish in the oven. Leave it in the oven for 45 - 60 mins. Serve with ice cream or cream. 

And there you have it! So, now on to the French translation...

La classique "Sticky Toffee Pudding" - une recette anglaise.

4 - 6 personnes

Niveau : Facile

Ingrédients pour le gâteau

• 100g de la canne à sucre noire
• 175g de farine à gâteau
• 125 ml du lait
• 1 oeuf
• 1 petite cuillère d'extrait de vanille
• 50g de beurre non salé (fondu)
• 200g de raisins secs ou de dattes

Ingrédients pour la sauce

• 200g de la canne à sucre noire
• 25g de beurre non salé 
• 500ml d'eau bouillante

Méthode

1. Préchauffer le four à 190°C et graisser un 1.5l plat.
2. Mélanger le sucre et la farine dans un bol. Mélanger le lait, l'oeuf, l'extrait de vanille et le beurre fondu, et les ajoutez au sucre et au farine dans le bol. Combiner le mélange avec une cuillère en bois, et puis replier les raisins secs/dattes. Verser le mélange dans le plat préparé.
3. Saupoudrer le 200g de sucre pour le sauce sur le gâteau, et couper le 25g de beurre non salé en morceaux afin de le mettre sur le sucre. Verser l'eau bouillante sur le gâteau entier (je ne blague pas!), et placez le plat dans le four. Laissez le gâteau dans le four pendant 45 à 60 minutes (jusqu'à le centre est élastique). Vous le servez avec du crème ou une boule de glace.

Et voilà! C'est tout!

I do hope that has translated well and makes sense! It's one of the easiest puddings I have ever made (and trust me, I've made a lot!) and I hope you enjoy it!

That's all from me for now, I'm off to try and find a large map of Thailand for my holidays last year (well, that is if I can get more work in to pay for it)

À bientôt mes amis!