This will be the last menu for January folks. Can you believe it – 1 month down, 11 more to go! I can tell you this Steph has done a great job, we all got to try so many new things this past month, and if you take a peek at February, those are even better. So, this weeks choices are:

Chicken croquettes – page 299
Tarte Tatin – page 456

The best part of Chicken Croquettes is that you can use left over chicken (suggestion is to buy a roast chicken at your favorite market and then go to town in shredding/chopping it) and voila, another fast and easy recipe. When I lived in Miami, these were one of my favorite things to get at my local cafeteria for breakfast every morning. I still find them here in Tampa, but they are not as good, or at least I have not found “the ones” that knock my socks off. Like anything else, there are tons of versions out there. This one seems to be closely related to how the Spaniards do them for their famous Tapas.

Then we have the Tarte Tatain, the French classic to the upside down tart. The best part of this dessert that you can make the pastry dough 1 day ahead and then simply put it together. If you are unsure of the pastry, the book shows you the technique on page 520. I highly recommend the Food Processor option, since in less than 10 minutes you will have the pastry all ready to go. You can also use golden delicious apples instead of the granny smith type, they are both good choices for this tart.

So gang, let’s get to it and be Gutsy this week!