French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook

Mureille Guioliano is back again, 

with a cookbook. 

I came across an article in the Sunday paper with a few of her recipes 

and I admit they look healthy and very tempting.

I also discovered that she has her own website and it is worth a look. 

www.frenchwomendontgetfat.com

I am cooking fish tonight and have been thinking of trying something new.

Not sure how the family will take to the Champagne ( I know I would love it) 

but I just had to post this one.

Grab a coffee or tea and spend some time on her site.

Inspiring!

Halibut En Papillote (from French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook)
This is another simple dish that can be prepared in advance and put in the oven as your guests eat the appetizer. I believe in the principle of eating fish once or twice a week. But I notice lots of unpracticed cooks intimidated by the notion of preparing fish, especially whole, so I’m always on the lookout for quick and easy preparations. You can substitute flounder, sole, monkfish, salmon, cod, bass or swordfish for the halibut in this one. The cooking time will be shorter with the lighter fish, such as sole, and longer with meatier fish, such as swordfish.
INGREDIENTS
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 fillets of halibut, about 4 ounces each
½ cup Champagne (Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Brut recommended)
2 tsp fennel seeds
8 sprigs fresh thyme
8 sprigs parsley
8 thin lemon slices
Salt and pepper to taste
Yield: 4 Servings

RECIPE

Cut 8 pieces of parchment (or aluminum foil) into squares large enough to cover each fish fillet with a two-inch border all around. Lightly brush 4 squares with olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Put halibut in the center and drizzle with Champagne. Add 2 sprigs of thyme, 2 lemon slices, 2 parsley sprigs and ½ tsp fennel seeds on each piece of fish. Season to taste.

Use the remaining parchment squares as top sheets, fold the edges up to form packets. Simply double-folding each of the four sides is enough to seal each filet. Put on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven.

Serve by setting each packet on a plate. Let your guests open the packet and spoon juices over the fish.  Voilà—Drama as well as flavor!

FRENCH WOMAN'S MANIFESTO

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French women eat three meals a day.
French women adore fashion.
French women are stubborn individuals and don't follow mass movements.
French women avoid anything that demands too much effort for too little pleasure.
 French women balance their food, drink, and movement on a week-by-week basis.
French women care enormously about the presentation of food. It matters to them how you look at it.
French women choose their own indulgences and compensations.  They understand that little things count, both additions and subtractions, and that as an adult everyone is the keeper of her own equilibrium.
French women do stray, but they always come back, believing there are only detours and no dead ends.
French women don't care for hard liquor.
French women don't diet
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• Interview with Mireille
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Images, text and Recipe