Susan Herrmann Loomis

(COUNTRY TERRINE) My local butcher, Mr. Delasalle, wouldn't part with his terrine recipe, though he gave me plenty of hints. What follows is a recipe that closely replicates his.

This is a wonderful way to experience onions and it is reminiscent of the Alsatian specialty, flammekeuche. Combined with the cream, the onions (Rose de Roscoff, if you can find them) create a sweet, succulent foil for the bacon and the pizza dough. I like to serve this as a first course, with a lovely Gewurtztraminer.

You can use small manila clams or cherrystones if you can't get cockles. You can also use mussels, but the cooking time will be slightly shorter.

This recipe originally accompanied Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage . This pastry is short, buttery, and wonderfully easy to put together. I make it in the food processor, for the less it is touched by warm hands, the shorter and flakier it will be. Be sure to let the pastry rest at least one hour at room temperature, so it is easy to roll out, then chill it before baking.

This is the soup everyone enjoyed in Louviers for Carnaval. Quick to make, deliciously satisfying and alluring, you will find it hits the spot on a cool late winter to spring evening.

This is the best clafouti I have ever tasted, for it is short on flour, long on custard, and the butter gives it an added depth of flavor. Remove the pits if you like. If you leave the pits in the cherries, be sure to warn your guests so they don't crack their teeth!

A true coq au vin is made with the master of the farmyard, a rooster. If you can't find such a beast, use a good-size roasting chicken, and reduce the cooking time (cook it for about one hour, or until the meat is tender and cooked but not falling from the bone).

(Editor's Note: As of 2/27/01 ingredient quantities were adjusted for this recipe. It now works wonderfully.) If you want to make savory waffles, add about 3/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or hard sheep's milk cheese and omit the sugar.

This recipe is likely to work well with other cane berries such as blackberries and marionberries.

(LES SCOURTINS AUX OLIVES DE NYONS) Jean-Pierre Autrand of Les Vieux Moulins in Nyons, Provence, shared the family recipe for these crisp, salty-sweet cookies.

(Roti de Cuisse de Sanglier) Serve a hearty Gigondas or St. Joseph with this sumptuous dish.

Madeleines au Chocolat Madeleines are good any time, any where. Here are some secrets to making madeleines, and a wonderful chocolate version which is guaranteed to please! • Make the dough up to three days in advance and chill it in the refrigerator.
• Heavily butter the molds and chill them so the butter hardens before the molds are filled with batter.
• Refrigerate the filled molds before baking.
• Make sure the oven is fully hot before baking the madeleines.
• Bake for no longer than 7 minutes — the madeleines should not quite spring back when you touch them. This ensures a moist result.

This is a typical Norman recipe, a way to use up the little bits of cheese that somehow manage to end up on a cheese platter. It is delicious.

(POTAGE AU POTIRON)

This recipe is inspired by our trip to London aboard the Eurostar. The light, delicate sauce, which I make with fresh goat cheese from the market in Louviers, is perfect with freshly steamed asparagus (preferably white, though it is wonderful with green as well). If you can't find fresh goat cheese you may make this with fresh cow's cheese — the flavor will be different but as delectable.

(Gâteau de Semoule d’Isabelle) A favorite on the Dugord farm in Normandy, this cake (which is really more of a pudding) wins with everyone. According to Isabelle Dugord, who convinced her grandmother to share the recipe, her family ate this all the time when she was growing up, and it's still her preferred sweet. Isabelle works part-time at a day-care center and always has the children make this at least once while they’re with her. "It's easy to make, healthy, and they all, down to the last child, just love it," she said. It can be served hot, lukewarm, or chilled, and is best the day it is made. Raisins are traditional, though dates or figs are luscious, too.