Clafoutis is such a fun word for a dessert-breakfast-snack. It is all of these in one dish. Trust me on this, as I have eaten Clafoutis for all three meals. It is fun to eat also. Ever bite is different and it is intriguing. You can make a gazillion different versions of this dish depending on what you have in the fridge or what is in season. In fact I believe you could go through life never having the same Clafoutis twice.

Part of the intrigue of a Clafoutis is that I have never eaten it till I made one. I have no clue as to how they are suppose to taste. I also don’t have the making of one down pat. My second go around it was clear I still need to tweak the batter, a little to much of a flour taste for my liking.

The first go around was a total flop. The dog didn’t even like it, so that says something. Scout wouldn’t even give me a one bark for my first attempt. The husband gave me a growl after his first bite. No chance I was getting a one bark vote from him either.

How hard can this be, sugar, flour, eggs, milk or cream, a little lemon juice and zest poured on top of whatever fruit you have and pop it in the oven. Here I am trying to whip up a Clafoutis for “Hay Hay- It’s Donna Day- The Clafoutis Edition” singing the tune all excited and I flop. What a let down on my first attempt of a Banana Pecan Chocolate Clafoutis.

In fact it was so bad, the husband said please don’t ever make a Clafoutis again. That almost did it for me, as I have been in a crumble quick or fold quick mode. Besides Clafoutis’s aren’t Southern, I have no business messing around with something that is French.

Clafoutis’s are making the rounds on the blogs as we are coming up to “Hay Hay It’s Donna Day”- The Clafoutis Edition. They look so good I can almost taste them. The promise of a good taste is such a hook. Let’s face it, it’s a fun rhyme and a fun sounding name and my new found release from Retail Hell just beckons me to have fun. How could I not give this a try or two or three more till I get it just the way I imagine it should taste.

Back to the kitchen I went and whipped up one. They are that fast and easy to make. Not one month after my dismal failure where the husband said, please no more Clafoutis.

I gave him another Clafoutis.

This is wonderful what is it?

Boy, I would have been in a jam if it weren’t for my quick thinking.

Why dear it is a Calfoodie…….., I said.

What is a Calfoodie……….?

Ahhhhhhhhhhh, I don’t know but it’s Southern and you will like it.

Okay, two Clafoutis’s and I don’t know what one is. Sad, sad, sad…….I so need to get with it. But not as sad as the poor husband who know thinks he was served a Calfoodie………….for dessert.

You are right it is wonderful, he replied.

Well he really didn’t say wonderful, I just am a little tired of good as an adjective to describe my cooking, so I made up the wonderful part.

I held my tongue and smiled at the good, which quite frankly is a whole lot better than never ever make a Clafoutis again. Then I bit my tongue and winced as I watched him put………..no it is not vanilla ice cream which would be simply divine. Is he really putting Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet on my Strawberry Rhubarb Clafoutis?

Oh my God, he is.

He saw me wince.

Are you going to tell everyone that I put Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet on my Calfoodie………..?

No dear, I wouldn’t dream of letting the world know what you just did to my wonderful Calfoodie…………..

Wanting to cry at this point, I opted instead to choke back the tears and remind myself that he is such good writing material. Honestly, I couldn’t make this stuff up.

I am though, going to write the ice cream manufacturer and ask them to remove from the market shelves this gross concoction. My husband on the other hand, should be banned from every having one of my Calfoodies………… for putting such a gross concoction on it.

Being a wife that is all for second chances and keeping peace. I will just have to create a Calfoodie……… that so won’t go with Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet. Nothing like a little outsmarting to fix the problem.

So, I am going back for another go or two to make a few changes in hopes that I can give this a Southern twist, and rather soon I might add. There is nothing Southern about a Clafoutis and this disappoints me as this is one of my new favorite foods. A few creative thoughts rolling around in my head and I might be on to a culinary creation that could bring a truly splendid Southern Calfoodie……… to my kitchen.

It is most unusual for me to write a post without a recipe. But I don’t have one that I am sold on yet. This Clafoutis was inspired by both Tartelette’s and Bron’s recipe.

Inspired by both, because I didn’t have the exact ingredients for either recipe, so I used a little of each.

Tartelette is a genius in the kitchen. Just one look at her site and you know it is going to be divine, grand, splendid, extraordinary and any other good word you can think of. Let me tell you, Mrs. Tartelette lives in the same city as I do. I have never had the pleasure of meeting her or tasting her food. It is sheer torture knowing that such exquisite desserts are right around the corner from me, sheer torture.

Tartelette uses a combination of corn starch and flour which I was out of, and I was not about to go to the store. Not being an expert, I am only guessing that the corn starch is a thickening agent without the heavy floury taste that one can get from a Clafoutis if not care-full. So I did an all flour version, which made it a little heavy which was not a surprise to me. What is a surprise is that most recipes call for all flour.

I was out of milk, so opted for cream as suggested by Bron. I had the lemon juice and grated zest as suggested by Tartelette. The lemon is a must in my book and I will use it in all my Clafoutis from now on. Every once in a while I got a piece of zest with my spoonful of Clafoutis and wow, was it fabulous. Especially if I got the lemon with some of the top sugary crusty part near the surface.

My Clafoutis did not get as brown as I wanted, so I sprinkled it with sugar and put it under the broiler for a minute or two. I did like the sugary crust that I got on top, and will most certainly finish them off this way in the future.

What’s next? Perhaps a peach Clafoutis with the addition of buttermilk sprinkled with chopped pecans. This is either going to be good or totally gross. This cook needs to take a few more risks, knowing that a risk might deliver a creation worth recording and remaking.

Besides; peaches, pecans, buttermilk how much more Southern can we be, except to call this dish a Calfoodie……..Who knows maybe I will start my own Hay Hay It’s a Calfoodie……………Day, and see what version of a Southern Calfoodie………… you all can come up with?