Ninja Foodi French Fries are super crispy, perfectly salted, and absolutely irresistible! You’ve never had homemade fries this delicious or this easy to make.
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Craving crispy, salty, hot-out-of-the-fryer fries? Skip the fast food joint and whip up these craveworthy Ninja Foodi French fries instead!
It’s never been so easy to make homemade French fries that taste so good. Just cut, soak, toss in oil, and let the Ninja Foodi handle the rest.
Best of all, you’ll only use a fraction of the oil you get from deep fried French fries!
I love making frozen French fries when I’m short on time.
But once I realized how easy it was to make fries from scratch, this has become my go-to method when I want an irresistible side the whole family will devour!
A full printable version of this recipe with ingredient measurements is available at the bottom of this post.
STEP ONE: Peel and wash all potatoes, then cut into ¼-inch rectangle French fries with a fry cutter or a knife.
STEP TWO: Rinse the fries, then soak in cold water with 1 tablespoon of salt for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the fridge.
STEP THREE: Drain the water, rinse the fries, then pat them dry with paper towel until all of the moisture has been absorbed.
STEP FOUR: Drizzle the fries with oil and toss to coat.
STEP FIVE: Air crisp at 390 degrees F in the Ninja Foodi for 25-30 minutes, shaking the basket every 5-10 minutes to make sure the fries cook evenly.
STEP SIX: Sprinkle with additional salt to taste and serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauces.
What to Serve with Ninja Foodi Fries
How Long to Cook French Fries in the Ninja Foodi
We want the fries to be super crispy on the outside and hot and fluffy on the inside.
If you cut them into ¼-inch rectangles, they should cook in 25-30 minutes in the Ninja Foodi.
I recommend checking on them around the 25 minute mark and then checking every minute until they’re cooked just the way you want them.
Tips for Making the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer French Fries
Use russet (baking) potatoes for the fries. They are high in starch, which makes them great for Ninja Foodi French fries.
Try to cut the potatoes into even rectangles. Slicing all of the potatoes to the same size will help them cook evenly. A fry cutter is a great tool here!
After draining the potatoes,dry them as thoroughly as possible. By removing the excess moisture, this helps them crisp up beautifully. If there’s too much moisture, the potatoes will steam instead.
Shake the basket every 10-15 minutes to help the fries cook evenly.
Add extra salt right when they come out of the Ninja Foodi for a true restaurant-quality batch of fries!
For an extra burst of flavor, feel free to add a little French fry seasoning right before serving.
More Delicious French Fry Recipes
Other Ninja Foodi Recipes You’ll Love:
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Soak Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour10 minutes
Ingredients
1.5 – 2 lbs russet (baking) potatoes
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt (divided)
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
Instructions
Peel and wash all potatoes, then cut into ¼” rectangle french fries, using a fry cutter or a knife.
Rinse the potatoes, then soak in cold water with 1 tablespoon of salt for at least 30 minutes (or up to overnight if in the fridge).
Drain the water, rinse the potatoes, then pat dry with paper towel until all moisture has been absorbed (this helps them crisp not steam)
Drizzle oil, and toss to coat.
Air crisp at 390 F in the foodi for 25-30 minutes, shaking the basket every 5-10 minutes to make sure they cook evenly.
Sprinkle with additional salt to taste and serve immediately.
This nutrition information is based on the exact products I used in this recipe. Brands and sizes of products could alter exact nutrition and should always be calculated independently.
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French toast is the king of breakfast. This sweet and delicious dish is soft and fluffy from inside and crispy from the outside. Besides that, it is super easy to make and only needs 4-5 ingredients to prepare, which include bread, milk, eggs, sugar, butter and honey or maple syrup for that extra sweet taste. Even though is it simple to cook, many people fail to get a perfectly fluffy French toast. For those who don’t know what they are doing wrong while cooking this dish, these tips will surely be helpful. Find out how to make perfectly fluffy and soft French toast at home.
Also Read: Paneer Bread Roll And More: 5 Unique Bread Rolls That Are A Class Apart
Here Are 6 Tips To Prepare Fluffy French Toast:
1. Choose The Right Bread
Bread is the base of the French toast recipe. There are a variety of breads available in market these days; you can use any bread which is broad in size. Broad breads turn out to be fluffier as they hold more mixture within them. However, it’s okay to use thin sliced bread too but there are chances it will break after soaking the wet batter.
Use a big-broad bread to make French toast. Photo Credit: unsplash
2. Balance Egg and Milk Ratio
The trick for making fluffy French toast is to balance the ratio of eggs and milk. Do not hold back on adding more eggs. Use around 2 to 4 eggs for preparing 2 slices of French toast. While you make the batter, ensure that you add more eggs in comparison to milk. If there’s too much milk added to the batter, there are chances that the egg in the mixture will not cook properly, which will make the French toast very soggy.
Don’t add too much milk in the batter. Photo Credit: unsplash
3. Mix The Batter Well
This is the most important step in making French toast. Mix the egg, sugar, and milk batter properly till you see froth on the mixture. When you see tiny little bubbles on top of the mixture, it’s time to stop mixing the batter. You can now go ahead with using it to soak the bread.
The batter should not be too runny. Photo Credit: unsplash
4. Soak The Bread
Don’t miss out on soaking the bread in the wet mixture. In a broad, deep bowl, pour the mixture and put the bread slice in it. Soak it until it absorbs the mixture and looks soft. You have to be careful while doing this as the bread should not be under soaked or over soaked.
Let the bread soak the batter properly. Photo Credit: unsplash
Also Read: Make This 3-Ingredient Banana Pancake For A Healthy Start To Your Day
5. Cook At Right Temperature
To make fluffy French toast, ensure to preheat the pan on low flame. Do not over heat it, because the base of the bread will cook faster and become crispy, whereas the inside of the bread will be undercooked and soggy. The pan should neither be over heated nor under heated.
6. Grease The Pan
Apply 1 tbsp oil and half tbsp butter on the hot pan. Using only butter to cook the bread will not be a great choice because the butter will burn out soon, leaving a bitter taste. This is why it is important to use both oil and butter together to add flavour and to cook the bread properly. This will result in perfectly fluffy French toast.
Don’t forget to sprinkle honey or maple syrup on top of your delectable French toast to give it an extra flavour boost.
Have you ever wished there was a way to turn the crusts of your bread into a more delicious meal?
Well, Japanese whisky maker Nikka Whisky is here with a solution, and it’s so tasty and easy to make that we’ve added it straight to our roster of regular recipes.
Nikka Whisky first shared the recipe on its official Twitter account, and since then it’s gotten rave reviews from home cooks and whisky fans, so we decided to whip up a batch and share the recipe with you as well.
It’s called Guruguru Bacon French Toast, with guruguru meaning “round and round” or “in circles”, and all you need to get started is the following ingredients:
● Bread crusts – 8
● Bacon – 8 slices
● Egg yolk – 2, lightly beaten
● Milk – 1 cup
● Sugar – 1 tablespoon
● Butter – 1 tablespoon
You can also add black pepper or honey as optional toppings.
Step 1.
Cut the bacon to the same width as the bread crust and wrap it around the crust, as shown below.
Step 2.
Secure the roll with a toothpick
Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the remaining crusts.
Step 3.
Soak the rolls in the French toast liquid (made by mixing the yolk, milk and sugar) for about five minutes.
Step 4.
Heat the butter in a frypan and add the rolls. Fry both sides on medium heat until golden.
▼ And they’re done.
After letting them cool a little, you’ll be sinking your teeth into a round of sweet, buttery, salty heaven.
▼ The sweet and salty combination makes these bite-sized morsels incredibly addictive.
▼ Feel free to add toppings like honey and black pepper to add even more flavor to the mix.
The bacon adds a strong, salty taste to each bite, and Nikka says this combination makes for an ideal drinking partner, especially when enjoyed with a glass of their whisky on the side.
So next time you pour yourself a Japanese whisky, why not cut off some bread crusts and roll yourself a little piece of guruguru heaven?
We have classic French dessert recipes for everyone—regardless of whether you’re just starting out or are already a pastry pro.
The world of French desserts is vast. Look into the window of a pâtisserie, and chances are you’ll see an assortment of éclairs, madeleines, financiers, cream puffs, macarons, tarts, and cakes like the Opera or Fraisier. Your favorite bistro likely has a crème brûlée or chocolate mousse on their dessert menu, if not both. And if you enjoy eating ice cream, then you’ve likely had crème anglaise, the custardy sauce that’s also used as a base used to make French-style ice creams. Add to that towering soufflés, meringues that are light as air, and the chocolate ganache essential for making your favorite truffles, and it can be hard to know where to start.
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Over centuries, the French have mastered the art of pâtisserie and created some of the world’s most popular desserts. Some of their contributions to the world of pastry, like the croquembouche, are a little more extravagant and time-consuming to make. Others, like clafoutis, are simple enough to whip up on a busy weeknight. You don’t have to be a trained pastry chef to tackle either of these—all you need are a few essential techniques and recipes to use as building blocks. Master meringue, and you’ll be able to make macarons, chocolate mousse, and sweet soufflés. Learn how to make choux pastry, and you’ll have opened the door to cream puffs, éclairs, croquembouche, and more. Overcome your fear of making crème anglaise, like I did, and the world of custard-based ice creams is yours—not to mention easy desserts like fresh berries with chilled crème anglaise as the sauce.
The beauty of French pastry is that once you feel comfortable with the basic techniques and understand the science behind them, you’ll be able to mix and match recipes to create a laundry list of classic confections—or even a dessert of your own. No matter the skill level, there’s something sweet and celebratory for everyone. Here, we’ve highlighted our favorite French desserts, organized by the skill level required to make them. To be clear, all the recipes are thoroughly tested, clearly written, and doable by anyone—if you’re feeling ambitious, go ahead and jump into the deep end, we’re right there with you. Or follow the progression we’ve outlined here, starting with recipes for beginners (or whatever you think your current skill level is), then work your way up. By the time you’ve finished with the advanced recipes, you’ll have gained much of the fundamental skills required in even the most elite French pastry kitchens.
With whisper thin, crisp exteriors, light-yet-buttery centers, and those signature humps, these are madeleines that Proust would be proud of. Not only are these cakes easy to whip up, but they’re also extremely versatile: The batter can be flavored with nuts, cocoa powder, warm spices, citrus zest, herbs, and extracts.
Once baked, they can be glazed, filled, or served plain. Start simple, then play around with different flavors.
Deeply satisfying to eat, these tender-crisp financiers benefit from nutty brown butter and ground toasted almonds.
Resting the batter in the refrigerator allows the ingredients to hydrate, yielding moist, tender cakes. And while they’re delicious on their own, you can dress them up with a glaze or dip them into melted chocolate.
Cherry clafoutis is a dessert that’s guaranteed to impress and please. Its simplicity can’t be overstated: Pour a simple batter made from egg, milk, sugar, and flour over cherries, bake, and serve. Butter in the batter adds extra flavor and helps crisp the edges more, while balanced amounts of egg and sugar produce a light-textured clafoutis that’s just sweet enough and not too eggy.
Sweetened dairy stars in this dessert that’s shaped into a heart and served with strawberry sauce. All you have to do is beat cream cheese and cream with powdered sugar, the seeds of a vanilla bean, and lemon zest before allowing the mixture to set overnight. To successfully unmold your dessert, line your dish with a damp paper towel or cheesecloth and invert.
Crème anglaise is many things: It’s a sauce. It’s a custard. It’s a sauce and a custard you can churn into ice cream. At its most basic, crème anglaise is a mixture of milk and/or cream, egg yolks, sugar, and a vanilla bean that has been cooked until just thick enough to coat a spoon. Though cooking an egg-based custard can be anxiety-inducing, a bit of care and good technique is all you need to prevent scrambled sauce is an unlikely outcome.
The grown-up version of a Pop-Tart, gâteau Basque combines elements of a cookie, a tart, and a pie, with a filling of pastry cream or cherry jam. The tender, slightly crumbly crust—which is easily rolled out once chilled—comes together easily in a stand mixer.
Here, the addition of almond flour and extract in both the dough and pastry cream adds a rich, nutty flavor.
Vanilla bean-flecked pastry cream meets flaky pie crust in this cake on an essential French pastry.
Here, pie dough makes for a tender, flaky crust that’s sturdy enough to support the pastry-cream filling, and brushing the surface of the flan with egg yolk produces a glossy, deeply bronzed finish.
Chouquettes are small choux pastry puffs topped with snowy white grains of pearl sugar. They bake up quickly and make a delicious snack or after-dinner treat. The secret to choux pastry that develops good color without over-baking?
Use milk—which has additional proteins and sugars that promote browning—in the choux paste.
Rich with bittersweet flavor and light as a cloud, chocolate mousse is a simple, elegant dessert that’s deeply satisfying to eat. For an easy mousse that won’t seize or deflate, melt your chocolate together with the cream. This stabilizes the chocolate and prevents it from seizing and also lightens up the chocolate mixture, making it easier to fold together with the egg whites without deflating the mixture.
Made well, crème brûlée is a magnificent dessert of silky, vanilla-scented custard beneath a shatteringly crisp topping of caramelized sugar. For a velvety custard that doesn’t curdle, be sure to bake your crème brûlée in a water bath.
Got a blowtorch? This is the time to pull it out. Using it to caramelize the raw sugar topping results in an evenly caramelized crust that shatters easily.
This simple, elegant dessert of “floating islands” suspended in a pool of crème anglaise is a French classic. For a more stable meringue that’s less likely to deflate, whisk your egg whites at a lower speed for longer, and slowly add the sugar to ensure it’ll dissolve properly. Don’t feel like making crème anglaise from scratch? You can melt a pint or two of good quality, egg-free vanilla ice cream in a saucepan or microwave instead.
Light and crisp cream puffs, filled with your choice of rich pastry cream, whipped cream, or crème légère, will satisfy dessert lovers everywhere.
Our easy recipe for choux pastry takes almost all the guesswork out of the traditional technique, producing puffs that are golden and crispy on the outside and hollow within.
Served à la minute, chocolate soufflé is the go-to classic dessert for chocolate lovers everywhere. For a soufflé that rises successfully, you’ll want to liberally butter and sugar your ramekins, which will ensure that the soufflé rises up without any cracks. For maximum loft, you’ll want to whip egg whites and sugar until they reach stiff, glossy peaks before folding it into chocolate ganache. Just make sure your egg whites and your mixing bowl are clean!
Canelés require plenty of patience, but it’s well worth it for the glassy, caramelized exterior and custardy center you get.
To make this southwestern French specialty, you’ll want to coat your molds in a mixture of beeswax and butter, and start baking at a very high temperature to encourage a crisp skin to form.
Time and temperature are both key to mastering this dessert, and as long as you keep an eye on both, you’ll be able to make a canelé worthy of a French bakery.
Crisp choux pastry, a rich vanilla bean-infused pastry cream, and an intense chocolate glaze? It’s easy to see why éclairs remain one of France’s most beloved treats. With éclairs, how they’re piped is how they bake, so it’s crucial to take your time and do it well. After they’re baked, you’ll use a sharp paring knife to poke holes in the bottom of each éclair while they’re still hot. This will dry out the insides of the pastries and keep them crisp.
A towering masterpiece of caramel-covered cream puffs surrounded by golden threads of spun sugar, the croquembouche is the celebration cake of France. Making it is a labor of love and requires a bit of advance planning and plenty of organization.
You’ll want to make a template for your puffs to ensure they’re all uniform in size, then prepare all the mise en place for the choux pastry, the pastry cream, and the caramel before assembling.
Tarte Tatin can be a tricky dessert to make and involves a nuanced culinary dance that requires a fine-tuned sense of just about… everything.
The key to success is breaking the recipe down into more discrete parts, and understanding the science of how apples cook and soften. With the right technique, you can make a stellar tarte Tatin that rivals even those served in a French bistro.
Almond-studded choux pastry and rich, nutty praline crème mousseline join forces in this impressive French dessert. Piping and building the Paris-Brest may seem like the most intimidating part, but there’s no wrong way to do it as long as the filling sits tall inside the bottom half. We promise it’ll be delicious, no matter how professional the filling looks.
This French dessert gets its name from the way its layers of thinly sliced apple seem to disappear into the light batter that binds them. In a nod to the popularity of gateau invisible in Japan, this version is subtly flavored with salty-sweet white miso, and served with a miso caramel sauce. Despite its impressive layers, all you really have to do is whisk eggs and sugar until glossy, add in the flour, then gently fold in apples until they’re evenly coated. The hardest part may very well be slicing the apples thinly and layering the cake. The thinner the apples, the more layers you’ll get, and the more cohesive the baked cake will be.
Header Image Photography by Amanda Suarez Art Direction and Graphics by Sarah Maiden
Carolyn Wong, who goes by @carolbeecooks on TikTok, is relatively new to the world of food blogging. It was a hobby she picked up during the pandemic as an outgrowth of her love of cooking and her desire to share that with others.
Her style embraces spontaneity. “In general, I just kind of like using ingredients I have on hand, since I just do it for fun,” Wong said in a phone interview from her home in Columbus, Ohio. “A lot of times I don’t really do a lot of planning things out. I just kind of think of things throughout the day and see what I have to try to get some inspiration using ingredients I like.” In January 2022, after recently enjoying homemade French onion soup, she was inspired to make a one-pot French onion pasta — “I make a lot of pasta dishes in general,” Wong said — and a viral recipe was born.
But Wong acknowledges she wasn’t the first to come up with the idea. “There’s definitely people that have thought of it before me, years and years ago, and I’ve seen a lot of people do it since,” she said.
One of those people is Joy Wilson, a.k.a. Joy the Baker, who shared a version of the dish on her blog back in 2014. “French onion is one of my favorite flavor profiles just because it feels so luxurious, but it’s actually pretty attainable with simple ingredients that I usually have in my pantry,” Wilson told me. She was inspired to create the dish when she thought about “how to get the most luxury out of a box of pasta and some onions.” While some might feel a sense of territorialism over their creation, as a veteran of the blogging world, Wilson acknowledges that’s not how things work in the recipe sphere. “I never hold on to it so tight as mine, because I’m putting it out in the world for it to be everyone’s.”
It doesn’t take hours to make an intense, dark and rich French onion soup
Wilson said her recipe was popular when she originally posted it and continues to get attention whenever she reshares it. And now, with Wong’s social media videos, the dish is gaining even more traction. “It is pretty cool that a whole new TikTok generation is finding these kinds of dishes and getting excited about it,” she said. “I feel like this technique is a gateway for people who think that they don’t know how or don’t like to cook to feel chef-y.”
Wong’s original video from early 2022 has garnered more than 1 million views on TikTok — a veritable success. But when she shared it again last month, this time capitalizing on a trend in which people list three reasons they won’t do something (with all of the reasons left blank), Wong’s video took off again to even greater heights. “That video takes like 2 seconds to make and then it has like 17 million views between Instagram and TikTok,” Wong said.
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It’s always interesting to see which recipes gain the most traction on social media. With some, such as baked feta pasta, it’s clear as day why they become so popular. Others, such as the tortilla “hack” that is basically a folded quesadilla, required a bit more convincing for me to jump on the bandwagon. And few, such as pasta chips, still make zero sense to me. French onion pasta squarely falls into the first category. Why? Well, it’s a confluence of factors.
TikTok’s viral baked feta pasta is worth the hype
“I think people like things that are simple and they feel like they can approach at home,” Wong said. Timing also plays a role, as these cold weather months are affectionately known as soup season to some, and drawing on a classic soup is an instant pull. Combining that with a one-pot pasta ratchets the dish’s intrigue level up a notch because of the ease and, well, pasta. And it’s both saucy and cheesy, giving videos of this creation an intense visual appeal for viewers.
“I think it’s so appealing because it’s really simple and it’s stuff that you can look around your kitchen and find without having to go to the grocery store for the most part,” Wilson said. “It’s fairly adaptable and it just is a very simple way to get a lot of comfort and flavor out of super simple ingredients. And it only uses one pot, so it’s light on dishes, too.”
Wong said she “was literally just using stuff that [she] had on hand,” when she first made it. “I didn’t buy specific ingredients for it, so I feel like people shouldn’t be scared to experiment and see how it turns out.” So experiment I did.
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I followed Wong’s recipe in my first pass, and while it was good, I thought it could better evoke the source material. The first thing I did was increase the amount of onions, because if we’re going to call something French onion pasta, then I want to be smacked in the face with onion flavor. I also decided to use port to deglaze the pan instead of white wine for the caramel undertones port often has, which complement the sauteed onions. Other small tweaks I made include tying the thyme sprigs with twine to make them easier to fish out later and using chicken stock or broth instead of beef for a cleaner flavor that lets the onions shine through more. Lastly, while parmesan cheese is undoubtedly more likely to be in a home cook’s fridge at any given time, I missed the distinct flavor profile of Gruyere cheese that typically accompanies the soup.
The result is a carby, saucy, cheesy, oniony bowl of pasta that lives up to the hype and my expectations. Give this recipe a try, and I’m sure it will do the same for you. Or, as Wong and Wilson suggest, use it as a blueprint to make use of the ingredients you already have on hand for a luxurious pasta that’s easily within reach.
Storage: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days.
NOTE: The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits, so it’s okay if it is still saucy.
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions (1 pound), thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup tawny port (may substitute madeira, sherry, dry vermouth, red wine, or additional stock or broth)
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth, preferably unsalted or reduced-sodium, if store-bought
8 ounces short dry pasta, such as rigatoni, fusilli or orecchiette
5 sprigs fresh thyme, tied together with twine, plus more for serving
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
2 ounces (1/2 cup) finely shredded Gruyere cheese, plus more for serving
In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onions and salt, stir, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are nicely browned in spots and the bottom of the pot is covered with stuck-on bits, 20 to 25 minutes.
Add the port to deglaze by scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add the stock or broth, pasta, thyme and pepper, cover partially and increase the heat to bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to keep the mixture at a gentle, not rolling, boil, until the pasta is al dente and the liquid has reduced to coat the pasta, 15 to 20 minutes (see NOTE). Remove from the heat, discard the thyme, and stir in the cheese until melted. Taste, and season with more salt and/or pepper, if needed.
Divide among bowls, sprinkle with more cheese and fresh thyme leaves, if desired, and serve.
Photos courtesy of Gerard and Belevender Marie Wallace is in her happy place making crêpes at The French Cow, a fixture at Eastern Market.
The reason Marie Wallace came to the United States from France and a big reason she remains are about as far apart as her home country and current residence. “I was 23 and a big Eminem fan,” Wallace recalled. “I loved hip-hop and Eminem. I wanted to write a screenplay; I’m a screenwriter. My dream was to come to Detroit, meet Eminem, give him my screenplay and he would produce it.” Though she came close — she met Eminem’s manager, Paul Rosenberg, multiple times and, as a singer, worked with Luis Resto, who co-produced the rapper’s Oscar-winning “Lose Yourself,” from the film “Eight Mile” — she has yet to meet the man himself and her screenplay was turned down. But the rejection turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Wallace at the time was starting a business that has since become a popular Eastern Market destination. “I’m very passionate about French food, about food in general,” she explained. “I was disappointed when I tasted crêpes here. They’re not the quality I was used to (in France). I had crêpes all the time with my family; we made crêpes constantly.” In 2008, Wallace mentioned to her husband she’d like to start a crêpe business, but the timing wasn’t right as she was busy raising their two sons. “Then Good Girls Go to Paris Crêpes opened in Detroit,” she said. “It broke my heart. It was very popular and it got big. People were lining up for crêpes. “… When I got my divorce, I took my kids there and they said, ‘You should make your own,’” she added. That’s exactly what she did. Using her own crêpe recipe and with her mother’s help, Wallace set about creating The French Cow crêpes shop. “I started at Coffee & … on Jefferson and Chalmers,” she said. “I was scared. I didn’t know if people would like it.” She voiced her concerns to the cafe owner, who encouraged Wallace to give it a try. “She kept saying, ‘Just do it,’” Wallace recalled. “So each month, I had a pop-up there.” Though she had some success, the shop wasn’t enough to support her, so she landed a job at Selden Standard in Detroit, which helped her learn more about the industry. “They hired me knowing I was starting my own company,” she said. “I studied a lot there. I learned about kitchen service. I learned the ropes through Selden. Two years later, I started at Eastern Market.” Wallace said some customers were skeptical at first. Her savory crêpes, for instance, are made with buckwheat flour, so they come out darker. “But that’s how we make them in France,” she explained. “Black is for savory, white is for sweet. Little by little, they began tasting them. They say, ‘This is how they’re done in France? OK, let’s try it.’ “Now people are there before we even open, every time,” she continued. “We sell 200 to 350 crêpes, which is a lot. Now I have employees, two to four during the season. I started with just my mother.” The French Cow currently is a fixture at Eastern Market on Saturdays, though during summer months, hungry patrons can find the shop there three days a week. The French Cow also handles catering requests. “Anything where we can sell crêpes we are doing,” Wallace said. “I also make baguette sandwiches and sell them at Milwaukee Cafe near New Center.” Among The French Cow’s most popular savory crêpes are the Pigalle and the Big Mack. “The Pigalle is inspired from the Red District of Paris,” Wallace said. “It’s delicious, but also a little bit dirty. It’s Swiss cheese, ham, caramelized onions, then I make a homemade cilantro-garlic sauce I put on top. “The Big Mack has corned beef,” she added. “I named it after a customer who’s Irish, named Cormack. The crêpes have some very strange names because they’re named after things in my life, like The Wallace Boys — Nutella, bananas and walnuts — is named after my sons.” Another popular sweet crêpe is Jessica’s Secret, featuring homemade rhubarb jam, strawberries and ricotta. But don’t expect to find this tasty treat at the shop during winter. “I try to do everything seasonal and strawberries are not in season now,” Wallace said. “I use the freshest ingredients. The market is an amazing place to find fresh ingredients all year round. So many people don’t know that Eastern Market is open all year. It’s one of the only cities in the United States that has that.” Wallace currently is compiling a cookbook, “with crêpes and other things, picturing the authentic French way of living,” she said. “I feel like sometimes Americans are infatuated (with France) for the wrong reason,” Wallace said. “They fall in love with Paris because of the Eiffel Tower, because it’s so romantic. They don’t dig deep into what the culture really is, of what the feeling of sharing food really is. It’s not that they don’t want to, but now I’m forcing them to. If I ever open a shop, it will be a real culture shock for them, because I will keep it authentic. “I would love to have my own place in Grosse Pointe Park,” she added. “I would love it to have a Parisian feel where people can walk to it.”
Grosse Pointe Park resident Marie Wallace brings an athentic Parisian food experience to Eastern Market with sweet and savory crêpes inspired by her hometown.
Wallace said making crêpes helps her express her creative side, which knows no limits. “I’m also a trained actor and screenwriter and a singer,” she said. “I love to decorate. I feel like crêpes may seem odd, but I create a lot when I’m coming up with a menu or decorating the booth creatively at the market. I am a content creator and a constant creator.” Wallace put her creativity to use during the pandemic by writing the screenplay, “13 Weeks,” for which she is trying to get representation. “It’s about two people who start a conversation during the pandemic, apart from each other, in different cities,” she said of the romance. When she’s not peddling crêpes, Wallace, who has lived in Grosse Pointe Park since 2016, enjoys spending time with her two boys, ages 12 and 14, both students at Pierce Middle School. Learn more about The French Cow on Instagram @thefrenchcow, on Facebook at The French Cow crêpes, by visiting thefrenchcowcrepesshop.net or emailing thefrenchcowcrepes@gmail.com
In 2008, Wallace mentioned to her husband she’d like to start a crêpe business, but the timing wasn’t right as she was busy raising their two sons.
