This spring, la Madeleine Country French Café introduces an assortment of fresh seasonal flavors with several new menu items and the return of a guest favorite.

 

The bakery café is shining a spotlight on an array of original dishes — taking French classics and putting a spin on them. The new additions are available now at la Madeleine’s 65 cafés nationwide.

 

“The return of spring is a call to shake off the winter blues, and what better way than a meal at la Madeleine with friends and family,” says Chef Susan Dederen, vice president of culinary for la Madeleine. “I believe our guests will adore our delicious new pastas – we’ve tested them extensively and are pleased with the response. And the Mini Croque Trio – how could we not bring back this crowd favorite? It received such high praise last spring that we felt we owed it to our guests to bring it back as our feature this year.”

 

La Madeleine’s Mini Croque Trio includes three mini croques (a French-style grilled cheese) on fresh artisan breads. The three mini sandwiches are truly a tour of France:

• The Balsamic Chicken and Pesto Croque stars la Madeleine’s balsamic marinated chicken, Swiss cheese, and herb-filled pesto, and is served on sourdough.

 

• The Turkey, Bacon and Tomato Pesto Croque features smoked turkey, crisp bacon, and creamy provolone with a house-made sun-dried tomato pesto on sourdough.

 

• The classic French Croque Monsieur, ham, and Swiss with garlic cream sauce, is served on seven-grain bread.

 

These three mini sandwiches are paired with a light Cranberry Pecan Wild Field Salade, which has wild field greens, roasted pecans, and sweet cranberries, tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.

 

The Cranberry Pecan Wild Field Salade is available on its own, or topped with balsamic marinated chicken.

 

Spring also signals la Madeleine’s introduction of three pastas, which join its Chicken Pesto Pasta. The Tomato Provencal combines penne and a rich herb- and vegetable-infused tomato sauce, and is mixed with chicken or shrimp. The Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta features bowtie pasta tossed in a Gruyere cream sauce with balsamic chicken, ham, peas, and sautéed red bell peppers. Rounding out the new dishes is the Pasta la Madeleine, a flavored dish that calls upon all the classic la Madeleine flavors – wild mushroom Parmesan cream sauce join penne pasta, broccoli, and tomatoes and can be mixed with either balsamic chicken or shrimp. All pastas are served with a freshly baked sourdough breadstick.

 

Meals at la Madeleine of course would not be complete without ending on a sweet note. La Madeleine’s new Lemon Cream Cake strikes just the right chord. Layers of light vanilla cream cake drizzled with lemon syrup are filled with a smooth lemon curd and topped with white chocolate mousse and roasted almonds. Not in the mood for cake? Try the Lemon White Chocolate Chunk Cookie or Lemon Madeleine Cookie.

 

“La Madeleine is the perfect place to usher in the spring season,” Dederen says. “We encourage our guests to build their ideal meal with their choice of our delectable entrees, salades, and a glass of wine – and why not end it with something sweet? After all, our guests deserve a treat.”

 

Handmade patisseries are available at la Madeleine to help welcome the season. The perfect addition to an Easter soiree is la Madeleine’s classic Coconut Cream Cake, which will be adorned with Easter jelly beans during the month of April. For Mother’s Day and graduation celebrations, la Madeleine’s catering menu offers many choices, including Chicken la Madeleine, Chicken Pesto Pasta, and Sandwich Party Trays.