bleudauvergne

Thank you, Bux, for your insight. The author clearly (at least in the English exerpt cited here) had a chip on her shoulder... whether this was because she had unrealistic expectations from the beginning is unclear, although it seems like it could be a plausible explanation. The question also about where the natural bar lies in French culture is something to consider.

If I can't have wine that tastes good, don't give me any at all.

While Madame St. Ange reccomends painting the top with melted butter before going in the oven, which I suppose might not give the desired effect. Thanks for those tips!

My friend and I were dying from the heat of summer (and I think we'd had too much to drink the night before too) and someone brought us some cold lychees. They saved our life.

I had some really great stuffed squid in an italian restaurant that had meat and rice. I also was on this discovery of slavic cooking, so one day I made this recipe with some little calmari tubes to serve 2-3 people: for 18 small tubes (size of two fingers), the stuffing is veal belly which I have seperated from most of the fat and skin and chopped fine with a cleaver, olive oil, a little bit of herbs like thyme and herb de garrigue, onion, salt, pepper, and just a small handful of long thai rice mixed in to absorb the juices and give it some more body. Then put them in a dish with bay leaves, juniper berries, cloves, cinnamon stick, cover that with white wine, cover and bake in a medium oven for 40 minutes. It's now my favorite, although some of the combinations in this thread are looking pretty good!

I loved seeing the many ways food is a part of your daily life and the way you share it with others.

For easy access to market shopping with also museums etc, I recommend a place in the mid to lower 1st or 5th arrondissement, in the old town. Les Halles is on the border of the 6th and the 3rd, but the neighborhood isn't very interesting. From St. Paul area in the 5th you can catch a direct bus to Les Halles, and have St. Antoine about an 8 minute walk. For food location, if you can find an apartment near the Saone Quai between Bellcour and Terreaux on either side of the river it would be ideal. The College Hotel in the 5th is an interesting hotel, central and easy to transportation. Friends recently stayed there and liked it. I don't think they have kitchens, though.

I have a question for Mr. Baltas. I know that the customer creates their own sandwich at your place, but given your day in, day out experience, you must have some incredible insight on sandwiches in general. What if a customer or a gourmand of a friend called you and asked you to create the perfect ski picnic sandwich, you know, something to enjoy from the top of the mountain while looking out over a beautiful winter vista - what would you put in it?

Jack, I saw in Mme Saint Ange's technique for the souffle that she says to put it on the floor of the oven, and you have done this too. Can you explain why?

I decided on this family homespun souffle from Mme Saint Ange - the potato souffle. I'm seeing how little money I can spend on food and still make it taste good. I scaled the recipe down to one serving and it only cost 45 centimes to make. I also took awful and strange photo of it and I apologize in advance for it. I am stuck in a terrible hokey photography spiral. Help!

Hope Therese is having a good time ... I bet she's out shopping now. Daniel did you hear back?

This would really bother me too, if it were true. In reading the exerpt, you'll see that the author inserts her own interpretation of vendors 'insinuations', and only in one case could she actually find anyone who actually lied (the pate seller). When asked, they were forthright in stating the source of their goods. There's nothing shameful or lower quality about regional produce that makes its way to market by way of wholesalers, either. There are a lot less smoke and mirrors than you think, really. I'll agree with that and also say that there is a visible difference in quality between the local stuff and that which has been grown for long shipment.

Everyone has their reasons, it depends on a person's priority. I certainly didn't come to France for the money. One person's wasteland is another's El Dorado. It is kind of strange to compare two things that in principle come from completely different cultural origins. What similarities to Japanese and French pastry have that can be compared? Where exactly do these comparisons arise? In the product? In the realm of technical mastery? I suspect that the discussion on who are the better pastry chefs are based on professionals who have mastered a certain craft and perhaps have taken their rigor on to a level of perfection in their tradition. Without a clear understanding of Japanese pastry it's impossible to know what the basis is for comparison. Parallel worlds of aesthetic judgement apply unless there is a common product. Are they similar enough to compare? Or are we comparing what originated as French style pastry by tradition produced in Japan to everyday pastry made in France? In this thread I read about how people had the best croissant of their lives in Tokyo. This makes me want very badly to try Japanese made pastry. I wonder what it was that made it better. Was it eaten on the street or presented under certain conditions in a restaurant?

Certain things herbs - parsley, chevril, thyme, sage, for instance, I'd seek for a lot of the dishes I make at home even if they became scarce. Leave out the fresh herbs and suddenly something is lost.

This drink was also sold in China in the 1990s. It was very attractive when I had a hangover, for some reason.

During one very poor time as a student I used to pop popcorn just before going to a movie, those 2 dollar places, and take in a sack in my purse to share with my friends who were in the same boat I was. Sometimes someone brought nuts. No sandwiches, though.

That is interesting, Jamie, and I think that it's pertinent now. Since this topic came to light I have been walking around with a new set of violet shaded glasses instead of pink ones. But that's good for me, it helps me make better choices. If anything it's bolstering my courage to actually just ask direct questions. I figure that if someone acts offended when I start probing to get more insight on where the goods are coming from, then they might not be legit in the first place. What do you mean about the 'consequences of credit'? I'm not following that. Do you mean lack of doubt in consumer food transactions, granting any sales technique or gimmick 'credit'? I.e. this idea of certain situations where 'suspended disbelief' carries some transactions? I've got the French version on order from the library, since my book budget is spent. I also want to get the flavor of the message in the VO since some subtleties may be lost in translation.

Sorry to be lagging behind by a couple of days. Your reduced stock looks delicious. Just the idea of having a few containers of that in my freezer is inspiring. I'm planning to prepare a whole lot of stock this week and this has given me just the kick I need. That dinner sounds absolutely divine. Wow! I love your sauce, since using the eau de vie instead of a sweetened wine or honey will not add sugar, It's a good low-carb sauce - and must have resonated really well with the pears. Did you finish it with a whole lot of butter? You're husband is really lucky to have you looking out for him.

From this side where a dead wild duck not far from Lyon has top billing in the news, we're seeing: 1) Hand wringing about the AOC Poulet de Bresse because the requirements are that they spend a certain number of hours outside daily, and if this isn't applied, the birds lose their certification. 2) Debate over an innoculation for farm birds that has been developed because the use of this can create the situation where the bird itself doesn't get sick, but can still be a silent carrier (eek!). 3) News clips showing birds being herded into barns and interviews with farmers facing the prospect of total loss of their businesses. 4) rules right now: Farmers raising birds for AOC and free range certification are required to apply netting over their outdoor areas, currently able to graze their birds daily but during a restricted timeframe... No restriction on raising birds for personal use. Personally, I am torn. My initial instinct was to make a whole lot of chicken stock and put it up just in case, since it plays a major role in my kitchen. But I also think that tight control in handling poultry in my home may be effective. I find myself instead of wondering if I will still buy poultry (for the moment I still plan to), thinking about kitchen safety techniques, i.e. sanitary measures like gloves, sterilizing countertops, using only certain knives (very difficult to decide which one since I use them all for everything...) and cutting boards, thermometer checking for donennes, etc. I have questions - i.e. is handling a whole bird more dangerous than cuts, etc.

I would also love to know since I have a relative that visits every so often who cannot have anything with gluten. It would be worth a special trip to Paris for us the next time he visits if there's one out there!

Hi - I live in Lyon and as the time comes up to the month of June, I'll try to compile a few of my favorite places to eat out. In the meantime, as far as cooking goes, April is a very fruitful time and you'll find much to cook. Will you be renting an apartment? What's the location of your home base in Lyon? It might be best to start that way, since if you are cooking you'll want to know what's within a certain periphery of where your staying for shopping. To get you started: Dining in Lyon Come to think of it, if you check out the eGullet Foodblogs I have done in Lyon (links in my signature), you might find some details about what kind of things you'll find at various markets and at Les Halles. That's just one little gourmande's corner view of the city, though. If you're motivated and interested, there is much more to see. I understand there is a Saturday cooking course in Christian Tetedoie's kitchen. There is also a short term French cooking and culture course at the Institute Bocuse in Ecully, outside of the city which is reachable by regular public transportation which might be interesting if you want something more intensive.

Wow, what a great question, Hiro. Well you know that people will have their opinions about what's better. Your noticing that at the same time you're reading that Japanese pastries are better, you're also reading about all these Japanese people coming to France to do their apprenticeships, and your question is - Why? The international winners for the baguette competition were Japanese not too many years ago. I have no doubt that the Japanese are excellent with their skills and abilities. I know two very nice and very passionate about pastry Japanese people who did long stages here at boulangerie/patisseries in Lyon. Their reason was that they wanted to learn the French methods. I think it is more about mastering a certain method, rather than which one is better based on level of innovation, etc. My Japanese friends said that the apprenticeship system here in France really allows for them to learn the craft completely by getting a chance to learn from the chef just about every possible aspect of the business. This could be the reason why your friends are choosing to go to France for their apprenticeships. I have never tasted Japanese pastry but I would love to one day.

There are some really good products to be had in corsica. Their cheeses, for instance. They do wonderful things with sheeps cheeses. Then there are the smoked meats. Doing what you can to find out about these would be really interesting. The Lonzo, the coppa, etc. is really special. I can't give you any ideas about restaurants there, sorry. But I can say I simply adore the cheeses and smoked pork products that make their way up here. There are ferries to Marseilles, Toulon, and Nice, if you need to branch out. Here's a link that will give you some perspective on the food history there.

I ended up making the divinity using honey. The reason why I decided to do it was because while out looking at labels, I saw that a label listed per 100g of honey there is 78 grams of glucose. I also noted that in various recipes for divinity, the corn syrup ratio differs, which made me think that if I'm off a few grams here or there, I'll at least have put in enough glucose to keep it from becoming grainy. What I did was for the volume of corn syrup, I used 1/3 honey and 2/3 volume filled with water. In this candy the sugar is heated to 260F, which is done without stirring. The candy came together like the divinity I know, with a good result. Although I was prepared for a little bit of honey taste, there was no honey flavor at all in the finished product. I tasted it before and after the addition of the raspberry eau de vie! Patrick, about the non-sugar stuff in the honey, there was just a little brown foam at the surface on one side of the syrup, which stayed with the pan when I poured the syrup. I'm assuming that came from the honey.

Peggy's prospect also looks cute. I see fromt he floor plan that the kitchen is quite small, but present. Peggy, do you have details about the kitchen in this flat? If you do end up renting it please do give us a kitchen report.