bleudauvergne

This is very true. But at my house, we eat the salad after the main dish and before the cheese. And it's always a simple salad. If I'm going to do a salad that's special with meat and other things in it American Style, I'll generally serve it as an entree, i.e. appetizer in English. If the salad is just your everyday salad that comes with dinner, it's served at the end of the meal.

Soup: Stunted Root and Dandelion Soup with Bacon (this can serve 2 as a first course) 1 scragally bunch of dandilions about 100 or 150 grams 50-60 grams of smoked left over end of bacon, less if necessary A bunch of small roots: they need to be the garden variety and so small you think their growth is stunted. one small potato, large mouse size one miniscule celery root one turnip small mouse size bulbs: an itty bitty onion or shallot a clove of garlic some ickly thyme and a bay leaf 1 cup fond de vollaille 1 rounded tsp. of leftover duck fat from last weeks confit No salt in the soup if your bacon is salty Pepper as needed a small grate of nutmeg for the greens Wash your greens thoroughly. Cut the roots and bulbs into pieces, and the bacon end. Melt 1/2 t. duck fat at the bottom of a 1.5 litre sauce pan. Add the roots and bulbs. No need to saute, just add the stock to cover immediately. If they aren't completely covered with fluid, add water to cover. Put your bay leaf and thyme on top. Bring to boil and immediately lower heat to a very slow simmer. Set the timer for 15 minutes. When you've got 5 minutes left, take your washed and dried dandelion. Melt the remaining 1/2 t. duck fat over high heat. Add the greens and toss until slightly wilted and they begin to give off fluid. Sprinkle and toss with the nutmeg and a light sprinkling of salt (really not much at all). Pull aside some greens for a garnish. Put the soup mixture including the meat and the dandelion in the blender or use an immersion blender if you're rich to puree until the greens and meat are floating like large specks in the slightly translucent soup. Taste it, if it doesn't need anything, serve it up in a bowl and garnish with your reserved dandelion.

Aperetif: This is just a wee thimble full of Poire William (which is an eau de vie which must be handled carefully) with apple juice. The cheese is what we would all eat if we could wipe an abomination called "Apericubes" off the French radar. These are little farm chevres produced by P'tit Montmenot, in Ancy. They are delicious and are sold in little packets at the fromagere.

zeitoun, I would say that the region influences what I cook, mainly because I buy local in season, and what I cook is determined by that. Although I really can't say I have one style or another, I do some French dishes but I am also a product of having lived in various countries in Asia and Europe and having discovered things along the way. I have been cooking a lot of French in the last 5 years. As to having developed a style... I don't know. I'll try and cover a few of the local specialties of Lyon in the upcoming week.

You'll see...

Soba, think of the aperetif as generally a less alcoholic version of what we know as a cocktail before dinner. It's common practice in France, and it pretty much always takes place when people receive guests for dinner. Everyone gathers in the living room and has nuts and chips or something to nibble and a little glass of something. People give their orders from whatever the host has in the cupboard. It's generally a glass of port, muscat, martini (just the vermouth - they like the sweet ones here), local specialties like Pineau de Charentes, home bottled wines like vin aux noix, vin d'orange, some people take a little whiskey, or a beer. The list goes on. Although I am sometimes offered a punch (simple rum & cane syrup) or a drink like an Americano, I rarely see mixed drinks served at aperetif. People all sit and wait until the last guest arrives before touching the food or the drinks. Sometimes I insist we serve "American style" and give everyone something to drink the moment they arrive. That's usually well received especially if I have a couple of Americans in the crowd who can help me convince people. What's served to eat with the drink is also generally much more simple than what Americans would serve if we were having people over for drinks, the French don't normally prepare dishes, special dips or fancy things to go with the aperetif unless it's a special occasion or there are very special guests. You'll just as likely see cheetos or bar nuts as much as anything else. I like to stay light with the aperetif although sometimes I'll make light and pretty things.

looks lovely. how did you cook it? I put in in a moderate oven (around 190c/375f) until it started smelling done. (18 minutes to be exact) It's brown. In fact this salsify seemed more fleshy than other salsify I've had in the past, which may have been the black kind, It peeled well and if I'd had the patience, I could have brushed the skin off, because it came off with a little scrubbing. My main problem with salsify in the past has been that once it's peeled, there's barely anything left. But this was fine, like a slender carrot and lots of meat left after peeling. There is a sticky kind of juice that comes off of it when you peel it. I simply steamed it and tossed it in the juices of the Galette. If I'd had a lemon I would have squeezed it over the root before I steamed it.

Brooks, You can take the driver out to dinner next time you come.

Lunch pretty much clinched the fact that I have not picked up all of the French habits, like the one the women are supposed to have of not gobbling their food. It was whatever that wonderful meat cake was, some salsify, a turnip, and some carrots, which I steamed and added for the last few minutes to the dish in the oven. I laid down the linen cloth and poured myself a glass of wine, and took relish in my frame of mind today, while at the same time I feel kind of melancholy (It had begun to rain, and I miss Loic), it's accompanied by that nice feeling of clarity of mind. I felt incredibly at peace with the world. However after taking the first bite, chewing it slowly and allowing the wonderful aroma of the chevre lift and bring forth the sausage with just the right amount of salt and oh the creamy delicious potato cake echoing in, I took another, larger and less discriminating bite, which I did not chew as many times, and then it all composure was lost. The next thing I knew, it was all gone. I then drank the glass of wine, I hadn't taken a sip! I could not rest until I knew what it was, did it have a name. I called the number which was on the paper and reached a woman who explained to me that she was retired and of course had absolutley no idea what I bought at the market that day, and that she simply could not help me. We went over it several times, I was thinking that if she was related to the people who sold it to me, she must have some familiarity with what they're selling. But she was still coming up at a loss. "I have not worked the market for many years, madame." She finally came up with a great idea and gave me the portable phone of her daughter in law who was working the Quai St. Antoine today. I called the number and explained that I was the lady taking the photos, and that I'd bought all the duck fat, she remembered immediately, and I asked her what was the cake (I was using the word "gateau"). She corrected me immediately, it was not a gateau, but a galette, a Galette Fromagere. The "sausage" I describe is a turkey paupiette. I told her it was excellent, that I appreciated it for lunch today. She was quite pleased. Now I know. I must get some of these for Loic to try.

My first epiphany was Chinese. Over mustard greens.

I don't know what to say. Thank you ever so much, guys. I’ve been to the market and while lunch is in the oven I’ll share with you what I saw there. This year’s winter was harsh, there was tons of snow all though the Rhone Alpes region, and it was cold and dark for ages. I was talking to the man who usually sells me his strawberries and eggs, and he said that last year was two weeks ahead of schedule, and this year is two weeks behind schedule. So we’re basically a month behind last year at the same time, and that's 2 weeks calendar date before last year's food blog. Got it? Good. Things took a quick turn for the better in the last week, when the Rhone Alpes Valley opened up like a flower to the sun for a few glorious days. But in the past couple of days mother nature is closing her fist again and a damp and chilly haze has fallen over everything, not as bad as before, but a stern reprimand nonetheless. I don’t mind, sometimes we should appreciate it for what it is, a chance to think carefully and slow down and maybe take a day off. It’s also a chance to take pictures no matter what the measly offerings, since I think pictures are always better on cloudy days. On Tuesday, the market is a shadow of what it is on the weekends. Prices of some certain things are high and the herbs and green leafy vegetables have suffered badly. The lettuce is 1/3 the size it normally is and twice the price this year. The producers have dry looking bunches of scrappy winter-hardy thyme right now and not much more. Salsify. It's delicious. The lady ahead of me asked for enough of this mushroom for an "omlette for two" and got 200 grams. I heard on the radio the other day that Dandilions got their French name from the words meaning 'wet the bed' because this is a natural diruretic. I plan to use it in a soup. I sprung for it even though it's not really local for two reasons, Loic is in torino (which sounds like Thurins) right now working on Physics, and I am a sucker for trying out all those things they bring the experts in to talk about at the radio station. These looked positively alluring. It's a potato cake with sausage meat wrapped in bacon, the covered with chevre and a walnut and rolled in parsley. I was thinking of going out for lunch at a favorite tea house, but after seeing this... hmmm. Or maybe quail... Behind that are tubs of duck fat. I picked up a large and a small tub since I've been looking for this at a reasonable price. The large tub was €1.50 The lady says it can be frozen. If anyone has any experience freezing duck fat and can let me know if I should be using this quickly or not, it would be greatly appreciated. I got a filet de Rascasse for later. I asked the guy if it was really rascasse, because my husband tells me that what is sold as filet de rascasse is not actually that. He heard this somewhere. Anyway the man pointed out the fish whole and indeed it does look like it does come from that kind of fish. It always tastes divine. The one filet was €3.20. Pretty steep. A stop for bread, you have seen the inside of my boulangerie in the first blog. And home.

A lot of things have changed since last year. One very basic thing is that I have begun to eat breakfast daily. I began eating all three meals last June, when I took on some better eating habits. A chonicle of how that began can be found here in my forays into cooking the Montignac way. Today's breakfast is pretty much identical to yesterday's. There is something about a quiet moment in the morning, after the cat's been fed, and the town isn't yet completely up and moving. During the last year, I also obtained European (French) nationality. To commemorate this monumental change in my life, I have begun drinking out of bowls in the morning. I never thought I would do that. But slowly these habits begin to creep in. This morning’s breakfast cheese is Bleu d’Auvergne. I like to have a slab on warm nut bread when we have some leftover. While the water's heating, I put slices of the bread in the oven for a few minutes. I'll tartine the rest with butter. This one's a butter from the Alpes from a fromagerie called Fleuron les Glieres. I could swear I tasted a hint of herbs. But I think maybe it was because I ate the cheese first and it readjusted my palette in some way. It's time to start the day.

About a year ago I blindly hurled myself through a week of food blog for the first time. It was a pretty intense experience, opening home and heart to my eGullet friends about one of the most important subjects of my life. But once the week got going, I fell into the rhythm and things generally took care of themselves. It was a little bit like having a guest. At any given point in your life, depending on where you are and what you do, you have special friends who come often. These are friends who know a whole lot about you and accept you even if you’re far from perfect. They know where the sheets are and have their favorite pillow case which you always save just for them. These are the friends I sometimes pamper but sometimes can’t. They bring their own tisane of the hour, they have their own teapot in the cupboard, they fall into the rhythm of the household seamlessly and without fanfare. Sometimes this kind guest alerts me of arrival a day in advance, sometimes a week. There’s no worry that this guest will have a good time. I don’t have to shop and menu plan because I know they’ll have their ideas about what they want to do and eat, and they’ll probably even shop for food or even bring the contents of their own fridges and jugs of things and samples of this and that to add to my larder. They've had my best and also been subject to a few failed experiments, and they're generally ok with whatever's coming out of the kitchen, even if it's plain and simple food. We’ll share stories and wine and food as we while away the evenings talking and cooking. Thank you so much for coming to see me! I'm so glad you're here!

I am so exited about this. I have friends of Algerian descent and I want to suprise them next time I invite them to dinner!

Last year's Thanksgiving leftovers in Armenian sandwich rollup form.

Look, I'm not going to claim to know the true authentic recipe because I insctinctively believe in ptpois on this. But I did prepare one and then talk about it afterwards in my eGullet food blog last year. Here for the recipe Here for the photo essay Here for the talk about the recipe

Remember, she doesn't have a car, and she'd be on her own. Not as much fun when you're alone. You have to stop the car to look at the map. And half the fun's navigating through the little back roads. It's pretty up there. That salt fed lamb, the seafood... Scanning my memory, I recall that when I was a student in Paris I was simply floored the first time I went out of Paris on a circuit of the ancient Chateaux of the Loire. All that lore and history. It was not too far from Paris at all. But what is there to eat there? I have no memory of the food that day.

Oh lord, you pushed one of my buttons with this topic. We don't depend on meeting anyone at restaurants where we've made reservations anymore. We invite them to our house for drinks at our house a set time and then proceed to the restaurant in a group. Depending on the friends and their reputations for being late, I make the reservation 1-1.5 hours later than they're to arrive at my house.

Dear Jen. Paris is a foodie destination in it's own right. If you like exploring New York you'll love exploring Paris and you'll wonder what you ever were thinking when you thought of leaving. There wll be a hundred people on this forum giving you very specific ideas about where you need to go in Paris if you only have one weekend on your own to shop and eat as well as you can before you hit the museums and boutiques with your sister. However may I suggest a TGV to Lyon if you do want to do something like travel out during your short week which will fly by faster than you know it. Get a nice early (I'm talking daybreak to make the most of your day) start and go to the Gare de Lyon and buy a ticket, allez-retour. If you can try a tasting menu at one of the better places on Saturday, shop in the late afternoon, have a salad Lyonnais for dinner, and then and then eat at a bouchon in Vieux Lyon the Sunday, it would be a memorable weekend. The trip is 2 hours by train centre ville to centre ville. Then when you do go to one of those fancy places touting lyonnaise fare in Paris you can have the real thing to judge by. Oh, and make sure you do this just as soon as you arrive. And don't forget to post your travel dates a week ahead in the ISO Dining Companions thread.

What neighborhood is the tea lounge located? What are they serving?

Good Lord, Daddy-A, that tapas looks simply amazing. Is this something they serve regularly to order in this restaurant? If I had a place like that near where I live it would become my hang-out. We had tapas a few weekends ago. There are a bunch of places in Grenoble that feature it. but under no circumstances did it have such wonderful combinations. Hmm, maybe we should go to Vancouver for vacation.

I am so enjoying this topic, it's really getting me in the mood to prepare a tagine.

Here's a link to some talk about coffee when Owen went to Paris in January 2005. It's got a happy ending too... I went through a phase when I was ordering cafe alongees every day. And one day I knew I needed a double, so I ordered a double allongee. I watched the lady make it and she only put one espresso in but more water than usual. I said there wasn't enough coffee in the cup, and she topped the existing elongated coffee off with water right in front of me and said "there. satisfied?" I normally just order a coffee and a glass of water these days.

It became necessary after the mishap with the dough - a nice cheap Cote du Rhone did the trick nicely.

I was just going to get worried about you, Daddy A, the kitchen being so clean. Those drawer racks are wonderful. All the wood and rounded edges, I just love that color you chose for the walls as well. What I really love is the way that same color is echoed in the patterns in your floor and also the wall tiles. Very subtle and it gives a very tasteful playful theme to the whole kitchen. Close to neutral and classic but at the same time, very contemporary.