bleudauvergne

Those are all very good ideas, johnnyd. Rabbit... Hmmm. On second thought. I think I'll make that for dinner tonight... and maybe with the leftovers make some rillettes to perhaps serve during the aperetif. Very nice idea.

Ideas already! Hmmm, the chanterelles. Just to clarify, Today's Thursday, and Bux and his wife coming for dinner on Tuesday. The only thing that I've decided on is to definitely cook dinner for them. They will be coming after having spent a few days in the Bas Langudoc with friends, and they will have had dinner somewhere in or around Lyon the night before. I think my choice should take that into consideration. I am leaning in the direction of something local, but I want to stay as light as possible, I want to do something special and creative, but not too much fuss. Another thing, I work all day and won't be home before 7PM on that day. I usually serve the following when I receive friends: Aperetif with small bites Appetizer at the table Main course Salad Fromage Dessert I usually buy dessert because it's not my specialty and I prefer to support the local commerce (anyway it's too dangerous to prepare myself)... Shopping will include the St. Antoine Market on Saturday. We right now have a ratty old selection of cheeses on the plate, and I'll need to spruce that up as well. I'll be going to Les Halles for that. Please give any ideas you may have about what Bux might like...

For the occasional, too-tired-and-hungry-to-cook dinner... Hmmm. When tired and hungry I think breakfast. Eggs are very quick. Eggs and bacon. I usually serve a slice of terrine or cold cuts with various pickles when I'm too tired to even pick up a frying pan. It looks like I did it on purpose. Salads are easy. If you're too beat to wash the lettuce, just a sliced up tomato with some mozzarella is an idea. Or tomatoes and cucumber with yougurt dressing. A pick me up when dying of hunger and fatigue is a glass of salted buttermilk. It gives me enough go to get to the tasks at hand.

Well, I'm getting ready to have Bux over for dinner. What should I cook for him? He said he was hankering after some escargots, so that's an idea. What else? He must be on the road right about now.

I took at look at the signs at the market this past weekend and it looks to me that although many are indeed coming from local sources, some of these mushrooms are coming from other countries as well. Some from Scotland, some from Russia.

Hello Bill In my kitchen there are three kinds of leftovers that get rotated through continually: 1) What's leftover from a dish served in its finished state at the table. That includes those stuffed artichoke hearts that were served warm with asparagus spears as an appetizer at the dinner party and then cold with salad vinaigrette as a lunch the next day. This also includes leftover gravy, sauces, and drippings, etc. We save every last drop of everything and have a battery of very small plastic containers for that one tablespoon of this or that that remains here and there, and larger jars for various meat drippings. Nothing goes to waste. 2) leftovers of things in a semi-finished state; pate feullitee, demi-glace, marinades, general mixed spices, staple sauces like mayonaisse or aoli, made in larger quantities when we do make them in the course of preparing a meal, and saved for the next day or frozen (if it freezes) for future use, and 3) base commodities, (that's where Bux's chicken comes in) and vegs in season which will be cooked and then stretched out for use in various forms throughout the week - the asparagus which was bought by the kilo which in addition to being served steamed fresh on Saturday will go without further processing into Sunday's salad, Monday's quiche, into Tuesday's puree, Wednesday's soup, etc. I use the freezer but rarely freeze in quantity because I live in the city and have a very small kitchen. Leftovers make the cook, in my opinion. I may be different from a lot of people in that I don't buy pre-processed foods (except sausage) or pre-made sauces like mayo or store bought mixes for that matter. If I had to start from ground 0 every single night, our meals would definitely be a lot less interesting (although there is something to be said for simple fresh food!). We go through periods when we receive a lot of dinner and weekend lunch guests, and every single meal served while entertaining invariably contains the remnants of previous meals. I also make a policy of preparing 2 more servings than the number of guests I'm anticipating, to make up for last minute added friends and small disasters, so we usually always have something leftover. We'll usually serve finger food, then an appetizer, main course, followed by a salad, then pass the cheese plate and serve dessert, so I never offer seconds to guests.

Good morning - we are now in the midst of the Chanterelle season. I have normally just sauteed them with butter but this year I think I am really going to investigate what can bring the most out of these lovely yellow trumpets. They are called Chanterelle and also Girolle at the market. Unfortunately we just caught the tail end of the market last Sunday due to some things we had to get done in the morning. If we'd been there early it would have really been wonderful. Reminder, set alarm for tomorrow... 4€50 for 500 grams (une livre). In my opinion, they had to be washed. Some mushrooms do fine with a light brush. But it had been raining that day, and the traces of soil were in some of the gills... I didn't bother cutting them because their consistency will allow them to cook completely rather quickly. I like my chanterelles to have a little "bite" to them, although I also like the taste of them once they've been well sauteed with butter. They take on a certain flavor. I started with a chicken breast and added cream at the end. It was OK, for a school night. I feel like really doing good things with them though, with dishes that will really bring out their best qualities. I hope that people will pipe in and recall the wonderful ways they have enjoyed this mushroom prepared fresh. Searching the eGullet archives people mention serving them with jus de boeuf, chanterelle flan, with lobster, braised chicken... what else? We've got a couple more weeks to go in the season and I want to get cooking.

I have to agree with Therese on the social pressure. The grocery stores are increasingly full of sugary gook and corn based snacks here in France, just like anywhere else. One difference is the social pressure. People here put a lot of pressure on themselves (and on others) to control their weight. That has not changed.

Oxalis la maison Borie En mets fais ce qu'il te plait What are the menu price ranges for those three restaurants, Le Zouave? Your suggestions sound very interesting. We should not stick to the bouchon style, when there are so many other wonderful places that fall outside that range!

I've flown many airlines and I used to fly Air France for my France-US-France trips. Somehow while making a reservation for an overseas flight I got duped into a Delta flight with an AF code - what a rude awakening! They charged money for wine with meal. We were happy with KLM on the way home this vacation and I think we'll go that airline again. The best in-flight meal I have ever had was AEROFLOT 1st class, from Alma Ata to Moscow. I was dreading the flight, having heard horror stories about the airline. They did such a wonderful job. The most memorable part of it was the warm blinis with creme fraiche, onion shavings, and beluga caviar, which the hostess prepared for us one by one, with big spoonfuls of caviar on each one. I'll never forget it.

How is your French? Do you live in Paris or do you have a francophone who can check out the sites and negotiate for you? 100 € a head for 150 people - WOW! We should be able to come up with something.

NYTimes Left Bank Article Here NYTimes Right Bank Article Here

It would be worth it to test out some tasso as well while your getting the package ready. Yes?

I heard somewhere that Cordon bleu was originally the (blue ribbon) award given to women for their culinary prowess - But reading up I can't find that detail anywhere.

Bux, this is filling me with wonderful ideas, I am thinking of preparing dinner for a couple of special guests in a couple of weeks... escargot bourguignon - We have them often, as a first course at home. There are several ways to do it. I don't remember who was telling me about their family tradition - There was a discussion about how they starve them for 24-48 hours before preparing them, to get the grit out - before parboiling them in a special broth. You can buy the prepared snails ready to stuff in the shells in the can and this is what my mother in law (who lives in the Midi) does. She prepares the garlic butter with parsley at home and we fill them just before running them under the broiler. The traiteurs here in Lyon regularly feature them ready to broil, and there is one plce in particular that does a very good job. Our last resort is to get them frozen. They are offered at Picard various sizes to choose from. Although 4 years ago they were pretty good, I've noticed the quality has slipped for the Picard snails, I think they've changed their butter. I took a couple of cans of them home (back in the states on vacation) along with the requisite shells. On the customs form they asked if I was carrying "biological agents or snails". I assumed they meant live snails?

Brooks, you're right. I've been to the butcher and am getting a package ready. As you see up thread, people have already sucessfully sent cheese and chocolate, so we have to forge on ahead and get to testing some some of the more difficult things. I think the first thing we can test would be andouille. The real kind. I'll send one fedex and one regular post, for contrast and comparison. How does that sound?

Owen - cheeseandchocolate is right - if you're going to try out some ethnic foods, you'll find excellent middle eastern food from a variety of countries, that puts munjeds to shame with quality and variety. Couscous - I'm sorry I can't recommend anyplace in particular. There's nothing like it anywhere in Syracuse. Look for signs that say "Couscous Maison" and you won't be sorry.

Thanks so much for showing us these lovely contraptions. Although the designs are so perfectly simple, the complexity of though behind them is fascinating. I love the way they transport food to become sculptural, monumental, kinetic. The bow is my favorite.

Zoe is going to Cahors, Montpellier, and Dijon in October. She brought up an interesting question as a sidenote to her request for restaurant recommendations. She wants to know: I have never mailed cheese to the States, although when we were in L.A. we ordered it from Fromages.com and it came to us quickly, it was not pasturized, and in good condition (it was fedexed). What wacky things have people done to get food back home? How have you packed it to carry or to mail? Are there certain things you can recommend are better to send by post than to carry yourself? Any stories? What's allowed? What's not?

Hey Zoe! How great that you chose the France forum for your first post. The first thing you'll want to do if you're looking for restaurant recommendations is to look into what people have posted over the last few years here at eGullet, by searching first with the google option at the top of your screen, and then, a detail that we sometimes overlook, the search button that does a more extensive search further back into the archives. Search on Cahors, Montpellier, and Dijon one at a time. Next, Zoe, your interest in local specialties is a good one - you'll want to find out what they are, even if this means investigating age old customs and traditions that go back hundreds of years (and the dead people that kept them alive generation after generation ). By doing this you'll find that if you order local specialties with some knowledge of how their done and why they are local to these places, you'll most likely be able to choose things that you'll remember as the best you've ever had. Not long ago, we were on a roadtrip and I'd thrown Waverly Root's The Food of France into my bag to read along the way. As we drove through towns and villages, many which were mentioned in his book, I read all about the foods that make these places special, their histories, etc. It really enriched my journey. Flipping through the book now, I can say all three of the places you mention are in his index. Dijon, especially, has a lot written about it. I hope that some of the other members have had specific restaurant experiences that they can recommend to you, Good luck in making your list of things to try and places to eat! New thread on mailing foods here.

A few informal places: Retrouvailles. We had a nice dinner there not too long ago, family run. Bistrot fare. Menu was good. They only have a few tables and they're popular so I'd reserve. 38 r Boeuf 69005 LYON - 04 78 42 68 84 It's just one room but I've never encountered anyone smoking there. Olive Verte Less formal and fashionable but good bang for the buck. The quality of the food outshines the presentation. 9 r St Polycarpe 69001 LYON - 04 78 28 15 31 One room. I'm still thinking...

Oh I am drooling already. edit to say - really, oh Laksa it looks good! We called them thousand year eggs. They're best fresh from the back yard where they've been buried 3 months. Just kidding. I used to eat these all the time in China and had them a few times once I came back but it never became a habit... Do you eat this a lot, and do you always have congee with them?

Thanks for a great week, Abra ! It all looks just wonderful. So many great ideas and so many wonderful photos.

Thinking of you, Pan, Please take pictures! Lucy

Around mid July many of the oyster bars on Croix Rousse close. They open back up in September. Some stay open, though, only closing for a couple fo weeks in August (normal) like at Les Halles. I can't decide if it's the vacation culture that make certain ones close for months, where they're sourcing them, or what. Before I knew any better, I had some really fabulous oysters in Hong Kong, at the oyster bar on the peak. I actually did it a few times. I know, I know, taking my life in my hands and everything, but they had them flown in from everywhere and you could get combination platters and sample them from Ireland, France, Australia, etc. They were all different.