bleudauvergne

This question was posted by vedette in the midst of another thread, and I think it merits its own discussion: We have been to Lyon a couple of times, but have not eaten at Splendid. We are bringing a few couples this summer and have reserved there. Do you have an opinion about the restaurant? Or particular dishes? Anyone have experiences eating at Le Splendid?

I am starting this thread from a question posted to me in another thread by vedette, and I think it's worthy of its own discussion: When we order steak in France "a point" it is quite rare. Fine for us but not always for our companions. What is the next step up? Don't want well done. Any thoughts on a simply way to express this when in France?

Dear Mark: Welcome to eGullet! These are two excellent questions for the France Forum. I am going to post them now.

That is a fabulous idea, Lisa. You always have very good ideas. Yes, that's what I'll do. We are going to start having carb meals in the evenings so I am headed to the special places in town that sell the makings of Montignac friendly pasta tomorrow, in the 6eme. It might also be an opportunity to pick up a setting of something pretty.

The fingeree always has the option of refusing... but I must say I think a mongo blog would be pretty damn interesting - with all due regard to Ms. V and Kiefel's marvelous and engrossing blog, I'm almost starting to regret my decision not to tag you when I had the chance. Here here! 3 cheers for the Mongo Blog! I can also say I did not spend any more money than usual, nor were the meals I prepared any different from what I normally cook. However the rabbit prepared near the end of the week fueled two other full meals, and was an ingredient in various treats for the whole week afterward. Another thing that must be considered, is the time spent. I did spend a whole lot more time than usual taking photos, posting, juggling work and photos, juggling knives and the camera, getting a reptutation around the neightborhood as a freak, having lots and lots of soul riotous fun connecting to the peopel on eG, and it was so refreshing, so wonderful that I think even considering the time spent, it was well worth it. No one should hestitate even for a minute to think about doing the blog. It's really a trip! Hey, what's an astroburger?

I've had it with juniper berries, but not gin. Interesting.

It's really why I posted this. It's more important to eat healthy when pregnant than at any other time. While the mother only needs an extra 300-500 calories per day to properly account for the energy that goes into the growing fetus, it has to contain the correct nutrients to allow for the proper development of the fetus. ... I think to set the record straight - for a developing fetus, if they need nutrients they aren't getting from what the mother intakes through her mouth, they come from the body of the mother, the fetus just goes ahead and takes what it needs. So it would be highly unlikely, unless this mother were consuming something that crosses the placenta, that even frequent indulgence in this kind of stuff would hurt a growing baby. The mom, however, will really have a hard time later, though, if she eats this way all the time during the pregnancy.

Some advice from the book for Stage I Never skip a meal, always eat until you aren't hungry anymore, try not to snack, make your meals at regular times, breakfast is the best time for fiber, Try not to eat too much fat at dinner, remember to lean towards good fats, favor fish over read meat, don't have more than one glass of wine (10cl) or one glass of BEER (20cl) after dinner. Beer? Beer? How could I have missed this important detail? This will eventually get more interesting. But not before we have finished the fabulous wine we opened up last night. Nicolas was right on the mark with this one. It is amazing. So today's breakfast was had at the office, due to the fact that to iron some things and it was raining. We still got up early, but we didn't go for a walk. Lunch was also in the office since I had lots and lots of work to finish up. Beans and sandwiches. These sandwiches are very good. It is the fat free Cervelle des Canuts plus a grape leaf on each one. Oh but the sandwiches were very very good. I had packed them for yesterday, but they had to go in the frigo due to my going out to eat with a friend. So the filling seeped some juice into the bread and they were just wonderful today. I am going to serve this on thinly sliced bread as aperetifs. The food eaten in the office was breaking the rules, because Montignac says that meals should be taken at the table, with plates, silverware, and real dishes. This is in the idea that meals should be somewhat ceremonialized in order for you to be fully aware of what you are taking in. But today it was unavoidable.

Get a soup going. Root veggies are cheap, so's cabbage, etc. and you can keep adding stuff to it. I second the eggs idea for protein. I learned once that lentils (really cheap) and rice (cheap too) together make a full protein. Don't buy any mixes, because you can do pizza dough, cake, etc. at home very cheaply. Buy on sale, in season, and freeze/preserve what you can. Don't let anything go to waste. You can also make your own yougurt. Good luck!!!

I hope they don't eat that way all the time, from a health perspective...

I will never again put vegetables into a stock that I forgot to degrease, remove them, carefully and painstakingly degrease the stock, and then return the grease coated vegetables to the stock.

I just don't understand the aversion thing. In my travels I've been faced with some situations where I was presented with foodstuffs falling outside my food spectrum, and all those times I said to myself, if someone else eats this stuff and likes it, it's worth a try. I try and put myself in their shoes and understand their paradigm. There is rarely any quality that is so unpleasant about a foreign food experience that it traumatizes me. I might not drool for a second serving, but that's ok. There are a lot of things I have come to see as just normal food, it's all around me here where I live. Tete de veau is at all the butchers, I just cooked that for the first time about 10 days ago, andouille and andouiette, tripes, tendon, and all that included. But it has to be cooked right. It would be a shame if I just cut out a whole range of really well prepared foods from my choices. Beets are GREAT and great for you when boiled fresh. My sister put a ban on beets from entering her home, clinging to a childhood memory of being served canned beets. Her husband, was crazy about them and it was a constant point of contention between them. I didn't know about her aversion to them, and served up some diced ones from the market freshly boiled while they were visiting. She followed the rule of tasting - and exclaimed "Are these beets? They're delicious - they don't taste like - dirt!" You read about people who say they can't eat this or that because the texture, flavor, etc. reminds them of something else. Maybe I have a warped sense of taste but I rarely ever associate food with anything other than it is. Nourishing, fortifying, food. Some processed foods reach the limit for me, simply because I don't like the chemical taste. But in all, I always make a point to try something I'm offered. I'll never refuse to try something on principle.

You're too kind, Bux! It was a leaf of parsley, which complimented the lentils quite well. I ended up adding more parsley as I was eating it. (and the vinaigrette) Yesterday was a long day. I will summarize the meals, because my camera ran out of batteries. Breakfast: whole grain bio bread with cervelle des canuts. Lunch: I packed a lunch of various beans, and 2 cervelle des canuts sandwiches, which I did not eat due to a colleague inviting me to lunch. I ended up having a salad with muchroom stuffed eggplant, marinated artichoke hearts, semi dried tomatoes, and shavings of parmesean. Delicious. Dinner was a ceasar salad with cubes of cheese, followed by a glass of the new bottle, a Cote Roti which was just simply incredible. Photos as soon as I can get my new batteries.

Yea. Those fries look good.

Yes this is a wonderful thread and I agree with much of what’s been already said. For saving time, an organized kitchen is most important in my opinion - knowing where every tool is, and having everything clean, or at least ready to use again. A bowl which has been used to hold something does not need soap and water scrubbing, a rinse and a wipe with a clean towel and it’s ready to use again). When we moved to a new place and had to re-organize the kitchen, I realized just how used to knowing exactly where each and every implement was, and having everything within easy reach. It makes my kitchen look weird, with things hanging everywhere, but it saves a lot of time. I hate losing time because I have to look for something, wash something, or fish through a drawer. Repetition make things faster - As time goes on, and you have done certain successful recipes a number of times, you'll already know what goes into them, you'll be able to multitask more efficiently, and they will be very fast to put together, even if they took a long time to do when you first began. In my experience once you've done something around 6 times, you know the recipe, you know what you can fit in between tasks to get other dishes prepared and finished at the same time, you can easily halve the time you originally took. I rarely prepare things from a recipe during the week that I've never done. If you begin the evening with something you've never prepared by carefully reading the recipe, you should consider reading the recipe several days in advance, trying it on the weekend, etc. Prep is easier and faster if you are well equipped - a good sharp knife saves a lot of time. When I am in a hurry or not in the mood, I use the mandolin, and it speeds things up considerably. (I also use the mandolin when I have to splice plenty of onions, because I am particularly sensitive to the oils – everything comes to a stop). Plentiful small cutting boards of various shapes and sizes are necessary for me since I often cook several things at once and ease of action (chop and dump) translates to saved time. I agree with the others about hovering over food steps – often it’s not necessary, and more often than not, it can also contribute to a step which has not been fully completed, because if impatience. Especially when browning meats.

The work involved in putting away a real bouillabaisse is worth all the effort because the sum-of-its-parts payoff is so incredible. But this must be enjoyed with friends and lots of wine. I agree wholeheartedly, I enjoy the long cooking process of making a stock, cassoulet, paella, etc (It's how I relax) These dishes are pretty much ready to go when served. I guess it's when I'm faced with hunger pangs and am unable to gorge myself at a reasonable rate Indeed, I think it depends on one's mindset. Somedays, I love the work and mess involved in eating smaller, fiddly foods. Then, other days, I find myself sitting in front of a quail roasted whole and I think, "O, come ON! I don't wanna mess with this!" Quail is not fiddly if you eat it with your fingers...

I also like to eat tripe, I have eaten it in China and in France, and prefer the French way. Where I live now it is often served in a tomato sauce or in a terrine.

The work involved in putting away a real bouillabaisse is worth all the effort because the sum-of-its-parts payoff is so incredible. But this must be enjoyed with friends and lots of wine.

What chemical trough coughed up Miracle Whip and called it salad dressing?

Oh, fifi, it was wonderful to watch you make that. I like my dumplings thick too. I remember watching my mother make them. So wonderful.

Yes, it's that's California Franciscan Ivy, I got the set at a flea market for $35 as a student many years ago. It's really my favorite daily serving set. There plates are three different sizes, and there are 2 sizes of bowls. I have been looking for replacement pieces and some of the things like a soup tureen, sugar set, etc. I understand that a British manufacturer now produces it new, and that would be the logical place for me to get the pieces. Hey, thanks for asking! About the TdeV mould, I wanted it to be glossy and have some transparence to it, and pick up the light, as it was the herb I had placed in the moulds were not really visible and it wasn't exactly what I was shooting for. But thanks anyway!

Today's lunch was a white bag lunch, since the brown bag is nearly non-existant in France. A box containing the last of the lentils, three dried apricots, a few slices of various cheeses, a yougert, and an apple for the afternoon. We went to a hat exhibition this evening, and looked at hats. My sister in law is getting ready to graduate from hat making school. It's been a very intense school. She did one year of sewing in order to be accepted to this school. She just completed an internship and will be going to work in a hat shop in Grenoble this fall. Her class had a show of their creations from this year. It was really very stimulating. The evening's meal began with 2 dried apricots, while I prepared the first course. Something very good for the heart. Line fished bass fillet (which I had in the freezer) very lightly rubbed with goosefat on both sides, and spread with purreed sorrel in which I mixed a large spoonful of the Cervelle des Canuts that I made yesterday. This was baked, the pan covered with foil, from frozen, for 5 minutes at 400f/200c, then taken out and rolled and finished uncovered. Drizzled with a drop or two of our best olive oil, and a dusting of fleur de sel, and we were happy. No cheese, but we did have 2 squares of chocolate and 10 cl of wine. The wine tastes great, on the third day.

Nice observation, Rachel. No, they were just salted, and tasted totally benign. But now we know and I will examine packages more carefully. They probably powdered them to absorb the oil and keep the pack clean looking. The weather was pretty hot, so we moved to the end of the table next to the window and had the TdeV popped from the mould which had been defrosted in the fridge, in a bed of the leftover lentils. The moulinex did not do good things to the sauce when pulsed with the meat. I was not happy with the way it looked at all. Next time, I will probably seperate the sauce from the meat, and then layer them. It tasted fabulous, especially after we drizzled a basalmic vinaigrette over it. But it didn't look entirely too appetizing. Oh well, we live and learn. That was followed by a simple plate of salad and the cheese. Last night I added a P'tit Severin, which is Brebis from the Ain, and some Brie de Meaux with was just "a point", meaning perfectly ripe and alive and ready to eat. We like it to be "bien fait", meaning that it's soft all the way through to the middle. So on the plate you have (click the orange words to see the description of the cheese at fromages.com) In the center St. Marcellin, Then starting from the top St. Nectaire, and in clockwise direction: P'tit Severin - a brebis de pays produced by Le Berger des Dombes in the Ain Bleu d'Auvergne Brie de Meaux Comte average serving. I also mixed up a non-fat version of Cervelle de Canuts, made with fromage frais 0% and including a little bit of everything, thyme, parsley, chevril, chives, a little bit of sage, garlic, and red onion. This went directly to the fridge because this is better the second day. Today began with a bowl of cherries, and a brisk walk in a northeast direction, up to Croix Rousse, through Place Sathonay, which is just around the corner from where we live. It was wierd to see the place completely empty. In the evenings the light is very special on this place, because of the tall old trees that canopy it like forest cover. The light catches in the branches and filters through and everything seems to be bathed in a warm light haze. Many people bring boules in the evening. Total strangers, young and old, play boules Lyonnais against each other in teams. It's good entertainment just at the end of the work day. There are always lots and lots of children here, and there are rarely any seats at any of the four cafes around the place at the end of the day, so you must bring your own aperetif if you plan to have one, and take a seat on one of the benches surrounding the place. After a good climb, a view looking southwest over the city from Croix Rousse.

Something important to think about when you come to execute the stage in the series of restaurants is to make sure you have medical coverage. Because if you are injured on the job, since you are not an employee and not falling in the safety net of French healthcare system, it could be problematic. Just something to think about. Thinking back on getting my passport stamp coming in. We were very careful to make sure we had all the details coming in from the French consulate in LA exactly what would be required. We were told before arriving here for good, to make absolutely sure I got a stamp in my passport in order to establish in my initial carte de residence dossier the date I arrived in France. However, when we arrived, we had a transfer through Frankfurt, and the flight entering Paris was a commuter flight, and they didn't do a customs check! No one there could stamp my passport! They said : Go to the train station if you want it stamped! We asked several places and explained our situation, and they acted like we were crazy and absolutely refused to help us find a way to stamp my passport. This was four years ago. We ended up just continuing on our journey. It turns out that they wanted the date I entered Europe, and not France in my dossier. I didn't have any problems using the stamp from Frankfurt. Which makes me wonder if this 90 day rule applies to all of Europe or just to France. so non-Schengen means non European? If you aren't even applying for a carte de sejour to do the stages, you should not really get any hassle. You won't have cops coming up to you and ask to examine your passport, really. If you do decide, after being here for a few months, that you want to stay, however, you might consider going to the train station and get a stamp.

We too have made the choice not to shop at supermarkets, and we consider ourselves fortunate, since there are plenty of people who either live in rural areas where they have to drive long distances and sometimes supermarkets are their only source, and others where their local small business community has already been destroyed by these monster sized stores. Our decision began with meat, when we kept seeing meat being left to fester in the asiles, because these places here in France are so difficult to manouver around in, and the people on roller blades gathering it up and putting it back in the coolers after it had been sitting out. Then we realized we didn't really need paper towels, instead we keep washcloths handy and drain things & wash the windows with newspaper. Some of the essential products we can't do without like cleaning supplies, cat food, etc. We get from a local neighborhood merchant, more expensive yes. But we have made that choice. I imagine that if left unchecked these huge conglomerates will eventually drive out all small business activity and then have control over the entire market and even more leverage in heavy handed control of their sources. It's scary to think about. It has involved reorganising our errands for the most part, making more small stops here and there, planning to go to specific sources for certain ingredients that others don't have. But in all it's been a rather smooth adjustment. We do expend a good deal more energy sourcing our food and supplies. There is a lot more at stake than just the small businesses, it's the least we can do to keep the cities alive.