bleudauvergne

Thank you, Louisa and John. Hopefully one of these places will have a table... edited to say that we've got a reservation for Michel Gaudin for tonight.

In Italy, it is a small chocolate, the size of the little "mon cherie" candies. Inside is a burst of the most amazing coffee flavor. It's really impossible to describe. It must be eaten to be believed.

I just had the most amazing thing, given to me by an Italian co-worker. It's only sold in winter time in Italy, but it's apparently in all of the grocery stores. It's called "Pocket Coffee". Is there anyone else in all of eGullet who has sampled this amazing phenomenon?

I'm cheering you on Monica! Great for you!

Hello, I know this is probably a long shot. We are going to spend the weekend in Megève, and I would like to know if anyone can mention some informal and modestly priced establishments for dinner - we're not ready for Mark Veyrat. What we're looking for are where they have had nice after-ski meals in cozy atmospheres with not so pricey yet well prepared food. Can anyone make a recommendation? Thanks, Lucy

I'd like to see growth hormones out of veal and beef, and no antibiotics injected into chickens by raising them in healthy conditions to begin with. I would like to see bacon drippings back in the coffee can on top of the stove, and home made divinity cooling on waxed paper in the afternoons. Somthing to strive for.

Hey that was great!

So if I were to add a touch of good cognac, perhaps...

Hey Pacarpen! How'd you light those shots? Great looking dinner!

From my understanding, growing your own horseradish is dead simple... and hard to get rid of. It's kind of like mint or rhubarb. Once you get it started, it keeps going. Perhaps you want to try that? Does it grow in window boxes?

Hey! Morning of the nerds, feasting on your gumbo with my morning coffee...

I will never try and peel chestnuts on Thanksgiving.

drool... do you have pictures of your kitchen for the less fortunate? It's a very small kitchen, mind you. I will try and do it justice tonight.

Looks like we may get to see Strawberry Ice Cream coming out of this blog... Mmmmmm

3 years now I've been searching for fresh horseradish in Lyon. We always had our oysters with it. An oyster is simply not complete without a little horseradish grated on it. All I can get is this rather insipid paste product. I have asked farmers, gone to import shops, etc. Nowhere.

I've also been thinking of ice cream. Why does it have to be sweet? I would like to serve it between courses, you know, like sage sorbet. Yesterday I had a thought of fois gras ice cream with fig preserve and basalmic vinegar sauce. But the recipe hasn't come to me yet, so I'll get back to you.

I was afraid of pie crusts until my husband said: "Are you going to make the crust? It's so much better home made." I had never done it, because the store bought crusts here (especially the all butter ones) taste great to me. Julia's recipe said "liquid" instead of water so I used cold chicken stock (it was to make a crust for some stuffed chicken breasts). Um... It was so easy, melt in your mouth delicious and cheaper than store bought that I will never go back. But you must let the dough rest. As for my nemesis - I always manage to screw up creme brulee. It just won't set right. I've screwed it up on countless occaisions. My recipe must be wrong, or something. I don't have a blow torch, either, you're supposed to be able to brown the top under the broiler, though. I've never reached that point though. And fois gras is beginning to challenge me. It's impossible to serve an overcooked foie gras, because an overcooked foie gras is simply fat in the bottom of the pan. It wants to melt. We are having a first attempt at pasta making tonight. We got the European version of the Acme hand crank type like in the classes. So I will let you know if that is one of my nemesis' too. (will be putting foie gras in to challenge myself) -Lucy

Three things last night: 1) Stuffed prunes, dates and apricots with foie gras last night, sprinkled a little sea salt on the babies, and put them in a hot oven to roast for 5 minutes. They tasted alright, the dates were definitely the best, followed by apricots and then the prunes but unfortunately I encountered the total fois gras melt down phenomenon. Most of it simply melted away. I froze the ones I hadn't cooked and will attempt to do this from the frozen state. Otherwise I think it might be best to cook the foie gras separately, then pipe it warmed into the roasted fruits just before serving 2) I also mixed up a batch of foie gras butter and piped it into about 1/2 tablespoon dots on parchment, covered that sheet with another piece of parchment, and rolled the lot up before putting it in the freezer. When I want to whip it into sauce, I can just peel off as many dots as I need. 3) Whipped the last dregs of the foie gras butter into the sauce for my rabbit with mustard sauce and the result was -sublime-. However I did do one other thing differently this time, I included the head in the pot with the rest and I don't know if that was really the reason. -Lucy Experimentation continues...

Worst: Pine flavored jelly, or was it the candles shaped like little raspberry tarts? Both from sister in law. Best: New kitchen built by santa claus (my dad) which included a sink you could really put water in, a real sized refrigerator containing a shelf lined with real cans of hershey'c chocolate syrup, and real burners and a ventilation hood on the stove. Age 5. New kitchen from husband containing schott oven, vitroceramic cook top that doubles as work space, rubber floor from Italy, sliding drawer storage units, horizontally opening cabinets with pneumatic cushoning, brushed aluminum modular pegboard pot/tool hanging system. Age 36.

In the 1970s some children of transplanted southerners in upstate New York began mispronouncing "tuna casserole" as "tuna uck", resulting in a successful and immediate evolution of the childspeak lexicon surrounding dishes containing canned cream of mushroom soup in that region, I mean neighborhood. spelling

This country has very strange customs. One of which is April 19th, a holiday, a stink to high heaven holy holiday called Aillée. It all starts well before dawn. The braiders have been at work since midnight, constructing wreaths and laying them out to air. When the sun comes up, as the legend has it, the last of the vampires will have been blocked from their passages back to darkness, and will be caught and killed as the first ray of sunlight reflects from the golden statue of the bird atop of the cathedral of St Irene, which was the first Christian temple built in Lyon in the year 242 AD by disciples of St. Jean the Baptist. The city of Lyon budgets close to 1.8 million euros each year on this event alone, amassing so much garlic and hiring so many artisan braiders in witch costumes that they have to provide alternative routes to and from the city, because the tunnel leading to route A7 in the direction of Paris has been blocked by an intricate woven structure of solid garlic. It’s a logistical nightmare, but these people won’t have it any other way. No one’s working anyway. The garlic stuffed chickens to feed the faithful after the enactment are on the spit already when morning hits, and the perfume hits us as the first rays of yellow dawn bleed through the curtains. By sunrise, they have already gathered to watch the spectacle, knowing the exact location where the flash will take place. Every year they re-enact the death of the legendary vampire Zorbeskel, who plagued the cobblestoned streets of vieux Lyon back in the days when it was Nouveau Lyon. We don’t go to that. We listen to it on the radio. I tried our first year to get some shots of the enactment, but even my press pass wouldn’t get me close to ground zero. I would have had to be air-lifted in. It was a solid wall of people. Last year the vampire was played by Johnny Hallyday, and not only were there people, but stampedes of screaming middle aged ladies (complete in witch costumes and some dressed as vampiresses) running through the streets and acting crazy. For a little while we thought something terrible had happened, but on the radio they explained that the fan factor was riling things up a bit. There’s anticipation in the air the moment we open our prickling eyes, though, on Aillée! The Promenade d’Aillée transpires throughout the morning hours, as everyone gathers in bunches to buy their woven wads to prepare the afternoon meal, which begins as garlic nibbles with the neighbors and wines infused with herbs and garlic, followed by veloutés of various sorts but always consisting principally of the perfumed bulbous delights in purée form with fresh cream and a grind of black pepper, usually followed by a roast sanglier or lamb, depending on the family, which has been lovingly smothered in garlic and truffle butter, and served with wilted chickory salad with garlic vinaigrette, fresh hulled peas and the likes, with the obligatory side of country bread smeared with the pulp of roast garlic. The cheeses served at the end of the meal are quite special, since they are produced for this day and this day only, from the milk of carefully bred cows that feed exclusively in fields of garlic shoots that have been cultivated in a special zone in les Monts d’Or consigned by the city government of Lyon since the year 1471. There are a couple of exclusive shops that claim to have permits to sell garlic from a patch of this field, but I’ve heard it’s really not worth all of the hullabaloo from someone who’s tasted it. The stinkiest cheese is called “Brin de Z”. It has been first soaked in ilky brine the origins of which is a closely guarded secret, and then rinsed daily alternately in eau de vie and pressed fresh garlic juice for 8 months in the golden city caves. It is really knock your head back incredible. It puts époisse to shame. Try as you may, there is never one morsel of this ever available except on the 19th of April. In fact, it is illegal to buy, sell or consume this cheese outside of Lyon on the day Aillée. In the year 2000, the national police investigating force broke up a ring of cheese smugglers in a massive sting operation, and we also know that Madame Artaud of the fifth floor of our building once received a hefty fine for having spirited away a loaf of this fabulous cheese and having tried to hide it in her chimney. She was just asking to get caught, though. Apparently it was a neighbor who complained of the odors coming from his own fireplace. She said it was for relatives who were to arrive on the holiday but had been delayed on the road, but they still fined her. On the day Aillée, there are lots of things to do. The bandstands have been set up, decorations hanging from all lampposts, lights, carnival rides, craft shows down near the train station, kissing contests, no one works on Ailée. We wouldn’t think of leaving town on that day. It’s a local holiday not to be missed. People generally stink for about a week following the holiday, but no one really notices. This is a true story. For more information about last years enactment, you can see the website. edited for a misspelling.

If anyone's on their way up to Canada on rt 81 it's worth a trip at exit 46 to go to Chaumont New York and eat at "That Borden Thing". edited for nothing

Wow those pics have got me licking my chops. I wanted to collect the next year's worth of egulleteer's mentions of fois gras and planned to do all of the year 2002 but it was too voluminous. Therefore I add only some of 2002 and will continue the mining process. Quotes: -Nobu-ish Japanese serving things like foie gras sushi (lightly sautéed and served atop nigiri rice and Seared Ahi Roll with Thai Chilli Sauce. -a lovely terrine of oxtail and foie gras -the foie gras comparison (a dish with goose and duck foie gras presented side by side, served cold) -a scoop of foie gras mousse -Foie Gras that was crusted with sweet spices -Did the Moors eat Foie Gras that tasted like this 500 years ago? -Pigeon lacquered with Sichuan Peppers was served with a huge slab of grilled Foie Gras -caviar and a terrine of foie gras -Wonderful foie gras pate (heaviest, richest I had over the ten day stay) -duck with foie gras -Terrific ravioli with foie gras. -Terrine de foie gras mi-cuit aux noisettes, et cru en sashimi au gingembre marine -foie gras - served on toast corners with sweet caramelized onions and a nice reduction. the reduction wasn't the typical sweet port or similar that generally goes along with foie gras when the kitchen can't think of anything original. it was more of a meaty earthy reduction. very good. -the ravioli were the raison d'etre of the dish, translucent golden pasta enclosing a nugget of warm, satiny foie gras. Neverthess, the soup itself was so complex and intense that I eagerly took spoonful after spoonful to tease out the layers of flavor. -I had a cream of chestnut soup with jellied foie gras -grouse, duck, gator, foie gras, snake, etc. -And the homemade foie gras he sold me for Christmas was probably the best I've ever eaten -Flawless scallops to start, with a crisp breadcrumb crust and a foie gras sauce -towers of ahi tuna, each wrapped in crisp pancetta, topped with a little foie gras hat, and paddling in a gentle ginger sauce -Froth and foam. Yes, to an extent the foie gras sauce with my appetizer and the ginger sauce with the tuna were both frothy -some are done with an immersion blender ( in his foie gras and lobster risotto) and some with a foam canister ( a fromage blanc foam with rhubarb as a pre-dessert) -Foie Gras, Champs Eleves -Random thought: the last faggot I ate may well have been an upscale version at City Rhodes, with foie gras in the middle. And Daniel Boulud thinks his hamburger with foie gras is so smart! -roasted foie gras -Foie Gras Parfait -Foie Gras Parfait with Toasted Poilane -I agree that the allegations of truffle and foie gras do not, um, "state a cause of action" on their own, but it's a #### fine burger -is there a starred restaurant that doesn't have foie gras somewhere on the menu? -By 'systemised' I mean matching ingredient for an underlying reason (eg "hot" and "cold" foods in chinese, tart fruit to cut through rich foie gras in french &tc) -they can swap the quince with the foie gras for the seville oranges operating within the framework and - voila - new dish opens up -I find it hard to argue that pizza is as good as Foie Gras with Peaches in a Port reduction -I am in the mood for pizza far more often than I am in the mood for Foie Gras. -a "nougat" of duck thigh and foie gras with tomato confit and a cream flavored with curry and Sichuan pepper -My starter of pied a veau et foie gras ravioli -foie gras terrine with broad bean and asparagus salad -pot roasted Bresse pigeon with foie gras and truffle ravioli and fondant potato -smoked pig's trotter advertised foie gras in the stuffing and truffle in the jus.You'd had to have been Sherlock Holmes to detect either -the pig's trotter stuffed with foie gras -a sliver of terrine de foie gras -The alleged truffle and foie gras filling was pretty muted -ravioles de foie gras with truffle juice and port -foie gras steamed in cabbage leaves -stuffed mushrooms topped with foie gras -one fine glazed puree, one coarse blob (can't think of a better word ) and one fried, with a small pyramid of twisted leeks -The duck with foie gras -The terrine of foie gras was over wrought w. a candy-pistachio wafer -A tomato basil lollipop, tiny bit of foie gras with peach, and a disc of peeky toe crab with spiced green papaya. -Toasted Foie Gras Brioche with cherry compote and microgreens. This could be simply dismissed as a foie gras sandwich, but what a mistake that would be. - Duck breast with a Jordan Almond crust with duck thigh confit, sauted foie gras on fingerling potatoes, sauteed chanterelles and braised baby turnips -Duck foie gras on marinated peach with caramel foam -Toasted foie gras on brioche with cherry/ouzo marmalade & microgreens - piece of foie gras with Dolce de leche (sp?) ice cream that was dreamy -Was that the foie gras en torchon? I had trouble deciding between that and the foie on toasted brioche -Sounds like the Foie Gras is not to be missed -squab or pigeon...always delicious along w. the foie gras which is heavenly -Corn Pancake with Foie Gras. -Foie gras on ultra-thin toast and-- in between the two-- slivers of strawberries. To some the fruit was overabundant and a little squishy, to the majority the fruit worked well. But whatever the views on the amount of the berry this dish was a success as raw strawberry would not have given enough sweetness -Foie gras sandwiched with buttery brioche and toasted, accompanied by a ramekin of fig jam that tasted like the Platonic ideal of spiced apple butter, figs be damned. -a tall, thin cordial glass with a warm apple soup: creamy but not rich, tart, subtly spicy -- and with little cubes of foie gras suspended in it. -Foie Gras Brulée -Foie Gras Brulee, Spiced Fig Jam -Foie Gras Brulée, Pineapple Gelée.In a clever twist on a crème brulée, the foie gras was processed almost to the state of creaminess, topped with a typical crème brulée sugar glaze and served on a toasted brioche saturated with pineapple juice. Several strokes of a bright-yellow, slightly gelatinized pineapple purée with sparks of red chili pepper completed the composition. -Broiled Squab, Onion Compote, Corn Pancake with Foie Gras ...The corn pancake with foie gras rested on the side of the plate, and a dusting of curry powder was generously applied over all elements of the dish Happy brainstorming!

Tasso Tasso Tasso Tasso This was the bijoux we bought a cooler for in the bayou and hauled to California with it on the seat between us. We made it last around 2 months, using only a sliver each time. I yearn for it to this day.

Yes, you can! Sure you can! It goes very nicely with lamb, and it can do wonderful things with lemon. Mmmmmmm... lavender.... Alright, I will give it a try. Thank you for the advice!