bleudauvergne

Dear John, you clearly have not tried Soissons. A lot of people are scared by the price but I can feed a dinner party of 4 as a side to lamb, plus have a good soup with the leftovers with 300 grams of the dried beans. They plump up to gargantuan proportions. The flavor of these beans is very good.

The lovingly produced recipe looks like it produces beautiful results. I was hooked at "juniper berries". Thank you, Dave!

Yes, this is an interesting article.

I'm falling in the avocado and salt camp.

Interesting and educational. I'll definitely print these out and next time I'm in Paris I'll be thanking you! Meanwhile in my kitchen notebook I am also taking notes. Sigh. April in Paris.

You do? ... ← I agree with fresh_a, it seems odd to me that something like that would be overlooked, yes. However I'd venture a guess that it was a 'slip on the part of the author that got by the edit and not necessarily lack of preparation or knowledge. Did you ever put down something completely different from the word you intended? It happens.

Strange that this topic comes up now, I just begain using this product a couple of weeks ago, it was because they were out of regular yougert. Yesterday I chose this product again. It's funny that the effect of this product seems to come from more gas, because the benefit I seem to be feeling is less gas! We do eat a lot of fresh vegs and things, especially so in Springtime, so I thought maybe this just helps my system break that down, but from what I see in the link above, it is reducing transit time, maybe reducing the time things stay in the system? I was assuming that the culture is helping me to digest more thoroughly. We do eat a lot of fermented things anyway, raw milk cheese, etc. The change is not really very dramatic, but I do notice that I feel my system is running more smoothly. A few months ago I had to take antibiotics, and the doctor also prescribed a course of added cultures to keep my system in balance. We do need a certain balance of bacteria and yeasts in our systems to keep healthy.

It's certainly possible, taking the Train to certain towns and then visiting the coast by bus. You can get started and look at some suggested itineraries in Brittany for traveling without a car Here, by clicking "ciruits". But just because I think you'll love the variety of food in Brittany as a traveling chef does not mean there aren't others with convincing reasons to travel in other regions, too.

This blog is wonderful! So much happening and so many interesting details, Klary. I'm sure the party is going to be a huge success and lots of fun. I'm so glad we get to see all of your preparations.

I would definitely reccommend touring, renting a car and moving along the coast. Where to begin a gastronomic tour of Northern Brittany/Normandy? So many choices, let me consult and come back with some suggestions.

Christopher. Now if the decision to stay on a coast somewhere, I would not be so quick to dismiss going north. There are lots of great beach and seafood experiences up north. I actually prefer it to the Riviera for vacationing, mainly because there is so much more to discover gastronomically along that coast, and the fact that you can find uncrowded beaches - the crowded beach being a harsh reality of the Med. Up north is where you get the savage majesty of nature and the oysters you're talking about, the quaint seaside towns with the tides - where you can take a bucket and a shovel and hunt for clams and cut oysters straight from the rocks and then watch as the water comes rolling back in to cover it all up again (this element is completely missing on the southern coast although the snorkeling is beautiful there). The legendary crepes and andouille, and the variety you get with every town you go to, the salt marsh fed lamb and more. Although the sun is warm and the fish are plentiful on the Riviera, the unfortunate reality is that it's expensive, parched, crowded, and overdeveloped anyplace affordable in high season.

I am moving this topic from the France Forum to the Food Media & News Forum for further discussion. Here's the Here's the official list sent out by Restaurant Magazine. Any more thoughts?

I thought of this thread when last night at dinner a waiter refilled our carafe d'eau without being asked.

Looks like a great day so far. I'm so glad you're blogging, Klary!

What it all boils down to are the individuals who are working any particular post. How they interpret the rules may vary.

I made an Asparagus and Sorrel soup not long ago, match made in heaven. I have been picking sorrel up for my market basket in these last couple of weeks. Sorrel's fresh lemony taste is a natural for fish of all kinds, and today I cut some into ribbons for the herb salad at lunch.

I had this article on my mind when I shot this photo at the Marché St. Antoine this morning in Lyon.

I had this problem and found that if I used a lower grade flour the fruits (chocolate chips etc.) will not sink. If she is using cake flour, she can try replacing it with AP and see if that works.

Beautiful cassoulet there. I'm curious, did you taste all three and did you discern any differences between the three?

Looks very nice.

The microwave is fabululous at heating plates, except for those with a metal rings. I was given a Salton Hot tray as a wediing gift (are they still made ?) and they warmed up my newlywed plates. If you are warming plates for plenty of folks, run them through the quickest dishwasher cycle . Or: Just throw them in the oven at 250. ← If your microwave is heating up your plates- your ceramicware is cracked. This microwave treatment is used by pottermakers to test their ware for defects (glaze fit /microscopic cracks). If it heats up in the microwave it is defective ← What I learned was to take a pile of plates and lightly spray water along the sides of the stack, then microwave the stack. The heated water heats the plates. It works really well.

Give it a try. Many high fat items freeze very well. I freeze Reblochon when we get it in volume at the source and does quite nicely. Butter also freezes well. Why don't you make a tuscan white bean soup with it? You won't be sorry. Put the lardons back in with your meat at the time you add the liquid for slow cooking.

On the grill to go with a steak dinner. - Prunes wrapped in bacon and grilled are delicious to serve with drinks before dinner. - Shrimp which has been marinated in creole spiced butter is always good. - Grilled scallop brochettes - Chop up some garlic, parsley, and fresh thyme, add salt & pepper, and moisten it with some neutral oil for a marinade. Macerate your scallops for the afternoon. Wrap the marinated scallops in 1/2 of a thin slice of bacon each one, and feed them onto sticks. Grill them and serve them with a beurre blanc. - Eggplant which has been thinly sliced and then rolled with a chevre parmesean stuffing and grilled would be a divine accompaniment (could be done in advance) or even over a salad with plenty of chopped fresh herbs. Off the grill to go with a steak dinner: Petit patés de champignons (preferably the wild variety) in little ramequins. Fennel and paremsean tuiles with bacon. A gratin dauphnois au bleu would be nice. -edited because while I was thinking, you posted a request for some off the grill dishes!

I think these days "integration" doesn't ever mean erasing your own cultural identity, or even favoring a dominant language at home over your own if yours is different, although at one time this was probably the case. The efforts people go to in order to fit in also largely depends on whether they belief that life will be better if they do. The reason for and circumstances in which the move took place also most likely have an impact on the desire to transmit their original culture or not. Also success stories in the local community can influence the choices people make. I have had many thoughts about how I plan to raise my children. It's a delicate topic. I don't want my children to feel that I have witheld anything about their cultural origins, i.e. my own. I'd like to think that the process of raising my children will include aspects of both French and American traditions. But when it comes down to what we eat on a daily basis, I can't really say if I'm going to go to special efforts to make sure that we eat 'American' dishes all the time. Of course we'll continue to celebrate Thanksgiving with the traditional fixings, and I'll bake birthday cakes at home, etc. in an American way. One of the big battles I think for me is going to be how to deal with my own impulse to try and prevent my children from being ridiculed at school, and to prepare them to best succeed in this environment etc. A major part of that is to prepare them for the stereotypes they'll inevitably face, and make sure there are no holes in their knowledge of the local culture. It's a slippery slope and will take a lot of deliberate planning. When I hear the horror stories of kids who were forced to have Kraft singles sandwiches, I think of my own childhood and how only the popular kids brought that kind of thing for lunch, on Wonder Bread, no less. I was getting tuna salad on Roman Meal, and suffering because of it. I wonder if we all didn't suffer a little bit as kids no matter what we ate.

Petits pâtés de cèpes Serves 4 as Appetizer. cèpe (portabello) mushrooms or other wild flavorful mushroom white mushrooms whole eggs egg yolk heavy cream ½ a bunch of fresh chives shallot clove of garlic minced fresh parsley butter salt and pepper -Prepare a bain marie that will take 4 ramequins in the oven at 170C or 350F. -Cut the wild mushrooms into a dice. Melt 2T. butter in a large saute pan and cook the mushrooms down until they release their juice. Recuperate 5 Tablsepoons of the juice and then finish cooking the mushrooms down until the remaining juice is gone. Repeat this process with the white mushrooms. -Mince the shallot and melt the remaining T. of butter in the saute pan. Slowly cook the shallot and garlic until they are soft withour browning. Add both mushrooms and the minced chives and continue to saute for a couple of minutes more. -In a recipent that ours liquid easily, mix the eggs, the egg yolk, the cream, the previously reserved cooking juice, the minced garlic, the parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Add the cooked mushrooms and incorporate them into the preparation. Butter the ramequins, fill them with the egg mixture, and cook them in the bain marie 30 minutes. Serve hot with a mixed green salad. Keywords: Appetizer, Side, Main Dish, Easy, French ( RG1705 )