bleudauvergne

Tonight I gratineed some leeks. Braised, wrapped in ham, and then simply gratineed with some cream and grated summer beaufort. This meal, thank you for inspiration, consisted of the leeks, with a simple salad (can't tell you what the greens are, they just looked good, and contained a snail, which is now feasting on the moss below one of my bonzai trees), bread, and cheese plate. Thanks for reminding me of how wonderful gratins are. Cheeses on the plate: brebis, tomme de savoie, chevre, and munster au cumin. Wine: a very simple merlot (vin de pays des coteaux de l'ardeche) -Lucy

I always add slivered (reconsituted) dried chinese black fungus. It adds a nutty flavor and a wonderful texture.

I found two very used and battered looking la creuset gratin pans at a roadside sale a couple of weeks after we arrived in France, 10 francs each (that's a buck fifty in dollars). I think someone was clearing out some old restaurant serving material because I have since seen these types of dishes come out to the table in the old bouchons. They are perfect for two serving sized gratins. My favorite winter gratins are endives or leeks, sometimes wrapped in ham, sometimes not, blettes (chard), all kinds of leafy vegetables, salsify, and potatoes (but not too often because I prefer to do tartiflette to have an excuse to use a reblochon). I often add diced smoked poitrine to my gratins. At my house, add a salad and the cheese plate, and a gratin is a meal. One thing I practically do always now is slow braising with dry vermouth before either topping with a goat cheese bechamel or creme fraiche and of course the obligatory topping of grated cheese. It's gotten so that I keep a bottle by the stove. It starts with a salting of the veggies in and then slowly and thoroughly reduce the liquid that the heat and salt naturally brings out, on top of the stove, while it's covered with foil. This steams the veggies as well as creating a bit of flavor by caramelization. Then I add a little dry vermouth to glaze the pan and reduce that quickly for flavor. Then comes the sauce and a transfer to the oven until the sauce and cheese are bubbly with a crispy brown crust on top. Simple but it hits the spot on those cold winter nights.

I roast my chicken more than any other way of cooking it, in the oven, ont he rotisserie, which is suspended diagonally from one corner to the other. My oven has a special setting for rotisserie cooking, which differs from some that I have had before, keeping the door closed. When I open the door at the end of cooking, a cloud of steam escapes, although the skin is always perfectly crispy. I have found that a liberal application of sea salt applied well in advance of cooking it makes for a really nice and crispy skin at the end, with the meat never dry, although when I was rotissing in a large gas oven driectly below the flames, the bird would sometimes not be as juicy. I think that your oven can make a difference, if it's drafty and the heat source is not constant, the quality of the cooked meat can suffer. I was browsing the New York Times food and wine section today and came across this article, about salt. Chefs Who Salt Early if Not Often It's got me in the mood to do some experiementing.

I recommend the anchovy / onion confit combination. This was what I did last weekend for the party (actually added home made anchovy tapenade to the confit before applying it to my pate) and it was a hit.

A door that opens out into a garden which is also a fruit grove which also has a shaded terrace for dining and a smoke house.

We're driving down to the midi (outside Toulon) tomorrow for my mother-in-law's 50th bash and I'm going to make a batch of onion confit (x btwn long and short version) to use in creating little feuillitee poppers during the day tomorrow - thank you for this thread.

jo-mel, so sorry to hear that your favorite noodle place closed without sharing their recipe. However you will one day re-create it. Keep asking around and keep trying them. Have faith.

Sounds like badly done pot roast to me.

Hi I'd like to check back in to say that my tamales turned out great. The chard was rather awkward because it's very long and the green parts aren't big and flat enough to take a tamale. I was afraid it was going to get too soggy, plus I had 9 guests coming. I ended up using - eek - baking paper again! I did make them with duck fat which was scrumptious, and wild mushrooms. But one discriminating American guest said - very convincingly - "These are the best damn tamales I've ever eaten!" which gave a whole lot of credibility to the whole thing. (He was actually from Minnesota and had never had a tamale before.) The French guests asked for all details on every single ingredient and I felt very in the know as I informed them of the ways in which corn husks which are usually used are dried on the hot roofs of mexico. And all of the other possibilities for wrapping, and let them touch the MASECA package as it was passed from hand to hand around the room and then whisked it back into my kitchen. One person asked what Pupusas and Atoles are, and if I am going to make them soon. This photos is of dividing the one tamale that was leftover. Edited to say thanks to everyone who helped!! -Lucy

Dejah, You might be careful not to overwork the dough. Just like jiaozi needs to be beaten to a limpid pulp in order to make a cohesive skin that stays together, baozi need to maintain the individual fibers of gluten in order to be able to stretch and rise. The machine can break this down before you know it. If the molecules are broken down too far, they'll bind, and the leavening agent won't have the strength to puff up the cake. You might try working your baozi dough by hand next batch, or cut your machine time to about 1/4 of what you have, see how it's rising, and knead the second time by hand. Hope it works out! -Lucy

I call it my pusher. Where is my pusher?! I yell from the kitchen. -Lucy

Yes, you could do it in a food processor. edited: to say that you don't want to puree it - but sort of pulse it into a kind of ground consistency. Understand?

Cole-Slaw is yankee fare. SLAW, is southern. -Lucy

All that garlic and you can't fail with a good Cote de Provence. Rosé.

I carry my own knives whenever we're on the road, and my own vegetable peeler. But I have to give my mother-in-law credit - despite her hazardous lack of sharp knives, no vegetable peeler, strainer, or proper cutting board, oh how I fell in love with her fabulous programmable vitroceramic cook top with combination halogen direct and her Scholtes Ikone oven! We recently put in a new kitchen and these were major investments that we chose mainly because we'd had a chance to try them out in her kitchen. We spent more on the oven and cooktop than we spent on anything else, including all of the cabinetry combined. I'd always cooked with gas, but these appliances - they take cooking with electricity to an entirely new level.

Lunch today: Magret de Canard au Cepes served with a glass of Cahors (a wine from the southwest) - in perfect harmony My husband went out and did some food shopping while I have been down with a cold. He's been coming home with little bags ever since I took to bed. Yesterday I dragged myself into the kitchen and took a peek in the fridge and it chock full of all kinds of wonderful things. I think I'm going to milk this one for all it's worth.

I'm so sorry you experienced that. Was this champagne noted on the wine list? I find it odd that such an old champagne would be offered. You should never be afraid to ask to speak to the sommelier if you're not sure about what they've served. Champagne normally doesn't keep like other wines. My husband (the keeper of the cave at our house) has been bringing up bottles of champagne that we "have to drink" before their time has passed. Nice excuse to serve them before dinner with potato chips!

We like sweet wines, muscat, muscatel, port, martini, marsala, etc. Sherry when we can get it, the French don't normally drink it. Pastis is always an option. Champagne, cremant de Bourgogne, or a clairette are always great with salty things served to whet the appetite. In the summer I have been offered nice cold beer before dinner, which is always welcome. It's true, in France people rarely ever have a glass of wine as an aperetif, although a few times I have seen a sauterene served in a festive glass.

Has anyone noted the nickname for that wonderful dish? Hint (s.o.s.) - Lucy

Got this at a garage sale many years ago and it follows me all over the world... DialX - Sharpens Everything. It works very well at keeping things razor sharp, although I know it would probably be better for the knives if I were to use some conventional method. I totally agree about having super sharp knives, and many shapes and sizes. I carry a battery of knives with me when we go visit friends and relatives. I cannot cook without the proper cutting implements. It's downright dangerous to have less than sharp knives in the kitchen. -Lucy

Beautiful photos, pim ! Fine translation, Jackal10. But what is in that appetizer plate? Describe! I wonder why they marinated the wild salmon. It's got such a wonderful flavor in its nakedness. I liked the garnish on the salmon plate, the large fruity looking caper. Did you taste it? I would add the word "seasoned" before scallops in the translation, Yikes topanimbour making an appearance on a 62 € lunch menu, oh la. I wonder what they'd say about that in France. Did you bring your beano? I guess the truffles de Richerenches counteract the mundane in that one - wow! I just love the presentation of the desserts - really nice the way they pushed the swan through the coulis! I love your reports photo and written! Thank you! -Lucy edited to remove an annoying space at the end of the post

This sounds like a winner. I'm going to try it. -Lucy

Sorry I wasn't able to make dough and take photos of it, I came down with a very bad cold that has had me bedridden since Friday afternoon - But I promise as soon as I get better I'll do it. -Lucy

Hi Stone, I recently joined, and have a cold, so happened upon this thread. I do have a pretty good recipe from Chinese Gastronomy. I can't say it's like what you got in New York, but I can say it tastes exactly like what I used to get in Beijing. Sesame Peanut Sauce 2 Tb. sesame seed 1 lb. bean sprouts 1 Tb. peeled and slivered ginger oil 3/4 tsp. sugar 1 Tb. sesame oil 4 tsp. peanut butter 4 Tb. water 2 Tb. soy sauce 2 tsp. chinese (the dark brown kind) vinegar 1/2 tsp. red pepper oil 2 tsp. sugar 2 tsp msg optional 1/2 tsp black pepper Toast the sesame seeds in a dry burner until brown. set aside. Blanch bean sprouts, drain, and set aside. Marinate ginger with sugar and 1 tsp oil for a few hours, or a few days... Mix one Tb. oil with sesame oil, peanut butter, toasted sesame seed, until well blended. Don't do this in the blender because the seed should remain whole. Incorporate remaining ingredients. Place cold noodles on platter, pour sauce over them, and mix lightly with chopsticks. Place beansprouts over and sprinkle with marinated ginger. I have done with without the sprouts for a quick fix when craving this dish. Guests like it in small portions as a starter. - Lucy