Dave Hatfield

Hope I don't get into trouble, but here's a link to an article in todays NY Times about what to drink while watching the world cup. Not food, but close. Times article Personally, I'll stick to wine no matter who's playing.

Unfortunately, leaving all other issues aside and given last night's result we may have to consider new ways to cook 'corneille ' as part of France's national dish. I had such high hopes for them too. Corneille au vin?

ITT-S Its The Taste - Stupid. Simple, complex, pretty, plain that's what it boils down too. (pun intended)

There is a terrific seafood pasta salad in the original "Silver Palate" cookbook. Shrimp, bay scallops, fuselli, peas ... basil puree. Wonderful & looks good too. I'll try to post the recipe on my blog later today if I can find the time to type it up.

Definitely a hearty well oaked chardonnay. You could be very 'Provincal' given the salad's origin and serve a chilled light red. Like you I'm not a rose fan, but budget & time to find allowing they make some very nice roses (as well as suitable reds) in Bandol. Not Bandol sur mer, but the other one a bit East of Marsielles. By the way have a look at the Nicoise recipe on my Blog and let me know what you think.

Since you've been down the Western route why not come back a bit further East. Take the A64 past Biarritz to Toulouse. Good place to stay, beautiful city, good eating. Next day take the A62 & turn off at Montauban to pick up the A20 to Paris. Plenty to see & do en route. Around Limoges might be a good place to stay overnight. Again lots to see & do. One note of caution. The freeways in France can get pretty expensive. Best bet is to go to: Michelin for route planning, timings, costs and where the speed cameras are. Enjoy & we'll look forward to your report. Bon appitite & Bon courage! ← Thank you for your reply. Ive been thinking about taking a route thats more to the east. Last summer, in Spain, I tried keeping of the highway and take the smaller roads. Not so much about the cost as there was just more to see along the small roads. Would this be a possibility in France, or is the distances to far for my planned intenrary? Also, am I taking a big risk innot booking hotels for my two day trip back to Paris? I like the idea of leaving something up to chance, as I guess some of the smaller places dont have an internet address. I had good experiences withthis in Spain, but the downside is that I spent quite a lot of time getting a room sometimes. ← Chris Your approach is absolutely the right one. You will see a lot more going on the RN's and good D roads in France, but it will take longer due to truck & farm traffic. With 2 days to get to Paris I would suggest that you sort of 'cut the corner' getting North. In other words skip Toulouse, great though it is, & come up more via Agen & Villneuve sur Lot. This will get you further North the first day. Second day I would advise secondary roads to roughly Chateauroux, then freeway as the countryside flattens out & is not as interesting unless you really have time to explore. If, earlier in your trip. you pick up (free) a copy of the Logis de France book and book one night ahead you shouldn't have a room problem. An alternate is to go to the local tourist office (they're normally open until 18:30) & ask about B&B and local hotels. Normally they'll call for you. They'll also clue you in on the best local restaurants. Have fun.

Found a marginal amount of more information at slow food Not much, but may help a bit.

Since you've been down the Western route why not come back a bit further East. Take the A64 past Biarritz to Toulouse. Good place to stay, beautiful city, good eating. Next day take the A62 & turn off at Montauban to pick up the A20 to Paris. Plenty to see & do en route. Around Limoges might be a good place to stay overnight. Again lots to see & do. One note of caution. The freeways in France can get pretty expensive. Best bet is to go to: Michelin for route planning, timings, costs and where the speed cameras are. Enjoy & we'll look forward to your report. Bon appitite & Bon courage!

Thanks. Looks like a wonderful renovation, but a bit rich for my blood. Think we'll try Alain Ducesses nearby place when we go in September.

Don't know if this qualifies, but. When I was 8 years old my first paid job was plucking chickens for a chinese restaurant. It was piece work. I got 5 cents a chicken (mind you, this was a long time ago). I couldn't understand why he insisted that every pin feather was plucked. I've always thought that it was the hardest job 've ever had. Haven't worked in a restaurant since.

Judith. I'm coming up with blanks on Daguin. Can you give a reference? There is Andre Daguin who was a very famous chef & author in the area (Auch to be precise), but I can find no other references in google, wikipedia or other sources.

Good for you! I don't live at home in the states anymore, but can still offer a couple of suggestions if you are interested. One outside Providence RI and another in the country near Huntsville Al. The one near Providence is definitly a cop, hunter, fisherman, trucker type of place with the best fish & chips I've ever had!

Probably not, but.. reductio ad absurdum was the idea.

Cheddar is cheddar and there is no French substitute that I'm aware of. Tried the mimolette & although its a very nice cheese it is not a cheddar substitute. Think of it this way: Why bother to import a bottle of good Bordeau to New York when you can buy perfectly good upstate New Yprk wines? Somehow they're just not the same.

The problem with poodles especialy the standards is that they're too smart to play our games. YOU look for & find the morels. HE gets a cookie without effort. Who's winning here. I speak from experience as we're now with our third standard poodle, Rupert. He's beginiing to shape up at 20 months old. I'll maybe start to truffle train him this fall when the season begins. We're lucky enough to live in truffle country. Roop is already a great forager. He's into cherries currently, any that the birds drop from the tree. He's also, in season, a great picker of blackberries. (like Simon, however, if you'll do the picking for him he'll let you) He's also partial to wild plums. His absolute favorite, however, is walnuts. As soon as they fall he's on them. The only way I get any is to shake the tree so there's lots. I keep picking up while he finds & eats one at a time. For once I'm ahead of him. By the way poodles are not French, but German. In fact standards are very rare here in France. Believe me the "canich Royal" always attracts lots of admirers when he comes to market with us. Roop's English bred. Maybe not appropriate, but if I can figure out how to I'll post a picture.

Frogs legs, snails and foie gras. ← Haven't heard of that dish "Grenouille saute avec foie gras et escargot farci"? Sous vide? Or did you mean separatley? We have Italy vs Ghana tonight. Pizza or spagetti are easy, but I haven't a clue for Ghana. Suggestions.

Freeze it! Keeps well.

Been thinking. Bad, I know, but.... What are the "National Dishes" that spring to mind when a country is mentioned? Some are fairly easy. Hamburgers for the USA, fish & chips for the UK, but what about France for example? Cassoulette? Too regional I think. Moules/frites? Think the Belgians should have that one. Only 32 countries to cover let's see if we can come up with a dish for each.

Like John I'll start with a confession. 40+ years ago on my first visit to Paris my buddy & I had very little money & very little knowledge. Very, very little French either. We stayed 4 nights in a student hotel for 10 francs a night (I'm talking what were then 'new Francs') Did all of our eating off the markets & in student cafe's. On the last night we decided that we had to have some meat; after three days of fruit, veggies, pasta & cheese our carnivorian instincts were raging. The cheapest meat dish in the menu was pave de cheval we didn't know what cheval was but ordered & ate it anyway. Only later did we find out that it was horse meat. One of my first eating adventures. Now, my suggestion for your girls is that you concentrate upon lunch. You can normally get a pretty good meal cheaper at lunchtime than at dinner. Diligent looking may find a menu within budget, but I'm pretty sure you will find a choice of plats de jour that fit. Has the advantage that this will be "real" French cooking. Dinners of things from the markets outdoors in the many parks & people watching places are a delight in summertime Paris. Maybe splurge on a good dinner once if you've saved enough otherwise.

Linda had to drag me away from the car; I was on my way. It was the oysters that did it. Instead we went to Limogne market & I came back & made gaspacho. Life is hard.

Don't know the rules either. Your hotel looks wonderful; good luck with it. Since we're not a million miles away you'll probably see us for a weekend later in the year when your weather's a bit nicer than ours. Montpillier being one of our favorite places we come your way a few times a year. Where does one eat locally ? Best markets? Got to lure we foodies with good grub spots.

Monday's easy. Hot dogs & hamburgers as I watch my native countrymen try to beat the Czechs. Pity I can't get any Bud, I'll just have to celebrate with Stella.

Leave some of the fat in as you shred. You are looking for a rough spreadable consistency. If it doesn't come together into a pastelike consistency add fat back in until it does. If you have the meat/fat ratio just right you'll use all the fat just as it gets nice & spreadable. Don't forget that it will stiffen up when cool. Getting the ratio right is just a matter of practice. (believe me if you make this once you'll make it many times over) Doesn't alter the taste so err on the side of too much fat.

Thanks. Half of my family is from Auvergne. The other half is from camembertland. 'Nuff said. ← My usual failing. Preaching to the converted & those with superior knowledge. I'll shut up & hope for some cheese tips from you!

I agree with Nishla. No ingrients other than olive oil & truffles. The oil should be really good virgin oil from France or Italy. Black truffles I think are better for this than white so most likely they're going to be from France. Hope this helps.