carlux

Where I live, in the Perigord, we have lots of great foie gras, and good saucisse de Toulouse, but I decided I would like to start making my own sausages. We don't see Italian sausages here, let alone South African boerwors, both of which I have begun to make. So far I've used poitrine, usually with some filet mignon de porc. About to try echine, but not sure of proportions yet. I've found a number of good North American sites with great recipes, but of course their ingredients, and their cuts of meat, are different. I haven't found many French sites, possibly because most people here go to the charcuterie. Also many people are fairly conservative, and wouldn't be likely to make boerwors. So what I find are recipes for USING sausages, rather than making them. So far it is the different cuts of meat that are the issue. I've found various drawings of little pigs with their parts described, and have been comparing French cuts with others. But there's not a lot of consistency even within one country, and certainly not between countries. (I was actually given a copy of Pork and Son, by Stephane Reynaud, and had to go out and buy the original version, Cochon et Fils, so that I could follow the recipes. Neither version expects you to be making your own sausges.)I can however get the casings, boyaux, at the butcher, which is no problem. Does anyone know of a site that uses French cuts of meat for sausages? Language isnt an issue, I can easily follow the recipe in French, one I have the ingredients. I have no interest in cured/smoked sausages, just raw. There must be other people doing this here.

You can actually just order the units themselves without the doors, rather than buy/return. They price the inner construction, then add the specific fronts, but you don't need to take the facades. I've done variations, though I must say with IKEA fronts: Bathroom - put their kitchen units in a redone bathroom - the only way I could get drawers 60cm wide. I even put the kitchen cutlery trays in two, which are great for separating make-up, pill bottles, etc. Two cupboard units on either side for towels/supplies, etc., and then a granite top with dropped in washbasins. Our plumber was rather surprised that we would have an IKEA unit under the granite, but it fit our needs, and still looks great after 7 years. Kitchen - I needed an island, with lots of drawer space - so again, used their bases, and had our carpenter put walnut end panels to match the existing walnut cabinets, and an oak slab on top. Again, the drawers are well designed, strong, slide beautifully, and do exactly what I want them to.

I have a Miele which I love. Has boosters on every element, and a timer. Couldn't tell you all the technical details, but generally everything Miele we've ever bought has been excellent. I was also lucky to get one for around 750 Euros a few years ago, I suspect the previous year's model. I see you can still get them online in France for around 800 Euros.

I can't understand how anyone can cook WITHOUT an apron. I have a dozen industrial white that I bought at a kitchen outfitters in Toulouse - they were nice enough to give me the students' discount, although I'm long past studenthood. Some will never be white again. One is destined for cooking duck confit every year at our village Fete de Crepes. I cook half the 300 portions of confit, in apron and long white shirt so that I don't get too much hot duck fat splattering on bare skin. However, after some hours, I and the apron have to go home for a good scrub. Plus an elegant black cotton from Constantia Uitsig in Cape Town, and two burgundy cotton that I wear if people are likely to see me cooking. In fact, when we first came to France I learned the expression 'rendre son tablier' - technically to give up your apron, or to quick working, when someone said he hoped I wasn't about to 'rendre mon tablier' at the beginning of dinner. I was able to assure him that I wouldn't, although I do remove it while eating.

As another glowing recommendation for Kenwood has just come up, I thought I would provide an update on my Kenwood experience. I live in France, and had had a Kenwood for many years, but needed to use it with a converter here, and felt it was time for a new one after about 30 years! I considered KitchenAid, but they are 2-3 times the price in North America, and didn’t seem as robust. I ordered the Kenwood Chef Titanium, also expensive (over 400 Euros), and when it came it looked so much more solid, with cast stainless beaters and the flexible blade. Since it was a British company (even though now owned by De Longhi) I thought service would probably be better than the KitchenAid also.) I loved the machine for 3 weeks, and then had a major problem. Nowhere in the instructions does it say that the head will turn when you use the blender (I should have known from my old one, but something had broken on the blender a long time ago, and I hadn’t used it for years). Or that you shouldn’t store the beaters in the bowl and then try to use the blender. The head picked up one of the very strong beater blades, rammed it into the bowl, dented the bowl, and broke the main gear. I knew I had the 1 year guarantee from Kenwood, and a 2 year guarantee I purchased from the online vendor. Took the machine to the recommended repair shop – if he had said that the machine was not guaranteed against stupidity, I probably would have understood, and paid up. But neither he, nor anyone anywhere along the line ever said that. It’s a long complicated story, involving no one receiving parts from Italy for over a year, the repair shop recommending replacement, and sending, supposedly, the serial number plate from my machine to the vendor so they could replace the machine. It was never received. Then everything stopped. From what I can understand, the repair people and someone from Kenwood were in dispute for 8 months. It was never clear to me what the problem was, but as I kept trying to point out to various ‘customer service’ representatives over the months, I was a very unhappy customer and no one was doing anything for me. They had taken my machine, and not repaired it – in fact had probably rendered it valueless without the plate. I sent emails and phoned the vendor, Kenwood France, and even Kenwood Head office in England. The really irritating people were at Kenwood France, who just kept saying – please tell your vendor to re-apply, as we have no record of any problem. I pointed out that maybe THEY could get in touch, as after 8 months I felt I had done enough. Again nothing happened. Having assured me that I once things were settled I could have a refund or replacement, the online vendor finally took matters into their own hands and sent the replacement with no notice, and without asking me what I wanted. And the icing on the cake was that they sent it when I was out of the country, and the courier just left it in an outbuilding. Friends who were staying at our house found a slip with a cryptic comment scrawled across it, and several days later found the machine, wrappings quite damp, but otherwise unharmed. When they wrote to say was I expecting a package, I had them open it to check – otherwise it could easily have stayed there for the rest of the month that we were away with no one knowing. I have to say by now I never want to have anything to do with Kenwood again. I still think the machine is strong, well designed and attractive, and I hope will continue to work for many years. Now I just have to remember all the things I intended to make with it 8 months ago!

Once more I am seeking advice on mixers available in Europe (France). I went through a long decision making process in the spring., tried a KitchenAid which had problems, returned it and went with Kenwood Chef Titanium. Loved it for the three weeks I had it, then had to return it for a part - that was mid June, and I am still without my machine. After close to two months, the repairman said he had never succeeded in getting parts from Kenwood now that they are part of Delonghi, and recommended I ask for a replacement. I did, he says he removed the serial number plate and forwarded it to the Internet store where I bought it - and since then nothing has happened. They say they never received it, Kenwood wont do anything without it, and no one seems to care that it has now been 7 months since I had a machine. On the assumption that my calls and mail to Kenwood in France and head office in England will some day have an effect ,and I may even get my money back, I am now looking at the Krups 9000 series. Does anyone have any experience with this? I saw a semi-professional using one on the French news last night, but don't know anyone who has one.

In the Perigord it's in most supermarkets. I keep looking for filo, but can only get it from one vendor in the Sarlat market who handles Greek and Middle Eastern products. Someone suggested brick to me instead of filo, but it isn't the same thing.

Well, I might be interested in the more expensive model KitchenAid, but it is virtually unobtainable here in France. We have the 'Artisan' model and that's it - and I only had 3 cups of flour in it, hardly enough to strain it. I don't need a professional model, just one that works. But when I go into the store ,push gently on the KitchenAid and the top unlocks, it doesn't give me much confidence that it will hold when it starts to work. Except for the one out of four that did lock properly Regarding the KitchenAid, if you leave the accessories in the bowl and turn on the blender attachment (never mentioned in the instruction booklet) the head continues to turn, picks up the beater and pushes it into the side of the bowl. And I agree 3 months is too long, (even with August as one of those months) but many phone calls, notes to Kenwood and the shop have not yet produced a result. I think it's a much better built machine,but don't know what I will do if I ever have another problem. The professional level Kenwood is more than I need, and not available here. Electrolux is also not available here. So I may just have to hold my nose, jump in and see what happens.

Here I am back reporting on my ongoing attempt to buy a stand mixer in France. In my earlier posts I mentioned that I had bought a KitchenAid which had a problem with the head lifting, and returned it. Part of the reason I didn't just ask for an exchange was that I found that the closest service for KitchenAid was 1 1/2 hours from where I live. So, on reflection, I decided Kenwood, a British brand (although now owned by the Italian DeLonghi) might be a better bet, and splurged on the Kenwood Chef Titanium. I loved it for 3 weeks, then had a problem. I won't go into the details, (partly my fault, partly theirs) but since I had the Kenwood guarantee, and an enhanced store guarantee, I took it in for service - to a shop only about 40 minutes away. That was 12th June. And I'm still waiting. Turns out Kenwood Service is now a disaster - the part was ordered from Italy, but the service department finally admitted that service has been chaotic for the last year. After 7 weeks he suggested I ask for a replacement, which is supposedly underway, but since the file, inlcuding the serial number plate, has apparently been lost in the mail, no one had been doing anything for another 7 or 8 weeks. Recently the online place where I bought it has agreed that things can't go on like this much longer, and is trying to resolve the situation. They are talking replacment or reimbursement. Which brings me back to my earlier problem, whether to go with a replacement and take another Kenwood, hoping I will never have a service issue again. I know what the problem was before, and wont ever do that again! Or to go with KitchenAid - I really love the style and have wanted one for ages. HOWEVER, I have now looked at 4 KitchenAids, one that I had, and 3 in stores. Of these, 2 had what I consider defective locking mechanisms, which would mean that as soon as you did anything heavy the head would pop up. The third was marginal, and the fourth actually seemed to work. So it appears to me to be a bit of a lottery as to whether you get one that works. One solution would be to buy it at a local store and test it before I take it home, but the list price is about 100 Euros -more than the Internet price. When I'm looking at paying 400 Euros for a Kitchenaid, it's pretty annoying to have to pay another 100 Euros to ensure I get one that works. Has anyone else had this problem with Kitchenaid? Has anyone else in Europe had better service from Kenwood? At this point I'm just about ready to give up on the whole business and keep on making cakes in my Magimix.

I'm surprised that you didn't find seared foie gras (poelé) in Sarlat. It's one of my favourite foods, and we see it often here. Sometimes oozing into a little toast, sometimes with a sauce of Monbazillac or Sauternes and grapes ...

As a resident of the Perigord, I would highly recommend Le Vieux Logis, over Chateau de la Treyne, as having more original food - the 'tapas' menu, at 34 euros, only at weekday lunch, is phenomenal value, compared to la Treyne, which goes from 45-95 euros. We were very happy with our meal at Le Grand Bleu, although as one of my friends would say, 'it's a bit cheeky' to offer a 29 euro menu with at least half the items requiring a supplement. I suspect they are still trying to attract customers, especially in the winter, and want to be able to say they have a 29 euro menu, but in fact with the quality of what they provide, they probably can't offer very much at that price. We enjoy the Presidial, especially in the summer, when you can sit in the garden, but you do have to be prepared with a hearty appetite. Happy to hear that people have enjoyed Quatre Saisons. I and others have found it quite variable. Some years ago we had an atrocious meal there, but have also had vary enjoyable ones. We also like Bistro de L'Octroi, run by the couple who have La Meynardie int he country near Salignac, a very good restaurant in a lovely setting. The Octroi is considered by locals to be on the of the best, and most 'honest' restaurants in a town that too often offers mediocre confit and pommes sarladaises to tourists. A restaurant that doesn't appear in too many guides, but is also known for good honest food, unfortunately in a not very interesting setting, is Le Fenelon, on rue de Fenelon. Good food at reasonable prices, nice people. We're just waiting for some of the tourists to go home so that we can enjoy eating in peace!

For French products and recipes, I use L'Amateur de Cuisine by Jean-Philippe Derenne published in 1996 by Stock, and still available on Amazon.fr Derenne is a physician, head of pneumonology at Hôpital Pitie-Salpetriere, who loves to cook. I saw him interviewed by Bernard Pivot for the Salon du Livre Gourmand at Perigueux. He was with the Troisgros brothers - and he was the one cooking! He says in his introduction: Chacun cuisine avec son savoir et ses humeurs, à partir d'un espace, de produits et d'un temps parfois compotes. D'un projet aussi - séduire, amuser, se souvenir, oublier... Ce livre n'omet aucun de ces aspects et comporte une base de données élémentaires concernant les instruments, les aliments, les techniques. Il contient plusieurs centaines de recettes classiques ou originales. Et s'il ne s'interdit pas la réflexion, son propos est avant tout de simplifier le travail du cuisinier amateur. It is a book about the history, philosophy, and sociology of food, with an immense inventory of everything we eat. The only objection i have to the book is the index - having been a librarian in another life, I don't understand why anyone would produce an index that includes only the title of the recipe - for instance, 'tartare de carpe' is under 'T' - there is no entry under 'carpe'. But it appears that this is quite common with French cookbooks. I have others that are similar, and have just learned to live with it.

I think you may mean Salviac, near Cazals. No, we haven't eaten there. It's actually out of our patch - we went to Pomarede on the way to a nursery, and now of course because we know it, it's become a destination. We did, however, yesterday eat in Montauban, near Toulouse. After steaming past Montauban on our way to other places, we decided to stop there after dropping our friend off at the Toulouse airport. We'd heard that Montauban was pretty boring, being a dormitory community for Toulouse, but in fact it was quite interesting. We wandered around the old town, and then stopped in the central square, where we had quite a reasonable lunch. I was amazed at mine, the plat du jour, Carre de veau - a large veal chop, around 1 1/2 inches thick, very tender and well cooked. With cepe (mushroom) sauce, baked potato, and admittedly rather overdone veg., it was only 7E50. For 12.50 I could have had a huge plate of mussels, or dessert. I was happy not to have gotten carried away. So it is still possible to eat well and cheaply in France. Sitting in a historic, double arcaded square (http://www.linternaute.com/sortir/montauban/la-place-nationale.shtml) eating well was a good start to the afternoon. Unfortunately the Musee Ingres was not so interesting, as it has hardly any of his paintings, only what was left in his studio when he died and willed it to the museum. Go for the food, skip the museum.

I didn't in fact mean this as a putdown - just that I think many of the posts on this board are Paris-based, and mean little to those of us who live in, or who want to visit, the countryside in France. In fact I was tempted to add it to the post about whether it was still possible to eat well with the high Euro/low dollar. Obviously it is. There will always be a place for high end restaurants, and this week we hope to visit the new one star restaurant in Sarlat, Le Grand Bleu, which has received some very good reviews from friends (we knew it before the new chef changed, and obviously improved the menu.) But we also love the lower end, good value, good food restaurants. We ate a few weeks ago in Brive for 12 euros, salad with magret, roast chicken and vegetable, dessert (great apple tart) And we were having the more expensive menu. Most people were having the plat du jour at 7 or 9 euros. Great ambiance, good food.

For those of you who seem to do nothing but eat in fancy Paris restaurants, I thought I would bring in a bit of reality – lunch in the French countryside. We live in the Dordogne, very close to the Lot, which although it is becoming more ‘gentrified’ still has lots of areas which are still very French, and very authentic. Today we went to Vente des Plantes at Abbaye Nouvel, http://www.abbaye-nouvelle.fr/, held around the ruins of the 13th century Cistercian abbey. Bought some plants, went on to have our coffee at the side of the road surrounded by buttercups and orchids, and then a stop in Les Arques, home of the Zadkine (sculpture) museum and the wonderful Romanesque church. This is also the home of La Recreation, a restaurant made famous to many Americans by the Michael Sanders book, From Here You Can’t see Paris. But that wasn’t where we were going for lunch. Instead we continued to Pomarède, to the Hotel/restaurants Murat, ‘Chez Jeanne’ where we usually go during the week for a ‘repas ouvrier,’ the set meal served to labourers in the area. Plain dining room, very basic, ambiance as one our friends calls it very 'avant guerre' - probably hasnt changed in the last 40 or 50 years. We figured Sunday lunch would be even better, and it was. There were 3 of us, 2 had the 16 euro meal; I had the 19.50, with an extra course which I shared with the others. So we had: White asparagus soup – à volonté as they say – all you want from the tureen, but we know not to get too carried away at this point. Pork terrine and jambon de campagne with butter Omelette aux cèpes - this was the extra course, and was wonderful, just right for sharing among 3 Gigot d’agneau, pommes Sarladaise, flageolets. We actually argued about what was best here. The lamb was pink and tender, the potatoes were crispy and full of garlic and goose fat, the flageolets with lardons and tomatoes were tender and wonderful. We didn’t finish everything, much to the consternation of our waitress. Cheese – Cantal from the Auvergne, fromage de vache, a tender cows’ cheese, and Cabecou, the goat cheese of the region/ Dessert –Fresh strawberry tart, or for those of us who were fading, blackcurrant and lemon sorbet. We couldn’t manage coffee. We splurged on a 10 euro bottle of Cahors, one of the most expensive on the list, but in fact the pichet we followed with at 6 Euros was even better. And so, wonderful meal, wonderful experience, for 3 people at under 70 Euros. People sometimes ask us why we moved to France...........

Well, I've now made up my mind to go with Kenwood I;ve met several people recently who have/had both and recommend the Kenwood over the Kitchenaid. Having had my problem with Kitchenaid, I'm prepared to go with the opposition,. So now it's down to the Premier 560 Chef, 4.6 litre bowl and 1000w, at 300 euros, or the Titanium KM010 Chef, again with 4.6L bowl, but 1400W, and 420 euros.The latter has 4 motor outlets, which I probably wont use, as I have my Magimix food processor, an blender, extra flexible scraping tool, and of course more power. Part of me says not to spend more money on extras thatIi may not need, the other part says to just spend the money - I wont be buying another one for a long time, so I might as well buy the best - at least within my range. Any thoughts on the difference between these models? I looked at the Electolux - thank goodness for the video, as I would never have understood how it works. But it doesn't seem to be available in France, and besides I think I prefer to use something I understand a little more. Interesting though!

I agree, except that I see that the Kenwood France site indicates that for service you should go to the store where you bought it. If you buy it online , it's not so easy, although some do offer their own guarantees.

I've read a number of posts about Kitchenaid, mostly from people in the US. Not many about Kenwood Chef. I live in the southwest of France, where buying opportunities are limited, and service even more so. FYI, Kitchenaid Artisan, which in the US seems to be 200-300 USD here retails for 550 Euros, often on sale for 450 to 500, but can be had from various Internet sites for 375 Euros, more or less. (The Professional model is virtually unavailable here I found one site selling it at 800 or 900 euros, so that's really out of the question. Cuisinart also not avaiable.) I ordered a red Artisan from Amazon, loved it when it arrived, but when I tried to make bread, using only 3 cups of flour, well within the limit, the head came unlocked and bucked up. Also the bowl got stuck in the base, and I had to oil the outside, plus put ice cubes in to contract the metal. (Apparently this does happen I see on other sites and I guess I could live with that.) Decided that I must have done something wrong, made another kind of bread and it was fine. But the third time, the same problem - it may be related to putting raisins in the bread, but I don't think the head should lift up in the middle of the mixing. So I called Service, which is in Brussels, a LONG way from me, and the only service place they could recommend is 1 1/2 hours away. (If you think gas is expensive in the US you should try Europe. I really don't want to drive 1 1/2 hours twice for a mixer.) Finally I discovered that Amazon would still take it back, put the whole thing back in the box and mailed it to them. I'm still waiting for the refund, but decided to do more research. I had just about decided to go with the Kenwood Chef (probably KMC 510 or 560) which is still between 300 and 400 Euros, but they have a great reputation for quality and long life (I actually have a 35 year old one which still works, but is pretty battered, and needs to work through a very heavy large transformer, neither of which i really want on my counter. The reason I'm looking for a replacement) Then I see that Kenwood has been bought by DeLonghi and lots of people say the quality has really suffered. And service is terrible. So now I really don't know what to do next. I made another call to Kitchenaid in Brussels, who say I can send a defective machine to the service agent at their cost, and so feel a little better about them. Has anyone else, particularly in Europe gone through this decision making process, and what was the result?

The galettes here in our village are not as fancy as those you folks in Paris get, but you probably don't get to have them in the Salle des Fetes with the rest of the folk in the village, with glasses of bubbly (depending on who's offering, could be Cremant or Champagne) then some chocolates, tea, coffee and eau de vie to finish. Then the ladies will sing and the men will tell (mildly) dirty jokes! Crowns for the rois (and reines) who find the feves. Things I never imagined when we decided to live in France, but treasure.

I have induction in France, and I love it. We don't have access to natural gas, and I didn't find bottles of gas very practical, so I went with induction. It heats the pan where it touches the surface, and nowhere else. Since you don't have a hot top, if things spill, they're easy to wipe up. Although, since they are usually black glass, it does mean regular swipes with a cloth and glass cleaner or else you see all the smears and spots. Heat is instant, on and off, like gas, but with much more control than gas, with digital commands. Because the process is magnetic, you need to test your pots - they must be magnetic, and FLAT. Even something that is the right material, if it has been used on a gas cooktop may be warped. Since induction heats only where the surface of the pot touches the surface of the cooktop, any warped surface mean you get no heat in that part of the pan. So I bought some new pots, found mu old cast iron ones worked fine, and have never regretted the choice.

The Jazz model, microwave/grill is around 150 Euros. I found it on a number of discount sites, just have to decide do I want to spend that much.

Sounds to me like a Chinois - a type of strainer used to get the last drops. I use a food mill, excellent for squeezing all the juice and pulp out of tomatoes, and wonderful for mashed potatoes. Mine comes with three sizes of disk, so that you can choose which is the best for whatever you're squeezing through.

participating member Posts: 14 Joined: 19-April 07 Member No.: 53,554 I am looking for a new microwave oven in France - not too expensive as I don't really use a microwave a lot. My old one was a cheap supermarket version, which has lasted about 15 years, and even now doesn't really need replacing, except that various little things are starting to go wrong, and it seems like a good idea to start thinking of a new one. Basically what I want is a basic microwave but with electronic controls so that I can set exact times (this is still not all that common in France). Probably with a grill to give a little more flexibility. Since, like most microwaves it will be sitting on a counter, I would like it to be attractive. I've looked at all the major web sites and makers, Darty, Samsung, Whirlpool, etc., and have come across Brown and White - oddly enough a French company. http://www.whiteandbrown.com/ The great advantage to my mind is that they are not too expensive and quite elegant looking. I have never heard of this company and wondered if anyone else had. Thanks for any input.

I am looking for a new microwave oven in France - not too expensive as I don't really use a microwave a lot. My old one was a cheap supermarket version, which has lasted about 15 years, and even now doesn't really need replacing, except that various little things are starting to go wrong, and it seems like a good idea to start thinking of a new one. Basically what I want is a basic microwave but with electronic controls so that I can set exact times (this is still not all that common in France). Probably with a grill to give a little more flexibility. Since, like most microwaves it will be sitting on a counter, I would like it to be attractive. I've looked at all the major web sites and makers, Darty, Samsung, Whirlpool, etc., and have come across Brown and White - oddly enough a French company. http://www.whiteandbrown.com/ The great advantage to my mind is that they are not too expensive and quite elegant looking. I have never heard of this company and wondered if anyone else had. Thanks for any input.

My opinion on all this is that there are still rules in parts of French society - not in the country where I live, where for the most part, people happily wish each other Bon Apetit. But France had, and still has to some extent, more 'refined' and formal levels of society that we don't meet much in the Perigord. And not just France. If you read Elizabeth David's biography you'll find that when she was growing up in England, it was not considered polite in upper class society to acknowledge food at all. It was just there, and not to be discussed (of course she says that's one of the reasons it was so bad) There has obviously been a huge change in the way people think about, and talk about food, but some vestiges of this approach still survive. In fact the French news, when reviewing this article said that 'Bon Apetit' refers to digestion, which refers to part of the body, which are not then suitable for discussion in polite company. And regarding the famous orange juice that Polly Platt says is served when the evening is over and you are meant to go home. For years I waited for orange juice, and asked pepoel had they ever heard of it. Again, it turns out that I'm not traveling in the right circles. A friend who worked for Unesco and attended formal diplomatic dinners assures me that this is done - as does another, Canadian friend, who confirms it happens in Canada also. So it's not someone pulling Ms Platt's leg. For ladies attending formal dinners, who must indeed wait for their partner on the right to fill their glass - if he is not watching out for your needs, or if as a French woman asked 'he is American and doesn't know he's supposed to do this', no moving your glass up and down, waving it, or whatever. You just rest secure in the knowledge that you at least have good manners - and go home very sober. Our friends are not at all like this, and have never criticized us for doing something 'unFrench' - this summer we introduced our neighbours to Canadian corn on the cob, grown in our garden, and they all gamely picked it up, chewed away, and loved it. They even talk about grwoing it themselves next year. But of course after 13 years here, we're pretty French ourselves.