TarteTatin

We got a flyer for Tiffin, the new Indian take out at 710 W. Girard. (I lived in England for 10 years, and had some great Indian food. I also cook Indian food. Our office is near Karma on Chestnut St and Cafe Spice on 2nd. We love good Indian food.) Tiffin's menu is limited, but has options for vegetarians as well as omnivores. For our first foray we tried the Vegetable Samosa, and the Onion Bhaji. Main courses Saag Paneer and Chicken Vindaloo. The vegetarian Saag came with dal, Basmati rice, raita, and pickles. The chicken Vindaloo included rice, cabbage subzi, raita and mango chutney. We didn't order nan, because we some Trader Joe's in the freezer (TJ's nan's are very good and only take 3 minutes at 450F). Everything was excellent. We lover the main courses. The chicken vindaloo was very flavorful and spicy without being too hot. The saag paneer had a great taste of spinach and the paneer was not soggy. The only disappointment was the onion bhaji, which was a bit undercooked.Everything was super. This was our first experience ordering from this place and we were very pleased. The meal came to $20 plus tip including delivery.

We'll be in Languedoc Christmas week, south of Montpellier. Dave Hatfield has made some suggestions, as well as others, on the France site. Can't wait to have the real Cassoulet! We'll be closest to Carcassonne. Not Castelnaudry or Toulouse. (each town claims to make the best Cassoulet) Cassoulet at our house in Philly in February! Will definitely look for the Tarbais beans to take home.

Mummer-You missed one of the most creative apps that we had. Tuna bites. Don't remember the description (even though our waitress repeated everything three or four times for my aging memory!) But it was Tuna egg rolls or Tuna dumplings or something delish. Good times. Good food. Herbacidal, you missed it.

Are there still people going tomorrow night? What time?

How about Mars, on South St? I believe they started the Lobster Ravioli trend in Philly.

Yes, we could use the white beans and goose stock and call it, "Cassoulet soup". How fun!

Mr. Tarte Tatin made a fresh, local, goose for Thanksgiving. Yesterday, he used the carcass and made a million tubs of fantastic goose stock for the freezer. What to do with it? Can we make soup? (If this post should be under the topic already called, "Goose", feel free to move it. I just thought that since it was so specific a question, this would be ok?)

A good friend wants to go to: Jong Ka Jib 6600 N. 5th St. Anyone know anything about it? Something about soft tofu to die for? Hubby doesn't like tofu much, but our friend insists we'll love it.

I think that the big issue for the Amish is getting back home. Most of them have to van pool back to and from Lancaster County. That's why they close earlier than 6. Their commute is way longer than most of ours. (Mr. Tarte Tatin)

We bring back Puget olive oil from the French supermarkets, every time we go over. It's the best supermarket olive oil we've ever had.

While walking to RTM today, Sunday, we passed the big State Store on Chestnut. I think it's Chestnut, around 10th or so, and it was open. So, if a liquor store is open on a Sunday (which we personally also approve of), why can't a fresh produce, meat, fish place also be open? And, yes, the Convention/tourist people, as well as us locals, really appreciate it, and it brings money into the city... What is his reasoning?? Is there any? Or just a power trip? (By the way, had a great lunch today at the Handmade Noodle place (Nan Zhou?) on Race. He had a seafood soup that was delicious, I had the pork soy noodles. Watched the making of the noodles which always amazes me, the whole thing was $10.50- plus tip! Outrageous.)

That's just ridiculous. I was there last Sunday as well. It's a better time for us to shop. Why does the government/mayor's office have to be involved? What gives him the right to say RTM should be open or closed on Sunday's? It's like the government talking about foie gras and what we can and cannot eat. McDonald's are open on Sunday's. I guess it's better to eat trans fat and junk food on Sunday's than fresh market food. Unbelievable.

So, I've been working on Tatins for awhile. Best tasting results for me, and our friends, has been a really basic recipe. 4oz sugar, 4oz butter, good apples (Empires, Winesaps, whatever's good and local and in the autumn I use quinces instead of apples), some brandy, pinch of salt. I let the sugar start to carmelize while I peel and core the apples. After I start the apples on the cooktop and cook them for about 20 minutes they go into the oven at 375F for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Cool in the refrigerator overnight or longer. Best results have been with the Le Creuset tatin pan though I've used an iron frying pan as well. The pastry is combination of the Larousse pate sucre and pate brisee recipe. After the apples or quinces have 'confited' overnight, I roll out the pastry, put it on top of the apples, and cook for at least 45 minutes in a 375F oven until the pastry is golden.

Just a few days ago, hubby made his famous Tarte Tatin with Quinces instead of apples. Delicious!!

As you might know from previous posts, we'll be in Sete Dec 26-29th, and Montpellier Dec 30. Hubby makes an awesome Cassoulet. We'd like to have the real thing, and have researched enough to find out that, basically, there's three (or more), types of Cassoulet and many places in the region, that claim to serve the best. With that in mind, we are basing just south of Montpellier. Also with that in mind, you know that our stomachs can only handle one, possibly two at the most, of this wonderful dish. Where should we go? We know that the week between Christmas and New Year's is tough, and that lots of places are closed...

I've forgotten about Pasion lately! It's fun to sit at the Ceviche bar and watch. Delicious food, good atmosphere...

Hubby wants to do a Thanksgiving goose. (There's 6 of us, it'll be an 8-10 pounder) We ordered a free range one from Lancaster, Pa.- at Reading Terminal Market, Halteman's. He's thinking about stuffing it with cornbread and Merguez. He's the cook, and a really good home cook, but I thought I'd ask your opinion about other recipes. Not just for stuffing, but for the actual cooking process. This is probably more for me than him! (But I'll definitely pass this on!)

So we were just in Paris looking at a few venues: The options we looked at were: The Bateaux Mouches - A two and a half hour boat trip up and down the Seine with lunch and an accordion player. The boat is enclosed, and air conditioned so weather would not be a problem in April. Not sure how great the food would be, but it's perfect for tourists that are coming to Paris for our party. Lunch is 50euros a person. Planete sur Seine - Another boat, moored outside the Peripherique, at Clichy. A fabulous view, almost totally private, dance floor... Tres cher. We'd also have to hire a catering company. Chalet d’Iles - Depending on the number of people who come this could either be in the restaurant, or in one of the private portions of the facility. It’s located in the Bois de Boulogne on an island in one of the lakes. You have to take a short boat ride to reach it. Very pretty and very rustic. It's 120euros a person, which is also quite expensive for us. I tried to ask Madame to lower it, but to not avail...If we are 25 or under, we can just be in the restaurant for 60euros a person. I liked this place the best, but I think we'll be about 30-35 people. Les Papilles - This would be a change of plans, because the restaurant doesn’t open on Sunday. So, instead of a Sunday dinner or lunch, it would be a Saturday lunch. The restaurant is small, in the 5th and excellent. It’s also a high end grocery and wine shop. This is really just a nice restaurant, maybe we'll go there with our group for Saturday lunch, but I don't want to make it our party soiree place. Marty - This is a gorgeous brasserie in the 13th on Avenue des Gobelins. Decorated in Art Deco, you feel like you’re back in the thirties. There's plenty of room upstairs. Can't remember the price of the menu they emailed... Any thoughts? A lot of the people that will be coming are food lovers, wine lovers. But we also have to consider our budget. We welcome your opinions!

So, we've finally figured out how to do the picture thing, and, as promised food pictures forthwith: And I have to apologise for the quality of the pictures. My flash went out the second day of the trip and many of these are available light and color corrected. Here is the outside of Le Timbre in the 6th And the menu: The kitchen of our friends in Ormoy: The table before lunch: The first course - Foie gras on pain d'epice with chocolate sauce and rum raisin ice cream Bourguignon Dessert Le Comptoir Aperitif and wine The Plank of Pork Lamb shank with couscous and dried fruit Pied de cochon Pineapple carpaccio with vanilla sheeps milk ice cream Baba au rhum Exterior of Les Papilles Menu Les Papilles Interior Les Papilles Our wine The soup before the soup The soup Tartine Basquaise Poitrine de porc The cheese Dessert

Just got back from a party, stopped at Capogiro after. He had: Pear Wild Turkey Bourbon, Pumpkin something... I had: Rosemary Goat Milk Honey, Bittersweet Chocolate, Cilantro Lime. The Cilantro Lime was a bit strangee and tart.

Two years ago, we got a reservation at 8 p.m. at Jamin after calling around 5 p.m.

We walked by there last week and attempted to look in the window. Alas, they have a one way window system, which allows customers to look out, but no one to look in. Although, if you stay at the side, one can see in! I thought it looked a little too stark, but the food you show here, certainly looks good and creative!

Friday, Oct 20 Le Timbre in the 6th. Great bistro, small place. 6 rue de St. Beuve btw Notre Dame Des Champs and Blvd Montparnesse. 62 Euros total for two for lunch. 22 for two course, or you could get 26 for 3 courses.... Delicious Creme de marron soup with lovely bits of chestnut in it, Magret de Canard-big thick pieces, rare, with leeks and honey, (doesn't sound like it goes together, but it was delish), Boudin noir with a mango gooseberry chutney, Tarte tatin, of course (but, sorry to say, nowhere near Sam's), "Appely" tasting bottle of wine. Note: Every time we go to France, we order Rare meat. The meat is so good, and definitely Rare-dark bright red, but not bloody. The Rare is quite different in France than in the States. I like the bloody, but the "Saignant" is different, in a good way! (just like our cuts of meat are different, I guess). Our friend, Marie Agnes' that night. Line 9 until the end, Montreiul... "Apero", which is basically, come over for drinks and appetizers. She served Champagne and Anchovy stuffed olives, a tuna/mayo spread, an eggplant spread, roasted red peppers, bread...Then out came the Homemade Foie gras from her parents in Lille- served with homemade Red Onion confit...Lots of strong cheese after that, homemade griotte tart, all with lots of bottles of Burgundy and Bordeaux...1996 for two different bottles, that's all I remember. Saturday Epicerie Bon Marche in the 6th, bought take out lunch-Two pates, one was a Pintade with Morelles and Pistachios, and another Volaille with figs...a fresh chevre round, two glorious fresh black figs, the biggest I've ever seen...a Tarte Flambee...A Kougelhopf. --Later that day we went to Isle St. Louis to the Charlotte D’Lilse for Chocolate Chaud (Hot Chocolate). We've been trying to get here for two years. They seem to be always closed or something. Wow. I know what everyone has been talking about. Pure velvet someone wrote. They give you small little Japanese tea cups full, with another pichet/small pitcher of chocolate. It's definitely delicious, but not too too, I could drink it without feeling "riched" out. Plus they serve little shot glasses full of water. Funny, that. But needed...Sam had a Pistachio/Almond tart. --Then we went a down the block to the original Berthillon, and, too full to have ice cream, bought my favorite dark chocolate lollipops to take home. Filled with the creamiest caramel ever... --Then we went to another gift shop on the island, and bought a block of Quince Paste, plus a small jar of Pate de Quince, looks like jam, and some Lavender candies... --Meeting a friend in the Marais by the Bastille, we stopped at a food stand on Rue St. Antoine and bought a slice of a huge Pain D’epices (basically super gingerbread). Dinner was late-we went to Les Cameleon in the 6th. Although we stopped in late afternoon to make reservations, we ended up getting the table by the bathroom, absolutely not the best table in the house! The other room had an open kitchen, and ours had a TV screen with fashion on it?? I don't think they liked us...However, the food was good. He had Poireaux Tiedes En Vinaigrette-Leeks (8Euros), I had Friture D'Eperlans, persil Frit et sauce Tartare- Little fried fish (14E), both were good. He had Raie Bouclee Poelee, Beurre Noisette, Capres, Croutons Et Tombee D'epinards- Skate with nice sized caperberries over spinach (21E). I had Cabillaud Braise, a l'huile d'olive, legumes croquants et just de fenouil-Cod with vegetables (19e). Both were huge portions, PERFECTLY cooked fish. And tasty....We had a single Pain Perdu, Poelee de Figues et Sorbet Cassis--This was French Toast, except as a dessert! with figs and sorbet (9e). Our wine was a delicious Sancerre. Francois Crochet, 2005, Millesme, for 29Euros. The Maitre'd was stuffing his face with wine and food behind the bar every chance he got....He sat down with a couple of other tables in the bar, and drank with them. When we left, despite the fact that we got a really bad table, I went into the "better" room to thank the Maitre'd who was standing at the open kitchen with the Chef. I said in French, "thank you for the super meal, it was a pleasure". The Maitre'd dismissed me with his hand, basically saying, "yeah, yeah, just get out of here already". So, although it was a good meal, we didn't enjoy the way we were treated! Sunday: Went to the Marche Biologique Raspail: Bought a bottle of Pomme de cider ferme (5e), A bottle of Rose (5e) Chevre frais, gorgeous figs, a crepe avec butter & sugar, gifts of powdered chocolate and also of soaps... Then went to a friends parents in Ormoy sur Essonne, about 30 minutes outside of Paris, just outside of Orly airport. They served us a grand feast...Champagne, foie gras, beef bourgignon (their bourgignon has beef and hot dogs or sausages, never saw that combination before). When I confessed that I had never seen that combination served together, they were astounded. I guess they always serve bourgignon with beef and hot dogs....with potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, salad after with great cheeses, then an egg custard thing with caramel (sort of like a flan or creme caramel), but she made it with 6 eggs and milk. Lots of good wine... Monday: Lunch: Atelier des Comperes in the 8th (because it was near Musee Jacquement which we had just gone to, and John Talbott reviewed it): They served Radishes to start, and brown bread. Sam had a Salade hure de cochon champignons marinee. This was basically Head Cheese with gorgeous Chanterelles and Girolles, gorgeous red shallots, chevril (which was everywhere in Paris, I love it), and really good olive oil... We had Cote des Bouef, served on a plank and sliced...Steak for two, with tiny Les Creuset's filled with potatoes-in duck fat?- also with girolles, and parsley...Again, very rare, but not bloody, tasty! - I had a panna cotta with caramel and two odd cookies on top. Bottle of great 2002 Morey St. Denis, George Lignier et fils, (40e), lovely, barnyard, voluptuous...This was a very expensive lunch, maybe 150euros? I think it was 40e for two courses, 50e for three...We were there late and they didn't want to give me a choice of desserts since the Chef's had gone. So we only had a choice of cheese or cold options...Would have been nice to have been told that at the beginning. Then my two courses might have been app and entree... Dinner late at our old standby on the Seine, the Rue De Tournelle: Rotisserie de Beaujolais,(owned by, and right next to, La Tour D'Argent)- both had Duck confit, Sam started with Leek salad and warm vinaigrette, Pommes Granite avec Calvados that we always get. The cat was there that sits and watches the customers and gets fatter and fatter from everyone feeding him/her (?). Tues: Lunch at Le Comptoir pour dejeuner near the Odeon Metro: (we tried relentlessly to get in for dinner, as we did the last time we were in Paris, to no avail): We started off with this great Buzy, Rose Petillant as an aperitif, tasted like strawberries, then split the Assiette de porc (tons of saucissons, blood sausage, pork rinds, cornichons, jambon, gosh, what else?? - Sam had Pied de Cochon rolled. talken off the bone, put in a casing and deep fried, served with a little salad of romaine heart and shallot crisps, with a potato puree with a clear stock/gravy thing.., I had a Leg of lamb over couscous with dried prunes and apricots. For dessert: I had the thinnest, thinnest, Pineapple slices with sheep’s vanilla ice cream on top, (actually, it came with regular Vanilla, but something else was listed as Brebis Vanilla ice cream, so I asked if I could have the Brebis on top of my Pineapple slices and they said sure), he had Rum Raisin ice cream with mini Baba’s. Very alcohol tasting and good... Great bottle of red Arbois. No dinner. But: Went half a block from our apartment that we rented to: La Closerie Des Lilas for cocktails, 48e for 4 drinks. We had Alsace D'Gewurtztraminer Eau de Vie and he had Framboise. However, ANY of the drinks would have cost us that much. Wed, Oct 25: Went to Les Papilles for lunch (5th): 28.50e for menu of four course, other things available...this was our favorite place as far as atmosphere, wine bottles on the walls, grocery items you could purchase, downstairs has a large table for a biggish party, oh my, the kitchen is about an inch big, how do they produce such incredible stuff? Started out with Creme of carrot soup to die for. Served bowls of dry croutons in one section, cubed carrots, lardon, a cumin creme quennelle, and pearl de japon which we don't know what that is, dribbles of balsamic on the side and cumin.... Then they put on the table this humungous lion bowl of this creme of carrot soup, which we could ladle out ourselves, I had bacon/porc -this big slab of a cut of something like bacon, with cauliflower, carrots, snow peas, onions, etc. sort of a pot a feu but with bacon. They fumes coming out of it I sniffed and I'm sure it helped with my cold...Then ther was some sort of brie and Mousse au chocolate a orange, but it was called something else. He had a Tartine Basquaise, chicken something with a frisee salad. We had the driest Brut Nature Drappier, 100% Pinot Noir champagne. (32e). Friends over Wed night, to our apartment for Emporter/take out, again from Epicerie de Bon Marche. The biggest figs ever and Clementines! Also fish pate, almonds with curry-so good- spices, spicy olives, saucisson de lyon, blinis with truite tapenade and green olive tapenade, Trends we saw: Figs in everything...Everyone had this steak for two served on wooden planks, Bacon/Pork served in huge pieces. (Of course, this is just from basic Bistro type places) Huge portions of everything! I thought that only USA served tremendous amounts of things. The French need not have adapted to our large portions... We have lots of Pictures of Les Papilles and of Le Comptoir, but hubby doesn't know how to post them on egullet! Thanks to John Talbott and egullet and Paris Notes for the recommendations! We were staying near Les Cerisaise, passed by there a few times, but never got there. Back in two months. First Languedoc, then Paris again!

OH MY GOSH, Megan! We were in France the same time! Sam and I were in Paris last week! AND, we've been to Strasbourg/Alsace, for a few weeks, based in Ammershwihr--- and Champagne twice! Stayed last Christmas in a suburb of Epernay in Champagne, with similar views! Love both places! Your report is wonderful. Look for our review of Paris restaurants last week (coming soon). As soon as I can write them up. P.S. Tarte Flambee, real ones, are my favorite things in the world. You can't get them in Philly, nor NY (remember Cafe D'alsace? Non. Nor even Paris last week at Le Epicerie de Bon Marche....You HAVE to get one in the region only. It's sort of like Kugelhopf in Alsace/Strasbourg. Forget about Paris. Just had one, not the same.

YUM! I had: Rosemary Honey Goat Milk, Argentinian Dulce Leche, Bittersweet Chocolate. He had: Campari Grapefruit, Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla, Bittersweet Chocolate. A chorus of Yums ran round the table.