Margaret Pilgrim

Perhaps not what you are picturing, but I usually bone out the breasts and separate off the legs, then either toss or make broth from the carcass. I season the legs with coarse salt, cracked pepper, thyme and bay leaf, then let rest in the refrigerator over night before pricking the skin and roasting in a hot oven. The breasts, I season with salt, pepper and olive oil before grilling like steak. The legs will be well done and succulent with crunchy skin, while the breasts will be juicy, served rare and thinly sliced. If you have made broth, you can reduce it with shallot, red wine, a splash of cassis, and wisk in some butter at the end for a unifying sauce for both meats.

Cabrales, I very much appreciate your interest, effort and resulting list. I will try to read it more closely later, but this is my first encounter with the new format, and I am disturbed by how difficult it is to read. I am having trouble with clarity of font and contrast. Are you or anyone else having difficulty in receiving clear text? Again, thanks for the good list.

We LOVE our bread knife: Dexter, serrated, offset handle (the blade is parallel to but set an inch or so lower than the handle) gives excellent leverage and prevents compressing the loaf. Neatly cuts all manner of crusts (French, Italian, etc.) with minimum of effort and damage to the surrounding crust or bread interior. We bought ours at the Dexter outlet in Southbridge, MA. As I remember, these knives were around $20. at the outlet, and may or may not be more expensive elsewhere. The outlet is open Thursday evenings, roughly 5 to 9pm and Saturday mornings. They do phone orders. Dexter-Russell, 44 River St., Southbridge, MA

We pulverize nougat noir, the really dark French or Spanish nougat, and add it to either cooked or uncooked custard. It makes better stuff than any restaurant nougat ice cream I have had. Also, we simply froze very, very rich plain yogurt, such as Biblos brand, sweetened to taste, and have come very close to the wonderful Bulgarian yogurt ice cream they sell at the ice cream stand just off the Carrousel de Louvre in Paris. Basil ice cream served with figs poached in Cabernet and plain chocolate cake and more Cabernet syrup was another hit. Coarse ground coffee infused in either custard or sweetened heavy cream, then strained before freezing. As already mentioned, it is really important to let the mix mellow in the refrigerator for a few hours/overnight before freezing. Like dogs, there's no such thing as bad homemade ice cream.

While I love crab in all of its incarnations, I can't bite, chew and swallow soft-shell crab in any way that it has been served to me. (I can't help but think that I would fail ortolan also.) :confused:

JD, I have very much enjoyed your "long screed"s, your personal and judgemental critiques, the inclusion of non- destination as well as destination dining rooms, detailed descriptions of along the wayfood purveyers, the mention of price when it is relevant. Rather than a single lunch or an evening, I feel that we have spent a few days with you, and are enhanced by the experience. Thanks for both your good information and the vicarious pleasures.

Two thoughts: Try substituting firm bing cherries for tomatoes in your favorite fresh salsa recipe (or simply combine pitted cherries, red onion, jalapeno and); fabulous with pork. And what about using fresh pitted bings in Tommy's goat cheese salad? :wow:

I think they have almost been there and done that. Do you not remember the chapter in A Goose in Toulouse that described goat dairy farmers being required to tile the floors of their milking barns, resulting in wet floors freezing, goats skittering on the ice, milkers falling, and the eventual rescinding of the preposterous regulation? Of course, no one reembursed the whiplashed farmers for their expensive tile jobs nor for the retrofits. At least their broken bones were covered by France's medical system!

Robert, I've often wondered, do you think one receives the same class room...or even reception...when taking advantage of these auction or discounted methods of booking as one does when booking by phone, fax or agent? Margaret

Your experience is precisely the thrust of my post. Bux, this is exactly the type of restaurant we try to ferret out, and the kind we most enjoy. Would you be inclined to post the name? :wow:

I have noticed a Catch 22 situation cropping up from time to time on this board. While admitting a lack of familiarity with French food and customs, members planning first trips to France have asked for advice about 2 and 3-star dining rooms. It is frequently suggested that they start closer to the beginning of the French food chain and build an understanding and appreciation of the basics of French eating. Sound advice, but there is little follow-through with the alternative suggestions that would send people out to country gems and small, lesser known Paris treasures. One has to read every post carefully not to miss jewels like Vieux Pont and Chateau de Pasredon. The preponderance of posts remain discussions of 3-stars. It is not surprising that lurkers and new travelers think of them as the only reasonable destination for even beginning visitors. For reasons totally unrelated to cost, my husband and I choose restaurants that hover around the 1 and 2-star level (GM 15-17 points) over the prestige houses, and I have therefore been disappointed to find so little interest in these venues on this board. I’m sure that the lack of discussion re these lesser places is a case of “been there and done that”, but I think there is a real need for both referal to and coverage of these restaurants that may be more the essence of French food than the 3-stars. I don’t believe that one has to be a native to either know of or patronize 1 and 2-star establishments, although one reason we do prefer them is that you are surrounded by “real French people” as well as a few English, and blessedly almost no Americans. We aren't anti-American, but we do travel to experience something different from what we can find at home. And then again, we do delight in a quote from A J Liebling referring to his father in Between Meals : “He was a patriotic man at home, but he was convinced that in Paris the presence of Americans was a sign of a bunco joint.” I did start a thread on our spring visit to 1 and 2-star restaurants in Pays Basques this year, but quit after the first installment on the 1-star Table Ibarboure because there was little interest, although our visit continued to several pleasurable and traditional hotels and dining rooms that would be perfect for newer travelers, yet would not disappoint experienced ones (La Patoula in Usteritz, Ithurria in Ainhoa and La Galupe in Urt). I do wonder, are there any sub-3-star lurkers out there who care about the best of “ground floor France” and who would like to share dining and travel experiences?

Cabrales, it's part of my baggage that I try not to "exercise" either friends or services. To the extent that it would be interesting to the group to get a calibration on the effectiveness of different concierge services, I might stretch my ethics. That said, and if you really don't mind using your service, it would be lovely to see what they would come up with. I do think that these services need to have the parameters strongly drawn in order to provide good information. As I stated in an earlier post, we were looking for not-too-formal places around the 1-star Michelin, or probably more precisely, the 15-16 Gault Millau level. These are the ones I will target later in my search.

In response to Bux's request, here is my experience with the concierge service of my (brokerage house) VISA card. I called an 800 number and told the rep that I was looking for a list of Paris restaurants, around the 1-star Michelin level, open for holiday dinner on Christmas Day. As she knew of no existent list, she forwarded my request to a concierge for research. I asked to be contacted by fax or e-mail since I am frequently away from home. I was contacted within an hour or so by e-mail, confirming the search, providing contact fax, phone plus extension numbers and e-mail address of the concierge, who, from the e-mail address, seemed to be from a major international travel company. I was informed at this time that it would probably take a week for restaurants to answer the faxes and/or e-mails being sent out on my behalf. We left town for a week, and came home to find a list of restaurants annotated with contact numbers and websites, when available. The list: Arpege, Au Pied de Cochon, Auberge Nicolas Flamel, Cafe du Commerce, Charlot Roi des Coquillages, Chartier, Hard Rock Cafe, La Fermette Marbeuf 1900, Le Procope, Le Temps au Temps. They ended with an invitation to continue the search and/or to request that they make necessary reservations. (Editorializing, I suggest that these credit card concierge services provide an excellent service for those who either know precisely what reservations they want and, at the other end of the continuum, for those who haven't any idea how to do the research. They are cost nothing and are very simple to use.) In the meantime, I have received in response to an effort on my part an e-mail from Les Bookinistes, saying that they will not be open. I will probably wait until early fall before resuming the hunt by privately faxing and e-mailing a group of target dining rooms. And in the meantime, will chat up favorite waiters and dining room managers, as well as our good deskman, for their more personalized thoughts.

From Bux: In the same general time period as Frechon's eponymous restaurant, we enjoyed fennel confit (fennel stalks poached in a syrup containing whole star anise, whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns) served with a very tart citron sorbet, showered with basil chiffonade. It was a wonderful combination, and visually delightful with all of the "woody" whole spices and brilliant basil. This was at Clos du Gourmets on Avenue Rapp. Another veggie dessert I liked a lot was La Bamboche's mille-feuille with a sweet tomato filling as well as creme layer, again visually stunning as well as delicious.

This forum has to be one of the most amazing travel resources! Thank you all for the excellent suggestions. Lizziee, I will get up in the wee-hours and call our hotelman, with whom my husband had suggested I check the feasibility of a holiday visit this year. Good approach. Robert Brown, what a wonderful idea for a Christmas morning stroll, ending with brunch at Jo Goldenberg! Cabrales, I have never used the concierge services of our card, and this is a super time to put them to the test. And Steve P, should you fall over your list, and should it already be on your computer, not only would I be thrilled to see it, but I'm sure it would be a valuable addition to the eG. archive. Cabrales, re our target restaurant, I would guess it would be a 1-star. We would be looking for someplace with some degree of (holiday) joviality but decent food and good service, preferably not a hotel, and not a "bistro" per se. I was thinking about, and have e-mailed, Les Bookinistes. This question came up the other evening when our son came over for dinner, and while reminiscing about a Christmas we three spent in London, someone said, "Why not Paris and why not this year." They drifted away from the table, leaving the research and details to me. Again, many thanks for these excellent and varied suggestions.

Jaybee, I have finally learned that in this life it often boils down to "You like someone because; you love them in spite of." Friends usually fall into one or the other category.

Does anyone know of a listing of Paris restaurants that are traditionally open on Christmas Day? I haven't found one in Michelin, GM, nor have I been successful on the net. Many thanks.

Steve, I don't remember much difference in the color of the couverture and filling. And I'm sure they couldn't use enough piment to show color. :wow: Robert, I really have no idea. I don't have the feeling that they were in any way trendy; if anything, I would accuse them of having started out as a tourist oriented product, like the contrived uses of maple syrup, sea salt, dried fruits, etc.

Steve, since you mention pepper, I will add the chocolate/Espelette piment pralenes we enjoyed in Pays Basques this spring. As you probably know, Bayonne was perportedly the city in which cocoa beans were first introduced into France by Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition,and hence became one of the early places for chocolate manufactory. Espelette, a dozen or so km inland, is famous for Piment d'Espelette. (If you see pictures of this area, these are the drying red peppers strung from eaves on all the houses.) They are a long, spicy red peppers usually sold as a ground product. Both here and in France it is trendy as a savory seasoning, but fairly unusual in sweets. So as I read about this area of France, I kept falling over references to both this pepper, the chocolate famous in the area, and finally the combined product, as well as to a village factory/shop (Anton in Espelette) which is supposed to be the only factory in France to still work from the cocoa bean. We visited Anton just ahead of a tour bus, so my shopping was hurried. The chocolates I bought were plain oval lozenges, 1 1/8" long, 1/3" thick, with the piment incorporated in the ganache filling. The coating was a very dark (60%+) chocolate without additional flavoring. The finish is amazing. The first taste was simply intense dark chocolate; then as it developed you were aware of a clean chili taste and bite. They are truly addictive. Seeing only sachets and contrived tin boxes, rather trays of bulk pralenes, I bought several handsful of the sachets, NOT enough. We found plain chocolate bars with piment in Bayonne at, I believe, Cazenave, but possibly Daranatz, since we went to both shops which are almost next door to each other. The shop had a large array of flavored chocolate bars. I didn't buy the bars, sorry now. Anton, place du Marche, Espelette 05.59.93.80.58) Cazenave, 19, rue du Port Neuf, Bayonne (famous also for hot chocolate) Daranatz, 15, rue du Port Neuf, Bayonne

Patrice, I am interested in knowing about the dessert you describe. Where is the comma? I am hoping that you are suggesting carrots and organges salad with cardamom ice cream. That'sinteresting. Pilgrim

Ajay, as this was a very simple presentation, the combination was not at all heavy or too rich. Served as spokes of a wheel on a bed of mesclun, there was mostly the textural contrast between the two that you suggeested. No cream sauce. I believe that Bux very recently wrote that his wife had the same combination, and probably in a more complex treatment. Can you get a description for us, Bux?

We usually visit France during the last several weeks of March. So when I read about that there was a major Ham Fair in Bayonne during the three days before Easter, and also that La Table des Freres Ibarboure had added rooms last summer, I saw an invitation to visit the Pays Basques that we couldn’t refuse. Plotting our course, we would take the TGV to Bayonne, pick up a car, drive south the few km inland from the Bidart-Guethery border to the Ibarboure complex. I had faxed Mde Ibarboure requesting that she pick us a pretty room; she didn’t disappoint. Although she quoted close to the bottom of their price listing, the room she showed us to was their premium room, the coral and creme confection shown on their website. This room, number 4, is roughly 20’x20’ with a ceiling that peaks at around 18’. It has two balconies, allowing you to take the sun or not, is built out over a canyon so that you have the feeling you are in a tree house, looking out into trees growing up from the canyon floor. The bathroom is enormous, has a glassed in shower with multiple jets, a huge jaccusi, thick terry robes and slippers. We had sadly arrived south in a state of satiety, and were already worried about how we were going to cope during a week planned around eating. This ennui shows up most glaringly in my very sketchy notes on menues, plates and wine during this trip. And so we faced dinner. We were first served a trio of small Chinese cups each with several beautifully seasoned "quenelles": wild mushroom mousse, salmon mousse/rillettes, and stuffed encornets (I could have been very happy with an entire course of this latest). We both ordered off the carte, Chuck starting with marinated scallops (raw) garnished with tiny dice of apples, artichoke hearts, thyme, kiss of garlic. I opted for a plate of sweetbreads and langoustines with mesclun. The main plates were enormous, as they were to be throughout this region. We chose veal filets (3) with chorizo and cheese, tiede tomato and asperagus, and wild turbot over sauce basquaise with snow peas and carrot mousse with fennel foam respectively. Everything was excellent; my only complaint, again, is that the servings were very large by our standards. We were drinking a ‘97 Bouscasse Madiran. By this time, I had faded completely, and simply asked Mde Ibarboure to find us something light for dessert. She sent plates of sorbet: mango, banana, fruits rouges, citron, beautifully garnished with tuilles, etc. When she returned and noticed that we had barely touched the generous multiple-plateau of pre-desserts, she snatched them from the table and said that she would have them packaged for our room. She returned to say that she had sent a boy to our room with them. (We found that they had even filled in what we had eaten at table and added housemade chocolates.) This is the kind of graceful hospitality that we received at Ibarboure from the moment of our arrival. Every conceivable convenience and comfort was anticipated and addressed. Breakfast served in our room on a clothed table was also perfect: towers of fresh orange juice, a huge thermal pot of coffee, jug of steamed milk and of hot water, a dozen assorted housemade breads/pastries in a basket, yogurts, pots of fermier butter and housemade jams, local honey, and in the event that you needed something else, tiny teacups holding blanc mange with raspberry coulis, warm molten chocolate cake, and in Chinese porcelain spoons, wee servings of creme brulee. At this point, my husband who had questioned me regarding the rate for this sumptious room said, “If they charge us rack rate, I won’t say a word.” (By the way, the charges at check-out for one night, dinner and breakfast for two was...300 euros!) We were sorry that we had commitments for the rest of the week, because we could easily have stayed here and been spoiled for life. We will definitely return for at least another overnight stay. Mde Ibarboure mentioned to us that one can easily take the train to Biarritz or St. Jean and then a cab to the restaurant. It is only a matter of a few km, and a car really isn’t necessary for a short visit.

Cabrales, I have no doubt that you are entirely correct, particularly after my second encounter with the dish at another dining room. I have the awful thought that perhaps the difference was simply one of the number of soakings and blanchings. Scary. I am very philosophic about this dish: there are far too many dishes out there that I haven't tried for me to invest any more evenings with this plate!

We haven't been home much, Robert: in France end of March/early April, home but jetlagged, a week in the country and just this week back to a reasonable schedule, although we leave for the east coast midweek. A steady job actually sounds restful. Will post on Pays Basques as soon as I get myself and notes in order. Thanks for the inclusion at your joyous party!

From Bux: Exactly. Sammut's "La Cuisine de Reine" describes braising stuffed, rolled and tied pieces of lamb tripe and blanched and flambed lambs' feet with herbs, garlic, white wine and tomato for 7 1/2 hours. At this point the feet are boned, the cooking juices reduced, and the meats returned to the juices for a final gratin. After poring over her book at home, I ordered this "local color" dish at La Feniere, and was appalled after my first bite. It was probably the most singularly disgusting taste I had ever encountered, and I order this kind of stuff often. (The night before I had had a wonderfully comforting plate of tripe at a small bistro in Lourmarin.) At any rate, I managed to finish my portion of P&P, but was not able to eat another bite at that dinner, soothing my insulted system with the rest of the wine and bubbly water. The following year when we were in the area, I had to "massage the wound" by ordering pieds et paquets at L'Antiquare, which is owned by ex-employees of Sammut who struck out on their own in her previous venue in Lourmarin. To my relief, their rendition lacked the gross undertones I found objectionable at La Feniere. At this point, I am not a convert nor do I feel compulsed to research this dish further.