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Off to Paris next weekend for the first time in a couple of years. Apart from having a good time, celebrating aniversaries, etc. my chief interests are bread and food related. I know the main kitchen shops and Librairie Gourmande, and I've done the famous boulangeries but does anyone have any suggestions or personal favourites or new arrivals in these fields? Plus, this time we're not flying, so can stagger back on Eurostar with a decent tagine in addition to the Martinique rum. Where's the best place reasonably near the centre to find North African cookware? Thanks Mick

Hello All! I wanted to share some great news-- my friend, French cook and culinary instructor Kate Hill, is bringing famed butcher and charcuterie master Dominique Chapolard for a bunch of workshops. There's still seats available at some of the sites--here is a link with the details: http://kitchen-at-camont.com/2013/02/24/two-day-workshops-in-the-usa-the-french-pig-making-farmstead-charcuterie/ TTFN, jeff

When a white veal stock ends up too dark and opaque, is there a way to rescue it and remove some of the discoloration? Perhaps by clarifying it with some ground veal and egg whites, like you'd do for a consomme? Some background: I've been going through a bit of a classical French phase for the past few weeks, and having recently come upon a great source for veal bones, I've been venturing into making white veal stock as a basis for some classical sauce experiments. I made my first batch last week, and it turned out perfect. I used bones and shanks of uniform size with a split calf's foot, blanched everything according to the guidelines in the French Laundry cookbook, replaced the water, rinsed everything, and then cooked it at 170 degrees F for 8 hours. The stock was clear, with a wonderful golden color and great body, and had an almost custardy aroma. Totally different from and much more subtle than white chicken stock. Anyway, last night I made a bigger batch with larger, unbroken shank bones, among other things. I sensed I was in for trouble when the bones threw off so much blood during the blanching phase that the water turned bright crimson and then dark brown-gray. I threw out the blanching water again, rinsed the bones, and started the stock, but I think the larger bones continued to throw off raw blood into the stock, darkening the end product. Also, I cooked the stock at a lower temperature (160) this time for ten hours--perhaps not hot enough for the proteins to coagulate out of the stock? I was surprised at how little scum rose to the surface throughout the entire process.

Hi everyone, I'd like to make some eclairs to take to an event with lots of people bringing food - because there'll be a variety of (tasty) stuff I'd like to make my eclairs really small so they're not too filling and people can try them (also I think they'll look cute). Is there any reason I couldn't pipe out very skinny choux lines and hopefully end up with dainty little puffs? Ideally the final baked size would be about 8 - 10cm long and less than an inch wide... but i'm wondering if they may not expand properly or have a solid shell or something... anyone know? Cheers, Stuart

Hi everyone, I'm hoping that I can get some up-to-date information for my vacation in France next month. I have some draft ideas (and a reservation for lunch at Olivier Roellinger's place ) but I'd like to hear where you'd recommend for any food-related topic. We'll be staying on the coast near Caen for a few nights to begin, then MSM for a night, then Rennes for a night, before driving on to Brittany for a week. We'll be staying roughly between Lorient and Pontivy while we're there. We're planning on driving back (to Germany) via Rouen and Champagne. On the list so far are: Calvados, cider, and cheese-tasting in Normandy Roellinger, obviously, Chez Jacky and Anne de Belon when we're in Brittany I've read some recommendations online, and have the Michelin Red Guide, but I'd love some recommendations for anywhere from Honfleur/Lisieux in the east to Quimper in the west (the northern coast of Brittany, including places like St. Brieuc, will be a little too far away I think but generally distances aren't a problem), and any hidden gems or less well-known Champagne producers that are worth a visit would also be gratefully received. I'm happy to share my experiences when I get back, and I'll post some other places we're considering in due course. Thanks in advance, IA

Please excuse my ignorance; I do not cook much with pork. I have a recipe in French that calls for "ventreche de cochon". I know this translates literally to "belly of pork". However, I am wondering if this is specific to raw, or some sort of cured product. The recipe calls for the ventreche de cochon to be sliced paper thin on a deli slicer, and it is briefly sauteed (3 minutes) into a fricassee of escargot. Does raw pork belly seem right to use in this scenario?

Clafoutis de Fevettes au Parmesean et Basilic Serves 4 as Main Dishor 6 as Side. This recipe appears in French in issue no. 140 of the Saveurs magazine as part of a series of recipes accompanying an article on 'primeurs', or local vegetables that appear at the markets only during the first few weeks of Spring. It can be prepared with feves that have been frozen fresh, but I would not recommend using dried beans. This recipe should work fine with both American all purpose and French type 55 flour, as the quantity called for is slight in comparison to the other ingredients. 500 g fresh young feves 4 eggs 20 cl milk 10 cl heavy cream (liquid) 70 g freshly grated parmesean 2 T flour 1 small bouquet of basil 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg fresh ground white pepper Preheat your oven to 160 C / 320 F. Blanche the feves a large pot of boiling salted water and refresh in cold water. Drain and reserve. Combine the eggs, the milk and cream in a large bowl and beat until well combined. Wash and dry the basil, remove the leaves from the stems and mince it finely. Add the salt, the flour, the parmesean, the pepper, the grated nutmeg, and the freshly minced basil. Add the young feves. Butter a clafoutis dish (noted in the recipe as 'un plat a clafoutis', but which a deep sided 10" square dish such as a corningwear would work, or a large loaf pan), give the batter a last mix, pour it into the pan, and put it in the pre-heated oven. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the center seems firm when you shake the pan. Serve it hot or cold, with a simple roquette salad or with chicken, rabbit, or veal. Goes well with a good rose champagne. Keywords: Main Dish, French, Appetizer, Hors d'oeuvre, Easy ( RG1243 )

I was sure that I had started a discussion on what cheese one could find in France to use when making cheesecake, but I can't find it even though I've searched diligently. In any case I got a good answer from Pti. Use Kiri since Philadelphia is difficult to find outside of Paris. I tried that and it worked perfectly. Only problem was that it seemed to take forever to open all of those small packets of Kiri. I've never seen Kiri packed in anything except those small wrapped morsels. Yesterday I tried a new tack. I went to our little Friday market and bought 4, 100 gram blocks of a very young local chevre. These worked perfectly! This was an uncooked cheesecake, lemon in this case, so I added a packet of powdered gelatin to the lemon juice and heated this until it dissolved. A cookie crust was baked, the chevre mixture went in and then it rested in the fridge for several hours. Due to my diet I used Splenda instead of real sugar. The result was great. Our guests loved it. The only thing I would change for next time is that I would add more gelatin. I thought the cheesecake was just a bit softer that I would have liked. We live & learn.

Hi all, I'll be heading for Toulouse and Bordeaux for some time off in a little while, and I thought I would go looking for some equipment for my home kitchen while I'm there. I'm mainly thinking about tins and moulds for brioche, Madeleines, cannelés etc. I could order these online (they're hard to come by in my part of the world), but shipping is usually quite significant for such orders... Besides, I'd love to browse a well stocked boulangerie/patisserie store while in France. So, to my question: Does anyone here know any markets or shops in Toulouse and/or Bordeaux (or in the vicinity) where I could obtain such moulds? I've tried my hands with Google, but since my French is still... ehm... shaky, I didn't make much progress in the search... Any pointers and advice greatly appreciated

I have been trying to find an authentic Tarte D'Alsace recipe lately, but nothing I have made has come close to the ones I enjoyed as an exchange student living in Strassbough about 15 years ago. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Dan

I have registered at the French Pastry School in Chicago for one of their continuing education courses "Pastry Camp" next week. Just wondering if anyone has taken one of their classes and what their experience was. I'm really excited about the class, but a little nervous as well since I'm a home baker with no profressional training.

I'm translating a recipe from French to English. Here are some terms for which I have no translation other than literal. If there are other meanings, I'd appreciate a translation from those in the know: 1. "Sucre glacee." (Is this frozen sugar, or a specific type of sugar?) 2. "Beurre fin." (Is this just high-quality butter?) 3. "Couverture de chocolat amer." (It does not specify a cocoa %; should I asssume that "bitter chocolate couverture" is 99/100%?) Thanks. u.e.

I found two quart jars with Confit of Toulouse sausages cover in oil that have been in the spare refrigerator. I am fixing to convert it into a curing chamber for some fermented sausages and wonder whether I should keep or toss these sausages. Paula's book says they will keep for two or three months, but I think it's been closer to six. Thumbs up....or down?

I would like to know where I can find shops selling specialties of the Basque region in Paris. Thanks a lot.

When we were in Paris in March we had dinner at Le Petit Pontoise where we had a wonderful tatin d'artichaut. It had (I think) eggplant and possibly tomatoes under the artichokes. I would like to recreate it but I am unsure how to deal with the eggplant. I was thinking maybe brushing thick slices lightly with olive oil and broiling/grilling. Any ideas? TIA

I will be in Europe with my family this summer (July 19-31) and my son and I would like to take a short (2 hours to one day) cooking class. We'll be based in Brussels but will be making day trips to Paris, etc. I have looked at Le Cordon Bleu but they only have one class during that time frame and it frankly doesn't sound that interesting. Any other suggestions?

was invited to a dinner party first time for us at a "dinner club".... we were invited late and all courses are spoken for, so I would like to bring a cocktail... something i can mix up (for the most part) ahead of time and something that will serve around 20 folks...needs to have a french origin in some way... any good variations on a french 75 you can think of? something more creative? something with a good story...? definetly want something in the "classic" side or some variiation there of... figured i could pick your brains... party is in 10 days thanks in advance shanty

I got an e-mail today talking about David's new book - it was a pretty quiet day on the internet so I read the e-mail all the way to the bottom - and saw a link for this French Tart Dough. Well I must say it intrigued me - I've been looking for a crust to use with my caramelized red onion, balsamic vinegar and bleu cheese tarts. My standard tart dough bakes up too puffy and leaves very little space in the tiny tart shells for the filling. This looked like it might make a nice thin crust and from the pictures looked like it would blind bake without the need for anything lining the shell. So I changed the recipe a little - I used half lard, half butter and cut back on the sugar to about 2 tsp. It was cool enough to work with very quickly after mixing. I took small walnut sized pieces and used my little wooden tart tamper dipped in some flour to press them into the tart molds. I pricked the bottoms with a small fork, and baked them for about 12 minutes at 350º F. For a first try, these were wonderful - nice thin pastry - no shrinkage. Perhaps a bit thick on the bottom, but I think that's just a matter of a smaller piece of dough. I made a small batch of lemon/lime curd with the one lemon and one lime I had in the fridge and served the tarts for dessert with a spoonful of curd. So next time around for savory tarts I'll cut the sugar back to 1 tsp and use a bit less dough per tart. This dough is so quick and easy - I highly recommend you give it a try. I can see it will be useful in a variety of applications - the full butter version would be great as the base of a simple fruit tart.

I'm cooking for a group of 20 soon and planning to do Coquille St. Jacques. After looking through dozens of recipes, I'm still torn between the a la Parisienne and Provencale styles. Serving with a crustless asparagus quiche and pea shoot salad. As a spring event I want the scallops to be somewhat light and fresh. Your comments and suggestions please.

So I know that mirepoix -- the mix of onion, celery and carrots typical in French cooking -- is supposed to be the backbone or starting point of stocks, broths, soups and sauces. Having learned much of my cooking from traditional texts like Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I absorbed that lesson. For years I made my stock with the trio and then used that for soups and sauces. Then I started making my stock without anything but meat and bones and decided it made for a much better result -- if I want the taste of vegetables I add them later. I gradually stopped automatically using mirepoix and found that in most cases, it made an improvement in my cooking. I was reminded of this recently when I made tomato soup using a recipe I found that called for the usual mix of onion, carrot and celery. I figured I'd give it a try again, but sure enough, it wasn't great. Not only was the tomato flavor severely muted, but since the soup was only partially blended, it also left little bits of carrot and celery in the soup, which were offputting. I'm glad I gave it a try, because now I know I was right. No more mirepoix for me (at least not automatic mirepoix). Am I the only one?

Boyfriend and I rented an apartment in Beaune for the month of April. I still can't believe it. Markets and cooking and baking and eating and speaking and eating (he doesn't drink wine!) and walking and more markets and brocantes and cooking and eating. Finding the best croissant. The best fromagerie. You get the picture. We just want to explore every day. Maybe a cooking class if there is something interesting looking. We won't have a car. May rent bikes. Lots of buses and trains. What can't we miss in Burgundy? Thanks for any and all information provided!

I'm no kind of pastry chef or even a particularly keen pastry eater. (I tend towards the savoury rather than the sweet.), but I thought this article by the BBC would be interesting to all the eG pastry chefs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24609525. Nice to see innovation.

I thought I'd learn some more precision and improve my method of cooking vegetables, so I recently got this book. The recipes aren't complicated. Following the recipes is the tricky thing; I'm a throw-in-a-bit-of-this-and-a-bit-of-that-and-see-what-happens kind of cook. I'll write what I think of the book when I've tried a few more of the recipes. For now, here's the first one I made: Pommes rôties au laurier - roast potatoes with bay The first step in this recipe is to slit the potatoes (I used Exquisas) and slip some slivers of bay inside the incisions. Then you roast them in a mixture of stock and olive oil. Here they are ready to go in the oven: The unusual thing about these roast potatoes is that they're half-way submerged in liquid at the start of cooking. The plan is for the stock to boil off and the potatoes then to roast in the oil; you don't parboil the potatoes first. It's really more of a braise. After 40mins in the heat: The potatoes are very tender after 40mins bubbling away in their bath. They taste - and you'll hardly credit it - of bay, so can make friends with any dish that likes bay. The flavour is pronounced, but perhaps not as much as you would expect with that many leaves getting involved. They are also attractive to look at. On the other hand I had to pour the stock off for the final part of cooking as it didn't evaporate as intended. I will try the recipe again with larger potatoes and a shallower dish - the size and shape of the vessel and the vegetables are left to the imagination by the recipe. That meant pouring off the oil too, which probably affected the texture at the end. There was also a bizarrely large quantity of oil specified so I only used about a fifth of it. The potatoes taste rather one-dimensional; I would perhaps prefer them with some garlic slices stuffed inside as well. We ate them with a green salad and flageolet beans, with a French Domaine Vocoret Chablis in the glass.

My husband and I are thinking of doing a Rungis market tour in Paris in October. We're not food professionals, so to my knowledge the only way to gain access is a paid tour through Visite Rungis or other more expensive private guides. It's 65 euros each, and they bus us out to the market at 5 in the morning, we tour the market and have breakfast. Seems a bit steep, especially considering we can't purchase anything - looking only. But I think it would be fascinating to see. And I hope to get an article out of it. Plus I love food photography, and since I've joined the ranks of digital-SLR toters, I think I could just go crazy taking pictures. Anyone know of a way to see the market that won't cost 130 euros? When I think of the food I could buy with that money, I begin to doubt whether we should do it. On the other hand, how often will I happen to be in Paris on the second Friday of the month when the tour is offered? And maybe they will have truffles - I've never smelled fresh truffles at 5 am.

I'll be in Paris mid-October. The same time two years ago I had my first truffle experience, in Alba. Please pardon my ignorance, but will it be possible to have something with fresh white truffles in Paris during Italian truffle season? I emailed Le Maison de la Truffes and they said they have only truffles in jars in October. Thanks for any guidance you can provide to this truffle-addict.