eG Foodblog: Abra and Chufi in SW France - Tantalizing Tales of Tripe

[SuzySushi]

Swoon!!!

[mizducky]

Wow, this is definitely one hell of a terrific cooking/blogging party. Not only because of the glorious food, but your collective vibe.

I do happen to be a major fan of tripe as well as pigs' feet, so I am totally loving the look of your tripe/trotters dish. And the chicken looks fabulous too. I understand there's also a Korean dish involving a stewed stuffed chicken--it's called samgyetang, and I learned of its existence from, of all things, an episode of the old Japanese Iron Chef (Chef Sakai cooked it, if memory serves me right ) Despite knowing this interesting bit of trivia, I have not had an opportunity to try this dish, or any stewed stuffed chicken dish from any other country. But as a dedicated fan of stuffing cooked in the bird (as opposed to in a casserole on the side), my interest is definitely piqued. Let alone the whole concept of cooking cabbage with poultry.

A random observation--romanesco broccoli is so darned cool looking. It's the fractal vegetable!

[spaghetttti]

Tears of joy are running down my cheeks! Three of my favorite eGulleteers in one place at the same time, how awesome is that?!!!

Love everything so far, the tripe and cheese look amazing!

Hope I can keep up with you all and this exquisite foodblog!

With you in spirit.

Much love,

yetty

Edited December 12, 2007 by spaghetttti (log)

[markemorse]

Yeah. Guess I should've found a way to clear my schedule for last night, huh...if for no other reason than to land another vote on the side of the tripe eaters. And exactly why is there no emoticon for envy here?

Edited December 12, 2007 by markemorse (log)

[Abra]

It's morning in France. The sun is shining, there's a light breeze, and it's cool and fresh. There's less that one load of dirty dishes left on the counter from last night, the fridge is stuffed with lefftovers, and yes, the local producers market is this morning and we'll be going. Right after coffee. Lots of coffee.

[Chufi]

ET ask:  Whose hands on the shears?

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That was Abra.

I'll leave you with this picture, taken just an hour ago on our after lunch walk through town:

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I was so taken with this I had it in my mind's eye all day, which is saying alot considering all the magnificent food photos posted. Is the sky so blue, or is that glass, or an illusion?

Also regarding the pig trotter/tripe/ham dish and the poule au pot, I think even if I did not care for the tripe I would be in heaven sipping both broths. I can almost feel that gelatin on my lips.

Thank you!

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heidih, the sky was blue. It's been sunny days and blue skies here all week! And yes, the broths of both dishes were fantastic. Sticky lips-fantastic!

Tears of joy are running down my cheeks! Three of my favorite eGulleteers in one place at the same time, how awesome is that?!!! 

Love everything so far, the tripe and cheese look amazing!

Hope I can keep up with you all and this exquisite foodblog!

With you in spirit.

Much love,

yetty

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Yetty, it's so wonderfull to see you here. You and everybody else who has been reading along and posting: thank you. Anyone who has ever done a blog knows this: the blog exists for the pleasure of its writer, but it would be pretty pointless if noone was reading it. The responses are so nice to wake up to and make me feel a bit sentimental, especially in the slightly hung-over, not quite enough sleep-state I'm in right now ... I love this place and the things it has taught me and the people it has brought me. So, thank you!

[Chufi]

We're almost ready to drop Lucy off at the trainstation, but before that we'll visit the local market so maybe there will be some French market pics to look forward to!

[bleudauvergne]

After having slept like a baby I awakened to hot steaming coffee and breakfast. My order was taken and within minutes, a croissant fresh from the bakery was in front of me on the table. The sunlight in the morning is really beautiful here.

In fact, it was the first thing I noticed coming from the train, in just one hour the sunlight transforms into kind of a liquid that bathes everything. I should not have scheduled such a short visit but I have to get back to work on Lyon. We'll make time to do this again, I hope.

Dinner was such a celebration of friendship, in the kitchen with Klary and Abra, I felt right at home. Abra is quite a hostess. Thank you both for thinking of me and inviting me to come. And bringing me into the fold the way you did.

Edited December 12, 2007 by bleudauvergne (log)

[Pan]

Although I'm officially sleeping, actually the excitement of having Chufi here and a fridge full of animal parts is keeping me awake.  But not awake enough to retell the whole story of how I came to be in France, alas.  Despair not, however, those of you who want to chase that rainbow can read all about it here.

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Nice blog you linked to, Abra! But I'm going to leave it aside, or I'll never catch up with this one! Have fun, you two!

[Pan]

[...]The chicken was much more challenging.  She lost her life on Friday, and has been aging gracefully in the fridge ever since.  Maybe a little too gracefully for comfort.

She's a real beauty, and destined for Poule au Pot, another delicious-looking recipe from CSWF.[...]

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That chicken has a big crown and wattles. Looks like a rooster to me.

[Pan]

I'm enjoying the posts very much; keep 'em coming! What's next on the agenda?

[Vinotas]

As someone who loves offal, cheese and wine, I've been sitting here in NYC just dying of envy. You know it's bad when the first thing you do upon waking up, even before checking emails, is to check this thread and see how things went.

What a real pleasure, thank you for sharing this experience.

Cheers!

[therese]

Tripe's a very traditional hangover food. Sounds like Abra was thinking ahead.

[Busboy]

Tripe's a very traditional hangover food. Sounds like Abra was thinking ahead. 

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Sadly, that's just a myth (I'd say "old wives tale," but I'm afraid to ). Trust me on this.

[Swisskaese]

Tripe's a very traditional hangover food. Sounds like Abra was thinking ahead. 

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Sadly, that's just a myth (I'd say "old wives tale," but I'm afraid to ). Trust me on this.

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The Turks swear by it and they also say that tripe soup, at least their version of it, is an aphrodisiac.

[hjshorter]

This is thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks so much for sharing your week with us.

The picture of epoisses made me want to cry. More than anything else I miss the cheese we ate in France.

[Abra]

We're finally home after a long day on the road. Chufi has the pictures so I'll let her tell the story of Our Third T. Truffles, that is. Lots of truffles.

[Anna N]

I am so happy to see you both blogging and to have a cameo appearance by Lucy! I hope Paula checks in soon just to see what you are up to!

[Pontormo]

Salut, mesdames!

This is truly a wonderful undertaking; I only regret that Lucy had to return to Lyon so quickly. Her photograph of the candied citrus peel (?) stacked in neatly tied bundles is one the most beautiful contributions thus far. My other favorites have already been singled out: the blue, weathered shutters and warm, ripe cheese.

Thank you so much for sharing this week with us. I look forward to more.

Abra, the photographs of the enormous supermarket (!!!!), un-decapitated bird, not yet footloose, and the meal you three share inspire a question.

Granted, you are gifted cooks who are dedicating a week to an exceptional enthusiasm for food that connects us all. Nonetheless, I wonder if you've gotten to know any of your neighbors. Just how much of a role does "traditional", local "regional" cooking play in day-to-day life in the place you've chosen to spend this year? Is anyone else preparing poule au pot?

[Chufi]

Well, unfortunately there was no trip to the market. After showers and numerous cups of cofee, and talking some more around the dining room table, it was time to go to the trainstation. We dropped Lucy off (and I hope she caught her train because it was close! and then Abra and her husband took me for a surprise lunch at a favorite restaurant of theirs in Avignon: A 2 pas du Potager (2 steps from the vegetable garden).

Abra wrote a lovely post about this place on her own blog here.

There were truffles on the menu and so all three of us had the same starter and main course, blanketed with truffle But fortunately there were sweetbreads to keep the offal theme of this blog going (I think I'm almost getting used to my daily dose of offal )

Yes, there was lots of wine yesterday, but lunch at a place like this really isn't complete without wine, so we each had just one glass of Château Pas du Cerf Cuvée Marlise.

We then started with an amuse of cauliflower puree, flavored with truffle:

After that truffle risotto:

Unbelievably rich and creamy and comforting and soothing and delicious. Oh, you wanna close-up?

Now this alone would have made me very happy but there was more..

Sweetbreads braised with thyme and garlic, topped with a scallop and truffles. This was served with the most fantastic mashed potatoes. Although Chef Mariani who came to the table and explained each and every dish to us, said that the purée was mashed with a fork. It consisted of potatoes, olive oil, and fresh cèpes which had been cooked in cream and then pureed. Again, just a plate of that alone would have been wonderfull! But the combination with the sweetbreads (which were cooked to perfection, and I have to say that sweetbreads are not my favorite meat) and scallops was just wonderful.

And there was more...first we were treated to a little pre-dessert, which was so good I ate it all before I remembered to take a picture: a creamy chestnut purée topped with crunchy chocolate:

Abra had a clafoutis made with apples, no flour (just almond powder) and flambéed with Calvados, her husband had a tarte fine aux pommes served with a green apple sorbet which was topped with a mandarin spuma, and I had 3 macarons (pistachio, moka and vanilla) served with a salt caramel icecream and a poppyflower-apricot-Perrier cocktail:

Abra here: As always, A 2 Pas is a pleasure and a treat. If you're ever in Avignon, be sure to go there. We were so stuffed after all the dining we've been doing that we took an evening walk to see the holiday lights

then came home to raid the fridge. Not that we're hungry or anything, it's just that the fridge is full of such great food and wine and, well, someone has to eat and drink them!

[Smithy]

The light glows in your photos and words. Thank you all for this luminous blog.

Thanks also for the early morning catnap photo of Beppo. Is there anything more peaceful and charming than a sleeping cat? That is the quintessence of relaxation and security.

If I were to look at a map to see your location, where would I look? "The South of France" is pretty broad. I'd love to see, in my mind's eye, myself driving (or training) out through that lovely countryside.

Oh, and just to get back to food for a moment - yes, I've been drooling - what does epoisses taste like? That oozy glorious-looking photo makes me want to try the cheese, but I confess not to being fond of stinky cheese.

[Chufi]

The light glows in your photos and words.  Thank you all for this luminous blog.

Thanks also for the early morning catnap photo of Beppo.  Is there anything more peaceful and charming than a sleeping cat?  That is the quintessence of relaxation and security.

If I were to look at a map to see your location, where would I look?  "The South of France" is pretty broad.  I'd love to see, in my mind's eye, myself driving (or training) out through that lovely countryside.

Oh, and just to get back to food for a moment - yes, I've been drooling - what does epoisses taste like?  That oozy glorious-looking photo makes me want to try the cheese, but I confess not to being fond of stinky cheese.

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Hi Nancy! I'll let Abra get back to you on where she is, exactly. About epoisses: it's actually not that stinky. It's one of those cheeses that smells much stronger than it tastes. I would describe the taste as nutty, complex, with a little tang. And ofcrouse the texture is just gorgeous!

[docsconz]

This blog is certainly a three-pronged treat, but I must especially comment on the photos - they are superb! Thanks for sharing.

[MelissaH]

I'm practically crying reading this blog, both from the beauty of it and the fact that I can almost taste everything but I'm here, not there!

MelissaH

[bleudauvergne]

Well, the train pulled away as I ran to the platform, but there was another one a 1/2 hour later, which gave me time to buy 2 Christmas presents. You know, they are so good about people who miss trains. I was doing my best to put up a good harrowed missed my train act, feigning being destraught and apologetic, and the lady just handed me another ticket with a kind of "now now there dear" pucker and got back to her knitting. Seats galore in the next train which didn't make the stop in Valence, so it was almost as if I hadn't missed the train at all. Wow that lunch looks like it was just what the doctor ordered.

Edited December 12, 2007 by bleudauvergne (log)