eG Foodblog - Dave Hatfield, La France Profonde

[rotuts]

No Cheese? FR. Cheese?

well .... your FR. buds were not there.

I think that explains it.

"There is always room for FR. Cheese with FR. bread."

Moi Ici

[Dave Hatfield]

Oh that meal looks lovely and I love the leisurely pace (3 hours!). You didn't mention seasoning on the pork - just salt? Also the skin appears to be perfectly crispy - did you crank up the heat at the end or do something to achieve that or did it just occur at the low roasting temp?

The scoring helps, but the real secret is to position the skin so its as flat as possible then turn the oven grill on for the last couple of minutes. It needs to be watched very carefully to prevent burning. Otherwise nothing but salt as seasoning.

No Cheese? FR. Cheese?

well .... your FR. buds were not there.

I think that explains it.

"There is always room for FR. Cheese with FR. bread."

Moi Ici

I guess it was the promise of tarte tatin that did it. There were five ladies & only three gentlemen to the appetites weren't too large.

Maybe I'll have cheese for breakfast just to please you. I'll have a look at what I have.

[rotuts]

Non! one must not have too much cheeeses just a taste.

with of course the Red Wine FR. and the FR. Bread,

Pleeeeeeeeee do not get me wrong.

its just the taste that finishes the meal!

[LindaK]

The meal looks lovely, and a leisurely lunch with friends is the best of all.

Are those wines local? I'd be interested in learning more about the wines of your area.

I'm with rotuts, cheese lovers around the world are living vicariously through you.

[David Ross]

Dave, given your knowledge of cheese, what would you suggest for a three-cheese sampler plate for Thanksgiving, including garnishes/accompaniments? And two more cheese questions--what type of wine do you favor for a triple-cream and what type of wine with a bleu?

[Dave Hatfield]

Non! one must not have too much cheeeses just a taste.

with of course the Red Wine FR. and the FR. Bread,

Pleeeeeeeeee do not get me wrong.

its just the taste that finishes the meal!

I wasn't getting you wrong, but its a matter of perception. They THINK having cheese will be too much when there's dessert to follow. Wouldn't have been my personal choice, I'd choose cheese every time. One, however, must honor one's guests preferences. I may be a cheesehead, but not all of my friends are.

Also, I think they get a bit blase around here as the great cheeses are always available.

To make it up I'll do a few cheese posts in the near future.

The meal looks lovely, and a leisurely lunch with friends is the best of all.

Are those wines local? I'd be interested in learning more about the wines of your area.

I'm with rotuts, cheese lovers around the world are living vicariously through you.

Thanks, I always reckon the the food is merely lubrication for good conversation. That's what happened yesterday.

The wines were local. They were from Gaillac which is about half an hour South of us. There are something like 6,000 acres of grapes around Gaillac. Its one of the oldest wine regions in France going back to at least Roman times & probably even earlier. The winery is Domaine de Chanade; its a favorite & we've been going there for the last ten years or so. They're interesting in that they sell over 85% of their wine outside of France. Mainly to the UK (Marks & Spencer, Waitrose), the states (though a distributor), Belgium & Holland. The red was a special that he does and can only be purchased at the winery. Yesterday's was a 2007 just coming into full drink-ability. The white is a light very fruity but dry. (Ideal for the soup) I've been getting a deal from Christian on it as it was mislabeled. 20€ for a case of 6 bottles. Lucky us.

See above about the cheese. Around the world? I should be so lucky, but flattery will get you cheese posts. .

Dave, given your knowledge of cheese, what would you suggest for a three-cheese sampler plate for Thanksgiving, including garnishes/accompaniments? And two more cheese questions--what type of wine do you favor for a triple-cream and what type of wine with a bleu?

David - Great question, but a hard one to answer. I'll try. I'll make two major assumptions; first that your Thanksgiving guests are not cheese addicts and secondly that you need to choose cheeses that are obtainable locally. Given those I'd try this:

#1 A Cheddar. A nice mature one with a bit of sharpness. It could be one of the better Vermont types or given where you live a Tillamook would be nice if you can find a good one.

#2 A brie. Raw milk would be nice if allowed in the states these days. The trick with brie is to let it ripen. Get it out of the cling wrap immediately and let it sit in a cool place (40-50 degrees) for a few days until the center starts to soften. You don't want it runny for guests, but definitely nice & soft. This brings out the flavor. If there's a good cheese shop in Spokane they should be able to sell you some good brie nearly ready to eat. If not buy what you can and ripen it yourself.

#3 Stilton. My favorite of all the blues. Its mild enough not to put non-cheese lovers off. Bleu de Auvergne would work as well, but may be hard to find. The other nice thing about Stilton is that you get to serve port with it. Doesn't have to be the very expensive vintage stuff any decent port will do nicely.

I'd serve either some good French bread or plain crackers with it plus some cornichons and possibly some grapes as they look nice & taste good with cheese. I'm not a great fan of fruit with cheese, but many people are. My wife loves chutney with her cheddar. The Brie & Stilton only need a vehicle (Bread) to transport the cheese to one's mouth in a reasonably graceful manner.

As to your other questions; with a triple cream I'd probably serve a sweet wine. Sauternes or the like, different, but it works. For blue it very much depends upon which one you're eating. See above for milder blues or a robust red.For really sharp blues (Roquefort for instance) nothing much works although, surprisingly, Sauternes can work. Grappa, perhaps? Champagne, of course, goes with almost all cheeses.

Hope these answers help. If not or you need more just let me know.

[rotuts]

" I think they get a bit blase around here as the great cheeses are always available. "

and with that bread, which is just as important. Of course one must wash the pair down with something ...

[suzilightning]

What fun and such wonderful pictures. I agree with you about the Patisserie - it's like the Greek diners around here. The sweets look great but never seem to measure up to the perception and tend to taste like cardboard. Give me some cheese or a lemon tart any day! The walnuts brought back a childhood memory of picking black walnut meats with my grandfather so my mom could use them in making his birthday cake - a yellow cake with black walnut frosting. He's been gone since 1974 and she has been gone since 1990 so it was a treat to remember such a happy time. thanks

[rotuts]

" the Patisserie - it's like the Greek diners around here. The sweets look great but never seem to measure up to the perception and tend to taste like cardboard. """

I can see your point. but I doubt that is the issue in FR. I can almost taste the **** spectaculare **** nature of the Patisserie.

esp. on Sunday AM.

[janeer]

the pork belly looks fab

[MaryLA]

Great-looking lunch

[nikkib]

Non! one must not have too much cheeeses just a taste.

with of course the Red Wine FR. and the FR. Bread,

Pleeeeeeeeee do not get me wrong.

its just the taste that finishes the meal!

I wasn't getting you wrong, but its a matter of perception. They THINK having cheese will be too much when there's dessert to follow. Wouldn't have been my personal choice, I'd choose cheese every time. One, however, must honor one's guests preferences. I may be a cheesehead, but not all of my friends are.

Also, I think they get a bit blase around here as the great cheeses are always available.

To make it up I'll do a few cheese posts in the near future.

The meal looks lovely, and a leisurely lunch with friends is the best of all.

Are those wines local? I'd be interested in learning more about the wines of your area.

I'm with rotuts, cheese lovers around the world are living vicariously through you.

Thanks, I always reckon the the food is merely lubrication for good conversation. That's what happened yesterday.

The wines were local. They were from Gaillac which is about half an hour South of us. There are something like 6,000 acres of grapes around Gaillac. Its one of the oldest wine regions in France going back to at least Roman times & probably even earlier. The winery is Domaine de Chanade; its a favorite & we've been going there for the last ten years or so. They're interesting in that they sell over 85% of their wine outside of France. Mainly to the UK (Marks & Spencer, Waitrose), the states (though a distributor), Belgium & Holland. The red was a special that he does and can only be purchased at the winery. Yesterday's was a 2007 just coming into full drink-ability. The white is a light very fruity but dry. (Ideal for the soup) I've been getting a deal from Christian on it as it was mislabeled. 20¤ for a case of 6 bottles. Lucky us.

See above about the cheese. Around the world? I should be so lucky, but flattery will get you cheese posts. .

Dave, given your knowledge of cheese, what would you suggest for a three-cheese sampler plate for Thanksgiving, including garnishes/accompaniments? And two more cheese questions--what type of wine do you favor for a triple-cream and what type of wine with a bleu?

David - Great question, but a hard one to answer. I'll try. I'll make two major assumptions; first that your Thanksgiving guests are not cheese addicts and secondly that you need to choose cheeses that are obtainable locally. Given those I'd try this:

#1 A Cheddar. A nice mature one with a bit of sharpness. It could be one of the better Vermont types or given where you live a Tillamook would be nice if you can find a good one.

#2 A brie. Raw milk would be nice if allowed in the states these days. The trick with brie is to let it ripen. Get it out of the cling wrap immediately and let it sit in a cool place (40-50 degrees) for a few days until the center starts to soften. You don't want it runny for guests, but definitely nice & soft. This brings out the flavor. If there's a good cheese shop in Spokane they should be able to sell you some good brie nearly ready to eat. If not buy what you can and ripen it yourself.

#3 Stilton. My favorite of all the blues. Its mild enough not to put non-cheese lovers off. Bleu de Auvergne would work as well, but may be hard to find. The other nice thing about Stilton is that you get to serve port with it. Doesn't have to be the very expensive vintage stuff any decent port will do nicely.

I'd serve either some good French bread or plain crackers with it plus some cornichons and possibly some grapes as they look nice & taste good with cheese. I'm not a great fan of fruit with cheese, but many people are. My wife loves chutney with her cheddar. The Brie & Stilton only need a vehicle (Bread) to transport the cheese to one's mouth in a reasonably graceful manner.

As to your other questions; with a triple cream I'd probably serve a sweet wine. Sauternes or the like, different, but it works. For blue it very much depends upon which one you're eating. See above for milder blues or a robust red.For really sharp blues (Roquefort for instance) nothing much works although, surprisingly, Sauternes can work. Grappa, perhaps? Champagne, of course, goes with almost all cheeses.

Hope these answers help. If not or you need more just let me know.

Whiskey works well with salty blue cheese strangely - you should give it a shot

[Dave Hatfield]

This will be my last post for this foodblog. (Naturally, I'll continue to answer any question you may have.) I was going to quit earlier, but all the cheese heads were complaining about the fact that there was no cheese included in Saturday's lunch.

So, I've scoured the fridge and done a bit of shopping just to put together a little selection to satisfy them. Nothing fancy or unusual just some that I buy on a fairly regular basis.

Here are the four cheeses I came up with on short notice.

Cantal. My go to cheese. We almost always have some around. To me its sort of the French cheddar. Can't beat it.

This is the ubiquitous soft Boursin type of cheese with garlic & herbs. Simple, cheap, but lovely.

St Andre. Think I showed some before. Very high butterfat content. Originally from Normandy. Sometimes compared to Brie.

Lastly my favorite St Felecien. As you can see this one is partly eaten. It never lasts long in our house. I've been known to feature it when occasionally do a one cheese cheese course. These can be fun if you choose an unusual cheese or a superb example of a more familiar one.

That's it for the cheese on this blog.

I'lll sign off by showing you my simple lunch for today.

Here are the ingredients for the sandwich I'm going to make.

Whole wheat bread from the local shop.

My sandwiches. A smear of Dijon mustard, Slices of garlic sausage, slices of cantal entre-deux, sliced cornichons and a dab of mayonnaise.

One of my all time favorite sandwiches. I'm being good and washing it down with a soft drink instead of wine. I've lots to do this afternoon as I'm off for a three day golf holiday tomorrow.

Finally, thanks to all of you who had a look at this. I particularly appreciate those who took the time to comment or to ask questions. Hopefully, I'll be back blogging some day in the future.

Jusqu'à la prochaine fois; a bientôt.

[rotuts]

Yum on that cheese! many thanks for theblog, all the pics etc!

[Shelby]

I enjoyed very much this sample of your life! Thank you so much!

[Anna N]

Many thanks, Dave.

[robirdstx]

Dave, thank you for sharing your week with us. I enjoyed it very much.