Five (French) Things to Eat Before You Die

It took about nine months, and it's not a baby. I have finally been tagged for a meme -- by Estelle from My French Cuisine. We share the same blogging subject and Blogger template, so I am happy to respond to her request.

I had already decided to limit my list to French food when I took a look at Estelle's post on the subject and saw she had taken the same tack. So I forced myself not to look at her list lest I be influenced. I wonder if we'll have any dishes in common?

So here we go, from the simplest to the most complex:



1. French sheep's milk cheese other than Roquefort: Not that I don't like Roquefort, but I think a lot of food lovers are familiar with it. But make sure to try, someday, a Pérail or a Brebis des Pyrénées. You won't forget them. Goat's cheese is great, but sheep's milk cheese is chic.

2. Potimarron soup: This is one of the simple dishes that I love in French cooking. What is a potimarron? It's a small squash, that looks a bit like a pumpkin but tastes like a cross between pumpkin and chestnut -- chestnut being "marron" in French. Cucina Testa Rosa has a nice post and photo on the topic if you want to know more. A blended soup with potimarron, onions, carrots, leeks and a bit of crème fraîche makes the darkest winter evening heavenly.

3. Aligot: This is a local specialty of Aveyron and the Southern Auvergne . It is a filling dish made of melted Tomme cheese blended into mashed potatoes, sometimes with garlic and crème fraîche. It's very tiring to cook, so I usually buy the locally-made prepared version. But if you're really eating this cheesy specialty "once before you die", try it in an Aveyronnais restaurant such as the Hôtel Aubrac in Laguiole on the Aubrac Plateau.

4. Real Swiss Raclette: I'm straying from France here, but just a little. Many winter meals in France revolve around raclette , but raclette is actually a Swiss tradition and there, the raclette cheese is often cooked over an open fire. I was lucky enough to taste this type of raclette once in Switzerland, and the tabletop version pales in comparison.

5. The "Gargouillou de jeunes légumes" at the Michel Bras restaurant: Michel Bras is one of France's chefs with three Michelin stars -- le top du top. I've eaten four times at his restaurant in nearby Laguiole (see above) and have tasted one of his signature dishes, the Gargouillou de jeunes légumes -- a fabulous vegetable sauté. To give you an idea, my Bras cookbook, "Le Livre de Michel Bras" -- currently out of print -- devotes 18 pages to this recipe.

So thanks to Estelle for giving me this most interesting topic to write about. It was great timing as I didn't have much culinary subject matter for this week, having spent my time going back to work, getting my kids back to school, and shopping for school supplies!