Paris Resto and Culinary

La Fête du Fromage - Brebis Férmier

Don't get me wrong, I adore salt. (especially Brittany butter packed with crunchy salt crystals)
And I think that a good sprinkling of salt enhances the flavor of most cheese.

But the excessive saltiness of this Brebis Férmier that I bought from my favorite cheese guy at the Olonzac market the other day was a bit over the top.

So much so that I found it almost inedible. Almost.
Because I loved everything else about it.

Brebis Férmier is an unpretentious, unpasteurized ewe's milk cheese that is produced in the Aveyron. It has a supple, dense, chewy texture and other than the heavy salt, I loved its subtle nutty and mushroom flavors.
And the eau de barnyard parfum makes it impossible to forget that this cheese comes straight from the farm.

A hearty red such as Marcillac or Gaillac would be a good wine pairing.

Lurking on my bookshelves: La Bonne Cuisine Pour Tous

Rather than buying more cookbooks, I have thought about (not necessarily decided, that might be going a bit too far) taking the time to get to know the books that are already occupying our bookshelves. Over the recent long weekends, I started out this vaguest of resolutions by perusing the above volume, which was part of my husband's meager prenuptial cookbook collection.

Unlike Les Recettes Faciles de François Bernard, which has taught me much of what I know about basic French cooking, La Bonne Cuisine Pour Tous had lurked on my bookshelf for years without ever being used, getting no more than a quick glance once or twice.

I expected to find a lot of information on Internet about this book, as it seems to be a definitive opus about French cooking of days gone by. But just about all I discovered in my Internet search were links to vendors selling used copies of the book, which is apparently out of print.

I did learn that my version, a reprint from 1979, is a virtually exact copy of the original work which appeared in 1908.

So, exactly 100 years after its original publication, I have finally plunged into this fascinating volume -- and it gives a clear picture of how sharply different French cooking was a century ago.

I read the entire chapter on soups and was amazed by some of the cooking times: two hours for a basic potato and leek soup, for example. Other than that, the recipe was about the same as the potato and leek soup I make.

Other soups, though, definitely didn't tickle my modern appetite. How about a potage fécule au lait tonight? Ingredients: milk and potato starch.

The 496-page cookbook includes advice about "what is eaten" every month. So what should be on the menu for May?

Have things changed that much? The above are lunch menus, and there are some intriguing combinations:

Menu two: A real protein festival: plaice, tripes and Bayonne ham? Plus a few eggs in the salad for good measure!

Menu three: Mutton brains with black butter AND cold veal? I'm not sure I'd eat mutton brains any month of the year, even if somehow May is the perfect time to enjoy them...

But I can see plenty of dishes we do eat: macaroni, cold asparagus, cucumber salad...

The book offers up four pages of menu suggestions per month, and dessert is usually just called "dessert."

What's interesting is that even when a specific dessert is suggested, it was apparently de bon ton to add the omnipresent dessert nonetheless:

"Crème au café; dessert"

"Crème glacée; dessert"

I could go on, but I think I'll go whip up a kidney omelette. It's that time of year...

Photo du Jour

This is my favorite kind of gardening!

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

I don't need to tell you what season it is. Starting off with something like "It's Autumn!" is a little insultingly obvious. But, see, the thing is, it is autumn. We're eating totally different things than we were this time, even last month (when I'm not just feeding myself yogurt and cereal. It happens.). My diet at least is overwhelmingly orange. Persimmons, squash, sweet potatoes, all orange. It's like consuming a little of that near-electric autumn light. You know, the kind that nearly shimmers.

But anyway. My mission right now is to cook, when I cook, in large enough batches to sustain myself over several lunches brought to school, and even a few dinners. This recipe not only fit that qualification, but made several fellow orals-studiers a little jealous (I could just tell, okay?). And the best part about this, is that it gets better over the course of a few days. Served with a big helping of quinoa (or couscous if you prefer) it will keep you going for hours. Also, and you would never believe it if I told you after you'd had a bit, this recipe is made with zero oil. Zero butter. Zero, zero, zero. The veggies are sweated in vegetable broth, then flavor is built in layers around eastern spices and the character of the vegetables themselves.

Did I mention that it's utterly delicious? It is. Promise.

UPDATE: I just wanted to reiterate that this is best served over some kind of grain like quinoa or over couscous. Not only will that stretch the amount of food you get, but this isn't particularly soupy, with just enough broth to give your grain base some flavor.

Saffron-Spiked Moroccan Stew

From Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table

1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoon vegetable stock, divided (you can use water, and more stock if you want a soupier stew)

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 large red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne

1 teaspoon grated or minded fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2" cubes

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes (don't drain them)

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 3 tablespoons of the stock in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers and garlic and sweat the vegetables until the onions are translucent. This should take between 5-7 minutes. You can add more liquid if it starts to evaporate too much.

Add the brown sugar, coriander, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, ginger and saffron, and stir to coat well. Cook for 1 minute, then add the sweet potatoes and continue stirring. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, the remaining stock and the chickpeas. Make sure the potatoes are submerged in the liquid so they'll cook. I found that this amount of liquid didn't quite cover everything, but I also didn't want my stew to be overly runny so it would be more transportable.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the sweet potatoes are cooked, but not overly. This will take about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste, and serve over quinoa or couscous.

Restaurant Pet Peeves

A great meal at a restaurant is pure joy. It is an orchestrated performance. I am amazed at the amount of hard work and attention to detail involved to ensure that a dining experience goes smoothly.

In reviewing restaurants I try to cut some slack because I know it's very hard to control every detail. Sometimes when things go wrong, it's not even the restaurant's fault. It just takes so little to throw the whole thing off. That said I do have a list of pet peeves when it comes to restaurant dining. These are some irritating trends and practices that restaurants actually can have some control over.

Here are my restaurant pet peeves:

Ok, that's my list! Have I missed anything? Am I out of line on any of these? If so, let me know. For a list of what a certain waiter hates about diners, check out this post at Waiter Rant. Next week I promise a list of things that I truly appreciate.

Tangy Lemon Crème Fraîche Cake

Gather ye lemons while ye may....

Sunshine on a plate. That's what I like to call this zesty lemon cake.

Its flavor sparkles! It is zingy and tangy and creamy all at the same time. The "pucker factor" is what I look for in a lemon dessert and this recipe does not disappoint.

I added some sliced strawberries, fresh from the market, and some chantilly for mon mari.

Lemon Crème Fraîche Cake
serves 8

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 ½ ounces) butter
¾ cup superfine sugar (I have made it with regular granulated sugar and that was fine too)
1 ½ tablespoons lemon zest
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups self-raising flour (cake flour)
½ cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Place the butter, sugar and lemon zest in the bowl of an electric mixer (or use a hand mixer) and beat until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs and beat well to incorporate, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times.
Mix in the flour, crème fraîche and lemon juice on low speed.
Immediately pour mixture in a greased, 8 inch square cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Serve warm with more crème fraîche or chantilly. And strawberries, if you like.

Dinner at l'Epicerie, in Amboise (Loire)

Living in the city is great but we lack fresh air! So the Loire Valley tour was the perfect occasion for an outside picnic. We stopped at a local market, bought a baguette, some "charcuterie" (cold cuts), some cheese, a bottle of Badoit (mineral water), and searched for the right spot. When we saw this windmill, we knew we had found it!
I thank the reader who pointed out that the area of Beauce, where this picture was taken, is a windy area which explains why there are quite a number of windmills. This is Le moulin-pivot de Oucques-la-Joyeuse and was built in the 17 C (though it was seriously damaged and and refixed). For more about the windmills in this area check ou lovely pictures here

The day before we had had dinner at L'Epicerie, 46, Place M.Debré, Amboise. Reservations are recommended, so if you're in the area, make sure you call: 02 47 57 08 94. Every time we take friends to the Loire, we make sure we have dinner here. It's an excellent quality:price ratio.

I had the 26 Euros menu and started with a light quiche served with a fresh salad and some vegetables.

My entree was "quenelles de brochet", a cylinder shaped mixture of creamed fish combined with flour and a light egg binding. They are poached and then baked with a light sauce. They were served with a garnish of mushrooms.

Then came an abundant cheese platter, with many local cheeses but also with some "classics" such as brie or blue cheese (here, fourme d'Ambert). Cheeses are served with raisins macerated in Calvados, a real treat.

I had not had "riz au lait" (or rice pudding) in a long time, and I was not disappointed by what I was served!

I ordered a red Touraine which was enjoyed equally by the three of us!

Bon appetit!

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