Now, I know Napoleon said: 'Impossible n'est pas Français' - 'The impossible is not French' but staying trim and slim during this period of the year here in France is really impossible!
This past week we had the most divine 'Foie Gras' tasting at our local Café - Chez Minou et Kiki. Every year for Christmas, Pascal, the owner of the Café, prepares Foie Gras in various forms and normally invites us for a tasting a little bit beforehand!
Where to start? There were Just normal Foie Gras, Foie gras wrapped in a teatowl (torchon style) and cooked in a chicken stock, Foie Gras cooked in Red wine served with red wine jelly, Foie gras with truffles and my very favourite of the evening, a 'Terrine de Ris de Veau' - Sweetbread Terrine (Sweetbreads are the thymus (throat sweetbread) and the pancreas (heart or stomach sweetbread), especially of the calf and lamb (although beef and pork sweetbreads are also eaten). He served this with a mixture of Pistachios, hazelnuts and almond slivers slightly toasted in the oven and crushed together. Totally yummy!
I know that some of you might not like the idea of 'Foie Gras' - Fat liver - and the birds being force ged, but I can assure you that it is actually a natural phenomenon. In the wilds, migratory birds overeat before their annual migrations.
Panfried foie gras I sligtly dusted with allspice served with sweetpotatoes and simmered orange peel
A bit of history : (source - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foie_gras)It was the Egyptians who discovered foie gras around 2500 BC. Hunters along the Nile noticed that the liver of the geese were bigger, paler and much tastier during the migration period than the rest of the year. They came to understand that this enlarged liver was the result of the geese overfeeding themselves before their migration. Migratory birds have the genetic capacity to stock surplus food in their liver, which then acts as an energy tank on which the bird can draw during its long and tiring journey.
The Egyptians particularly appreciated the taste of the foie gras, but since it could only be obtained during very short period of the year, they decided to reproduce that natural phenomenon themselves all year round. They started to feed geese with figs in order to get a tasty foie gras. Later on, the geese were replaced with ducks and the figs with corn.
The Jews were the first to develop the art of feeding. In fact, in Central Europe between the 13th and 18th century, they were known for their foie gras of high quality and impressive size. But it was the French who contributed to the popularity of foie gras by improving the feeding technique. It was also the French who developed the various methods for cooking foie gras that are known today. Foie gras torchon style, foie gras in a bloc and foie gras mousse are recipes that were developed by great French chefs. Over the years, the French developed a passion for foie gras that they spread worldwide.
(One of the reasons why I've chosen to live in France!)
The next tasting happened last Thursday night when we went off to our favourite restaurant in the area : AUBERGE DU PONT (http://auberge-du-pont-billy.com/)
Stéphane Roesch, Chef of 'L'Auberge duPont'
Stéphane organised, with Agnes who owns a delicious Wine boutique in Vichy, La Cave d'Agnes, a tasting of one of the best Rhone Valley producers! (Who they happened to lodge here with us at Aux Jardins des Thevenets!)
Stéphane Roesch, Chef of 'L'Auberge duPont' http://www.domaine-gerin.fr/eng/indexeng.htm
Jean-Michel Gerin and his wife are plain, down to earth people absolutely loving what they're doing! They love the soil, the vines, wine, life! as we say in France - des bons vivants! And Jean-Michel can talk about wine like rarely I've heard people talk about wine! PASSIONATE!
So our evening started off with a perfectly boiled egg still in it's shell with a touch of foie gras inside - just to open the palate! Called 'Oeuf Toqué' which also means mad egg in slang!
Pierre, the delightful sommelier of L'Auberge, served us our first wine - Condrieu - a fantastic white wine made with 100% viognier grapes! This went perfectly with the pan seized scallops served with a pumpkin purée and a classical 'beurre blanc' that was served as the starter.
The main course accompanied by a delectable Saint Joseph (100% Syrah grapes) was roasted pigeon with mashed potatoes, a crusty triangle filled with more pigeon, mushrooms and crushed 'dragées' - sugar coated almonds - lending a divine sweetness to the 'ensemble'. A reduction of pigeon stock with soja sauce was the final touch!
The wait certainly was worth it as we were then served with the first 'Côte Rôtie' 2006 - Champin le Seigneur (90% Syrah and 10% Viognier) matching perfectly our very local cheese called 'La comtesse de Vichy' served on toast!
The top of the top was a 'Marquise au chocolat' served with a thick syrupy redwine!! YES!
The Côte Rôtie 2006 - Les Grandes Places (100% syrah) was just out of this world with the chocolate.
Now you know why it's so difficult to get these hips down to a decent size!!
And all of you out there - would've been nice to share this with you in real life!
Life is about sharing!
Bisous
Lynn
Jean-Michel Gerin and his wife are plain, down to earth people absolutely loving what they're doing! They love the soil, the vines, wine, life! as we say in France - des bons vivants! And Jean-Michel can talk about wine like rarely I've heard people talk about wine! PASSIONATE!
So our evening started off with a perfectly boiled egg still in it's shell with a touch of foie gras inside - just to open the palate! Called 'Oeuf Toqué' which also means mad egg in slang!Pierre, the delightful sommelier of L'Auberge, served us our first wine - Condrieu - a fantastic white wine made with 100% viognier grapes! This went perfectly with the pan seized scallops served with a pumpkin purée and a classical 'beurre blanc' that was served as the starter.
The main course accompanied by a delectable Saint Joseph (100% Syrah grapes) was roasted pigeon with mashed potatoes, a crusty triangle filled with more pigeon, mushrooms and crushed 'dragées' - sugar coated almonds - lending a divine sweetness to the 'ensemble'. A reduction of pigeon stock with soja sauce was the final touch!
The top of the top was a 'Marquise au chocolat' served with a thick syrupy redwine!! YES!
The Côte Rôtie 2006 - Les Grandes Places (100% syrah) was just out of this world with the chocolate.Now you know why it's so difficult to get these hips down to a decent size!!
And all of you out there - would've been nice to share this with you in real life!
Life is about sharing!
Bisous
Lynn
2 comments:
I love this time of year, don't you? Here we have a lot of gibier in the fall and winter, along wigth foie gras, of course, and mushrooms. I'm not much of a foie gras fan, but I was very glad when I learned that geese make it naturally in the fall. It was the demand for it all year round that led to the birds being force fed.
In any case, your series of tastings sounds like just the thing for these short cold days!
I can't stand it any longer! I must come, don't you need a chamber maid? I'll work for lodging and food! xoxo Pam
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