'Le Fooding' and Omnivore - France Drops by New York City This Fall

Posted Aug 17th 2009 4:00PM by Alex Van Buren
Filed under: Food News

Photo: Le Fooding

Summer's salad days -- which some calorie-counting, bikini-wearing types take literally -- are coming to a close, as beach bags are upended and emptied of sand across the country.

September always has us craving heartier fare: cheese, bread, red wine, prosciutto, frites. We start clicking on plane fares to Europe, only to shudder at the prices.

Thank goodness, then, that Paris is doing us a favor and hopping stateside this September in the form of several events. Francophiles in New York City and beyond might be intrigued by 'Le Fooding,' a two-day urban picnic held at P.S.1, one of the city's fairer museums, on September 25th and 26th.

A dozen well-known Parisian and New York chefs will be joined by mixologists, DJs and performance artists in a two-day extravaganza. We wouldn't have given it much pause if we didn't see the famous Bo Ssam from Gotham's Momofuku on offer alongside grilled chicken necks drizzled with yuzu by WD-50's Wylie Dusfresne and several tempting items from a variety of well-known Parisian eateries. Tickets are $30 per day, and we're liking the Friday night lineup.

Continue reading 'Le Fooding' and Omnivore - France Drops by New York City This Fall

Brioche Burger Buns for Bastille Day - Feast Your Eyes

Posted Jul 14th 2009 10:00AM by Emily Farris
Filed under: Baking, France, Holidays, Feast Your Eyes, Bread

Brioche burger buns. Photo: Smitten Kitchen.

Marie Antoinette may not have been the one to say "Let them eat cake!" -- we'll never know for sure -- but one thing is certain: whoever said it first wasn't talking about the sugary stuff, but about bread. The phrase is translated from the French qu'ils mangent de la brioche. If said brioche is baked to a perfect golden brown and topped with sesame seeds, we say, "Oui!"

Just in time for Bastille Day, here is an ideal-looking hamburger bun from across the pond. The American treat was given a French twist by Deb at the Smitten Kitchen, who consulted nearly 100 recipes in search of the ultimate bun. In the end, she went with a technique that ran in the New York Times; the buns turned out "plush and mildly sweet and slightly buttery."

Suffice it to say we're feeling fully fired up for Bastille Day. Bon appetit!

[Via Smitten Kitchen]

Bastille Day Storms New York City

Posted Jul 13th 2009 4:00PM by Alex Van Buren
Filed under: America, France, Food News

Classic French drinks at Brooklyn's Bastille Day. Photo: Alex Van Buren

Bastille Day is tomorrow, but in New York City the party started as it so often does -- early. From an uptown street fair in Manhattan featuring the decadent pastries of Francois Payard to a boozy, New Orleans-like outdoor fete on Smith Street (often called Brooklyn's Restaurant Row), the city was awash in stripes of red, white and blue.

Those wondering how to pay homage to that long-ago storming of the Bastille prison via gastronomical decisions tomorrow, not to worry: We've got a classic Provençal recipe and a few Francophilic cocktail ideas coming your way tomorrow.

Meantime, after the jump, a recap of the Brooklyn event (more pictures here) from moules frites to the peculiar triumph of anise-tinged Ricard.

Continue reading Bastille Day Storms New York City

Sid Wainer & Son Chili Oil - Product Spotlight

Posted Apr 23rd 2009 5:00PM by Alex Van Buren
Filed under: Baking, Frying, Raves & Reviews, Grilling, Spices, Artisan Foods, Dining at Our Desks

Some cooks reach for Sriracha, the ubiquitous Thai hot sauce, in a pinch. Others swear by soy sauce. And then there are those who refuse to reveal (*cough, cough* butter) what made the dish you just demolished delicious. For our part, we've developed a tiny -- OK, midsized -- crush on an infused chili oil, and we need to talk about it.

Sid Wainer & Son's Domaine de Provence pepper-spiked oil is fantastic. A drizzle of the fiery goodness rescues storebought and homemade guacamole alike with a heady, late-blooming heat on the palate. According to owner Henry Wainer, it's also tasty on bruschetta. We plan to carry it on our person all summer -- potentially awkward in the 90-degree swelter -- using guerilla tactics to douse any crustaceans and pork we spy sizzling on the grills of party hosts. (Brooklyn, consider yourself warned.)

Wainer has been equally passionate about the oil since meeting its producer at a dinner in France 18 years ago. Such culinary serendipity, he declares, "enriches the world." Can't argue with that.

Comté Marcel Petite - Cheese Course

Posted Feb 24th 2009 12:00PM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Cheese, France, Artisan Foods, Cheese Course

Comté is one of the most popular cheeses in France. And, there are many different kinds ranging from the industrial to the artisanal. Comté Marcel Petite is produced by some of the best affineurs in France. They have been perfecting the art of aging Comté since 1840. In 1934, Marcel Petite took over the operation and passed down his trade to his son François.

Comté is produced in the gorgeously lush green Jura region of France. In the '60s, Marcel Petite took over a 19th-century fortress - Fort Saint-Antoine - where he started to age wheels of his Comté. Marcel Petite revolutionized the aging process of this cheese by aging them for longer periods of time at lower temperatures.

At Fort Saint-Antoine, Claude, the head cheesemonger, leads a staff of five tasters, who spend each day sampling about 300 wheels of cheese to best determine how to proceed with each individual wheel. After tasting, they decide how much longer they're going to age each of these wheels. It's this process with painstaking attention to detail that makes Comté Marcel Petite some of the best in the world. For the largest selection sold in the U.S., head directly to Formaggio Kitchen.

Continue reading Comté Marcel Petite - Cheese Course

American Team Comes in 6th at Bocuse d'Or

Posted Jan 28th 2009 4:30PM by Emily Matchar
Filed under: France, Celebrities, Food News

I wrote yesterday about the high hopes for the American team at the Bocuse d'Or cooking competition in Lyon. Well, unfortunately the team, led by 28-year-old French Laundry sous-chef Timothy Hollingsworth, did not perform as well as expected, taking 6th place in the two-day competition. The Norwegian team took gold, the Swedes silver, and the French bronze.

The winning chef, 28-year-old Geir Skeie, will take home a golden statuete of Paul Bocuse in his chef's outfit along with 20,000 euros, or about $26,000.

For what it's worth, Hollingsworth menus look pretty darn good. Take a look:

Cod Menu:

Olive oil-poached loin of Norwegian cod enveloped in scallop mousse, preserved Meyer lemon and Sicilian pistachios with citrus mousseline and shrimp nage

Wild prawn and haas avocado tart

Fennel compote, chili peppers and yuzu gelee

Agrumato custard with shellfish bouillon

Toasted brioche, scallop tartare, Ruby Red grapefruit and candied orange zest

Yukon gold potato and bacon mille-feuille

Creme fraiche-enriched King Richard leeks, Hobbs bacon chip and Sacramento Delta Osetra caviar

Beef Menu:

Roasted Aberdeen Angus Beef Rib-Eye wrapped in Applewood smoked bacon with prune-enriched oxtail jus

Rosette of Scottish beef fillet

Perigord truffles, celeriac and oxtail-endive marmalade

Glazed beef cheeks a l'etouffee

French Laundry garden turnips and sweet carrots

Calotte bresaola fume a la minute

Granny Smith apples, Savoy cabbage and horseradish mousse

Truffled pommes dauphinoise

California chestnuts, pickled red onion and celery branch salad

Can the Americans Beat the French in the Bocuse d'Or?

Posted Jan 27th 2009 5:01PM by Emily Matchar
Filed under: France, Celebrities

Excitement is building over the performance of the American team at the biannual Bocuse d'Or cooking competition in Lyon, France, sometimes called the Olympics of Cooking. French teams have won six out of the past 11 contests, Norwegian teams three, and Swedish and Luxembourgian teams one each. The Americans have never won.

In the contest, chefs from 24 different countries race to prepare 12 portions of an elaborate meat and a fish dish in five and a half hours, each team working in tiny cubicles before a live, flag-waving audience. Each chef gets one apprentice, who must be 22 or younger. The winner is determined by the quality and presentation of the food.

This year's American team is led by Timothy Hollingsworth, the 28-year-old sous-chef at the French Laundry. He's been training up to 50 hours a week in a replica kitchen, with his own personal coach.

The venerable French chef Paul Bocuse, for whom the contest is named, says he hopes the American team will win this year. "We'd really like this competition to cross the Atlantic," he said.

Check out their progress at the official Bocuse d'Or website.

Drink Beaujolais Today, but Skip the Nouveau

Posted Nov 20th 2008 2:03PM by Gretchen Roberts
Filed under: Wine, Trends, Stores & Shopping, New Products, Europe, France, Thanksgiving, Fall

On the third Thursday in November, wine retailers around the world proclaim it from their rooftops: Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!

Beaujolais Nouveau is a super-young version of regular Beaujolais, made from the Gamay grape in the Beaujolais region in southern Burgundy, France. It's harvested, made, bottled, and shipped as early as 7 weeks after fermentation. Because the Gamay grape makes wines already light in body, light in tannins, and meant to be drunk early, the Nouveau version is even lighter and fruitier. I've fallen for the Nouveau hype in years past, only to realize after the initial excitement has faded that it's more like drinking (expensive) juice than anything. Or I've accidentally let a bottle linger in my wine rack for too long, only to discover that above all, Nouveau must be drunk early.

Essentially, Beaujolais Nouveau is a very clever marketing gimmick, and I would rather support the quality efforts from the region than a bottle of overhype. This year, as the new vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau rolls in, I'm going to drink some regular Beaujolais instead of the Nouveau. There are four status levels besides Nouveau: Beaujolais AC, the most generic; Beaujolais Superieur AC, a higher quality, Beaujolais-Villages AC; and the top quality Cru wines made from individual villages like Moulin-a-Vent and Fleurie. None are overly expensive; I got a couple of widely-available Beaujolais-Villages bottles for less than $12 last week.

Beaujolais is an extremely food-friendly wine, especially in the fall when you're simmering stews, braising meat, and turning to seasonal fare like squash and mushrooms. Tonight I'll make a simple Chicken Cacciatore and raise my glass of Beaujolais, celebrating the fact that it's a 2006 instead of a Nouveau.

Do you like Beaujolais Nouveau or think it's all hype?

Visit a treasure chest of delectables in Biarritz

Posted Sep 13th 2008 11:00AM by Max Shrem
Filed under: Stores & Shopping, France, Artisan Foods

I attribute my fascination with the French city Biarritz and the Basque region to an incredible food shop called Maison Arostéguy. Although I have not yet visited the store, there's no doubt in my mind that it's truly a treasure chest of delectables.

When the shop first opened in 1875, it specialized in high-end commodities from the colonies that were trendy during that era. For five generations, the same family has managed the shop and preserved its dedication to fine foods from around the world. The store also highlights many delicacies from the Basque region including piment d'Espelette, black cherry jam, sheep's milk cheeses, and a savory mixture of spices and fleur de sel.

Currently, I am addicted to their purée of piment d'Espelette. Piment d'Espelette is a deep red pepper that's cultivated in Espelette, a charming Basque village. The pepper is said to have become a culinary icon in the region. And, in June 2000, it became an AOC product. I use the purée with grilled and roasted meats. Suggestions on where to purchase products from Maison Arostéguy can be found after the jump.

Continue reading Visit a treasure chest of delectables in Biarritz

Will France tax some of its traditional delicacies?

Posted Aug 10th 2008 7:01PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: On the Blogs, France, Health & Medical

According to recent reports and contrary to popular belief, French people can, and do, get fat. In fact, the French government is worried enough about the problem that they're considering raising taxes on food that are higher fat, sugar, and salt.

According to this report on MSNBC.com, the French government has been worried about obesity, especially childhood obesity, for a while now. Some campaigns they've tried in the past have been to encourage commuters to take the stairs instead of the escalator and to put prominent warnings on junk food packaging.

With a huge hole in the state health care budget to plug,though, some officials want to put higher taxes on unhealthy foods. The question that remains to be answered is, what constitutes "unhealthy"? Will the new taxes, up to 19.6% from 5.5%, apply only to processed junk food with high fat and sugar contents? Or will Frances traditional high fat cheeses and foie gras be included?

These questions are yet to be decided, but I personally cannot see the French government slapping high taxes on traditional foods for which the country is famous. How will it look when the French can't even afford their own cheese? Not only that, as Elastic Waistband points out, taxes don't dissuade that many people from doing, or eating, exactly what they want. Do you think the French government will put high taxes on its traditional foods?

Should France's cuisine be added as a UNESCO world heritage?

Posted Jul 6th 2008 1:00PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Lists, France

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization does a lot of things, including set international standards, disseminate new ideas, and "help build human and industrial capacities in diverse fields." One of the organization's most important functions, in my opinion, is to set and protect cultural heritages, which are determined by the World Heritage Committee.

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has a wide range of criteria they use to determine world heritages, and France wants to add its cuisine to that list. According to AFP, though, not many people think this bid is going to go through, especially after the committee rejected a similar bid from Mexico a few years ago.

Sure, most of the World Heritages are physical places or arts and traditions associated with them. Most of the criteria that World Heritage Committee uses have to do with monuments or geological locations, but criteria number three leaves cuisine open, at least in my mind: to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared

If national cuisine doesn't bear unique testimony to cultural tradition, I don't know what does. What do you think?

Red Bull is tenuously in France, and may get the boot

Posted Jun 15th 2008 10:00AM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Business, France, Health & Medical

I've gathered over time that France is extremely wary of letting in big name, globally available products. Apparently they don't like Coca Cola, and now the Ministry of Health is giving Red Bull a hard time.

It's only been recently that Red Bull was allowed to be sold in France at all. The energy drink maker had to remove taurine, because the health ministry claims that long term effects of the chemical are unknown. So now Red Bull is allowed in France, but it's still on pretty shaky ground. This article in Flexnews makes it pretty clear that French health officials are looking for any excuse to ban sales of Red Bull.

Apparently taurine, in and of itself isn't really a problem. However, there's a lot of questions that come up when it's combined with caffeine and/or alcohol. Are French officials right to try and get rid of the energy drink? That's a tough question. What's your take on this?

Midnight Sausage: Paris

Posted Jun 13th 2008 12:00AM by Kat Kinsman
Filed under: Beef, Pork, Europe, France, Meat

Two instances constitute a trend, right? Last night at midnight, I posted a video of my pal Sean's jaunt around a Bangkok sausage counter, and as it happens, today the lovely Jennifer Cooper Ashton sent me glorious food pix from her recent French sojourn. I'm taking this as a divine decree to post images of sausage counters the world over each weeknight witching hour (until I run out), so please use the comments section to post links to your Flickr or personal site faves, and perhaps you'll see 'em posted here late some evening.


Previously - Midnight Sausage: Bangkok

Could the ocean floor be the new wine cellar?

Posted Jun 6th 2008 4:00PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Wine, France

Did you ever go to the beach and think "this would be great for wine storage?" Well someone did. For the past few years some French wine makers have been storing and maturing wine about 15 meters under water.

Proponents of this method say it works because "temperature is a constant 10 degrees, the movement of the current gently rocks the bottles and there is no danger of damage from UV light." They do say, though, that the ocean has more of an effect on white wines than reds.

Recently, the top French champagne maker Louis Roederer is testing ocean storage with some if its bubbly. They're giving the wines a year to age, and if they have an improved taste then this could be the wine storage wave of the future.

[via GuardianOnline]

Would you drink wine from a juice box?

Posted May 17th 2008 2:03PM by Shayna Glick
Filed under: Wine, Newspapers, New Products, Europe

I still look down on box wine as cheap and presumably bad. Bordeaux wine in what amounts to juice boxes? I just don't know how I feel about that.

However I feel about it, juice box wine is coming. Called Tandem, it'll be introduced in London soon, but there's no word on if we'll see it here in the US. Apparently French wine makers don't like the downward trend in wine consumption. This is an attempt to get "young urbanites" to drink more wine. A spokesman for Tandem says that this is the ideal way to have a bit of wine with lunch, especially if you eat at your work desk.

The wine juice box even has a special straw to ensure that you get a full taste experience. The sensory straw, as it's called, has four holes in it so that the wine is dispersed throughout your mouth. I'm not sure how well that'll work, but, as it's been pointed out by traditionalists, you still can't see or smell the wine before you drink it, which are both important aspects of drinking wine. Do you think this product will take off? Would you buy it?

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