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.
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.
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.
I like to make sure that I offer up a good balance of new and old cookbooks in this (mostly) daily post. I love to flip through all the glossy new cookbooks that are hitting shelves these days, but sometimes I find myself turning to the old, the known and the comforting. Today's book, Crepe Cookery, isn't a volume I grew up with, but as it's one of those light-weight, magazine-sized editions that was once sold in grocery stores, it feels familiar and as if it was something that was always at hand.
Written by Mable Hoffman (who also wrote Crockery Cookery, our April 1st Cookbook of the Day) and printed in 1976, this cookbook was the first exposure that a lot of people had to making crepes at home (if they weren't ambitious enough to make them from Mastering the Art of French Cooking). It offers helpful, step-by-step pictures on how cook crepes using either the upside down (dipping the crepe pan into the batter) or right side up (ladling the batter into the pan) methods. There are also lots of pictures demonstrating the varied ways you can fill, fold and serve your crepes.
There are five all-purpose crepe batter recipes in this book, as well as recipes that incorporate graham crackers, mashed potato, wheat germ, beer, yogurt, cornmeal and chocolate. She also devotes 15 pages to the various pans you can use to cook crepes, how to season them if purchasing a new one and their pluses and minuses. It's a surprisingly relevant section, considering that the book is more than 30 years old.
If you like making crepes, or are looking for a good introductory book to help you learn, this might just be a good book for you. There are multiple copies selling on Amazon for a penny (plus shipping), so it won't cost you much to check it out if you're intrigued. c
Several days ago, I asked you, my beloved Slashfood readers, for help on what to do with about a bazillion cherries I had picked up. One of the overwhelming responses was for a cherry clafouti - the French dessert-t thing that's made with a pancake batter and fruit. I am not yet telling you what I am doing with the cherries -- it may or may not be a cherry clafouti -- but until I post that, here are eight cherry clafoutis from around the food web for your viewing, reading, and perhaps eating, pleasure:
Seems like every food mag is doing a travel issue these days, and Bon Appetit is no exception. Their "Where To Eat Now" cover story focuses on France, Italy, Australia, and Spain.
Hollandaise sauce doesn't have to be served over poached eggs and Canadian bacon to make Eggs Benedict. You can ladle it over tomatoes, avocados (now we're talking high fat), low-fat ham, even a simple salad-- but always on a good French or sourdough toast. The toast/sauce texture ratio is key. Also, don't be intimidated by the 'ole double boiler. It's quite easy to get the hang of and if you like chocolate...well, that's another post.
Diners who frequent higher end restaurants may have no problem accepting a chef's use of unusual or artificial flavoring agents when they are used to bring out unusual sensations in the food, like the menthol crystals used by Wylie Dufresne in some dishes at wd-50. The same cannot be said when artificial flavorings are used instead of readily available ingredients.
Leading French chefs Joel Robuchon and Alain Passard have denounced the growing trend among French cooks for using non-natural ingredients in their cooking, like saffron perfume, truffle essence or powdered wine sauce. The objective, unlike the use of similar things in the conceptual molecular gastronomy model, is to be able to achieve cheap, quick results. French cooks who use them use the "ingredients" secretly, for fear of being accused of cheating by others in their profession. A supplier stands by the products, saying "An increased range [of flavors] should logically be tolerated and accepted by everyone in the end," while Passard said "I don't know what to call the people who use these chemicals, but they are not cooks."
Just half an hour from the Spanish border, right down in the middle of Basque
country in France lies Bayonne. It's main claim in
the food world is being the home of the Bayonne Ham.
Since 1942, the town celebrates with a Ham Festival during Holy week (13-15 April 2006).
Local farmers gather along the River Nive and sell their air-dried hams. Now I have never been to the town - but I
know a man you has. He (being John of French Duck) describes the area as a mix
of "strange and wonderful contrasts". You have the Basque influence on architecture, food and on the
language too. Combining the scenery of the mountains with a food fair sounds just the sort of break I need right
now.
On occasion I will make a stop at a french bakery a few miles away to pick up something indulgent. In all honesty,
I've had much better breads, but they do make a lovely array of pastries. One of their best is the brioche sucre.
Brioche is a rich, yeast dough that has a high percentage of eggs and butter. Its buttery flavor is a great base for
sweet pastry fillings, but the dough itself is not sweet and can be used for many savory applications, like wrapping
brie for a hot, baked appetizer. These sweet buns, or sweet brioche, are a classic example of one of the sweet
uses of the dough. The unbaked buns are topped with a thick coating of sugar that caramelizes and crisps during baking.
The feather-light dough and the crisp sugar crust make this simple pastry a perfect breakfast treat.
It's about 2 p.m. here in Portland, and I'm starting to cook my
cassoulet. I've got a pile full of meats from Pastaworks (I'm using the veal for my yummy French stew). I'm a little
jittery, as there are so many steps and so many different kinds of meat! I'm looking forward to finally attempting this
legendary French country dish (the ultimate in slow cooking, if you ask
me).
I'm going to start by cooking the white beans and, while they're simmering, I'll broil the duck confit. I'm
terrified by duck, so I need a clear head and a clean kitchen.
Whoops! A few hours have passed since we cut the meat into 3- or
4-ounce pieces. Sorry about that, the baby that was getting into the cat food last time, I realized he'd better
have some human food. Oh well, such is life. Now it's time to prep the
carrots, onions and garlic. The instructions just say "garlic cloves," not "minced" or
"peeled" or "unpeeled."
Hmmm. I decided to just peel them and crush just a bit in the process (I smack
them with the wide edge of my knife to loosen the skins). My cloves look a little small... so I use eight or nine. I
love garlic. I decide to toss it all in. A little extra garlic never hurt anyone. Right?
Seems like every food mag is doing a travel issue these days, and Bon Appetit is no exception. Their "Where To Eat Now" 
Hollandaise sauce doesn't have to be served over poached eggs and Canadian bacon to make Eggs Benedict. You can ladle it over tomatoes, avocados (now we're talking high fat), low-fat ham, even a simple salad-- but always on a good French or sourdough toast. The toast/sauce texture ratio is key. Also, don't be intimidated by the 'ole double boiler. It's quite easy to get the hang of and if you like chocolate...well, that's another post. 
Diners who frequent higher end restaurants may have no problem accepting a chef's use of unusual or artificial flavoring agents when they are used to 
Just half an hour from the Spanish border, right down in the middle of Basque
country in France lies 
We're prepping 
Hmmm. I decided to just peel them and crush just a bit in the process (I smack
them with the wide edge of my knife to loosen the skins). My cloves look a little small... so I use eight or nine. I
love garlic. I decide to toss it all in. A little extra garlic never hurt anyone. Right?
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