"frenchfood" news and stories

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.

Source

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.

We're prepping

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?