Good things

Paris-Correze stage 2 Salmon en Croute

The Paris-Correze race second and final stage ends today, August 5^th in the Correze town of Chaumeil. Correze is department of the Limousin region that is more known for its town of Limoges than any other town. Limoges brings to mind one thing with me, tiny boxes and china. It is the white Kaolin clay found in the 18^th century in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche just outside of Limoges that is used as the base of Limoges china. Limoges porcelain has a recipe of 50% Kaolin clay, 25% feldspar and 25% quartz and gives it the extreme whiteness and translucence and what gave Limoges its high prestige and value it has earned.  Limoges also has a history of making another piece of art, enamels and cloisonné’s.  Created by soldering thin pieces of metal to a base to outline a design and normally done on gold which worked better then on copper. Painted enamels are created by painting directly on the enamel that covers a copper plate.  The Musee Municipal de l’Eveche-Musee de l’Email has examples of Limoges enamels dating back to the 12^th century.

The start town of Malemort-sur-Correze is better known for its battle than anything else. On April 21, 1177 the Battle of Malelmort was fought between the army of Richard the Lion-hearted and the townspeople of Malemort-sur-Correze. William of Cambrai and his mercenaries the Brabancon were killed and the army of Lobar the Wolf and Viscount of Turenne attacked the nearby town of Segur and demolished it.

The finishing town of Chaumeil is a very small town of less than two hundred people that is the capital of les Monedieres. The Monedieres Massif (mountains) extends to the River Correze and the edge of the Montagne Limousine. The riders would have passed through the Cirque de Freysselines, the natural amphitheatre that sits within the small village of Freysselines. Before they can reach the finish the will need to pass through La Croix-sous-l’Arbre and a slight climb up the small hill of Col des Geants before reaching Chaumeil. The slate roofs and granite houses that surround the 15^th century church make a perfect finish for a summer two day stage race through the center of France.

The many rivers of the area have over time been known for their salmon; unfortunately today that is not the case. With riverbeds that have dried up or become more shallow the supply is not what it used to be. One of the best things about living in the northwest is that we have plenty of salmon and is hands down one of my favorite foods and could eat it every day. I was inspired by an Anne Willan recipe for Tourte de Saumon to make a Salmon en Croute but a bit different and very simple compared to hers. Anne’s recipe called for making a mousse with half of the salmon and I was pretty sure that was not going to go over very well so I simplified it and it can be made any night of the week.

Salmon en Croute

Puff Pastry (you can find it in your freezer section; Pepperidge Farms makes a great one)

3 Tablespoons butter

1 pound mushrooms

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 pound salmon, skin and bones removed

Herb Sauce

½ cup butter cut into small cubes

1 tablespoon water

Juice of ½ lemon

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon chopped dill

In a large sauté pan melt butter and add cleaned and dice the mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until browned and liquid has evaporated; add chopped garlic and mix to combine, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and strain to get any remaining liquid out and let it cool slightly.

For the Salmon, if the skin is on when you purchase it the easiest and cleanest way to remove it is in a hot pan. You can use the same pan that you cooked the mushrooms in, just place the salmon in, skin side down and leave it for 30 seconds. Take it out and place on a cutting board flesh side down. Using the edge of a fork the skin will easily scrape right off.

Roll out a sheet of the puff pastry large enough to envelop the salmon, about 12 x16. In the center of the sheet place the mushrooms and then top with the salmon. Season with salt and pepper and fold the sides around. You can seal any overlapping edges with some egg wash, this will keep it together. When it is all folded brush with more egg wash and then place in refrigerator for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, place the salmon in on a baking sheet in the center of the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned.

During the last 10 minutes of cooking start the sauce. In a small saucepan add water, lemon juice and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Gradually add butter cubes and whisk to combine until fully melted and smooth. This will thicken the sauce at the same time, but be careful not to add the butter in all at once. Stir in chopped dill and more lemon juice if desired. Serve over hot salmon and enjoy!

Bon Appétit!

 

T-Minus 30 days and counting the TdF

One of my very favorite things of the whole year starts 30 days from today, the 97th Tour de France

 and I can hardly wait! I started watching the tour 7 years ago and it has become an obsession ever since. Right now I need to devote any spare moment to planning the 2010 Tour de French Cuisine, now in it's 3rd year. I am running out of days and hours so lets make this a short update..... 

 

I have already started to stop at Borders every other day to look for the special issue on the tour with details of every stage and city. (still not out yet) But until then I will dream of what is to come. The best parts is the beautiful French countryside that you get to see along the way over 3 weeks. Yes, 3 wonderful weeks. There will be sunflowers, hay bails made into bicycles, cows that are near the road that could care less and the crazy guy that dresses like the devil and runs alongside the riders. Oh and then there is the oh so dreamy Phil Liggett & Paul Sherman, with there wonderful stage by stage reports. And then there are all my fellow cycling lovers that I have met online that enjoy it just as much as me that I will look forward to chatting with every day.

So, 30 more days or 720 hours, or 43,200 seconds..... but whose counting

Vive la Tour!

 

I have already started to stop at Borders every other day to look for the special issue on the tour with details of every stage and city. (still not out yet) But until then I will dream of what is to come. The best parts is the beautiful French countryside that you get to see along the way over 3 weeks. Yes, 3 wonderful weeks. There will be sunflowers, hay bails made into bicycles, cows that are near the road that could care less and the crazy guy that dresses like the devil and runs alongside the riders. Oh and then there is the oh so dreamy Phil Liggett & Paul Sherman, with there wonderful stage by stage reports. And then there are all my fellow cycling lovers that I have met online that enjoy it just as much as me that I will look forward to chatting with every day.

So, 30 more days or 720 hours, or 43,200 seconds..... but whose counting

Vive la Tour!

 

Michelin Green Guides- simply the best

When it comes to travel guides one stands out above all the rest, the Michelin Green Guides in particular are the greatest! I of course focus on the France and French regional guides and the newest editions are hot off the press just this week.

But did you know the history of the Michelin company? And did you know it was actually a French company and not only that but its start involves cycling and a famous French race. Yes, that is part of the attraction for me. In 1888 in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne région of France Edouard and Andre Michelin, two brothers who had a rubber factory met a cyclist that had a tire that needed to be repaired. It took more than three hours to repair the tire and had to be left overnight to fully dry. The following morning Edouard Michelin took the bike for a ride to test out his handwork, but only made it a few hundred meters when the tire gave way again.  Edouard was hopeful that he and Andre could figure out a new way to create a tire that would not need to be glued to the rim. On May 28, 1888 Michelin the company was incorporated. In 1891 they received their first patent for the removable pneumatic tire and in later that same year Charles Terront went on to win the legendary Paris-Brest cycling race.

By 1900 Andre Michelin created the Michelin guide to help drivers in France locate the nearest restaurants, gas stations and lodging. Since 1931 the Michelin guide has been Red and has been the leader in all guide books for the best hotels and restaurants. The 2009 Red Michelin guide is the 100th edition and has over 2050 pages. A staple on my book shelf in the planning of the Tour de French Cuisine.

The Michelin Green Guides focus on more specifics of a region and finer details on towns. With info on the can't miss sights and history of some of the principle city's and villages it is a must have if you are going to travel to France. It has the perfect amount of glitzy pictures and wonderful info and details that make it a integral part of any travel library. Michelin has guidebooks for many other countries as well, including, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium and Italy just to name a few.

Thank you Michelin for being a great resourse for more than 120 years!

 

5 whole years

I can't believe it has been 4 years already since I started my blog. Over 650 posts, thousands of comments and more than 300,000 visits, just to stop in and see what I was up to. Either to check in on a Martha recipe or craft, an idea for a cake or to even see where the Tour de France is and what do you eat when you stop off in Monaco. You can find a little of everything here. It all started with my love of Martha and all the things she does, well except for the gardening. I can grow so basil and tomatoes, but that is one of Martha's favorite things I don't enjoy. Never being about  Martha but of all things I like to do like Martha beget the name "Good Things: Life of a Martha Stewart Wannabe" But the little old blog grew from there into cake decorating during my cake classes and then into the home of my giant Tour de French Cuisine project now going into its 3rd anniversary as well.

The Tour de French Cuisine, now beginning its 3rd Tour around France follows the Tour and all the spots it goes to from the smallest village famous for its beans used in Cassoulet to the Champs Elysees. A true labor of love and so honored for the following it has received. I still am working on the editing of 2009 for the book soon to be for sale here and starting the 2010 research.

Hoping for 4 more great years, thanks for tuning in!

Tour de French Cuisine-Stage 1 Monaco

The day has finally come, the first day of the 2009 Tour de France. I could hardly sleep with the excitement of my favorite day of the year.  The last few days felt like time had stood still but now it seems like yesterday that they rode onto the Champs Elysees on the final day of the 2008 Tour.  Each year when it is over I go through a bit of PTD or “Post Tour Depression” I wonder each day as I wake up where are the soothing sounds of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin? What does one wear on a non Tour day; all I have left to wear is yellow? And the biggest question, what will I make for dinner? Well thankfully I have recovered from the 2008 PTD, and just in time for the PTA or “Pre-Tour Anxiety”. There is so much to do to get ready to share all that I want to with you. It has been a lengthy journey, with hours and hours spent on researching each city, area and stage and all the specialties of each area.

 

So here we go, let’s jump right in!

 

Stage  #1- Monaco-Monaco

The first stage of the Tour de France or TdF as we like to call it, is normally a Time Trial where each rider rides on his own for the best time.  Some years they take the Tour outside of France to share it with other countries, 2007 started in London and next year it heads to Rotterdam. But this year it starts in Monaco, and that’s not such a bad place to spend a few days.  Monaco is ideal for the biggest and hardest sporting events in the world, a perfect stage to start from. After all there is royalty there, and who doesn’t love a tiara? (mental note: wear tiara for the start in Monaco)

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, second only to Vatican City and is half the size of New York’s Central Park. It may be only .76 square miles in size but Monaco packs a punch. There is of course Le Casino de Monte Carlo, built from 1878 to 1910 and partially designed by Charles Garnier the architect of the Paris Opera House. If you visit the casino you don’t want to forget to rub the knee of the Louis XV statue at the entrance of the Hotel de Paris for good luck before heading into the casino. You will need it, after all the Casino does pretty well, because of it the residents of Monaco or Monegasque’s as they are called, don’t have any income tax. Monaco attracts the glitz and glamour from all over the world, and of course it’s most famous may have been the lovely blond American woman that was wooed by Prince Rainier but I would think that Monaco and it’s beauty had a little to do with it as well. Grace Kelly was a perfect Princess and much loved in Monaco. Her touch is still all over Monaco, from the Princess Grace Hospital, the Princess Grace Rose Garden and the Avenue Princess Grace that is part of the Tour this year. It runs along the reclaimed seafront that was created in the 1970’s by taking back 100 acres from the Mediterranean and later becoming the home of the Louis II stadium, home of the Monaco Football Club and an Olympic size pool.  Other sites in Monaco that should not be overlooked are the Palais Princier, the winter home of the Grimaldis, the royal family of Monaco where you can view the impressive changing of the guards at 11:55am each day. And what I think may be the greatest of all structures of Monaco is the Musée Océanographique, sitting atop the Rocher de Monaco or the Rock of Monaco which is at the very edge over the beautiful blue Mediterranean and one of the most cherished spots in Monaco. It was here that François Grimaldi disguised himself as a Franciscan monk to gain entry to the city, and the rest is, well, history.

Now for the good stuff, the food. Because Monaco is so close to France and Italy there is a huge Southern French with a special nod to Provence and Nice and Italian influence can be tasted in the specialties of Monaco.  For the first stage I wanted to start out with a bang and made a few of Monaco’s favorite dishes. 

 

 To start with I made “Oignons À La Monégasque” from the Anne Willan’s book “French Regional Cooking” a fantastic book and my go to book on French regional cooking. The onions were made into a sweet and sour salad with raisins, honestly I thought the raisins might be a little strange but as onions, water, wine vinegar, sugar, tomato paste and bouquet garni slowly cooked for almost an hour the smell was fantastic and the taste was out of this world.

Barbagiuans are another thing you will find in Monaco, they are a crisp baked or fried pastry treat filled with savory flavors like swiss chard, leeks, ricotta, garlic or herbs. And usually served as an appetizer. I searched high and low for this recipe and then altered the one I found to have more of an Monégasque flavor.  There was a slight problem with my dough, I think the 95 degree day wreaked havoc so I had to pull a quick fix and used some rice paper wrappers, so my Monaco fried treats would end up with a bit of Asian flair. But they were very tasty and actually were a little lighter this way. Here is my adaption to a recipe I found from New York chef  Laurent Tourondel

Filling

• 2 shallots, minced

• 1/2 lb swiss chard

• 2 cloves garlic: one minced, the other whole

• 1/2 lb mushrooms

• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

• 1 tsp butter

• 3 sprigs thyme

• 1 cup olive oil

• 2-3 drops truffle oil (optional)

• Salt and white pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the wrappers:
Soak the rice paper wrappers in hot water for about 30 seconds, they will become translucent and completely soft

Filling:
Chop the swiss chard. In a sauté pan, lightly sauté the shallots, mince garlic, and chopped swiss chard.  Add the mushrooms and let them wilt slightly.  Remove from the heat and let it cool down.  Mix in the parmesan and season with salt and pepper.  If desired, add the truffle oil.

Lay out the rice paper in the lower 3^rd of the circle place 2 or 3 tablespoons of filling.    Fold the shorter edge over and the two ends in and then tightly roll.

In a sauté pan with high sides, heat the olive oil and add the thyme sprigs and the remainder of garlic (make sure to crush the garlic before putting it into the oil).

Making sure the oil doesn’t get too hot, let the barbagiuans fry for about 3-4 minutes, until golden brown.  Drain well on a cloth or paper towel and serve.

They really were very tasty and John gave it his seal of approval. These I will make again for sure and will most likely give it my little Asian spin to it.

For dessert we have an Monégasque Lemon Tart or Tarte au Citron. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors so I knew I would love this one. The recipe called for ground almonds and bread crumbs and was an interesting addition.  And the crust was very buttery and almost like a shortbread cookie. Fantastic!

So that brings us to the end of our first stage of the 2009 Tour de France and the 2009 Tour de French Cuisine. Tomorrow we leave Monaco and head South Western into Grasse, Nice and finally end in Brignoles.  So make sure you check back tomorrow. I’ll be awake and ready to go by 5am.

Bon Appetit!

Less then three months to go

In less then three months the 2009 Tour de France will start. On July 4th, which happens to be John's favorite holiday, my favorite day of the year will collide into his. Will we be able to enjoy fresh homemade croissants for breakfast then hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch and then bouillabaisse for dinner?

So this year the "Grand Depart"  will be in the ultra fancy principality of Monaco. I can't help to think of Cary Grant and Princess Grace Kelly in "To Catch a Thief" when thinking of Monaco. But this year it will be the start of the Le Tour.

This will be the 6th visit the Tour has made to the tiny country of Monaco and will spend the first two stages there before moving clockwise across France. (each year is flips between counter clockwise and clockwise)

So with that I have less then three months to research and plan out my months worth of menus. Yikes! I better get off the computer and back to work on my research.

holy crap!!!! I am sooooo happy

It has been a buys day on my blog but I had to post this as well.....

Lance Armstrong has announced today that he is coming out of retirement and will ride again in the greatest sporting event ever, the Tour de France. Holy crap, it is so hard for me to wait for July and now it will be even harder. I better take the whole month of July off....

I have no doubt that Lance will return in top shape and will not settle for second place. Riders all over Europe are not happy right now.

The route is starting to leak out as well so the menu planning for the second annual Tour de French Cuisine will begin in October when the tour route is finally reviled.

Viva la Tour!

The End of the Tour.. Pommes Frites

It is the last day of the 2008 Tour de France, and yes I am already in my Post Tour Depression. What am I suppose to do with myself every morning at 5am? I was up very early today to finish the wedding cake I was making, more on that tomorrow. So I was able to see the very start of the race live and awake. You know like way back when before we had DVR's, three years ago. As they ride into Paris through the Alma tunnel where Princess Diana died and then onto the Champs Elysee and then around the streets 8 more times with the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in the background. What's not to love!

So tonight was a classic Bistro meal. Steak with a Cognac, peppercorn cream sauce, Pommes Frites and Haricot Vert with Garlic. A meal John really got on board with, what man doesn't love steak and potatoes.

So now the Tour is over and so is my Tour de French Cuisine. I can't go back to eating just any old food now. But don't worry I won't start making meatloaf. (I know there are lots of people that love meatloaf, so I mean no disrespect)

Viva la tour!

Stage 20, Cerilly to Saint-Amond-Montrond ; Tourte du Saumon

Almost to Paris and the Champs Elysees and then the tour is over. Today the tour was in the very heart of France for a individual time trial. Each of the riders ride alone with them starting them 3 minutes apart. This is where the tour is won or loss.  So for dinner in between baking cakes for a wedding cake tomorrow I made Tourte De Saumon from Anne Willan's French Regional Cooking cookbook.

Basically it is Salmon in Puff Pastry with mushrooms. I changed it just a little bit though. Mrs Willan's recipe called for raw salmon to be minced with the mushrooms in a food processor. I just did the mushrooms with a bit of butter and egg yoke. I rolled out the puff pastry and placed the salmon in the middle, spooned the mushrooms over it and then sealed it closed. I tried to cut it into a fish shape, it sort of worked.... It may look like a blob on the plate but it was really good. I don't think I have found one recipe in the last three weeks that I wouldn't make over and over again.

Stage 19; Roanne to Montlucon- Coq au Vin

We are almost to Paris, only two more days and then it is all over.... Good thing we have DVR's so I can save some of the tour to watch over and over again.

The tourtoday rolled from the Rhone Alps region thru the Burgundy and Lyonnais area and then finished in the Auvergne region. So I decided Coq au Vin was the thing to have tonight. Is there anything more French then Coq au Vin, even people that don't know French food, know Coq au Vin. Depending on the region it is made depends on the wine that is used. It also has onions, mushrooms, carrots and garlic. It is another one of those recipes that need to be planned ahead of time. But it turned out great and tasted fantastic...

It needs to marinate at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight in the refrigerator for at least 10 to 12 hours. So easy to do the night before.