Claudine, Oui c'est Francais

Paris-Nice, stage 8: Beef Daube with Mustard

They made it, over 776 miles and they rode into the sun drenched town of Nice in the South of France. There were mountains and sprint finishes and of course some breathtaking views. And over the week I cooked the way through the country as they headed south.

Tonight was no different, on the menu tonight was Beef Daube with Mustard, herbs and white wine. Normally Daube is made with red wine, but the white wine gave it a much lighter taste and not the heavy feeling that a Red Wine Daube has. Patricia Wells sure knows what she is doing. Served with a Onion-Parmesan Gratin that was given a very unique flavor with ground cloves.

John now knows when he hears my camera that dinner is ready, that's a little better then the smoke detector going off I guess. (I love the steam coming off the dish in the photo)

As much as I love cooking and researching and creating the menus for this, I am a little relieved to have leftovers tomorrow night,

Bon Appetit!

Paris-Nice stage 7: Fricassee de Poulet

One more day to go and the Paris-Nice tour is already in the south of France. Just to the east of Nice in the town of Manosque the tour started today and rode into the Pays de Fayence and its little perched villages just minutes away from the Mediterranean. 

So tonight we have Patricia Well's Fricassee de Poulet au Chorizo et aux Poivrons or Fricassee of Chicken with Chorizo and Peppers. The chicken was moist and flavorful and the onions, peppers and chorizo made a great comfort food on a very rainy day. Served with some fresh homemade pasta and it was great.

 

Bon Appetit!

Paris-Nice stage 6: Provencal Chicken

Stage six of the Paris-Nice tour today headedout of the Rhone-Alps region and into the Provence region in what is called the Queens stage. The Queens stage is the defining stage of a multi stage race and normally includes the climbs of the most grueling mountain passes. The mountain stages are the best part of any tour in my opinion and I always look forward to them. The tours are won and lost on most of these climbs and today was no exception.

But for dinner tonight we had a little taste of Provence with Provencal Chicken with three kinds of tomatoes and olives. I did forget the potato at the store for the dish, but it was very flavorful anyway.  Two more days and not sure what to make tomorrow yet.... back to the cookbooks for me. 

Bon Appetit! 

Paris-Nice Stage 4 Tarte a l'Oignon

Half way through the 8 day Race to the Sun and they headed into the Rhone Alps region and the city is Saint Etienne. Saint Etienne use to be the capital of the French bicycle industry and frequently hosts a stage for the Tour de France.

So what do we make for dinner now that we are heading into the Rhone Alps region? Well tonight on the menu is Tarte a l'Oignon de Catton-Grammont from Patricia Wells' great book The Food Lover's Guide to France. It is a hard to find treasure so check your local used book stores for a copy. Anything by Patricia is a must for any French cookbook library.

Served with a nice mixed greens and French vinaigrette and it makes the perfect dinner.

Paris-Nice Orval to Vichy-Saumon a l'Oseille

Stage 3 of the Paris-Nice race is in the books and what shall I make for dinner. I have not done a very good job with the research for this Tour past the first stage. But this is just for fun so I won't beat myself up for it.

The stage 3 today left the Loriet are of the Loire Valley and headed south into the Auvergne region on the way to Nice. One of the specialties of the region is Lentilles de Puy, green lentils that are used in stews, soups and served along side fresh water fish. I adore Lentils so I was very excited to make this dish.

Saumon a l'Oseille Facon Troisgros is a recipe by Pierre Franey based on a recipe from a restaurant just a short distance from the finishing town of Vichy. With Mushrooms, Vermouth, White Wine and cream make for a very light and flavorful sauce. If you can't find the Sorrel at your local store you can substitute it with Arugula or Spinach.  For the Lentils I used a basic recipe with a carrot, onion & lentils covered in water. Bring to a boil and then reduce and let simmer for 15 minutes.

 

Tomorrow we head to the Rhone Alps before ending in Nice....

Paris-Nice stage 2 Pate au Trauffaude

Stage 2 of the Race to the Sun and tonight there was a lot on the menu. The Paris-Nice tour started in the Loiret area of the Loire Valley in the town of Saint-Brisson-sur-Loire near the banks of the Loire river. On the menu tonight was Brochet aux Noisettes or Pike with Hazelnut Sauce. The Hazelnut sauce was more of a hazelnut butter and was wonderful, I had to use Red Snapper instead since my local store didn't have Pike.

 

Paired with the fish was a Pate au Trauffaude or Potato Pie.Using Puff Pastry and fill with thin slices of potatoes and layered with diced onions, bacon and parsley and then covered with a puff pastry round and then after 30 minutes in the oven, you pour the warm heavy cream into the top and then back into the oven. It was brown and lovely and very tasty.

Yesterday I started the Salmon Rillettes, not the traditional preparation in the Loire region but a nice take on the pate-like delicacy normally made with lean and fatty pork. I found the recipe on David Lebovitz blog last year and had it printed and saved until the right time. It was very easy to put together with smoked salmon, steamed salmon, butter, olive oil and chives. It needs to be chilled after making it for 2 hours and then brought to room temperature. It takes some time but it is well worth it. It was delicious and I will make this one again time and time again.

And last but not least a little dessert. In the Loiret region of France just outside of the Ile-de-France is a town name Pithiviers and the wonderful pastry with the same name. The Gateau  de Pithiviers is a light and airy puff pastry filled with a almond paste or Frangipane and then baked and at the end dusted with some sugar and then set under the broiler to give it a lovely brown and shiny coat. It was very rich but for somebody that loves almonds it will be a big hit.

Paris-Nice stage 1 Saumon de Loire

Last year I cooked my way through the Tour De France, this year I plan on doing the same, but decided I couldn't wait until July so I picked a few of the stage races that precede the Tour to warm up and have an excuse to make some more great French fair.

today was the start of the "Race to the Sun" also known as the Paris-Nice cycling race. Some say it is the first official stage race of the year. The race is in France and that is all I need. The first stage is actually not in Paris but just one hour outside of Paris in the city of Amilly in the Loiret area of the Centre region of the Loire Valley.

I have been researching the Loire Valley and the food and cuisine of the area for the last 3 weekends and feel pretty confidant knowing what the "Garden of France" is all about. Chateauxs, Mushrooms and Vouvray are justsome of the wonderful things you will find there. The great Loire river, the longest river in France rises from the sea and travels upland through Anjou, Torraine, Blesois, Orleanais, Berry, Loire-Atlantique, Vendee and North of the Loire areas. Each with there own distinct differences that make of this amazing region of France.

But for Stage #1 the will start and end just outside of Montargis in the town of Amilly. Stop in Montgaris on the way to Amilly from Paris and make sure to stop and get some Pralines at the Maison de la Prasline at 45 Place Mirabeau. Clement Jaluzot, chef to Louis XIII and Louis XIV combined two delicacies that were very rare and expensive in the 17th Century, almonds and sugar and roasted them in a pan over the fire. The caramelized sugar created a hard sweet shell and were loved by all and were called Praslines after the Duc de Plessis-Praslin a 17th century ladies man. Jaluzot later left the employ of his masters and settled in the town of Montargis and opened a shop to sell the Pralines. In 1902 the shop was purchased and is still owned to this day by the same family where the original recipe is still produced.

For dinner tonight I decided on a fish dish, keeping with the river Loire theme, Saumon de Loire. Although my salmon was not from the Loire region I can't really call it de Loire, but I take poetic license there. The Salmon was paired with thinly sliced radishes, laid on a sauce of creme fraiche and lemon and surrounded by more radishes. It was light and lovely and the radishes around the edge created a ribbon like decoration.

Along with the Saumon de Loire I made the Aspereges et Champignon a la Creme D'Estragon from Anne Willan. It looks like it would be rich and heavy but the Asparagus were cooked to perfect (if I would say so myself) and the the tarragon mushroom cream was lightened with some lemon juice that gave it a lighter and lovely taste.