A Slice of French Life

Beaune vineyard

Last spring a friend gave me a copy of A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi. I often dream out loud about a culinary stay in Tuscany and Cindy remembered this when she came across the book in a used bookstore. I have been pleasantly surprised by the author's outlook on travel and her eccentric intellectuality (if there is such a thing). It appears that food has always been at the centre of de Blasi's career choices. From chef to food and wine consultant, and restaurant critic. Throw Italy into the mix and de Blasi is quickly inspired to put pen to paper.

It is a year ago today that Jo and I traveled to Burgundy for a month stay. It feels like a thousand years ago. I often think about it and for some reason with a tinge of disappointment. I couldn't fully understand why I felt this way and I have Marlena to thank. She philosophies about her recent move from Venice to Tuscany:

"People who search for change, new beginnings, another kind of life, sometimes imagine they'll find it all set up and ready for them simply because they've changed address, gone to live in some other geography. But a change of address — no mater how far away, how exotic — is nothing more than a "transfer". And at the first moment they look about them, they see everything they thought to leave behind has arrived with them. Everything."

With a suitcase full of familiar things I headed off for a month away. I wanted this to be my Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence. Heading toward the unknown, I was determined to absorb my new life like a sponge. The object of the exercise was to live life as the French. I was not looking for a "transfer".

Sunrise from my attic bedroom

Morning view from the farm house kitchen

So, today I ask myself what I expected from this Burgundian trip:

1. to meet my neighbours and break baguette with them
2. to ride a bicyclette with a wicker basket full of French yumminess
3. to develop a food rapport with my local butcher and grocery gal
4. to visit vineyards and drink in the art of French wines and their story
5. to be blown away by a great gastronomy
6. to experience la culture française au maximum

Writing is therapeutic. As I reflect on my experience, I start to realize that most of my expectations were fulfilled. Well with the exception that a wicker basket did not adorn the handle bar of my fluo green bicyclette. It's amazing how much more one can stuff into a backpack! Baguettes et al!

Our bicyclettes in Cormatin

The grocery gal turned out to be a guy. A creepy one at that. We baptised the butcher "the child beater" -- no need to elaborate. I never got to meet my neighbours. But I certainly spied on them. I like to think of it as an exercise in observation on how "they" did things: "oh look Jo, she's hanging up laundry to dry inside... oh look Jo, she's walking her cat in the garden... oh look Jo, they're entertaining friends on the terrace... oh look Jo, their blinds are up... oh look Jo ROXANNE! Oh how I do digress.

I regret not doing a guided wine tour. That would have looked after the wine facet of things. A thousand years of French wine making in two hours. Well... maybe not. Of Burgundian wines I have this to say: my preference was for the chardonnay over the pinot noir. And who am I to pass judgement on this ancient wine region?! We visited the cooperative of the Vignerons de Buxy in Saint Gengoux-le-national and Domaine Marc Greffet in the Solutré-Pouilly region. Negligible! Not even the tip of the grapevine! But fun all the same.

The gastronomy of Burgundy was out of this world! How do the French keep such fine figures? Je ne sais pas!

Beaune Vineyard

What do they call this wall Jo? I forget...

Did I simply "transfer" my Canadian life to France? Part of it but I'm OK with that. Enjoying my morning café au lait in bed with a book and a view of the French countryside is something I do in my Canadian life. It's comforting to experience familiar things when traveling. Even the simple chore of stripping my attic room bed on "bed washing day" brought me comfort...

I vividly recall this one day... I had to drive back to the Mâcon-Loché TGV train station for the third time because I kept making the wrong train reservation. I decided to make this trip à la française. I wowed to do everything as a true native would. I dress in my best duds, scarf et al. After all the scarf is part of the native uniform. Without it, you look like a foreigner. At respectable high speed I boot down the country road to my destination in the not so French Fiat 500. In Cormatin, I cross onto the oncoming traffic lane and park the car on the wrong side of the street because that's what the natives do. I leave the car and head to the boulangerie to purchase the holy bread of the day. I'm feeling so French that I pick out a selection of viennoiserie for my sweet toothed friend: pain au chocolat, tartelette au citron... At the next town I pull into the organic épicerie to buy the ingredients to replicate a leek and goat cheese tarte that I had enjoyed making and eating at The Cook's Atelier, a fantastic cooking workshop. Back on the road I get back on track. I have traveled this road so many times that I feel like I belong. I don't need a GPS or a MAP. I am no longer a tourist. Inside the train station I head to my buddy Jacques. We have met so many times that we are on first name basis. We chat. He makes the reservation for the TGV to Paris. He asks me: "Et puis après?" and after Paris? To which I answer: "Je rentre chez-nous au Canada" home to Canada. And he responds: "Ah, mais il fera froid!" but it will be cold. Yes, November is usually cold back home. At that moment I feel a slight pang of homesickness. But I must not allow it to take over my oh so perfect French day.

Thanks for sharing this French slice of life with me Jo!

A Burgundian Culinary Experience

Délice!

With fork and knife in hand I am enjoying the culinary experience that Burgundy has to offer. Le déjeuner is from 1200 - 1400. Heaven forbid should you miss it because you'll have to wait until 1900 for the next meal.

Our very first lunch was at Café La Jouvence in Saint-Gengoux-le-National: salade de lentilles, andouillete de pâte avec sauce, vin maison, fromage blanc, déssert au chocolat et café. Filled with locals including tables of tradesmen on their lunch hour enjoying a three course meal with wine. Why not! It might help with the afternoon roofing job three stories in the air!

Most memorable for Jo was La Terrasse in Cormatin. Vivid memory of our first day in Burgundy: bistro tables and blue chairs on the village sidewalk. We became regulars! Curry tagliatelles, pork cheeks, tartiflettes!

Best experience was at Le Bourgogne in Tournus. Escargots de Bourgogne to begin. These were cooked just right. Tender and not rubbery. Followed by poulet de Bresse à la crème grand-mère. Oh my. Rich, creamy white sauce with two different mushrooms and caramelized cloves of garlic. Need I say more! Just when I think I can't eat anymore, the lady brings a tray of a dozen different cheeses and plunks an empty plate in front of me. Oh dear. I pick four and beg Joanna to please help me. If this isn't enough, we order dessert. OK, one dessert to share. The best vanilla ice cream ever with sides of fresh crème Chantilly and hot chocolate sauce. Joanna dives into the fresh cream and I into the hot chocolate sauce. Everything is washed down with a pichet of white Mâcon and petit café. Three hours later, we roll out of the Bourgogne onto rue du docteur Privey. It's official, the kitchen is closed. We don't eat for the rest of the day.

While visiting Dijon and its dukes of Burgundy we popped into Le Bistrot des Halles, 10 rue Bannelier where I enjoyed oven roasted marrow bones with fleur de sel de Camargue and a risotto avec ses escargots.

Roasted Marrow Bones

Risotto avec ses escargots

We came upon La Brasserie le Carnot on a very wet Thursday afternoon in Beaune. We fell in love. It was packed but a garçon quickly instructed us to "wait by the bar" and that "a table would soon be available". The energy was delectable. This was a true French Brasserie. My Jarret du porc was memorable. Our waiter was cocky, confident and poked fun at us. I must say that I was taken aback but quickly decided to make it part of our brasserie experience.

Jarret du porc

We travelled to Lyon to drop off our friends at the Part Dieu train station. We made reservation at the Café du Jura, an authentic bouchon lyonnais. The Fodor's travel guide says "Founded in 1864 (note that the awning in the photo below indicates 1867), the rows of tables, the 1934 mosaic-tile floor and the absence of anything pretty gives this place the feel of a men's club." I rather think that instead of putting the accent on decor, this establishment puts it on the food served. This rue Tupin restaurant, note this, is closed weekends May-Sept., Sun. and Mon. Sept.-Apr. I wonder if they go to the cottage for those summer weekends ; ) ? This is a perfect example of the French Art of Schedules! One would expect a "sauf"... At the table next to us, a regular patron was enjoying her lunch. She suggested that the girolles were delicious. I ordered them for a starter and asked Benoît, le fils de la maison, to recommend a main. Sadly, it was not a great choice. The bavette de veau turned out to be a skirt of tripes. Some organ or rather that Lyon cuisine is famous for... I don't mind organs. But this was not a memorable one. Ah but the girolles were worth it. Thank goodness we reserved. Benoît turned away a dozen who had not...

Bonchon Lyonnais

Buttery girolles

Bourguignon Birding

Chouette chevêche

Rouge-queue noir

Tourterelle turque

Mésange charbonnière

Bœuf Bourguignon

Les recettes Bourguignonnes de tante Margot

I came across a copy of Les recettes bourguignonnes de tante Margot. Biensûr it contained a recipe for bœuf bourguignon. Mom used to make this for Christmas dinner. I make it at least once a winter.

Bœuf Bourguignon recipe

Went to the marché in St-Gengoux-le-national to pick up a few groceries for the weekend. Makings for salad, chicken soup and this yummy beef stew. It is without a doubt that the beef sold is of charolais origin. The burgundian hills are peppered with these elegant, white cows. The boucher proposed a burgundy cut and I requested that he throw a couple of cow cheeks into the mix. Having enjoyed pork cheeks earlier that day for lunch, I was excited by the thought of using something as exotic. Smoked bacon was also on my list.

Elegant charolais

After a few intensive days of travelling the French countryside, I declared Saturday a farmhouse day. Laundry and cooking!

Lardons of smoked pork

Bourguignon mix at the top and
beef jowls at the bottom

Such a small range for such a grand dish

Pearl onions are called "grelot" or small bells

Bœuf bourguignon simmering away in an old Creuset pot.

Bœuf Bourguignon

This recipe is adapted from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck (Alfred A. Knopf, 1961)

Ingredients

One 6-ounce piece of chunk bacon

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

3 pounds lean stewing beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 carrot, sliced

1 onion, sliced

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups red wine, young and full-bodied (like Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone or Burgundy)

2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups brown beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cloves mashed garlic

1/2 teaspoon thyme

A crumbled bay leaf

18 to 24 white onions, small

3 1/2 tablespoons butter

Herb bouquet (4 parsley sprigs, one-half bay leaf, one-quarter teaspoon thyme, tied in cheesecloth)

1 pound mushrooms, fresh and quartered

 

Cooking Directions

Remove bacon rind and cut into lardons (sticks 1/4-inch thick and 1 1/2 inches long). Simmer rind and lardons for 10 minutes in 1 1/2 quarts water. Drain and dry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Sauté lardons in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a flameproof casserole over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes to brown lightly. Remove to a side dish with a slotted spoon.

Dry beef in paper towels; it will not brown if it is damp. Heat fat in casserole until almost smoking. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until nicely browned on all sides. Add it to the lardons.
In the same fat, brown the sliced vegetables. Pour out the excess fat.

Return the beef and bacon to the casserole and toss with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Then sprinkle on the flour and toss again to coat the beef lightly. Set casserole uncovered in middle position of preheated oven for 4 minutes.

Toss the meat again and return to oven for 4 minutes (this browns the flour and coves the meat with a light crust).

Remove casserole and turn oven down to 325 degrees.

Stir in wine and 2 to 3 cups stock, just enough so that the meat is barely covered. Add the tomato paste, garlic, herbs and bacon rind. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove. Cover casserole and set in lower third of oven. Regulate heat so that liquid simmers very slowly for 3 to 4 hours. The meat is done when a fork pierces it easily. While the beef is cooking, prepare the onions and mushrooms.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter with one and one-half tablespoons of the oil until bubbling in a skillet.
Add onions and sauté over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, rolling them so they will brown as evenly as possible. Be careful not to break their skins. You cannot expect them to brown uniformly.
Add 1/2 cup of the stock, salt and pepper to taste and the herb bouquet. Cover and simmer slowly for 40 to 50 minutes until the onions are perfectly tender but hold their shape, and the liquid has evaporated. Remove herb bouquet and set onions aside.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining oil and butter over high heat. As soon as you see butter has begun to subside, indicating it is hot enough, add mushrooms. Toss and shake pan for 4 to 5 minutes. As soon as they have begun to brown lightly, remove from heat. When the meat is tender, pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a saucepan. Wash out the casserole and return the beef and lardons to it. Distribute the cooked onions and mushrooms on top. Skim fat off sauce in saucepan. Simmer sauce for a minute or 2, skimming off additional fat as it rises. You should have about 2 1/2 cups of sauce thick enough to coat a spoon lightly. If too thin, boil it down rapidly. If too thick, mix in a few tablespoons stock. Taste carefully for seasoning. Pour sauce over meat and vegetables. Cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, basting the meat and vegetables with the sauce several times.

Serve in casserole, or arrange stew on a platter surrounded with potatoes, noodles or rice, and decorated with parsley.

Bon appétit!

Saint-Gengoux-le-nationale : : October 2

How many fires burned in this hearth?

"Jet Lag derives from the simple fact that jets travel so fast they leave your body rhythms behind."

By Rebecca Maksel airspacemag.com June 17, 2008

Wake early in the attic. Come down the attic stairs to put the coffee on. The sun slowly rises over the fields. Blond charolais moo in the distance while the sheep slowly wake. Take it all in. Savour the moment. Light a fire. Read over a bowl of coffee. Breakfast consists of an omelet and toasted baguette. 

Aahh! Morning coffee...

Walk the long way to Saint-Gengoux-le-nationale. Boulanger for a baguette. At the tourism office, a price is negotiated for two bicyclettes for the month.  Since the village closes down at noon to 14h... or so a visit to the épicier is in order for a few things... Nutella, Dijon mustard, vegetables, apples, milk. Then to the boucher for a piece of fromage and 100 g of jambon fumé. 

There is mention of this village church in 950.

Café de Jouvence for a déjeuner. Premier plat: greens and lentil salad with smoked ham. Followed by andouille (yummy sausage) and pasta. Let's not forget the cheese or fromage blanc which is a fresh curdled milk cheese in its whey. Sugar is offered. Since the motto of the trip is "We do it all", the sugar is accepted. Dessert is included, so tarte aux framboises and tarte chocolat. A café to finish things off. Needless to say, no need to eat for the rest of this day.

Bicycle back to Sercy... via the short way. Beautiful day!

Paris Après Ski

After our fill of skiing in Haute-Savoie, of eating tartiflette et reblochon and of drinking génépi et bière sérieuse, three of us hopped on the TGV to Paris. The train is by far the best way to travel. For a song, we booked our seats in roomy and luxurious first class with front row seats to the French countryside.

Through France Homestyle, we booked a two bedroom apartment in the Quartier Latin in the 5th arrondissement. This neighbourhood is home to La Sorbonne, le collège de France, the panthéon and the famous boulevard St-Michel. From the gare de Lyon, it was a quick taxi ride. Marie-Noël greeted us and gave us a quick tour of our new abode at 42, rue Descartes, Paris, 5ième arrondissement, France! Charming! We were charmed! Being Sunday, it was doubtful that we could easily get a few groceries. Marie-Noël was helpful to point out that we would find whatever we needed "chez les arabes" since they would be open on a Sunday. Bien sûr.

For our first night in Paris, we decided to have dinner at our neighbourhood bistro, La maison de Verlaine. That night we discovered how small town our Latin Quarter was. It appeared that our new neighbours had not missed a thing about our arrival. Bienvenue! Interesting facts about this establishment: not only did Verlaine die in the house in 1896, between 1921-1925 Hemingway rented a room where he did his writing. He lived just around the corner with his wife Hadley. Makes me want to read his Moveable Feast!

 
For four consecutive days, we set out late morning to tour as true tourists. Our first stop was the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. And then the Hop On Hop Off bus took us around the major arrondissements: l'Opéra, l'Arc de triomphe, les tuileries, Chaillot, les Invalides, la tour de Gustave Eiffel, St-Germain-des-Près and back full circle to our Latin Quarter. Day two took us to visit Garnier's Paris National Opera and lunch at the famous Café de la paix, a true Parisian landmark since 1862. Wednesday we took the train to Versailles. How power corrupts. Such extravagance while people starved. And finally, on Thursday we hopped on the metro and headed to Gustave's tower. Failing to quickly figure the queue system, we took the stairs to the top: 1,665 steps to the third level! Bravo Pat! You're amazing!

If I were asked what I liked best about Paris, I would say the following... I love how "Parisien" the Parisians are! It is a way of life that is bred deeply in the bones of its people. The school kids walking two by two holding hands with their class mate all the while shouting and laughing. The men playing boules in the park on a Sunday afternoon. The sound of church bells ringing the Angelus. The Parisian walking home snacking on pieces of bread from the baguette that he casually holds in his hand.

Heavenly Skiing in Les Trois Vallées

Vallée numéro 1: Les Menuires. Vallée numéro 2: Méribel. Vallée numéro 3: Courchevel. Amazing ski terrain! Even the Ski Bees' die hards are in awe at the vertical landscape and horizontal span of these three valleys. Greens, blues, reds, blacks, off pistes, powder, bumps and more. Something for everyone and for all levels.

9 o'clock for six straight days. We head out and ski for a couple of hours. The mountains are peppered with alpine bistros aux saveurs de Savoie. Mid morning, we stop for a café of whatever-strikes-your-fancy: au lait, cappuccino, expresso or even a bière sérieuse for some or a petite 25 cl for others. Hungry? A little pain au chocolat maybe? A tarte aux myrtilles perhaps... It's all very civilized, n'est ce pas?

Back on our skis, we ski into the afternoon until our stomachs complain. Nothing sharpens the appetite more than fresh winter air or in this case pure alpine delight! All agree to break for a bite of Savoyard cuisine: tartiflette, boeuf bourguignon with polenta, galettes, etc. The meals are hot, filling and oh so delicious!  Must not forget the digestif... the génépi and the expresso to finish off the lunch... Oh dear! Will we slide down the mountains or roll?

Almost two solid days of snowfall greeted the Ski Bees!

Is this really March 23?

Monday afternoon (day 2) the sun greeted us!

It is like skiing in heaven!

Bouquetin des alpes

Les copains!

Soupe au Folie Douce!

Nathalie, our feisty ESF guide!

Tartiflette

Great Ski Bee Buds!

Fromages Savoyards!

Our resident vet and her French Bulldog!

Skiing the French Alps

Hôtel Les Bruyères

My first time in the French Alps was in 1987, to visit a friend from Grenoble. Agnès picked me up in Paris and we made our way south to her hometown. In jet lag fog, I remember fields of lavender and sunflowers, hairpin turns, picturesque alpine villages.

Almost thirty years later, I'm back in the French Alps (oh do I feel older),  in Les Menuires - Saint Martin. Via  Toronto - Frankfort, Frankfort - Lyon. Hopped on a coach and up we went. From 250 m to 1850 m or approximately 800 feet above sea level to over 6,000 feet. Hairpin turns and steep embankments. Jet lagged to the gills, need I say that it was a hair raising ride in the snow and fog. Oh but oh! Those alpine chalets are some pretty. We finally made it to Les Bruyères, home sweet home for the next six days. Quick, quick, quick! You got to check in and pick up your ski equipment. Did I mention that dinner is in 10 minutes! I haven't been here in 30 years but I've been up for over 30 hours. All I want is a good glass of wine, a bite to eat and a bed.

Sweet slumber! Oh was it sweet.

Today we met our ESF guide Alain. ESF or École de Ski de France instructors are the best in the world. I wish I could say the same about the conditions. Not only is it foggy but it's snowing quite heavily and also windy. Up we go from one lift to the next. Reberty to the Sunny Express at just under 2700 m (8,800 + ft). Down we go in zero visibility, high winds and powder. Oh yeah! Back up we go on Mont de la Chambre at 2850 m (9,300 + ft).

Feeling my legs, the previous days of traveling, the weather and the altitude, I decide to call it a day. I've got nothing to prove and I want to live a long life. Oh, did I mention that I ran into a wall of powder? I thought I'd have to wait until spring to get out. Either that or be airlifted! Oh dear! Thank you Cathy and Tom for assisting.

Trois Vallées

Skied back to the hotel and changed, chilled a bit and headed out to the base in search of some lunch with my buddy Cathy. We found it at La crêperie la chouette. Quel délice! I ordered la galette du chef which turned out to be a crêpe filled with ham, tiny cubes of potatoes, parsley and a sauce of mushroom and onions accompanied with une bollée de cidre or a cup of cider. Wonderful! Cathy was equally pleased with her galette de saumon fumé avec épinard.

La chouette!