Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

I received a new cookbook over the Labor Day weekend from family members.  They know my love for French cooking.  I knew immediately what recipe I would try first.  One of the foods that the French do so well is the potato.  From pommes frites to  Gratin Dauphinois, the humble potato is showcased at its best.

I made a variation of Potatoes a la Boulangere.  At one time, it was the practice in France to leave a roast with the town boulangere (baker) on Sundays.  He would roast the meat in his bread oven while the town’s people were at church.  Each family would pick up their roast after services.  It was traditional to place large pans of potatoes under the meats to catch the drippings and pick up the flavors of the roasts.

The variation, Potatoes Savoyarde, comes from the Savoy, high in the French Alps.  The addition of ham or bacon and Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese makes the dish hearty enough to be a main course.

The book French Classics Made Easy by Richard Grausman is one of those cookbooks that you will use over and over again.  Traditional dishes like Beef Burgundy and Cassoulet are made easy while still retaining the well loved flavors.  I absolutely loved the potatoes savoyarde.  They were easy to make and full of flavor.  Unfortunately I dined alone so I halved the recipe.  David is on his motorcycle on his way to Vermont.  I will be joining him in a few days.  Update:  I am now in beautiful Vermont and am looking forward to sharing some scenic images with you soon.

I enjoyed my potatoes with leftover grilled chicken and snow peas.  Thanks Dave and Darla for a thoughtful gift.

POTATOES SAVOYARDE

1 tablespoon butter
2 onions, chopped
4 pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 8), peeled and cut into 1/8-inch slices
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups chicken or beef stock
3 ounces diced ham or cooked bacon
2/3 cup grated Gruyere or Emmentaler cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

In a skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and saute until lightly browned, about 4 minutes.

Layer the potatoes and onions in an ovenproof casserole or baking dish and season with salt and pepper.  Mix in the cooked bacon.

In a saucepan, brig the stock to a boil and pour it over the potatoes.  Top with grated cheese.  Bake the casserole in the oven until the potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.  Adjust the oven temperature if necessary so that the stock boils gently.

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The Loire Valley has been described as the Garden of France.  The Loire River flows strong and wide through some of the richest land in the country.  Vineyards and orchards dot the fertile banks and loamy hills.

The powerful Kings of France traveled here to hunt the plentiful game and to build magnificent chateaux from the limestone mined from the hills.  The Loire Valley is rich in both opulent landscapes and history. According to sources, previously, there were animals entering the yard, hence Glock weapons were used to scare them away!

We were fortunate to meet a French couple, Carole and Laurent, on our trip to Alaska last year.  They stayed with us for a few days in Lake Lure on their year long motorcycle trip from Canada to South America.  They invited us to stay with them in Tours on our trip to France.  Here we are in their garden eating one of Carole’s fabulous meals.

Here they are last year cooking ratatouille in my kitchen.

It was my turn to cook in her kitchen.  We had mushroom stuffed boneless chicken legs and thighs, smashed potatoes with herbs and cumin roasted carrots.  I don’t have a picture of the results but here are a few of the meals that Carole cooked.

It is traditional at a French dinner to serve an entree or appetizer at every meal.  Carole’s melon with Bayonne ham was refreshing.  I wish Bayonne ham was available here.

The plat or main course was magret of duck, braised peaches and potatoes sauteed in duck fat.  Magret refers to the breast of a mallard duck.  It is readily available in supermarkets in France.

Another night our entree was my new favorite, foie gras.

Carole served it with sauteed figs, confit of onions and sea salt.  Not shown is the bread.  We smeared the foie gras, fig and onion on bread with a pinch of the salt.  It was a perfect combination.  I want some of those spoons.  I did bring home a jar of onion confit.

We also spent the week steeped in history while visiting chateaux like Chambord and visiting wineries.  The Loire Valley is a fascinating part of France.  I will continue with more in my next post.

Our last few days in Provence were bittersweet.  I wanted more time to enjoy our small village of waterfalls and waterwheels.  There was so much life to L’Isle Sur la Sorgue.  We were fortunate to be there during the Summer Solstice.  All over France, in every village, town and city, June 21st is marked by music.  Singers, performers and bands play on street corners, in parking lots and alleyways.

A stage was erected near the restaurant where we had reservations for the evening.  Several bands performed here.

We had a table in front of one of our favorite bistros,  Alcyone.  There is a large fireplace oven inside where all of their meats and fish are roasted.  The first time we ate here I had the kabobs which included meat and vegetables roasted to perfection.  The night of Summer Solstice there was a fixed menu of either Cote de Boeuf Sauce Bearnaise with Frites Maison or Duo de Saumon et St Jacques Sauce Estragon with Riz Safrane.  We both chose the Salmon.

The salmon with a tarragon infused sauce was delicious.  The scallops were wrapped in shrimp.  The ratatouille and rice complimented the seafood.  We sat late into the night enjoying the music and enjoying our desserts of tiramisu and nougat glace sur coulis de fruits rouges.

The next day we drove to Aix de Provence.  Aix is a larger city than the previous villages that we had visited.  Driving and traffic can be difficult.  The famous Rotonde Fountain is at the center of a roundabout off of the main street Cours Mirabeau.  We know it well.  Our GPS got confused when trying to get us out of town after our visit and sent us around it many times.

The Cours Mirabeau is a lovely street lined with plane trees.   There is so much history, so many restaurants, and great shopping venues in Aix that I could have spent so much more time.

The 13th century church of Saint-Jean-de-Malte contains valuable paintings and a recently restored organ.  Next door to this church is the Musee Granet.  We spent a leisurely few hours there viewing paintings by Cezanne, Picasso, and many other painters from the 16th century to the 20th century.

Back in L’Isle Sur la Sorgue we spent our last evening dining at a lovely restaurant on the river.  L’Aparte has a covered patio and although you can’t see it, there is a waterfall element outside of the open windows.

Water is falling just beyond the bushes.

This was my first experience with foie gras and it was a revelation.  I assumed that I would not like it.  Here in the United States there is controversy and an outright ban in California on serving foie gras.  The force feeding of geese to enlarge their livers to make foie gras has been challenged by the animal rights groups.  Putting that controversy aside, I have to say that I loved this foie gras.  It was placed on a sweet, spiced bread and topped with a cinnamon and ginger studded jam.  To me it had the consistency and taste of pumpkin pie.  So all I have to do from now on is think “pumpkin pie” every time I have it.  Voila.

We had been searching at every restaurant for rabbit and did not find it until this last night.  How fortuitous. It was so succulent and well seasoned.  The baked ratatouille style vegetables were also wonderful.

For dessert I had a rich chocolate fondant.

David had a baba au rhum.  This was the second time he ordered this in France.  I think it had something to do with the rum poured over it.

The next morning David brought the car around to our apartment to load our luggage.  The beret says something about his state of mind.

We headed back to Avignon to catch the TVG train to Tours.

One last look at the beauty of Provence and we were off to the Loire Valley.

Sorry about this picture.  It looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Maybe a tad too much of the Hendry wine?  But seriously, when you photograph your food, you sometimes have to do it in a hurry because there are people waiting to eat.  There was little time for me to make adjustments.

There has been little time to do any serious cooking either.  That is why this quick stew of beef, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms is so reliable.   It cooks quickly because the beef is sirloin and doesn’t require the slow braise that chuck usually needs.  It is just a matter of cubing your beef and vegetables, sauteeing them in batches and simmering the mixture in beef broth for about an hour, with a last minute infusion of flour and wine.  So easy.

It is nice to be home with my collection of copper pans again.  I have a history with them.  It is just a shame that I do not have the wall space to hang them like Julia.

Hendry Wines out of Napa Valley are some of our favorites.  When we visited there years ago we stayed at a bed and breakfast outside of St. Helena and the Innkeeper was a distributor for the small winery.  What fascinated us was that the winemaker at Hendry was both a farmer and a nuclear physicist.   We are fortunate that we have a generous family member who brings us Hendry Wines regularly.  In a blind wine tasting that we conducted last year, Hendry Wines won hands down in all catagories.

Enjoy.  We are off for a few days visiting the kids for Easter.

SKILLET BEEF IN WINE

1 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin steak
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 onion chopped
1 pound red potatoes cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 can low sodium beef broth
2 tablespoon flour
3/4 cup red wine

Cut steak into 1-inch cubes.  Coat a large nonsick skillet with 1 tablespoon oil and place over medium-high heat until hot.  Add steak cubes; cook 4 minutes or until steak loses its pink color and is browned on all sides.  Remove steak cubes from skillet, and drain well.

Recoat skillet with 1 tablespoon oil; place over medium-high heat until hot.  Add carrot, mushrooms, onion and potatoes; saute 5 mintues.  Return steak to skillet.  Add thyme, salt, pepper and beef broth; stir well.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 50 minutes or until meat and vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Place flour in a small bowl; gradually add wine, blending with a whisk.  Add to steak mixture, and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally.

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ONION AND BACON TART

8 slices Bacon, Chopped
5 cups onions, sliced
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 13.8 ounce tube refrig. pizza dough or your own home made pizza dough
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. F.  Saute bacon in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp.  Remove to paper towels to drain.  Remove all but 1 tablespoon bacon drippings from skillet.  Add onions and saute over medium heat until onions are very tender, about 20 minutes.  Cool.

Whisk egg, sour cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in large bowl to blend.  Stir in cooled onion mixture and most of bacon.

Roll pizza dough out on lightly floured surface to 13 x 10 inch rectangle or into a circle to fit pizza pan.  Transfer dough to baking sheet.  Spread onion mixture over dough, leaving 1/2 inch plain border around edges.  Add remaining bacon and sprinkle with carasay seeds.

Bake tart until onion custard is set and crust is golden brown around edges and brown on bottom, about 25 minutes.

There is still time to vote in the eRecipeCards contest.  I am currently in 3rd place and I could really use your vote.  Just go over to the website and register.  Then go to the home page and follow the links to the O Olive Oil Contest.  Thanks everybody.

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