Southern Fried French

Stirring the Pot at a Spanish Inn

Painting, 'Village Colors' by Barbara Andolsek at http://bandolsek.blogspot.com/

Our beloved friend Wendy turned 80 this month, she is the Queen Mum of our social circle here.  Her Parisian daughter was planning a party for her at the château, and she wrote an email (in French) saying the party would be an auberge espagnole.  

Most of the anglophones among us were puzzled.  An ‘auberge espagnole’, a spanish inn?  One guest decided she would wear a flamenco costume; another said she might bring some castanets.  A third decided it was a tapas party.  Fortunately the mystery was sorted out before it was too late:  une auberge espagnole is the French expression for a potluck supper, where everyone brings a dish.    

Our châtelaine Nicole knows the origin of this unusual expression first hand.  In the 1950’s when she was a child traveling with her family in Spain, they sometimes stopped at small Spanish hotels. Provisions in this post-war period were slim, so you brought with you what you wanted to eat.  The expression crossed the border into France and evolved into a potluck.  But auberge espagnole has also taken on a figurative meaning: you get out what you put in, you reap what you sow.   

Peiodically Nicole has une auberge espagnole at the château and invites all of her French friends from Lyon, where she used to work.  Now if you should ever get an invitation to a  French potluck, you should cancel whatever plans you have, no matter how important, and get yourself right on over there, if Nicole’s friends are any indication.

This happens in summer, so most folks bring glorious salads.  There are chopped salads, seafood salads, salads with grains and beans.  Quiches of all sorts are popular choices too, for this non-spanish do.  And the desserts--magnifique!

I’m off to an auberge espagnole this week.  Inspired by the name and by Nicole’s friends, I decided to make my own version of the traditional spanish salad, ensalada mixta.  Make it or tweak it for your lucky summer fête--it’s packed with market veggies and so easy there’s not even a pot to stir.

 

RECIPE:  Market Day Ensalada Mixta

Serves 4 

• Romaine lettuce
• 1 small jar roasted red peppers, drained (or roast your own)
• 1 bunch green asparagus, steamed or roasted
• 2 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off
• 4  boiled eggs, peeled  and quartered
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• a handful of good black olives
• 1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
•  grape tomatoes
• half of a small cucumber, sliced
• 1/4 pound  (115 grams) manchego cheese, cut in cubes
• olive oil
• wine vinegar
• a lemon
• a handful of  mixed fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley, tarragon, cilantro 
• (good additions/substitutions: avocados, green beans, white beans, radishes)

Tear romaine leaves and cover a platter with them.  Arrange vegetables on top and eggs around the edges.  Add cheese.  Just before serving, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.  Toss on the herbs, squeeze lemon juice over all and serve with crusty French bread.

Favorite Reads, etc.:  If you like the painting above, you will want to visit Barbara’s site, http://bandolsek.blogspot.com.  Her lovely and affordable paintings capture the spirit of the places she’s visited, the things she loves. She did a  beautiful painting from a photo on this blog of our village church.  Check out the photo on the December 16, 2010  post then look at the painting here, or on on her site.

In the movie department, It so happens that L'Auberge Espagnole  is also the name of a French comedy (in English) that I’ve just discovered, about a French exchange student who goes to Barcelona and falls into a melting pot, an apartment of other young Europeans.

As for books, reader Sue Wallace recommends two books, inspired by last week’s rosé recipe: Extremely Pale Rosé and La Vie en Rose: A Very French Adventure Continues. The subject is a guy who goes on a rosé quest in the south of France then opens a rosé bar, a bar for guys  even though rosé is  often considered a summer chick drink in France. I’ll be ordering these myself!  Click on the links for info.  

Into the Depths: Stocking 'La Cave'

A wine cellar in the states is a true luxury.  But in the Burgundy countryside?  You wouldn’t dream of not having one, usually the real (underground, stone) thing.  Even modest farmhouses will have a stone cave, (pronounced kav), the French word for cellar.  You’ll find them in the basement or a former cistern; or if you’re lucky, you’ve got a true vaulted stone cellar, not an uncommon thing here.  

Think you don’t need a wine cellar?  Let’s give this a bit of thought.  How many bottles of wine do you drink in a year?  (We don’t dare divulge that figure,  even as moderate drinkers.  Must be our visitors who run those numbers up).  So maybe you polish off half a bottle at dinner with your family (and maybe you should; red especially is good for the health).  That’s 182 bottles a year.  Then think about dinner parties, visitors, holidays, maybe the odd cocktail party.  Better double that figure.  Now if you’re going to get ahead of the game and buy some bottles to age in your cellar, you’ll need even more.  You can see the numbers add up quickly.   Buying wine in large quantities and ahead of time, to age, is truly an economical thing to do.  Having une cave, then, makes a lot of sense if you're a wine lover. If you were looking for an excuse to add one, you may thank me now.   Photo: a corner of our cave.

We buy most of our Burgundy wines from a couple of our favorite caves cooperatives in the area (wine-making organizations that buy grapes from local vignerons, then market and sell the wine).  Then we always stock up with a few cases when we travel around France or Italy.  Photo:  Barrels at a cave cooperative. 

Ron’s corner:  “In the states, they say most wine is bought to be drunk by 7 p.m. that evening.  It’s bought by the bottle.  Even if you go to a US wine store, you might get a shopping basket or even a cart for your wine.  Go in a cave cooperative here for some wine, and at the door you grab a 4-wheeled heavy-duty flat bed chariot  that is something like you might find at Home Depot for hauling heavy lumber.  You buy wine not by the bottle or case, but in multiple cases, and it goes home to your cave.  The frugal (and thirsty) French know that this is the thrifty way to do it”.  

Now let's dust off a bottle for our recette du jour.  When one thinks of cooking with wine, it usually brings a long-simmered stew to mind.  But what about dessert?  Here’s a recipe for a grown-up sundae, made with a summery rosé that is reduced to a rich syrup.

 

RECIPE:  Peach and Rosé Sundae

Serve these sundaes, with their minty chapeaux, on a hot summer day on a shady terrace with a glass of chilled rosé. 

For the rosé syrup:

Pour one bottle of rosé into a saucepan.  Add  ½ cup sugar, 2 cinnamon sticks, and 4 cloves.  Bring to a boil, stirring well to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat and simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced and thickened but not quite syrupy,  about 20-30 minutes (it will thicken up a bit, to a syrup, as it cools).  Cool, then stir in 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  Makes enough syrup for about 8 servings.

When ready to serve, slice peaches into a bowl, pour syrup over them and toss.  Put ice cream into 8 glasses, divide peaches and syrup among them.  Crumble an amaretto cookie over each (or any crunchy nut cookie) and garnish with mint.

Favorite Reads:  We really like Andrew Jefford's book The New France: A Complete Guide to Contemporary French Wine, a sort of wine atlas that is an entertaininbg read but also a good guidebook if you like to incorporate wine-tasting into your vacations.  A very different sort of book about wine, which all the expats here have enjoyed and passed around, is Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure, the riveting story of how the French protected their precious wines from the Nazis.  Please click on the links to order.

In the Comments:  Good question, Julie, and good answers from Linda and Laura, and I chimed in too. Emily and Jane have more entertaining ideas.  Ino, we're happy to bring you a little pedacito of France!

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2011 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved. 

To Everything There is 'La Saison'

It’s official.  The weather is glorious, the roses are out, the swallows have returned, the tables and parasols have sprung up at the cafés, and les étrangers who abandon their Burgundy homes for the winter are starting to trickle back in.  La saison est arrivée. 

In Charleston, with nearly year-round warm weather and a more settled residential crowd, seasonal changes are subtle.  The dramatic rhythms of the seasons here, weather and otherwise, were one of the cultural shocks when we moved to France.

The explosion of flowers, lush green colors, and sunshine that happens here in spring is matched only by the explosion in festivities.  After a quiet winter when many international residents go back to their home countries to visit family or depart for tropical climes, everyone returns in a party mood.  Our quiet life by the fire with books and projects blows out of the window with the first spring breeze, to be replaced by a social whirlwind.

Maybe it’s because we’re in the countryside,  or maybe it’s  because many of our friends are retired or work from home, but everyone here loves to entertain. This week was particularly busy.  We went to a fête to help friends plan a trip to Greece (Greek salad and baklava, yum); then a fondue Bourguignon; a Royal Wedding party just for the girls, complete with homemade scones with clotted cream;  a crêpe party in the village; and chez nous, an outdoor lunch for French friends.  Whew!

I think, too, that all this partying is just a part of that fabulous French lifestyle, captured for me by images of a table and chairs casually set outside in the grass, the family languishing there in the garden under the shade of an umbrella.  A common sight in la saison.

So, what’s a busy (and still working) hostess to do?  Over the years I’ve perfected my strategy.  At the start of the season I sit down and come up with a party menu, and I type up my grocery list.  Then I repeat the meal (so much easier the 2nd go round)  with the various groups of friends until all of our regular guests have had ‘The Menu’.  Then, I go to a new menu.  This requires good note-taking, by the way; if you’re like me you’ll soon forget who has had what.  

I want to share this year’s first outdoor menu with you (I’m making it tomorrow for the 2nd time).  And we’ll start with Eliane’s radish soup, which I mentioned last week.  There were several requests for it in the Comments section, so here it is, and Merci beaucoup, Eliane! 

 

RECIPE:  A Spring Party Menu

This is a casual, outdoor meal.  I serve everything à table except the main course, which I set up as a buffet so everyone can make their own sandwich.  Everything but grilling the sausages can be done ahead of time. 

First course:  Eliane’s Radish leaf and Zuchinni Soup.  Main Course: Grilled Saucisse de Provence on homemade hot dog buns with sautéed peppers and onions; potato salad or coleslaw. Cheese course, of course.  Dessert: Ice Cream Cones with Toppings.   Expresso with chocolates.

First Course:  Eliane’s Soupe Verte with Radish Leaves and Zucchini 

• the greens from one bunch of red radishes
• 2 medium zucchini
• butter
• water, salt and pepper
• a little heavy cream
• croutons (optional) 

Wash the leaves well; reserve a few for garnish.  In a medium saucepan, sauté the leaves in butter until well cooked.  Meanwhile, cut the zucchini into small cubes. Add them to the pan, then add water to cover, and salt and pepper.

Cover the soup and simmer it for about 30 minutes.  Blend it until smooth and taste to correct seasonings (thin with white wine, broth or water if needed).  Serve it in bowls, drizzled with the cream, then garnish it with the radish leaves, and croutons if desired.

For the main course, I use French sausages but Italian or polish sausages, or even good quality hot dogs, will work fine.  Fry up lots of sliced red, green, and yellow bell peppers with onions, bring out the good mustard, and serve on the toasted buns with the salad (re-heat peppers if you make them ahead)  If you have a little extra time, homemade hot dog buns make it more fun.  Shape yeast roll dough into  skinny rolls about 6” long before your final rise (I make them ahead, and freeze them).  They're prettier if you brush them with an egg wash and sprinkle them with sesame seeds just prior to baking. 

The world’s easiest dessert, which brings out the kid in everyone:  Buy some waffle cones and several flavors of gourmet ice cream.  Put the cones in a pretty basket and set up some little bowls of sprinkles, chopped nuts, maybe some coconut.  Bring it all to the table, then scoop and dip to order. Here’s wishing all of you a bouquet of lovely spring fêtes!

 

Favorite Reads:  It's also the season to travel in France.  Here's a book that's perfect for travel or for a gift.  Secret France showcases beautiful villages with country road trips, and it's divided by region. Lots of photos, too, which is fun.  And speaking of entertaining, I can't wait to get Kim O'Donnel's new cookbook, The Meat Lover's Meatless Cookbook: Vegetarian Recipes Carnivores Will Devour. As a part-time vegetarian, I'm always looking for meatless dishes that are crowd pleasers.  Click on the blue links to order.

In the Comments:  Cynthia says, how do you know when you’re hungry if you’re snacking all the time?!  Ido and Silver Magpie agree.  To Linda in Portland, we love recipes, merci! I can’t wait to try the Tuscan Cauliflower soup.  Mark, I can just imagine that photo of Manhattan.  In the states this year we saw a  woman gnawing on a big piece of fried chicken with one hand, talking on her cell phone with the other.  Did I mention she was driving a car at the time?

Unless otherwise attributed, all POSTS, PHOTOS and RECIPES on this blog copyright ©2011 Lynn McBride.  All Rights Reserved.