How to exaggerate like a Frenchman

"Monsieur Plus",  that's how my mother refers to my father, alluding to his tendency to exaggerate and embellish things ("Monsieur Plus" translates to "Mister Plus"). Accounts of their weekend hike often turn into a heroic odyssey for example. 

My Dad, Jean-Pierre, was born in my region of Rhone-Alpes, yet we like to joke with my Mom, that he might have been born in Marseille. In France, one commonly known stereotype of people from Marseille, is that they tend to exaggerate. So when someone says something that sounds a tad much, we usually say "il est Marseillais" (he is from Marseilles).  The stereotype is usually used for French people from the south of France (du midi) in general. 

I will let Peter Mayle describe this French trait in a funny extract from one of my favorite books, A Year in Provence.

"We learned that time on Provence is a very elastic commodity, even when it is described in clear and specific terms. Un petit quart d'heure means sometime today. Demain means sometime this week. And, the most elastic time segment of all, une quinzaine can mean three weeks, two months , or next year, but never, ever does it mean fifteen days. We learned also to interpret the hand language that accompanies any discussion of deadlines. When a Provencal looks you in the eye and tells you that he will be hammering on your door ready to start work next Tuesday for certain, the behavior of his hands is all-important. If they are still, or patting you reassuringly on the arm, you can expect him on Tuesday. If one hand is held out of waist height, palm downwards, and begins to rock from side to side, adjust the timetable to Wednesday or Thursday. If the rocking develops into an agitated waggle, he's really talking about next week or God knows when, depending on circumstances beyond his control."

What are some of the stereotypes from the regions of your country?

Good Food, Good Friends

Here's a dessert that will become a classic. It's such an easy recipe, believe me! It would be really hard to mess it up. Make this raspberry tiramisu a day ahead and serve it cold, with a clairette de Die , an Asti Spumante or even a Muscat like a Beaumes de Venise. I really enjoy clairette for its refreshing and sparkling taste. Its unique sweetness comes from the muscat grapes. It's like drinking sunshine!

Much like regular coffee and chocolate tiramisu, raspberry tiramisu is soft, creamy and airy.  This "Summer version" seems to even taste lighter! It is decadent and awfully delicious.  Not convinced yet? What are you waiting for! Believe me you will thank me!

I made this dessert last week when we got invited for dinner at the house of Kimmie and Joe, along with  our friends Brenda, Roger, Stephanie, Phil and Sohnne. It was a lovely evening. Kimmie and Joe are talented cooks and passionate people. Joe made unbelievable pates and rillettes -it reminded me of my grandfather, who has been making pates all his life. The highlight of the evening was their Cassoulet. It was the first time I met Kimmie and Joe but boy, we speak the same language - the language of food!

Raspberry Tiramisu (a recipe from gourmandises Pierre Herme)

For 6 to 8 people

about 20 lady fingers

about 4.4 oz of raspberries

For the raspberry coulis:

4.4 oz raspberries

2 tbsps of water

2 tbsps of powdered sugar

For the mascarpone cream:

4 egg whites

5 tsps water

1/2 cup of sugar

1 container of mascarpone (about 8.8 oz or 250g)

4 yolks

Prepare the coulis. In a fine mesh sieve, mash the raspberries. Push the mixture down to extract the seeds. Add the powdered sugar and the water and mix together. Reserve.

Prepare the cream. Beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt, until soft. Bring the water to a boil with the sugar and boil for 3 minutes maximum. Stream this syrup slowly over the egg whites while you resume the beating. The whites will be shiny and firm.

In a bowl, mix together the yolks and the sugar until smooth. Slowly fold in the whites.

Roll one ladyfinger at a time quickly into the syrup and lay in a rectangular dish (7.8 x 9.4) until you have a layer. Spread half of the mascarpone cream over. Add the raspberries. Do the second layer of ladyfingers, just the same. Cover with the remaining mascarpone cream. Keep in the fridge and serve the day after. 

When it's time to serve, sprinkle some cocoa powder over the tiramisu.

Happy Bastille Day!

Today was France's national day. In the United States, it's commonly known as Bastille Day. In France, we refer to it as "la Fete Nationale" or "le 14 juillet". There's noting much different in the way we celebrate. There's grilling involved, maybe picnics and always fireworks bien sur!!

It's been five years that I haven't been home for le 14 juillet but fortunately, Austin's French Alliance has been organizing a Bastille Day Celebration for the past 12 years. Saturday was the second time Juan and I went. Many of our friends came and it was all that I wanted for my Bastille Day: good company, music and nice food.

The lawn of the French Legation Museum was not too crowded. There were lots of children running, families and people juggling with diabolos (yes juggling. I joked that I did not know juggling was a typical French thing to do). No they were not wearing any hat with bells.

We found a spot under a tree, where we settled ourselves down, picnic style. The food was provided so all we needed to do was walk to the tables and choose between merguez or a pate sandwiches, croque-monsieurs, cheese plates - among other things.

My heart was set on the merguez sandwich, a spicy sausage originally from Northern Africa but adopted by the French. It's so much part of our culture now! We sometimes eat it as a sandwich, in a fresh crispy baguette, along with French mustard. Yum!!

There was a "guillotine" there. It was for people to have their picture taken by a photographer. I'm not sure how I feel about a guillotine - even fake - being displayed at a Bastille Day celebration. It seemed unusual (we don't usually have fun around a fake guillotine), but all in all it made everyone smile.

The rest of the evening was spent talking and eating - and juggling for some of us. Even though I was not in France, it was the best American 14th of July I had ever had!

White Gold

My favorite kind of salt is fleur de sel, which in French means flower of salt. It's not like the regular salt we use. No, believe me, it's better! I might sound a little bit like a food snob here, but the way it brings out the flavors of a dish (sweet or savory) is truly unbelievable and irresistible. 

Now what in the world is Fleur de Sel exactly? Simply, it is the top layer of salt floating at the surface of the salt pond, before it sinks to the bottom. It's hand-harvested in the French region of Brittany, during the Summer. 

Fleur de Sel is not used for cooking but rather as a sel de table (table salt) right before you eat. I absolutely love sprinkling some on a bite of Foie Gras toast. Just thinking about it, I'm salivating (and that's only because we have a block of foie gras waiting for us to be eaten). See! Don't get me started, don't even get me started! It's also fantastic on slices of avocado,  on meat right off the grill , on butter or fresh goat cheese with some fresh bread and radishes, on any vegetable and also don't forget soft boiled eggs (one of my favorite breakfast food). I also use it in my chocolate desserts. 

I can easily buy Fleur de Sel at my grocery store (Central Market) but if you can't find it, you can also order it at William Sonoma.

Fresh from the garden

My grandparents have grown their own vegetables their whole life. Salads, potatoes, leeks, carrots, radishes, turnips, pumpkins. The list goes on and on. I feel so privileged to have been able to take advantage of their harvest. There simply isn't any comparison between a green salad fresh from the garden and a store bought one. I am lucky enough though, to have a great supermarket who sells wonderful fresh products right next to where we live here in Austin.

Outdoor markets in France, happen weekly or even daily, depending on where you live. For my village, it is every Saturday. There are several fruit and vegetable stands (among other things), all of which have big displays. Vendors yell out to attract customers: "regardez ces belles peches madame" ("look at these beautiful peaches ma'am"). They make you taste the product before you buy it. They point out to you which fruit or vegetables are at the peak of their flavor. 

It is a place where I love to go. I feel so alive when I'm there. The smells, the colors and the sounds permeate all your senses. If you go to a small town market (like the one where I go), you will see people talking everywhere, catching up, greeting each other with kisses on the cheeks. It's of course the place of many gossips (usually very important reports such as "Mrs P. told me that the daughter of the neighbor of Mrs B. is having an affair with the mailman's son"). 

But anyway, there is one vegetable that I really enjoy buying at that time of the year and it's asparagus. And in my family, we enjoy them boiled, cold, with homemade mayonnaise or vinaigrette.

For two persons, I count about 7 small asparagus each.  Lay the asparagus in a large skillet filled with just enough boiling water to cover them. Reduce the heat a little and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Drain, allow to cool and store in the fridge. While the asparagus cook, prepare the mayonnaise. You will need:

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

salt, pepper

1 cup of corn oil

Whisk together the yolk, the mustard, the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Whisk vigorously and pour the oil, one drop at a time. Before adding the next drop, make sure it's well incorporated. Keep whisking  (keep going!) while you slowly pour a little more oil in a thin steady stream. Repeat until the texture becomes very smooth and you have used all the oil. The key is to not pour the oil too quickly and make sure the ingredients emulsify before you add more oil. When you have a nice mayonnaise you can add more lemon juice and salt and pepper if you want to. Keep in the fridge until you are ready to eat.

To serve, I usually put the bowl of mayonnaise with a spoon and the plate of asparagus on the table. Everyone scoops how much mayonnaise and asparagus they want on their plate. To eat, I like to dip my asparagus in the mayonnaise (and double dip, but it's okay because it's in my plate!).

Serve with fresh bread like pain de campagne or baguette.