Nice work, Joe. Me and Mr Alderson just enjoyed being very lucky boys whilst having a 3 day quick skiing mission in France. The half metre of fresh powder aside, all the hotels in Flaine were fully booked so we had to stay in a small hotel 15 minutes down the hill - owned by a lovely couple whose gourmet restaurent would almost certainly be in the offing for a Michelin star if it was in this country.....The menu ( http://news.lacroixdesavoie.fr/lacroixdesavoie/uk/carte.asp ) contained stella examples of the local specialities, and was matched in its extent and quality by the wine list. All in all highly recommended, and had me and Grom pontificating long into the night about fine food and wine - me punching way above my weight - could have been the cognac..... Now I'm off to find a recipe for Farcement that I can adapt to include apricots and Marc de Savoie - just like the one that had us in raptures the other day. Incidentally, anybody who hasn't made a Tartiflette yet needs to find a good cheese shop with unpasturised Reblochon and a recipe. Fine winter food if ever there was an example.
You and Lucy will have to come over for a bite sometime, pity 'bout luce not being able to drink at the mo.....NOT
Do pregnant ladies in France get the same advice about these things, or is it just traditional British over-cautiousness?
Quote from: Joepicalli on March 21, 2008, 06:04:14 pmYou and Lucy will have to come over for a bite sometime, pity 'bout luce not being able to drink at the mo.....NOT Yeah, and no unpastuerised cheese (Reblochon out, then); no blue cheese which I 'm really craving; no parma ham or salami... Do pregnant ladies in France get the same advice about these things, or is it just traditional British over-cautiousness?IMO after the 1st trimester it's your normal diet sod it. however that's a fatherhood family type lifestyle opinion ( wife not on the cheese, but is on the salami - no not in that way), and not one of a UK medical practioner...
I'll have to get Graeme to fill you in on the other delights of the wine list - Wednesday nights desert wine was awesome!
Sounds good. Where's the boar from - your estate???+
The half metre of fresh powder aside...
Just been given a large piece of topside of beef (about 1.5 kg piece) from a very guilty local farmer who lost our cat from his cattery whilst we were away in France, (no worries though as The Reverend (as he's known) quested home on his tod, over the course of 4 days! At least he's lost a bit of weight...) Anybody have any interesting recipe ideas (for the beef, NOT the cat), other than the obvious option of just having a slap-up roast dinner.
Nice! I'd like to have been at that dinner table.Tesco on Abbeydale road are selling packs of 12 whole frozen Langoustine for £2. Very nice to find a UK supermarket selling them whole rather than covered in cheap bread crumbs. Have had two meals with these now. I'd recomend one pack per person. You don't get a lot of meat out of each one, but you do get a lot of flavour out of the heads, shells and claws. Both times I make a pasta sauce by reducing the wine stock I had cooked them in and adding lots of garlic lightly cooked in a liberal amount of olive oil. Other ingredients: Saffron, Bay, a little cream, half a small red chilli, half a small onion cut into fine half rings and some thinly sliced courgette (add late so it stays crisp). It's important to crack the shells and squeeze out the heads to get the most flavour.Also of note for the gourmandes. We are presently in the very short Morel season. Keep your eyes out on mulched bed, dying ash/apple trees, sites of forest fires, especially on sandy chalk soils. I got me my annual harvest last week and made a gratin with potatoes, cream and pancetta, m m mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.