Just what is a “Cannet” and why am I even going there in the first place? Good questions.
Le Cannet and the Chocolate Festival
29 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted Uncategorized
in29 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted Uncategorized
inJust what is a “Cannet” and why am I even going there in the first place? Good questions.
22 Thursday Mar 2012
Crossing the Boulevard du Maréchal Joffre, I dodged a few high-end Mercedes, almost knocked over a couple perfectly tanned and impeccably dressed, busily scanning their smart phones undoubtedly for une bonne addresse where they could see and seen and all the while conversing in a mixture of French and Italian. Tanned statuesque beauties were walking their little speciment dogs, two by two as if on parade. I strolled along stopping every so often to look over menu boards in front of interesting looking restaurants then quickly realizing my bank account would not even get me past the appetizers. I could smell money, it hovered everywhere. A light tap on my shoulder, I turned to find Luc who asked “are we fishing today or are you going to waste your time mixing with the beautiful people?” I never did learn how Luc found me.
Swordfish Niçoise / Espadon à la Niçoise
Ingredients
4 swordfish steaks (about 6 ounces ea)
1 large clove of garlic
Coarse salt, to taste
2 1/2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 red new potatoes
8 ounces tender green beans, ends snapped, halved diagonally and blanched
1/2 cup diced (1/4 inch) red bell pepper
1/2 small red onion, slivered lengthwise
1/4 cup pitted Niçoise olives
1 tablespoon drained tiny capers
1/4 cup loosely packed slivered basil leaves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 hard-cooked egg, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
Now about those wines…
Chardonnay Kendall-Jackson (Vintner’s Reserve) 2008
Puligny-Montrachet Joseph Drouhin 2007
Sauvignon Blanc Saint Clair Vicar’s Choice 2011, Malborough, NZ
Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Blue Label Brut 2009
Beaujolais-Villages Georges DuBoeuf 2008
Côtes du Rhône – “Parallèle 45” Jaboulet 2007
15 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted Breton Seafood Stew, Dinard
inDiner at last!!
La Cotriade d’Armor
(serves 8)
Ingredients:
The Soup
About 12 cups of fish stock
1 blue crab (or enough store bought crab meat)
2 small tomatoes
1 apple
1 garlic clove
3 shallots
½ medium onion
1 medium carrot
½ medium leek, white part only
½ stalk celery
½ small red pepper
½ cup olive oil
Butter
3 tbsp brandy
1 heaping tsp of tomato paste
Solid ingredients
3 fresh fish filets
14 oz cockles
14 oz mussels
24 scallops
32 small broccoli florets
4 ½ oz smoked bacon, rind removed
1 lb + potatoes
1 bouquet garni
Directions:
Set out to sea in a small fishing boat from somewhere along the Armorican coast
Cut the crab in half and remove gills; skin, de-seed, and dice the tomatoes, peel the apple and slice very thinly.
Chop the garlic, prepare the onions, carrots, leeks, celery and pepper and cut into narrow strips.
Heat olive oil and butter in pan, sauté the crab meat, and flambé with brandy or cognac. Add some fish stock and pour into a tureen. Add the prepared vegetables and the tomato paste then pour on the fish stock, bring to a boil, and simmer for 30 minutes. Blend in the mixer.
Blanch the broccoli florets and finely dice the bacon then blanch, drain and braise in a little butter. Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices.
Leave the sieved crab stock to simmer and add the potato slices, then the broccoli and lastly the fish fillet, diced bacon, mussels, scallops and cockles.
Serve immediately in warmed soup bowls.
Related stories from the Emerald Coast
That Summer Vacation Long Ago
A Long Weekend in Brittany, Parts 1 -5
Stage de Velo – Tour de France to Come Home
Tour de France Hits Home
08 Thursday Mar 2012
Posted Chicken Normandy-Style
in
Poulet à la Normande
Adapted from “Chez Panisse Fruit,” by Alice Waters.
(serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 (3 1⁄2-pound) chicken, cut into 8 bone-in pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1⁄2 cup Calvados
1 cup apple cider (cidre brut, svp)
1 cup chicken stock
30 pearl onions
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges (the ones in your orchard should be fine)
1 cup crème fraîche.
Directions:
Strain the Calvados sauce and return it to the pan. Add the juices from the chicken. Whisk in the crème fraîche. Simmer until the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Season. Add the chicken pieces and warm through
Now about those wines…
*Related culinary travel story: Seared Scallops with Tarragon Butter (Le Touquet and The Opal Coast)
**Looking for another Normand-style fix with more eggs, butter, heavy cream and Dijon mustard? Then try:
01 Thursday Mar 2012
If you like art-deco villas, long and wide sandy beaches, good food and while you’re at it, throw in a Casino for good measure, then Le Touquet is a not-to-be missed stop along the Opal Coast. The English know it all to well as it’s barely a hop skip and jump through the Chunnel, a quick ride down the coast and voila you’re here. You can probably throw a scone from the White Cliffs and hit the coast. Le Touquet lies just west of Étaples-sur-Mer and south of Neufchâtel-Hardelot. I stayed in a quaint little hotel just off the rue Jean Monnet. Wonderful, fresh and clean with an ocean view and, of course, close to restaurants. I sniffed around deciding where I would eventually eat and ultimately decided on a wonderful little art-deco restaurant, La Marée Haute (High Tide) on the rue Saint Jean. And was it ever an excellent choice! I started off quite appropriately with a chilled bottle of Muscadet from the Val de Loire. Could I have done otherwise? I suspect not. I then accepted the challenge to start with the marinated salmon (to die for, thank you) and then found myself facing the final two – torn as I was between the Magret de canard poêlé, pommes poires au jus de cidre (pan seared duck with apple pears steeped in cider) and the beautiful seared scallops that were simmered in a tarragon butter and white wine sauce. Monsieur le patron (who I found out later was originally from St. Brieuc in Brittany) assured me they were very fresh – ce matin- and indeed most delicious. If a Breton is giving me the green light on this dish then the nod must go to the scallops. I thoroughly enjoyed them together with paned-fried Paris potatoes, a tossed green salad and a selection of cheeses. For desert, I had to have the crème brûlée because that’s what I must do. This job is near easy!
To celebrate that wonderful meal, here is a recipe that comes as close to the “real thing” short of getting on an Air France flight and joining me, of course.
(thank you Gourmet Magazine)
“Benjamin, I have just two words for you….are you listening carefully Benjamin? Beurre Blanc.” Classic French butter sauce easy to prepare and let’s face it, has a tendency to make just about anything taste better. In this recipe, Beurre Blanc uses the scallops’ juices to add complexity. There are so many variations on scallop recipes so feel free to adjust as you like and call it yours. By the way, if you like scallops I would suggest Gratinee de Coquille St-Jacques. You will thank me.
Directions:
Pat scallops dry and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper (total).
Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sear scallops, turning once, until golden brown and just cooked through, about 5 minutes total.
Transfer to a platter.
Add shallot, wine, and vinegar to skillet and boil, scraping up brown bits, until reduced to 2 tablespoons.
Add juices from platter and if necessary boil until liquid is reduced to about 1/4 cup.
Reduce heat to low and add 3 tablespoons butter, stirring until almost melted, then add remaining 3 tablespoons butter and swirl until incorporated and sauce has a creamy consistency.
Stir in tarragon and salt to taste; pour sauce over scallops.
Serve will new potatoes, green salad, baguette and bottle of white wine.
And now about those wines…
Loire Valley, Muscadet – Sèvre et Maine sur Lie.
Loire Valley – Domaine du Closel Chateau des Vaults la Jalousie Savennieres 2009
South Africa, Stellenbosch – De Morgenzon Chenin Blanc 2008
California, Central Valley – Lobo Loco Winery Viognier 2005