What are you cooking now?

[vinteuil]

... well, for the cheeses -

beaufort :
white - vins blancs de Savoie : chignin-bergeron, blanc d'Arbois, mondeuse de Savoie, seyssel, roussette
red - madiran, burgundy

langres :
vins blancs secs : coteaux champenois, puligny-montrachet, chablis, sancerre, champagne
"les amateurs verseront dans la 'fontaine' [du langres] du marc de champagne ou de bourgogne"

saint-marcellin
red : saint-joseph, vacqueyras, lirac, saint-emilion, saumur, bourgueil
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[richardfinegold]

I made a vodka sauce Monday. It came out quite well and I am a bit curious as to why Vodka, which I generally view as tasteless, works so well.
I made a Mandarin Orange Chicken last night, with a liberal assist from Grand Marnier.

[HighlandDougie]

"La grande bouffe" went OK, despite the vile weather (there has been a succession of, "épisodes méditerranéens", since late February - huge quantities of rain and strong winds). The lamb - perfectly prepared - was delivered by my now-regular Chronopost livreur, who seemed puzzled that it wasn't the usual cartons de vin from Vinatis. Kept chilled, it went straight into the fridge. And it was (and still is) absolutely delicious. Worth every penny. The collective wine recommendations - for which many thanks to everyone - got rather lost, so Corsican rosé as an apéro and Planeta Chardonnay. Our friend the corporate lawyer brought some Meursault but that went into the wine rack. The cheese got completely muddled (as was I by that time in the evening) so we had Vacherin de Mont d'Or (salmonella-free), Chaource and Beaufort. I had a wee headache on Sunday morning but it was a reminder of the sheer pleasure to be had from entertaining good friends. Vive la France!

[vinteuil]

... thanks for this very resonant description of a very French gathering - I think I can just picture it. Yes, the weather down there sounds foul : friends in Cabris (above Grasse) have been recounting how miserable things have been...
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[french frank]

"La grande bouffe" went OK ...Vive la France!

Félicitations and amen to that. And after the Lord Mayor's coach ... or from the sublime to the cor blimey:

We had Easter Sunday roast lunch at a local gastro pub (curiously, no lamb on the menu). The side veggies were deliciously cooked with great care but as everyone bouffed themselves on roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings there were a lot of vegetables left. I offered to take them home with me to save wasting them. They starred in today's stirfry with the perennial (chez moi) Hungarian hot paprika sauce. Delicious with the Spanish blanco. [And they say peasants have vanished in this country ]

[vinteuil]

... we were twelve for easter lunch : eight grown-ups and four toddlers. Spag bol for them, Moroccan slow-cooked lamb shanks with couscous for us, biferno rosso to go with. And some good cheeses : epoisses, morbier, chaource, cave-aged goat. And a chocolate roulade for those who felt strong...

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[french frank]

Found something dark green in the freezer last night. Spinach? Didn't remember freezing any spinach but put it in the fridge to thaw. This morning I decided it was some nettles that I'd picked to make a creamed nettle sauce to go with gammon. I had some cooked gammon so thought I'd try an ex tempore creamed sauce with nettles: poured some kefir over them (didn't have soured cream) and grated in parmesan cheese.

The kefir curdled but I ate it anyway, trying to think how nutritious nettles are.

[Roger Webb]

Found something dark green in the freezer last night. Spinach? Didn't remember freezing any spinach but put it in the fridge to thaw. This morning I decided it was some nettles that I'd picked to make a creamed nettle sauce to go with gammon. I had some cooked gammon so thought I'd try an ex tempore creamed sauce with nettles: poured some kefir over them (didn't have soured cream) and grated in parmesan cheese.

The kefir curdled but I ate it anyway, trying to think how nutritious nettles are.

The trouble with health food is there is often a sting in the tail.

[french frank]

The trouble with health food is there is often a sting in the tail.

Blanch them first!

[Roger Webb]

Blanch them first!

If you run short, we have a magnificent crop invading our grass boxes this year - this is a 'pick your own' establishment mind.

[HighlandDougie]

Apéro this PM for friends who are big on wine, especially rosé. Liz, an MW no less, seems to be able to make a living as the expert of experts on it. She started with Provence/Bandol/Tavel and has now spread her expertise to encompass the pink stuff seemingly from anywhere. She (and Ben, her son, following in mama's footsteps) get sent cases of the stuff so tend to arrive with clinking bags.

So, pissaladière avec - et sans - anchois as I had a large bag of Roscoff onions which needed to be used up; and Gougères - if I'm lucky. I find choux pastry seemingly impossible to get right so the first attempt went into the bin. As ever, it took about three hours for the onions to get to the right consistency, with the merest whisper of liquid left in the pan. Much easier just to go and buy it from the boulangerie down the hill but that would be cheating. Altesse de Savoie as a vinous accompaniment*.

*Not Sauternes, which I suspect might not be a happy match for the onions. Despite Vinteuil's doubts about sweet and rich wine marrying with FF's rind-washed number, as opposed to the classic pairing with Roquefort or Fourme d'Ambert, I would be happy to give that a try.

[vinteuil]

As ever, it took about three hours for the onions to get to the right consistency, with the merest whisper of liquid left in the pan...

... for those who have tried to follow instructions for caramelising onions -

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/picture/2024/mar/15/the-caramelised-onion-recipe-con-the-stephen-collins-cartoon

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[HighlandDougie]

Brilliant! And so true - "gently sweat the onions for 30 minutes" = 3 hours. Anyway, les invités scarfed down the lot (and the gougères rose into little cheesy domes, second time around). They brought a 30 year old Alsace Sylvaner which was surprisingly sprightly and fresh (and 6 bottles of cast-off assorted rosés/whites - not that I'm complaining).

[Roger Webb]

........... They brought a 30 year old Alsace Sylvaner which was surprisingly sprightly and fresh.

I nearly suggested Sylvaner for French Frank's Époisses, but not from Alsace, from Franconia. In the wine growing area around Würzburg what is normally a rather insipid grape in the rest of Germany produces a wine of flinty quality not far from a good Chablis...unfortunately you never see it here - if you get the chance try those from Sommerhausen, also lovely village to stay in outside the city. Avoid those wines sold in the bocksbeutel, which is generally for the tourists.

[vinteuil]

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... cold joint of gammon, sauce gribiche, rattes potatoes, butter beans, buttered cabbage

château le Crock, Saint-Estèphe 2009

upside-down blood orange cake

cheeses

The first time we've made a sauce gribiche : most satisfying...

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