Pithiviers with duck confit and mushrooms

On one of my early visits to France years ago, we stayed in a divine little Chambre d’Hôte, L ’Impasse du Temple, now called a Maison de Maître. It was located down a difficult to find narrow laneway, pre-GPS days, in a pretty, tiny town called Léran, in the Midi Pyrenées, near Mirepoix, a beautiful [...]

By |2023-08-19T16:49:05+10:00August 19th, 2023|Braising, Culinary Travel, Duck confit, Duck confit, Food, France, French food, French food, French Regional Cooking, On the Ridge at Kureelpa, Pithiviers - duck|Comments Off on Pithiviers with duck confit and mushrooms

Blue cheese and walnut ‘terrine’

For this rich terrine, use a sharp blue cheese like Bleu d’Auvergne, Roquefort or Shadows of Blue.  Serve it as a cheese course with my walnut and onion bread,or with a pear, rocket and salad. Ingredients: 250g blue cheese 125g butter 1 tbsp brandy or cognac 65ml cream or ¼ cup [...]

By |2021-08-29T17:05:00+10:00August 26th, 2021|Blue cheese and walnut terrine, Cheese, Cook Real Food, Food, France, French Odyssey cooking class, Low Carb, Recipes, Walnuts, Walnuts|Comments Off on Blue cheese and walnut ‘terrine’

My Cauliflower ‘Cake’ – Low Carb Healthy Fat

I love this interesting ‘cake’.  It is my low carb healthy fat adaption of the Cauliflower Cake in Yotam Ottolenghi’s book, Plenty More. Hopefully, you will love it, as it is very attractive, colourful, unusual and delicious.  Serve it as an appetiser with the glass of wine before dinner or as a lunch dish with [...]

By |2020-11-02T13:41:40+11:00October 27th, 2020|Burgundy, Cauliflower, Cauliflower, Cook Real Food, Entree, France, Recipes, Vegetables|Comments Off on My Cauliflower ‘Cake’ – Low Carb Healthy Fat

Bresse and the Chicken market at Louhans.

Cooking all these chicken dishes and stock as I have been in this  Covid-19 winter 2020, reminded me of some happier times and our visit to Bresse, the home of the famous Bresse chicken, la volaille de Bresse, and the Monday market day in the market town of Louhans in Burgundy. The summer of 2017 [...]

The Bresse Chickens – why they are so special, their story and AOC and AOP

Way back in 1957, Bresse chickens were the first food and the first chickens to be awarded the AOC, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and more recently, they received the AOP, Appellation d'Origine Protégée, accreditation. This AOP label is the European Union version of France's AOC, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée.  It basically means the products with these labels [...]

Coq au Vin – a French classic regional dish

The Burgundian Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon share many similarities.  They are both regional Burgundian specialities, they both showcase the famous Burgundian wines, Bresse chickens, pork and Charolais beef. Their method of cookery is very similar as well.  When this dish is cooked with one of these Burgundian wines it takes the name of [...]

By |2020-09-01T16:52:52+10:00September 1st, 2020|Barging on the Betty B, Burgundy, Chicken, Chicken, Coq au Vin, Coq au Vin, Culinary writing, France, French food, French Regional Cooking, Recipes|Comments Off on Coq au Vin – a French classic regional dish

Coq au Vin

This is a flavoursome classic Burgundian dish, with red wine playing a major role in the flavour, along with lardons, button mushrooms and tiny onions. The flavour of this dish, like many others, improves when the dish is refrigerated and served the next day. It is traditionally cooked on the stove-top, however, you can also [...]

The tunnel at Pouilly-en-Auxois and the beginning of the Canal de Bourgogne

We are having a sensational trip along this glorious canal. Every-day is blue skies and sunshine and something new to see. For the past two days we climbed a staircase of 36 locks, each about 500m apart so it was busy and tiring getting up and down to do the ropes to secure the barge [...]

By |2020-07-06T17:40:38+10:00July 6th, 2020|Barging on the Betty B, Burgundy, Canal de Bourgogne, Culinary Travel, Culinary writing, France, France - wine, France and cooking, French food, French food, Musings|Comments Off on The tunnel at Pouilly-en-Auxois and the beginning of the Canal de Bourgogne

Pipérade Basquaise

Pipérade from the Basque* country is made with green or red peppers and pimentos, onions, tomatoes and garlic, slowly cooked together, with beaten egg added at the end and slowly stirred through to cook the eggs; it is usually served with slices of the famous and delicious Jambon de Bayonne, which is similar to prosciutto. [...]

 Tapénade – Olive paste with garlic, anchovies and capers

Tapénade is a rich olive paste with a full-flavoured taste that comes with the addition of garlic, anchovies and capers.  Originally tapénade was made with a mortar and pestle; you may choose to hand chop the ingredients, if you like a coarse texture, or alternatively use a food processor or kitchen whiz wand.  You may [...]

By |2020-04-28T14:27:04+10:00April 28th, 2020|Condiments, Condiments, Cook Real Food, Cook Real Food, Cooking classes, Food, French food, Healthy Family Meals, Low Carb, Mediterranean Food, Olive tapenade, Olive tapenade, Olive tapenade, Olive tapenade, Olive tapenade, Olives, Provence, Recipes|Comments Off on  Tapénade – Olive paste with garlic, anchovies and capers
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