La Tour de France -- and a strata 07/26/2009
I had been looking forward to July 25th for days. It was the day the bikers riding in La Tour de France would be ascending Mont Ventoux. We watch the Tour de France almost religiously each summer. I think I like cycling, but honestly, the reason I'm glued to the television screen during La Tour is because of the scenery. I'm a sucker for the cobblestones and tiled roofs of France. When the cyclists are on secluded stretches of road, I'll find little jobs to do around the house. But as soon as my husband yells, "Hey, look at this!", I run back to the t.v. and images of another village I now want to visit. Seeing the 20th leg of La Tour was especially important to me because we always stay near Mont Ventoux in the Vaucluse region when visiting Provence. Last summer we based ourselves in Carpentras and wherever we ventured during the day, Mont Ventoux was most likely in our sight. My husband, who has become more interested in cycling over the years and participates in Ragbrai (the bike race across Iowa) with our youngest daughter, has never joined me on my visits to Provence. But he seemed intrigued, seeing the shots of lavender fields and vineyards during La Tour yesterday. I'm hoping he'll consider a trip with me. He could ride his bike from village to village and I could meet up with him for lunch, taking a break from the markets and brocantes -- my favorite pasttimes in Provence. Since we would be getting up at 6 a.m. (on a Saturday!) to watch the ascent of Mont Ventoux, I decided to assemble a strata the night before, to have as breakfast Saturday morning. The great thing about a strata is that you can work with what you've got. I had 2 cooked hot Italian sausages in my freezer along with a baguette. I sliced the baguette and covered the bottom of a buttered gratin with half. Over that I layered the sliced sausages and mushrooms from a jar in my pantry. I sprinkled about a cup of shredded Gruyére over the top, along with leaves of fresh basil from my garden. I covered this with another layer of baguette slices and more shredded cheese. I whisked together 4 large eggs and about a cup of half & half, seasoned with salt and pepper, and poured this evenly over the bread. (Feel free to add more cream or milk if the strata seems too dry). Covered with plastic wrap, the strata was placed in the refrigerator until the next morning when I popped it into a preheated 350˚F oven for 30 minutes. I wish the red peppers in my refrigerator had been roasted when I assembled this late Friday night. They would have been a great addition. FRIDAY NIGHT DINNER pan-barbecued shrimp 05/28/2009
It was our turn to host "gourmet", the term we've all been using for the dinner that six of us partake in several times a year. Too chilly to be outdoors for more than our appetizers, we ate three courses in our dining room. I served the main course in my favorite bowls, made in Spain, that I hauled back from Aix-en-Provence last summer. The shrimp almost seemed camouflaged within the marbleized red and yellow glazed swirls. Prepared in a spicy herb butter, we ate the unpeeled shrimp with our hands and soaked up the sauce with French breads. This is a fantastic dish that does not involve much time and the results are hugely delicious! The shrimp were excellent... large and meaty. I figured 1/2-pound per person and that was really pushing our limit. From a Sunday New York Times magazine, "This Southern recipe, altho' called "barbecue", is actually prepared in a hot cast-iron skillet". PAN-BARBECUED SHRIMP • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter • 1 tablespoon minced garlic • 1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, crushed • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper • 1 bay leaf • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper • 3 to 5 thyme sprigs, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme • Salt to taste, if desired • 2 pounds unshelled large shrimp, approximately 20 to 24, rinsed briefly in cold water • 1/2 cup bottled clam juice • 1/4 cup dry white wine 1. In a large cast-iron skillet or frying pan, melt eight tablespoons of the butter over high heat. Add all the remaining ingredients except the remaining eight tablespoons of butter, the shrimp, clam juice and wine. Stir well and add the shrimp. Cook about three minutes, stirring and shaking the pan. 2. Add the remaining eight tablespoons of butter, clam juice and wine. Cook, stirring and shaking the pan, until the shrimp are cooked through. Remove from heat and serve immediately with the hot butter sauce from the pan and French bread or rice. YIELD: Four servings. FRENCH ONION BREAD 03/02/2009
Another bread from the Provencal bakery Chez Auzet in Cavaillon, France. FRENCH OLIVE BREAD 02/10/2009
![]() I was planning to post a decadent dessert in observance of Valentine's Day later this week, but I spent yesterday making this French Olive Bread. I found the recipe in the sweet little book, Confessions of a French Baker, by Peter Mayle. Recipes for sixteen different breads from Chez Auzet in the Provencal city of Cavaillon, are adapted for the home baker by boulanger/owner Gérard Auzet. ![]()
GREEN and BLACK OLIVE BREAD WELCOME ! 08/04/2008
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When we arrived in Arles and strolled through the Centre Ville, I began to notice them frequently. I don't know if the hands are unique to this area in France, or if they were just so abundant they became more obvious to me. They all bore an age-old patina. No mass production here. Each hand was one-of-a-kind. Each cuff was unique and several of the hands wore rings. I may need to log onto French eBay and see if any bronze hands are available in antiquities. GOLF DES BAUX DE PROVENCE 07/29/2008
This post is for my husband. I've been trying to get him to sit down and look at the photos I took of this golf course in France, but it hasn't happened. ![]()
I'm not sure what the buildings of this golf club were originally. Maybe part of a farm? A simple, but elegant interior. Very French. I thought it was interesting that each table had opened bottles of red wine, ready to go. Also very French. Was the chilled champagne for a golfer celebrating a hole-in-one? I've always said, "You'll never get me to live on a golf course!", but I wouldn't mind living next to this place. MOULIN MAS DES BARRES OLIVE MILL 07/22/2008
I am always in search of olive oil when I am in France and usually haul home several. This past trip was no different. Two of the oils I bought were purchased at an outdoor market. One was purchased in Malaucene and the other in Carpentras. Our friends Maria and Dieter have spoken often of their favorite olive oil that is produced in France near the charming Provencal village of Maussanes Les Alpilles. Since Maussanes was on our way to Arles, where we spent our last night in France before returning to Germany, we naturally planned a stop to visit the mill and salesroom where the oil is produced and sold. Once you reach Moulin Mas Des Barres, you drive through the grove of olive trees... until you reach the buildings that house the mill, salesroom, commercial kitchen and dining room. I peeked into the kitchen where they were assembling desserts. We were told that Mas Des Barres prepares lunch for tours of 30 or more people. I would have been very happy sitting at this table with a French baguette and a glass of wine. The cafe table and chairs were covered by a canopy of fig trees. ![]()
There was a charming salesroom (I could find a place for that cupboard somewhere in my house!)... that sold regional food items... soaps in the shape of olives... ![]()
Owner/manager Rene Ouenin spoke with us (or I should say my daughter, since he spoke no English) about this area of Provence. His home is right next door. I tried to imagine what it would be like waking up every morning on this incredible property. He seemed very proud and rightly so. If you're driving through the Alpilles between St. Remy de Provence and Marseilles, I urge you to take the small backroads through the mountains and explore this special area of France. CHEZ SERGE Carpentras France 06/24/2008
Susan and I have just returned from our visits to France and Germany. It was an incredible trip, first staying with our friends Maria and Dieter in Germany, and then flying to Marseilles for a week in the south of France. It is hard for me to say what my favorite part of the trip was....waking up each morning in Maria and Dieter's beautiful home, full of light, amazing collections, Provencal furniture and good food was definitely a highlight. Jumping into our car each morning in Provence and heading out to markets in breathtakingly beautiful hilltop villages was a dream (plus, Susan did a superb job of driving our rental car each day, many times under stressful conditions and on the edge of perilous drops to nowhere!). The weather was perfect with extremely cool nights and warm, sunny days. I took hundreds of photos, as I had planned, and am torn between which ones to use for my first post on my return. Right before we left on our trip, my friend Maureen sent me an article from the May 18th issue of the New York Times Magazine, titled PROVENCE PROFOUND, and it mentioned CHEZ SERGE, located in Carpentras, the town we made our home-base. It did not disappoint! We were the first ones waiting that noon at the iron-gated entrance, and were able to be seated on the picturesque outdoor patio. ![]()
My entree consisted of guinea fowl in a morel mushroom sauce, potatoes and a molded carrot puree. My daughter dined on French pizza. I chose the lemon tart for my dessert (I always choose lemon if it's on the menu), but the winner was my daughter's choice; panna cotta with fresh strawberries that Serge had purchased that morning at the Carpentras market. We all agree that our meal at Chez Serge was our favorite meal that week in France. TAKING a BREAK 04/30/2008
I have just gone through the painful process of purchasing airline tickets to Europe for my daughter, my sister and myself. The excitement of being in Germany this June to visit friends, and Provence, to explore, is tempered by the knowledge of how weak the dollar is against the Euro. As I've repeatedly promised my husband, this is not a buying trip, altho' I will allow myself grocery store and Provencal market purchases of food items I cannot get back here at home. This trip will be about taking photos. I cherish the photos I have brought home from my previous trips. Food markets tend to be my favorite. This photo reminds me that I bought saucisson d'Arle (donkey sausage), and didn't tell my sister or daughter the entire week what they were eating. We could practically drink from these Cavaillon melons, they were so juicy. Sometimes your choices are overwhelming. Many of the things I see inspire me, and I consider taking up oil painting again. And many of the things I see make me wish I had an oven available to me. It's difficult seeing all of this produce without a kitchen to go home to at night. Hopefully we'll come back from this trip with many more photos to share. IN SEARCH OF DISHES! Susan's Passion 12/28/2007
I had been wanting to remodel my kitchen for quite some time. I could see the colors of the granite and the backsplash and the cabinets in my mind’s eye. But first everything had to be torn out – cabinets and countertops and backsplash – and I was dreading it, so I just continued to dream. Then in June of 2005 Eileen, my niece, Claire, and I took a vacation in Provence, and we haven’t been the same since. I knew I wanted to recreate the old limestone floors of the old paper mill turned bed and breakfast where we were staying in Entraigues sur la Sorgue. Of course, I wanted a window over my kitchen sink just like the one in our breakfast area at the old mill to give the kitchen that Provencal feel. So what’s the first thing I did? I bought dishes, of course! I also found a lovely soap dish in shades of browns and rust and every now and then a little touch of black made in two sections, the top part having a pierced open pattern which allowed for drainage of the water into the bottom dish. If I had to wait for the other pieces to arrive, that was definitely going home with me! ![]() Several months later everything arrived in perfect condition. My kitchen is no longer just a dream, and the dishes from Apt are displayed in a plate rack to remind me every day of Provence. Next on my list are serving pieces, but this time my color combination will be black, cream and yellow. Unfortunately, the horrible exchange rate has made these once expensive dishes now outrageously expensive, but I am not deterred. They’re worth it! |
































































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