I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious
about it. As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French
leader (M. Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by
Unesco, the UN agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage.
On the other hand, it may just be a typical political ploy :-)


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James wrote to All on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:02:39 GMT:

I'm sorry but the Tinyurl that I gave will not work because a
comma became attached to it during formatting. It should be:-


http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk


James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

James Silverton wrote:
> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
> As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
> may just be a typical political ploy :-)

Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
that's just me...
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. - Fran Lebowitz

"James Silverton" > wrote in news:jMAwj.3670
$xg6.999@trnddc07:

> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious
> about it.


If you like French.......... without the "seriousness", but with the same
passion.......


http://www.rickstein.com/French-Odyssey.html




--
Peter Lucas
Brisbane
Australia


Wars begin where you will...
but they do not end where you please.

Machiavelli

In article <pSAwj.3676$xg6.35@trnddc07>,
"James Silverton" > wrote:

> James wrote to All on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:02:39 GMT:
>
> I'm sorry but the Tinyurl that I gave will not work because a
> comma became attached to it during formatting. It should be:-
>
>
> http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk
>
>
> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not


Huh. It worked just fine, Jim, when I clicked it in the original post.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com;pics of my no-knead bread posted
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

On Feb 25, 10:13 am, ChattyCathy > wrote:
> James Silverton wrote:
> > I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
> > As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> > Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> > agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
> > may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> that's just me...

I've never had that much use for it, either. In that thread
discussing
Ming Tsai and master sauces, Sqwertz said something about
duck confit. I shrugged.

That might be a topic for a survey: What do you think of French food?

Cindy Hamilton

Melba's wrote on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:42:07 -0600:

??>> James wrote to All on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:02:39 GMT:
??>>
??>> I'm sorry but the Tinyurl that I gave will not work
??>> because a comma became attached to it during formatting.
??>> It should be:-
??>>
??>> http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk
??>>
B>> Huh. It worked just fine, Jim, when I clicked it in the
original post.

Funny! It did *not* work for me when I checked my own post :-)
I've suffered enough from unusable URLs that I usually check my
own. "Mystere et boule du gomme!"

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Feb 25, 10:13 am, ChattyCathy > wrote:
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
>>> As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
>>> may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>> that's just me...
>
> I've never had that much use for it, either. In that thread
> discussing
> Ming Tsai and master sauces, Sqwertz said something about
> duck confit. I shrugged.
>
> That might be a topic for a survey: What do you think of French food?

Good idea... thanks.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Food is an important part of a balanced diet. - Fran Lebowitz

ChattyCathy wrote:
> James Silverton wrote:
>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
>> it. As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>> agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand,
>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> that's just me...
But the cheeses alone ....

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Janet Baraclough wrote:

> But please include the question, "have you ever eaten French food in
> France" :-)
>
> I love it.

I have been to France three times, for close to a week each time. I spent 4
days of each trip in Paris. I also spent time in Strasburg, Nice, Verdun and
Reims. There is an incredible difference from one region to another. Overall,
the food was excellent, especially the bread and pastries. Some of the places
in Paris were quite expensive, but once I learned to get off the beaten track
and get away from the prime tourist spots the food was better and a lot
cheaper.

A couple of restaurants stand out from the others. There was one outstnading
place where we were both a little disappointed with the main plates, but the
appetizers and desserts were both the best we had ever had in our lives. When
we were ordering our appetizers we could not decide, so we picked two and
agreed to share them. If it had not been for that agreement we probably not
have shared because they were so good.

ChattyCathy wrote:
>
> James Silverton wrote:
> > I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
> > As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> > Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> > agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
> > may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> that's just me...
> --
>

The French food I've eaten every time I've been in various parts of
France has been superb. The 'French' food eaten outside of France has
been less good. OTOH haven't eaten French food in Quebec so who knows
LOL.

Arri London wrote:

>
> The French food I've eaten every time I've been in various parts of
> France has been superb. The 'French' food eaten outside of France has
> been less good. OTOH haven't eaten French food in Quebec so who knows
> LOL.

That is a whole different animal. I go to Montreal once or twice a year, and it
is is quite cosmopolitan. I have eaten in Greek, Portuguese, Ethiopian and
Indian restaurants there. I once had in a French restaurant in Quebec city and
it was okay, but not great. French Canadian cooking has evolved more from the
basics of 17th-18th Century French peasant cooking, not the type of stuff that
France is now famous for.

"Michael "Dog3"" > ha scritto nel messaggio
6.121...
> ChattyCathy > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
>>> it. As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
>>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>>
>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>
> I honestly enjoy eating French cuisine. OTOH, I don't enjoy making it. I
> don't enjoy it because I am far too inept in the kitchen to master it very
> well. It's probably just me but French cooking, in the gourmet sense, is
> very complicated to me. But then, I'll never be a chef but hopefully
> someday will be a passable cook.
>
> Michael

If you stay away from Tour d'Argent cookery you still have a world of great
food and it is no more difficult than any other, IMO. Some of the finest
things I have ever eaten were French and not at all tricky, just rigorously
made according to a French rule, which is different from an Italian rule.

Think about it, there was great French food before ice boxes and the
investion of the stove.

--
http://www.judithgreenwood.com

On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
> ChattyCathy wrote:
> > James Silverton wrote:
> >> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
> >> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> >> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> >> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
> >> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> > Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> > I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> > 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> > that's just me...
>
> But the cheeses alone ....

I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
Gruyere
is too strong for me. Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.

French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.

Cindy Hamilton

On Feb 26, 6:20*am, Janet Baraclough >
wrote:
> The message 1>
> from "Michael \"Dog3\"" > contains these words:
>
> > I honestly enjoy eating French cuisine. *OTOH, I don't enjoy making it.. *I
> > don't enjoy it because I am far too inept in the kitchen to master it very
> > well. *It's probably just me but French cooking, in the gourmet sense, is
> > very complicated to me.
>
> * A misconception promoted by pretentious restaurants which are not in
> France :-).
>
> The superb food the French take for granted in their home kitchens, and
> local restaurants is just a wide variety of the very freshest, tastiest
> quality of *raw ingredients (as local as possible) cooked from scratch,
> as simply as possible.

Shoot, I can do that right here in Michigan. Granted, I can't pop
down to
the Megamart and get the ingredients, but it is certainly possible, in
season,
to get some very good locally produced ingredients.

Cindy Hamilton

Janet Baraclough > wrote:

> But please include the question, "have you ever eaten French food in
> France" :-)

Well, yes, but there they just call it "food." ;-)

Actually, I lived in France for a year. So when my wife or I cooked
food in France does that count? Of course, we lived on the edge of
the Chinese quarter in the 13th arrondisement. Many of the local
restaurants were Asian. Was that "French food?"

I did, a couple of times, have some real haute cusine in the Loire
Valley. It was amazing. On the other hand, there is a fast food
sort of chain called "Buffalo Grill" all over France and their food
is pretty ordinary.

Bill Ranck
Blacksburg, Va.

wrote:
> Janet Baraclough > wrote:
>
>> But please include the question, "have you ever eaten French food
>> in France" :-)
>
> Well, yes, but there they just call it "food." ;-)
>
> Actually, I lived in France for a year. So when my wife or I cooked
> food in France does that count? Of course, we lived on the edge of
> the Chinese quarter in the 13th arrondisement. Many of the local
> restaurants were Asian. Was that "French food?"

LOL nice one Bill))


>
> I did, a couple of times, have some real haute cusine in the Loire
> Valley. It was amazing. On the other hand, there is a fast food
> sort of chain called "Buffalo Grill" all over France and their food
> is pretty ordinary.
>
> Bill Ranck
> Blacksburg, Va.

On Feb 26, 5:56*am, Cindy Hamilton >
wrote:
> On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
>
> > ChattyCathy wrote:
> > > James Silverton wrote:
> > >> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
> > >> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> > >> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> > >> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
> > >> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> > > Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> > > I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> > > 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> > > that's just me...
>
> > But the cheeses alone ....
>
> I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
> Gruyere
> is too strong for me. *Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
> Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.
>
> French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Try St Andre- it's extremely mild. It looks a little like Brie, but
don't be turned off by the looks- it tastes totally different.

Dave Smith wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
>
> >
> > The French food I've eaten every time I've been in various parts of
> > France has been superb. The 'French' food eaten outside of France has
> > been less good. OTOH haven't eaten French food in Quebec so who knows
> > LOL.
>
> That is a whole different animal. I go to Montreal once or twice a year, and it
> is is quite cosmopolitan.

Yes of course. Toronto is also cosmopolitan. Sorry I never made it to
Montreal when I was working in New Hampshire; it does seem like an
interesting place.

I have eaten in Greek, Portuguese, Ethiopian and
> Indian restaurants there.


LOL yes did the same thing in Toronto. Don't think I had any 'Canadian'
food at all.

>I once had in a French restaurant in Quebec city and
> it was okay, but not great. French Canadian cooking has evolved more from the
> basics of 17th-18th Century French peasant cooking, not the type of stuff that
> France is now famous for.

Interesting to hear that. Foods of course do evolve away from 'home' but
not necessarily in the same direction as their origins.

On Feb 26, 4:02*pm, merryb > wrote:
> On Feb 26, 5:56*am, Cindy Hamilton >
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
>
> > > ChattyCathy wrote:
> > > > James Silverton wrote:
> > > >> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
> > > >> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> > > >> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> > > >> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
> > > >> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>
> > > > Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> > > > I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> > > > 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> > > > that's just me...
>
> > > But the cheeses alone ....
>
> > I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
> > Gruyere
> > is too strong for me. *Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
> > Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.
>
> > French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.
>
> > Cindy Hamilton
>
> Try St Andre- it's extremely mild. It looks a little like Brie, but
> don't be turned off by the looks- it tastes totally different.

I don't believe that not being fond of cheese is a bad thing. It
keeps
me away from lots of calories, just as thinking caviar is overrated
keeps me from spending a ton of money. I'll stick to viewing cheese
as an occasional convenient source of protein.

But thanks for the recommendation.

Cindy Hamilton

Michael "Dog3" wrote:
> ChattyCathy > dropped this
> : in rec.food.cooking
>
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
>>> it. As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>> agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand,
>>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>> that's just me...
>
> I honestly enjoy eating French cuisine. OTOH, I don't enjoy making it. I
> don't enjoy it because I am far too inept in the kitchen to master it very
> well. It's probably just me but French cooking, in the gourmet sense, is
> very complicated to me. But then, I'll never be a chef but hopefully
> someday will be a passable cook.
>
> Michael
>
>
Most French cooking is not particularly complicated. For a simple North
American oriented intro have a look at Country French Cooking from
Sunset Books.
http://www.amazon.com/Country-French.../dp/0376021969

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
>> ChattyCathy wrote:
>>> James Silverton wrote:
>>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
>>>> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
>>>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>>> that's just me...
>> But the cheeses alone ....
>
> I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
> Gruyere
> is too strong for me. Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
> Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.
>
> French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Gruyère isn't even French. It's Swiss. There are about one or two
thousand French cheeses so some are probably worth trying but if you're
not a cheese fan let's move on to the bread with butter and jabon cru
with a glass of red wine.


--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Arri London wrote:
>
> ChattyCathy wrote:
>> James Silverton wrote:
>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
>>> As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>> agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
>>> may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>> that's just me...
>> --
>>
>
> The French food I've eaten every time I've been in various parts of
> France has been superb. The 'French' food eaten outside of France has
> been less good. OTOH haven't eaten French food in Quebec so who knows
> LOL.
I can recommend a couple of good places in Gatineau but the cuisine is
not particularly "French". Actually I know a place on Crescent St in
Montréal that has good "French" cuisine but it tries to be too fancy for
my taste and pocket book. I tend to choke at a wine list that starts at
about CDN$ 250. Luckily the house wine is good and much cheaper.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Arri London wrote:

>
> LOL yes did the same thing in Toronto. Don't think I had any 'Canadian'
> food at all.

What's this "Canadian" thing? We're mainly a nation of immigrants.
Except, possibly for Tim Horton doughnuts we don't have a national
cuisine. Perogi vs tourtière vs cod tongues: Which is more Canadian?

Oh I forgot the fried side pork
--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

On Feb 27, 10:06*am, John Kane > wrote:
>
> What's this "Canadian" thing? *We're mainly a nation of immigrants.
> Except, possibly for Tim Horton doughnuts we don't have a national
> cuisine. *Perogi vs tourtière vs cod tongues: Which is more Canadian?
>
> Oh I forgot the fried side pork
> --

I seem to recall some Canadian passion expended in the past on
poutine... +aem

aem wrote:

>
> > Oh I forgot the fried side pork
> > --
>
> I seem to recall some Canadian passion expended in the past on
> poutine...

I wouldn't call it a Canadian passion. It is more of a Quebec thing. It is
not widely available outside of Quebec.

John Kane wrote:

>
> Most French cooking is not particularly complicated. For a simple North
> American oriented intro have a look at Country French Cooking from
> Sunset Books.

It's not particularly complicated if you have a French type of kitchen that is
supplied with the sorts of things they use in a lot of the fancier dishes, like
broth and browning sauce and if you have experience making some of the sauces
that are commonly used. It can be intimidating when you have to tackle all those
things for the first time to prepare a meal.

pavane wrote:
> "John Kane" > wrote in message
> ...
> | Arri London wrote:
> |
> | >
> | > LOL yes did the same thing in Toronto. Don't think I had any 'Canadian'
> | > food at all.
> |
> | What's this "Canadian" thing? We're mainly a nation of immigrants.
> | Except, possibly for Tim Horton doughnuts we don't have a national
> | cuisine. Perogi vs tourtière vs cod tongues: Which is more Canadian?
> |
> | Oh I forgot the fried side pork
>
> From my experiences, definitely the tourtière along with some
> butter tarts for dessert.

I hadn't realised that tortière was that unusual.
Perogi are everywhere in Europe and
> cod tongues in the US northwest, but I don't know of anywhere
> else that produces the wonderful meat pie and calls it tourtière,
> nor do I know of butter tarts elsewhere. Definitive Canadian fare.

I had forgotten about butter tarts. I remember being a bit shocked that
I could not find a recipe for butter tarts in the Joy of Cooking.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Dave Smith wrote:
> aem wrote:
>
>>> Oh I forgot the fried side pork
>>> --
>> I seem to recall some Canadian passion expended in the past on
>> poutine...
>
> I wouldn't call it a Canadian passion. It is more of a Quebec thing. It is
> not widely available outside of Quebec.

And South Eastern and North Eastern Ontario. I'd expect any chip wagon
in either region to have poutine on the menu. I think the dish has been
spreading over the last 25-30 years.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> John Kane wrote:
>
>>
>> Most French cooking is not particularly complicated. For a
>> simple North
>> American oriented intro have a look at Country French Cooking
>> from
>> Sunset Books.
>
> It's not particularly complicated if you have a French type
> of kitchen that is
> supplied with the sorts of things they use in a lot of the
> fancier dishes, like
> broth and browning sauce and if you have experience making
> some of the sauces
> that are commonly used. It can be intimidating when you have
> to tackle all those
> things for the first time to prepare a meal.
>
Do you think Julia Child's books are difficult? It's not my
impression :-)


--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

James Silverton wrote:

>
> >
> Do you think Julia Child's books are difficult? It's not my
> impression :-)

I don't have her book, but I have a different French cookbook that I
have used for several dishes.

For example.... I tried the Boeuf en Croute:

1/2 pound Chicken livers 1 small onion
2 scallions white parts only 1 small bay leaf
(finely chopped) 1/4 tsp dried rosemary
8 Tbsp butter Flaky pastry (see page 235)

2 Tbsp. Vermouth 1 egg beaten
2 Tbsp. Mushroom flavouring 1/4 cup cognac
(page 162) 1 1/2 cups Browning Sauce
(page 148)
2 Tbsp soft white bread crumbs 1/4 cup Fresh Tomato Puree
salt and pepper ( page 160)
2 pounds fillet of beef 2 Tbsp, Madiera
1/2 cup coarsely chopped celery

So I flip to page 235 and the flaky pastry recipe is simple enough
2 cups flour, 3 Tbsp ice-cold water
1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp lemon juice
8 Tbsp butter

Then I go to page 162 for the Mushroom flavouring...( Duxelles)
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms 1 large shallot finely chopped
3 Tblsp clarified butter. (page 166) salt and pepper
1 small onion finely chopped

So now I have to go to page 166 for clarified butter, but that is simple
enough.
The Duxelle recipe makes more than a cup, and i need only 2 Tbsp.

So now I go to page 148 for Browning sauce:

1/4 pound lean ham 5 cups Beef Broth
coarsely ground (page 52 or canned)
1 large carrot 1/4 cup tomato juice
1 stalk celery chopped Bouquet Garni (see Glossary)
1 medium onion chopped 4 peppercorns
3 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup red wine
2 Tbsp flour 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

I only need a cup and a half of Browning sauce.

If I make the broth I need:

4 pounds shin beef 2 stalks celery
2 bounds beef bones 2 medium onions
1 pound veal knuckle bones
cracked Bouquet garnis
2 carrots peeled and sliced. 5 quarts boiling water.

I need only 5 cups of broth... to make the sauce recipe that makes four
times as much browning sauce as I need. However, the good news is that
there are no sub recipes in this one :-)

For the tomato puree I go to page 160 and am pleased to see tha tit
calls for only 3 pounds of tomatoes and 1/4 cup of water. It takes a few
hours and makes about 2 cups of puree. I need only 1/4 cup of it.

The stock, Duxelles, browning sauce and tomato puree are things that
would likely be on hand in a good French kitchen. For me to cook this
dish at home, I am going to be bringing in a weeks worth of groceries in
the form of tomatoes, carrots, celery onions, meat, bones, butter (lots
of butter) . I also need cognac, red wine and vermouth and will be
spending hours and hours in the kitchen ... to make a dinner for four
people.

Oops, that is not dinner for four. It is only the meat dish for the main
plate. However, If I want to make it four more times I will have enough
stock, browning sauce and Duxelles to do it.

Michael "Dog3" > wrote:

> I honestly enjoy eating French cuisine. OTOH, I don't enjoy making it. I
> don't enjoy it because I am far too inept in the kitchen to master it very
> well. It's probably just me but French cooking, in the gourmet sense, is
> very complicated to me.

What is "French cuisine" to you? "Haute cuisine"? "Cuisine
bourgeoise"? "Cuisine campagnarde"? Only the first can be really
complicated, but on that level, every country's would be - and the
European ones, as well as many others, would be heavily
French-influenced.

Get thyself _Cooking with Pomiane_ by Edouard de Pomiane, _French
Country Cooking_ by Elizabeth David and _Bistro Cooking_ by Patricia
Wells, cook a few dishes and then tell me if you still think it is so
incredibly complicated.

Victor

On Feb 27, 12:57*pm, John Kane > wrote:
> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
> >> ChattyCathy wrote:
> >>> James Silverton wrote:
> >>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
> >>>> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> >>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> >>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
> >>>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
> >>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> >>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> >>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> >>> that's just me...
> >> But the cheeses alone ....
>
> > I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
> > Gruyere
> > is too strong for me. *Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
> > Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.
>
> > French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.
>
> > Cindy Hamilton
>
> Gruyère isn't even French. It's Swiss. *There are about one or two
> thousand French cheeses so some are probably worth trying but if you're
> not a cheese fan let's move on to the bread with butter *and jabon cru
> with a glass of red wine.
>

I know Gruyere isn't French, but it's something I've tried that I
could name.

Bread with sweet butter sounds fine. No cultured butter, please--it
always
tastes spoiled to me. Are we seeing some kind of pattern here with
the cheese and the butter? Possibly my taste buds are wired oddly.

You can choose the red wine, although it'll be wasted on me. I've
never
developed a taste for wine. I like beer with foods that pair well
with it;
otherwise ice water is fine. Or milk with sweets.

Cindy Hamilton

John Kane wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
>
> >
> > LOL yes did the same thing in Toronto. Don't think I had any 'Canadian'
> > food at all.
>
> What's this "Canadian" thing? We're mainly a nation of immigrants.
> Except, possibly for Tim Horton doughnuts we don't have a national
> cuisine. Perogi vs tourtière vs cod tongues: Which is more Canadian?
>
> Oh I forgot the fried side pork
> --
> John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

LOL but of course. But I didn't have any poutine...

John Kane wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> >
> > ChattyCathy wrote:
> >> James Silverton wrote:
> >>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
> >>> As described in http://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
> >>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
> >>> agency, as part of the world’s cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
> >>> may just be a typical political ploy :-)
> >> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
> >> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
> >> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
> >> that's just me...
> >> --
> >>
> >
> > The French food I've eaten every time I've been in various parts of
> > France has been superb. The 'French' food eaten outside of France has
> > been less good. OTOH haven't eaten French food in Quebec so who knows
> > LOL.
> I can recommend a couple of good places in Gatineau but the cuisine is
> not particularly "French". Actually I know a place on Crescent St in
> Montréal that has good "French" cuisine but it tries to be too fancy for
> my taste and pocket book. I tend to choke at a wine list that starts at
> about CDN$ 250. Luckily the house wine is good and much cheaper.
>
> --
> John Kane, Kingston ON Canada


This is it. French food outside of France tends to be outrageously
overpriced. Of course I couldn't afford any of the top Michelin-rated
places in France so ate at local cafes/bistros or in people's homes. Or
bought in local markets/hypermarches and grazed/picnicked. All good and
all reasonably priced.

Arri London wrote

> This is it. French food outside of France tends to be outrageously
> overpriced. Of course I couldn't afford any of the top Michelin-rated
> places in France so ate at local cafes/bistros or in people's homes. Or
> bought in local markets/hypermarches and grazed/picnicked. All good and
> all reasonably priced.

My experience in France was that, other than the highly rated restaurants, the
price seemed to be directly related to the proximity to prime tourists sites. I
had one very disappointing meal at a cafe in a trendy area. The Prawn Linguine was
a bowl of pasta and 5 shrimps on top with a a sprinkle of parsley, a dried out
overcooked milles feuille for dessert, a glass of wine and a coffee for close to
$100. At place a about 4 blocks away I had a wonderful three course meal with a
bottle of wine for about $100 for two people,

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:40:16 +0200, ChattyCathy
> wrote:

>Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>> On Feb 25, 10:13 am, ChattyCathy > wrote:
>>> James Silverton wrote:
>>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about it.
>>>> As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand, it
>>>> may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>>> that's just me...
>>
>> I've never had that much use for it, either. In that thread
>> discussing
>> Ming Tsai and master sauces, Sqwertz said something about
>> duck confit. I shrugged.
>>
>> That might be a topic for a survey: What do you think of French food?
>
>Good idea... thanks.

How about a French food theme cook along?
We haven't had a cook along for a while and this would be a good way
for some of us, o.k. me, to expand our cooking horizons.

koko
---
http://www.kokoscorner.typepad.com
updated 2/24
"There is no love more sincere than the love of food"
George Bernard Shaw

> wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:40:16 +0200, ChattyCathy
>>>>
>>> That might be a topic for a survey: What do you think of
>>> French food?
>>
>>Good idea... thanks.
>
A question that might be added could be something like which of
a list of common French cookbooks do you use? Julia Child's book
would probably be one of them.



--
Jim Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Feb 27, 12:57 pm, John Kane > wrote:
>> Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> On Feb 25, 5:02 pm, John Kane > wrote:
>>>> ChattyCathy wrote:
>>>>> James Silverton wrote:
>>>>>> I like French food a lot but they can get unbelievably serious about
>>>>>> it. As described inhttp://tinyurl.com/3bc8hk, the French leader (M.
>>>>>> Sarkozy) wants la cuisine française to be listed by Unesco, the UN
>>>>>> agency, as part of the world's cultural heritage. On the other hand,
>>>>>> it may just be a typical political ploy :-)
>>>>> Heh. I saw this somewhere too... I dunno about 'political ploys' but
>>>>> I've always had the impression that the French think their cooking is
>>>>> 'magnific' <rolls eyes>. I've never found it all that marvelous, but
>>>>> that's just me...
>>>> But the cheeses alone ....
>>> I'm just not that fond of cheese, especially if it is very... cheesy.
>>> Gruyere
>>> is too strong for me. Ripened cheeses are not even on the map.
>>> Homeopathic quantities of Parmagiano-Reggiano are fine.
>>> French food makes no points with me on the strength of its cheeses.
>>> Cindy Hamilton
>> Gruyère isn't even French. It's Swiss. There are about one or two
>> thousand French cheeses so some are probably worth trying but if you're
>> not a cheese fan let's move on to the bread with butter and jabon cru
>> with a glass of red wine.
>>
>
> I know Gruyere isn't French, but it's something I've tried that I
> could name.
>
> Bread with sweet butter sounds fine. No cultured butter, please--it
> always
> tastes spoiled to me. Are we seeing some kind of pattern here with
> the cheese and the butter? Possibly my taste buds are wired oddly.

Sweet butter and some good jambon cru. I see I mispelt it above
>
> You can choose the red wine, although it'll be wasted on me. I've
> never
> developed a taste for wine. I like beer with foods that pair well
> with it;
> otherwise ice water is fine. Or milk with sweets.
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Milk! Ack. Still I suppose a beer would be acceptable although I don't
think I've ever found a decent French beer, not that I was looking very
hard.


--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Dave Smith wrote:
> John Kane wrote:
>
>> Most French cooking is not particularly complicated. For a simple North
>> American oriented intro have a look at Country French Cooking from
>> Sunset Books.
>
> It's not particularly complicated if you have a French type of kitchen that is
> supplied with the sorts of things they use in a lot of the fancier dishes, like
> broth and browning sauce and if you have experience making some of the sauces
> that are commonly used. It can be intimidating when you have to tackle all those
> things for the first time to prepare a meal.
>
>
Hence my recommended book. It's about as basic as they come. If you
want to branch out into some of the fancier dishes then yes it can be
bit more complicated but then you're talking real work. One would not
want to tackle too much at a time.

--
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada