What Else We Did with the Truffle: Omlette

We stored the remaining half of our truffle in a lidded bowl with eggs. The idea is that the scent of the truffle will be absorbed by and flavor the eggs. We had mushrooms in the house so we took a bit more of our precious truffle and chopped it up into little pieces and added it to the sauted mushooms. This we added to the scented eggs and had a fabulous omlette.

So What We Did with the Truffle

A fresh free-range chicken was purchased at the market with the truffle. When we got home, we cleaned the chicken and sliced the truffle (about 1/2 the truffle actually). The small crumbs of the truffle were mixed with duck fat, salt, pepper, and pineau de charentes (our local fortified wine). The skin of the chicken was separated from the meat and the sliced truffles were gently pushed under the skin. The paste was slathered over the chicken which was then trussed and wrapped in plastic and refrigerated over night. The next day we nestled shallots around the bird for cooking. It went into a medium hot oven and roasted for about an hour. The results were excellent.

In Search of the Perfect Truffle

If it is December it must be time for truffles here in the Dordogne. Saturday we went to the truffle market in Perigueux for our annual truffle purchase. We left the house in the dark to be sure to arrive at the market in time to hear the judge evaluate, comment on, and assign a quality category to each truffle before the market opens at 9 AM. Unfortunately, we did not arrive in time because we apparently also needed to find a closed RV store miles outside of town. We did arrive a bit after 9 and in time to buy a truffle. Here is the truffle we selected in hopes that it would be that perfect truffle. How we use it will be my next post.

La Tourtiere

In the last post I mentioned the flaky apple pastry flavored with armagnac "la tourtiere" which is a regional speciality. A mother and daughter team from la ferme des Tuileries demonstrated how to make this delicacy at the agricultural fair we visited a couple of weeks ago. It is made with a pastry much like brik. Originally the dough was beaten with a heavy baton at least 50 times, left over night and then the next day spread out on a large table until it is paper thin. It is allowed to dry and then cut into circles to begin the tart. Today a mixer beats the dough and a hair drier can be used to dry it out. The pastry circles are used flat and folded into triangles to construct what ends up looking like a work of art. Apples, sugar, and armagnac are added along the way until it is ready to go into the oven. All my photographs of the process are posted at our Flickr site http://www.flickr.com/photos/petillant/

But if you would like to get the recipe and meet the family who make these wonderful tarts go to http://www.ferme-tuileries.com/

Heritage Fruit and Veggie Fair

We live in the province of Aquitaine where there is an association dedicated to the preservation of the region's heirloom fruits and vegetables. With membership in the thousands, there is a preserve with nursery and greenhouses, lecture hall for courses, and an annual exhibition and sale. We spent last Saturday at the exhibition where you could learn about and possess almost any type of fruit or vegetable that grows well in our region.

There was a huge attendance and most people left with fruit trees to plant. We particularly enjoyed the exhibiton of produce and the vendors selling regional specialities such as tourtiere, an apple tart that I will post next.

The Olive Feast

Every other year our 2 olive trees bear enough fruit to harvest and process. We have no idea what type of olive trees we have. There is one which produces large green olives which would eventually turn dark, and one that bears small black olives. RXC harvests the them by hand and now that the trees are stripped he will prune them down to a very short height.

Olives are bitter and not edible until cured. We have processed the olives using a variety of techniques from a chemical soak in caustic soda for several hours, to simply soaking the raw olives in water which has to be changed daily over a 5-6 week period. Once the bitterness is removed they can be preserved in brine or our favorite method which is to pack them in olive oil with herbes and spices and keep them in the refrigerator.

This year we are simply soaking the olives in water and are just ending week one. A flavor test today proved that the olives are still extremely bitter and will need much more time in water. Normally we get enough olives to last us about a year.

Fall Colors

This year's display of fall colors has been incredible. After a dry summer, a cool fall without a freeze, and no rain at all until last week the leaves stayed on the vines and the trees long enough to give us a glorious show. It is interesting to see the different colors the vines turn depending on the variety of grape. The sweeping vineyard landscapes are stunning as is the vivid yellow outside our front door this morning.

Will the Real Pumpkin Please Stand Up

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Timberline Lodge

Having picked up a car in Portland, we had 3 days to tour the region before heading back to France. Based on recommendations from fellow paddlers, we decided to stay at Timberline Lodge at the south side of Mt. Hood. The Lodge is a historic monument, one of those gracious vacation retreats built by the WPA. The building materials were sourced locally and even the rugs and drapes we made on site. The rooms were lovely, the setting spectacular, and we had one of the best meals we have had in a long time at the restaurant. We decided to finish the fine meal with a whisky (they pride themselves on their selection) but much to the chagrin on the bar staff, they we out of the Lagavulin we ordered. To make up for that transgression, they gave us a degustation of 6 whiskies for free. Let me clarify 6 whiskies each for free. This was a great segue to our trip to Scotland.

Catch Up - Rogue River

We did so much travelling this year that I need to go back and recap some of our adventures. I already put up quite a few photos from our trip to Spain on Petillant at http://www.flickr.com/photos/petillant so I won't revisit that trip (at least not now). After Spain we went to the US to visit family and go rafting on the Rogue River in Oregon with friends. We flew into Portland and took a couple of days to get to the river, tasting wines along the way. The rafting trip was for 5 days in which our group of 9 played, floated, ate, and camped along the river which had mostly category 3 whitewater. It was a great trip with beautiful scenery and wonderful weather.

The adventure company that we used for the trip is called OARS http://www.oars.com/ and this is our second vacation with them. In 2007 our same group rafted on the Green River in Utah. That too was a great trip but the water in the Rogue was much more exciting. OARS supplies all the boats, gear, tents, and guides who do all the cooking and make sure everyone stays safe. The guides are knowledgable about the geology, flora, fauna, etc of the region so discussions on the rafts are very interesting.

After 5 days on the river we were ready to taste wines on the way back to the airport where we rented a car to spend another few days in the region. Stay tuned for my next post from Timberline Lodge.

Our House in Preggio, Italy

We are just back from 13 days in Umbria. We rented this house in the hills with friends and spent our time visiting a region of Italy little known to us. It had been 21 years since our last visit and much had changed. We flew from Bordeaux to Bologna on Ryan Air for only 7 euros! We had great food and wine. The weather was kind although there was fog most mornings. In the little town of Preggio there was a cafe which was a short walk uphill from the house and served a great morning cappuccino. All in all a good stay.

Boat, Food, Cats

Sailing vacations are largely centered around the boat, food, and cats. Our May-June trip to Spain was no exception. The northern coast of Spain was very scenic and completely empty of boats. We poked our way along visiting small towns and a couple of large cities such as Bilboa and Gijon. We set the anchor, took moorings, tied up against walls, and enjoyed a couple of marinas. Learing to cope with 12 foot tides was both stressful but once conquered an accomplishment and good training for 30 foot tides next year in the UK.

The food and wine in Spain was lucious. We enjoyed tapas most days and made it a point to order local wines. Fish was incredibly fresh. Prices were cheap.

The cats who thought the boat was a nightmare from their past took no time at all to get used to and hate their life on board. Calypso drooled for 6 weeks and Dante ranged from bored at anchor to trying to go ashore and leave the sailing life behind. Yes, there was one day when we could not find him on board and had to sail back to port only to find him hidden in the "Old Lady" spot, the hidy-hole Zabelle found and never left while we were on our trip to the Bahamas.

We would love to go back to Spain, a three star trip!

That Time Again

As I return to posting after a VERY busy summer I look out the living room and see the deep purple grapes which will hang on the vines for another week or so. But I also hear pickers in the distance harvesting green grapes already. There is a fall feel in the air and after months of no rain there is at least a tiny bit of moisture from time to time.

Our summer covered a sailing trip to Spain, reconstruction of one wall and a partial renovation of our barn, a well attended 4th of July American/Anglo/French picnic, a visit to Pittsburgh, whitewater rafting in Oregon, canal barging in Scotland and whisky tasting afterwards, visits from friends and family, Calypso fracturing her sternum, and an upcoming trip to Italy. I will try to post some highlights of these events over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Where To Find Us

Sorry for so few postings lately. We have been preparing ourselves, the house and garden, the cats, and Petillant to head south to Spain. Getting things wrapped up to sail off for 2 months takes a bit of coordination. Boat parts, charts, and reading material had to be ordered. The boat needed stocking. Eight days ago we arrived at Port Medoc without the cats intending to clean up the boat in peace and do a shakedown cruise to Ile de Re. Then we would come back to Port Medoc and park the boat for a few days while we went back home to pick up all the stuff we forgot to bring along this trip and get the cats. But we are still at port and nowhere near a shakedown cruise.

RXC found that the shaft seal was leaking and we had to order a new one which means coming out of the water to change it. And then we thought: why not get other work done while we are out? We were hauled today but not all of the work could be finished because more parts are needed. So we have to wait until next Tuesday for the parts to arrive to compete the work before our departure. Now we are considering going back home tomorrow. Then we will pack up again this time with the cats and return to be here and ready to cast off on Tuesday or Wednesday.

So as we will not be land based for awhile we are shifting our postings over to Petillant-at-sea.blogspot.com

Visit us as we begin our European sailing adventures.

Medieval Town - Medieval Feast

Issigeac is a beautiful town that retains much of it's medieval character. Period films are regularly made here and it also has a lively market on Sundays. Now that spring is here the region is particularly active with festivals and community meals. Issigeac hosted a medieval dinner with soup, blood saussage, foie gras, hams, and white beans using some "authentic" cooking techniques.

Mr. Bric Burns Again

Our local hardware superstore burned to the ground recently. Mr. Bricolage which is part of a national chain was the place we ran to for bolts, weathering stripping, batteries, etc. It was a corrogated metal building that housed great quanties of flammables. Whatever it was that set off the blaze, the place was destroyed completely.

Interestingly, this same Mr. Bric burned to the ground in 1999 during the big storms that came through Europe. This time around however, there were no violent storms to cause the fire. Within a week another local Mr. Bric burned down as well. One wonders about the coincidence of it all.

The rubble has sat like this for quite some time now and we await news that Mr. Bric will rise again.......or not. We hope so, it is spring and we need those bits that only Mr. Bric supplied so well.

Poisson D'Avril is Participatory

Yesterday was Poisson d'Avril or the French equilivant to April Fool's Day. Chocolate fish are produced, given, and shared among friends. This year was a real challange for the chocolate makers because this ritual fell smack in the middle of Holy Week. I guess a lot of people give up chocolate for Lent. While the shops were overflowing with chocolate eggs, chicks, baskets, and rabbits to be given on Easter Sunday there were few fish and not nearly as elaborate as last year. We bought a small dark (me) and a milk (rxc) chocolate fish at M. Chevailer and hidden inside were additional treats.

In our household almost all activities are participatory. Calypso loves the crackle of cellophane so she was drawn to the fish still in their lovely packaging. Dante soon decided he wanted the ribbon that tied the fish closed. However, only the humans actually got to eat the fish!

The Last Chausson aux Pommes

Change is good, sometimes. For the 11 years that we have owned our French home, traveled here for vacations and now living here full time, we have treated ourselves to the "apple slippers or turnovers" from the boulangerie next to the cafe. They were not always available as only 3 or 4 were made on any one day. Last Saturday, the Brit who scooted into the bakery just ahead of us took the last 2. Then Thursday we went up to town early so we could get one. But no, none baked that day. It was then we were told that the bakery was changing owners. Monsieur who had been making our favorite breakfast treat for all these years was retiring.

I asked if he would make a last chausson aux pommes for us for Saturday, his last day. Bien sur! So Saturday morning we went to the market on a really foul day of wind and rain knowing we would have one last treat. But among the chaos of the last day, packing, and a mind already brimming with thoughts of retirment, Monsieur forgot to put our apple turnovers in the oven. Totally embarassed, he made us a gift of the prepared pastry and instructions on how to cook them at home.

This morning I took them out of the fridge, brushed the tops with an egg yolk and a bit of water, preheated the oven to 200C and when ready popped them in the toaster oven. After 25 minutes they were perfect. I hope Monsieur enjoys his retirement. I will miss the nice ladies who worked behind the counter who never failed to glance into the display case to see if there was a chausson aux pommes for les Americians when we opened the door to the shop.

5 FATTED DUCKS!

Tis the season to make confit, rillettes, and conserved foie gras. Friday we took possession of 5 VERY large ducks (somewhere in the range of 15 pounds each). Last year we conserved 2 ducks which were relatively small because there had been a terrible tempest in Lalande where the supplier lives which had spooked the ducks. This year with no scary storms to stress them the ducks were huge. We were not prepared for so much bounty.

We took apart each bird setting aside the breasts, necks, and carcasses to freeze. The magrets we will grill. The necks will get cooked at some point, probably for soup. The carcasses we generally use to flavor tomato sauce.

The fat and skin we minced and slowly melted over a low heat. The legs, wings, and gizzards were salted overnight and the next day they were poached for several hours in the rendered fat. When done the confit was drained and cooled and then put into individual containers with some goose fat and banged into the freezer. The rest of the fat was put into jars for future use sauting potatoes. At the bottom of the pot were the rillettes, morsels of meat that were attached to the skin before it was rendered and now with fat clinging ito it. Spread on bread it is very delicious and probably very fattening, but then they are called fatted ducks!

The livers or foie gras (about 2 pounds each) were soaked in cold water overnight and cut up and put into canning jars and processed on Saturday. The foie gras will last several years once conserved in this manner, but we have already eaten one jar. Not wanting to be wasteful, we used very small canning jars for most of the foie. We also put a small piece in the freezer as a test. While opinions varied, several blogs said you could freeze foie successfully for a short time.

The freezer is full, the cupboard is stacked with foie gras, and the kitchen is now clean after the work.