This has been a very cold week in Paris. Snow, snizzle, gray skies and a wind that takes your breath away. This is not exploring weather, unless your adventures take you into the pages of a cookbook. Snow and comfort food are forever melded in this New Englander's habitude.
I received Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child as a Christmas present. Actually, I got three copies as presents. With the popularity of the Meryl Streep movie, our move to Paris and my interest and ability in all things culinary, I guess it was a logical choice. I have lots to learn and wow, what a place in which to learn!! I only brought one copy with me and it has stains already.
I have been told I am a pretty good cook. Part of being a pretty good cook, as Julia has taught me, is to keep your knives and wit sharp. Eat and drink what you like and like what you eat and drink. And if you mess up...toss it...it will be your little secret with the garbage man.
I have used Julia's tome to help me preheat my oven, using her handy dandy temperature conversion chart. I would be lost without the pages on measurements...they stopped trying to teach us the metric system in fifth grade. I am honing my knife skills, improving my decorative presentation and re-examining menu planning.
I have come to learn that dinner is not a protein, two veggies and carbs on a plate. Dinner in Paris is a process. Armed with my cookbook, fresh produce and provisions from the open air market, and a vision of Dan Ackroyd as Julia Child wielding a chef's knife and spurting blood, I prepare the repast.
First one begins with an aperitif or amuse bouche, something to wake up your appetite after a long day of work and chores. This morsel, rarely more than a few bites, can be as simple as olives and bread, with a glass of something adult in nature or as complex as a verrine...a cute little melange, layered in a small glass and either sipped or spooned. The apertif beverage is also an important aspect of phase one of dinner. It helps you pause, for one sips and savors say Champagne or Champagne (or sparkling water) with a little splash of something. Kir Royal, Champagne or white wine mixed with a cassis used to be de rigueur, but is now considered passe', however, adding fresh berries, juices, or a unique liquor shakes it up a bit. I am partial to Bellinis myself. "American" cocktails like martinis or scotch or other mixed drinks are gaining in popularity in bars, but in homes wine still rules the roost.
Next comes the entree...which means to enter the meal...it is not the main plate. The entree can be a salad or pasta dish, soup, fish or a vegetable preparation. It is usually what Americans would consider an appetizer, but a bit more refined and integrated into the over all menu. And with the exception of some salads, one never puts hot and cold food on the same plate. Your beverage will be a lighter wine, red or white, whichever suits your palate. And there is always a caraf or bottle of water on the table. Do not expect in restaurants, cafes or in most French homes to have soda with your meal. Soda is a snack. And of course, bread...see earlier blog entry for that love affair!
The plat is your main course. This is the feature. It is usually a "protein", meat, chicken or fish, with perhaps a vegetable, rice or potato side dish. France is the land of sauces...the Mother Sauces to be exact and sauce there usually is with this act of the meal production. Bechamel, Espangnol, Veloute or Allemande, each is designed to take your food to the next level of deliciousness.
Make sure you have the appropriate cutlery for each course too. It is rare to end the meal with the same utensils with which one started. You will most likely have moved on to a different wine glass depending on the progression of the meal as compared to your entree...if you continue with the same wine though one glass is sufficient. More bread, please.
Now, depending on your day and what's up for tomorrow, your meal could go in different directions. If you need more time to talk about the day and unwind, enter the cheese course. President Charles de Gualle once said, " A country that produces 325 varieties of cheese cannot be governed." I am curious to learn if this is so! At the very least, it indicates to me many points of view!! Ainsi... my preference is to always serve three types of cheese, usually from the same milk source; goat, sheep, cow, water buffalo, cat, (just seeing if you are paying attention), or at least 2 of one and one of another. When enjoying the cheese course, I recommend that you start with the milder cheese and progress to the stronger ones. I have learned from a gastronome that one must repect the cheese. Always take small slices in such a way as to maintain the original shape of the cheese. I guess it is to help everyone remember which cheese is which...I mean after all that wine, one may lose directional orientation on the plate! Bring on the bread and more wine. Unless you are eating Fromage Blanc. Fromage Blanc is a fresh white cheese, low in fat, and is eaten with a spoon like yogurt, with sugar or honey, and often replaces the dessert course.
Speaking of dessert, it is the rule rather than the exception here in Paris. For lunch and dinner, I see many a local enjoying a little something sweet at the end of their meal. I am not a huge fan of desserts...I love the cheese course and happily end there. But, if you are a guest either at a restaurant or in someone's home, it is expected you will have dessert. Fortunately, the French are coming around to the idea that splitting dessert is acceptable...thank goodness. Desserts range from the simplicity of a fresh fruit cup to the glory of Crepes Suzette. And dear compatriots, coffee and tea arrive after the meal. Sorry, coffee AND dessert, it just isn't done!
You'd think that after all this food, you would need to wheel barrel yourself to bed, but no. Portion control is as much a part of the menu planning as are the ingredients. Separate courses slow you down. No wolfing food down, no agita, no Alka Seltzer. And at Chez Barbo, we skip the cheese and dessert when it is just the two of us, but we have learned to take our time.
We are in the habit now of taking a walk after dinner, strolling leisurely, arm in arm, dog pulling slightly at the lead. I can imagine Paul and Julia Child walking along the Seine, Americans in Paris but Parisians in heart.
The crisp night air clears the mind and the walk helps with digestion and signals the body sleep will soon come. Bon nuit!
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