La Fête du Fromage - Salers Tradition and Langres

I finally came across some Langres, a cheese I've been trying to find for ages! We tasted it with a nice hunk of Salers Tradition for this week's Fête du Fromage.


The mountains of the Auvergne region of central France is home to a chestnut colored breed of cattle called Salers. After a summer of grazing on sweet mountain pastures, the raw milk from this special breed is used to make Salers Tradition cheese, an entirely fermier AOC cheese. It is similar to Cantal, the main difference is that Cantal can be made from milk produced all year long and Salers only from the summer milk. The cheese is made and aged in mountain burons (stone huts) just as it has been for the last two thousand years.
The piece I bought was aged for 18 months and was salty, tangy and strong tasting with hints of grass and flowers. I loved it's flavor, but my husband wasn't very excited about this one. (more for me!) It's aroma was meaty and heady and the texture was soft and crumbly.

Salers Tradition would be delicious served with fruit such as pears or grapes and fantastic with walnuts. Pour a glass of Touraine or a fruity Beaujolais to drink with this cheese.



Gooey, runny and utterly delectable, Langres (LAHNG-gruh) was truly worth it's hefty little price tag. (5 € for this 150 gram cheese in a basket)
The high plains of Langres in the Champagne-Ardenne region is home to the artisans who make this superb AOC awarded cheese. Difficult to see in this picture, but the there is a little well or fontaine on top into which you can pour Champagne, Chablis or marc de Champagne*. Then, when you cut into the cheese, it is bathed in spirits. But the flavor is so incredible it doesn't need to be bathed in anything! Just have a glass of Chablis or Champagne or marc with the Langres while you're eating it.
It has a smelly, barnyard aroma (for lack of a better description) and a wet, shiny looking crust. The cheese melts in your mouth as spicy, creamy and mildly salty flavors blend together and send waves of pleasure throughout your entire body. Well, maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit, but this cheese is very special!



*marc de Champagne is a clear, colorless brandy made by distilling the residue of skins, seeds and stalks left after pressing the grapes in the first stage of making Champagne Pin It

Photo du Jour

This is Daisy, our Russian Blue. Also known as "Crazy Daisy."

Her favorite things:
pretend the chihuahuas are giant mice to chase around
play with water
ride on my shoulder and try to lick my hair (not as exciting since I cut it shorter)
watch the other cats wander around the village but not actually go outside-too freaky out there
sleep Pin It

Making Jam

This year our friend's apricot tree produced so much fruit that one of it's branches broke from the weight! They were picking for days and sharing the fruits (no pun intended) of their labor with everyone.
After leaving their house last week with a couple of giant bowls of apricots I decided it was about time I learned to make jam. I've made wine, vinegar and bake bread all the time. But I've never made jam.

I didn't have pectin and didn't want to go out and buy new jars since I had a bunch of old Bonne Maman jam jars stored under the stairs, so I decided to make freezer jam. It looked easy and I could control how much sugar went in.
The result was gorgeous, delicious, perfectly sweet and...not jam. It didn't set up!
Hey, c'est la vie. I had a fantastic apricot "freezer compote" to drizzle on plain yogurt and vanilla ice cream.

My next attempt will be Reine Claude plum jam. Maybe I should buy some pectin this time? Pin It

Photo du Jour

Market day tomorrow. On my list:

cucumbers
white nectarines
prunes Reine Claude
eggs
chèvre
a tarragon plant
bread
olives Pin It

Photos du Jour

Caretaker's house (?) on the Château de Floris property.




And a glimpse of the Château. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Weathered doors of our neighbor's wine cave.*



*cellar Pin It

Uninvited House Guest

There aren't many creepy crawlies that freak me out. I love all reptiles and amphibians, think insects are really cool and spiders are fine, as long as they don't surprise me by crawling across my cheek in the middle of the night or something equally offensive.
But scorpions are a different matter.
I DON'T LIKE THEM.
At all.
When we bought a house in the south of France I didn't know it would come with the occasional scorpion as an uninvited house guest. Had I known that, well, maybe we would have bought a house up north where there aren't any damn scorpions!






Ok, ok...it is pretty small. That is our garden key which is about 5 inches/13 centimeters long.
But even though they aren't very big, they still freak me out!!!


(no I didn't crush it with something heavy, which I should have done since it shouldn't be in our house in the first place. I scooped it into a large measuring cup and took it around the corner and set it free in the vineyards)


Pin It

Photo du Jour

Small lock on the Canal du Midi, just outside of Homps. Pin It

Taking French Wine Back to the States

We live in the middle of vineyards. Vineyards as far as the eye can see.
Wine is cheap. And plentiful.
And there is some excellent wine available in the Minervois.




When our our friends and family from the States come to visit they just can't resist buying wine to take back with them. A bottle or two...or six. Or ten. The more wine they taste, the more they want to buy. It's just too tempting!
Here the price of six really fabulous bottles of Minervois or St. Chinian wine is what they pay for one bottle at home.

But US Customs says that you're only allowed to bring back one liter of alcohol per person, duty free. Here's what I have to say to that.
So what!
Just pay the extra duty if they're inclined to charge you for it. It's only three percent!
So, if you pay, say, 5€ a bottle and buy 6 bottles, that is 30€. These days with the Euro going sky high, 30€ equals around $42. Three percent duty on $42 is a whopping $1.24.

Dad, are you reading this? Next time you visit, bring an extra suitcase!

Merci to Dr Vino for bringing this wonderful news to my attention. Our guests always ask us what fines they would incur for extra wine and we could never give them a definitive answer. Until now.
(the pamphlet does say that each State has different rules, so future guests, we'll leave you to check that one out)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is an excerpt from the Customs pamphlet Know Before You Go

Alcoholic Beverages
One liter (33.8 fl. oz.) of alcoholic beverages may be
included in your exemption if:
• You are 21 years old.
• It is for your own use or as a gift.
• It does not violate the laws of the state in which
you arrive.
Federal regulations allow you to bring back more than
one liter of alcoholic beverage for personal use, but,
as with extra tobacco, you will have to pay duty and
Internal Revenue Service tax.
While Federal regulations do not specify a limit on the
amount of alcohol you may bring back for personal use,
unusual quantities are liable to raise suspicions that you
are importing the alcohol for other purposes, such as
for resale. CBP officers are authorized by the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to
make on-the-spot determinations that an importation
is for commercial purposes, and may require you to
obtain a permit to import the alcohol before releasing
it to you. If you intend to bring back a substantial
quantity of alcohol for your personal use, you should
contact the port through which you will be re-entering
the country, and make prior arrangements for entering
the alcohol into the United States.
Also, you should be aware that state laws might limit the
amount of alcohol you can bring in without a license. If
you arrive in a state that has limitations on the amount
of alcohol you may bring in without a license, that state
law will be enforced by CBP, even though it may be
more restrictive than federal regulations. We recommend
that you check with the state government before
you go abroad about their limitations on quantities
allowed for personal importation and additional state
taxes that might apply.

In brief, for both alcohol and tobacco, the quantities
discussed in this booklet as being eligible for duty-free
treatment may be included in your $800 or $1,600
exemption, just as any other purchase would be. But
unlike other kinds of merchandise, amounts beyond
those discussed here as being duty-free are taxed, even
if you have not exceeded, or even met, your personal
exemption. For example, if your exemption is $800
and you bring back three liters of wine and nothing
else, two of those liters will be dutiable. Federal law
prohibits shipping alcoholic beverages by mail within
the United States.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So friends and family, come to France and taste some wine and buy some bottles, because you can take it home with you!


P.S. I'm curious if any travelers with more than their allotted one liter have been charged duty by US Customs? Pin It

Photos du Jour

The grapes two weeks ago.


And yesterday. They're becoming sweet and juicy and turning a beautiful golden color.
Pin It

New Little One

Meet baby Thomas. The newest member of our circle of friends.
He decided to grace us with his presence three weeks early, much to the surprise of his parents!


Pin It

Nice Neighbors With Gardens

Our neighbors are so generous!
Every week during the summer months an abundance of vegetables is lavished upon us.
You see, they all have productive gardens. Unlike yours truly...

Sometimes they invite me in through their garden gates, hand me a bucket and tell me to pick as much as I like. Sometimes I'm handed a bag crammed with fruit and vegetables as I'm heading down the lane to our garden (to coax our pathetic little plants along) and sometimes they leave bags of produce hanging on our front door.
This morning Pierrot handed me a small bucket of perfectly ripe, juicy tomatoes and yesterday André called me to his garden to give me a box full of pale yellow snap beans, small lettuces, tomatoes and the most beautiful, shiny purple eggplants.



One was as big as our chihuahua!

I just wasn't given the gift of green thumbs.
Thank goodness for nice neighbors! Pin It

Photos du Jour

We finally have some squash growing!


Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Roquefort

Voilà Roquefort

Who hasn't heard of it? This very strong cheese seems to garner very strong opinions. People either love it or hate it. Personally, I'm not a huge fan, but I do love to cook with it.

A blue veined cheese from the Causse du Larzac has been enjoyed since the Roman times but it was during the Middle Ages that Charles VI granted a small village in the south of France a monopoly on aging Roquefort in the local caves. It is made from the unpasteurized milk of the Lacaune ewe and matured in the Combalou caves that surround the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in the Aveyron département. The blue veining develops after the rind is pierced forty times and the cheese is left to mature in the caves where the penicillium roqueforti bacteria go to work.

At least three months of aging is necessary under the AOC guidelines, but it is usually allowed to mature for four months. Roquefort is an intensely flavored, distinctively salty and complex cheese. It is crumbly and damp, yet buttery, and melts beautifully on the tongue. The interior is creamy white with blue grey veins and has no rind.
All genuine Roquefort bears a little red sheep on it's label.

Enjoy with a glass of Sauternes or Banyuls.


Caramelized Onion, Roquefort and Parmesan Tartserves 6

For the Pâte Brisée

• 18 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cup, plus 1 tablespoon chilled butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cider vinegar
• 2 large eggs

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, add the flour, butter, and salt.
2. Pulse several times to form pea-sized lumps.
3. Add the vinegar and eggs and pulse to form a moist, crumbly mixture. Do not over process.
4. Turn out the dough onto a work surface and knead a few times by hand.
5. Form the dough into a disk, wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 1 month.

For the Tart

• 1 recipe pâte brisée (or store bought puff pastry--follow instructions for pre-baking)
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 large yellow onions, halved and cut into julienne strips (about 7 cups)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup crème fraîche
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• ¾ cup crumbled Roquefort cheese
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Make the tart

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C).
2. Remove the pâte brisée from the refrigerator and when warm enough to be pliable, roll out to about 1/8 inch thick.
3. Place the brisée into a 10 inch tart mold, fitting it around the bottom and the sides
4. Bake the shell for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden. Let cool.
5. In a sauté pan over low heat, melt the butter.
6. When bubbly, add the onions and cook down for 45 minutes, or until the onions are very brown and sweet, stirring from time to time to prevent the onions from sticking. Let cool.
7. In a bowl, whisk together the heavy cream, crème fraîche, egg and egg yolk to make a custard.
8. Stir in the salt and pepper and set aside. (You may want to use less salt, depending on the saltiness of the Roquefort.)
9. Increase the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C).
10. Spread the cooked onions on the bottom of the tart shell.
11. Sprinkle crumbled Roquefort over the onions.
12. Pour the custard mixture over.
13. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top of the custard
14. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
15. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Pin It

Photo du Jour

''Une noisette et un croissant, s'il vous plaît.'' Pin It

Photo du Jour

I'm always coming across beautiful doors. Pin It

Photo du Jour

St George and the Dragon?
Taken in Mougins. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Scenes from a Parisian café.

What better place to wile away the hours? Pin It

Improv

Every so often we crave a good ol' American hamburger. You would think this is an easy thing to reproduce, right?
Wrong!

First, let's talk about the beef here in France. I'm sorry la France, but your beef just ain't that good. I can't tell you how many times I've broken down and ordered a bavette grillé or entrecôte thinking, "maybe it will be better this time," only to end up with a practically dislocated shoulder from having to saw my way through the piece of shoe leather lying on my plate. When will I ever learn? The sauces are good. Damn good. But the beef here really leaves something to be desired.

The cut used for haché (ground beef) is very lean, so hamburger making presents some challenges. To compensate for the lack of flavor and to make them nice and juicy, my burgers are bursting with ''stuff".

If we're in a spicy/Cajun mood
For one pound of ground beef:
cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon
Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon
moistened bread crumbs, 1/4 cup
minced onion
minced garlic, 1 clove
minced chili pepper
an egg

For a French flavor
For one pound of ground beef:
Dijon mustard, 1-2 tablespoons (I love mustard, so often use more)
minced onion
minced garlic, 1 clove
minced capers, 1 tablespoon
moistened bread crumbs, 1/4 cup
an egg
freshly ground black pepper

No hamburger buns around here, so I buy a nice, fat bread to slice, like un gros pain. A baguette isn't wide enough and is too chewy. You gotta improvise! Sliced red onion and tomato are a must and we don't have an outdoor grill so I pan fry burgers or put them under the broiler.


Now if only we could find Hebrew National hot dogs! I do miss a good hot dog...


UPDATE: I wrote this post this morning and went to Intermarché this afternoon to pick up a few groceries and couldn't believe it...two different sizes of hamburger buns available! The packaging even had a little Statue of Liberty and an American flag on it. When did this happen? Is it the Americanization of France under Sarko?
Pin It

Photo du Jour

"Will you get that camera out of my face, I'm trying to sleep!'' Pin It

Photo du Jour

Village church in the Minervois. Pin It

Photo du Jour

Barrels of olives at the Olonzac market.

The local Lucques are so delicious! Perfect to nibble on with a Kir or a glass of Muscat. Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Bleu de Chèvre, Tomme Corse and Saint-Marcellin

Bleu de Chèvre, Tomme Corse and Saint-Marcellin are the three cheeses I picked for this week's Fête du Fromage.

The Bleu de Chèvre was by far our favorite of the three. It was fruity and sweet and crumbly and oh so delicious! I thought that Bleu de Basque was my favorite bleu, but the Bleu de Chèvre now has that honor. It is made from unpasteurized goat's milk and comes from the Auvergne region of central France. Enjoy with a glass of Côtes du Rhône.

Corsica produces some amazing cheeses, none of which we'd had the chance to taste until I brought home the Tomme Corse. The word "Tomme" appears often when you're looking at cheese. The basic definition: a round, rustic cheese that is produced in the mountains. The flavor was very mild and slightly salty with an underlying sharpness.
We thought this sheep's milk cheese was just ok, it certainly didn't leave us clamoring for more. Drink some Corsican rosé alongside.



The little piece of Saint-Marcellin we tasted was very, very young. It was soft and runny with a mildly acidic, grassy and somewhat fruity flavor that at first I wasn't very excited about. It seemed unrefined and immature. But I gave it another try the next day and really enjoyed it the second time around. Maybe my palate was off or something.
I'll keep my eyes peeled for an aged piece to try next time.

Saint-Marcellin is a close cousin of one of my favorite's, Banon , and is made in the Dauphiné region, north of Provence, from unpasteurized cow's milk. There is mention of its production since the 15th Century when the soon to be crowned King Louis XI had an accident while hunting and shared a meal with his rescuers. They introduced him to Saint-Marcellin and he in turn introduced it to the cheese makers in Paris. The result; a cheese that has been enjoyed by French ''society" for over 500 years.
 Have a glass of Côtes du Rhône or Châteauneuf-du-Pape with this one.


Pin It

Photo du Jour

Shopping along the Canal du Midi. Pin It

Real

Sincere
Pure
Flawless
Genuine
Simple
True
Honest

Real



Tomato, Red Onion and Basil Salad



Real summer food. Pin It

Photo du Jour

A secret passageway in La Livinière. Part of the old remparts? Part of a château? Pin It

The Latest Links

I spend a lot of time writing about and eating cheese. But today I stumbled upon an informative and charming little site about French wine.
When I say stumbled, I mean Stumbled.

Our fabulous local wine shop with the sweet and very helpful owner, Laurent. And the most beautiful place to stay.

We just watched the Da Vinci Code. Here's one for a bit of history and mystery.

Charming food blogs en français. And a fantastic magazine too.

And of course, the universe of cheese. Pin It

Photos du Jour

the grapes a month ago


and two days ago Pin It

Photo du Jour

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see...


well, for two days anyway. This was taken on Thursday.
The clouds are back this morning! Pin It

Photo du Jour - La Lavande

La lavande 
It's blooming all over the place right now.

Lavender Marinated Chèvre

Put several stalks of lavender, washed and dried, in the bottom of a shallow baking dish along with a couple of branches of washed and dried rosemary.
Lay each little disk of chèvre in a single layer over the lavender and rosemary. (Try to use a dish that will fit the chèvre snugly.)
Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper.
Drizzle olive oil over to cover the chèvre completely.
Cover the dish with some plastic wrap and let marinate at room temperature overnight.
Spread on bread and enjoy!

Here's another delicious lavender recipe to try. (#99)

Pin It

Daily Photo

Overlooking the Bay of Cannes.


Pin It

Daily Photo

Feisty, mail-eating chihuahua.

When our mail is delivered through a slot in the front door, he tries to grab it and rip it to shreds! Pin It

La Fête du Fromage - Rocamadour and Chaource

Well, I finally made a list of all the cheeses we've tasted and this week's are numbers 29 and 30.
Only 30! Seems like we've tried a lot more than that.

A mere 335 more to taste.

Presenting Rocamadour and Chaource.

The minute you unwrap the little discs of Rocamadour, their lovely, hazelnutty aroma fills the room.

Made from unpasteurized goat's milk and recognized as one of France's AOC cheeses since 1996, these little babies are tasty and fabulous! Rocamadour cheese comes from the stunning, vertical, cliff-hugging town of Rocamadour in the Quercy region of the Lot Département.
It is the oldest cheese from this area - there is even documentation from the 15th Century of it's use as legal tender!
It has a very soft, slightly crumbly interior that melts on your tongue and its taste is mild and nutty. A perfect cheese to toast on bread and add to a salad or to spread on rye bread and drink with a hearty red wine, such as a Cahors.



Produced since the Middle Ages, Chaource takes it's name from a village in the famous Champagne region. Made from unpasteurized cow's milk and a recognized AOC cheese since 1970, Chaource can be enjoyed young, when it's flavor is light and the texture is firm and smooth, or aged, when the interior becomes runny around the edges and the flavor intensifies. 
The one we tasted was aged a bit. Its flavor was buttery, tangy and nutty with light mushroom and cream aromas. It reminded us of Camembert or a triple cream cheese from northern France.
I recommend this one highly.
Enjoy with fruit and some Champagne, of course!

Pin It

Vide-Grenier and the Village Soirée

My poor, crimson colored shoulders!
The Minervois finally had some sun over the weekend so I spent most of Sunday getting sunburned while trying to sell some wares at a village vide-grenier. The word vide-grenier translates directly as "empty the attic." It is a village wide garage sale or car boot sale where you purchase a stall and try to sell whatever stuff you want to get rid of (and usually end up buying stuff from other people that you really didn't need in the first place and that you'll be trying to get rid of next summer at another vide-grenier.) Anyway...
I shared a stall with some friends which made the day more of a social event than a day trying to make money. A good thing too, as I sold only 10 € worth of stuff, spent 4 € for the space and bought a set of dishes for 3 €.

So, I made a 3 € profit.

WhoopDeDoo.


But a fun day was had by all. There were pony rides for the little ones.



And a great lunch complete with refreshing Muscat Sec from la Domaine de Blayac.
Our friends live just around the corner so they hauled a table, chairs and an umbrella to the street just behind our stall and we enjoyed lunch al fresco.




That evening was the village soirée, complete with an apéro, four course dinner, wine and the DJ with his light show and crazy mix of disco, Gipsy Kings and French pop music. The meal was actually pretty good this year. Charcuterie, paella, fromage et tarte Normande.




After dinner we GOT DOWN AND BOOGIED!


Pin It

Daily Photo

Olive trees outside our village. Pin It

Daily Photo

Boat docked along the Canal du Midi. Pin It

Daily Photo

La Place in Capestang. Pin It

Fêting le Fromage

Since the first Fête du Fromage, other bloggers have kindly mentioned my cheese tasting escapades on their blogs.
Merci tout le monde!


Ben in Montpellier at Deux by Deux
Riana at the beach in St Pierre at Garlic Breath
Walt in the Loire Valley at WCS
Madeline in Brooklyn at The Gourmet Peasant
Jacqui in southern France at Herault Family Life

If there's anyone else tasting cheese along with me or if I've forgotten to mention you, let me know and I'll link you here. Pin It

Daily Photo

An artichoke in the garden that we didn't get around to eating.
That color is amazing! Pin It