Treat of the Cooking School Dinner and a Visit to Le-Puy-en-Velay

November 26th
Well, this was a very fine treat! At the Lycee Saint Julien, they have a "real" cooking school, called La Visatation. Three times a week they serve lunch to the public. Soline and I met Jean-Jacques there to enjoy quite the delectable repast of:
-Creme brulee au Cantal (wonderful cheese) ANY creme brulee is to die for in my opinion!!
-Potee auvergnate (similar to New England boiled dinner with pork and sausages, potatoes, carrots and cabbage)
-Assiette de fromages (two local cheeses-blue and St. Agur)
-Coupe vellave: blueberries, vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with Speculoos (DELICIOUS spice French cookie) crumbs, and Verveine Verte, a lime liqueur, but bet others would do fine...eg. amaretto?

We entered, and the students greeted us looking very professional! They had white towels over their arms; when standing, they had to keep their free hand behind them. Our (very nervous) waiter took our coat and pulled out our chairs to seat us! The table decor really blew me away! ....Remember now that I have been here nearly four months, I am really into presentation. (I'm not sure how or IF this will transfer to Chez 56 upon my return!) The tables had chartreuse tablecloths (ties on the waitpersons were a green to match the tablecloths) and purple napkins with long pieces of real ivy with Chinese lantern plants or physalis alkengi on the table and in small jars like caning jars!!
Soline learned that our waiter had only served there twice, and on this day he was being graded. The instructor seemed quite harsh to Soline, as she listened to what she was saying!
Afterwards we toured the IMMACULATE  kitchen. It did occur to me that its spaciousness would not be the same in the "real world". This building had been a convent long ago.
Now we were off to Le Puy-en-Velay, about an hour's away, so we arrived about 3:30. We went to the Cathedral Notre Dame, a Unesco site. Unfortunately the Cloisters were closed, so we went in and toured the most grand building with a statue of St. Jacques, patron saint of the pilgrims who walk the Camino. We saw a pilgrim with his Camino backpack walking into the Cathedral.

All we could see of the Cloisters

One of most famous Auvergne Vierge Noire

Sainte Anne

Looking up at church

 There is school here at the Cathedral, and we listened to part of the Vesper service where the children were singing, before we headed back to Brioude.

It was another delightful day of seeing more of Brioude and the Auvergne region! 

And THIS is Clafouti!!

Well, luckily I had had clafouti back in Burgundy when I ate lunch/dinner in Montbard near Buffon's forge! So I knew how good it is! Actually I have a similar recipe from "down home" in Newfoundland, which is called frump. It can be made with any kind of fruit. In this case Soline had some apricots and cherries in the freezer which were the base for this dessert which is very popular in the Faucher household! She told me the story of a son-in-law who arrived for a weekend visit and walked into the kitchen asking, "Where is the clafouti?" She usually had it ready for her visitors!
Ingredients
4 eggs          1 c. Flour               1 c. sugar                3 c. milk      2+ T.  butter                   dash of salt

ANY Fruit of your choice
(We used mixture of cherries with pits and apricots; Soline told me that cherries with pits in them have better flavor!)

Mix all the ingredients in the food processor, and pour over fruit on the bottom of the pan!
30 minutes at 392* (200* celsius)

As you can see, we used a good-sized pan, and it did not last long at all! It would probably be quite tasty with ice cream or whipped cream, but DELICIOUS warm just from the oven plain!



Julia Child's clafouti recipe is at
http://www.food.com/recipe/julia-childs-cherry-clafouti-239454

Tasty Avergne Lentil Recipe, Lace-making, and More Fun Touring around Brioude

November 24th

Soline's kitchen

Breakfast was yogurt and an orange! After all I ate last night, I never thought I would eat again!  It didn't look like we would be doing much, if any, cooking today! Soline had to lead the signing at Basilica St. Julien, so we left for church at 10 with mass to begin at 19:30 (to take an hour).
I figured it would be cold, as it was in the low 30's outside and raw! However, I had forgotten she said that the heating system was broken with a projected $2million repair cost! BRRRR!!! The grand 12th century building had a special childrens' service, so there was a good crowd.

St. Julien

On the way home we stopped at the Brioude chocolate sale. These seem to be held everywhere! Soline said it had fewer tables than year, but we both managed to find some interesting things to buy!
Lunch-we did eat mid-date meal,which Soline prepared-was sauteed potatoes, zucchini, and eggplant with beefsteak. I gave in and ate some cheese, but none of the leftover wonderful chocolate mousse!
I had spotted an ad in the local paper for what sounded like a Christmas bazaar. It was in the Monastery in Lauoute-Chilhac. Soline had never been to the second floor of this building, so she was glad to see it. She learned that this had been at one time a school dormitory for children. And it was just like Christmas fairs I have seen in churches in the US-candles, decorations, hats, etc.

Lauoute-Chilhac Monastery

We returned home with full intentions for a light
supper. However, Soline's friend Babette invited us to come for dinner, which was lasagna, salad, and apple tart. The traditional tart is like what Regine had served, which is baked with the apples on the caramel filling on the bottom and crust on top,and the pie is flipped onto a plate. Everything was delicious, of course!!






November 25th
Our first stop today was Reagir43,

which is similar to Goodwill or any organization which collects old furniture and household goods for resale. Soline is the volunteer director of this organization. She usually stops in daily to oversee what is happening and the various projects where people refurbish furniture for sell. She needed to talk with some folks, so we were there for about thirty minutes.
Next was the fascinating Hotel de la Dentelle, which is a lace museum. http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.hoteldeladentelle.com/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhotel%2Bde%2Bla%2Bdentelle%2Bbrioude%2B43%26biw%3D1183%26bih%3D559
I cannot imagine the concentration, not to mention patience which is required to master the skill of making lace! The woman who started this museum was there, and Soline introduced me to her. It was so interesting to see such an old craft of the area still being practiced, as there were women making their own lace projects. Those who are really into it, just flip the bobbins back and forth. Their work is so involved and well-regarded that they are recognized by name designers. Fascinating!

And we were home for dinner, which was lentils with sausage and three pork ribs, salad, and fruit. Soline's friend Clare came, so I met another friend! And, of course, always three kinds of wonderful cheeses with bread!
Lentil recipe
Melt butter in the bottom of the pressure cooker to brown 4 big sausages. Add 3 pork ribs and one onion cut in half with a piece of clove in each half. After these ingredients are browned, add piece of fresh thyme, salt, and 1 cup of water. Put pressure cooker on to cook for 1/2 hour. Afterwards, Soline put the pan under running cold water to be able to take off the pressure cooker knob.
Separately she had cooked the lentils-1+ cup in cold water. When cooked (1/2 hour?), drain, and add to meats in pressure cooker for 5 minutes.

After dinner, Soline wanted me to see some local sites. Our first stop was the 12th century monastery of LaVaudieu. She had to call ahead to arrange for a woman

Neighbor and Soline

who lives nearby to let us in.

Then we walked around the charming little town, which some use as a vacation home. Many of the homes have been renovated; some have not. But it was all fun to see!

An old farmhouse from days of cattle walking through the streets

Of course, we stopped by a friend's home to say hello! He had just had shoulder surgery, so he was glad for our short visit!

French and American flags in front of Lafayette's home

We drove on to see Lafayette's home in Chavaniac-Lafayette where he was born. Unfortunately it was closed, because as the woman who came to the door told Soline, one day no one came, so she closed for the season! We had looked on the internet, and it was supposed to be open until the end of November!

On our way home we stopped for tea at Helene's, another choral friend, who also runs a gite with her husband. Gites are similar to Chambres d'Hotes, which are homes or rooms which people can rent very reasonably.

We came home in the dark to get ready for supper, after Soline made a cherry apricot clafouti! I will post this recipe separately...VERY tasty and very easy.
Thanks for coming along! Next stop....Le Puy-en-Velay.

BUSY Saturday and Cooking Lesson #2 of Pheasant Dinner

November 23rd

It was a cold day with intermittent snow flurries in the low 30's, as we headed off to the Foire Cheval (Horse fair). With a 20% chance of snow/rain (yesterday it did hale), we were dressed warmly and off for a very busy day! As the mayor's wife (for the last eighteen years!), Soline knows everyone in town and stops most amiably to chat with one and all! (With elections coming up in March, Jean-Jacques has decided to run again, as there are things he still wants to accomplish! Soline kiddingly said, "If I want to know what Jean-Jacques has been doing, I just look in the paper!" His picture is throughout!)
By the time we stopped at the market for fruits, vegetables, and eggs, many of the horses had left. Some were waiting to learn if they had won prizes, and there were some ponies giving rides to the small children.

Jean-Jacques announces the winners

There was a banquet type luncheon afterwards for those who had participated in the fair, and we went. Soline said to me during the meal, "I don't think there are very many Americans who are having lunch today with the farmers in Auvergne, and eating tripe and 'head of the veal' with tongue"! And to set the record straight, I had exactly a small bite of each. My meal was a sort of scallop patty.

My entree, a scallop dish

Cooked head of the veal

Piece on right is the head of the veal; tongue is on left.

Piece of tripe Soline served me.

Christophe, Jean-Jacques, and I  before we ate.

Dessert brioche perdu with
caramel sauce and ice cream

This is what the tripe looked like before it was cooked. I spotted this when we were at the butcher's.


And there were several more stops before we headed home. At the butcher we got the sauerkraut, pork for the lardons, and kielbasi-like sausage for dinner. At the cheese shop Soline bought a selection of cheeses for the week.For a town with the population of 7,000, I am surprised by the shops here. It turns out that this is the shopping center for many near-by smaller towns, so the many shops are supported. For example, there are eight bakeries (boulangerie) which make and sell bread and desserts; shops which sell only desserts are patisseries.

Pheasant before Soline cleaned it the previous day.

Pheasant and lardons before browning

Once "at home" (a phrase Soline uses often in translations), we started to prepare the dinner. The lardons were browned in butter, and then the pheasant was added in the pressure cooker; then they were sealed and cooked for maybe one-half hour. The red and white potatoes, which she had dug from her friend Babette's farm, were cooked in another pressure cooker. (Babette's father had died and then soon after her 50 year old brother who was working the farm also died, so Babette managed the farm with the help of a local farmer, until she sold it.) The delicious salad was greens, small pieces of apples and cooked beet, parsley tossed with a vinaigrette dressing.

Four cheeses for the cheese course!

Jean made the chocolate mousse to die for!

Martine and Jean arrived at 7:30. I had met Martine at choral practice and the gym. She had been an English teacher before she retired.

Martine, Jean-Jacques, and Jean

Today, Sunday, I will go to mass with Soline at her magnificent Roman church, as she is participating in the service. Later there is a Chocolate fair (!). I still cannot think about food, after last night's sumptuous feast! However, I am sure that there will be some very interesting surprises in this day ahead!