Dining, French Style in Perigord Monday, July 14, 2008

…Deep Breath

I have been trying to figure out how to Blog about my recent trip to France without overwhelming you and myself in the process. I think i have opted for the categorized view…it may still overwhelm but here it goes.

First topic, is of course close to my heart; FOOD!

Now i will briefly begin at the end of my trip and work my way back to the start. On my flight home i sat next to a gentleman who grew up in Manhattan and has traveled between there and France to visit family for many years. He mentioned one thing that has really resonated in my brain. When you travel to France you can get just about any kind of food your heart desires, it has grown into a culturally diverse metropolis that has excellent Sushi as well as Ethiopian food. However, good cheap “french” food is hard if not impossible to come by. French food by its very definition is rich on both the palate and the wallet. Of course for the unconcerned you can get the very best of french cuisine on the streets of Paris for a small fortune, or you can follow my route and head to the country. AMEN! (psst go for option 2)

I began my culinary adventures in France twice. The first was when we got lost in the hills of the Perigord Region and had to stop for a stretch and directions. I went for the directions while my travel companions headed to the loo. I entered a gorgeous little cafe, perched on the edge of the Vezere River, that expelled aromas which had me lapping up my own drool.

 

After getting the entire kitchen and wait staff involved in the quest, we made lots of hand gestures and drew a little map  and with my first official Au revoir Mademoiselle, I was off. I even had to suppress a giddy yelp as i raced back to the car. Honestly i had that feeling that if my trip had to end right then and there, i would be sated. Little did i know how much i would be missing.

A short time later we found our hotel and settled in. We were staying on a working farm called Auberge-Veyret  between Les Eyzies, Sarlat and Montignac-Lascaux above the river that looked across the valley at farmland and a chateau or 2. It was rather lovely and i am pretty sure i could live there forever.  More about the farm at another time, this is a focus on the food, oh god the food!

 Right before i left for France i got to eat at Beast. I had the best meal of my life that evening. I was in for a lovely surprise. My meals on the farm were perfect from beginning to end. The owners did not speak a work of English and of the 3 empty glasses in front of us, we used them for all the wrong beverages. The lovely owner, also our wait staff, didnt bat an eye as she presented us with our choice of aperitif; their own walnut liquor or their own muscato, our choice…um both please? So briefly, if that is possible, i will describe my meal because sadly, i was so tired and excited i forgot my camera for this meal…this was all served family style on platters large enough for a family of 6…we ate it all as i recall.

First Course
Cream of Fava Bean and Bacon Soup ( good lord i dream about this soup)
Fresh Whole Grain Bread with Fresh Butter
Second Course
Fresh Melon with Prosciutto (from their farm of course)
Third Course
Veal Cutlets in Port
Heaping plate of Green Beans
Legume Gratin
Fourth Course
Fresh greens with a light mustard vinaigrette
Fifth Course
Cheese Course of course
Fresh Farm Cheese wtih 4 preserves; melon, cassis, berry and fig. (my only picture!)
Sixth Course
Dessert…we were so overwhelmed that we let before dessert this night (we didnt make that mistake twice)

So if you have read this far with out pictures, you must have some interest in good food, or you love me.  I can only say at this point that every single thing we ate was straight from their earth, the meats, cheeses, wines, vegetables were all so fresh, plucked that day fresh and was so obviously prepared with the pride you could only get from preparing your own bounty and love for good food.

To just make it all that much better, we woke up the next day, had a lovely breakfast and after wandering around the countryside for the day, we got to come back for another incredible meal! this time we had Creamed Tomato Soup, Roast Duck L’Orange and huge wedges of their own Porc Pate stuffed Foie Gras. my my my. We learned which glasses to drink out of and we even stayed for dessert…I had a Berry Mousse with Orange Blossom extract. it is really incredible and i have no excuse, but happy delirium..i forgot my camera again! Now that has to be a good meal.

The following morning, i walked through the little town and felt like i had stepped back about 300 years. The buildings were all Limestone and looked like they had stood the test of all time. In one open doorway someone was cooking at the hearth and along the side of another home was a gorgeous garden.

I was waiting for peter rabbit to step from behind one of the massive cabbage heads. I think the secret here has to be goose poop.

Along with their LOVE for the liver of fat water fowl, this region is also notoriously known for its love of the walnut. There is walnut bread, oil, cheese, ice-cream and on and on. Instead of olive oil, they use walnut oil. and can i get an amen! i bought a small bottle of walnut oil for home and all i need is a straw. I can barely walk past the bottle without a taste. It is just that good. Think about roasted walnuts plucked from your own trees and then smush them into oil, that is what you get. pure and simple. I have been eating it on Arugula from my garden with a slice of goat cheese and drizzled with walnut oil and a pinch of sea salt. There is nothing like it. If you come over, i will give you samples…if you come soon!

 As we left Foie Gras Country, my heart was a little sad but my stomach bid adieu gratefully. I have two things to say here. 1) there are no small portions in Perigord and 2) they are not skinny little people, they are genuine, solid, hard working, skin dark from the sun, people..they are my kind of people. They know how to eat and they like to share.