Two Weeks

The thought of "Slow Food" encompasses more than just the notion of raising food organically. It also involves the preparation and the consumption of a meal, with good friends and family. On Tuesday, we had dinner at a friend's house, and the entire start to finish of the meal was about five hours, slow. It wasn't a ton of food by any means, but everyone was there just to enjoy-to enjoy food, to enjoy good company, have good conversation, you catch my drift.

We arrived at six to have some appetizers, and play a rousing game of Pétanque, a version of boules.

The court

In Pétanque, you roll out the first ball called the cochonnet, which means little pig, and you switch turns rolling your boule to get the closest. The person closest doesn't roll again until the opponent gets closer than your throw. The game goes till one person (team) reaches 13 and often involves some wine consumption, which can alter how long it takes for someone to actually win. We had to cut our game short when dinner was close to being ready, but I'm proud to say I am currently undefeated in Pétanque.

Dinner started with a foie gras dish, placed on a flat, hot pan for a few seconds on each side, served on a bed of lettuce with a vinaigrette over. A first course I could get used to.

The main was a delicious pork, with dijon-molasses sauce, accompanied with herb potatoes, and a refreshing zucchini salad-with pine nuts and a lemony dressing. Perhaps some good use to your abundance of zucchini crop that always seems to show up this time of year?

The dish in the front was a side dish that was brought by another guest. Craving some spiciness in the very good, but not spicy French diet, she grew her own poblano chilies in her garden, which inspired her lovely creation. The dish reminded us all of the food we all seem to crave the most when abroad-Mexican. Of the guests at the dinner party, six were from California and the other two (our lovely hosts) have lived all over the United States but now call France and the Caribbean home, and all of us seemed to miss the spice, the seasoning, the utter deliciousness of Mexican food. Apparently, there is a restaurant that actually serves decent Mexican food not too far, but I don't really want to chance it. I just know it will be one of my first meals when I'm home in November.

Lastly, was dessert, which was our responsibility to bring. We decided to make some sort of cheesecake type recipe, to try and best incorporate the wonderful strawberries that are just nearing the end of their season, yet by no means have they lost any flavor. Since there is no cream cheese in France, Caitlin found a wonderful recipe (well actually 2) to make the delectable delight, a cake called gâteau au fromage blanc, translated literally into white cheese cake. I assisted in the ingredient shopping and cleaning, but left the master chef job to Caitlin. It used fromage blanc as the main cheese filling, complete with egg yolks (3) and egg whites (4), sugar, a wee bit of flour, and the zest of a lemon. The crust was a petite buerre cookie and butter crust.

Looks like a cheese cake right? But it was better. More melt in your mouth as it was much softer and fluffier then a traditional American cheesecake. And the fresh strawberry coulie on top, magnificent. I think the strawberries were even better since I had to bike and get the last basket from the local produce stand. I found a recipe that is similar to what we had. The key however, other then don't get any egg yolk in the egg white, was to actually let the top of the cake get brown, but not burn, tricky but well worth it. A nice layer of crust to dive your fork into.

Browned Cheesy Heaven

At the conclusion of the night, I had realized that I had been in France officially for two weeks. The meal seemed all too perfect for my two week anniversary. A nice blend of French and American cuisines and cultures, starting with the pétanque, and continuing on through the foie gras, pork (BBQ'ed on a Weber!), poblano chiles, and fromage blanc. Just looking at that list, one can see the vast array of flavors on a plate, yet the fusion was perfect.

A Simple Life...

The last few days in Pont de Cause have been very relaxing. With less guests during the weekend, we have been taking time to ride bikes (23 km, a lot for me!), read by the pool, and attend some antique fairs. There was even time for a driving lesson for me, as I am trying to learn how to drive stick shift. Currently,  I am reading Julia Child's My Life in France, and today I read something that I couldn't agree more with.

Driving in France was always a competitive sport, but driving in the south  was positively death-defying...The roads are steep, built against sheer cliffs, and just barely wide enough for one monster truck and one small car to pass. There were no speed laws, no road police, and few road signs.

 Ironic that I read this passage just a day after my own death defying stint behind the wheel! Though I will have to get some nerve and drive the little truck around by myself, I need some major practice before I am confident enough, but I'll get around to it!

Our days of relaxation are now over at the B&B as it is now full, but I did get to enjoy some very delicious meals before, specifically last night's dinner and today's lunch.  Last night, Caitlin & Albert's friends, Sarah and Max from Italy arrived at the B&B. They have been coming every year, partially for their love of going to the antique fairs and shops of the region and partially for the good food, wine and friendly people.  All of dinner we had a great conversation, from truffles (in Alba, Italy, yum) to their beautiful, albeit sometimes difficult love story, to their recent antique finds. Between the busy conversation and the late arrival, dinner was a simple chicken with potatoes, but of course with plenty of garlic for the visiting Italians. However, what was truly special was the bottle of bubbly they had brought from Italy to share.

Sara & Max

Heaven in a bottle

This wine was really, really, dance on your tongue, amazing delicious. I love any sort of sparkling wine, and this was just the perfect example of a crisp, not too sweet, and even a little spicy bottle of a 2002 Brut. The wine is made is northeastern Italy, up tucked in the corner near Austria and Slovenia. The winery, Vigneti Pittaro, makes all sorts of wine on its land, but this combination between Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio was molto bene. I think I may have to plan a trip to the winery when I'm in Italy in October.


Today, our lunch was so simple, so cheap, and so delicious. After a long day at the Brocante, (translated directly into English as 'flea' but is really an upscale 'flea market' or antique show), we had worked up an appetite. After we discovered that one of their favorite restaurants in the countryside was closed for the day, we ventured into Cadouin, a small town famous for the Cadouin Abbey. After a glance at the Abbey, we quickly turned our attention to the small, very full restaurant nearby. A prix fixe menu of only 12 Euros brought us 3 courses. Sometimes, these menus can be not so good, but with the amount of people, French people, eating there, we decided to give it a shot and boy were we glad we did. Starting with Le Tourin Blanchi  soup, moving on to  Roti de Porci, and Pannacotta avec Fraises du Perigord. Or, in translation, a garlic with egg white soup, a slow roasted pork with sauce, and a pannacotta with the local Strawberries from the region. Each dish was remarkably simple and really demonstrated a blend of what this area is known for.

Le Tourin Blanchi

The soup, seen many different ways, includes loads of garlic, vinegar, eggs, flour, water, and duck fat. Ours was a little more rich with cream instead of water. For a translated recipe, take a try at this one I found online. The key to success? Garlic. Recipe

Roti de Porc

A nice, slow roasted Pork, with a Brown sauce. On the menu you could order this meal cold, called Enchaud de Porc, or the Pate of the Day, which just happened to be it warm. We ordered it warm. Also a traditional Perigord meal, a translated recipe was found online that seems to be delicious, similar to what I ate, and simple to make! Recipe.

Pannacotta avec Fraises du Perigord

So, pannacotta isn't a traditional Perigord dish, but the strawberries have to go through a vigorous process (60 conditions!) to be labeled from Perigord. There are different varieties of the strawberries, some start early and have already stopped producing fruit while other last later into the summer season. Either way, they are just delectable.

So I thought this was going to be a shorter post, I guess I just get a little too excited about our cheaper meal, that turned into something quite fabulous!