French Desserts

Yesterday we indulged.
I had two days off in a row and we were celebrating some recent good news, so we took ourselves out to lunch.

After consulting my Minervois Restaurants and Wineries notebook and sorting through the various criteria - price, wine included or not, shade or sun, inspiring menu, possibly somewhere new - we had it narrowed it down to a few places. I called the first one to book a table and there was no answer.
Fair enough, it was only 10:30am.
I tried again at 11am and still no answer.  By 11:30 we assumed that they had shut down for les vacances and started calling restaurant #2.
Same story.  No answer, no "we're closed for vacation" message.  Nothing.
By now it was almost noon and I was starting to worry that I would end up having to cook, so a final, desperate phone call was made to restaurant #3.

The third time was a charm.

We ended up in Olonzac at Le Minervois Bel, a restaurant that's tucked away on a dead-end side street, across from the middle school and next to a bar, and so well hidden that we often forget it's even there.

The owners are charming and the shady courtyard is a plus, but the food is the main attraction.
Yesterday's €13 lunch menu (which changes every day) was a chilled tomato soup with a dollop of whipped, herb infused chèvre and a parmesan tuile;  fillet of merlu in a succulent, slightly garlicky white sauce with a potato and wild mushroom timbale and sautéed carrots; followed by cheese or dessert of your choice.

We both opted for dessert.  I tried the mousse au fromage blanc avec fruits rouges and my husband ordered crème brûlée. 
The mousse au fromage blanc was sublime.  I mean really, really sublime.  And the crème brûlée was some of the best I've tasted since moving to France.

Since becoming a cheese addict I usually prefer cheese over dessert, though sometimes my sweet tooth wins.  I know there's no comparing the two, but when they're done right, French desserts really do take the cake. 

A Hopeful Week in Paris - Part 2

Have you ever had what seems like a golden opportunity literally fall into your lap?
Then in the end, for one reason or another, you have to say 'no thanks' and walk away from that opportunity?

Well, if you haven't, I can tell you that it kind of sucks.

At the end of November I was ready to make a huge life/career change.

All of the French cheese tasting I've done over the last few years led me to an exciting job opportunity in Paris. I took the train up at the end of November, had an interview and was hired on the spot by a very well known and award winning French fromager. 

I was ecstatic to say the least.
So in mid December I happily went off to Paris to do a week long trial period at one of his shops and to rent an apartment.

Then, as I explained in an earlier post, reality reared its ugly head.

I really thought that everything would work out. In the past I've moved to big cities, found jobs and rented apartments in a week's time. All it took was a lot of hustling around and signing on the dotted line. No big deal.

Maybe I was too optimistic. Maybe I was too naive?
Whatever.
The truth is, it was really disappointing.

That isn't to say that the week didn't have its high points.

I had a blast in the caves d'affinage underneath the shop, unwrapping and helping to prepare dozens and dozens of Vacherin Mont d'Or that would be sold during the upcoming holidays.
I spent an hour methodically brushing cheese mites off the rinds of enormous wheels of maturing Tomme de Savoie and Tome des Bauges.
I helped to make kilos of Périgord black truffle infused beurre salé and spent part of an afternoon slathering fresh Corsican ewe's milk cheese with a mélange of piment d'Espelette and balsamic vinegar to create a very special fromage de brebis.

I helped clients make up cheese boards to serve to their guests and offered samples to children who already had a sophisticated enough palate to know that they preferred the rich, 40 month old Comté to the younger, fruitier, 22 month old Comté.

My co-workers were young, entertaining and passionate about French cheese, and the responsable du magasin et cave d'affinage was one of the nicest people I've ever met.

When I wasn't up to my ears in fromage I had the chance to see some old friends and meet some new ones.

Friday Night Drinks with Sarah and husband Gui, Kyliemac (Katia called in sick, darn her!), Sam and boyfriend C and Jenny was a welcome break from the métro-boulot-dodo routine.

At the end of a 10 hour work day on Saturday I spent the evening relaxing with a glass of white wine, good conversation and a home cooked meal with David, which was exactly what I needed.

Camille and Nick suggested lunch at Happy Nouilles on Sunday. The three of us enjoyed big bowls of hand made Asian noodles that were to die for!

And a final lunch at a charming little salon de thé in the Marais with Jenny before the train home on Monday

 

The week was an experience I'll never forget.
Cold, cold weather, packed Metros, cheese!, Paris all dolled up and decorated for Christmas, unexpected snow, croissants for breakfast six days in a row, walking across the Ile de la Cité past a magically lit up Notre-Dame to have drinks, wandering the Marais at 1:30am after a late dinner, discovering new neighborhoods of Paris and seeing la Tour Eiffel every day from the Metro.

I have to be philosophical about the whole thing.
It really was an honor to be hired by such a prestigious fromager and proves that my skills are more marketable in France than I realized.
Also, I got to spend an entire week surrounded by and talking about French cheese, one of my favorite things!

So for now, I'll continue to look for that next opportunity. I know it will come along.

La Fête du Fromage - Le Buronnier

As this cheese quest advances (20 months, 147 cheeses and counting!), I'm continually surprised by the seemingly endless variety, flavor and character of French cheeses out there.

I picked up this wedge of le Buronnier along with a couple of others when I went to visit Betty in Rodez last month.


That moldy, rough, rustic rind attracted me immediately. I really expected this one to be special!
Well, it wasn't.
Just goes to show that looks aren't everything.

Le Buronnier is an unpasteurized cow's milk cheese that has a mild flavor, a nice, rich and buttery mouthfeel and a bitter bite that comes on late. Strangely it has absolutely no aroma.
There was nothing wrong with this fromage férmier from Aveyron per se, I just found it to be lacking in character.


If you plan on tasting this one, a good wine pairing would be a red Marcillac or a white Estaing.
Who knows, you might enjoy it more than I did.

La Fête du Fromage - September Round Up

Ok, my "sort of" vacation is over. On to the cheese!

September's La Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event round-up offers an intriguing mix of cheeses from around the world. Thanks to all who participated!


The first entry has such a strong aroma that it is sold in small plastic containers to keep the olfactory offense at a minimum. Ladybird, who lives in Belgium and writes Wishing I were in France, recently tasted Herve, a notoriously stinky Belgian cheese. It is often compared to Munster or Maroilles, and despite the overpowering aroma, its flavor is quite soft. I must look out for this one!

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Camille, of the delicious blog, Croque-Camille, went on a Corsican cheese hunt in Paris and discovered these two ewe's milk cheeses, Tomme Corse and A Filetta. The Tomme Corse has "an earthy, mushroomy, savory richness" underneath its mite nibbled crust, and A Filetta was quite smelly and pungent tasting.
The last time I had Tomme Corse was more than two years ago. Now I'm inspired to buy another wedge.

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Robusto. What a fantastic name! Michelle in Portland recently discovered La Fête du Fromage and happily tasted and wrote about one of her favorite cheeses on her blog, Je Mange la Ville. Her description of Robusto made me laugh out loud..."Kind of like if Gouda and Parmesan had a tasty, delicious love child."

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A gorgeous slab of rich and buttery Fontina is Nathalie's entry to la Fête. I always count on her to share scrumptious looking Italian cheeses with us on her blog, Spaced Out Ramblings. Fontina is made in the Val d'Aosta from cow's milk and is perfect for melting on pizza or piadine, a type of flat bread from Emilia-Romagna. She describes its flavor as "mild, slightly nutty and you can still feel the grass in the aftertaste." I agree that Fontina is fantastic!

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Rachel of The Crispy Cook took an idyllic looking Cheese Tour around Washington County, NY where she was able to taste the creations of several small dairy farms. Samples included feta, herb and peppered chèvres, Caerphilly Cheese, Pumpkin Spice Quark, fresh mozzarella and High Rock Cheese, which was described as a Gruyère-like cheese made from goat's milk.
It is encouraging to see small cheese producers being supported by the public. Thanks for sharing the tour with us Rachel!

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My entry is a cheese that I tasted last summer, Le Roves des Garrigues. This is a tasty little goat's cheese with lots of herb, lemon and pepper flavors that is produced here in the Languedoc-Roussillon. I believe it is available in the States if anyone across the pond would like to give it a try. I highly recommend it!

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Thank you again everyone!
Can't wait to see what you share with us in October for the 10th Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
If you would like to join in, please have your entries to me by October 13. The entire round-up will be posted on October 15.

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

More about my home - and aswers to your comments

The building where I live was build in 1865. I found in a brocante a postcard dated 1906; I blew it up and framed. On the left, my building. The trees, that reach the 2nd floor in the postcard, are very high now, they reach the 5th floor! Today the train tracks have disappeared - and the horses too! I live in the 2nd fl (American 3rd) of the building, right above Le Congres, as the restuarant is now called. In this Hausmann style architecture, the 2nd and 5th floors have balconies. This picture shows my side balcony along the boulevard.At the turn of the century, the restaurant in the ground and first floor, called then La Rotonde, got permission for an extension in front. The roof of the round extension is ... my deck!! Here is my living room as seen from the deck in the evening.

Going back to my cellar, it is located in the 2nd basement, and it is pretty big. The second basement means that there are two flights of floors underground. Both have cellars, one per flat, plus one we use for bicycles. The first underground floor also has the elevator engine.

We store wine and "stuff", such as a couple of solid oak beds I had when we lived in Kenya 30 years ago, metal trunks with loads of souvenirs, paint, Christmas decorations..... and more

One of the owners remembers that during WW2 my cellar was used by the building dwellers during the bombings. The Renault factory at Billancourt Island, which was bombed during the war, was only 2 miles away.

If walls could talk!

> You cannot store wine in just any cellar, you need good humidity and temperature conditions. Because only old cellars (dirt floor, stone walls and no concrete) are optimum to store wine, you can buy wine storage cellars that look like a fridge. The challenge for the manufacturer was to avoid the virbrations of the engine that would very much damange the aging of wine - that's why these cellars are NOT a fridge!

Photos du Jour - From Brittany

A friend traveled through Brittany a couple of weeks ago and shared these photos with me. I love seeing other regions of France, even through someone else's eyes.

Looks like a beautiful place!


oozing contentment

Fancy!

What about dressing a fancy classic table next Christmas?

I love round tables. They are so cozy. And I have a vast collection of round table cloths. Here I have used a white hand made linen table cloth to make the table look very fancy.

Christophle silver ware is what you see, and we had fish in the menu (fish cutlery is set). Then, beautiful Chinese plates with a barroque chrysanthemum design have a stunning impact in the scene. Small hand made Tunisian glasses are for white wine, a large glass for the red wine, and a Daum tumbler for water.

The white napkins are on the left, by the fork, and the knife rests (pose-couteaux) come from China.

In the center of the table I put a small bouquet of red roses.

Bon appétit!