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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2009 4:57:40 GMT
Those look pretty good -- but I ended up having sauerkraut last night, even though it was all-you-can-eat flammekueche night at Les 3 Brasseurs.
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Post by imec on Jun 15, 2009 13:22:21 GMT
That looks tasty. Is L3B a good chain? I couldn't find a Paris location on their website - although there seems to be one on Montreal and a new one opening in Toronto.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2009 14:16:13 GMT
The menu in Lille had something on the menu which mentioned "this is the top seller at our Montréal restaurants" but I already forgot what it was. The Lille location is the only one that I have ever been to. It is indeed strange that they have not yet opened a restaurant in Paris (the closest one is in the outer suburbs) while they have locations in New Caledonia, Tahiti and other overseas parts of France -- not to mention the 4 locations in Montréal. My guess is that it is the "Frog" micro-brewery chain that is scaring them off. The Frog places pretty much have Paris covered. The Frog
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Post by imec on Jun 15, 2009 14:28:18 GMT
The Frog? Frig. Looks like a great place to have a beer - if you're in, say, Pittsburgh. not how I want to use my precious time in Paris...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 15, 2009 16:28:53 GMT
Oh, but Frog's uses my favorite advertising device -- people with their mouths open wider than is humanly possible to show that they're having a good time!
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 15, 2009 22:48:12 GMT
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 15, 2009 22:57:17 GMT
Oh, yes: what we had for "dinner", comida at 2:30.
Using up leftovers prior to a long weekend out of town.
Today, I repurposed the last of the cooked alubias blancas, after sauteeing some cut up celery, onion, garlic, sweet green pepper, a medium tomato, and one, hot chile piquín.
Then added the drained and rinsed beans, and some homemade Italian style sausage in tomato sauce (from the freezer) plus more orégano, dried basil and a shot of Nuoc Mam, for umami, you know.
Served over freshly boiled, steaming hot spaghetti.
It was excellent. We had the green shaker canister of powdered parmesan style cheese with added methylcellulose (to prevent clumping), but neither of us used it. The dish was good by itself.
To round things out, we had some steamed fresh spinach with a touch of garlic, olive oil and salt.
I drank a glass plus of Chilean Merlot-Cab Sauv Red; la Doña Cuevas, a glass of healthful agua de Jamaica.
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Post by imec on Jun 16, 2009 0:18:14 GMT
An omelet of some some morels and some raw milk cheese made by the Trappist monks of southern Manitoba.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2009 0:24:34 GMT
I think an omelet for me as well,Mr.C is on the road. Mine will just be aux fines herbes and a small romaine,cucumber salad. Market tomorrow thank goodness. Want lots of fresh seasonal fruit.It's very hot,96F today.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2009 1:16:12 GMT
I am making black beans with hierba de conejo (Span.= rabbit herb / Tridax coronopifolia). This is an elusive flavor to which I'm completely addicted. It'll be the beans, plain white rice, chopped onion, lime, & some hot sauce.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2009 4:55:24 GMT
To complete a perfectly offal day, after having andouillette for lunch, I had beef heart for dinner.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2009 5:30:56 GMT
Did it take courage to eat your hearty meal?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2009 18:55:42 GMT
Actually, I don't care for heart all that much, but I am a believer in eating just about everything every now and then. Tastes can change over the years and if you don't check, you will never know.
Tonight I am putting some 'scallop baskets' in the oven. These are squares of puff pastry with the corners turned up to make a basket, usually in a sort of bechamel sauce. Actually, the most common variety available in France are 'goat cheese and spinach' -- but tonight it will indeed be the scallops.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2009 20:07:43 GMT
This is what the baskets look like when they come out of the oven.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 16, 2009 23:36:05 GMT
They look severely appetizing. They're sort of an open-faced empanada.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2009 0:18:43 GMT
At the moment, I'm supping on leftover basmati rice and more-or-less-Chinese Meatballs; plus green beans with sauteed mushrooms and sliced almonds. What a good cliché! Our main meal, at 2:30, was a big deal. Yesterday I bought 500 grams of headless shrmp in the shell. I have had this idea of Camarones a la Mandarina for sometime. I got out an old Chinese cookbook by Virginia Lee and Craig Claiborne. It's notable for its excess in seasoning. I found a recipe for Szechwan Shrimp, which was my anchor. Last night I put some dried tangerine peels to soak in some Cien Años Tequila (lacking Absolut Mandarin). Today, I slowly dissolved a big cone of piloncillo (crude brown sugar) in simmering water, and reduced it to a molasses like syrup. Meanwhile, I shelled and deveined the shrimp, trying to keep the tails. That was only partially successful.It was also a bit tedious. I put the shrimp in a small bowl and sprinkled on some mandarin-Tequila infusion. Separately, I peeled my last remaining ginger root, shredded it as well as some garlic and 3 or 4 very picante yellow Chiles Piquines (as defined in Michoacán terms). Next, I peeled and julienned one stubby carrot and about 1/3 of a large, sweet red pepper. Celery, cut small. Then one white onion, cut vertically into segments. (Supposed to be green onions—scallions— with the tops, but I didn't have any.) A sauce was mixed in a small bowl of light and dark soy sauces, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, plus some Tuong Cu Da, to substitute for the Fermented Rice I didn't have. I figured some Sichaun (modern spelling) Pepper would go well, so I ground up a little and sifted it through a tea strainer, to avoid those hard little pieces. There was sesame oil in the sauce and on the shrimp with the Mandarin infusion. Black pepper also. Oh, yeah: I used some of the macerated mandarin peel and shreeded it finely to add to the ginger, garlic and chiles. Method: First I stir fried the carrots, celery, onions, and removed them from the pan. Then I stir fried the shrimp, adding the chiles, ginger, etc. There was an eye and sinus-searing blast of strong chile fumes. Wheezzz hack Coff coff As the shrimp became opaque, I tossed in the soy sauce mixture. Next, a small amount of that reduced piloncillo syrup. Then the cornstarch-water suspension, which I failed to mention earlier. It took a moment to thicken. I tasted it: too sweet. More vinegar. Ah, nearly perfect. I garnished it with a small thicket of very nce cilantro, and we ate it with our Basmati Rice, green beans, etc; and a plate of sliced cucumbers, radishes, a tomato and the rest of the cilantro. With this meal, I paired a lovely, red Agua de Jamaica, Mexico, 2009; which exhibited subtle floral notes that were underscored by its native acidity. I had to drink a lot of it, but really, the picante aspect of the main dish was less assertive than expected. I haven't had a chance to get my photos to the drug store for developing. Soon.
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Post by imec on Jun 17, 2009 0:33:08 GMT
DC, what is this Agua de Jamaica of which you speak?
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2009 0:47:24 GMT
imec, Agua de Jamaica is an infusion of dried, red hibiscus flowers, It's very popular in Mexico. It needs to be sweetened as it's very tart. Doña Cuevas likes it unsweetened. Pucker up, Honey! Meanwhile th pictures are back from the drug store. (They have marvelous service.) The simple salad plate, very refreshing and "clean":
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2009 0:51:25 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 17, 2009 0:52:39 GMT
I had good grub for supper. Night before last I had steamed some new potatoes and some green beans, which I'd dressed with pulverized garlic, olive oil, and a little vinegar.
Tonight I took out all the potatoes and put them in a skillet with a little olive oil & a little Pam. I smushed them with the back of a fork and cooked them on high heat. I smeared on some red pepper paste before turning the first time. When it was all getting nicely crisp from multiple turnings, I salted it & sprinkled it well with cider vinegar. A few more turnings & it was perfect.
While it was cooking I added some cut up onion and tomato to the green beans, along with some crumbled Chiapan cheese (semi-hard, crumbly, salty white cheese) and more grindings of black pepper.
These two dishes together made a great supper.
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Post by imec on Jun 17, 2009 1:54:04 GMT
Ahh, in that case I do know it - as Sorrel. They serve it in the Trinidadian restaurant I used to go to. I love it!
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Post by Deleted on Jun 17, 2009 5:29:22 GMT
I definitely need to buy some cucumbers today.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Jun 17, 2009 15:38:21 GMT
I definitely need to buy some cucumbers today. You could make Agua Fresca de Pepino.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2009 17:23:13 GMT
I bought a smoked chicken the other day and found it too salty as usual. The French tend to eat this with mayonnaise, and it is quite good that way as long as you also have salad and/or something else to offset it.
However, for its 3rd outing from the refrigerator, I needed to do something different, so I picked a healthy amount of meat (and skin!) from the carcass and am going to mix it with crème fraîche and pasta tonight. Unfortunately, I don't have any cherry tomatoes or cilantro on hand, because I would have loved to mix those in as well.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2009 17:29:27 GMT
Sounds wonderful. What about a sprinkling of dried herb -- basil, maybe? Or briefly marinate it in a little lemon or lime juice before incorporating it into the pasta. That should remove some of the salt, too.
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Post by imec on Jun 19, 2009 18:43:06 GMT
Certainly not burgers or hot dogs - just grilled 50 bison burgers and 24 hot dogs for my daughter's class and their exchange class from Vancouver Island. I now smell like a bison burger.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 19, 2009 18:58:59 GMT
Do you have your running shoes on in case they are still hungry?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 19, 2009 20:50:54 GMT
Certainly not burgers or hot dogs - just grilled 50 bison burgers and 24 hot dogs for my daughter's class and their exchange class from Vancouver Island. I now smell like a bison burger. What a loada bull! ;D Gosh, Imec ~~ you will certainly get an extra Father's Day hug or two. What a great thing to do for the kids. Is bison commonly available there, or did you choose it in order to make something special?
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Post by imec on Jun 19, 2009 21:04:32 GMT
It was the Principal's idea. Bison are raised by a small number of farmers in Manitoba. You can buy it in many grocery stores. www.manitobabison.ca/
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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2009 21:36:53 GMT
I baked some panga fillets with slices of potato and onion, turmeric and chili basil paste with the juice of two limes. It was good, but I have done better.
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