Home cooking of the Spanish kind put me in touch with an Olympia (Washington) native now living (not la vida locca) the country life in La France Profonde or to be more precise Aveyron, in the South of France.
On Sunday, she offered a Jardiniere de Legumes as her Dinner Recipe on Cuisine Quotidienne where she offers her take on French Home Cooking.
To continue with English language sites from France, Melissa of Banlieue Blog (‘Suburbia’ Blog) has a report card on a Macaroon Class she took a week ago at Lenotre.
In Gascony, Kate Hill who planted her tent in Gascony is planning a Camp Cassoulet for coming Saturday.
I could taste one of these with the weather finally getting cooler if not cold.
Kate Hill also penned A Culinary Adventure in Gascony (Ten Speed Press, 2004) and gives cooking classes when not roaming the land.
Here is how she introduces her recipe for Brochettes of Prunes and Merguez Sausage: "Prunes are to Agen as apples are to Normandy, olives to Provence, and walnuts to the Périgord. They are regional fruit and one of the prime agricultural products of the Lot-et-Garonne département of France. Merguez are slim, spicy sausages originally from North Africa and usually made from lamb and flavored and colored with pomegranate juice and peppers. The bite of the spicy-hot sausage complements the sweet jam taste of the prunes as they cook together over the grill. I serve a morsel of each on a toothpick with a pot of strong Dijon mustard for dipping."
Weathervanes such as one above (borrowed from Kate Hill’s cassoulet story) are a fixture of French villages.
Pruneaux d’Agen used to be a main ingredient in my Roast Beef with Carrots and Pruneaux back in the days.
Related stories: Your very own Vintage of Armagnac
Thanks for the mention! I guess you can’t come up with a translation for “comfort food” either, though — I suppose there isn’t one.