Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “French”
Mid-August we held VDP No. 14 – six of us in attendance. The menu was prepared by our Melbourne friends and designed so that all dishes could be more or less ready when we sat down. There were two inspirational recipes from the night. One was the terrine in green aspic. The terrine recipe is a favourite of our friends …
(Update: For VDP No. 14, click here) Coronavirus Lockdown – 2021 Here we are in July in Melbourne, 2021, and we are in lockdown again. Other states and territories too have been locked down when Covid outbreaks occur in the community, having escaped from our hotel quarantine system. Each lockdown only means several dozens of infections, or even less than …
The Savoie and Haute-Savoie are two regions in the east of France. They are on the edge of the Alps, bordering Switzerland and Italy. With a cool alpine climate, Savoyarde food is heavy but delicious, with potatoes, cheese and other dairy items dominating. Some years ago we spent a week at Chamonix. One morning we caught the gondola up the …
(Update: For VDP No. 13, click here) Coronavirus Lockdown Mid-September in Melbourne 2020 and we are still in lock down, possibly until mid-October. We are largely confined to our homes. Country Victoria has fewer restrictions, while the other states of Australia have resumed fairly normal lives and lifestyles. We were pleased when our Adelaide friends were in contact to organise …
(Update: For VDP No. 9, click here) Coronavirus Lockdown With most of us in self-isolation or even total lockdown, a VDP (virtual dinner party) is one way to catch up with friends and to continue to test your cooking skills. We have now had a number of VDPs. Here is the link to the first of those: Virtual Dinner Party …
This post continues on from: Strahan. After two days in Hobart and three in Strahan, we headed north to the Tamar Valley and Olive’s Cottage, our property at Windermere. We visit the cottage about four times a year, for four or five days each visit. Some of our time is taken up meeting up with our property manager and our gardener. …
We aren’t advocating setting the table just yet, but early December is not too early to start thinking about Christmas. On Christmas Day, our job is to provide the entree. We already have our contribution planned, as explained below – salmon rillettes (rillettes aux deux saumons). Before then, there is still some work to do. Christmas Cake and Christmas Pudding …
Cooking fish and seafood is fraught with problems: it’s expensive, it’s too easy to overcook, and it’s too easy to swamp it with flavours. Here we present a simple way of cooking beautiful fish. It could be served very simply with some lemon wedges or with some parsley or garlic butter. Or it could be served with your favourite sauce. …
Potatoes: Gratin, Scalloped, Dauphinoise Whatever the name, these dishes are cooked in a similar way – sliced potatoes cooked in the oven in a creamy sauce, and they are all likely to be delicious, with a hint of cheese. The classic French method does not include cheese itself, with a cheesy flavour developing from the combination of potato starch and …
Continued from Europe 2016 – Part 4. Table d’Hôtes If you have travelled through France you are probably familiar with Chambres d’Hôtes – the equivalent of the Australian and British concept of Bed and Breakfast – and Gîtes – the equivalent of our holiday rental in the form of self-contained cottages, houses or apartments. Some of these establishments offer an …
