dinner – Page 4 – Myfrenchkitchen

A beetroot velouté, or creamy beetroot soup, is apart from delicious, also beautiful. Served as a starter in the way of a cappuccino, is a beautiful way to kick off an autumn or winter dinner. It is actually a good idea to always eta small starter of soup with any home dinner..it is healthy and helps fill one and so prevents over eating.

Pincée de sel:

Younger beetroots give a deeper colour, are sweeter and softer. If possible, use small beets.
Raw beets cab be replaced by ready cooked vacuum packed beets.
add different spices for a more wintery touch…cardamom seeds, star anis, cinnamon, croriander – add together in a small muslin bag so it can be removed afterwards.
To make froth with a machine: whisk a small amount(about 150 ml) milk in a high microwave proof) container. whisk vigorously until it starts foaming. Place in the microwave immediately. Heat the milk while keeping your eye on the milk all the time. The froth will start to rise high. Remove from the microwave and scoop the froth from the milk.
Use vegetable stock to make it a vegetarian soup.
A scoop of créme fraìche, or a scoop of whipped cream can be used, which will make the soup creamier and heavier.
Ideal for a starter.

…and November in reds.

The artist in my appreciates November as the most beautiful month in the year. It is the most challenging and gratifing time of the year for painting, photographing, hunting for mushrooms in the woods, watching the leaves turn form green to yellow to red to purple to brown and finally float to the ground. No other season gives us this fast forward motion action of change in nature and it passes before your eyes from one minute to another.

…The stinky mushroom, Anthurus d’archer in bright autumn/winter red…

..la vigne vierge with its leaves turning red in autumn and a artistic spiderweb blinking in the morning light..

..foliage of vigne vierge, the attractive seedheads of Cleramtis vitalba, and stinging nettle in their natural environment..

..the stunning reds of hydrangea leaves in November..

..Ivy hugging a fallen vigne vierge red leaf..

à al prochaine fois

Ronelle

It is now time for quince, pears, apples..all the lovely fruits of autumn with their heady fragrances when baked or panfried or poached. With added spices or without, they are wonderful as desserts and even better as accompaniment to venison and the heavier winter red meats. Serving it with a duck breast is something I love to do: Sauté the quince in a pan with butter and sugar, remove, add the juices of the panfried duck and reduce with some red wine, serve with the cooked duck slices and the quince on the side and a pain de campagne to sweep up the juices on the plate.. eh oui, we do love that! Doesn’t it sound delicious?

La recette:

Wash 2 large quinces and cut in quarters. Peel(optional) and remove the seeds. Cut each quarter again in half.
In a large pan, melt a large knob of butter and about 3/4 cup sugar and some lemon juice to taste. Add the quince and pan fry for about 10 minutes or until the quinces are tender and caramelized. Remove the quinces from the pan heat before they fall apart and keep aside.
Add 1/4-1/2 cup of red wine to the caramelized quince juice and reduce for about 5-10 minutes. Add the quince slices back to the wine sauce and keep warm until needed.
Serve as accompaniment with venison or duck breast or pan fried foie gras.

Pincée de fleur de sel:

Use apples or pear instead of quince.
Add spices like star aniseed, or a cinnamon stick or juniper berries..
Use honey of your preference instead of sugar.
These quince can also be baked in the oven at 180 degrees C until the quince are tender.
Serve as a dessert with a dollop of thick cream or créme fraîche.
Use the pan fried quince for tarte tatin or use and make a topping for a crumble.

Well, back from Paris; t’was a quick there and back, but that is how I have to do Paris now with all the animals waiting back here at Coin Perdu. Not that I complain because that is exactly the way I like it. Paris is wonderful, but after a week my head hurts. All is well when you don’t have parcels and bags and cameras and bottles of water and it isn’t raining and you have enough money to be taxied around. But a week of city life is more than enough – enough shoving and pushing on buses and le métro, slipping on wet métro stairs, struggling through narrow métro gateways with parcels and umbrellas, enough garlic odours on the métro from the stranger breathing in your neck and spitting his chatting into his portable above your head.

BUT…thankfully Paris is also filled with stories and a rich history and incredible beauty and there is always a good seat and (albeit expensive) coffee at the next corner. Great lunch meals at bistros, which is cheaper and sometimes better than dinners. Great places(squares) where you can eat your sandwich jambon and read your book(given it doesn’t rain). And of course, there is always le jardin du Luxembourg.

..le jardin du Luxembourg with the Eiffel tower in the background..

..Monsieur is out with his little sailboat..

*Did you know…?

total surface of le jardin du Luxembourg: about 23 hectares

ornamental lakes: 2 800 m²
lawns: 5 400 m²
Shrub beds 17 700 m²
flower beds 6 000 m²
interior perimeter: 2km
Trees forming lanes: 2 200
trees forming shade: 740
shrubs: 35 000

(source: Sénat.fr)

..the garden is still dressed in summer attire with géraniums in the pots and will soon be replaced by the habitual chrysanthémes..

..le jardin colours later in autumn with the gay Chrysanthémes..(images from November 2009)

..Luxembourg pigeons basking in the November light..

..le palais in November with its security guard an elegant backdrop to they sunny yellow chrysanthémes..

..les chaises ..- I have always been fascinated by the chairs in le jardin and I am keeping my eyes wide open to find some for my own garden..love them, don’t you?

..sketchbook exchange: my theme for the sketchbook exchange in 2008 was the chairs of le jardin du Luxembourg..see more here of our exchange Flying pictures

..la buvette des Marinonnettes..

..le Pavillon de la Fontaine..

..Don’t forget to look upwards every now and then..

..and for thirst and directions, always some help..

..after a morning spent walking, reading, watching people, watching school kiddies run relay around the fountain, witnessing a great game of tennis, drinking coffee at le Pavillon de la fontaine, doing some tai chi with other Parisiens, I said goodbye to le jardin and left by the gate of Medici..