A Day in the Country with Alix

Alix de Lauzanne is a young woman I have known for 13 years since I attended her Uncle Charles-Henry de Valbray’s wedding in Morocco.  She is now married, the mother of four delightful young children, and lives happyily one hour outside Paris in the tiny village of Jonquieres, near Compiegne.  Alix started a business several years ago, Private Kitchen, giving cooking classes to friends and neighbors in her large, well-appointed country kitchen.

Alix de Lauzanne in her kitchen

I have been wanting to attend one of her classes for several years and yesterday, my new culinary buddy and good friend, Toni and I took off in the early morning sunshine for Jonquieres.  We arrived a little after 10am and enjoyed tea in the kitchen while we waited for the rest of the group to arrive.  We were five plus Alix, and as we donned our aprons, Alix explained how she likes to teach.  Because she and her clients all live far from a big or even middle size city where shopping is easy, she likes to show people how to create delicious meals using only ingredients which can be bought in a supermarket (Carrefour is where she goes).  Our class and lunch for the day was to be Mille-feuilles de canard au gorgonzola et au chutney, Osso Bucco and Tarte tout chocolat facon “Laduree”.

We began with the Osso Bucco because it needed to cook for one hour.  All of us worked at preparing the carrots and the garlic.  Alix had quite a few short cuts and tricks to share.  She said she always uses frozen (Picard) chopped onions, as onions freeze well and this reduces kitchen tears!  BUT, she never uses frozen garlic or shallots as they don’t freeze well and the bitter germ in the garlic is never removed.  She further added that browning the veal first does not add that much to the flavor, so she did not do it and the dish was put together in 15 minutes, and the result was indeed delicious.

Osso Bucco served with tagliatelle

Then we attacked the chocolate tart, which is Alix’s lighter version of Laduree’s celebrated tarte tout chocolat, with considerably less butter and chocolate.  The quality of the chocolate is important here – it must be 65-75% cocoa, and the butter must be sweet butter, but Alix throws in a pinch of fleur de sel for a little salty bite.  We made the pate sablee (short pastry) and then the chocolate ganache, put the two together and refrigerated the tarts for two hours.  When we were ready for dessert, we decorated our tarts and they looked as good as they tasted.

The last dish we made was our first course, the mille-feuille with duck breast, gorgonzola and chutney.  We made the chutney first, then cut filo dough into rectangles and buttered and cooked them for our pastry layers, and finally we assembled the dish and then enjoyed it immediately.  It was lovely to look at, and the combination of the pear chutney, gorgonzola and smoked duck breast was heavenly.

Mille-feuille with duck breast and gorgonzola
served on a bed of chutney

We enjoyed lunch and conversation around Alix’s dining room table with the sun streaming in and a good time was had by all.  I recommend a trip to Private Kitchen (www.privatekitchen.com) for all of you who live in Paris.  Alix will pick you up at the train station if you don’t have a car and she speaks excellent English, so if you put together your own group, she can teach the class in English.

P.S. There is a great brocante (bric-a-brac shop) where we went after lunch, which should be a part of your day if you go!

Alix’s Adaptation of Laduree’s Famous Chocolate Tart (serves 8-10 people)

Pate Sablee au Chocolat

200g (3/4 cup) flour (T45)

120g (8 tbsp) sweet butter (cold)

75g (1/4 cup) powdered sugar

25g (2 tbsp) ground almonds

12g (1 tbsp) cocoa

Pinch of fleur de sel

Chocolate Ganache

300g (1-1/2 cup) chocolate, 65-75% cocoa (Alix likes Nestle Corse Noir)

300g (1-1/2 cup) heavy cream

50g (3-1/2 tbsp) butter, room temperature

Instructions

Pate Sablee:

1. Mix all the ingredients by hand or in a mixer.  Note, this is a very dry mix.
2. Fill individual moulds or a large tart mould with a thin layer of the dry mix.  Press down firmly and evenly.
3. Cook in a 180C (350F) oven for 25 minutes – cool.

Ganache:

1. Cut the chocolate into small pieces.
2. Warm the cream until just boiling and pour over chocolate pieces and whisk gently, being careful not to touch the bottom of the bowl (otherwise the chocolate will congeal into a large mass, and it is very difficult to break up at that point).
3. Whisk in the pieces of cold butter until smooth.
4. Pour the chocolate into the moulds and refrigerate for 2 hours.
5. Decorate with chocolate shavings and cocoa.

Restaurant Le Dauphin - 75011, Paris

We were very eager for our lunch today at Le Dauphin after meeting chef Franck and his team at Le Verre Vole. And, their food more than lived up to our very high expectations!

The menu at lunch is simple, an entrée/plat or plat/dessert for 23 euros or an entrée/plat/dessert for 27 euros. There are only two choices in each category and we sampled both first and main courses and loved every bite.

My foie de volaille avec salsifis (chicken livers with salsify; photo below) was rich, warm and tremendously satisfying.  The chicken livers were perfectly cooked and the salsify was served both sautéed and as chips, adding flavor and a nice crunchy texture.  Thinly sliced mushrooms were also served two ways, raw and marinated in a vinaigrette.  All of this was sprinkled with fresh tarragon and chervil, and the result was divine. 




The macquereau and betterave (mackerel and beet; photo below) first course was also a delightful mixture of flavors and textures.  Very succulent fish with crispy skin and red and yellow beets, which were served two ways, roasted and pickled, was a real treat. A small amount of a soy foam added just the right amount of salt.  Yummy!

When our main courses arrived we were blown away by the beauty of the food.  Both the bar (sea bass; photo below) and the veau (veal) were served with the most colorful and flavorful carrots I have ever tasted, again prepared two ways, cooked and marinated.  Another burst of flavor and color was the pumpkin puree, which was a nice complement to the carrots.  This kitchen truly has a way with vegetables, which take center stage here and are not offered as decoration only, although they are beautiful.

We enjoyed a fruity Cotes du Rhone, La Sagesse 2009, Domaine Gramernon with just a hint of spice which went perfectly with our meal.  I’ll be back again soon, as Le Dauphin is truly another little gem. 

Recipe for Tarte Fine aux Sardines

My husband, Kent, adores sardines, and when I saw them at my fishmonger’s yesterday, I bought them and Kent created Louis Le Roy’s sardine tart which he learned to make a few years ago on one of my culinary trips to Brittany.  It brought back many delicious memories.

Tarte Fine aux Sardines

Recipe from Louis Le Roy (Le Goeland)

Serves 6-8

4 sheets Brick, available in any Middle Eastern market (or Filo)

1/2 lb zucchinis, sliced very thinly

6 fresh sardines, filleted (or mackerel)

Seal salt, or a Fleur de Sel, or Brittany seal salt if you can find it

Fresh minced thyme

Juice from 1/2 lime

6 leaves fresh basil, or purchased pesto sauce

Olive oil

4 medium, firm tomatoes, sliced

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 spring onion, finely sliced

Grated Parmesan cheese

Small Nicoise olives

Warm the oven to 400F.  Brush the sheets of Brick on each side with olive oil.

Cook the zucchini slices, for about 5 minutes in olive oil with a little salt and pepper.  Do not overcook as they should remain crunchy.

Drain well on absorbent paper.

Sprinkle the sardine fillets with sea salt, thyme and lime juice.  Set aside to marinated for 20 minutes.

Puree the basil leaves along with the 2 tbsp of olive oil in a small food processor (or replace with good quality store-bought pesto sauce works well).

Line a round ovenproof tarte pan with 4 sheets of Brick coated with olive oil.

Cover with a bed of zucchini and top with a layer of tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange the sardines, skin side up in a circle over the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with salt and fresh thyme.

Opional – sprinkle the onion and cheese over the top and finish with a few olives.

Bake at 400F for 15 minutes. 

Sprinkle generously with basil puree, or pesto sauce, just before serving.

Winter Delights from Perigord – Salade Perigourdine

It is quite cold today in Paris with only a few hints of spring to come, so my cooking continues to focus on delectable winter foods. 

Chef Pierre Corre (R) cooking Duck Confit

Remembering my truffle and foie gras trip to Perigord with chef Pierre Corre (click here for a complete description of the trip), I put together a Salade Perigourdine for lunch today with slices of smoked duck breast which Pierre had given me. 

Smoked duck breast, foie gras and walnuts - a perfect blend of flavors

Sadly, I had already eaten the black truffle I brought back, found by Rosalie the pig, and the confit de canard we made in one of our cooking classes. 

Rosalie the truffle pig

This is a simple recipe to put together if you live in France, where it is easy to find walnut oil and slices of smoked duck breast. In the States both of these items can be found at Whole Foods. A fresh black truffle is another story but the salad is really quite wonderful without the truffles. Enjoy!

Salade Perigourdine (serves 4 people)

Recipe from Chef Pierre Corre, Auberge de la Truffe

4 cups mesclun salad (or your choice of mixed salad greens)

2 tbsp best quality red wine (or balsamic) vinegar

1/2 cup fresh walnut oil

Salt

Thin slices of smoked duck breast, cut into strips

1/2 cup fresh walnut halves

Bite size morsels of foie gras, seared on both sides (can substitute cubes of foie gras from a prepared terrine)

Slivers of truffles on top (optional!)

Place the salad greens in a large salad bowl.

In a saucepan, warm the vinegar, oil and salt.  Bring to a simmer.  Whisk and toss gently with greens.

Divide the greens among 4 plates.  Arrange the duck slices on top, like the spokes of a wheel.  Sprinkle with walnuts, foie gras, truffles and serve.