Those Brittany boys….

“White and purple !!” I exclaimed, truly shocked. “Where do these sea urchins from?” “Brittany.” Replied Colette “I’ve never seen anything like these !” “Neither have I.” She admitted, almost as shocked as I was by her own remark. If Colette has never seen these, they must be REALLY rare. We order 2, one white and one…

2009 vintage: tasting pinot noir grapes

Driving through Burgundy last week, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the beauty of the vines. Everything was so lush, and green, it just radiated health and vibrancy. The color of the vines was almost spring-like. No yellow, brown or red as can be common this time of year, right before harvest. No, this…

Sqala: mise en bouche

  The Kemia Mauresque, were actually a selection of cooked vegetables that the waiter told us were Moroccan salads. All served cold. Artichoke (farthest away) with tomato was delicately spicy. Tender artichokes. Seemed generally typical of Mediterranean cuisine, something the southern Italians might do. The sautéed spinach with candied lemon (2nd farthest away) was much…

Andouillette and truffles

  For some reason, we got into our heads that Andouillette (tripe sausage) might go well with truffle because of the gaminess inherent in both ingredients. We boiled the Andouillette to cook it, and then sautéed it in a pan. It was a very good, very gamy andouillette. But the tripe aroma really dominated the…

Truffles with sea urchins… an unusual start

The Duc flips out over sea urchins (Oursins, in French). I quite like them too. This time of year, we have them on Sundays as a special treat. We especially like the ones that come from Iceland, as they are usually the most complex. But we never know which provenance the fishmonger will have. There…