Procrastination...alright, it's a part of me

Well, I know it seems like these posts are getting farther and farther apart...well...I guess they are getting farther apart. I think the huge backlog of things I've wanted to write about have created a bit of a block for me. But today I clear the backlog. Prepare thyself for the torrent.

TRADITION: COOKING

Let's get in the wayback machine and take a look back at last week. When we last left our hero, he was enjoying a lovely pork chop over at Le Temps au Temps. Since there wasn't enough fat in that pork chop, apparently, I decided to make my first attempt at making a foie gras terrine, back at my apt. I bought the whole foie, found an appropriate ceramic terrine just around the corner at Simon A. cookware (great toy store for cooks!) , and had some Sauternes-like Jurançon in my fridge.

Seemed pretty simple...you just de-vein the foie, shove it in the terrine mold w/the wine, cook it at a low temp for quite a bit of time, then put a cutout of cardboard with heavy weights on top to squeeze all the melted fat to the top. What I hadn't really counted on was how hard it would be to balance the cans on the cardboard - think of it like a surfboard - floating on a sea of deliciousy foie gras fat. I think I can hear a whole cardiologist's convention breathing either a heavy sigh of sadness for our future or of relaxation at knowing that their future business is assured.

How did it turn out? Well...looked great. Texture? Not so much. I think I failed to weight it down properly. We'll see if I try again...I do still have the terrine mold, after all.

TRADITION: BISTRO

What worked out a little better was the lunch excursion that I and my classmates took last week to Aux Lyonnais. This 19th century pub had fallen on hard times when the famed Alain Ducasse bought and refurbished it just 3 or 4 years ago to it's original glory. Unfussy, this very warm and traditional bistro is affordable (~28 euro for a prix fixe lunch) and always packed due to its classic lyonnais cuisine. More country than high cuisine, we enjoyed a variety of fish and meat dishes, from classic entrecôte (steak) to veal liver to rillet to pan fried fish.

I tried to be as good as I could be - starting off with a light root vegetable dish cooked - steamed mostly - en cocotte. If you don't work hard at it, it's all too easy for there to be nearly no vegetables in a typical French meal - or at least nothing other than some form of fatty potatoes (fried - frites, scalloped - dauphinoise, or whipped - almost always with a healthy (ahem) dose of cream). Nevertheless, I prevailed! Certainly a classic French lunch experience.

TRADITION + EXPERIMENTATION

This week, I took a few very different routes. Whenever I'd traveled to Paris or elsewhere in Europe in the past, I was only there for a few days, perhaps a week. As a result, I always stuck with regional cuisine. Now, for the first time, since I've been here a month, I set out to look for something different. I walked all over the neighborhood checking out innumerable french bistros with their confit, magret, entrecote, and foie gras but decided I had a hankering for something I-talian.

Fortunately, one of the closest restaurants to my apt, Terre et Soleil, with a warm and cosy atmosphere, had an extensive Italian menu. The "classics" that we would expect at any American Italian restaurant, aside from the Penne all'arrabbiata, weren't really there, but they had Osso Buco, various pastas and sauces, so that'll do (, pig).

I really wanted pasta, so I passed on the Entrecote, Escalope de Veau, and Osso Buco and perused the pasta list. Making my way through the unusual options, there were familiar pastas and sauces combined in ways I hadn't really seen, like the Carbonara, but with a tubular pasta called Sadoni that I'd never heard of and familiar pastas with unusual sauces.

What to have?...what to have?...

Ah...wait a minute...THERE you go! Yeah...that's what I'm talkin' about...boyyyyy.

Amongst the primaveras and arrabbiata's were a couple of real gems. The cavatappi with foie gras and figs and the rotelle with confit de canard and apples. Italian...yet French. Oh yum.

I wasn't hungry enough for both, so I went with the cavatappi. Good choice. VERY good choice. I may even have to see if I can talk Delfina or A16 into serving it!

Finishing the evening off with a little poached pear with sabayon was just the ticket.

TRADITION: BRASSERIE

Since the dollar is so damned weak, I do try to conserve my ducats at most meals. The odd 30 euro prix fixe lunch or dinner is fine, but not every day. So I take advantage of the ubiquitous crepe stands and the simple but delicious 5 euro tartine sandwiches available at Paul right around the corner. I also decided one evening to follow the advice of my lovely bride and try out a very old and traditional (and cheap) brasserie - Chartier. Tucked away behind an interior courtyard in the 9th, this place looks the classic brasserie. Bustling and packed with the black and white be-decked waiters running to and fro, it had a great energy.

And the menu? All the standards are there...and they are chee-eep. Where else can you find a 3 euro salad? Wow. Unfortunately, the couple right next to me turned out to be serial smokers, and the food, while inexpensive, was just adequate. My waiter? Ornery old guy - took quite a while to come by and then just stared at me waiting for my order without a word. When I ordered my food and hesitated about the wine...off he went. I guess with small bills and service included in the bill, there's not much to be enthusiastic about while working there.

My lamb chops were overcooked and a little dry, but the frites were hot and crispy and the Lyonnais salade was decent if not dee-licious. Those and a half bottle of Cote du Rhone totaled just 17 euro. Overall, a decent deal. Will be even better starting in January, when the restaurant smoking ban comes into effect.

TRADITION: SOUFFLÉ

On a different end of the refinement spectrum was a lunch I got one day on my own when I stopped off at a restaurant near the school for lunch.

Using the Pudlo guide that Katy had so thoughtfully provided me, I found a little restaurant called, simply, Le Soufflé. Now, having made soufflées in class, I was curious about a good restaurant's take on that dish. Also - I had mostly enjoyed classic soufflées in my life - Grand Marnier, Chocolate - but not many others. So I endeavored to experiment. For 28 euro, they had a nice prix fixe lunch with a choice of savory soufflé, sweet soufflé, salad and choice of a glass of wine or a demi-bouteille of water.

I went with a scallops and pétoncles soufflé as my main and a noisette (hazelnut) soufflé for dessert. Wow. I didn't think that you could make a soufflé with seafood or heavy nuts and have it be delicate and light. I was wrong. These guys were good. Everything - even the simple salad, was great. Now I'm looking forward to experimenting more at home!