by John Baxter
METHOD
Grate the zest from the lemon and squeeze and save the juice.
Mix lemon juice, lemon zest, and sugar with Mascarpone, yogurt, and crème fraîche or sour cream. Add extra sugar if desired. The mixture should be stiff, not runny. Set aside.
Roughly crush the cookies and place a layer of crumbs about half an inch deep in the bottom of each parfait glass or wineglass.
Add berries until the glass is three-quarters full. (Reserve a berry for each glass as garnish.)
Spoon on cream mixture.
Top with a single berry.
Boeuf Bourguignon
INGREDIENTS
1 cup olive oil
3 pounds good beef—chuck steak, brisket, etc.—in a single piece or large chunks, retaining some fat, cut into 1-inch square chunks
4 large onions, sliced thin
1 clove garlic, crushed
Bottle red wine, ideally burgundy style, made from pinot noir grapes
Bouquet garni (bay leaf, stalk of parsley, two or three sprigs thyme, tied in a bundle)
1 pint beef stock, either fresh or canned (Stock cubes are not recommended.)
Salt and pepper
METHOD
Heat half the oil in a deep cast-iron pot.
Sauté the meat in batches, making sure all pieces are well browned. (Do not put them in the pot all at once. This will cause them to sweat rather than brown. If they begin to sweat, remove the meat, let the liquid evaporate, add more oil, and commence again, using fewer pieces at a time.)
Lower the heat, transfer the meat to another dish, add the rest of the oil to the pan, and sauté the onion and garlic until browned.
Pour in the wine and bring to a simmer. Stir until all the meat residue on the bottom of the pot is dissolved.
Return meat to pot with bouquet garni. Add beef stock (or equivalent amount water) until the meat is barely covered. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover pot tightly with foil, replace lid, and place in the middle of the oven at low heat, about 150 degrees Celsius (300 degrees Fahrenheit).
Cook without unsealing the pot for at least two hours. If, when you check, most of the liquid has not been absorbed and the meat isn’t sufficiently tender to be broken up with a fork, replace the seal and cook for another hour. If it seems too dry at any time, add a cup of stock or water, although our aim is a dish with a minimum of liquid.
Unseal, remove bouquet garni, skim fat, and serve with simple mashed potatoes and boiled carrots, sliced and sautéed with a little butter and sugar until they begin to caramelize.
Acknowledgments
My gratitude first to my wife, Marie-Dominique, without whom, had she not brought me to France, I would know nothing of great food. Our daughter, Louise, as well as her many treasurable qualities, has become both a skilled cook and a connoisseur of the best in cuisine.
In researching this book, I’ve been aided by them and by many friends. Christopher Jones was an invaluable companion on some of these hazardous excursions. Charles DeGroot and Dr. Nicole Larroumet offered generous hospitality in Cabris and Bergerac. To Chris Hanley, I apologize for his unfortunate experiences on the Riviera. Thanks are due also to Rick Gekoski; to Peter Grogan, for his advice on wine; to Lauren Sabreau and the staff of Caviar House and Prunier for their cordial welcome; to the administrators of the twenty-third Fête du Boeuf and to the people of Bugnicourt. I also owe a special thanks to the food and vegetable merchants of Paris’s sixth arrondissement and of the town of Fouras, without whose unfailing maintenance of excellence no good cooking and eating would be possible.
Sincere thanks to my agent, Jonathan Lloyd; my editor, Peter Hubbard; and the entire publishing team at Harper Perennial.
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
“Address to a Haggis” (Burns), 182–83
“Advertisement for the Waldorf-Astoria” (Hughes), 273
afternoon tea, 296–99
aires, 331
À La Recherche du Temps Perdu (Proust), 55, 82–84
Alexander II, Czar, 168
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll), 243
anchovies, 305–9
anchovy paste, 299–301, 305
Gentleman’s Relish (Patum Peperium), 300–301, 310
recipe for, 357–58
Angela (companion), 142–52, 186–88
Anouilh, Jean, 129–30
Antibes, 216–18, 237
Apache Dance, 285
apaches, 283
aperitifs, 41–42, 46, 51–53
Kir, 47–51, 53, 214–15, 245
Kir Royal Florian recipe, 357
Argenteuil, 238
Aromas and Flavors of Past and Present (Toklas), 162–63
artichoke hearts, 21
asparagus soup, 5–6, 252
Auberge du Vieux Château, L’, 214–15
Austen, Jane, 145
baba ghanoush, 66
Balfour, Arthur, 128
Baltard, Victor, 279
banquets, 128–29, 165–66, 295
theatre and spectacle in, 179–97
barley water, 268–69
Baxter, Louise, 81–92, 90, 291
bear meat, 176
Beauce, La, 81–82
Beauvoir, Simone de, 322
Becket (Anouilh), 129–30
Becket, Thomas à, 129–30
Beckett, Samuel, 320
beef, 219–20, 226
bourguignon, 243, 255, 258
recipe for, 364–66
burgers, 8, 222–26, 234
carpetbag steak, 99
ox, 8, 24, 38, 53, 75, 220–21, 258
roasting of, 326–28, 329–41, 344–51, 349, 350
scandals connected with, 222
tartare, 226–35
truffles and, 108
beef stock cubes, 256–58, 293
Beeton, Isabella, 240
Bellanger, M., 170
Belleville, 239
Bell Jar, The (Plath), 64
Belly of Paris, The (Zola), 280
Benjamin, Walter, 303, 304
Bergerac, 115–20, 237
Bernhardt, Sarah, 259
Bible, 343, 351
blackberries, 49–51
Blue Train, 199–201, 209
boeuf bourguignon, 243, 255, 258
recipe for, 364–66
Book of Household Management (Beeton), 240
Boorman, Charley, 165
Boris (friend), 25, 29–39, 44, 53, 67–70, 71, 121–22, 252–58, 275, 318–19, 326–28, 330, 332, 334, 343–44, 348, 351
bouchots, 190
bouillabaisse, 142–44, 150–58, 150, 152, 202, 237
recipe for, 358–60
bouillon, 248–50, 252, 258, 275–77, 288–89
powdered, 293
Bouzigues, 147
bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 222
Bowles, Thomas Gibson, 172
Brassens, Georges, 149–50
British Rail, 296
Britten, Benjamin, 304
brocantes, 15–17, 16, 157
Bugnicourt, 327–28, 329–41, 344–51
Buñuel, Luis, 304
burgers, 8, 222–26, 234
Burns, Robert, 182–83
cabbage soup, 32–33
Cabris, 213–16, 213, 328
Cadillac Jack (McMurtry), 61
Café au Chai de l’Abbaye, 67–68
café au lait, 320–21
café crème, 321
Café Croissant, 33–34
cafés, 23, 35, 35, 285–86
cake, 75–81, 244
mixes for, 292
wedding, 76, 181
Callisto, 113
Camp Coffee, 323–26
Camus, Albert, 322
canard Montmorency, 239, 240
Caneton Nantais Cresson, 21
canned products,
293
cannelés, 77–78
Cannes, 211–12
Capus, Alfred, 144
Carlton Hotel, 266
carpetbag steak, 99
Carrier, Robert, 292
Carroll, Lewis, 243
Carte, Richard D’Oyly, 260
cassoulet, 147, 148, 243
Catalonia, 306
Caveau des Innocents, 283–85, 284
caviar, 55–74
Golden Opulence Sundae, 66–67
packaging of, 65–66
sturgeon, 62–66, 69–74
chabrot, 287
Chance (Parker), 95
Chandelle Verte, La, 31–33
Chanel, Coco, 201, 206–7
Chantilly, 124, 131–33, 135, 138
Charles (friend), 208, 212–18
Château Royal, 307, 311–12
cheese, 3
chef, use of term, 267
chicken, 20, 125, 162–63
tikka masala, 190
Child, Julia, 9
Choron, Alexandre-Étienne, 170–71, 174, 178, 179
Christmas, 181
Voisin dinner menu, 173, 175–78
Christopher (friend), 301, 305–14
Churchill, Winston, 3
Cimetière Montmartre, 252–53
Clamart, 238
class, 159–60
Cocteau, Jean, 201, 208
coffee, 315–26
Camp Coffee, 323–26
decaf, 317
espresso, 321
in glasses, 322
iced, 316–17
Irish, 317
milk in, 318, 320–21
noisette, 315–16
in restaurants, 319, 320
street vendor of, 318
Colette, 104, 205, 209, 215
Collioure, 305–14
Commodore, The (Forester), 121
Conan Doyle, Arthur, 329
Condé, Prince de, 124, 128, 131–33, 137–38
Consommé à la Royale, 20
Contre Saint-Beuve (Proust), 91–92
Coronation Chicken, 20
Corridor of Mirrors, 298
Corsica, 214
Côted’Azur, 199–209
Cannes, 211–12
Country Cooking from Central France: Roast Boned Rolled Stuffed Shoulder of Lamb (Farce Double) (Mathews), 270–71
courgette (zucchini) flowers, 111, 216
Coward, Noël, 1
crème brûlée, 244
crème Chantilly, 128
crème de cassis, 47–48, 49
croissants, 78–79
cucumber sandwiches, 298
Cyril (acquaintance), 145–53
czarist banquets, 128
Dadone, Antoine, 62–63
Dalí, Gala, 302
Dalí, Salvador, 301–3, 309
Darwin, Charles, 172
Dayan, Raymond, 223–26
Deboos, M., 171, 172
Decroix, Émile, 343–44
de Gaulle, Charles, 3
De Gourville, Jean, 124, 133, 136
Dekobra, Maurice, 200
Depardieu, Gérard, 137
Desclaux, François, 308–9
Desclaux, Madame, 308
desserts, 244
cake, 75–81, 244
mixes for, 292
wedding, 76, 181
Parfait Swann recipe, 363–64
pastries, 76–77, 79–80
Diaghilev, Sergei, 200
Dietrich, Marlene, 202
Doctor No (Fleming), 325
donkey, 177
Dordogne, 116
dormice, 164
Dos Passos, John, 208
Downton Abbey, 130–31
drinks, 41–53, 56–57
aperitifs, 41–42, 46, 51–53
Kir, 47–51, 53, 214–15, 245
Kir Royal Florian recipe, 357
barley water, 268–69
coffee, 315–26
Camp Coffee, 323–26
decaf, 317
espresso, 321
in glasses, 322
iced, 316–17
Irish, 317
milk in, 318, 320–21
noisette, 315–16
in restaurants, 319, 320
street vendor of, 318
kumis, 232–33
wine, 43, 174, 287–88
Drug Store, Le, 224–25
duck, 8, 21, 125
canard Montmorency, 239, 240
Du Côté de Chez Swann (Swann’s Way ) (Proust), 82–84, 92–93
du Fort, Pierre, 249–50
Duplessis, Marie, 253
eating with fingers, 129–31
eclade, 189–90, 193–97
Edward VII, King, 128
eggplant, 66
elephants, 171, 172, 174
Elizabeth II, Queen, 19–20
Éluard, Paul, 207
envisagées, 9
Escargots dans Leur Tomate Cerise Gratinés au Beurre d’Amande, 7–8
Escoffier, Daniel, 15
Escoffier, Georges-Auguste, 14–15, 67, 170, 239, 258, 259–72, 260, 288, 292–93, 344
gamblers’ dinner by, 262–63
Guide Culinaire, 36–37, 233, 256–57, 258, 269–75, 320
kitchen management system pioneered by, 267
espresso, 321
esprit d’escalier, l’, 9–10
Essay on Fevers, An (Huxham), 249
European Institute of History and Culture of Food, 11
Faucigny-Lucinge, Jean-Louis, 207
Fellowes, Julian, 130–31
Figs, Sautéed, as a Vegetable, 362–63
financiers, 77–78, 80
fish and seafood, 243–44
anchovies, 305–9
anchovy paste, 299–301, 305
Gentleman’s Relish (Patum Peperium), 300–301, 310
Gentleman’s Relish recipe, 357–58
bouillabaisse, 142–44, 150–58, 150, 152, 202, 237
recipe for, 358–60
caviar, 55–74
Golden Opulence Sundae, 66–67
packaging of, 65–66
sturgeon, 62–66, 69–74
garum, 309–10
lampreys, 111–20, 121, 237
mussels, 147–48, 190–93
eclade, 189–90, 193–97
moules, 190–93, 237
rascasse, 151, 153, 155–56
Fisher, M. F. K., 176–77, 228
Fitzgerald, Edward, 60
Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 204, 208, 216
Fitzgerald, Zelda, 208
Five Easy Pieces, 250
Flanner, Janet, 209, 286
flatware, 129–30
Fleming, Ian, 42, 324–25
Florian, 49
Floyd, Keith, 176
Fonds d’Artichauts à l’Italienne, 21
Forester, C. S., 121
forks, 129–30
forts (porters), 281–82
For Your Eyes Only (Fleming), 42
Fouquet, Nicolas, 124
Fouras, 189, 194, 237
Franck, César, 36
Franco, Francisco, 302
Franco-Prussian War, 14, 166, 174, 267, 268, 292–93
French Regional Cooking (Willan), 239
French Ways and Their Meaning (Wharton), 49–50
garum, 309–10
Gastaud, Alexandre, 271–73
gastronome, 37–38
gâteau chocolat, 244
Gâteau Normand au Calvados, 33, 34
Gay, John, 113
Gekoski, Rick, 1–8
Gentleman’s Relish (Patum Peperium), 300–301, 310
recipe for, 357–58
George V, King, 20
Germany, 13–15
Gide, André, 216
Giotto, 256
glasses, 129
coffee in, 322
Godfather, The, 141–42
Golden Opulence Sundae, 66–67
Goncourt, Edmond de, 174
Goudeket, Maurice, 205, 209
gourm
and, 37
gourmet, 37
Gourville, Jean de, 124, 133, 136
Grand Hotel, 263–64
Grand Palais, 2–3, 5
Great Dishes of the World (Carrier), 292
Greene, Graham, 1–2
Gregory III, Pope, 168
Guetet, Emilie, 214
Guide Culinaire, Le (Escoffier), 36–37, 233, 256–57, 258, 269–75, 320
Guide des Plaisirs à Paris, 281, 285–86
Guinan, Texas, 111
Guinea Hen à la Escoffier, 272
recipe for, 360–62
haggis, 182–84
ham, 239
hamburgers, 8, 222–26, 234
Hampton Court, 344
hare, 240–41
Haussmann, Baron, 279, 321
Hemingway, Ernest, 204
Henric, Jacques, 303–4
Henry I, King, 113, 114, 120
Henry II, King, 129–30
Henry VIII, King, 344
herbes de Provence, 210–11, 212, 216
highways, 331–32
Hitchcock Blonde, 114
hobbyhorse, 339
Hoffman, David, 28–29
Hootkins, Bill, 114–15
Horizon, 324–25
horse meat, 168, 175, 344
Hotel Pierre, 272
How to Cook a Wolf (Fisher), 176–77
Hughes, Langston, 273
Hughes, Robert, 61–62
Huxham, John, 249
ice cream:
Golden Opulence Sundae, 66–67
sellers of, 23, 23
île flottante, 244
Illiers, 81–91, 90
Imperator, 14
influenza pandemic, 50
Invitée, L’ (Beauvoir), 322
Ionesco, Eugène, 246
Irma la Douce, 283
I Speak of the City (Paz), 279
Jackson, Jermaine, 67
Jardin d’Acclimatation, 171
Jarry, Alfred, 31–32
Jean-Marc (friend), 251
Johnson, Samuel, 57
Joyce, James, 22–23
Joy of Pigging Out, The (Hoffman), 28
Juarès, Jean, 33–34
Jubilee Chicken, 20
Julius II, Pope, 125
Jungle Juice, 44
kangaroo, 176, 347–48
Karl (friend), 39, 44–47, 51–53
kebab, 184–89
Kennedy, John F., 202
Kennedy, Joseph, 202
Kir, 47–51, 53, 214–15, 245
Kir Royal Florian recipe, 357
Kir, Félix, 48
Kroc, Ray, 223
kumis, 232–33
Kurlansky, Mark, 306
Labouchère, Henry, 172
lamb kebab, 184–89
lampreys, 111–20, 121, 237
lark, 125, 177
Larroumet, Nicole, 115, 118–20, 362
Lauder, John, 98, 100
Léon de Bruxelles, 193
Les Halles, 238, 241–42, 279–82, 281, 285–88
onion soup outside of, 287
