As a reminder, I’m cooking my way through Linda Dannenberg’s Paris Bistro Cooking, other posts are listed under the category “Paris Bistro Dining Quest.” One of the things that draws me to Paris Bistros is their history.  In the United States the failure rate of new restaurants is stunning — I’ve read everything from 60 – 90% of new restaurants closing their doors within the first year.  And it seems like the restaurants that don’t fail are the large personality free chains.  Finding  a restaurant with a family history is a gem.

The recipes I chose for this foray are from Chardenoux in the 11th arrondissement near the Bastille.  This is a beautiful area for walking with lots of charming shops and bistros, it’s also a haven for tourist traps so beware.  Cyril Lignac wrote a review of Chardenoux that includes some beautiful photos.

The bistro opened in the early 1900s and was owned by a family of the same name.  The restaurant is known for it’s stunning decor, etched glass, decorative wood molding.  In 1986 Marc Souvrain became the restaurant’s third owner; his take on food is a blend of the traditional with contemporary.  Judging by the reviews I’ve read he’s done it right.

For our menu I chose the Gigot a la Creme d’ Ail (lamb in a garlic cream sauce), Potato gratin and a decidedly not french chocolate pound cake.  I’m beginning to question Dannenberg’s ability to translate recipes and after I complete this book, I’m going to get a book from another author to see if my instincts are confirmed.  Her  cream sauce recipe called for 6 heads of garlic.  6 cloves would not have been enough, but 6 heads would have killed us (I used 1 1/2 heads).  Also because it was just Bill and I I opted for a small rack of lamb instead of a 3 pound leg.  Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.

I got a late start in the kitchen (7:30) which meant we didn’t eat until 10:00 p.m.  That was my fault, if you were doing this menu for guests you could make the garlic sauce a day ahead, assemble the potato gratin and marinate the lamb so that on the day of the party you just have to bake the lamb and potato and heat the sauce.

Garlic Cream Sauce (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking, p.39)

2 heads of garlic
2 cups milk
1 bay leaf
salt and fresh ground pepper
2 cups heavy cream

Separate the garlic cloves, but do not peel them.  Blanch them for 2 minutes in boiling salted water.  Drain and add to milk with bay leaf.  Cover and simmer over low heat for 45 minutes.  Strain into another pan, squeeze the garlic cloves into the sauce, whisk in cream and cook over medium heat until reduced by one third.  Taste for seasoning and keep warm.

Lamb (recipe as written I used a small rack of lamb instead of a leg and it worked well)

3 pounds boned leg of lamb, fat trimmed
3 garlic cloves slivered
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Make slits all over the leg of lamb, toss garlic slivers with the dried herbs and insert in slits.  Rub the meat with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.  (medium rare is 145 degrees, medium is 160 degrees)   Serve with garlic cream sauce.

* because I used a smaller rack of lamb I didn’t make slits I made a paste out of the herbs (I used fresh) and garlic salt and pepper and then rubbed the lamb and let it marinade for about 30 minutes.

Potato Gratin (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking, p.37)
1 1/2 pounds peeled potatoes sliced thin
salt and freshly ground pepper
nutmeg
2 cups scalded milk
1 large egg
1/2 clove garlic
3 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Prepare an 8×8 baking dish by rubbing it with the garlic clove and 1/2 of the butter.

Toss potatoes with salt and pepper (I omitted the nutmeg).

In a separate bowl slowly whisk the scalded milk into the egg.

Layer 1/2 of the potatoes in the dish top with 1/2 cheese, add second layer of potatoes top with milk and remaining cheese.  dot with remaining butter and bake for 45 minutes.

We had a 2006 Turnbull Merlot with dinner.  I love this wine, it’s  a bold Merlot with the familiar elements of fruit, but also has a smokey flavor to it.

I mentioned a chocolate pound cake.  This recipe was awful.  My only compliment was that it was moist.  There was no taste of chocolate because the recipe had way too much sugar.  It was like a cotton candy cake.  Here’s a link to the recipe – I don’t recommend it.

Polidor in Paris

:Sigh:

I am writing tonight with a stunning lack of inspiration.  Had I not committed to cooking my way through the Paris  Bistro cookbook I wouldn’t even write this entry.  But I did commit — and if my first post was about a ruined dinner then I can certainly write about an uninspiring meal.

This recipe is from the first bistro in the book,  Polidor, which is in the Latin Quarter.  (Their site is in French — see the Frommers Review)  The Bistro has a charming history that includes Erenest Hemmingway, James Joyce and bathrooms that are a historic monument.  You can see why I felt the recipes held great promise.  I chose to make Soupe de Potiron (Pumpkin Soup) and Pintade aux lardons et au Chou (Guinea Hens with Bacon and Cabbage).  The recipes appear on p. 21  I should note that there are other recipes from this bistro that may be better than the ones I chose.

The soup was  attractive, but bland.  Both my husband and I pushed it aside not wanting to fill up on lackluster soup before dinner.

The main course: the book suggests that you can substitute chicken for Guinea Hen and given that my local Publix caters to tourists this was a necessity.  Dannenberg also translates “chou” as kale.  After looking it up in a French dictionary (I really need to start using my Rosetta Stone, but I digress…) I saw that it could mean  ”Brussels sprout, cabbage, cauliflower, coleslaw, darling, kale or sprout.”  While I’m not planning to put “my darling” in a pot anytime soon, using Brussels sprouts or cauliflower would have made a tremendous difference and most likely a better dish.  The recipe is extremely heavy on onion and calls for two cloves.  These two flavors overpowered everything else in the dish, which I found surprising.  The bitterness of Brussels sprouts (had they cooked with the chicken) probably would have balanced the sweet flavor of the cloves.  But the recipe directed me to cook the kale separately and then plate in a shallow bowl.  In a nutshell I was highly unimpressed.  As a result we are having chicken and dumplings tonight — a family favorite that I don’t think anyone could mess up!

I should mention that the highlight of the meal was the wine, we enjoyed a Sobon Estate Viognier 2007.  It was crisp and had just the right amount of fruit and acid.  I thought it was well balanced.

You’ve read my notes, if you want to try the recipes — you are on your own! LOL, but here they are.

Pumpkin Soup (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking p.21)

3 Cups water
1 Medium diced onion
1T Sugar
2 tsp salt
1 16oz can pumpkin puree (unflavored)
1 Cup milk
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sour cream or creme fraiche as garnish

In a medium saucepan bring water and onion to boil, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

Whisk in pumpkin, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook 5 minutes stirring constantly.

Puree the mixture in batches using a food processor or blender [hold the top of the blender and cover with a towel, hot foods expand when you puree had I not learned this tip my kitchen and I would have been doused in boiling pumpkin soup)

Return mixture to a saucepan, add the milk and heat, then season to taste and serve with sour cream or creme fraiche.

*I asked friends for suggestions pump up the soup, the most interesting was red curry paste.  I have some leftovers and I plan to try this, I think making it spicy is an interesting concept but completely different from the chef's original intent.

Chicken with Bacon and Cabbage (excerpted from Paris Bistro Cooking p.21)

1 2lb Guinea Hen or Chicken
2 medium carrots sliced
2 medium onions sliced (I would cut this to one)
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 boquet garni (1 sprig parsley, greens of one leek, one bay leaf tied in cheesecloth)
2 whole cloves (I would cut this to one)
salt and pepper
3 - 4C dry white wine
5 ounces slab bacon
2T flour
3C chicken stock
2lbs Kale

Combine the poultry, carrots, onion, garlic, boquet garni and cloves in a bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Blanch bacon in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove pat dry then saute until golden brown in a 6 quart saute pan.  Remove with slotted spoon and reserve.

Remove chicken from marinade (reserve the marinade) and pat dry, brown deeply (8 minutes per side) Remove the chicken and set aside.  Drain off all but 1T of fat.  Add the flour and cook for 1 - 2 minutes.

Add marinade [Note:  at this point the recipe lacked clarity -- I assumed the onions and carrot were part of the "marinade" but perhaps they were supposed to be removed which would explain why the onion flavor was so overpowering.  The photo in the cookbook clearly shows carrots and that's how I made my decision] cook for several minutes scraping the pan bottom.  Add chicken stock [another lack of clarity -- in the book she says add chicken stock or water but the ingredient list doesn't suggest this choice.  I used broth but perhaps water would have been better]

Return the chicken to the pot; liquid should almost cover; bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of “heavily” salted water to boil.  Cook kale for 15 minutes.  Drain and cut into 1/4 inch strips.  Press out excess water and add bacon.

Dish into 4 bowls and serve.

Paris Bistro Cooking – Mission #1 – Coq au Vin

As I prepared dinner and plated it; I realized why I haven’t seen a lot of pictures of coq au vin in cookbooks; the entire dish turns the same shade of purple.  For what it’s worth, I promise it tasted much much better than it photographed.  As I mentioned in my last post, this particular recipe calls for marinating the chicken in wine with onion, carrots, garlic and bouquet garni (1 sprig thyme, 1 sprig parsley, 1 bay leaf and 1 celery rib) for 24 hours.  Then it simmers for almost 3 hours and in this case it rested in the refrigerator for an extra day.  The long marinating and slow cooking delivered very rich flavor.

I followed the recipe almost to the letter with a couple exceptions; I removed the chicken skin (I don’t care for skin unless it’s crispy) and dredged the chicken in flour before browning to help thicken the sauce and add a little flavor; I added mushrooms because I love them; and I replaced salt pork for pancetta – salt pork in the grocery store is much fattier than what is available in Europe.   Even though it requires a little planning (which is not my strength) I would absolutely use this recipe again.    The best part for me was the step that required the igniting of the cognac — BIG FUN.

Fire Fire Fire

Without further adieu, here’s the recipe adapted from Linda Dannenberg’s Paris Bistro Cooking:

1 4 – 5 pound chicken cut into 8 parts (skin removed)
8 Cups Dry Red Wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
2 large red onions quartered
3 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic smashed but not minced
1 bouquet garni
1 cup seasoned flour for dredging chicken pieces
2 T olive oil
1 large piece pancetta (equal to one full slice of thick cut bacon)
1/2 Cup cognac
1 lb white button mushrooms cleaned
Salt and pepper to taste
2T cornstarch dissolved into 2T cold water

Place chicken, wine, vegetables, garlic and bouquet garni in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for 24 hours

Remove chicken from the marinade (reserve marinade) pat dry and dredge through flour.  Brown in olive oil using a dutch oven on medium high heat.  Remove the vegetables from the marinade add them to the dutch oven (still reserving marinade) and add the salt pork.  Cover and warm through for 10 minutes.  Add the cognac and carefully light (seriously big “whoosh” be careful and watch your hair, I almost set mine on fire, but that’s another story for another time)

Once the flames subside, add the mushrooms, marinade, salt and pepper and simmer for 2 hours.

Remove the chicken and vegetables from the pot, place in a casserole dish covered in foil to keep warm.

Degrease the broth, bring to a boil and whisk in the cornstarch.  Reduce until desired thickness (think gravy) add the chicken and vegetables and warm through.

We had this with red potatoes.  Linda recommended garlic croutons which would have been nice too.

Because it was my first foray into the French Bistro mission, we made an entire evening of it.  We started with a first course of Truffle mousse pate, Camembert cheese that I brought back from France and we opened a 2004 Turnbull Black Label we’d been holding onto for a while.  The combination made for a spectacualr meal.

I picked up a copy of Linda Dannenberg’s Paris Bistro Cooking at CDG airport on the way home from my most recent trip to Paris.  The book is a beautiful coffee table book with gorgeous photos and loving descriptions of Paris Bistros and their history.  It also includes their signature recipes.

I’ve decided that I’m going to cook my way through this book.  I truly love the simple hearty flavors of French Bistro cooking.  As you can see from the recipes I’ve posted so far I’m not a fan of fussy cooking.  Restaurants exist to create a food experience that I can’t reproduce at home.  I want to cook foods that warm my heart and are healthy (unprocessed).  Bistro’s started by feeding the local workers.  As Paris evolved and space was at a premium many of the apartments were so small they didn’t have kitchens.  The bistro became the place for a simple nightly meal.  People spent entire days at the Bistro working, writing, socializing.  Regular diners had a drawer for their cutlery and linens.

I’m not promising to cook every dish in the book, but once a week I plan to write about my experiences trying to create one of these recipes at home.  I’m working on the Coq au Vin Right now (p. 109).  I say “working on” because this isn’t a recipe you whip up in an afternoon.  I’ve seen many very good recipes that you can make in a couple hours but this particular recipe calls for marinading the chicken in a mixture of wine, boquet garni, onion and carrot.  Then there is three hours of cooking.

I actually made it yesterday and tonight it’s marinading more — which wasn’t in the plan but sometimes you have to roll with it.  Tomorrow we are going to have a French feast: pate, Camembert cheese, coq au vin and sauteed potatoes.  I’m pretty sure that I’m going to die and go to heaven.  The only way the night can be better is if the Pens win and I don’t have to see Detroit hoist the cup up again.

Check back to see how it turned out.  As for me, I’m going to get a glass of wine because it keeps me from whining!