23 January 2020

Standards and classics

I guess I just don't have a lot to write about today. I just have a few photos to share. Some are 20 years old, and some are just an hour old.





Here's a chalkboard menu (l'ardoise, meaning "slate") posted outside a restaurant in Paris 20 years ago. You might notice that the prices look pretty high, but that's because they are in French francs, not euros. Divide the prices by 6.5 to get them in today's money. The main courses were 80FF that day, which comes to about 12 euros. But the thing that's really interesting about the menu is that it's so hard to read if you don't immediately recognize the names of the dishes as classics. It's in handwriting, yes, and French handwriting is often so different from American handwriting that it's hard sometimes for us to decipher it. How many of the names of dishes can you read easily? (And why is that gratin made with just a single mushroom?)







Here's another menu from the same year. Is it easier to read? Some of the words you might not recognize are bourguignonne (and why is it in the feminine instead of the masculine?); andouillette and Troyes (why doesn't it start with a capital T on the menu?); brochette and beurre blanc; and finally, côte and Salers. Why is the veal so much less expensive than the beef? Would you prefer the blanquette or the andouillette? If you ask the waiter to explain what these different dishes and specialties are, there's a good chance he will look puzzled by the question. Everybody knows what these things are. You might just have to take a stab at it and take your chances.

Here's my version of blanquette de veau. We had it for lunch the other day. I leave the carrots in it because I enjoy eating them with the meat, pasta, mushrooms and cream sauce. But I won't call it a blanquette à l'ancienne, because you-know-who will scold me for being inauthentic. Blanquette is one of the easiest French food classics to make (recipe here) — if you can get good veal. You can make it with turkey or chicken, but it won't be as good. Try it with lamb...


Lately I've taken to buying a lot of croissants, another French classic. I turned the ones in this photo into my version of croissants aux amandesrecipe here. That means making a filling using sugar, powdered almonds, butter, and eggs. Slice the top off the croissants and spread the filling on the bottom. Put the top back on, brush it with sugar syrup, and sprinkle on some sliced almonds, which should stick. Bake it.
And finally, these are deux pains aux raisins I brought home yesterday. Raisin rolls, I guess we could call them. They're not really bread — they're pretty sweet. Raisin buns, maybe. I pretty much have to buy these pastries at the supermarket. Oh, I could go to a bakery, but if I want to have the pastries fresh for breakfast I have to go out in the car before about 7 a.m. and drive several kilometers to the nearest bakery and bake. It's not worth it except on very special occasions. It's easier to buy pastries at the supermarket, keep them in the fridge or freezer overnight (or longer), and then carefully heat them up in the oven when you want to eat them. Make sure they are labeled pur beurre when you buy them. Back when I lived in Paris, I could just run downstairs to the neighborhood bakery, buy a couple of pastries, run back upstairs, and then devour them with my coffee or tea. They're different realities, urban life and life out in the country.

15 comments:

  1. The chalk on the second menu is easier to read. But the yellow print on the first menu is easiest of all. ;-) Prices seem pretty good by today's standards.

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    1. Obviously no inflation over the past 20 years....

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  2. In the UK ain auraisins are known as Swedish Pastries!
    And I love the accents on Cote de boeuf at the bottom of the second menu...
    I have seen those horizontal bars all over on hand written stuff.
    A case of "You know the accents and I'm pushed for time!"

    That single mushroom.... could it be one of those huge fully open, white mushrooms... stuffed?
    Our Leeds Farmers market guy, Jim.... who learnt all he knew in the Champion caves in Loches.... used to sell 5 to 6 inch ones.... four to a tray.
    As a starter / midday snack, one was sufficient!

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    1. It is possible to write French using only what I call "flat" accent marks and the French is perfectly understandable. I once wrote a little computer script for an old Model 100 computer that let me put in accents that way. The different grave, acute, circumflex, and umlaut accents are just historical holdovers. Not sure about the cedilla, though. I suppose a c with a flat accent over it could stand in for ç.

      Aren't those gigantic mushrooms called portobellos? At least in the U.S., where they are sometimes cooked on a barbecue grill and can stand in for hamburger patties in sandwiches.

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    2. Tim, you mention Swedish pastries in the U.K. that resemble the French pain aux raisins. In the U.S., we call those Danish pastries, but they are different because they are iced with a sugar glaze.

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  3. You know who is ROFLMAO reading about your version of blanquette de veau! In fact, when in California, I used to make chicken blanquette and boiled the meat with several carrots and a big onion; I saved them as a delicious side dish, but did not use them with the blanquette proper.

    OTH, I think the final S of Tartare de poissons should go at the end of gratin de champignon. I'm wondering what M. Grevisse would say about that!
    Again, on the second menu, poisson should be in the singular.

    Lastly, is Œuf poché bourguignonne the same as Œuf poché sauce meurette?

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    1. I figure œuf poché (à la) bourguignonne must be the same as œufs en meurette.

      As for the tartare de poissons, maybe the chef uses different types of fish in the dish. The same for the brochette on the second menu — maybe the brochette would be more appetizing with cubes of salmon and cubes of cod alternating on the skewer.

      As we know, you like things that are à l'ancienne...

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    2. Lol, again!

      Off topic, any idea what ever happened with all these Anonymous commenters in both linked posts? Why did they lose their names?

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    3. I think those commenters were anonymous when they posted comments all those years ago. Back then I guess people were still reluctant to reveal their identity on the 'net.

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    4. There is something fishy with Google! I'm sure I wasn't Anonymous in 2009, and neither was my cousin The Beaver.

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  4. Oh it's fun to read these menu boards :)

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  5. I make your almond croissants when we have overnight guests. They are always a hit. I would like to try the egg dish the next time I'm in France.

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    1. Glad to hear that, E. There is (or at least was not long ago) a restaurant in Montrichard where you could get good poached eggs in a burgundy wine sauce. I'll check it out soon.

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