French Food

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anniebray

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Many of us are looking forward to our annual migration to France (amongst other destinations I should hastily add). One of the delights of France is of course the food and I am personally anxious to sample as many delights as possible (particularly in North Brittany). Amongst the foods I enjoy are Croissons, Pain au Chocolat, Moules a la creme, Fruits de mer, snails with butter & Garlic, whole crab with bread & Muscadet, & Crepes for a start, but what worries me are the dishes I don't know about which I might never discover without your help. So please can we have your suggestions !!
 
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Croissons, Pain au Chocolat, Moules a la creme, Fruits de mer, snails with butter & Garlic, whole crab with bread & Muscadet, & Crepes for a start

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Blimey - that's a sizeable starter!

Sometimes I go with a dictionary. Sometimes I pick something at random from the menu & cross my fingers. Or sometimes just look at plates going past & order "la meme". But you've got me rather peckish now...
 
Among my favourites, Langoustines
h-3-1144208-1205317524.jpg

you can buy them alive, take a few litres of water, add ground pepper and salt and bring to boil - put the langoustines inside - when water starts boiling again pour off the hot water and replace with cold water, just to stop cooking. It should be between 1 minute and 1.5 minutes of cooking time, no more otherwise they will turn chewy.
You can then eat them with mayonnaise, though I prefer to dip them in a mixture of olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, salt and pepper. It could hardly be simpler. It's better to open them with your hands and some tools rather than with your teeth, it might hurt for a few days afterwards..

Among seafood in northern brittany, some people rave about Ormeaux
73087_ormeaux.jpg

they are rather expensive though, say 30-60 euro a kilo at local fish stalls depending on size; it's a peculiar taste, love it or hate it kind

Among desserts there is the traditional cake Kouign Amann: seems like half a kilo of butter, half a kilo of sugar, a tablespoon of flour and then you go /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif well if you like croissants..
 
We also are doing north Biscay and I will be looking for Bresse chicken, not native to the area but definitely a must try. Would also like to try a French Bouillabaisse but we might not get south enough for an authentic one /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]

Among my favourites, Langoustines
h-3-1144208-1205317524.jpg

you can buy them alive, take a few litres of water, add ground pepper and salt and bring to boil - put the langoustines inside - when water starts boiling again pour off the hot water and replace with cold water, just to stop cooking. It should be between 1 minute and 1.5 minutes of cooking time, no more otherwise they will turn chewy.
You can then eat them with mayonnaise, though I prefer to dip them in a mixture of olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, salt and pepper. It could hardly be simpler. It's better to open them with your hands and some tools rather than with your teeth, it might hurt for a few days afterwards..

Frae Bonny Scotland's North Sea /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I am going back to where I used to live in Normandy this year, Granville, not quite in Brittany but you can see it from there! I will spend most of the time eating seafood but one evening I will be having a beef dish which is served on an aluminium block. I can't remember what it is called but I will have no problem ordering it.
Allan
 
I remember the one andouillette I ate. It caused a bit of a riot in our company, and I got a lot of comments about my foolhardiness, but in the end it was just a matter of attempting to chew my way through a load of barbeque-flavoured rubber bands.
 
How about the Ortolan...

for centuries, a rite of passage for French gourmets has been the eating of the Ortolan. These tiny birds—captured alive, force-fed, then drowned in Armagnac—were roasted whole and eaten that way, bones and all, while the diner draped his head with a linen napkin to preserve the precious aromas and, some believe, to hide from God.

yummy?
 
Among seafood in northern brittany, some people rave about Ormeaux
they are rather expensive though, say 30-60 euro a kilo at local fish stalls depending on size; it's a peculiar taste, love it or hate it kind.....Abalone or perlemoen in this country can be up to £150 per kg /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif
 
Once is enough for most people. I was expecting to be told off for being naughty by even suggesting the idea! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
What else? How much time have you got?

Soupe de poisson
Cassoulet
Rillettes de veau
Coquilles St Jacques
Almost any fish
Choucroute Royale
Cous-cous
Cheese (x 147)
Salade Nicoise
Foie gras
Magret de canard
Foie de veau
Tete de veau
Soupe a l'oignon
Truite bleu
etc
etc
etc
 
Thanks for all suggestions so far but lets keep this going my appetite is thoroughly whetted !
My very first meal in France in a town called Bonneval was Truit a Meuniere, I can still remember how delicious that was.
BTW I did intend to include wine with the food...didn't I mention Muscadet ? For those who didn't know , Muscadet is a very dry white wine made in Brittany & seems to be the favourite choice to go with shellfish.
If Cherbourg is my first port , my first meal will be Moules a la Creme avec frites in a restaurant near the fishing boats on route to the supermarket. My mate Ken has just suffered Gall Stones & that delicasy is struck off his diet.
Guernsey will be on our route and I shall certainly be visiting the fishmongers on the same pier as the Yacht Club (and fuel supply). Whole crab straight out of the boiler at 8am if you want !
 
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