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Year: 2017

La Table de Leo

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Located in a small town called Saint-Avit-Sénieur, located between Monpazier and Belves in the Dordogne, is a wonderful restaurant called La Table de Leo. It is a very contemporary looking restaurant that prepares excellent cuisine. The menu was very creative and we both had the Menu du Jour, which is only available for lunch during the week.

Everything about the meal was excellent, starting with a beautiful amuse bouche, followed by an Entrée, a Plat and then of course Dessert. We also had a glass of wine at lunch which perfectly complemented our meal.

You can find more information about La Table de Leo at TripAdvisor or Michelin. Alternatively you can also contact them via their website.

La Table de Leo

La Table de Leo

Salade de Chevre Chaud, very yummy and I liked the cheese wrapped in the filo packets.

La Table de Leo

Pigeon with a chestnut purée on artichoke hearts.

La Table de Leo

Twelve hour roasted pork on a bed of home made sauerkraut and potatoes.

La Table de Leo

Exotic Fruits with a Mango Sorbet.

La Table de Leo

Deconstructed Couer du Café.

Restaurant Eléonore

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It was our last night staying in Monpazier and we decided to have dinner at Restaurant Eléonore. It was a short walk from the house we were staying at, which makes it so nice to be able to enjoy yourself and not worry about the drive home.

I had the à la carte menu with a selection of three plates while Jo Ann had the menu du jour so we were able to have a sample of both menus.

Everything we had that evening was superb and the restaurant has a good (albeit limited) selection of wines from the area and Bordeaux and which were reasonably priced.

The service was outstanding and totally matched the quality of the food and the wine. We strongly recommend this restaurant.

For more information about the restaurant you can check out their website,  The Michelin Guide or TripAdvisor.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Mimosa with Quail Egg, Citron Confit and Cavier, a wonderful Amuse Bouche.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Queues de Langoustines, with a condiment of mangue-papaye and crème coco au ccombawa.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Foie Gras Mi-cuit Eléonore, wiht fine créme carottes and walnut oil dusted with a red wine sea salt. Very Yummy!

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Choco-Caramel-Café, with a creéme glacé sirop d’érable and noix pécan.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Filet de bœf with racines de persil au beurre noisette, white asparagus and a sauce of port and Péridord truffes.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Dos de Saumon with perles de Savoie à l’encre de seiche, leeks and ginger done in papillote and a watercress sauce The Perles de Savoie à l’encre de seiche is pearls of black ink pasta

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Pears poached in wine with a speculoos ice cream and an almond cookie.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Château Terre Vieille Pécharmant 2010, an excellent choice for the night’s meal.

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Menu de Restaurant Eléonore à la carte

Restaurant Eléonore en Monpazier

Menu Edward the menu of the day

How to Make a Custardy French Omelet

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A very good tutorial on how to make a perfect French omelet. I struggle with this and have found that this tutorial is very helpful. The only part I do not like is that it is imperative that you use a non-stick pan, but I hate the thought of have such a pan in our kitchen.

Click to read the article at Bon Appétit.

Instructions

  1. Use the freshest eggs you can find. If you’re buying eggs from the farmers’ market, ask your farmer for large ones.
  2. For an evenly cooked omelet, you need smooth eggs. So take a whisk to ’em and incorporate the whites and yolks until you’re left with an even mixture with no white strands or pieces of yolk floating around. (You’re not trying to whip the eggs, you’re just trying to incorporate all the disparate bits.) If you’re not sure if your eggs are fully mixed, lift your whisk up in the air. If the eggs fall back into the bowl in a smooth, uniform stream, they’re ready.
  3. Use a nonstick pan. Nothing is more important to achieving the perfect roll than using a nonstick pan.
  4. Start your pan on medium to medium-low heat. When you add butter to the pan, it shouldn’t make a sound (that means no immediate sizzling or foaming.) Instead, you want the butter to gently melt into the skillet. When you start to see a few little butter bubbles, add the eggs. Again, you shouldn’t hear anything when the eggs hit the pan.
  5. Make sure to season in the pan. Season the omelet mixture with kosher salt and black pepper right in the skillet as they begin to cook. And now, it’s time to stir.
  6. This is the key moment when egg becomes omelet. Start stirring your eggs as soon as you add them to the pan to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom. Stirring also helps to prevent curds of cooked egg from forming faster than it takes the entire mixture to cook. To further ensure the eggs cook evenly, vigorously shake the pan in a circular motion as you stir. Every so often, scrape down the sides of the pan to make sure no bits of egg overcook. One last note about this step: It will probably take longer than you want it to. Just remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint—your patience will be rewarded.
  7. Remember what we said about this being a marathon? Exert one final push of patience and let your soon-to-be-omelet sit, off the heat, for one minute. This will help the bottom of the omelet finish cooking (translation: easier rolling) without running the risk of overcooking the whole caboodle.
  8. Holding the skillet handle in your left hand at a slight angle, tilt the pan away from you and gently begin coaxing your omelet into a roll. Once you’ve made your first roll, add a pat of butter to the skillet to help loosen it up the rest of the way.
  9. While you’re rolling, go for about 1″ intervals, as opposed to a tight cigar-style roll. Once the omelet is rolled and all the way at the other end of the pan, tip the pan over onto the center of a plate, using your spatula to help you get the omelet to sit seam side down.
  10. You thought we were done with butter here? Oh. Oh, no. Give your perfectly plated omelet a final rub with a pat of butter to give it a glossy sheen. Finish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel and finely chopped fresh chives. Take a moment to admire. Eat!

This is our step-by-step recipe for the classic French omelet, but in Ludo’s version, he fills it with a bit of Boursin cheese, a totally delicious and acceptable addition. You can get that (almost identical) recipe here: Ludo Lefebvre’s Omelet.

Sainte-Foy-de-Grande Samedi Marché

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Our first day in the Sainte Foy Bordeaux appellation and we decided to head off to the Saturday market. The marché in Sainte-Foy-de-Grande is extensive, full of people and had many vendors that we do not get in the marchés in the Dordogne.

Not only was there extensive produce and fruits available, but there was excellent fish, meats, sausages, and my favorite dried fruits stuffed with foie gras. These little delicacies were so tasty and sweet, it was like candy from heaven.

Bottom line if you are visiting the Sainte Foy Bordeaux appellation, you must make time to go to the Saturday market in Sainte-Foy-de-Grande.

The dried fig stuffed with foie gras and the prune stuffed with foie gras.

The dried fig stuffed with foie gras and the prune stuffed with foie gras.

Fresh Mussels

Yummy looking mussels.

Here is a mixture of the dried figs stuffed with foie gras as well as some prunes stuffed with foie gras. We have both for tonight.

The highlight of the day, these dried figs were filled with foie gras. Such unbelievable flavor!

A French speciality, Radis Noir. I just can’t get my head around eating a black radish.

We just could not make up our minds on what we wanted to prepare and eat tonight.

Oh the prunes were so good at the marché

Yummy garlic, shallots and onions.

Very interesting way to present and sell Endive. The plant was still attached to the roots in a holder with some dirt. The vendor just broke off the vegitable when you bought it.

The marché at Sainte-Foy-de-Grande is extensive and almost every street has at least a couple of vendors. However we found one that was still empty.

The oranges were looking so fresh and tasty today.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

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We have been buying aceto balsamico from Guiseppe Giusti for many years but this is the first time we actually got to stop in to see how the balsamico is actually produced and to learn more about the history of this firm.

The tour was first rate and we got to taste many different versions of the aceto balsamico from the top of the line 25 year aged produce to the younger versions that are not sold as the traditional aceto balsamico.

Definitely worth a stop to explore.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

When one cask starts leaking they do not remove it, instead they build a new cask around the old one. They do not want to lose all flavor that has built up over the many years of production.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

Various casks for the production of aceto balsamico. They are never retired, they just keep getting enhanced with more flavor.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

Tools of the Master

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

Various metals awarded for the aceto balsamico from Guiseppe Giusti.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

One of the original casks which dates back to the 1700s.

Giuseppe Giusti aceto balsamico

A mixture of the products offered by Giuseppe Giusti.

Mercato Albinelli

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During our stay in Modena Italy, we stopped into Mercato Albinelli to do some culinary shopping. We had spent the morning visiting some balsamic producers. When we arrived at the Mercato Albinelli were blown away with the architecture, the quality of the products and just about everything else about the Meercato Albinelli. My only regret is that we did not get there in the morning and came in as the venders were starting to close up shop. Morale of this store is to visit the mercato early in the day and leave yourself at least two hours.

Mercato Albinelli

The entrance to the Mercato Albinelli

Mercato Albinelli

Inside the beautiful Mercato.

Mercato Albinelli

One image of the many wonderful vendors at the Mercato.

Mercato Albinelli

Beautiful topinambour