Confit de Canard. Duck Confit. Part 1- How to buy a 4-headed duck
To market to market to buy a Fat Duck… That was the idea. Traditionally the Wednesday morning market in Agen has been the live poultry market. When I first arrived in the Lot-et-Garonne in 1987, there were rows of benches on which housecoat-wearing Frenchwomen and beret-sporting Gascons sat behind piles of feathered friends tied together at the ankles or next to cardboard boxes with beaks and tails sticking out. The Wednesday morning soundtrack was a low murmur of gossip... Read More
Fat Ducks- everything you need to know from Confit to Foie Gras
Tis the season.Duck season. No, not hiding in a marshy blind, wet cold and waiting. The fatted duck season, le marche au gras is more like:hanging in a warm kitchen,fire roaring,cauldrons of duck fat burbling,friendly faces pouring hot spiced wine,sharp carbon knifes clacking against the steel,and the smell… the scent of toasted hazelnuts as the duck fat melts and the crispy skins becomes cracklin’s- Gascon popcorn. For meat loving foodies, this is about as close... Read More
French Weather- ouch!
I was going to write a lyrical little post this week called ‘French Rain’.You know the sort of thing I like to write, weather reports interspersed with nature observations, a little wistful, a little nostalgic.Not tonight.No photos, it’s too dark. What began in the dark this morning around 5 a.m. has subsided in the dark. I’m going to have a shot of armagnac and go to bed, exhausted but I wanted to let you know that when your read that little headline,... Read More
Cassoulet- Kate’s Basix French Kitchen Recipe
Cassoulet Recipe Developed at “Camp Cassoulet”– a Kate Hill French Kitchen Adventure. This is the basic, bonafide, easy to prepare, authentic, traditional, real, regional version of cassoulet that I prepare, teach, cook and eat in my French Kitchen. The emphasis is on careful combining of very good ingredients, slow cooking and hearty enjoyment. I use duck confit and sausage de Toulouse, ventrèche ( salt cured pork belly), and pork rind for the meats. This... Read More
To my Cassole waiters… a French moment.
Some days.As I’ve written recently, French days in France are usually full. Varied. Rich. Full.These are days when time moves to it’s own clock, counting events and moments rather than minutes and hours. Time to stir the pot and cook slowly. Tic, tic- 20 minutes to gather dried twigs for kindling.Tic, toc- 30 minutes to drive across the frosty countryside to pick up more beans.Tic, toc, tic- an hour goes by standing in line waiting for the phone shop to wait on me.Ding,... Read More
