BC&B: Poulet Mistral le Prieuré w/ Tarte aux Pommes Françoise Potel

(October 22, 2020)

This is it: The final post in this exciting blog series, where I cook two dishes from Patricia Wells’ Bistro Cooking book (sequentially), and read one book from the shelf that had the most recently acquired books. (Yes, it makes no sense as a blogging concept.) I’ve only made it about… a fifth? of my … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet Mistral le Prieuré w/ Tarte aux Pommes Françoise Potel

BC&B: Tian de Légumes w/ La Brandade de Morue de Madame Cartet

(October 5, 2020)

Another day (or week or something), another book to read and another couple of dishes from the Bistro Cooking book by Patricia Wells. Only two more posts to go, though: I’m running out of books from that cubby. So today we have: A veggie gratin! With… courgettes and aubergine and stuff. But mostly those two … Continue reading BC&B: Tian de Légumes w/ La Brandade de Morue de Madame Cartet

BC&B: La Volaille au Vinaigre de Vin Bistro d’à Côté w/ Financiers aux Noisettes

(July 30, 2020)

The dead animal dishes I’ve enjoyed most from this Bistro Cooking book (by Patricia Wells) have definitely been the dead chicken dishes. The dead cow dishes have all (I think? how long has this blog series gone on now? a decade or two?) been disappointing: Very heavy and somewhat offputting. So this week I’m doing … Continue reading BC&B: La Volaille au Vinaigre de Vin Bistro d’à Côté w/ Financiers aux Noisettes

BC&B: Sauté de Veau aux Carottes La Boutarde w/ Harengs Marinés

(July 23, 2020)

Just four (?) posts to go! So that’s eight dishes and four books. The first dish of the day is the mains, because it turns out that the starter takes four days! Who knew! Not me! I never read these recipes before I start to cook; I just get the ingredients and hope for the … Continue reading BC&B: Sauté de Veau aux Carottes La Boutarde w/ Harengs Marinés

BC&B: Terrine de Poireaux aux Lamelles de Truffes Michel Trama w/ Terrine aux Herbes de Provence Madame Cartet

(July 18, 2020)

It’s a new week, so it’s another couple of Patricia Wells recipes and a new book. OK, for the starter this week, I’m doing this… terrine? Tell me you’re reading this recipe the same way I’m reading it: It’s a bunch of boiled leeks? (Leek? What’s the plural? One leek, two leek… probably with an … Continue reading BC&B: Terrine de Poireaux aux Lamelles de Truffes Michel Trama w/ Terrine aux Herbes de Provence Madame Cartet

BC&B: Poulet Sauté aux Echalotes w/ Tarte au Fromage Blanc Ferme d’Alsace

(July 11, 2020)

Hi! It’s been quite a while since the last chapter of this blog series… since before The Pandemic, I think? It seems like most people reacted to the thing by starting to bake and cook like crazy, but I mostly just… sat on the couch and read stacks and stacks of books. For some reason, … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet Sauté aux Echalotes w/ Tarte au Fromage Blanc Ferme d’Alsace

BC&B: Morue à la Provençale le Caméléon w/ Aïoli

(February 29, 2020)

Food time! The salt cod dishes in the Bistro Cooking book have been pretty spiffy… this one looks like it’s in a more bacalaoish direction than the previous ones, what with all the tomatoes and stuff. There’s all the usual stuff… and then a whole lot of herbs. Even before starting to cook, it smells … Continue reading BC&B: Morue à la Provençale le Caméléon w/ Aïoli

BC&B: Tranche de Gigot La Boutarde w/ Tarte au Citron Madame Cartet

(February 19, 2020)

Food and book time! I usually shop specifically for the dishes in the Bistro Cooking book, but today I saw some lamb cutlets and I thought that surely there’d be a recipe for that in the book, even if that meant I had to cheat and skip forward a bit in the Les Viandes chapter. … Continue reading BC&B: Tranche de Gigot La Boutarde w/ Tarte au Citron Madame Cartet

BC&B: Poulet Basquaise w/ Céleri Rémoulade

(February 15, 2020)

Food time. The next starter in the Bistro Cooking book is another rémoulade. And… it does look like a nice slaw, doesn’t it? Celery root and Dijon mustard. But… that’s like the entire dish? Just a slaw as a dish? That’s… kinda… Perhaps this is the the best slaw ever. Anyway, it’s just those ingredients. … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet Basquaise w/ Céleri Rémoulade

BC&B: Gardiane La Cargue w/ Cervelas Rémoulade

(February 10, 2020)

Busyness never ends, so I’ve had no time to read anything… which means that I can’t cook anything either. It’s this whole concept. Finally, time for some food. So the starter couldn’t possibly be simpler: It’s sausages with a Dijon mayonnaise. But that means that I get another crack at making mayonnaise: My two previous … Continue reading BC&B: Gardiane La Cargue w/ Cervelas Rémoulade

B&CB: Aïoli Monstre w/ Aïoli

(January 16, 2020)

New year, new decade, new food. The previous salt cod dish from the Bistro Cooking book was delicious, so I’m all excited about this one: Lots of veggies, cod and aioli. The only thing that’s odd about this recipe is its name: Grand aioli. I mean, that’s just the sauce. So this is a two-for-one … Continue reading B&CB: Aïoli Monstre w/ Aïoli

BC&B: Poulet au Vinaigre Le Petit Truc w/ Estouffade Provençale

(December 27, 2019)

The next poultry disk in the Bistro Cooking book is a chicken-in-vinegar thing, and I’m not all that fond of vinegar, so I’m slightly sceptical. But let’s see. The ingredients are simple enough: A chicken, tarragon, wine and vinegar (and some veggies). And Stargate: SG1. So to get the show started, the chicken has to … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet au Vinaigre Le Petit Truc w/ Estouffade Provençale

BC&B: Saucisson Chaud Pommes À L’Huile w/ Cake au Citron

(December 4, 2019)

It’s been a while since I French Bistroed (had a cold twice! or two different ones once! each!), but it’s time to start cooking again. The next thing in the appetiser section is … basically some sausage with some potatoes tossed in an onion/vinegar mixture. I’m quite sceptical, because it looks (once again) like it’s … Continue reading BC&B: Saucisson Chaud Pommes À L’Huile w/ Cake au Citron

BC&B: Gratin de Morue w/ Tartines de Pistou et Poisson Fumé la Boutarde

(November 2, 2019)

Is this the first fish course I made from this book? It may be, and it’s because I took a look at the first recipe in this chapter and thought “well, OK, that sounds good, but… not now.” But now is now. Or a couple of days from now, because the main ingredient here is … Continue reading BC&B: Gratin de Morue w/ Tartines de Pistou et Poisson Fumé la Boutarde

BC&B: Pâtes aux Citron, Jambon, et Olives Noires le Procope w/ Quatre-Quarts aux Poires

(October 21, 2019)

I had a cold, so I’ve been fixing Emacs bugs instead of cooking, but now I’m back in the kitchen. This is the first pasta recipe I’ve done from the book? Looks annoyingly simple: It more fun to do elaborate dishes. But perhaps it’ll be delicious. Hm. That list of ingredients makes me doubtful, though. … Continue reading BC&B: Pâtes aux Citron, Jambon, et Olives Noires le Procope w/ Quatre-Quarts aux Poires

BC&B: Poulet Rôti aux Herbes Pile ou Face w/ Le Cachat

(October 6, 2019)

OK; time for more food. The next selections from the Bistro Cooking book in the cheese section is this thing: It’s… uhm… Simple? It’s chevre with cottage cheese and some herbs. I did not have summer savory (because it’s autumn), so I just went with thyme. So you dump it all into a food processor … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet Rôti aux Herbes Pile ou Face w/ Le Cachat

BC&B: Daube de Boeuf Auberge de la Madone aux Cèpes et à l’Orange w/ Gâteau au Chocolat Le Mas de Chastelas

(October 5, 2019)

It’s been a while since I cooked anything for this silly blog series, but I’ve been like busy and stuff. And so I’m going to cheat and not actually read a book (this is a food/book pairing blog, I’m sure you don’t remember). So just food this time, but it’s food that takes a while … Continue reading BC&B: Daube de Boeuf Auberge de la Madone aux Cèpes et à l’Orange w/ Gâteau au Chocolat Le Mas de Chastelas

BC&B: Tapenado Restaurant Maurice Brun w/ Oeufs en Meurette

(September 23, 2019)

This is a slightly unusual tapenade — it’s big and chunky and is supposed to be eaten like an appetiser. Well, I’m on board with that, because I love olives. I was unable to find olives from Nyons, so I substituted some other, less Nyonneuse olives. I wonder what makes them special… Hm… Ah, they’re … Continue reading BC&B: Tapenado Restaurant Maurice Brun w/ Oeufs en Meurette

BC&B: Salade Frisée aux Lardons aux Lyonnais w/ Mon Gâteau au Chocolat

(September 20, 2019)

I think I’ll do a salad tonight, because… Salads. As salads go, it’s not very saladey. I mean, the main ingredient is pork sausage. Those aren’t green. Or not supposed to be green. If you’re eating green pork sausage, you should probably reconsider. I went to a couple of stores to get endive, but couldn’t … Continue reading BC&B: Salade Frisée aux Lardons aux Lyonnais w/ Mon Gâteau au Chocolat

BC&B: Pot-au-Feu aux Deux Viandes Chez Adrienne w/ Gratin Dauphinois Madame Laracine

(September 14, 2019)

OK, time for more bistro cooking and more books. Today I’m doing this meaty meat recipe, which looks pretty fun. It’s the most complicated recipe so far, with about seven things that have to be timed to be finished at the same time. And it’s got marrow bones, which I’ve never cooked ever, so that’s … Continue reading BC&B: Pot-au-Feu aux Deux Viandes Chez Adrienne w/ Gratin Dauphinois Madame Laracine

BC&B: Soupe à l’Oignon Pied de Cochon w/ Anchoïade Chez Gilbert

(September 11, 2019)

As you will remember from the previous chapters of this blog series (*cough* *cough*), I’m cooking my may through the Bistro Cooking book. So for dinner tonight I’m starting off with: So that’s an… anchovy… paste thing on toast, I guess? So here’s the ingredients: It’s really super-simple, once again: Basically just garlic, anchovies and … Continue reading BC&B: Soupe à l’Oignon Pied de Cochon w/ Anchoïade Chez Gilbert

Bistro Cooking and Books

(September 8, 2019)

I’ve had this cook book by Patricia Wells for decades, and have always liked the results when I’ve made something from it. Which hasn’t been often, mind you, because I’m super lazy and the recipes often start with “take 25 rabbits…” and doing the required math to get down to the sizes I’m going for … Continue reading Bistro Cooking and Books

BC&B: Poulet Rôti L’Ami Louis w/ Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet

(September 8, 2019)

The major problem about blogging about cooking is that this is the default state of the kitchen: I’m glad that nobody saw that picture, because there’s like no room to cook anywhere because I’m a slob. Oops! OK, that’s marginally better. So today (the first day of this blog series) I’m cooking the first poultry … Continue reading BC&B: Poulet Rôti L’Ami Louis w/ Gratin Dauphinois Madame Cartet