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A True Story
Recipe - Cremé cressonieré
Recipe - Farcement accompagné de
diots au vin blanc
Recipe - Faisselle aux Myrtilles |
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 Before
you delve into preparing this typical "Alps" dinner,
we would like to tell you a story from our first
trip in the Alps back in 1970.
At that time, Leo Le Bon and Allen Steck (co-founders
of Mountain Travel) rented a large chalet for
our group on the outskirts of Chamonix, France.
A local boulangerie brought fresh croissants
every morning and a hired professional cook prepared
all of the evening meals. And since they were
in France, Leo Le Bon suggested that the cook
prepare some of the better known French delicacies.
One evening a guest came rushing up to him and
exclaimed with horror, ‘Guess what we’re
having for dinner tonight…slugs!’ From
what we've heard, it took some explaining that
these were the famous French escargots - AND
a culinary delicacy!
Anyway, it's your turn to cook and invite over
some friends. Here are the recipes for a dinner
(without slugs!) that should make you the "man
or woman of the hour."
Bon Appetit! |
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Cremé Cressonieré
(watercress soup)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 potato - peeled and cubed
1 chopped onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 pounds watercress, large stems removed
1/4 cup whipped heavy cream
watercress leaves for garnish
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the potato and
onion and stir until the onion is translucent.Reduce
heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the stock and milk and bring just to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes,
or until potatoes are tender. Stir in the watercress
and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes until
watercress is cooked. Transfer the soup to a
blender or food processor and puree until smooth
(small batches at a time). Return soup to the
pot, season with salt and pepper to taste, and
ladle into bowls. Top each serving with a spoonful
of whipped cream and decorate with watercress
leaves.
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Farcement
accompagné de diots au vin blanc
(farcement w/ pork sausage)
Farcement:
4 pounds white potatoes
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
3 eggs
2 Tbs flour
12 prunes (or a mix of prunes and abricots)
36 raisins
1/4 teaspoon salt
Soak prunes and raisins in water for 24 hours.
Boil the pealed potatoes in hot water ("Old" potatoes
work best for this dish). Mash the potatoes with
milk, butter and salt to very smooth consistency.
Mix in the 3 eggs and flour. Place half of the
mixture in a gratin dish. Place the prunes and
raisins on top of the mixture and cover with
the rest of the mixture. Bake at 400 degrees
for an hour or until golden brown. Let the farcement
completely. The cut it into 1 inch thick and
3 inch wide slices. Melt 1 tbs butter in a hot
frying pan and brown the farcement slices on
all sides. Serve hot with "diots au vin
blanc" (see recipe below) and/or a green
salad with a vinaigrette dressing.
Diots au vin blanc:
2 pork sausages per person
white Savoie wine
2 potatoes
vine stems
salt and pepper
Place the "diots" on a bed of vine
stems in a cast iron pot. Cover with white wine,
add salt and pepper. Peel the potatoes and add
to the pot. Cover and cook for 40 minutes on
a slow heat.
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Faisselle
aux Myrtilles
(tart w/blueberry )
1 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
2 tbs sugar
1/2 cup cold butter cut into small pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs cold water, more if needed
5 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
2 tbs water
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbs cornstarch dissolved in 2 tsp water
1/2 pint heavy cream (whipped)
Stir the flour and sugar together in a mixing
bowl. Add the small pieces of butter and lightly
and quickly rub the butter and flour together
with your hands until the mixture becomes crumbly.
Whisk together the egg yolk, lemon juice, and
1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle this liquid
over the butter-flour mixture. Continue to rub
this mixture between your fingers until a ball
of dough forms. (Do not overwork the dough.)
If the mixture is crumbly carefully add more
water, sprinkling it over the dough and lightly
kneading it into a ball. On a floured board and
with a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough
into a large circle. Gently lift it into a 9-
or 10-inch pie plate or tart tin. Patch any holes
in the crust with bits of dough and trim the
edges. Flute the crust. Chill for 2 hours. Preheat
the oven to 375 F. Place a sheet of aluminum
foil in the bottom of the crust and fill it with
dried beans or rice to weigh it down during baking.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the
oven and carefully lift out the foil and beans.
Bake for 5 minutes more. Let cool.
For the filling
In a saucepan heat 2 cups of the blueberries,
2 tablespoons of water, and sugar. Crush a few
berries with a spoon to release the juice. When
the berries have softened and become juicy, add
the cornstarch mixture. Simmer on low heat for
about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until
the mixture thickens. Remove it from the heat
and fold in one more cup of blueberries. Pour
the berry mixture into the baked pie shell. Top
with remaining 2 cups blueberries. Cool for at
least an hour. Serve plain or topped with fresh
whipped cream or cremé fraiché.
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For more information and reservations,
please contact:
Mountain Travel Sobek
1266 66th Street, Suite 4
Emeryville, CA 94608 USA
Toll Free (USA and Canada): 1-888-831-7526
Phone: +1-510-594-6000
Fax: + 1-510-594-6001
Email: info@mtsobek.com |
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