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Bonjour mes amis francais! Bienvenue a l'IMBB23 Vive la France Haut Rond #1! Welcome to the IMBB23 Vive la France Round Up #1! I am overwhelmed with the great response and the innovative culinary prowess of this food blog world. Y'all are more creative than I could ever hope to be. This will be a quick round up as I am off on a 5-day-5-city-3-country PR roadshow from hell. Next weekend I'll have the full Haut Rond (round up) so if you didn't finish it today, n'inquiétes pas (don't worry). Just shoot me a note by next Friday.
Thank you all for letting your blog burn for the 23rd time. I hope it was a delicious inferno!
Cucina Testa Rossa by Laura
Daube de Boeuf Arlesienne
Provence's traditional cuisine, "cuisine du soleil" hails from fresh produce, olive oil, herbs, tomatoes and garlic. No surprise as Provence kisses the top west border of Italy so much of the cuisine has these Italian influences, or vice versa as the French might claim...and let's not forget their heavenly (pun intended) Chateauneuf du Pape!
Ô Délices by Marie-Laure
Madeleines au citron - Lemon madeleines
The lovely Marie-Laure was not only the first one in and early, but she made my favorite little cake - Madeleines! These eponymous delights were "created in France in the XVIIIe century by Madeleine Paumier." Marie-Laure shares her recipe in both English and French! C'est magnifique!
Seriously Good by Kevin Weeks
Daube d'Agneau a la Provençal ~ Lamb Daube Romanesque
Another early bird, Kevin also made a daube but his is with lamb. "...in the Mediterranean countries, lamb and even mutton have a long and honored tradition. LaRousse Gastronomique lists more than 130 ways of cooking lamb." His wine? A "New Zealand Pinot Noir... specifically, a bottle of Dyed-in-the-Wool Pinot Noir -- it just seemed appropriate."
ToastPoint by Katherine
Beaujolais lunch "at" Chateau des Ravatys
Katherine exemplifies the French joie de vivre that assumes any day is a good day to celebrate, especially when one is celebrating one’s first poached egg! Felicitations Kate! Cheers!
Baking Sheet by Nicole
Alsatian Onion Tart
Nicole found inspiration from her father’s fond memories of a pub he ate at in France that served nothing by beer and onion tarts… You’ve got to love the French. When they do something right, they really do it right!
Chubby Hubby by Aun
Gigot a la Bordelaise
I am so envious of Aun who not only is an amazing chef, captivating writer and stunning photographer, he also lives in my second favorite city in the world, Singapore! He and S created an incredible leg of lamb from Bordeaux and paired it with a fabulous Valpolicella he bought in Venice! Mangiare bene e tchin tchin!
Wanderlust from Athens, Greece
Papillotte de Loup de Mer Aux de Fenouil et Courgettes ~ Fillets of Sea Bass with Fennel & Zucchini, Provencal Herbs in Parchment Paper
True to her name, wanderlust spent the last 6 summers in Cote d’Azur, “long enough to have a love affair with their food….lots of seafood and sun kissed vegetables…” Her wine of choice was naturallement a Cotes de Provence… “Fresh and fruity and I could feel the summer days of Provence.” Don’t we all wish we could feel that right about now!
La Tartine Gourmande by Bea
Tartelettes Tatin à la ratatouille ~ Ratatouille Tatin Tartlets
“Ratatouille is a classic in French cuisine - so is la tarte tatin - that I grew up with.” Bea hated ratatouille as a child but fortunately for all of us she now loves it. These stunning ratatouille tatins look so divine, I’m sure every eggplant-hater will be converted.
Bron Marshall, Classis & Creative Cuisine by Bron Marshall
Bouillabaisse
“I chose to make Bouillabaisse because I love fish and it would have to be the most famous fish stew of the Mediterranean, if not the whole world! This dish is prepared in every fishing port along the coast of Provence, although it is usually thought to have originated in Marseilles. Popular Marseillais legend suggests that the Goddess Venus served bouillabaisse to her husband, Vulcan, to lull him to sleep while she consorted with Mars.” If it’s good enough for a goddess…
Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once by Haalo
Blancmanger ~ Milk Jelly
Hallo from Down Under selected "Blancmanger" which in French literally means “eat white”. It is also known as…” Milk Jelly…the food that seems to be associated with English boarding schools but according to Damien its an ‘ancient recipe from the French region of Provence consisting of sweetened almond milk bound with gelatin and lightened with softly whipped cream’. Now, I ask you, who could resist that description?” Certainly not me!
Ostwestwind from Küchenlatein by Ulrike
Quiche Lorraine - Lothringer Speckkuchen
“The Quiche Lorraine, one of the most well-known specialties of Lorraine, has a long tradition and passed through many developments. Originally it was prepared with bread dough, like pizza, the Provençal Pissaladière and the Alsatian Tarte Flambée.” Ulrike recommends a Riesling or a Pinot Blanc from Alsace however unable to find one in her “beer-drinking province of Germany”, she selected a dry white wine made from French grapes. It’s a good thing the Duchy of Lorraine isn't around ;-)
Pint and Fork by Nicolas
Baeckoffe
Nicolas found inspiration in the most brilliant place I can think of, the Lutèce Cookbook by Andre Soltner. “As I sat and tried to figure out dish best epitomizes the opposite of the kind of French food we find in our restaurants, a traditional Alsatian dish came to mind. Baeckoffe is a simple stew of meat and onions in white wine.” As legend has it, this dish came about by the fact that women traditionally did the laundry on Mondays…
Tomato by Ed
Steak au Frites avec Sauce Béarnaise ~ Steak and Fries with Bearnaise Sauce
Ed made the quintessential bistrot fare that seems to have royal beginnings. “The origins may be obscure they are attributed to a sauce made for King Henry IV of France, the first of the Bourbon kings of France who was born in Béarne. Béarn no longer exists but was on the border with Spain in the Pyrénéés and, before you fall asleep, was part of the Kingdom of Aquitaine…” Being from Melboune, Ed looked to neighboring Yarra Valley for this fabulous Clos Pierre Pinot Noir. “It’s sort of a Burgundy made by the stark bollock naked winemaker, by Burgundy veteran Pierre Naigon.” I’ll drink to that!
One Hot Stove by Nupur
Crepes Epinard et Champignons avec Sauce Béchamel ~ Spinach and Mushroom Crepes with Béchamel Sauce
The delightful Nupur dedicated her post to the inimitable Julia Child with her recipe of Spinach and Mushroom Crepes with Béchamel Sauce. I’m sure Julia would be warbling with delight right now if she could. Nupur chose this recipe claiming, “I am particularly obsessed with the combination of spinach and mushrooms; sautéed together in some butter and garlic, I think spinach smells better than Chanel #5”. Just don’t tell the French! We’d have anarchy in the streets…
A Veggie Venture by Alanna Kellogg
Glace a la Fenouil Provencal ~ Candied Fennel Ice Cream Provencal
Alanna took this in a delightfully sweet direction with candied fennel ice cream. Even though it’s the dead of winter, I think it’s time to start chilling my little ice cream maker! Her favorite ice cream recipe is “less sweet and less rich than other ice cream recipes and still perfectly sweet and lip-smacking rich.”
Only Slightly Pretentious Food by Colin
Boeuf Bourgignon ~ Beef Stew from Burgundy
It seems that IMBB23 came around just in time for Colin who’s been “itching to try my hand at Boeuf Bourguignon for the longest time, and I can think of no better dish that would go so well with a glass of wine. Hailing from the region of Burgundy, Boeuf Bourguignon (or Beef Burgundy, for all you Anglophiles), is one of those très traditionnel dishes that is to be found at any decent French restaurant.”
Check back next weekend for Haut Rond #2. There's a lot more but I ran out of time, my apologies. Again, a GRAND MERCI to everyone who participated. Keep those blogs burning! Bon appetit, bon week-end et a bientot... Laura
Tagged with: IMBB23 + French
Mmm...what a delicious first round-up! Thanks, Laura, for doing such a wonderful job of hosting this IMBB! I will wait for round deux :)
Posted by: Nupur | Sunday, 26 February 2006 at 05:04 PM
Wow!!
They all look wonderfully delicious, rich and enticing, great job everyone! Thanks so much for all your work hosting this event Laura :-)
Posted by: Bron | Sunday, 26 February 2006 at 07:40 PM
Oooh, I made cassoulet, and never had a moment to post about it. Will do so either tonight, if I have time after laundry, or tomorrow after work!
Posted by: MissMeliss | Sunday, 26 February 2006 at 08:50 PM
Thank you for the quick round up and for this wonderfull idea. I could learn a lot of our "neighbour" an I hope one day I have the opportunity to apologize to the Duchy of Lorraine ;-). This week I attend a wine workshop :-)
Posted by: ostwestwind | Monday, 27 February 2006 at 12:22 AM
Thanks for the great work! I am looking forward to seeing all the other creations!!
Posted by: La tartine gourmande | Monday, 27 February 2006 at 04:14 AM
God what a wonderful selection of French cuisine
Certainly am learning a lot from this IMBB.
Posted by: sha | Monday, 27 February 2006 at 06:16 AM
I love the horizontal slices of photos for the round up. Very nice.
Posted by: Katherine | Monday, 27 February 2006 at 08:35 AM
Merci pour la recette "Daube de boeuf arlésienne" ! Je viens de la ville Arles mais je n'y habite plus aujourd'hui ;o)
Posted by: Marie-Laure | Tuesday, 28 February 2006 at 12:10 AM
Mmmh, delicious! I can't wait to see the others. ;-)
Posted by: zorra | Tuesday, 28 February 2006 at 04:07 AM
What an impressive bunch of dishes. I'm really enjoying reading this, and I'm sorry I didn't manage to get something made myself.
Posted by: kalyn | Tuesday, 28 February 2006 at 06:46 PM
good round up laura!! absolutely mouth watering reading these entries... hmm....
Posted by: Lil | Thursday, 02 March 2006 at 03:01 AM
Gosh, now my Béarnaise looks a bit boring.
Posted by: Ed Charles | Thursday, 02 March 2006 at 02:22 PM
That is a very beautiful round-up, Laura. The photo layout and little paragraph is terrific!
Great job!
Melissa
Posted by: Melissa | Sunday, 05 March 2006 at 08:25 AM