The life of Austen

Absinthe and tonic is most definitely the best "Quickhit" that you can obtain from any alcohol-based cocktail. This version of the bohemian beverage, forbidden in France since 1915, is undoubtedly one of my preferred drinks. When you don't have time, or simply can't be bothered to do the sugar and spoon business, mix one-third (real)Absinthe with two-thirds tonic and hey presto - the ultimate. It's great!(although it's not for amateurs, I've seen a couple of my friends reach mong status in record time after this and they're not small drinkers!) So, if you've never heard of it, or you've never tried this one - go to England, Portugal or Spain get yourself a couple of bottles, and get into it! Oh thank you.

So, I've just been reading the article published by the Guardian(which spelt my name incorrectly when I did an article for them (which I will never forgive them for)) about the infamous guy, Gary McKinnon, who hacked into various US national military systems and apparently shut down the Washington defence system for a couple of days by mistake, costing $700,000. Kudos! It's hardy surprising that their security system is useless, I mean any old bedouin on a watchlist can get into the country!!!! He now faces extradition from the UK, but bearing in mind the incongruity between the laws in each country concerning extradition, it would seem unthinkable that it could go ahead. Just five days ago I was reading an article on the BBC website comparing our legal system with that of the States and I'm very glad we have ours. We have thousands of years of learned and acquired knowledge which, when compared to the relatively 'juvenile' American legal system, obviously makes ours far superior.
Gary McKinnon link
It's always a shame to see sorry taxpayer's money go to waste, as usual.
Thanks to Adrian the Surfmeister for this link!


On another note, the Michel Roux' macaroons were a relative success(bearing in mind that I am a perfectionist)! Now I've got the mixing method, I need to figure out what the numbers correspond to on my seventies oven. It's all to do with the cooking temperature(I'll have to get the knack of piping, too!). When it's all perfect, I'll publish the entire recipe. My mum bought me a 1934 cookery book which uses completely different volumes of ingredients, and a recipe from a three star used dried egg whites(??) so it's a very time consuming process to hit the nail on the head. I guess I'll have to talk to Pierre Hermé...

Ahh! The Cheval Blanc which used to be a veritable institution, where one could drink with lorry drivers, decorators, civil servants, directors of local companies and, in fact, anyone daring enough to come inside in the first place went. It was a true taste of simple French suburbian life. Being in a small village of 500 inhabitants(average age at least 55)it was a perfect place to set things straight, or to mock the rest of the world of their problems and see the truth in everybody's opinion(or not!). Things have, of course, changed since then. Pascal, the true "shoulder to cry on" barman who is now in Normandy, somewhere; Jean-Claude, the excellent chef who used to run it(but didn't own it) and has now become a disappointed slave of directionless leaders(still an excellent chef, though; I ask him for tips all of the time), Bruno the barman who is still there for the time being(one of the few reasons anyone still goes there) and Christine(In the photos) who is the epitomy of Jossigny life, whether she likes it or not!
Now the owner has decided to make it into a "buddha bar" style of "lounge-bar-restaurant" and has installed plasma screens, carpet, Alain Ducasse lampshades despite the need for a full renovation including a new roof(there are leaks), double glazing, complete room refurbishment and soforth and so on. It could be a success(I would have bought it had French banks not been so negative) as it has a perfect situation between Paris(the most visited city in the world) and Disney(the largest tourist attraction in Europe), hello!!!! An excellent relais-chateau with 15 rooms and a one-star michelin restaurant(there are VERY few places in the eastern suburbs of Paris to have a reasonable meal). Investors give me a call(I would give up my job as a Concierge in a foremost hotel to run it)!




Ill try and make my macaroons for the THIRD time tomorrow: I'll let you know how it goes...

On my way back from work, I popped into the halal abattoir in my village to pick up a 'côte de boeuf', but instead I noticed a batch of fresh farmyard guinea-fowl which incited me to immediately revoke my desire for a bloody, tender side of beef. But as the chap in front of me was either feeding a rather large family or having a lad's night in, I had ten minutes or so to debate whether I was more into big fat pieces of juicy red meat or the very game-like king of poultry in a demi-glace creamy sauce with mushrooms!
I decide for the latter, as I have no ingredients to make a sauce for the beef.
Here we go: easy to make, not at all work intensive (I had at least seven 50cl cans of 1664 whilst making it(thirsty work)) but you have to pop into the kitchen every four or five minutes to keep an eye on things, notably the risotto where a presence is definately required for the last four minutes.

Preheat the oven to about 60°C.
Put the plucked and gutted guinea-fowl in a small baking tray after having rubbed it with duck or goose fat (butter will do if you don't have any fat) and grind salt and pepper on both sides. Pop a an onion or a couple of shallots into the baking tray, too.

Cover it with aluminium foil and expect it to cook for around two and a half hours. check every fifteen minutes or so after an hour and a half to check that it is ok and not overcooked as it will require at least another fifteen minutes browning without the aluminium (this reduces the fat content as well).

The big time-saver and stress-free factor is to prepare ALL of the ingredients beforehand i.e. no last-minute panicking.
Ingredients:

1 Guinea-fowl
300g Arborio rice
1.5l Chicken stock
400ml Veal stock
1 big shallot
1/2 a pot of dried ceps
(use fresh ones when in season)

80-100g Parmesan
10cl cream
fat and/or butter
salt and pepper
1 onion







Put about 15g of butter into a pan and heat it at a low temperature until hot. Add a finely chopped shallot (in this case it was not so fine, but anyway..). After a minute or so add the rice, and stir until it becomes translucent (If it sticks add more butter, or olive oil if it is an emergency).








At this point I would normally add a glass of white wine, which unfortunately I didn't have so I set the stopwatch for eighteen minutes and added a decent cup's worth of chicken stock (If you can be bothered to boil the bones for several hours, you can make guinea-fowl stock for your next one!!)








Stir regularly adding a large cup of stock each time there is almost no liquid left (if you are intending to drink in the meantime, add more stock). When you reach the last four minutes, assess whether or not you should increase the heat (if it is too liquid) or to pour in some more stock (if it is too dry). Relatively logical. It doesn't have to be EXACTLY eighteen minutes. Less is better as it will continue cooking when the heat has been turned off (some chefs do it for fifteen minutes - it depends what you intend to mix it with). Make sure that it is not too dry as it will continue drying out so long as it is warm. This can be remedied by adding more stock. Mix in the parmesan and cover.








Whilst preparing the risotto mix the rehydrated, washed ceps with the veal stock and simmer for a few minutes so that it infuses. I would also have sloshed in another half-a-glass of white wine here too... Pour this sauce into a big, non-stick frying pan and reduce at a medium to high flame to demi-glace, so that it starts to become syrupy and add small, skinless pieces of meat (I only used the white meat for this one as the red meat is much stronger in flavour). Add the cream and reduce until it becomes particularly creamy.








Mix everything together, et voilà!

One thing is for sure, it took me longer to do this article than it did to make the risotto...

So this was Lucas Carton, a legendary 3 star Michelin restaurant, where Alain Senderens said that he didn't make any money so he's going to convert it into a luxury brasserie. The work has already started, but the main decor will stay, it seems. We shall see in September, when it's due to re-open(maybe October, knowing French punctuality for this sort of thing!). Will he still work there, or do a "Joël Robuchon" where he is there for the opening week or two....

I'll just have a couple of beers before going to bed. Only another nineteen nights to go!(apart from the replacements in September, that is)

On my way to work. The graffiti is truly a prime example of what has happened to France since the revolution!!