Evelyn Olaf and Johannes 2011

Evelyn and Olaf Korn are visiting here, along with Johannes (he's 10). I had planned for them to stay downstairs with us, but they have this rented fancy camper thing and are down at the campground at the bottom of the hill--pool for them, not quite so much togetherness for all of us. They arrived Friday afternoon from up near LaRochelle, where they had spent a week, expecting a hot, sunny week on the beach. It has been rainy, windy and cold (at least, cold for late July) in this part of France now for about ten days. So much for their escaping Germany. Friday evening I did confit de canard and pommes sarladaises (duck legs poached for a LONG time in duck fat, with sliced potatoes sauteed in duck fat, with fresh garlic and parsley on top) and a salad. Wine, of course, and bread. Sorbet for dessert.

Castlenaud from a distance

Yesterday we went up the river to the big chateaux, Beynac, Castlenaud, (across the river from each other, ideal for the fighting between the French and English in the Hundred Years' War), and a couple of other notable "houses". We actually visited Castlenaud because it has all these medieval battlements and crossbows and things that appeal to children especially. It also has videos all over the place, which were what fascinated Johannes the most; evidently he has a promising career ahead as a film critic.

I didn't visit the castle; I've seen it, and my knees can't cope with the place. Figured I'd park myself in a cafe for an hour with my book and a glass of wine; problem was, they were up there at least three hours. It had been made clear to me that the cafe wanted me to leave after about an hour and a half, so I did...lovely, lovely medieval town. Nothing going on there except the chateau, though; I'm sure it is dead in the winter, just like it was during the Hundred Years' War, when everyone went back home until the summer weather made it possible to resume the fight.

foie gras mousse

Came back here and cooked more duck. I finally worked up the courage to try the foie gras mousse from LaLitote; served it with red onion chutney I'd made, and tried to copy the balsamic and chocolate syrup that accompanied it; mine was hard as a rock. The mousse was good, but I need to try again. I was trying to halve that ungodly recipe I got from the LaLitote website (with the ghastly internet translation)--the one that is supposed to serve ten, with all the strange amounts, no mention of things like salt and pepper--and was also in a hurry trying to get the rest of the meal together. You might say I sorta messed up, but it was still pretty good.

We also had magret (duck breast), with potatoes and green beans. Between the mousse and the magret, I served a green gazpacho, made from these heirloom tomatoes that are green with yellow stripes when they are ripe, used a yellow bell pepper, garlic, green onions, English cucumber, fresh basil, EVOO, red wine vinegar, lots (LOTS) of fresh garlic, some water (no canned juice). Whizzed it all with that immersion blender. It was a hit.

Lunch today (Sunday lunch) at Ken and Val Day's (Brits) here near Lalinde. Gotta run. Plan to make some more mousse later, also plan to make some mi-cuit (foie gras cooked very slowly in a water bath in a terrine). Now that I've finally worked up the courage to cook the stuff, we're leaving...aargh...

cheers, lillie