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Cassoulet

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A Good Appetite

  • A Good Appetite

    Excerpted from JUST ENOUGH LIEBLING by A. J. LIEBLING

    The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough experience of eating to have anything worth setting down. Each day brings only two opportunities for field work, and they are not to be wasted minimizing the intake of cholesterol. They are indispensable, like a prizefighter's hours on the road. (I have read that the late French professional gourmand Maurice Curnonsky ate but one meal a day-dinner. But that was late in his life, and I have always suspected his attainments anyway; so many mediocre witticisms are attributed to him that he could not have had much time for eating.) A good appetite gives an eater room to turn around in. For example, a nonprofessional eater I know went to the Restaurant Pierre, in the Place Gaillon, a couple of years ago, his mind set on a sensibly light meal: a dozen, or possibly eighteen, oysters, and a thick chunk of steak topped with beef marrow, which M. Pierre calls a Délice de la Villette-the equivalent of a "Stockyards" Delight." But as he arrived, he heard M. Pierre say to his headwaiter, "Here comes Monsieur L. Those two portions of cassoulet that are left-put them aside for him." A cassoulet is a substantial dish, of a complexity precluding its discussion here. (Mr. Root devotes three pages to the great controversy over what it should contain.) M. Pierre is the most amiable of restaurateurs, who prides himself on knowing in advance what his friends will like. A client of limited appetite would be obliged either to forgo his steak or to hurt M. Pierre's feelings. Monsieur L., however, was in no difficulty. He ate the two cassoulets, as was his normal practice; if he had consumed only one, his host would have feared that it wasn't up to standard. He then enjoyed his steak. The oysters offered no problem, since they present no bulk.

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        - Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451, 1953

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Wednesday, 1.23.08

A minerally taste at The Percée du Vin Jaune - the Jura Mountains: "The Jura is one of France’s smallest wine-producing regions, with a soil full of clay and limestone that produces several grapes rarely found anywhere else...Purists reverentially explain the length of time the stuff must age in barrels — precisely six years and three months — and the unusual fact that as the wine evaporates it is not topped up, as is most wine...Comté is named for this part of France, the Franche-Comté; Morbier is instantly recognizable by the distinctive gray-green layer of ash running through its middle, like icing laterally bisecting a layer cake. Both are A.O.C. (Appellation Origine Contrôlée) for this region, a much-sought-after distinction, which, roughly translated, means: This place, right here, is where you get the best version of this stuff. (By ANNE GLUSKER Published: January 20, 2008 )

Over the weekend 1.19.08

Cara Cara Oranges - We started eating Cara Cara oranges a couple years ago, but we owe our inspiration for this addition to Food, Wine, Life's Pleasures to Pete Petersen's column  in the Tuesday FOODday section of the Oregonian

Waffles from Windows - On our own we found the Waffle Window at Bread and Ink but we must thank cap'n blog and salty for the photo. Along the way we are discovering their web site which has a lot to say about food. We will report back.  Rather than steal outright from their  Waffles from Windows post  we will quote a bit here to wet your appetite:

        When I visited it was a particularly dreary Portland day – probably not unlike the European lowlands this time of year. It wasn’t exactly ideal weather for eating outside, but it was just the kind of weather that makes one want hot sweet bread products. I went with the classic, unadorned waffle, though they have some positively baroque creations topped off with various fruits and creams and whatnot. My waffle was hot and golden brown with a sugary crust and served in a paper wrap. The first bite was a texture sensation: I’m not the kind of foodie who uses the word “mouthfeel” very often (doesn’t it just sound kind of… dirty?), but it was a texture that made me want to talk about mouthfeel – in a good way, I mean.

Did they say "mouthfeel?"