Domaine Tempier, Legendary Wine Estate and Foodie Heaven

I have wanted to visit Domaine Tempier, ever since the first time I read about the Bandol winery owned by the Peyraud family, in books authored by Richard Olney, Alice Waters and Kermit Lynch. Kermit Lynch the renown wine importer, was introduced to the Peyrauds by Richard Olney and has been importing the wines of Domaine Tempier since 1976.

For those who don't know, Alice Waters is executive chef, author of multiple cookbooks, and proprietor of Chez Panisse, a gastronomic temple in Berkeley California for more than 40 year and arguably one of the most famous restaurants in the United States; she is a long time friend of Lulu Peyraud and family.

She was also introduced to the Peyraud family by Richard Olney, a neighbor and friend of the Peyrauds. Richard Olney wrote many wonderful cookbooks including "Simple French Food", "Provence, the Beautiful Cookbook: Authentic Recipes from the Regions of Provence" and "Lulu's Provençal Table" to name a few.

Wines from Bandol including those of Domaine Tempier and Domaine de Terrebrune were on the wine list at Bistro Des Copains, the French country bistro, now closed, I co-owned with friends in Occidental, California. We got these wines from wine importer Kermit Lynch who makes his home in the Bandol region half the year.

As I told you in my last post, we decided to go visit the hilltop village of Le Castellet and taste some Bandol wines including I hoped, the wines of Domaine Tempier. After a Provençal lunch and leisurely walk around Le Castellet, we headed to Domaine Tempier.

We found Domaine Tempier, nearby right below the village, at the foot of Le Castellet. Much to my dismay, while Domaine Tempier is open for tastings, it is closed on Saturdays and Sundays, so we were not able to fulfill my dream of tasting their legendary wines at the estate tasting room.

Domaine Tempier in Bandol AOC

While the wines of Domaine Tempier have been praised by many, including Janis Robinson, a British wine critic, journalist and wine writer and Robert Parker, who famously once declared the Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé, the "greatest rosé in the world", I am attracted to this Domaine just as much, by the stories of family meals served by Lulu Peyraud as described by countless food writers.

Lulu who turned 100 in 2017, was born in Marseille and her cooking is Marseillais, although she doesn't think there is a lot of difference between that and the cooking in Bandol. One of my favorite cookbooks is authored by Richard Olney and is drawn from a series of interviews intended to translate Lulu's words into written recipes, called "Lulu's Provençal Table", published in 1994.

Lulu Peyraud's Provençal Recipes

If you Google "Traditional Food of Provence, there are lots of lists from different publications which show up in the results. All of them it seems, include Bouillabaisse, Ratatouille, Aioli, Tapenade, and several others. For Thanksgiving this year, I made the Tapenade recipe in the "Lulu's Provençal Table" cookbook for one of our appetizers.

Tapenade is a Provençal name for a dish consisting of puréed or finely-chopped olives, capers, and anchovies. Its name comes from the Provençal word for capers, tapenas. It is ubiquitous in the Provence region of France, where it is frequently served as an amuse bouche in restaurants, or with aperitifs, sold in jars in grocery stores or freshly made in farmer's markets.

We love Tapenade and Lulu's recipe is so easy and quick to make, that it seems a shame to not enjoy it freshly made. We serve it with fresh bread, toasted slices of baguettes, or crackers. We served Tapenade as an amuse bouche at every dinner service at Bistro des Copains.

Ingredients

1/2 pound large Greek-style black olives, pitted. The olives I like come in jars with 9.5 oz drained.
4 anchovy fillets
3 Tablespoons capers
1 garlic clove
Small pinch of cayenne
1 teaspoon savory leaves, finely chopped. I can't ever find fresh savory, so I substitute fresh thyme
4 Tablespoons olive oil

Ingredients for Lulu Peyraud's Tapenade Recipe

Directions

In a food processor, reduce the olives, anchovies, capers, garlic, cayenne, herbs, and olive oil to a coarse purée. Process only until the mixture is homogenous.

Tapenade Ingredients in Food Processor

Here is what the Tapenade should look like when it is out of the food processor.

Lulu Peyraud's Tapenade

I know you will find this recipe super easy. It is something you can whip out very quickly if guests drop in unexpectedly. I hope you will enjoy the Tapenade as much as we do. We hope to go back to the Bandol region when we return to Sablet in the spring and this time we will go on a weekday so we can taste at Domaine Tempier.

If you are thinking about a trip to the South of France including spending time in Provence, we invite you to visit our website at www.sablethouse.com. Our house is available for rent by the week or more. You can reach us for further information at chcmichel@aol.com.

My Best Tomato Tarte Tatin ... In My Opinion.

As most of you have figured out, we love good food. So that means, we eat out quite often and gather around our table for home cooked meals as often as we can. I get ideas for dishes from a large collection of cookbooks, several cooking magazines and the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and New York Times Food sections.

The last eighteen months, Shirley and I have embarked on a mission to improve our health through a change in life style including riding bikes and a fish and plant based diet. We are not fanatics by any means, but we do eat less pasta and bread and desserts appear on our table less frequently. I have cut out red meat except for lamb occasionally when we are in the South of France.

We have enjoyed tomato tarte tatins on several occasions in Provence most recently a few weeks ago as part of a vegetarian tasting menu at Les Remparts in Venasque. After seeing a picture of a delicious looking tomato tarte tatin in a post by my friend Barbara from Cuisine de Provence, I decided I would try again to make one.

I say once again, because I made one several times a few years back and shared the recipe with all of you in a "Our House in Sablet" post. While the recipe I did then, was very tasty, I didn't think it was quite as good as the one at Les Remparts.

So I did a search of my cookbooks and on line and compared what I found to the tomato tarte tatin I made before. This is what I came up with.

Finished Tomato Tarte Tatin

I started by thinly slicing 3 medium red onions, then sautéing the onions in a skillet with 4 sliced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of crystallized sugar until caramelized, 10 - 15 minutes.

Sliced Red Onions

I cored and sliced 3 pounds of tomatoes, once Roma tomatoes and several times dry farmed Early Girls. I place them cut side up on rimmed baking sheet. Lightly salt and sprayed lightly with olive oil. Roasted the tomatoes for 2.5 hours at 275 degrees Fahrenheit. Turned off oven and left in oven till it cooled completely. You can roast them the night before and leave them in the oven to cool overnight.

Cored and Halved Roma Tomatoes

I preheated the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven preheated, I prepared a light caramel sauce in a 12 inch cast iron skillet on the top of the stove with 1/2 cup crystallized sugar, 4 tablespoons water and 1/4 teaspoon Sherry vinegar. I then arranged the tomatoes on top of the caramel sauce, face side down.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes Arranged in 12 Inch Cast Iron Pan

I sprinkled 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme leaves evenly over the tomatoes.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Chopped Fresh Thyme

I arranged the caramelized onions evenly over the tomatoes and then sprinkled 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese over the onions.

Caramelized Red Onions Over Oven Roasted Tomatoes

I rolled out a puff pastry sheet into a 13 inch round. I use store bought frozen dough, that I thaw for a couple of hours before I am ready to roll it out. I like the Dufour brand.

Store Bought Puff Pastry Cut Into 13 Inch Round

I drape the dough over the cast iron skillet and tuck the edges down into pan. I cut slits in top of pastry.

Puff Pastry Laid Over Oven Roasted tomatoes and Onions

Baked for 25-30 minutes until crust is puffed and golden brown and delicious. Removed from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Golden Brown and Delicious Out of Oven

Placed large plate (larger than the cast iron skillet) on top of skillet. You have to carefully flip over. You can return any tomatoes that are stuck to skillet back to tarte tatin.

Flipped Over onto Serving Plate

This was so good. It was as good or better than the one we ate at Les Remparts.

Ingredients

3 pounds medium size tomatoes. On a couple of occasions, I used different color tomatoes.
3 medium red onions
4 cloves garlic
1 Tablespoon chopped Thyme leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
14 ounces puff pastry. You will have extra. Freeze the leftover for another dish.
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup crystallized sugar
4 Tablespoons water
1/3 teaspoon Sherry vinegar

Directions

1. Thinly slice 3 medium onions.

2. Caramelize the onions with 4 sliced garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons of butter and a pinch of crystallized sugar. 15 - 20 minutes.

3. Core tomatoes and slice in half. Place cut side down on rimmed baking sheet. Lightly salt and spray lightly with olive oil.

4. Roast tomatoes in 275 degree Fahrenheit oven for 2 1/2 hours. Cool completely. You can do this over night.

5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

6. Prepare caramel in 12 inch cast iron pan with 1/2 cup crystallized sugar, 4 tablespoons water and 1/4 teaspoon Sherry vinegar.

7. Arrange roasted tomatoes on top of caramel, face side down. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Thyme leaves over tomatoes.

8. Arrange caramelized onions evenly over tomatoes. Sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over onions.

9. Roll puff pastry sheet out and cut out 13 inch round and drape over cast iron skillet. Tuck edges of pastry into pan. Cut slits on top of pastry.

10. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until crust is puffed and golden brown and delicious.

11. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

12. Place large plate on top of skillet and carefully flip over. Return any tomatoes that are stuck to skillet back to tarte tatin.

You can serve warm or at room temperature. It is delicious the next day.

Bon appetit.

Tomato Tarte Tatin, Delicious for First Course or Light Lunch

A few weeks ago, we ate lunch at a lovely restaurant which offered an unusual, at least for France unusual, three-course vegetarian menu option. The choices looked so yummy, that most of us chose the vegetarian option. I will soon write a post about our visit to Venasque and lunch at Les Remparts. For now, I will say our starter of "Tarte Tatin aux Tomates" was to die for. It was so good!

When we got back to California, I was happy to see that there were lots of Roma tomatoes in the garden along with an abundant crop of Oregano. So I began a quest to duplicate that yummy tart by searching my collection of cookbooks, as well as online at Google and Pinterest. The recipe which follows draws from multiple sources. I hope you like it.

Michel's Tarte Tatin Aux Tomates with Arugula

In a large skillet, large enough to hold 2 3/4 pounds of Roma tomatoes, melt butter and sugar over medium heat until they caramelize like shown below. Just before you take it off the stove, add 2 finely diced garlic cloves. Don't let them burn.

Caramelized butter and sugar

Arrange the halved and seeded Roma tomatoes, cut sides up in your large skillet as shown below. Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes until the tomatoes release most of their juice.

Halved and seeded Roma tomatoes arranged on top of caramelized butter, sugar and garlic

Add balsamic vinegar and cook 2 minutes more. Arrange the tomatoes in an 11 or 12-inch tart pan with removable base, cut sides up. Spoon some of the juices from the pan over the tomatoes, there is a lot of flavor in the juices.

Cooked tomatoes in tart pan

Oregano from the garden

Sprinkle with Oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Cooked tomatoes with fresh Oregano, salt and pepper, ready for pie pastry

Roll the pie pastry and with sharp knife or scissors, cut it into a 12-inch round. Place it on top of the tomatoes, tucking it in at the edges. With a fork, make small holes in the pastry.

Set the tart on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to a preheated oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Let the tart sit for 5 minutes after you take it out of the oven. Run a knife around the pastry to loosen it from the pan. Now if you have a fluted tart pan like me, don't worry about running a knife around the edge of the pan. It pulled away on its own while it was resting.

Set a large plate upside down on the tart and using pot holders, turn the plate right side up so the tart comes out. Garnish with oregano.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 finely diced garlic cloves
2 3/4 pounds Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Pie pastry for a 12-inch tart
Extra fresh Oregano for garnish

Directions

1. Preheat the over to 400 degrees. Have on hand an 11 or 12-inch tart pan with removable base and a rimmed baking sheet.

2. In a large skillet of sufficient size to hold all the tomatoes, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and cook it until it is fully dissolved. When it starts to caramelize, add the diced garlic. Take it off the heat.

3. Add the tomatoes and arrange them cut sides up in the skillet. Put back on the heat and lower the temperature and cook for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes release most of their juice.

4. Add the Balsamic vinegar and cook for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat.

5. Arrange the tomatoes in an 11 or 12-inch tart pan with removable base, cut sides up. Spoon some of the juices from the pan over the tomatoes.

6. Sprinkle with the Oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

7. Roll the pie pastry and with sharp knife or scissors, cut it into a 12-inch round. Place it on top of the cooked tomatoes, tucking it in at the edges. With a fork, make small holes in the pastry.

8. Set the tart on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to a preheated oven. Immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven.

9. Let the tart sit for 5 minutes after you take it out of the oven. Run a knife around the pastry to loosen it from the pan.

10. Set a large plate upside down on the tart and using pot holders, turn the plate right side up so the tart comes out. Garnish with oregano.

11. Cut the tart into wedges and garnish with oregano. Serve with dressed greens.

Bon appétit.

Swordfish with Tomato Caper Butter Sauce

I am going off topic this evening and share a fabulous recipe with you. As some of you know, it has been exactly one year since we closed our beloved Bistro des Copains in West Sonoma County, California. It was a labor of love for almost 9 years, not much profit, but it gave us a chance to share our love of great food, especially French food, and wine with lots of appreciative guests.

When I get to missing our food and friends at Bistro des Copains, we invite neighbors, some friends, or the kids who are always happy to eat Dad's food, head to the kitchen and set about fixing something fantastic to enjoy with a great bottle of wine or two.

As I have shared here before, I have a library with a collection of several hundred cookbooks, which continues to grow. So if I need some inspiration for my menu, it's not hard to find a new dish to prepare. Occasionally, I try to bake or make a dessert, but not very often.

Back in October, cousins Jean Marc and Christine came for dinner in Sablet and brought along an apple tarte tatin that she finished baking in our oven. I have had tarte tatins before, but never this good. So ever since, Shirley and I have been talking about trying to make an apple tarte tatin.

So last weekend, I decided to try my hand at apple tarte tatin. I looked through a bunch of cookbooks for apple tarte tatin recipes and decided to try the one in Thomas Keller's Bouchon cookbook. The result is below and it was very good, good enough that I will serve it to guests.

Apple Tarte Tatin

This morning as Shirley and I were drinking petit cafés before I left for work, she said she preferred to eat dinner at home tonight, something simple, maybe fish. So during the course of the day, I thought about what I would cook for dinner. By the time I got home, I had decided to do a variation of a dish I have prepared before with swordfish. The result is below.

Swordfish with Tomato Caper Butter Sauce

The resulting dish was as I said at the beginning of this post, fabulous. One of the best fish preparations I have tasted at home or in a restaurant. The dish would be equally appropriate for a menu here or in Provence. We can prepare it anytime as we have these ingredients on hand pretty much all the time except for swordfish. So here's the recipe.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon finely diced shallot
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1 cup cherry tomato halves. Recommend mixture of colors.
1/2 cup dry white wine. Recommend Sauvignon Blanc
2 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 tablespoons chilled diced unsalted butter
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Salt and pepper to taste
4 (7 or 8 ounces) portions Swordfish (Shirley prefers them about 3/4 inches thick)

Directions for Tomato Caper Butter Sauce

1. Heat an 8-10 inch sauté pan over medium heat and add olive oil.

2. When the oil is hot, add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often for 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Add wine and deglaze pan and reduce until almost evaporated.

5. Add the capers and lemon juice.

6. Add butter pieces, a few at a time, until fully incorporated.

7. Add the chives.

8. Season with salt and pepper and remove from heat until Swordfish is cooked.

Directions for Swordfish

1. Heat 12 inch cast iron pan over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

2. Season Swordfish with salt and pepper.

3. When olive oil is hot, add Swordfish and sear for 3 minutes.

4. Turn fish over and cook on the other side for 3 more minutes.

5. Place on plates and spoon sauce over fish so it falls on plate.

The recipe serves four. Since there was only Shirley and I, we served ourselves very generous portions of this fabulous sauce.

The sauce was delicious with Swordfish but if you prefer, it would go equally well with Halibut or True Cod fillets. We served the fish with roasted red potatoes and broccolini, and of course a glass of Sonoma County Pinot Noir.

I hope you will try this recipe. Let me know what you think. Bon Appétit.

Crostini with oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh goat cheese

If you have a back yard garden like me, you probably have tomatoes, especially cherry tomatoes of all colors and shapes coming out of your ears. Besides cherry tomatoes, I am also picking Roma (plum) tomatoes which are excellent for sauce.

Here is a great recipe for another way to use plum tomatoes for a tasty appetizer. I share the recipe because it would be wonderful with aperitifs in Provence as well as Northern California.

Crostini with oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh goat cheese
Makes about 30.

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, quartered, cored and seeded.
4 plump fresh cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced.
4 sprigs fresh thyme, stemmed.
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
A pinch of granulated sugar.
Extra-virgin olive oil.
1 baguette.
4 ounces fresh soft goat cheese.

Tomatoes ready to go into oven

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 F.

2. Arrange tomato quarters side by side on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Sprinkle each quarter with salt, black pepper and granulated sugar. Place thyme leaves and 1 sliver of garlic on top of each quarter. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.

3. Place in oven and cook until meltingly tender and reduced in size about 2 hours. Check the tomatoes from time to time. They should remain moist and soft. Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly.

Tomatoes just out of oven

Directions continued

4. Slice baguette 1/4 inch thick (about 30 slices). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange baguette slices on a large rimmed baking sheet; brush both sides with olive oil. Bake until golden, 15 to 20 minutes, turn crostini over once during baking. Let cool on baking sheets.

5. Top each slice of toasted crostini with thin layer of soft goat cheese.

6. Place one quarter of oven-roasted tomatoes on crostini topped with goat cheese.

7. Arrange on a pretty platter to serve.

Crostini with oven-roasted tomatoes and fresh goat cheese

Today, I made a double batch of these tasty morsels and we took them to a farewell party for one of Shirley's hospital colleagues. They were a big hit and they all disappeared.

Note: I think the best way to peel tomatoes is to cut an x into the non-stem end of the tomato. Blanch in boiling water for one minute, then plunge them into chilled water to refresh. Remove from water and tomato peels will slip off with ease.

Cheez-it-ish crackers, a wonderful tasty addition to your nibbles at apéritif

Many of you are aware that we closed Bistro Des Copains, the French country bistro we co-owned in Occidental, CA in January. We miss our staff and many friends who dined there on a nightly basis. However, with the Bistro closed, I now have some time and freedom to try new recipes, entertain friends, or dine at the many wonderful restaurants we have in Sonoma County.

One of our favorite times to entertain is to invite friends for nibbles and drinks at the end of the day for one of our favorite French traditions called apéritif. For the uninformed, apéritif is both a beverage and a social occasion, and a wonderful part of daily life in France. It is a national custom where time is set aside at the end of the day to share a drink and maybe a bite or two with family, friends, and colleagues, all the while engaged in conversation.

An apéritif by definition (it's a French word derived from the Latin verb aperire, which means “to open.”) is a prelude to dinner, so the "bites" of food that accompany drinks should be tantalizers to the taste buds, preparing them for the meal to come. Generally, the accompaniments are bite-sized finger foods that can be eaten with your hands.

Traditional apéritif drinks can be roughly divided into three groups. The wine group includes still and sparkling wines, fortified wines and wine based mixtures. A second group consists of herb and spiced-based alcohols, Pastis and Compari, for example, that are usually diluted with water. The third is fruit based and may or may not contain alcohol.

Salty foods are popular - olives, nuts, cornichons and radishes with butter and salt. Spreads made from olives, eggplants, pâté or salt cod and served on toasts or in puff pastry are common. We have also been served saucisson (dry sausages), apero-sized goat cheese marinated in herb-infused olive oil, and tiny clams, known as tellines which are eaten one by one - finger licking good.

I like to try new recipes every time I cook. One night last week, I tried 4 new recipes; grated carrot salad, cheez-it-ish crackers, and spaghetti with creamy Walnut-Gorgonzola sauce which are shown in the next two pictures. I also made a lentil salad that I have made before and socca, a chick pea flour pancake from Provence (and neighboring Liguria, where it’s called farinata).

Cheez-it-ish crackers, grated carrot salad and lentil salad

We have tried quite a few grated carrot recipes, a popular dish in French bistros and cafés. The recipe this night came from "Around my French Table" by Dorie Greenspan and is our personal favorite so far. I envisioned the socca from the same book as a future offering at an apéritif with friends. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out the way I expected.

The recipe for the Salsa di Noci e Gorgonzola or Spaghetti with Walnut-Gorgonzola Sauce was a new one for me from Biba Caggiano, an award winning cookbook author and restaurateur from Sacramento, California. The dish was delicious, but very rich.

Spaghetti with creamy Walnut-Gorgonzola Sauce

The Cheez-it-ish crackers from "Around my French Table" authored by Dorie Greenspan were an unexpected hit with Shirley and I. They are super tasty and remained crunchy until they were gone after three days stored in plastic bag. Future guests can look forward to enjoying these with us.

Cheez-it-ish crackers

I have had Dorie Greenspan's book "Around my French Table" since it was released in 2010. Unfortunately for us, I had not really opened it till this past week. What a mistake! The grated carrot salad and the cheez-it-ish crackers recipes were easy and wonderful. Below, I share the recipe and I strongly encourage you to try it for yourselves. They will be wonderful at your next aperitif.

"Around my French Table" cookbook

Cheez-it-ish Crackers
Makes about 50 crackers

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
1/4 pound Gruyère, Comté, or Emmenthal, grated (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Put the butter, cheese, salt, white pepper, and cayenne pepper in a food processor and pulse until the butter is broken up into uneven bits and the mixture forms small curds.

2. Add the flour and pulse until the dough forms moist curds again - these will be larger. The cookbook author says that there are times, though, when you pulse and pulse and never gets curds - in that case, just process for a minute or so, so that everything is as moist as possible.

3. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead it gently until it comes together. Divide the dough in half, pat each half into a disk, and wrap the disks in plastic. Chill for at least an hour, or for up to 3 days.

4. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.

5. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll the dough out between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper to a scant 1/4 inch thick. Using a small cookie cutter, one with a diameter of about 11/4 inches - cut the dough into crackers.

6. Gather the scraps together, so you can combine them with the scraps from the second disk, chill, and roll them out to make more crackers. Place the rounds on the baking sheet, leaving a scant inch between the rounds.

7. Bake for 14 to 17 minutes or until the crackers are lightly golden and firm to the touch; transfer the crackers to a rack to cool. Repeat with the second disk of dough (and scraps), making certain that your baking sheet is cool. You can serve these a little warm or you can wait until they reach room temperature.

I hope you will invite your friends to join you for aperitif, it is such a civilized way to transition from your work day to personal time. The Cheez-it-ish crackers will be perfect to nibble on and enjoy with a glass of sparkling wine or white wine.

Alsatian Onion Tart

Since we returned to Sablet, we have eaten most of our meals in restaurants and fewer at home than what we originally planned. We have returned to some favorite restaurants but have discovered several new restaurants that I will share with you in upcoming posts.

The last few days before we came to Sablet, I was in Chicago for meetings with colleagues in the seniors housing industry. Shirley and I met up for our flight to Paris at O'Hare International Airport and brought along mail including the September/October issue of "Cuisine et Vins de France"

I flipped through the pages of the magazine during our flight to Paris and came across a recipe for "Tarte à l'Oignon à l'Alsacienne" (Alsatian Onion Tart). I showed the recipe and accompanying picture to Shirley and we agreed we would try it while we were in Sablet.

Back at Café des Sports

This being Monday when many of the restaurants in the area are closed, we decided to have the tart for dinner tonight with salads made from ingredients we picked up at the Vaison-la-Romaine market. Since I had to be on a telephone conference call this evening, Shirley said she would make the tart.

The tart was delicious and perfectly set after a few minutes cooling after being brought out from the oven after baking. I have had many savory tarts over the years but this was probably the most delicious one ever. Shirley's version of the recipe follows.

"Alsatian Onion Tart"
Makes 6 servings (the recipe in the magazine says it is for 4 persons)

Ingredients

600 grams (22 ounces) thinly sliced sweet onions
1 single pie/tart crust
150 grams (5 1/3 ounces) unsalted butter
3 large eggs, well beaten
25 cl (1 cup) crème fraîche
25 cl (1 cup) whole milk
45 grams (3 tablespoons) flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
50 grams (1/2 cup) grated Gruyere cheese
Nutmeg, salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make your favorite pie/tart dough and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Heat the butter and vegetable oil together till the butter is melted. Add the thinly sliced onions and sauté on medium/low heat for approximately 20 minutes. Don't let the onions color.

Mix in the flour and continue cooking for a few more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the crème fraîche and whole milk. When its well mixed, stir in the 3 beaten eggs and 1/2 cup grated cheese.

Season the mixture with salt, pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg.

Roll out your chilled pastry and drape over a leak proof 24 cm (9 inch) quiche pan with removable bottom or spring form pan. Prick the dough with fork tongs.

Pour the onion mixture in the pan and bake for 30 minutes. It should be golden on top as shown in the picture above and pretty well set when you move the pan. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing the tart mold.

Note: Shirley prebaked her tart crust for a few minutes so the crust was nicely baked and slightly golden. The recipe in "Cuisine et Vins de France" does not call for this step.

This was really a fabulous recipe for a light supper. I recommend it highly. Serve with salad greens or vegetable Crudités like we did along with crusty baguette. Bon Appétit.

French Family Visits Sablet and a Delicious Recipe

One of the things I look forward to in Sablet is visits from French family. In case you don't know, we bought our home in Sablet instead of other places we looked including Paris, Haut-Savoie, Côte d'Azur, Languedoc and Switzerland, because of the weather and proximity to French family.

On a beautiful Saturday last spring, cousin Jean Marc and family came to visit and have lunch prepared by yours truly. Before we sat down to eat, we went to Café des Sports for aperitifs. As I told you here, Café des Sports is owned by friend Bruno Bordeaux and is the center of activities in Sablet.

Family gathers at Café des Sports in Sablet

Anne-Emmanuelle and her partner Guillaume

Matthias and partner Aurélie

Jean Marc and wife Christine

Enjoying aperitifs on a short sleeve weather day in Sablet

After we soaked up some of the Provencal sun and aperitifs and caught up on the latest family news, we went back to the house for lunch. I prepared a restaurant style multi-course meal starting with an amuse bouche of soup made with the first of the season asparagus.

Asparagus soup amuse bouche

Our first course was a truffle risotto, redolent of the aroma of the fresh truffles I got at the market in Richerenche.

Truffle risotto

For our main course, I prepared a delicious Monkfish à la Provençale. I got the recipe from my friend Barbara who runs Cuisine de Provence cooking school, when she and her husband Robert entertained us in their beautiful home in nearby Vaison-la-Romaine a few nights earlier.

Monkfish à la Provençale

We served two of our favorite vegetable side dishes, haricots verts and zucchini gratin, with the Monkfish à la Provençale.

Monkfish à la Provençale with vegetable side dishes

No meal would be complete for French family, especially if cousin Jean Marc is there, without a cheese course. I picked up a variety, goat, sheep, and two cow's milk, cheeses for a cheese course from the wonderful Josiane Deal at her cheese shop Lou Canesteou near the main square in Vaison-la-Romaine.

Cheese course include Banon, Comté, Roquefort, and Époisses de Bourgogne

Cousin Christine brought desserts.

Dessert # 1

Dessert # 2

After our leisurely lunch, we headed out for a walk and ended up in Gigondas.

Shirley and cousins Matthias and Anne-Emmanuelle pause on the fountain near our house

"Monkfish à la Provençale".
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

Monk fish fillets (enough for 6 people), cleaned, skinned and bluish membrane that surrounds meat removed before cooking. Ask your fishmonger to do this for you.
1/2 cup white wine
2 medium cans chopped tomatoes
2 medium white onions, halved and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, very finely sliced
1 pound of cherry tomatoes
a handful of capers
olive oil, pepper and salt, red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit

1. Cut the cleaned monk fish fillets into generous, chunky medallions and keep refrigerated until ready to cook.
2. Add a splash of olive oil to a pan, add the cherry tomatoes and sauté over moderate heat until they begin to soften. Let cool.
3. Add a splash of olive oil to a second, ovenproof pan that is large enough to hold all ingredients. Add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes and let sweat over moderate heat until translucent.
4. Add the canned tomatoes, the wine and let bubble away for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Season to taste.
5. Skin the cooled down cherry tomatoes, taking care not to lose any of their juice, then add to the sauce. Stir in the capers.

You can prepare the recipe up to this point so that just 20 minutes before you are ready to eat you add the fish medallions to the sauce (take care to cover the fish with sauce) then bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Saturday lunch with penne pasta and a tomato, basil, eggplant and mozzarella sauce

Last evening, Shirley asked me to cook pasta with a simple sauce for lunch because daughter Stephanie and her two kids and daughter Tricia's two kids would be with us today. I decided to make one of my favorite sauces but one quite frankly, I don't make often enough.

I don't recall that spaghetti was on my family's table very often growing up in Southwestern Michigan. It wasn't until the early 80's when we were living near Washington DC that I remember eating pastas in a restaurant that were so good they made lasting impressions on me.

The pastas I am referring to are "Capellini D'Angelo Napolitan," angel hair pasta with tomato, garlic and fresh basil and "Penne Sorrentina," pasta with tomatoes, basil, eggplant and mozzarella. The restaurant was Tragara Ristorante in downtown Bethesda, Maryland.

I remember prices at Tragara's were high, service was haughty, but the pasta was so good. In those days, servers finished dishes tableside in copper saute pans on chef carts before spooning them onto your plate. And they used fresh basil and San Marzano tomatoes which was not yet common.

I had not been to Tragara's for many years and now they are closed. After watching granddaughter Avery, age 7 eat pasta with relish today, I am sharing my version of "Penne Sorrentina" with you. My recipe is inspired by Tragara's and influenced by recipes from Biba Caggiano and Lidia Bastianich, two of my favorite Italian cookbook authors.

My "mise en place" for penne pasta with tomatoes, basil, eggplant and mozzarella

Penne pasta with tomatoes, basil, eggplant and mozzarella
Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

1 firm medium eggplant, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices crosswise.
5 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows).
2 Tablespoons julienned fresh basil.
1 pound penne pasta.
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into small dice about the size of an olive.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 Fahrenheit

1. Place the eggplant slices on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with olive oil. Bake until golden on both sides. Cool slightly, then cut the slices into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

2. When the tomato sauce is finished, add the eggplant and fresh basil to the skillet with the tomato sauce and cook for one to two minutes.

3. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add 1 Tablespoon of salt and pasta. Cook, uncovered over high heat until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, al dente.

4. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the sauce. Stir in the mozzarella and mix everything over low heat until the mozzarella begins to melt and is completely blended with the pasta and sauce, about 2 minute. Serve at once.

Tomato Sauce
Makes 6 cups

Ingredients

2 28-ounce cans San Marzano tomatoes.
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons olive oil.
1 small yellow onion, finely diced.
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped.
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes.
Salt and pepper.

Directions

1. Heat two Tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring until the onion is pale yellow and soft.

2. Clear a spot in the pan and add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until the garlic begins to color, less than 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes and remaining olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Cool.

4. In a blender, blend the cooked tomato mixture in small batches to a puree. Return 5 cups of tomato sauce to the skillet. Transfer the remaining sauce to a container and keep for another use.

Note

When you blend your tomato mixture, make sure you put the lid on the blender and hold it down with a towel as the residual heat will cause the mixture to rise and can blow the lid off if you overfill or don't hold down the lid. It can make a mess of the kitchen. I know from experience.

My version of penne pasta with tomatoes, basil, eggplant and mozzarella

As I said above, fresh basil and San Marzano tomatoes were not commonly used or easily found ingredients in the early 80s in the US. Certainly not at the large grocery chains. So every time, we wanted to prepare this dish or angel hair pasta with tomato, garlic and fresh basil, we would make a trip to Sutton Place Gourmet, now owned by Balducci's.

This pasta sauce is liked by young and old. Now you can find fresh basil and San Marzano tomatoes in almost every supermarket. It is well suited to this blog about Provence as all of the ingredients are featured in many Provencal dishes. I hope you will try it. If you do, let me know what you think.

Bon Appétit. Have a great week. Chat soon.