We know what Jaques-Strap Chirac said about English food earlier this week, and there's a theory that this statement may have tipped the IOC towards awarding the 2012 Olympics to London. (For those that don't know, his statement that English cuisine was better than only Finnish food, plus the assertiion that the only thing that English farmers have given European farming is mad cow disease, really pissed off the Brits.) There's a poll on OpinionJournal.com which is sponsored by BP, and it asks about bad French food that Jacques-Strap Chriac obviously forgot about. You can vote on "Oreille de porc," which is grilled pig's ear coated in egg and breadcrumbs; "Tete de veau," which is braised veal head; 'Tartare de cheval," raw horsemeat topped with raw egg; and my favorite, "Abegnades," which is goose tripe and blood served on fried bread. When I took the poll, just over 50% were of the same mind as me, but by the time I finished all of the descriptions, two more votes had been cast for the horsemeat.
Opinions? No, there is not an "all of the above" choice.
Ah France , where all fluids are potable and all things edible ...
Skim over an ingredient list for some of the so called "great cuisine" that the French have perpetrated upon the gastronomic world , I can almost guarantee a trip to the porcelain altar . Remember , this is the culture that gave us pate' du fois gras , a fatty goose liver paste . Sea urchins and snails are considered not only food by them , but actually a delicacy . How about a nice big over priced plate of garlicky banana slugs ? Would you like pommes frites(french fries) with that , sir ? [:'(]
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Kevin Haendiges
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I cook a lot of french dishes that I like very well, among them:
Poitrine de Veau Farcie (stuffed breast [brisket] of veal)
Coq au Riesling (chicken fried in butter briefly then stewed in white wine)
Choucroute Garni a l'Alsacienne (braised sour kraut with various smoked
meats and sausages)
Truite aux Amandes (trout braised in white wine and heavy cream with shallots)
Tarte Flambee (a pizza-like flat bread baked with a sour cream/heavy cream sauce
overlaid with sauteed onion and bacon pieces)
Moules a la Normande (mussels steamed in white wine with shallots, finished
with a cream sauce)
Boeuf Bourguignonne (beef stew)
Ragout de Chevreuil (venison stew)
Noisettes de Chevreuil (venison backstrap steaks)
Baekeoffe (a cassorole comprised of pork, beef, and lamb with sliced potatoes and
onions)
I could go on and on. This is outstanding food, and few guests at my table curl up their lip, shudder, and push their plate away from them mumbling "I'm not hungry." My wife's side of the family are very ordinary folks from a rural Oklahoma background, and they are not daunted by this cooking and relish it as much as me.
Making fun is . . . good fun, but don't delude yourself into thinking French food generally sucks. Granted, some people are only interested in eating meat and potatoes, maybe with some spongy, lifeless white bread on the side, but thereare more dimensions and notes to eating, folks!
Bubble & Squeak (typically made from leftover potatoes and cabbage fried together). It is an old dish, used as a way of finishing up the leftovers from a previous meal.
Bangers and Mash (mashed potatoes and sausages). Bangers are sausages in England The name comes from the tendency of of sausages during the last war, to explode during cooking due to the amount of water in them.
Black Pudding (Looks like a black sausage. It is made from dried pigs blood and fat). Eaten at breakfast time
French Cuisine
