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Post by holger on Sept 25, 2007 16:50:34 GMT -5
Off this morning to Chenonceaux. It is a very short drive from Amboise and we were early enough to find good parking. Lovely walk through tall trees with a leafy canopy to Chateau. Very interesting gardens and it was easy to imagine them in use by French aristocrats. Chateau itself has great charm and enjoyed looking at the rooms and furniture. Absolutely loved and coveted Catherine de Medici's bed! It was also interesting how short the beds were except for Francois I's Spent about two and a half hours walking around and then went into village for lunch at Au Bon Laboreur. Lunch was excellent. You could order from the expensive a la carte menu but we opted for the 22 euro price fix with two plates. We had confit of lamb shoulder for the main plate and it was incredible. Had never heard of lamb confit before but it was absolutely delicious and we have begun looking for a recipe. Was served on white beans and with a sauce. No other lamb comes close and I love lamb. Had molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream as the second plate. Glass of wine was included. So this was quite reasonable. Leisurely drive back to Amboise. Early dinner at Lion d'Or at 7 before show at 10 at the Amboise Chateau. Really liked the atmosphere and the food. Price Fix at 30E. I started with a terrine of smoked salmon and white fish with large capers. then had a skewer of scallops and foie gras--perfectly cooked and served with a marvelous sauce full of vegetables. Finished with a gallotine of chocolate on an almond cookie base. Hubby and I split bottle of wine. He started with smoked salmon and then had pork spareribs braised and served with crawfish. The menu was very imaginative and the food well prepared. Then we walked to the Chateau for the performance with some enormous cast of the early history of the people who lived in the Chateau. The large cast was composed of residents of Amboise and the surrounding area and had children as well as adults. The locals do everything from staging to costumes. It was a great deal of fun and was held in the courtyard so luckily the weather was good, a bit cold but good. It was a great two hours with music, dancing, jousting. Got back to hotel well after midnight. But very worthwhile and the audience is not just tourists. We saw some of the staff from our hotel and other places in town in the stands watching, too. We really enjoy Amboise especially at night when the tour buses are gone. Really have to find a way to secure a feather bed or equivalent for my travels. I use one at home over a pillow top mattress and find that very firm mattresses at many hotels are just not comfortable for my old bones. Hotel put a folded blanket under the bottom sheet which helps a bit.
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Sept 25, 2007 16:58:46 GMT -5
About the length of the beds - I read elsewhere (don't recall where) that beds were shorter back then because of a belief that it was healthful to sleep reclining but not lying down - don't know if that's historically accurate although if not then they must have been exceptionally short folks (could just as easily be that the women did not want the elaborate hair styling disturbed, LOL!). I enjoyed Chenonceau but it was very crowded when we were there, and I don't have a recollection specifically of Catherine's bed (just the intertwined initials of Diane and Henri, everywhere, and the thought that Catherine certainly had the last word on that one).
Lunch sounds delicious - I have never heard of lamb confit either and will be interested to know what you find out.
What exactly was the performance at Amboise chateau? I take it this is an annual pageant of some sort? Sounds really interesting, as it seems that it gave a flavor of what it would have been like to see royal entertainment "back in the day"!
Thanks for the report!
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Post by greyghost1 on Sept 25, 2007 17:48:55 GMT -5
Nice report. FYI: Per 'The Taste of France' Robert Freson publ. 1983 and I quote: A confit consists, in its ideal form, of large pieces of goose (confit d'oie) or duck (confit de canard) preserved in its own fat. The same tecnique may be used for chicken, for example, but a subtle difference in nomenclature is apparent - it is not confit de poulet, but poulet en confit. One may have other things en confit too, but the confit method of presentation is, by common consent, best when applied to goose and duck, which render their own fat. He goes on to add "There seems to be no good reason why the technique should only be used in the southwestern quarter of France. It is an ideal method of preservation, and why it should be practiced in so a restricted an area is a mystery."
That is why one prob. doesn't hear of confit du agneau too often. Lamb is often less fat. But I suppose one could use any meat for it and add add'l fat. But I'll keep looking in my French cookbooks for a specific recipe.
Keep having fun.
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Post by greyghost1 on Sept 25, 2007 18:11:15 GMT -5
I have only about 20 French cookbooks and they only give a confit recipe for goose or duck. But, again with the addition of add'l fat to cook in, one could substitute lamb or whatever.
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Post by Jody on Sept 25, 2007 19:18:19 GMT -5
I would suggest that the lamb that is available in the US would be practically "defatted"! But a real salt marsh lamb from France might have enough fat to be made into a confit.
I have tried to get beef with enough fat to have drippings for yorkshire pudding but have been told that they must trim most of the ft off before weighing. I now get my roasts and have them place the trimmed off fat over them and tied on!
I love lamb and it is never better than in France.
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Post by greyghost1 on Sept 25, 2007 19:43:48 GMT -5
A real salt marsh lamb from France sounds awesome! Next time.......
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Post by Shoesy on Sept 25, 2007 22:24:30 GMT -5
Holger - I think I've just gained a few pounds from reading about your delicious meals. ;D I loved Chenonceau , but I don't remember that bed. Good reason to return one day, I guess.
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Post by iank9 on Sept 26, 2007 1:51:11 GMT -5
Hi Holger, Glad you had a great time in the Loire. The Amboise light show is certainly worth it- very colourful! Got a recipe here for Lamb Confit, and I'm trying to find one also for a Tom Aikens take on Lamb Confit. If I can search it out I will post on the recipe section. The best lamb we had was a slow roasted salt marsh lamb at a small auberge in Beuvron-en-Auge- talk about melt in the mouth www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/confitshoulderoflamb_13755.shtml
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Post by Anne on Sept 26, 2007 3:13:11 GMT -5
Re. the beds, Becky is right : not only were the people much shorter, but they also slept in an almost sit-down position, propped up by lots of pillows . I remember that there was some religious prescription in this, but I cannot remember which .
Re. the performance in the chateau, it has indeed become increasingly popular to have those kinds of shows with the locals volunteering in it, these people working sometimes a whole year to prepare for a few days performance .
Re. confits in the SW of France : the reason is that this area was the only one to make foie gras, and duck and geese were fattened and killed at specific periods and all together, so the locals used the confits method to keep the meat at a time when fridges and deep-freezers didn't exist . At least that's what my father-in-law (who is from this area) once explained to me . There is traditionnally no confit of chicken for example because chicken don't get fattened for foie gras and they get killed all year long just when people want to eat them anytime .
Re. lamb confit . I think this may actually be a very traditionnal French receipe called "gigot de 7 heures", or "gigot à la cuillère", where the lamb has cooked for so long that you don't actually need a knife to eat it . And it doesn't smell like lamb (i.e. "muttonish") anymore . Could this be it Holger ? If so, I have a receipe for it which I can post (when I find it again in my receipes mess) and which is really delicious . But in that case it is not a "real" confit, where the meat has been preserved for months in its grease .
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Post by holger on Sept 26, 2007 7:07:37 GMT -5
;D Thanks Ian for the recipe. Anne, i don't know if there would be another name. The restaurant called it lamb confit and indicated it was from the shoulder. While obviously not having crisp skin like duck confit, it was quite crisp on the outside and then meltingly tender inside. As I indicated, it was seved over white beans.
We are seriously considering asking Gourmet Magazine to track down the recipe from Au Bon Laboreur. I am also seriously considering the recipe Ian provided for Thanksgiving. Our daughter has a poultry allergy and thus we always substitute for that.
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Post by geordy on Sept 26, 2007 7:49:46 GMT -5
A skewer of scallops and foie gras...now there is a scallop recipie! though one I won't be making any time soon($$$$$$$$$$$$$NYC prices!!!!) And on a 30 Euro menu!!!!
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Post by sistereurope on Sept 26, 2007 8:55:45 GMT -5
Holger - it all sounds delicious (and I don't even eat lamb! Thanks for sharing the yummy details.
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Post by Jody on Sept 26, 2007 9:42:42 GMT -5
I'm about to roast a leg of lamb just so I can have a sandwich like that!
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Post by iank9 on Sept 26, 2007 10:10:46 GMT -5
Holger, Have you tried contacting the restaurant? www.bonlaboureur.com/RestauUK.aspYou can download the menu, and I'm sure if you asked the chef he may share the recipe with you? (Then can you share it with us please?
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Post by annettecinca on Sept 26, 2007 10:44:55 GMT -5
Holger, I'm loving your yummy reports! Keep them coming!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Sept 26, 2007 11:16:57 GMT -5
Wow, scallops and foie gras at one go - I love both, but each is so rich (to my system) that I fear I would just become catatonic on the spot and never make it to cheese/dessert (and that would be a criminal offense!) Still, it seems you enjoyed that as a flavor combination so perhaps in very small amounts I could do that . . . hmmm, I'll have to keep that in mind the next time we are in Amboise! (Unfortunately, I could not split that one with my husband because although he loves good foie gras, he's allergic to fish and shell fish of all kinds.)
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Post by Anne on Sept 26, 2007 11:54:59 GMT -5
Holger, if your lamb was crisp on the outside then it may not be the receipe I was writing about, since the lamb is cooked in juice and therefore not crispy here ...
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Post by greyghost1 on Sept 26, 2007 12:40:22 GMT -5
Anne226..thanks for the information from your father-in-law. That all makes sense. Several of my french cookbooks did have the 7-hour recipe. Holger, do share if you get it. Look forward to lots of reports since you will be there so long.
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muffya
Junior Member
Posts: 84
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Post by muffya on Sept 26, 2007 12:48:26 GMT -5
As I just came from weight watchers, your descriptions of your meals has me salivating!! My family loves lamb, any shape or form! Salt Marsh lamb is incredible. We were fortunate enough to enjoy it on a trip to Mont St Michel one year. Hope you get that recipe for the confit!
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Post by Becky (Berkeleytravelers) on Sept 26, 2007 15:26:06 GMT -5
What would "salt marsh lamb" be called in a resaurant? It sounds like something to try, but how would I identify it?
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