Monday, January 28, 2013

Not worrying, but living

I thought I'd write a post about the sort of stuff I do when I'm not worrying and not at work (the two are not mutually exclusive, mind).
I'm not actually a dessert person but I appreciate this idea :)

This weekend, for example, my DB gave me a choice, as my boys had gone to see their dad. We could either go away somewhere or eat out in a nice restaurant. An image floated into my mind of a nice hotel room and me spending Saturday evening munching on a tomato. I wondered where we could go in this cold weather and decided that I couldn't be fagged to go anywhere if it meant something crappy for dinner.

So I voted for staying put, with bed warmer, cosy cat and dinner out. We went to a restaurant called l'Authentique and had a lovely evening eating, drinking and chatting. After a fishy mise en bouche, I started with a millefeuille of brandade de mourue with prawns, mussels and a red pepper sauce, followed by taureau steak (Aubrac), all washed down with a delicious and perfectly balanced red from Domaine Henry, le Paradines 2010 at €25 per bottle. It was well-presented, very tasty and with good service. The place was full too.

Yesterday I went a bit cooking mad. I had cooked a turkey leg in the slow cooker on Saturday so turned it into individual pies in a leek sauce, meat for wraps or maybe turkey pasties, and stock for soup. Then I cooked a lamb Madras dish from Saturday Kitchen which I got into a bit of a mess with as I don't have a spice grinder and my small food processor does a crap job. By the time I'd decided that the burnt bits were not going to affect the overall flavour, the dish was almost ready, not to eat mind because my DB doesn't eat lamb. The boys and I may have it tonight, or I might be so fed up with it that I'll just chuck it in the freezer until I've forgiven it for being such a pain in the arse.

It brought home to me the importance of having the right tools because 'good enough' just isn't when it comes to some things.

This brings me to my favourite tele programmes at the moment. Right up there at the top is Saturday Kitchen which is great fun in a jovial, blokey kind of way, has some delicious-sounding recipes, and interesting guests. Last Saturday, they had Swedish chef Magnus Lisson who made a complex Porridge of grains from Jämtland. They cooked a haggis in a potato pancake dish which I might try as I'm partial to haggis and have a tin of it for emergencies.

When I'm not being nagged to free up the tele, I also then watch The Good Cook with Simon Hopkinson who demonstrates how to make restaurant-quality food in your own home. He was particularly enamoured with this recipe for grilled aubergines with olive oil, garlic, parsley and feta cheese.

On Mondays at 10pm (French time) we have Lewis, on Tuesdays there's Death in Paradise, on Thursdays and Fridays there's Silent Witness and on Sunday there's Mr Selfridge which I like watching because I used to have a summer/Saturday job there. If I have to miss one because there's something worth watching on French tele, then I can just catch up with BBC iPlayer on my IP hider.

Last weekend, my DB and I watched a French film, Poupoudidou with Jean-Paul Rouve and Sophie Quinton. We were not expecting much joy from it (because we are not great fans of French navel-gazing films), but this one turned out to be a bijou. It's set in Mouthe, the coldest town in France and focuses on the murder of Candice Lecoeur, a (bottle) blond bombshell who is convinced she was Marilyn Monroe in a former life. The police chief has his reasons for deciding her death was a suicide, but a visitor to the area, David Rousseau (JP Rouve), a successful author of 'polars' (thrillers), is not convinced. He decides to stay for a bit, not necessarily because he wants to interfere in the police work, but because he wants to investigate Candice's past and hopefully find some inspiration for his next book.

The deeper he digs, the more dirt he finds, and his life becomes the target for someone who wants to keep him quiet. We really enjoyed the dark humour and irony in this film, the intriguing scenario, and the muffled ambiance reflecting the stifling effect of snow on sound.

25 comments:

  1. Hmmm - not worrying and not at work? I can't seem to remember the last time I wasn't doing one of those! I love Saturday kitchen too - it's just the right side of blokey without being a pain in the @rse. Simon Hopkinson is fab, as are his recipes. And I've just discovered Jamie's 15 minute meals - some gorgeous recipes!

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    1. Ha! Good to know I'm not alone in the Saturday Kitchen Appreciation Club!

      I'll have to check out Jamie's 15min recipes. The most I can do in 15 mins is reheat leftovers or cheese/eggs on toast!

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  2. I liked this film a lot and was able to pick up a lot of the nuances because it was so well acted. And since I am antiquated myself, I was able to understand all the out of date pop culture references.

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    1. Oh you've seen it too? That's great! My DB got it from the library so we assumed it was a bit alternative. Glad you liked it and understood it. I wonder how the younger generation finds it.

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    2. Probably in the U.S. it would seem outdated to young people, a piece of nostalgia. But I certainly enjoyed it.

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  3. Jesus! Now I'm starving to death, after reading your post. And I just finished eating breakfast here in good ol' Kuwait.

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    1. Better get yer chefs hat on then and get cookin' DD. :)

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  4. Thanks for the sneaky peak into your life, a most enjoyable post! TV and food are a winning combination - I'm now craving haggisin front of the BBC: thank you, Sarah ;-) I'll check that film out, too - if I had to be convinced I was anyone in a former life, it'd be Barbamamma :-D

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    1. Haha Barbamamma! An intriguing thought. :)

      Depending on where you are in Hérault, you can almost certainly find haggis in Pezenas. I got mine in Mondial Market in Montpellier (Le Crès).

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  5. I'll have to see if I can download the film from somewhere while sulking at the mention of haggis.
    I'm on the trail of someone keeping sheep...so with luck next year I'll be making my own again....and all the lamb and mutton recipes I miss!
    And I'll start looking at Saturday Kitchen again...can't think why I stopped.

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    1. We all love Saturday Kitchen!

      I hope your trail is successful!

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  6. I love Saturday Kitchen! It is my favorite cooking show!

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    1. YAY! another fan!!

      They have a Facebook page you know. :)

      It's not very active though. Only 210 fans.

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  7. Not being a morning TV person, I hadn't even heard of Saturday Kitchen, but it sounds like I should remedy this omission as soon as possible. Cooking, eating, relaxing and watching TV all sound good to me as weekend activities. In the kind of weather we've been having the idea of going out anywhere just doesn't appeal.

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    1. Indeed, I find that January is when I'm feeling keenest to cook because the weather is so unpleasant. Being a new year also inspires me to try new things too.

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  8. I love posts like these, just finding out some normal things about people you like. We are great fans of haggis too, Rory's favourite dish is chicken breast stuffed with haggis and wrapped in bacon.
    The meal out sounds yummy. I'm sitting here hungry at the moment so will have to stop reading blogs and go forage in the kitchen.
    My mum fancies James Martin, does he still do Saturday Kitchen?

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    1. James Martin does indeed still do Saturday Kitchen. They had Jacqueline Bisset on last Saturday who was very happy to tuck into all the goodies they put before her.

      I like the chicken/haggis combo idea.

      This weekend I was making tartelettes au citron and marmalade. I was surprised at how easy the lemon curd was to make. I only got half way through with the marmalade though.

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  9. So interesting reading about life abroad - glad to hear you still watch the old favourites - Lewis etc! We saw 'Partir/Leaving' recently and really enjoyed that. The French make a good film!

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    1. Hi EI and welcome to my blog!

      I'm not actually a great fan of French films - too much naval-gazing, shouting, pouting and flouncing in my opinion. Still, there are some good films, and Poupoupidou was definitely one of them. :)

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  10. I must be doing something wrong: how to you find the time to watch TV? Glad you have so many nice programmes in my home country. I have to say that, since Homeland stopped, I feel a bit like there is nothing to watch...

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    1. Most of the programmes I watch are at 10pm French time by which time I'm ready for them!

      I don't get to watch Saturday Kitchen every week unfortunately as Saturday can be a busy day, but I really enjoy it when I get the chance. The Good Cook, too.

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  11. Loved this and I feel I've spent a wonderful weekend, being busy with cooking, lovely meal and watching some French navel gazing. I know what you mean, a weekend away is not the same if you can't have a nice meal, it's all about the food for me. Never heard of that show, must try and get it, it could be my next obsession

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    1. Thanks, Jodie. :) It's all about the food for me too, but for some reason, some men think that this is a flippant, slightly decadent attitude. I always seem to end up with that type too. Bizarre. :D

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  12. Great post - I really enjoyed reading it. I would like to check out all the shows you mentioned, as well as the movie.

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    1. Thank you Olga. :)
      I was glued to Lewis last night, seems he's going to retire at last. Will the next show be called 'Hathaway'?! :)

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