Hôtel Dulucq
This is an attractive country inn at Le Barp, about twenty miles south of Bordeaux, with a sheltered terrace where you will find good country fare and such specialties as civet de lièvre, confit d'oie, or even a spot of foie gras truffée. The wines are good, and the welcome is cordial.
Hostelleries des Pins
This pine-sheltered oasis is a pleasant halt at Belin, eight miles south of Le Barp. The menu is simple but well prepared and copious.
Now for a few notes and recipes on Bordelais cookery, much of which can be adapted to the American kitchen. We can't emulate some of their dishes— cèpes à la bordelaise, for example, is a delicacy which is all but unknown here. This floppy, orange field mushroom is a memorable fungus, but a heavy one. Nor do we see much of the lamprey, an unpromising eel-like creature which can be converted into a most appetizing dish by a good Bordeaux chef. I wish we could catch the winsome ortolan here, the way they do in Bordeaux. They capture this tiny bird and fatten him until he is round like a feathery ball. His fat melts in your mouth, and he has a flavor which is utterly delicious. Garlic raises its pretty head in many Bordelais dishes, and you will find it an inseparable companion of tomatoes, eggplant, locks, and cèpes. The mysterious flavor of goose liver and truffles is there, too, imparting a haunting fragrance to the finer dishes. liven though some of these subtleties are far from the American horizon, we can prepare oilier authentic Bordelais dishes with eminent success and satisfaction. Here are a few of them:
Oeufs Mollets à la Bordelaise (Eggs with Artichoke Hearts Bordelaise)
Boil 4 young artichokes for 30 minutes. or until tender. Remove the leaves and keep them to serve cold with French dressing.
Discard the chokes, slice the artichoke bottoms into bias pieces, and sauté them for 10 minutes in butter and a few drops of wine vinegar.
Cover the bottom of a round serving dish with the artichoke slices and place on them 6 oeufs mollets, or eggs boiled for 5 ½ minutes, doused in cold water, and shelled. Pour over all a sauce bordelaise and serve very hot.
Sauce Bordelaise
Combine ½ cup red wine, 1 shallot, chopped. ¼ teaspoon salt. 2 peppercorns, crushed, a pinch each marjoram and thyme, and ½ bay leaf and simmer until the wine is reduced to half its original quantity, or about ¼ cup. Add ½ cup strong consomme or 1 teaspoon meat glaze dissolved in ½ cup water and continue to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the sauce is again reduced to half its quantity. It should be somewhat thickened and highly concentrated in flavor. Strain the sauce and stir in ¼ teaspoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, and 1 generous teaspoon butter.
The true bordelaise sauce is especially good with meats, above all grilled meats. Entrecôte à la bordelaise is an unforgettable classic, due to the subtle marriage of wine, shallots, and spices.
Next is a highly decorative dish which tastes as good as it looks!
Poulet Samé à la Bordelaise (Chicken Sauté Bordelaise)
Cut a 4- to 5-pound roasting chicken in serving pieces and saute them in 3 tablespoons butter combined with I or 2 tablespoons olive oil. Turn them to brown on all sides and add salt and pepper. Cover and cook for about 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender. Put the pieces in the center of a heated oval serving dish and keep hot.
Meanwhile, cut away the tops of the leaves of 3 young artichokes and boil the vegetable for about 35 minutes. Cut the artichokes in quarters, discard the choke from the center, and sauté the pieces in butter, turning them frequently.
Peel 3 medium-sized potatoes, slice very thinly, and wipe dry. Cook the slices in butter until golden-brown on each side.
Slice 2 or 3 onions thinly, separate the rings, and dip them first in milk and then in flour. Fry them in hot oil until they are crisp and golden.
At the last, drop a few sprigs of completely dry parsley into the hot oil, fry for 3 seconds, and remove instantly to absorbent paper to drain.
Now arrange the chicken attractively on its platter—the artichoke quarters in parallel rows on each side, small mounds of the potatoes and onions at each end, and sprigs of fried parsley between each piece of chicken. Just before serving. pour the following sauce over the chicken:
Put 1 clove garlic, finely chopped and mashed, in the remaining butter in the pan in which the chicken was cooked. Cook for 2 minutes and add ½ cup chicken stock (made from the neck and giblets), ½ cup dry white wine, and 1 teaspoon meat glaze. Stir up all the good brown bits sticking to the pan and simmer to reduce the liquid a little. Put through a strainer into a small saucepan and blend in 1 tablespoon tomato paste. Heat and serve.
This manner of cooking adds greatly to the charm of a small oven roast and is particularly recommended for one of the less fine cuts,
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