We found the recipe for her crayfish loaf, sauce cardinale, and tried to adapt it to Maine lobster. The result was good, but we have decided that you can't inherit one of Monsieur Barattero's inspired secrets from a casual recipe in a French cookbook, So we haven't the impertinence to give you an approximation, But we beseech you to make the detour to Lamastre (the winding mountain road is very picturesque, by the way) and to sample this superlative dish on the spot and to enjoy the refined essence of French simplicity, courtesy, and culinary genius. That is what the name Barattero signifies.
Montèlimar (Drôme)
This town in the lower Rhône Valley is known to every French child as the fountainhead of nougat, but it has other distinctions. For one thing, it was a favorite stopover point for Napoleon. His chosen hostelry is still there, waiting to receive you under the name of LE RELAIS DE L'EMPÉREUR. You may still sec the room which was Napoleon's, but you will also notice plenty of modern improvements. Recently the Relais has been taken over by the Messieurs Latry, père et fils, who arc skilled hoteliers indeed. Monsieur Latry père was for years chef des cuisiniers at the Savoy in London. You will find comfort, cheer, and an excellent dinner with all taxes included in the tariff, at Bonaparte's former rendezvous.
Grand (Drôme)
If you happen to turn inland from Valence, as some travelers do, this quiet, picturesque village awaits you with an epicurean reward. It is the HÔTEL BILLARD, known also under the sobriquet of the Restaurant Gras. You enter a wide Provencal gateway to be received by Monsieur Gras (if he isn't too busy in the kitchen) and to choose a shaded spot in the garden for an apéritif. Monsieur Gras is a chef of quality, who has had a wide experience in patrician kitchens, and you may be sure that his poularde en vessie or his langouste à l'orientale is a notable dish. As an horsd'oeuvre, few dishes are more appetizing than his oignons à la grecque. The odds are long on your being in Grane at luncheontime, but if you are, you're in luck! Also, his prices are reasonable.
Here are a few noteworthy dishes from Dauphiny, adapted to your American kitchen. Gratia daupbhiois is perhaps the most famous and certainly one of the simplest of this region. It bears little resemblance to its neighbor in Savoy where the potatoes are usually cooked in meat stock. There is a continuous argument as to whether eggs and cheese should be added to this dish, but such authorities as Bertrand Guegan, Curnonsky, and Eugène Herbodeau insist upon pure thin cream alone, considering that any additions are “professional deformations” which have been developed in hotels and restaurants and which denature the purity of the true Dauphiny flavor. Here is the way they would have you prepare it:
Grain Daupbinois (Potatoes au Grasin)
Slice raw potatoes as thinly as possible (a slicing machine will be helpful) and put them in a buttered shallow porcelain baking dish, sprinkling salt and pepper between the layers, until the dish is ¾ full. A touch of nutmeg is sometimes grated in between the layers with the salt and pepper. Pour in light cream just to the level of the top layer of potatoes. Dot the surface with bits of butter and place the dish in a slow oven (300° F.). Cook for about 1 ½ hours, or until a good deal of the cream is absorbed and the gratin is brown on top.
In Dauphiny this dish is made with little wild button mushrooms known as mousserons.
Tournedos Daupbinoise (Beef Tenderloin with Mushrooms)
Slice ¾ pound of firm white mushrooms and sauté them in 3 table-spoons butler until the liquid is evaporated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and ½ tablespoon flour, blend well, and stir in 1 cup cream. Keep this hot.
Meanwhile, sauté quickly 6 tournedos, or ¾-inch slices of beef tenderloin, in hot butter for 2 ½ minutes on each side. Sauté 6 slices of French bread, cut ½ inch thick, in a good quantity of butter, turning the bread often to prevent the butter from being all absorbed into one side. Put the tournedos on the bread and arrange on a heated platter with the mushrooms around them. Make a sauce by stirring ½ cup port or sherry into the juices of the pan in which the meat was cooked, boil up once or twice, pour a spoonful on eath tournedos, and serve the rest in a small sauceboat.
Ris de Veau Daupbine (Sweetbreads with Chicory)
Soak 3 pairs of sweetbreads in cold water for an hour. Blanch them in boiling water for about 5 minutes, plunge them into cold water, and drain. Lard them by piercing here and there with a sharp knife and inserting small strips of salt pork. Butter the inside of a shallow earthen baking dish and spread it with 1 onion, sliced, 1 carrot, sliced, and 3 strips of bacon. Arrange the sweetbreads on this inviting bed, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake, covered, in a medium oven (350° F.) for about ½ hour.
Remove the cover, place the dish high in the oven, and turn up the heat. In about 15 minutes they should be brown on top. If they seem dry. add 2 or 3 tablespoons consommé to the juices in the dish, basting the sweetbreads several times. Drain the juices into a small saucepan, skim the fat from the top, and add 1 teaspoon meat glaze. Heat until it is reduced to a slightly thick consistency.
In the meantime, wash 2 Iarge heads of chicory and cook in salted water for about 6 minutes, or until tender. Drain the chicory, chop it fairly finely, and mix it with 1/3 cup cream. Place the sweetbreads on a heated platter surrounded by the chicory, glazing each with the sauce.
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