This spring I returned to France for my first visit in over twenty years. I wanted to see Montmarault, where I was born, and my eighty-six-year-old tante Pauline who still lives there, and my brother Lucien, who lives in Paris. Accompanying me were four gourmet friends, and together we had planned an eating tour through some of the French provinces, but mainly through mon pays, the Bourbonnais countryside I have always thought that springtime is the loveliest season of the year in Prance. My memories of it, in fact, had taken on such a nostalgic glow that as we neared the port of Le Havre, I began to wonder if I had not been promising myself and my trusting friends too much. Would the aubépine that spotted the Bourbonnais hedgerows be as white and as fragrant and the air in Momtmarult as clear and as invigorating as I had remembered them? Would the good wine of Burgundy be as mellow and our renowned Bourguignon cooking as laced with fine, full flavors as I had boasted to my companions? Or had I built up memories which reality could never equal? Had the war, and all its upheaval and aftermath, left even the resilient French too weary to care about faultless meals and painstaking service? We would soon see.
As we entered Paris, it seemed as if I had left only yesterday. The familiar vistas that radiate from every major intersection, the ageless buildings and marble statues, the horse-chestnut trees on the Champs-Elysées, the clipped trees in the gardens of the Tuileries, even the blue-caped gendarmes and the eager flower vendors were just as they had been twenty, thirty, yes, even fifty years ago.
Our arrival in Paris called for a gala celebration, and for this there was only one place in Paris to go, the Plaza-Athenee Hôtel, Why? Because there my brother Lucien is chef do cuisine. I suppose I could be accused of being unduly prejudiced if it weren't for the fact that most gourmets rate the food at the Plaza-Athénée among the best in France. Certainly no place could have been more memorable for that first dinner. Every detail of the beautifully proportioned dining room, from the crystal chandeliers to the golden damask draperies and the tables gay with flowers, was exquisite. Nor could the dinner, a small but classic menu of the French cuisine, have been surpassed.
Filet de Sole an Vin Blanc
L'Agneau tie Paullac àla Jardinière
Pommes Rissolées Artichauts
Salade
Fromages Variés
Soufflé Grand Marnier
This meal was indeed what gourmets travel the world-and France, in particular-to find: the sole, sweet, fresh from the Channel, and subtly sauced; the tiny young lamb from the marshy meadows of Pauillac in the Gironde district of Prance, its meat more delicate, tentier, and white than that of Lamb raised anywhere else in the world. Surrounding it on the platter were garlands of Spring vegetables and small, carefully trimmed artichoke bottoms. There were many kinds of French cheese to choose from and eat with crusty French bread and, last but not least, was the quivering Soufflé, hot from the oven, and towering high above the sides of its white-porcelain dish.
With the fish we drank a fine Pouilly-Fuissé, and with the roast lamb, an excellent Pontet-Canet, served, as my friends quickly noticed, in chose large, roomy wine glasses which are only partly filled and which give you a suitable chance to enjoy the bouquet.
We had many fine dishes at this hotel during our stay in Paris; two of the specialties which we liked very much were the canard aux olives and Soufflé de homard.
Canard aux Oliver
(Duck with Olives)
Clean and singe a 5- to 6-pound duck and truss it to hold legs and wings close to the body. Season it with a little salt. Place the duck on its side in a roasting pan and roast in a hot oven (425° F.) for 15 minutes. Turn the duck and roast for 15 minutes longer, or until it is lightly browned. Remove the duck and pour off all but 2 table-spoons of the fat from the pan. Add 1 tablespoon flour and cook, stirring, until the roux is golden. Add ½ cup dry white wine and 1 cup stock or water and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce is slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper and add a fagot made by tying together 1 stalk of celery, 2 sprigs of parsley, a small piece of bay leaf, and a sprig of thyme. Put the duck in the sauce, cover the pan, and continue to roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the duck is tender. Meanwhile, parboil about 2 dozen pitted green olives in water to cover to remove the salt. Drum them. Carve the duck and arrange the pieces on a hot platter. Skim off the surplus far from the sauce, add the olives, and pour sauce andolives over the duck.
Soufflé dc Homard Plaza- Atbénée {Lobster Soufflé)
Remove the claws from 3 lobsters, each weighing about 2 pounds, and cut the body sections into 3 or 4 pieces. In a saucepan large enough to hold the cutup lobsters, melt 2 tablespoons butter and add 1 medium carrot, finely diced, 2 tablespoons Chopped onion, and 1 tablespoon chopped chives. Cook the mirepoix very slowly until the vegetables are soft, but not brown. Add 1 table-spoon chopped parsley stems.
In a skillet, add the lobsters and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cook over a brisk fire for about 5 minutes, or until the lobster pieces are red on all sides. Place the lobsters on the mirepoix of vegetables and sprinkle with 1 tea-spoon paprika. Add 2 tablespoons cognac. ½ cup dry white wine, and ½ cup heavy cream, and mix lightly. Bring to a boil and cook for 18 minutes, or until the lobster meat is done.
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