In My Kitchen

In My Kitchen – September 2014

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www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.This month’s In My Kitchen comes to you from … France. We are currently travelling in Europe and have had the great joy of staying in this very old and very quaint house in the village of Beynes, not far from Paris. It belongs to very dear friends who even though they were away at the time, left us the key and allowed us to make ourselves at home. The kitchen is rustic with a big old sink overlooking a sweet little courtyard. Over the sink there are old-fashioned brass taps, and blue and white ceramic tiles line the walls.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

Even though Beynes is the tiniest of tiny villages, it has an excellent boulangerie selling bread that is far superior to anything I can find in my local bakery at home. We’ve been buying fresh bread there most mornings and occasionally splurging on pastries as well. Bliss! We’ve also been acquiring a delicious array of products as we’ve been driving around exploring the French countryside.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

At a cider shop in Normandy, we bought rillettes of sardines and tomato confit which made for a splendid breakfast. From the same shop came this Andouille, a special, highly awarded smoked pork sausage.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

Normandy is famous for its apples although we actually found this cloudy Cox’s apple juice in a shop in Bordeaux. Thick and not very sweet, it’s very simply and stylishly packaged, don’t you think?

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

We loved the Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux where we bought these figs filled with foie gras, made by an artisan producer. Only one word needed here – heavenly!

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

In Bordeaux, we visited the wine town of Saint-Émilion where we found this famous shop, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, quite by chance. Nadia uses a macaroon recipe that was developed by Ursuline nuns in 1620. She uses only natural ingredients, including fresh almonds – never extract or paste – fresh egg whites and sugar. She bakes every morning so her macaroons are very light and fresh. Apparently it is customary to pair macaroons with Cremant de Bordeaux, a sparkling white or rosé wine, but we enjoyed one just to nibble on while touring.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

Also at Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, we bought this incredible nougat.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

On our way back from Bordeaux to Beynes, we detoured to La Rochelle and Île de Ré, pretty places on the Atlantic coast famous for their fleur de sel (sea salt) and salted caramel. We bought (from left): salted caramel sauce, salted caramel beer (yes, really) and caramels in this very cute tin.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

This is a very cute poster that was hanging in the shop where we bought the salted caramel beer.

www.foodwinetravel.com.au, In My Kitchen, Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, Beynes, boulangerie, French bread, French pastries, Normandy cider, rillettes of sardines, tomato confit, Andouille, smoked pork sausage, Cox’s apple juice, Sunday morning food market in Bordeaux, figs filled with foie gras, Saint-Émilion, Les Macarons de Nadia Fermigier, Cremant de Bordeaux, macaroon recipe, nougat, La Rochelle, Île de Ré, fleur de sel sea salt, salted caramel, Mademoiselle de Margaux chocolates.

Finally, we’ve been accumulating some delicious chocolates for our French kitchen. The finest of them all are these exquisite pieces from Mademoiselle de Margaux, an artisan producer in Médoc. The shop is in a former wine storehouse and it was a difficult choice between the cherries in Armagnac, chocolate-orange twigs and chocolate-coated raisins, so we bought them all!

Thanks to Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial for hosting In My Kitchen each month – go to her blog and take a peek into many other lovely kitchens.

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12 replies on “In My Kitchen – September 2014”
  3. says: Lynne Bliss

    Hey Christine. Fabulous post from Beynes and beyond, enjoyed every morsel and drop from your delicious trip. Kind of leaves my tea and toast for dead as I write this from my Swinger hill kitchen this Monday morning.
    Lots of love, Lynne Bliss

  4. says: My Kitchen Stories

    How exciting . You are so lucky. How on earth are you going to eat all that stuff you have bought though.

  5. says: Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

    How fabulous! I’ve heard so much about Andouille sausage but have never tried it! And confit salmon for breakfast, I could definitely eat that! 🙂 That cloudy apple juice is the most astonishing thing – it’s SO thick! Hope the rest of your holiday is equally as enjoyable! 🙂

  7. says: missfoodfairy

    I think I must travel to France – you sharing your little Bordeaux to Beynes trip sounds spectacular, everything sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing a look at your little French kitchen

  8. says: Bénédicte Bresson

    I am glad to see my sink on Christine’s blog. It comes from an old laboratory of the 19th century in Paris. It is made of black slate slabs.

    I was so happy to welcome our australian friends for a few days. Louis-Marie and I were so warmly welcomed in their house in Canberra last year for more than a month !!!. It is great to share places we love and good food, with these connoisseurs.

    Bénédicte Bresson

    1. says: Christine Salins

      Thank you Bénédicte from the bottom of our hearts. I love that our friendship has extended over so many years (decades!) and that we have spent so many hours together at the table.

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