Ratatouille with little fried kale patties, Cyrille's father's apartment, Rodez, France
Amélie came over for lunch and brought with her this delicious ratatouille and crispy little fried kale patties. We had never had these little kale patties before, but they were great. The ratatouille was excellent, although it had no tomatoes as traditional ratatouille usually does. The vegetables were soft and sweet, and incredible.
Traditional caneles, Cyrille's father's apartment, Rodez, France
For dessert we had this little traditional caneles. They are spongy and sweet with a little touch of burnt flavor that gave it a sort of caramel flavor. Excellent.
Everything-out-of-a-can stew with frozen tuna pizza, Cyrille's father's apartment, Rodez, France
My magic chef wife did it again, she made food out of nothing! We had a pretty decent stew consisting of only canned ingredients. Sandra Lee would’ve been proud. While its hard to say exactly what went into the stew, I do know for sure that it had lentils, chicken dumplings, and red wine. I thought it was pretty good but Charity disagreed. We do agree on the pizza though, it was dreadful. Tuna and an ominous white sauce on a pizza crust with shriveled up and yellowed tomato cubes. Wow. When’s breakfast?
Macaroni and cheese with tea, Cyrille's father's apartment, Rodez, France
Charity made food appear out of nothing. The ingredients were scarce, but she managed to find some pasta, some cheese, and some pre-made bechemel sauce. It wasn’t the greatest meal ever, but it wasn’t terrible, (better than that Italian place in Paris for sure). Creamy and cheesy, just the way macaroni and cheese should be.
Savory vegetable cake, Charline's house, Rodez, France
This was the appetizer Jessie baked for us at Charline’s house before dinner on the first night in Rodez. This was a strange but very tasty cake, filled with various vegetables and olives. It was a good precursor to the rest of the dinner.
Salad with vingrette, Charline's house, Rodez, France
This was a simple salad that Charline prepared for us. It was only lettuce and a vingrette, but the lettuce was fresh from their garden and super tasty. It was sweet and a little bitter, a perfect combination. The vinaigrette was a great balance of oil and vinegar and herbs.
Tomato and ham bolognaise over pasta with emmental, Charline's house, Rodez, France
Charline’s prepared this tasty pasta dish for us, even after working all day at the bank. She was so nice to us! The pasta was al dente, the sauce was sweet and savory with small chunks of ham. It was pretty good. The cheese we topped it with, by the double handful, was the standard everyday cheddar-like emmental. But this was the first time we noticed what it says on the bag. Cue the laugh track.
Emmental francais RAPE
I told Charity that I wasn’t comfortable eating any cheese that committed such a felony. Rape in French just means shredded.
Raspberry and lemon sorbet, Charline's house, Rodez, France
Nice and cold raspberry and lemon sorbet to finish out the meal. Delicious.
Steak hash with Roquefort sauce and frites, Bourges, France
This was the plat du jour at the little brasserie where we stopped at the half-way point between Paris and Rodez. We had been in the car for so long in heavy trafic that I think anything would have tasted good. But this meal actually was good. Steak hash is ground steak, cooked like a burger. I got mine medium rare, and it was delicious. The Roquefort sauce never loses. The frites were nice and crispy and to my pleasant surprise, drizzled with honey! You can see it there drizzled on the plate. What a good idea!
Sliced ham, turkey, and beef with salad and frites, Bourges, France
This was Charity’s strange lunch that took her by surprise when it was placed in front of her.
Charity and I ordered the same first course for the menu we got at this not-so-great Italian restaurant. We were with a group of Cyrille’s friends, and they picked the Italian place situated right next to the amazing looking French restaurant, (the Italian place was much cheaper). Sometimes it just doesn’t work out for everyone when you’re in a big group, oh well. This salad was pretty bad. Bad lettuce, bad tomatoes, very bad unidentifiable seafood, and a poorly flavored vinaigrette.
Duck confit with round frites, Paris, France
My second course. Absolutely, positively, the worst duck confit I’ve ever had. Why was this Italian restaurant even making duck confit in the first place? I don’t know. I’m sorry to say it because I want to hate everything about this place, but the frites were actually pretty decent, and the little cup of sauce was some kind of tasty garlic mayonnaise. The duck was gross though.
Chocolate mousse, Paris, France
This chocolate mousse tasted just like the picture: kind of blury, out of focus. I think it was straight from a package. I hope this place burns down.
Salmon on iceberg lettuce with frites, Paris, France
This was Charity’s main course. It was pretty bad. The salmon was atop some iceberg lettuce that would’ve fit perfectly in any side salad at any American diner. The sauce covering the salmon was equally bad and reminiscent of England’s salad cream. Yuck. But, those frites were pretty good.
Creme caramel, Paris, France
This was Charity’s choice for dessert course. Following suit with the rest of the food from here, it was pretty awful. Sweet, but lacking any real caramel flavor. The flavor tasted like the caramel-like sauce that comes with the apple dippers from McDonald’s. You know, the “caramel” that doesn’t solidify even after hours of refrigeration.
Chicken tomato and lettuce sandwich, Paris, France
This was a simple sandwich for yet another quick lunch in Paris. The baguette was nice and chewy, but the rest of the sandwich was lacking. No sauce, no seasoning on the chicken, pretty bland overall.
This was a quick snack we grabbed out-and-about in Paris. Just a simple croissant and an Origina for me. The croissant was deliciously flaky and fatty. I opted for the Origina from the fountain because I had only even had it from the bottle or can. It was still Origina, one of the greatest sodas ever invented, but it had a lot less pulp than the prepackaged variety. I want more pulp. I’ll stick with the can/bottle from now on.
Apricot danish with coffee Americain, Paris, France
Hotdog on a baguette covered in melted cheese, Paris, France
This was no joke, a hot dog on a baguette. They are everywhere in Paris. It definitely tastes better than our American hot dogs on a way-too-soft bun. This particular one wasn’t especially awesome, but it wasn’t terrible. It was too much for me, I couldn’t finish it. The bread was crispy from the extra time in the oven, and the cheese was nice and browned on the top. We sat outside and were immediately joined by a poor little pirate pigeon, (he only had one foot). He seemed very self-conscious of his missing foot when the other pigeons were near, he was sheepish and aggressive. I wanted to take him home and care for him, but Charity refused. Where ever you are little friend, keep on limpin’ and keep your head up, you’re doing just fine.
Steak with Roquefort sauce and aligot and salad, Paris, France
This was a very tasty meal that Charity and Cyrille and I had at a little restaurant less than a block from Jessie’s apartment. The steak and Roquefort sauce was the plat du jour, and Cyrille told me I just had to try aligot, (pronounced AL-e-go). Aligot is a dish traditionally prepared in the region Rodez is in, thus Cyrille was excited for us to try it. It’s basically mashed potatoes that are beaten to death while adding enormous amounts of cheese. Aligot has a very smooth and cheesy texture, when a bit is lifted from the pile with a fork it takes on the appearance of taffy being stretched. It tastes great, more cheese flavor than potato. My salad was great with a tasty vingrette, always predressed, no choice of dressing here in France.
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner. 