We had the best of times!
Washington DC; Philadelphia; Naples, Florida; North East, Maryland and Whitstable, England
East Coast folk from both sides of the “Pond” came together in South West France, where the sun shone for us every day.
It even managed a mackerel sky to match Friday lunch–spanking fresh fillets of this tasty fish.
We peeled and chopped–worked hard and chuckled a lot.
We made chickpea pancakes to stuff…
French omelettes….
Italian frittatas too, to compare….
I forgot the grated parmesan for the frittatas–had to retrieve them from the stove and mix again!
Julia Child and her inspirational insouciance was kindly invoked by the Bravehearts: “Never mind, nobody knows but us!”
Over coffee, we talked of Cabbages and Kings and the Mediterranean way of cooking.
All our lunches taken al fresco, with a backdrop Leonardo would have been tempted to paint between mouthfuls.
Our neighbor Celine even taught us how to clean and braid garlic. Some, like Leslie, were naturals….
Others, try as they may…
will never master it…
What a lovely lot!
(Even the gatecrashers!)
(Shows it was just picked from the garden!)
Here’s to us!
Who’s like us?
Damned few!
…Well roughly 29 (Bravehearts!) at the latest count!
Bravo to the newest Bravehearts! A fine testament to Robin’s and Meredith’s lovely cooking class! Hi folks! -Jane B.
Hi Jane!–how are you and Dan doing?
Lovely! (I trust you saved a morsel of mackerel for the kitties!)
Ooh, looks like you all had fun! Glad you found that little free-loader before you chopped up the romaine!!
Had a similar story about a forgotten ingredient. When we got married and I first started cooking, my friend made a cheese-cake to die for, so I asked her for the recipe which she rattled off from memory. I was a bit daunted by the cost and the steps (tons of cream cheese, plus I had to buy a spring-pan, which I’d never used before). But I was so proud when I pulled it out of the oven–all lightly golden & gorgeous, no cracks or anything–and presented it to Gene. He took a bite…and…yuck! It was horrible! We threw the whole thing away. Disappointed, I went over all the steps, ingredients, etc. I had done everything my friend said! When I saw her the next day and told her about my disaster, she squealed, “Oh, my gosh! I forgot to tell you the SUGAR!” !!!
Meredith went a step further, Dianne. She mistook the fine white granules in a jar for sugar–they were salt!
Very nice photos Robin & Meredith, I feel the good atmosphere !
Hi Robin and Meredith,
Wonderful images from your latest cooking event. You all look so happy and it makes one want to go and cook a simple marvellous meal immediately. Hope you are now resting for some time and enjoying time off maybe picking walnuts (or is that too late now). I am now installed in my new (small) flat in Chichester. Have to get rid of even more”stuff”. I guess that is just good. Chichester and surroundings are very nice though and I am sure I will settle eventually.It is hard work to move. Romaine was here last week to check out what life could be like in a flat. Far too small for her and she does not want to get rid of anything. You seem to have made an impression on her because the idea of finding something more suitable is no longer dismissed outright. The experiment right now is to live in Sussex as much as possible where she feels more independent. Time will tell. Mike and I are off to northern Croatia (Opatija) and Venice next week. All love, Maj-Britt
Thanks Maj-Britt–lovely comments.
You sound very happy and nearly settled in. An example to Romaine who perforce sees she has to do something–hard for her though.
So good for her that you are relatively close. She loves Sussex and is happy there if a bit isolated. Maybe a stair lift in London is a temporary solution…rxx
Hi Robin,
I truly had the time of my life. When Mary returned from your first workshop, she was beaming and her eyes lit up every time she spoke about your workshop and her brief stay in France. I was hoping for a similar experience, but I was a little nervous since I don’t do much cooking these days… ;-} However, I found myself very much at ease with you and my fellow bravehearts. You have a wonderful gift for making everyone feel at ease and making every minute of the workshop enjoyable. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and a wonderful cooking/eating life style. I couldn’t have asked for a better time or teacher as well as a great group of people that I had the pleasure of attending with.
I would also like to thank Meredeth and Simone for all of their hard work as well.
Well done!
Thanks,
Neil
It was a pleasure having you be part of the group, Neil (Mary too of course)–thank you for being such a committed and contributing Braveheart. Thanks too for the upstairs and down again clear up did–made all the difference. Warm regards and a la prochaine!
That’s why you didn’t post any stories or photos like the ones of your lovely cats for my Little granddaughters….. My compliments to you and your bravehearts, I envy you a Little but….maybe I could come soon ……
Thanks for your understanding Rosaria–say hello to your granddaughters from Pippa, Beau, ben and Midnight!
Robin/Meredith: Nice photo essay, the art form of our times. You had the reader salivating, which is not that easy to do, and wishing he/she had been there. Also not so easy. Well done. And whether you intended it or not, it’s sure to attract lots of people for the next one. A sales pitch any ad guy on Madison Avenue would be proud to write and send forward.
If you saw my post on the mushroom restaurant near here, it followed Meredith’s photos of all those autumn mushrooms chez vous. I was moved to write it strictly to epater you two. See, we have great mushrooms here too. Always something coming into season in France. (Or just over the border.) What a lovely country to live in. Hope to see you next month. You’re invited to dinner whatever night you pass through–or both nights if you should stop coming and going.
Thanks Robert.
From a ‘Braveheart’ 1 to all of you at Four. Congratulations. Wonderful to see that atmosphere so beautifully captured on photo. I still do have very fond memories of that time – and of what I learnt. Learning starts with the same letter as Laugh – which you need to do if you want to learn!
Thanks for that `Chris–I have fond and enduring memories of the Pioneer Bravehearts.
I learned a lot too and we laughed a lot.
One day we’ll have a reunion…
Hi Robin,
The photos make it all look idyllic. Very envious from a very wet and grey London Monday.
I am very impressed with your garlic plaiting.
Love,
Simon
Thank you Simon–come down and I’ll give you a demonstration!
Make you laugh–guaranteed.
Hello Robin:
My lovely garlic braid was confiscated by Customs in Chicago. It smelled great (the giveaway). I feel certain that garlic went into a pot somewhere – just not mine! As always, Meredith’s pictures are great – looks like you had another spectacular weekend. Bob and I follow your cooking and blog and are the better for it. So, thank you!
–Betsy
Hello Betsy–hard to disguise the pungency of the garlic–so sorry.
Lovely to hear from you and I’m so glad you and Bob are flourishing; no more bicycle incidents I trust!
Take care and thanks for your message.
rxx
Lovely photos, evoking magical memories. The Lautrec garlic is living up to its billing back here in Whitstable, adding a certain Gallic pungency to the Whitstable sea air and the smell of the fishing harbour. Off shortly in search of some spice jars, then using a fall of crab apples from my garden and a cutting of fresh rosemary liberated from next door’s garden to make rosemary-infused crab apple jelly.
Sounds delicious and with a hint of autrefois, Richard.
Hello Robin, on a quest for any advice on buying tagines.
Friend Viv, who is coming to Lautrec with me for the class in Autumn 2015, is buying one for would-be-chef son-in-law for Christmas, and I want to buy one myself. Clay ? Glazed terracotta ? Cast iron ? And were we using diffusers with yours or straight onto the hob ?
The would-be-chef son-in-law incidentally did make it to the final of Celebrity Masterchef, but distinguished himself by storming out of Marcus Waring’s kitchen and off down Park Lane halfway through the event. Highly entertaining clip, if you Google “Mark Moraghan loses it on Celebrity Masterchef”.
Hope you are both well and enjoying good Autumn foraging around Lautrec. Was the walnut hunt successful ?
Best wishes to you both.
Richard
Hi Richard!
We probably used diffusers after bringing it up to the boil–does depend though how low you can turn down your burner–of course.
I’m no expert and each material will cook slightly differently I guess. Something to consider is the “look” of the tagine as it is the dish you present to table.The terra-cotta ones can look beautiful and authentic.
Walnuts better than last year though trees still blighted poor things.
Good to hear from you,
Robin