Hija MAMMA.........

It's confusing, Mother's Day is different in various places over the world, but this Sunday seems to be OK......!
Going out is probably best, because it gives us all a rest, except for the wallet/pocket book!
If you feel up to it, here are a couple of ideas to do at home. They are all somewhat different and contain a lot of that famous colour associated with females and mamma's....... ROSÉ, so what other wine than Rosé (AKA BLUSH!) or Rosé Champagne........could be served....?
Have a nice time and - NO SHOUTING.....Screaming etc......!

Crème de foie gras aux betteraves	Brochettes de poissons	Gaspachos de fruits rouges

A l'occasion du Festival de Cannes, invitez vos amis
à déguster les stars des bouchées chics ! 
35 recettesQue savez-vous des fruits et légumes de printemps ? 
Avec l'arrivée des beaux jours, reviennent les savoureux fruits et légumes de printemps. Que savez-vous précisément des fraises, asperges et carottes ?
  Quiz en imagesLa betterave dans tous ses états

Au four	En chips	En velouté froid	En cake

Alliée idéale des salades, des terrines et des veloutés, la betterave atteint sa pleine saveur dès le mois de mai. Profitez-en ! 20 idées

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Workers unite (around the table!)

Mayday is the International call sign of DISTRESS, and when I look at the choice available for food on this day, I can only agree! Everyone must be too busy dancing around the Maypole, but that makes you hungry and thirsty!
I like the German idea - Maitag serves as "Dad's Day" (Vatertag) as well, and the fellows arrange beerwagons and little beerpicnicks, disappear for the whole day and have fun until the headache in the morning!
  This is full of bier and blokes....for the necessary toilets there are no recommendations!

For specials on the table there are few offerings as well......!
Right here in my area, there are the local items in season, particularly Asparagus, and due to the lack of choice otherwie, it is served in all manners,,,,quiche - steamed-grilled-with bechamel gratined, with all those butter mayonnaise sauces - bearnaise,  hollandaise even tartare.
Always with a message......... except here there is no time for demonstrations - we're here to eat!

 So - have a nice time - if you can......MY wife has strange ideas (Italian ones) some kind of pasta and gravy for lunch......I ask you - on Mayday....!
See what I mean...? "MAYDAY" in the International sense......distress call!

unbeleivable......

This showed up on Facebook as the "Yarmouth" full British Breakfast.

It costs £15, but if you eat it all within 60 minutes, it's for free!

Count the cholesterol..........

Creative can be cheap, but good..........

I found Tina Concetta Marzocca's profile on LinkedIn and thought you might be interested. I would be happy to introduce you to them through my network.

Original creations in photography, yours could be next - cheaply!

A logo.....a signature....a festive greetings card.....? It's waiting for you......and you won't need a second mortgage....!

-Ian    (iwmyop)  Mr le Marquis.

Google search-"iwmpop" - "mrlemarquis"
http://www.marquisdugalipot.blogspot.com

Facebook: Ian Mitchell -Twitter: Mr le Marquis

(iwmpop@gmail.com) Tel: (+ 0033 4 3008 5056 

(en France: 0430085056)

yep - it's today......

http://allrecipes.com/features/holidays/easter/default.aspx?prop24=PN_1.1.2_NP.Easter
Easter Sunday = late article, but maybe better late than never!
On the link you can learn how to cook and prepare a ham and lots of other things for Easter........my own favourite?..........

........and even better..........

Have a nice time........

Happy Easter - Joyeux Pacques - Schone Ostern......

how true.

I've stolen this!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/michellemaisto/2012/03/23/french-kids-eat-everything-take-notes/
The reason I stole it was simple - it is just so true, and I'd like you to read it.
I personaly, in 25 years of France, have NEVER heard a French child sit at table and say "DON'T LIKE THAT - NOT EATING IT!"

Think about British kids!

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Paddy Who.......?

 http://www.whatscook.in/articles/st-patricks-day-food/?sfp=1
I must be honest and admit I wasn't aware that corned beef was 90% St. Paddy's day diat!
I would have thought Spam more appropriate, but I'll go along, I love corned beef  - mind you, I don't dislike Spam either, especially fried spam fritters.......
Anyway, this is an excuse t try something you wouldn't normally, you can always blame the  Irish ......again!

Juat a word......

Just a litte message for you......
For more than 3 months now, I've been meaning to let you know why there are few or indeed no articles coming out of the factory.
As a result of extreme ill health, I have been suffering from various phsycological and cardiac problems. 4 stays in hospital haven't helped a great deal, and the medication I now have to take is rather powerful. It reminds me of those bad days just after being operated on for cardiac bypass surgery, and it was impossible for me to construct anything intelligibible.
This time we have to deal with "panic attacks" something I have never experienced before, but something which is extremely nasty, and involved the taking of strong medicaments and just hope they will have the effect required. Writing is imposssible, it takes hours just to correct the errors!
If you have never heard of this, don't just wipe it off as "non-existent" - beleive me - it exists unfortunately.
Here are a couple of links to let you know a little about it......
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Panic-disorder/Pages/Symptoms.aspx and http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx27.htm
Yes - I was told that there may be problems after cardiac surgery, but so much later, and in such a dramatic fashion has astounded me.
I can only hope things will work out, and apologise again and again to my compagnon, Tina Concetta Marzocca. This has not been the best introduction to our life together, but I am amazed at her capability and thankful that I was fortunate to meet someone like her.
All I can hope is that time will eventually allow us some normal time together and thank her again for her magnificent back up and help.

Ian W Mitchell.

pour tous-for all-fur alle.......

Happy New Year - Bonne Année - Gutes                     Neujahr......................................


(iwmpop - mr le marquis)

******************************************************************************

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Thin stuff -for a change...

  I saw a photo or two published from a meal I gave a little while back, and "Carpaccio de Boeuf" was the main course...here's a little information...
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpaccio
Now one of the reasons I chose to serve this was because I was fed up with the normal types of Christmas meal preparations.... and - although this wasn't for Christmas, I just felt the urge to try something different and adapt it from there for Christmas!...It's not always possible, since if you have family or friends you only see at Christmas, then they expect the standard things   or if you have children too....after all you don't want accusations that you're spoiling traditional Christmas for the kids (as well as avoiding all the vomit....)!

Image via Wikipedia

But......If you are just a couple, or a small group of people looking for a change, then these can be for you.
Carpaccio can be, and is, made from almost anything, certain foodstuffs being more adaptable. Basically raw meat or fish, obviously freshness is rule number 1, and certain things like poultry should be avoided, although cooked poultry - so long as you can slice it thinly enough - could be envisaged, or smoked poultry (yes - it does exist, although difficult to find)

Image via Wikipedia

Important point number 2 is that the plate should be served with thin traces of "vinaigrette"  ..made from good olive oil and if possible one of the specialist vinegars such as Balsamic or Port/Sherry wine vinegar, herbs and a good, thick emulsion being required.
If you can't get there, adding a little cold water to a thinner dressing - beating well - can often give the necessary thickness.

Another suggestion is to present "opposites" -hot fried or roasted potatoes, served with the cold carpaccio and vinaigrette, is surprisingly good.

Fish carpaccio is a delice, but make sure the fish is adapted and FRESH.....tuna or salmon are ideal, and I'd even go as far as to suggest haddock (smoked) - kippers (raw, smoked) and any other smoked fish, with a sauce adapted to the taste, and an accompaniment which fits (potatoes tend to go with everything)
Try it - for a change, and let me know how it went......
   Happy Christmas - see you all next year.......

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I'm game - it's wild......!

In German, it's called "wild" - coming from the fact that it's a source of supply from the uncontrolled free countryside, or supposed to be, in English, it's called "game" - you'll have to figure that out for yourself!
Becoming rarer and rarer, due to economic as well as environmental problems (a large number of wild animals are affected by radiation, by simple eradication of their lifespaces and of course by "culls" - the eradication of their species at the end of the day), "Game" or "Wild" is a rather expensive luxury nowadays, unless you are a hunter yourself, or have access to people who are.
This is a shame, because originally, game actually was a better choice than the domesticated animal, simply because they ate the food they scratched for and found naturally, whereas the domesticated animals are fed - targeted diats for the production of muscle (meat)- irrespective in general of the taste or quality.
I have a tendency to arrange the general term "Game" or "Wild" into categories which show the animals (more and more of them) which are becoming "normal" and almost domesticated. Rabbits for example, are farmed, but the so are deer, ostrich, and many others.
The truly "wild" (that is savage - free roaming) are becoming fewer and fewer, and this fact leads the human population to start breeding - the human being always likes to be in charge and get what he wants, when he wants it, on his table (and elsewhere)- something only arrangable by breeding. Unfortunately breeding reduces geberally the quality and taste, but certain animals are difficult - if not impossible - to breed.
Hare is one of them, although it does happen.
Other strictly "wild" animals are boar (wild pig)   and generally "stag" (venison) - although deer meat is often reared on "farms" nowadays. In general, the meats are all used in similar recipes as for other domesticated meats, bearing in mind that often the truly "wild" animal will probably have a much stronger taste than it's domesticated counterpart, which is the main reason that slightly "sweet-sour" sauces are used, and garnishes tend to have "sharp" items such as deep red cherries, quite sharp in taste - or ..
"Cranberry" sauce, also relatively sharpish - although in various garnishes other fruits are used, such as pears or even peaches, and I have seen and tasted  "Kiwis" in use with game dishes. Here is a little link to get you started....  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bacon-wrapped-rack-of-venison
Of course, "Game"  or "Wild" would not be complete without mention of all those feathered members of the breed. Partridges, Grouse, Pheasant  even wild Duck and Geese, all of them make up the larder as well. The smallest "quail" are now so often breeded, that I don't honestly consider them within the category "game".
There are "hunters" (at least they call themselves so) who shoot even the common sparrow - to be frank, this is not only criminal, but stupid. When a "songbird" is hit by a large calibre cartridge, there is NOTHING left over to eat!
Songbirds are there to sing, so let 'em sing.....!
It's a sort of "gentleman's agreement" - so - sing on.......!  Here is a link to charm you all with their little noises.....  http://www.blinkx.com/watch-video/songbirds/JggORUx8O-kT5F270riFCg

Finally, although "wild" or "game" is available all year round, there are certain periods when you can be sure that it is frozen and not fresh, during the "brooding" season. It's illegal, almost everywhere to hunt and kill during the breeding season. In the same way, there are periods when the meat is best, in Autumn, mainly, and always remember (if you're a huntsman) any animal (even the human being) is more tender when killed in ambush rather than after a long chase!
The reason is simple - a chase makes the muscle hardening natural product "adrenalin" pump through the flesh, making it much more tough to chew!  Even animals know this......
In French, for those who live here, the collective word for "Game" is "Gibier" and covers all (feathered or not) varieties. A hunter in French is a "Chasseur" and he is a dangerous species, blasting as he does at anything that moves in the local vineyards.......!


Bonne Appétit!