Saucisse de Toulouse

Here is my recipe for Toulouse Sausages. These are simple, all-purpose French sausages that can be used in a variety of dishes, but most notably, Cassoulet de Toulouse. Since we are on the verge of Cassoulet season, I thought it fitting to insure that a fresh supply of sausages was on hand. These sausages are lightly flavored with white wine, garlic, nutmeg, coriander, allspice, thyme, and savory. They can be used in any recipe calling for a fresh garlic sausage. They are also great grilled and served with plenty of crusty bread and Moutarde Violette.


Saucisse de Toulouse
Makes about 20 sausages

• 3 pounds of fairly lean pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces and well chilled
  
• 1 pound of pork fatback, cut into 1 inch pieces and well chilled
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
  
• 1 teaspoon coriander, ground
• 1 teaspoon thyme, dried
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, ground
• 1/2 teaspoon savory, dried
• 2 garlic cloves, creamed (optional)
  
• 1 cup white wine, I prefer Sauvignon Blanc
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 12 feet of hog casings, rinsed thoroughly**
  

Using a meat grinder, coarsely grind the pork shoulder and fatback together. Use the die with the large holes, or a die specifically for sausage-making. After meat and fat are ground, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the hog casings. Mix thoroughly in a large bowl with your hands until well combined. Cover seasoned sausage mix with plastic and refrigerate overnight. The next day, cook a small patty of sausage mix to check seasoning. If you feel that the sausage needs more salt or any other seasoning, add it now.

Cut the rinsed sausage casings into 3 foot lengths. This will make it easier to work with. Carefully thread a length of casing onto a sausage filler tube. When the end is reached, tie a knot. Carefully begin to stuff the casings, being careful not to over-stuff. If you over-stuff the casings, they will burst. Also, be careful not to have large air bubbles in the casing. The sausage mix should be packed semi-firmly, and look full. This will take some practice, but this really is the fun part. If the casing bursts, or if you notice a hole, stop at that point. Empty the casing enough to tie it off.


Continue this procedure until all of the sausage mix has been stuffed into casings. Remember to leave yourself enough room at the end of a length of casing to tie a knot. The casings are slippery, so this part can become quite comical! Once all of your casings have been tied off, you are ready to twist the casings to form individual sausages. Be very gentle! This is where trouble can quickly set in. Measure off 6 to 8 inches, gently pinch the sausage, and twist a couple of turns. If your casings are too full, this added pressure will cause them to fail. If this happens, never fear, just stuff any left over casings (you will have left overs).

Once individual sausages are formed, they can be used immediately, or carefully wrapped and frozen for three months.

** This large amount of hog casings will give you more than enough to work with. Luckily, hog casings are inexpensive, and it is better to have too much rather than not enough. It is guaranteed that some will break until you become accustomed with the stuffing procedure. Don't worry, just keep trying. After all, it is an art!

Moutarde Violette

This is my new must-have ingredient! It is the famous Moutarde Violette de Brive. It is mustard made with grape must. Made since the Fourteenth Century, this style of mustard can be traced back to ancient times. In fact, our word mustard comes from the Latin word mustum, which means grape must. Famous in the Limousin region of Southwestern France, Moutarde Violette is the perfect condiment for duck, pates, sausages, beef, and really just about any other place that you would want to use mustard! Its flavor is sweet and delicate with a haunting hint of spice. It is available in two styles, whole grain and smooth. Makes a great base for sauces and vinaigrettes. In the United States, it is available online from Zingerman's (whole grain, search for Violet Mustard), La Cuisine (smooth, search for Purple Mustard), and other sources. Sometimes, due to U.S. labeling laws, it is referred to as "Purple Condiment". In France or the rest of Europe, you can order it from Bien Manger (smooth, search for Moutarde Violette).

Ragout Forestiere : Wild Mushroom Ragout

With my new-found love of mycology, I just can't seem to get enough mushrooms in my life. Since we are at the height of Chanterelle Mushroom Season, I developed this recipe to pay homage to one of my favorite fungi. This is an elegant combination of some of nature's greatest treasures, Chanterelle and Lobster Mushrooms, along with our Poached Summer Truffles. This Ragout can be served as its own course, or as a side to meat, poultry, or fish.

Ragout Forestiere
Serves 6 to 8

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 small shallots, minced
• 7 ounces Chanterelle Mushrooms, cleaned**, and cut in half, small mushrooms left whole
  
• 7 ounces Lobster Mushrooms, cleaned**, and cut into large pieces
  
• 2 Summer Truffles, diced large
  
• 1/4 cup dry white wine, I prefer a Sauvignon Blanc
• 1/4 cup truffle poaching liquid
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 sprigs fresh French Thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. When butter just begins to brown, add the shallots and saute until translucent. Add both mushrooms and the truffles, and saute until the mushrooms just begin to brown around the edges. Do NOT shake the pan or stir the mushrooms around too much as this will cool down the pan and cause your mushrooms to stew. When the mushrooms begin to brown, add the wine and reduce until the pan is almost dry. Add the poaching liquid and reduce until the pan is almost dry. Add the cream, thyme, and parsley. Stir to just combine, and season with salt and pepper. Cook together for 3 more minutes, and serve immediately.

** To clean the mushrooms, wipe off with a damp cloth. If the mushrooms are very dirty, quickly run them under running water. Pat dry before cooking.

BTKW Chef's Garden 2009 Update

Picking cucumbers on a beautiful morning

The harvest continues! Everything is doing well except for the bush beans, beets, and fennel; all of which succumbed to the well-fed rabbits! They are smarter than they look! I did get some of these vegetables, but they were underdeveloped due to constantly having their leaves eaten. Such is life!

The corn has come in, sweet and tender. The pickling cucumbers are also abundant. I have already made one batch of Refrigerator Kosher Dill Pickles. I will share the recipe soon. Herbs are still abundant. The cilantro is going to seed, and is providing me with intensely flavorful green coriander. Squashes are starting to come in, and the tomatoes are FINALLY heavy with fruit. I should be up to my eyeballs in tomatoes in the next 2 weeks! Tomato canning in my near future! Peppers are still small, but coming around. Better luck next year.

Remembering Julia Child

With all the hoopla surrounding the release of the new movie "Julie & Julia", I thought it only fitting to jump on the Blogger Bandwagon with my two cents. Wouldn't want my blog to miss any Google hits. I guess this makes me guilty of using Julia's name and reputation to get ahead, something she would have frowned upon. But hey, everybody is doing it, so that makes it alright, n'est-ce pas?

Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE Julia Child fan. She has been my hero since I was a small child. I remember watching the French Chef series in the mornings along with Sesame Street and Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood back in the early 70's. I firmly believe that she is responsible for my love affair with fine food. She inspired me to cook, and to become a Chef. She taught me to be an undying Francophile, as she was. I love her, and I always will. I am thrilled that they actually made a movie about her. I saw the movie, and I absolutely loved it! But I love all things Julia. I always have. She deserves this recognition because she completely changed the way that Americans ate. Notice that I say ATE, not EAT. All of the great progress that Julia inspired in the 60's and 70's has been undermined by the glut of corporate/fast food/Food Network crap of the 80's, 90's, and 2000's. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Julia Child was a Purist. She believed in good, honest hard work, and everything in moderation. She loved food, and she loved French food most of all. She is the perfect anti-hero for today. She did not peak at 25 years old and make millions by selling out. She did not even learn to cook until she was 37 years old (practically dead by today's standards). She was not youthful, she was not glamorous or graceful, she didn't have a great TV personality, but she had passion and the courage of her convictions. This is sadly the one quality that is missing from today's "Stars". There is no passion for food, only sales and competition. Julia would be absolutely mortified at what the "Celebrity Chef" has degenerated into, a cheap pitch person for merchandise. A talking head with absolutely no food sense whatsoever. She would be shocked to see Gordon Ramsey risk Michelin Stars for ratings.

Julia never lent her name to any merchandise, only her books and television series. Julia never lent her name or endorsements to other cookbooks. She did not want to have her name exploited by the mass media marketing machine. She knew the dangers of allowing money mongers to get their cold, corporate hands on her art. She was a true artist, living only to cook her beloved French Cuisine for her beloved husband, and for us. A true gift.

According to Sarah Moulton, who was lucky enough to be mentored by Julia Child, Julia absolutely HATED the Julie/Julia Blog. She thought it was gimmicky and exploited her name and reputation. This was the attitude that Julia had towards most people that tried to pay her homage. She wanted none of it. She wasn't a saint, she was a teacher. She worked hard and wanted others to work hard too. There was no time for platitudes, only food. And make that French food, thank-you! The greatest food of all!

Yes, Julia Child loved La France. From the moment she tasted the Sole Meuniere at La Couronne in Rouen, she knew that she was home. She knew what her life's mission was - to teach Americans to adore the treasures of the French table. This is the Julia Child of my experience. The teacher absolutely brimming with all things French. As I watched her as a child, I knew that she spoke the truth. She made me want to be French, like she wanted to be French. Today I like to say : Je suis Americain, mais mon coeur et Francais (I am American, but my heart is French). This was how she felt. She loved America, but her heart and soul were French.

And it worked! America fell madly in love with this strange creature who wasn't afraid to give it her all. Her passion for La Cuisine Francaise was greater than her lack of perfection. She was like us, imperfectly human. When she dropped something, she picked it up and kept going. Fearless! She became so popular that she made the cover of Time Magazine's Thanksgiving issue in 1966.
Her passion continued for the rest of her life. She worked tirelessly to teach Americans the Art of French Cooking. She inspired a whole generation of new Chefs to cook from the heart. She changed the way that Americans ate. Besides winning many TV and literary awards, and an honorary doctorate from Harvard, Julia Child was also presented with the Legion of Honor by her beloved France in 1991. She was presented with the Medal of Freedom by the United States in 2003, the highest civilian honor.

So what happened? Why has our Food Culture degenerated to the point that there is a Panera on every corner, and a real bakery can't make it? Why as a nation do we consider going to the drive thru at McDonalds a suitable option to feed our children a "meal"? Why do we attempt to ban foie gras, but cigarettes are legal? Why is there E-coli on my Enoki mushrooms? Why are we considering legislation to make it illegal to criticize monster food conglomerates for their crimes against nature and humanity? What the hell is going on in this country?

We have become divorced from the notion that GOOD FOOD = PLEASURE!!!

We are so hung up on convenience that we have sold our health and the health of our children for our hectic schedules. We run around like idiots, from work, to school, to soccer practice, to activity after activity, but we don't stop to eat as a family. When we are finally at home together, we go off into our own isolated/electronic worlds: IPod, Texting, Cell Phone, Video Games, IPhone Apps, Web Surfing, etc... How many times do you have to tell your kids NOT to text at the dinner table? We are drifting apart as families and as a nation. The once strong bond of the dinner table has been replaced by grabbing a bucket of calorie laden "food" on the way from soccer practice to Hip Hop dance practice. It's nuts!

And the corporations are there to make it all possible. We have returned to the America that Julia Child faced when she was first starting out. The America of the Frozen Dinner. The America where having to be in the kitchen was seen as some kind of Draconian punishment. Only now it's worse because there are even more "choices". We can feed ourselves for very little money and very little time. Sounds great, but look at the consequences: obesity, diabetes in children, heart disease, cancer, cancer, cancer, sexually mature 8 year olds (from hormones), powerful new strains of E-coli, genetically modified organisms, irradiation, pollution, and Paula Deen - who is the spokesperson for Smithfield Foods, one of the biggest polluters on EARTH!
Shame on you, Paula! Did you do any research at all, or do Y'ALL only care about money???

I think that America needs Julia Child, now more than ever! We need her to teach us again. We need to STOP and LISTEN. The release of Julie & Julia has the potential to introduce a whole new generation of young Americans to the Grande Dame of French Cuisine. When I went to the movie, the theatre was PACKED! I actually had to wait in a huge line because so many people wanted to see Julia again. I found it very encouraging. It's not too late, we can still get this right. We just need to turn off the Food Network and listen to someone who actually loved food!

I love you, Julia! You are my HERO. Thank-you for teaching me to love La Cuisine. I miss you.
Bon Appetite!

French Walnut Vinaigrette

A staple of fine French cuisine, roasted walnut oil is the perfect compliment to summer salads. My favorite brand of walnut oil is made by La Tourangelle, a company that has been handcrafting fine oils for 150 years in Saumur, France. They also offer a wide array of other quality oils for all of your favorite recipes.

This is my variation on La Tourangelle's standard vinaigrette recipe. I like to add slightly more vinegar for a brighter flavor.

French Walnut Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup roasted walnut oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon cabernet sauvignon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste, I recommend 1/4 teaspoon of each
  

In a small bowl, whisk vinegar, mustard, salt**, and pepper together. Slowly drizzle in walnut oil, whisking thoroughly.

** Tip - Always add salt to the vinegar before adding the oil. Oil can prevent the salt from dissolving completely.