Such a great post! It's like we are there with you smelling and tasting. You are such a great writer, I would say a 'sensory writer'. I so appreciate these posts. I just subscribed and it is a joy to spend time on your blog. Thank you!
1. Bonjour Messieurs et ‘Dames, nous sommes venus de tres loin, du Nouveau Mexique et d’la Louisianne, pour remplir l’air avec une chanson.
Nous aimons l’ambiance du marché, les jolies couleurs et les gens pas pressés, les paniers vides en arrivant, et maintenant rempli avec les légumes et d’saucissons.
CHORUS#1: Attention; goûtez nos chansons; (elles) sont fraîches et bonnes, et si vous les aimez beaucoup, vous pouvez nous donner des sous.
2. Z’haricots, les ‘tits pois et les carottes; les aubergines, les courgettes, et les échalottes; le poulet rôti, le paté et les rillettes; tous les poissons, les moules et les huîtres.
Le melon de Cavaillon, les figues, les cerises, et les poivrons; les gâteaux, les croissants ; et les pains spéciaux, z’assiettes en bois, et les Opinels.
CHORUS#2: Le savon de lavande; le miel de la région; le joli tissu Provençal. Et bien sûr les fromages.
3. Chaource, Epoisses et la Tomme de Savoie; les pélardons, les picodons et le palet ardéchois; Bergonette, Brebiou, Chabechou et Cabécou; Boutons de culottes, les crottins de Chavignol;
Bleu d’Auvergne, Fourme d’Ambert, et St. Agur;
La Pyramide de Berry et le St. Nectaire; Le Port Salut,
Le Pont l’évêque, le brie de Meaux; St. Marcellin dans un pot.
CHORUS#3: Camembert, bien sûr; Coulommiers;
Etorki des Pyrénées; Et Rocamadour ALL NIGHT LONG
CHORUS #4: Attention; les sous sont ronds; ça quitte vos mains; Et tout de suite nous les dépenserons.
CHORUS #5: Attention; goûtez nos chansons; sont fraiches et bonnes; Est-ce-que vous avez des oursins dans vos poches?
I completely agree about raw vs cooked fennel - you lose all the flavor when cooking it! Read this on a sleepy Monday morning before work and it was the perfect pick-me-up.
I wholeheartedly agree that one should always enjoy a variety of cheeses. In Perigueux, I buy 3 of my favourites from ‘la fromagerie’. St Felicien, a creamy unpasteurised cow’s cheese, Napoleon, a hard ewe’s cheese with a delicious fruity nutty taste & from the same Pyrenees producer, a delightful blue cheese called Regalis. All 3 are just divine.
Divine post! Thank you :) Makes me just want to jump on a plane which of course I have not been able to do thanks to Covid...:( I often put sliced fennel with my onions (all generously doused with a good olive oil) into the dish when I roast chicken thighs - the flavoring from the chicken does magical things to the fennel imho. True comfort food...
Just returned to US from Burgundy. The grapes from Carrefour were like a glass of wine in your Mouth. Last of the great figs. Lots of fois gras and escargot. The Cooks Atelier in Beaune is a must for all of your kitchen needs. Love your newsletter. 🥰 Marlene.
I enjoyed reading this, but Fyi, I never encountered the “jump” to a longer newsletter…it just continued. I am already a subscriber, so perhaps that is the way I was meant to see it? On another front, can you please recommend a few good ways to use Pear William? Thanks!
Thank you for this, David! I, along with many others, have missed your market day IG Lives. This was a lovely Sunday evening read accompanied by a Boulevardier 😉 I have to admit that I prefer fennel cooked! I like it well enough when sliced very thinly in a salad but I love it in a gratin.
David, Thank you for the excellent post. Carver and I just returned from Normandy. At the French home of dear friends, Véronique prepared a Tarte Tatin. When I asked, « Quelles sortes des pommes? ». She replied, « Anciennes. » because the tree was so old on their property that she didn’t know what kind of apple tree it was?! Le dessert était délicieux!
I have never tried chanterelles! Seeing them in the Toronto shops these days. It's fall-y here and tonight I'm having roasted beets, baked sweet potato and your wonderful lentil salad for dinner. Without fennel though - it was too big to carry home from the market. :)
I was thinking of posting my French market photos from the Ave. Wilson market on Saturday when I saw your post. My comments: FYI to Romain…. Seedless grapes (delicious) are available at this market. Also… loved being in Paris for mushroom season, and love girolles. Chanterelles are the classification of a range of mushrooms, and girolles are one those. I have a house in the south of France and so, luckily, they put garlic on everything in my local restaurants. And of course, fill my house with the scent and taste. The range of fish and vegetables available at Ave Wilson was impressive, even though I shop at both the Cannes and Nice markets — forgot how fabulous Paris is. On another topic: I am an American with a CDC certificate for my 3 !!! Pfizer vaccinations, and a QR code on a California issues document. None of this uploads to the French Tous site…. Even after my French friends insisted that it was possible and tried without success (and without apology). So I have just my CDC card, and this weekend went to 4 museums in Paris without a problem… they just look at the CDC card and accept that it says Pfizer!! Also the same in restaurants, when they ask, which isn’t always. So no problem as far as my experience. And here’s to enjoying the differences in the ways our cultures do things. It doesn’t hurt to try new things, new ways, —including new foods and new people.
Adding to the fennel comments, I love carmelizing thinly sliced fennel and onions in olive oil, then processing them into a spread with a bit of parmesan and pepper, then mixing in some chopped good black (nicoise or dried cured) olives. I spread it on lighty toasted baguette slices, then bake until just warmed through. It's a great appetizer. David, I just love your posts. My husband and I had the good fortune to live in a small village just south of Tours (Veigne) for a year. Every Friday we went to our town's market, as well as visiting many of the other Tourraine choices (Langeais and Loches highly recommended for their products and fantastic settings). Plus touring through France and western Europe. So much of what you write rings familiar to me and often answers a lot of questions that my French neighbors and friends would just answer by "that's just the way it is" or something like that. And your comments on the French and their culture, as well as the differences between the USA and French cultures and foods are so funny - yet so true. A "lovingly humorous" approach is what we should all have in getting to know other cultures and you're a great guide in that. I should thank Romain as well, for contributing to the "vive la difference" aspects you so vividly write about. I must also thank you for your articles on French baking. They enabled me to make some American desserts for French friends without catastrophe. Finally, your comment about cooked oysters brings to mind a Thanksgiving we cooked for our neighbors. None had tasted cooked oysters and for the (French) entree, we featured my husband's family's scalloped oysters (butter, cream, bread crumbs and crushed saltines my sister sent over, baked with oysters) - served with, of course in the Loire valley, Vouvray petillant. Since it was the only thing in that course everyone had to try it, and it was a huge success! Of course, you can't buy shucked oysters so we had our fish monger just sever the oysters muscles so my husband didn't have to fully open 72 oysters! Well enough...thanks again.
Just by way of background, I am a native San Franciscan who is now living permanently in Paris. (Now there is an "absolute" statement ... and I mean it that way!)
You said "... in France they’re girolles, and in the US they’re chanterelles." I love girolles, and make a very good risotto avec girolles -- beaucoup des girolles. But I found the chanterelles that we had in California to be sub-par. It was explained to me that the girolle is a sub-species of the chanterelle; griolles are chanterelles but not necessarily vice-versa. (Whether that is true or not I don't know, but I have always liked the girolles here much better than I did the chanterelles in California.)
On cooked fennel, try braising sliced fennel and sliced red onions in chicken stock with fresh oregano ("none of that dried shit" as Anthony Bourdain said) and cannelloni beans. Finish with butter and a little red wine vinegar. I agree that uncooked fennel is great (try a slice fennel and salami sandwich!), but braised fennel and beans is "comfort food" for me. And quite simple.
Such a great post! It's like we are there with you smelling and tasting. You are such a great writer, I would say a 'sensory writer'. I so appreciate these posts. I just subscribed and it is a joy to spend time on your blog. Thank you!
I wrote this song about our love of Markets. We busked many of them for 30 years. CHANSON DU MARCHÉ - © Jeanie McLerie July 2001 Bayou Seco
1. Bonjour Messieurs et ‘Dames, nous sommes venus de tres loin, du Nouveau Mexique et d’la Louisianne, pour remplir l’air avec une chanson.
Nous aimons l’ambiance du marché, les jolies couleurs et les gens pas pressés, les paniers vides en arrivant, et maintenant rempli avec les légumes et d’saucissons.
CHORUS#1: Attention; goûtez nos chansons; (elles) sont fraîches et bonnes, et si vous les aimez beaucoup, vous pouvez nous donner des sous.
2. Z’haricots, les ‘tits pois et les carottes; les aubergines, les courgettes, et les échalottes; le poulet rôti, le paté et les rillettes; tous les poissons, les moules et les huîtres.
Le melon de Cavaillon, les figues, les cerises, et les poivrons; les gâteaux, les croissants ; et les pains spéciaux, z’assiettes en bois, et les Opinels.
CHORUS#2: Le savon de lavande; le miel de la région; le joli tissu Provençal. Et bien sûr les fromages.
3. Chaource, Epoisses et la Tomme de Savoie; les pélardons, les picodons et le palet ardéchois; Bergonette, Brebiou, Chabechou et Cabécou; Boutons de culottes, les crottins de Chavignol;
Bleu d’Auvergne, Fourme d’Ambert, et St. Agur;
La Pyramide de Berry et le St. Nectaire; Le Port Salut,
Le Pont l’évêque, le brie de Meaux; St. Marcellin dans un pot.
CHORUS#3: Camembert, bien sûr; Coulommiers;
Etorki des Pyrénées; Et Rocamadour ALL NIGHT LONG
CHORUS #4: Attention; les sous sont ronds; ça quitte vos mains; Et tout de suite nous les dépenserons.
CHORUS #5: Attention; goûtez nos chansons; sont fraiches et bonnes; Est-ce-que vous avez des oursins dans vos poches?
I totally agree with you about fennel and about anise - and I thought I was odd because of them.
I completely agree about raw vs cooked fennel - you lose all the flavor when cooking it! Read this on a sleepy Monday morning before work and it was the perfect pick-me-up.
I loved your newsletter!! I’m excited to visit France again when I get my confidence back to travel ❤️
I wholeheartedly agree that one should always enjoy a variety of cheeses. In Perigueux, I buy 3 of my favourites from ‘la fromagerie’. St Felicien, a creamy unpasteurised cow’s cheese, Napoleon, a hard ewe’s cheese with a delicious fruity nutty taste & from the same Pyrenees producer, a delightful blue cheese called Regalis. All 3 are just divine.
What a wonderful post, made me hungry! Merci beaucoup David!
Divine post! Thank you :) Makes me just want to jump on a plane which of course I have not been able to do thanks to Covid...:( I often put sliced fennel with my onions (all generously doused with a good olive oil) into the dish when I roast chicken thighs - the flavoring from the chicken does magical things to the fennel imho. True comfort food...
Just returned to US from Burgundy. The grapes from Carrefour were like a glass of wine in your Mouth. Last of the great figs. Lots of fois gras and escargot. The Cooks Atelier in Beaune is a must for all of your kitchen needs. Love your newsletter. 🥰 Marlene.
I enjoyed reading this, but Fyi, I never encountered the “jump” to a longer newsletter…it just continued. I am already a subscriber, so perhaps that is the way I was meant to see it? On another front, can you please recommend a few good ways to use Pear William? Thanks!
Thank you for this, David! I, along with many others, have missed your market day IG Lives. This was a lovely Sunday evening read accompanied by a Boulevardier 😉 I have to admit that I prefer fennel cooked! I like it well enough when sliced very thinly in a salad but I love it in a gratin.
David, Thank you for the excellent post. Carver and I just returned from Normandy. At the French home of dear friends, Véronique prepared a Tarte Tatin. When I asked, « Quelles sortes des pommes? ». She replied, « Anciennes. » because the tree was so old on their property that she didn’t know what kind of apple tree it was?! Le dessert était délicieux!
I have never tried chanterelles! Seeing them in the Toronto shops these days. It's fall-y here and tonight I'm having roasted beets, baked sweet potato and your wonderful lentil salad for dinner. Without fennel though - it was too big to carry home from the market. :)
I was thinking of posting my French market photos from the Ave. Wilson market on Saturday when I saw your post. My comments: FYI to Romain…. Seedless grapes (delicious) are available at this market. Also… loved being in Paris for mushroom season, and love girolles. Chanterelles are the classification of a range of mushrooms, and girolles are one those. I have a house in the south of France and so, luckily, they put garlic on everything in my local restaurants. And of course, fill my house with the scent and taste. The range of fish and vegetables available at Ave Wilson was impressive, even though I shop at both the Cannes and Nice markets — forgot how fabulous Paris is. On another topic: I am an American with a CDC certificate for my 3 !!! Pfizer vaccinations, and a QR code on a California issues document. None of this uploads to the French Tous site…. Even after my French friends insisted that it was possible and tried without success (and without apology). So I have just my CDC card, and this weekend went to 4 museums in Paris without a problem… they just look at the CDC card and accept that it says Pfizer!! Also the same in restaurants, when they ask, which isn’t always. So no problem as far as my experience. And here’s to enjoying the differences in the ways our cultures do things. It doesn’t hurt to try new things, new ways, —including new foods and new people.
Adding to the fennel comments, I love carmelizing thinly sliced fennel and onions in olive oil, then processing them into a spread with a bit of parmesan and pepper, then mixing in some chopped good black (nicoise or dried cured) olives. I spread it on lighty toasted baguette slices, then bake until just warmed through. It's a great appetizer. David, I just love your posts. My husband and I had the good fortune to live in a small village just south of Tours (Veigne) for a year. Every Friday we went to our town's market, as well as visiting many of the other Tourraine choices (Langeais and Loches highly recommended for their products and fantastic settings). Plus touring through France and western Europe. So much of what you write rings familiar to me and often answers a lot of questions that my French neighbors and friends would just answer by "that's just the way it is" or something like that. And your comments on the French and their culture, as well as the differences between the USA and French cultures and foods are so funny - yet so true. A "lovingly humorous" approach is what we should all have in getting to know other cultures and you're a great guide in that. I should thank Romain as well, for contributing to the "vive la difference" aspects you so vividly write about. I must also thank you for your articles on French baking. They enabled me to make some American desserts for French friends without catastrophe. Finally, your comment about cooked oysters brings to mind a Thanksgiving we cooked for our neighbors. None had tasted cooked oysters and for the (French) entree, we featured my husband's family's scalloped oysters (butter, cream, bread crumbs and crushed saltines my sister sent over, baked with oysters) - served with, of course in the Loire valley, Vouvray petillant. Since it was the only thing in that course everyone had to try it, and it was a huge success! Of course, you can't buy shucked oysters so we had our fish monger just sever the oysters muscles so my husband didn't have to fully open 72 oysters! Well enough...thanks again.
On girolles and cooked fennel --
Just by way of background, I am a native San Franciscan who is now living permanently in Paris. (Now there is an "absolute" statement ... and I mean it that way!)
You said "... in France they’re girolles, and in the US they’re chanterelles." I love girolles, and make a very good risotto avec girolles -- beaucoup des girolles. But I found the chanterelles that we had in California to be sub-par. It was explained to me that the girolle is a sub-species of the chanterelle; griolles are chanterelles but not necessarily vice-versa. (Whether that is true or not I don't know, but I have always liked the girolles here much better than I did the chanterelles in California.)
On cooked fennel, try braising sliced fennel and sliced red onions in chicken stock with fresh oregano ("none of that dried shit" as Anthony Bourdain said) and cannelloni beans. Finish with butter and a little red wine vinegar. I agree that uncooked fennel is great (try a slice fennel and salami sandwich!), but braised fennel and beans is "comfort food" for me. And quite simple.