Category: Fourre-tout

A little bit of everything

Plaisirs oubliés (forgotten pleasures)

When I was a young lad, one of my most thrilling discoveries was the soft-boiled egg.
Later on, I came to appreciate more complex dishes but for sheer satisfaction nothing ever eclipsed “un oeuf à la coque”, a perfectly timed soft-boiled egg.

It is a very simple yet sophisticated fare that can be prepared in minutes, but few people are skillful enough to cook this item properly.
Restaurants are utterly incapable of preparing such delicacy.
In spite of my repeated admonitions, kitchen jocks proved totally unable to turn out decent “over-easy” eggs, let alone “oeufs à la coque”.

soft boiled eggs 050The perfect soft-boiled egg should have a firm white, a warm runny yolk and should be savored with “mouillettes” (thin fingers of bread that are delicately dipped into the warm yolk). To be properly savored, it should also be eaten in a “coquetier“.

Ultra-suave James Bond (MBE), when not bashing heads or making love to beautiful women, was known to be fond of SBE (soft-boiled eggs).
Shaken not stirred.

Before being able to produce the perfect soft-boiled egg, I fumbled with various methods, without ever being completely satisfied with the results.
The yolk was always undercooked or overcooked.

But one day a came across a set of instructions that changed my life.

And I owe it all to Jennifer Farley*.
It is on her blog (Savory Simple) that I discovered her foolproof recipe.

Since that fateful day, and after successfully producing a series of perfect “oeufs à la coque”, I stopped drinking and beating my wife.
I am now a new man and a better pétanque player.

Here is Jennifer’s simple but extremely effective recipe:

  1. Add ½ inch of water to a saucepan and bring the water to a boil on medium-high heat.
  2. Take the eggs directly from the refrigerator. Use tongs to VERY gently lay the eggs in the bottom of the pan.
  3. Cover and allow the eggs to steam for 6½ minutes.
  4. Run cold water into the pan for 30 seconds. Peel and serve.

Bon appétit you all, and check out Jennifer’s blog!

Alain

*Jennifer graduated from L’Académie de Cuisine in December 2010 and has been cooking and baking professionally ever since. Her blog, Savory Simple, began as a journey through culinary school and has evolved into a home for her recipe creations and food photography.

 

Karma

buddha-1369081592xqnLet me start by saying that I am a confirmed atheist and that I consider all religions to be a bunch of malarkey.
But, if I adhered to any faith, my beliefs of choice would be those of Buddhism.
Buddhism, because I like the idea of Karma.

“Karma is the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.”

Basically you can look at Karma as your credit score. It keeps track of your good and bad deeds, and in this existence or the next one, you will be confronted with a tally sheet. It would behoove you to be in the black.

All together it pays to have good Karma.
Good Karma is when you miss a plane that two hours later disappears from radar screens.
Bad Karma is when after kicking a small dog you come across his cousin. He is big and he looks angry.

As a believer of Karma I subscribe to the idea that all good deeds should be rewarded.
But sometimes, the Righteous among us are so discreet that their achievements go unnoticed.
They do good things because they feel like it. They seek no rewards.
Their actions come directly from the heart, without any afterthought.

I consider it my duty whenever I can, to publicize their accomplishments and give them the credit they deserve.

But this task should not be entirely up to me.

Whenever you come across somebody doing something praiseworthy, you should not hesitate to acknowledge it.
An unexpected “merci” often feels like a spontaneous kiss. It is greatly appreciated because it is genuine.

Moral:

Do good, and good will come to you!

Alain

 

 

The failed socialist experiment

I was born in France but have lived 2/3rd of my life in the US.
It is from here that I look with dismay at the ever-degrading political situation of the French Republic.

The French people renewed their long love affair with Socialism 2 years ago when they elected Francois Hollande as president.
Mr. Hollande is an amiable enough fellow, but totally lacking basic leadership qualities.
His detractors (and they are many) call him “Flanby” for a French jello-like caramel custard.

To be more accurate, the French did not really vote for Hollande, they voted out Nicolas Sarkozy.
They brought Hollande to the Elysée Palace to castigate the hyperactive (bling-bling?) former president.
They blamed Sarkozy for all the ills that have befallen the French society in the last 20 years. But to be fair, Sarkozy inherited the problems of a socialist system that refuses to face reality.

Now, after two years of ever-increasing taxes and absurd policies, many French express regrets about the outcome of the last elections.
Frustrated by the ineptitude of the present administration, many of them are unfortunately embracing the Front National, the Extreme-Right party.

Allister Heath, the Editor of City A.M., the daily business newspaper distributed in and around London puts it that way:

“France’s economic sickness is primarily due to its overbearing state, horrendously high tax levels, insane regulations, absurd levels of inefficient public spending and generalized hatred of commerce, capitalism, success and hard work”.

I wholly agree with this.

Socialism is a utopia.
It advocates some kind of a welfare state where production and distribution are tightly controlled by the government, and where getting wealthy is a sin that ought to be punished.
The former USSR is a prime example of the fallacy of this system and ought to be an example for the rest of the world.
But nobody is harder of hearing than somebody who doesn’t want to hear.

Instead of encouraging job creators and facilitating their success, the Socialists hinder their progress at every turn.
Disgusted by this sorry state of affairs, many young people have left France to seek their fortune in more accommodating countries, like Great Britain, Germany or the US.

Getting wealthy through innovation and business acumen, and taking employees in its wake, is the new way of doing business but Socialists are still using ox-drawn carts when the world uses electric cars.

And soaking the rich to pay for a welfare state is not the ideal solution to reenergize a moribund economy.

In France, joblessness is endemic. Why? Because potential employers hemmed in by taxes and regulations are dead set against hiring anybody.
Job creators need motivation, and the motivation is the hope of striking it rich.
Without it, why even try?

The government in its insane policy of trying to placate everybody pleases no one.

And now, this preposterous railroad strike paralyzing the country…when railroad employees can retire at 50 with a good pension… It is absolutely insane.

Anybody with spine ought to bust these out of touch trade unions, just like Margaret Thatcher did in Great Britain.
But unlike the indecisive clown dithering in the Elysée Palace, this lady had balls.

Where are the French Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Sheryl Sandberg?
They are everywhere but would not be caught dead in France.

Alain