Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Recipes from a Lost Classic 2 -- Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point







La Dombes, Ain, France





Velouté de Gaudes
(Corn Meal Velouté)



In the Bressan dialect, “gaudes” refers to corn flour or corn meal.  The natives of the region of Ain eat a great deal of corn meal, one of the reasons they’re often called “ventres  jaunes”yellow bellies.


Slice three onions very finely and cook them in butter until they are slightly golden.  Mix a small amount of chicken broth into a ladleful of corn meal to make a paste and add to the onions with more chicken broth.  Beat vigorously and simmer for one-half hour.  Add sixteen ounces of crème frâiche, correct the seasoning and serve very hot.   

This recipe will make four servings.





La Pyramide, Vienne, France




Even if certain guests make a “frown soup,” always keep a smile.


One must be able to withstand a disagreeable remarkStrong spirits hold no grudges.



 --   Fernand Point 






2 comments:

  1. I love this, esp. the guests with their frown soups.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. The soup itself is simple and looks super-easy. The fact that it's non-meat Fernand Point recipe made it appealing to post. Point was an extraordinarily interesting person, larger than life, but real and very affectionately remembered. When I was 8 years old, my parents took me to lunch at La Pyramide and it's one of the few moments I remember vividly from my childhood. Not so much the food, but the surroundings, what I perceived as the welcoming warmth, which I associate with all really fine restaurants, and of course the town of Vienne with its little pyramid. It's one of the few memories I wish I could revisit in person. Curtis

    ReplyDelete