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

Vienne, La Pyramide

“I try to make every meal une petite merveille.” 

– Fernand Point

“Fernand Point was just 25 when he opened the Restaurant de la Pyramide in the old Roman town of Vienne, halfway between Paris and the Cote d’Azur.  He had served apprenticeships at some of France’s best restaurants and hotels and was considered a cuisinier of ability and imagination, but no one could have imagined the extent of his culinary accomplishments to come.  Within ten years La Pyramide was recognized as one of the finest restaurants in France.  Point never had to advertise; his table and his dedicated clientele spoke for him more eloquently than any advertisement.”  --  From the Introduction, Ma Gastronomie

Chausson Aux Truffes Andre Pic

Peel some medium-size truffles and season them with salt and pepper.  Wrap each truffle in a very thin piece of pork fat and place on a circle of puff pastry dough.  Moisten the edges of the dough with water, fold into a turnover and seal.  Place the turnovers on a baking sheet, brush lightly with beaten egg, and bake in a hot oven for twenty minutes.  Serve hot.

Salade De Truffes

Brush and clean thoroughly some fresh truffles from Perigord. Slice them on a mandoline and marinate them for ten minutes in a mixture of lemon juice, salad oil, salt and pepper.  Serve immediately with some foie gras on the side.

Truffes Aux Chateuneuf

Brush and peel some truffles.  Crush the peelings in a mortar with a little olive oil and strain through a sieve.   Slice the truffles and put them in an earthenware  pot with a carrot, the white part of a leek, an onion, some finely minced thyme, the pureed truffle peelings, and some thick, well-seasoned veal broth.  Cook gently over low heat.  Add eight ounces of Chateauneuf-du-Pape during cooking.  Serve with a fried-in-butter crouton under each truffle slice.

Ouefs A La Coque Aux Truffes (Soft-Boiled Eggs With Truffles)

Put six large truffles in a bowl with some raw eggs in their shells.  Cover the bowl tightly with a damp cloth and keep it in a cool place for four or five days.  Remove the eggs and cook the truffles for thirty minutes.  Set the truffles aside for another use.  Soft-boil the unshelled eggs in the water in which the truffles have cooked and serve with small pieces of deep-fried potatoes to dip into them.

 

Ouefs Sur Le Plat (Fried Eggs)

"Fernand Point judged the merit of a cook by the way he made fried eggs.  That is why, despite his kindness and understanding, he would thunder out, “Stop, you wretch, that’s a farce!”, whenever one of his apprentices did not fry eggs according to the method indicated below."

Melt some butter in a small skillet but do not let it sizzle.  Break fresh eggs onto a plate and slip them into the skillet.  Cook over very low heat so that the whites of the eggs become creamy and the yolks are hot.  In another pan melt some unsalted butter very gently.  Salt and pepper it lightly and pour it over the eggs at the last moment.

Please See Also Part Two (Link)