Stage 16: Martigny > Bourg-Saint-Maurice

• Salade de Melon et Figues avec Crème au Basilic (Melon and fig salad with basil cream)
  
  
• Côtelles d'Agneau Grillés (Grilled lamb chops with fresh thyme)
• Asperges et Artichauts aux Olives Noire et Parmesan (Sauteed asparagus and artichokes with black olives and parmesan
• Pommes de Tere Rôtes aux Herbes Variées (Roasted potato halves with herb sprigs)
• Mushrooms with crème fraîche
• Salade de Tomates (Tomato salad)
  
  
• Mesclun salad with a walnut oil and balsamic vinegarette
  
  
• Carolina Moon cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery, baguette slices
  
  
• Tarte aux Noix (Walnut tart), expresso
  

Stage 15: Pontarlier > Verbier

• Poisson aux Olives et Artichauts (Fish with olives and artichokes)
• Sauteed asparagus and mushrooms
• Figues Rôties a la Crème Fraîche (Oven-roasted figs with crème fraîche)

Stage 11: Vatan > Saint-Fargeau

Today's stage moves through two regions known for their produce and wine: Centre and Languedoc-Burgundy.

Centre is the leading grain-producing region of France, crossed by the River Loire, and home to the fruity wines of Touraine.

Burgundy is synonymous with the finest and most prestigious wines: Chablis, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune, Mercurey and Pouilly-Fuissé. The region also a grain-producing and cattle breeding area. Charolais, Morvan and Nivernais cattle produce some of the country’s most flavourful meats.

What to eat this evening? It's up in the air. B and N are off to Raleigh, where Big Medicine is playing at Quail Ridge Books.

Perhaps I'll make a trip this afternoon to Wine Authorities, where it's a sure deal that Craig or Seth can fix me up with a bottle or two of something regionally appropriate.

Who wants to join me in drinking some wine and (re)watching the day's stage?

Stage 10: Limoges > Issoudun

• Tart au Roquefort et Tomatoes (Fresh tomato tart with roquefort)
• Asperges et Artichauts aux Olives Noire et Parmesan (Sauteed asparagus and artichokes with black olives and parmesan)
• Gratin Dauphinois (Potato gratin)
• Assorted fruit, including cherries

This was a surprisingly successful menu, which required only about two hours kitchen time.

The tart was very rich, but one small slice was an excellent starter. The sweet fresh taste of the roasted tomato slices was beautifully highlighted by the blue cheese. (I am going to play with this recipe, substituting other cheeses -- perhaps goat cheese from Celebrity Diary? -- and also trying the filling on a pizza crust.)

And then on to the main course. Once everyone had filled their plate, silence descended and people started making happy moaning sounds as they began eating. The asparagus and artichoke saute was a great foil for the potatoes, sliced 3 mm thick and baked in milk with Gruyere, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Everyone sought after the brown, slightly crunchy bits from the top, sides, and corners of the gratin pan ...

Stage 9: Saint-Gaudens > Tarbes

Oh, that I would have access to a butcher who sold nice fresh rabbit! We would have eaten rabbit cooked with bacon and prunes. Instead, we pretended that the tour was in the Auvergne -- a region it went through in 2008 -- and ate the following vegetarian meal:

• Pastis T Tartifle Auvergno (Potato tart from the Auvergne)
• Courgettes Chaudes aux Noix et Roquefort (Warm zucchini with walnuts and roquefort)
• Assorted fruits for dessert

The zucchini dish is simple and a true delight. Steam zucchini rounds until tender, and then toss them with a 3:1 mix of walnut oil and red wine vinegar. Add in a few ounces of roquefort and some coarsely chopped walnuts.

Some of the cheese remains in tempting little clumps, while the rest melds with the vinegarette and the zucchini juice to make a succulent and tempting sauce that people eagerly spoon up ...

Stage 7: Barcelone --> Andorre Arcalis

• Sliced tomatoes, basil, chevre
• Bread from La Farm bakery
• Green salad with an olive oil and balsamic vinegarette
  
• Haddock in a pinenut sauce
• Plum custard cake
  

Stage 6: Gérone --> Barcelone

Spain! I had to make a trip to the library to check out some new cook books, one of which was Joyce Goldstein's Savoring Spain and Portugal.

This book yielded a fabulous shrimp recipe, which took less than five minutes to make! (To be honest the entire meal flew together in about 15 minutes.)

Here's what we ate tonight:

• Fresh tomatoes from my garden, sliced, with basil and crumbled Celebrity Dairy chevre
• Mesclun greens with a walnut oil and balsamic vinegar dressing
• Gambas al Pil Pil (Sizzling shrimp with garlic)
• Sliced baguette

I warmed olive oil and added garlic, red pepper, and paprika; then I tossed in shrimp and lemon juice. It was done in about three minutes, and the pan juices were delicious and succulent. I caught B cleaning out the sautee pan with scraps of bread :)

Stage 5: Le Cap d'Agde --> Perpignan

Cap d'Agde is the seaside resort of the town of Agde, in the région of Languedoc-Roussillon. Perpignan is a commune and the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Perpignan was the capital of the former province and county of Roussillon, as well as the continental capital of the Kingdom of Mallorca back in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Here's what on the menu for dinner this evening:

• Omelette aux Champignons Sauvages (Wild mushroom omelet)
• Asperges au Beurre d'Estragon (Asparagus with tarragon butter)
• Green salad with a walnut-oil vinegarette
• Cazelle de St. Affrique, bread
  

Cazelle de St. Affrique is a sheep's milk cheese from the Pyrenees region; what we'll be eating tonight has the distinction of being aged by famed affineur Herve Mons.

UPDATE: We skipped the green salad -- but I made a Gateau de Mure (Blackberry upside-down) cake after dinner. It was a big hit with both B and N :)

Dessert recipe from Savoring France, by Georgeanne Brennan.

Stage 2: Monanco --> Brignoles

Today's stage moves into the Var départment and ends in Brignoles, where the counts of Provence built a summer residence in the 13th century.

In an ideal world, I'd be able to get my hands on beautiful, fresh, succulent, mussels on a July Sunday in Durham, NC. If so, I'd cook either Pot-au-Feu de Poison (fish stew) or Soupe aux Moules (mussel soup). But I think I'll need to take a rain check on that idea, and perhaps return to it later during the Tour.

Assuming that I can locate good tuna, here is my tentative menu for this evening:

• Salad de Tomates (Tomato salad)
• Civet de Thon (Tuna braised in red wine)
• Riz au Safran (Saffron rice)

Dessert is up in the air, perhaps a fresh cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery, maybe Petits Pots de Crème à l'Orange (Little pots of orange cream) ...

UPDATE: I did find five pounds of luscious mussels, and so here's what we ate:

• Green beans and anchoïade
• Soupe aux Moules (mussel soup)
• Carolina Moon cheese from Chapel Hill Creamery
• Melon and blackberries

The mussel soup was hearty and complex, appropriate for the colder-than-usual and wet weather here in Durham. I began with a mirepoix (leeks, carrots, and celery), which I later pureed; cooked the mussels in white wine and shelled all but two dozen; sauteed lardons (half-inch strips of bacon) and added diced leeks, carrots, and celery; finally combined everything and seasoned the soup.

Stage 1: Monaco --> Monaco

It's Tour time again!

While I considered making a traditional dish from Monaco (socca or Fougasse), the offerings at this morning's farmers market influenced my decision to go with dishes from the Alpes-Maritimes:

* Fresh olive bread with anchoïade
* Mostelle Croutée aux Olives Noires (Cod with a black olive crust)
* Tian de Légumes (Layered vegetable gratin)

The vegetable gratin has a layer of swiss chard on the bottom, cooked with rosemary, golden raisins, and pine nuts; then a layer of tomato sauce made with a variety of heirloom tomatoes, basil, and parsley; a third layer of zucchini, and finally a topping of grated Gruyère cheese and bread crumbs. This dish took a while to make, as you can imagine.

Dessert, you ask? A blackberry almond-cream tart :)

Recipes from Savoring Provence, by Diane Holuigue.