Saint Remy Market

Markets are a wonderful source of menu inspiration. There is nothing better than developing a menu around fantastic ingredients. A walk through the weekly market in Saint Remy de Provence is more than inspirational. It is simply unforgettable.

Local outdoor markets in France are special. If you ever get a chance to visit France, make a point to spend a few hours walking through the market. There is a cornucopia of wonderful food and fantastic Ideas.

Mushrooms

In the fall you are sure to see a wonderful selection of mushrooms. In the US we grew up with one mushroom. The Champignon or white button mushroom was all we knew. We called generic tissue a Kleenex and a Champignon was a mushroom. My mom was an adventurous cook and I can remember her forcing mushrooms on us as kids. As the ungrateful brat that I was, I can even remember complaining about the smell of the mushrooms cooking. Today the sight of the mushrooms at Saint Remy made me drool with thoughts of mushrooms soup, sautéed mushrooms with chicken, mushrooms in a wine sauce with steak. I could go on and on.

Hostess Gifts

My book publicist made me write an article on hostess gifts. I protested that hostess gifts weren’t exactly a “guy thing”, but I tapped into my “expert panel” and wrote a fun article. Walk through the market in Saint Remy and you find all kinds of things that would make any hostess happy. One catch, you won’t find any Pro V1 golf balls, but I digress. (see the article)

Fruit de Mer

There is nothing like a multi tiered platter of fresh seafood at a Paris bistro. I always remember my buddy, the food scientist from Louisiana, ordering a whole platter for himself and declaring: “It is just protein and water”.

Cured Meats

Growing up in an Italian neighborhood in New York, I learned to love salamis and sausages. The cured meats at the Saint Remy market were simply at another level. A few of these salamis and a nice baguette would make the perfect supper club meal, for me.

The Perfect Takeaway

Do have people coming over for dinner and you are too tired to cook? Stop by the Saint Remy market and pick up some paella for dinner. Sounds pretty perfect to me.

Fromage

What to have for dessert? Why not bring home a selection of cheeses and a pear, an apple and a bunch of grapes. Voila!

Seasonal Specialties

For me, there are few things more inspirational than the perfect tomato, lettuce and peppers. To get vine ripened produce in season is more than special. Maybe I am just weird.

Exceptional Produce.

Every supermarket in the U.S. has produce, but to see really fresh produce at the market in Saint Remy was special.

OK, many of you are thinking: “The Saint Remy market is great, but I don’t live in the South of France”. My advice is go to your local market and dream a little. Think about the trip you took, the TV show you saw or even this silly blog. The chances are you will see something inspirational.

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Language Can Be Nuanced

You have to love the nuance of language. The same thing can be said the same way and mean many different things. It gets particularly nuanced when travelling and talking to people in a language that is not their mother tongue.Yet, you need to be careful pretty much all the time, even at supper club dinner parties because the old adage is true: “It is not what you say, it is how you say it”.

“I Am A Communist, And I Eat Capitalist For Breakfast”

A friend of mine was in Berlin back in the early 1990’s right after the Berlin wall had come down and reunification of Germany had just begun. He went for a jog in the morning in his sweatsuit and wearing a NY Yankee baseball hat (He is a native Memphian but…?). After his jog he went to a Burger King to get coffee. A scruffily dressed man walked up to David dressed in his American uniform and gruffly announced. “I Am A Communist, And I Eat Capitalist For Breakfast”. My buddy noticed how the Burger King employee taking his order winced and thought: “Now I am in trouble…”. Then the communist smiled and David realized that he just wanted him to know that he liked American food. Language can be nuanced.

“Une Femme D’un Certain Age”

You have to love the French. Not only can they really cook, but they have such a wonderful way with words.

They wouldn’t call someone an:

“Older woman”.
- A woman of a certain age sounds so much better

They wouldn’t say:

“He looks good for his age”
“He reminds me of his father” or worse: “His grandfather”.
“He looks so much older than his wife”
- “Un home d’un certain age” sounds so much better.

A classic example of Une femme d’un certain age was the French actress Simone Signoret in her later years. She was a great actress who was also married to the actor Ives Montand. Ives was famous in the U.S. for the movie he made with Marilyn Monroe, Let’s Make Love. It just so happens that Ives was a first cousin of our International Sales Manager at Kraft, John Argiro. John told us the story of how Ives had an affair with Marilyn during the filming of movie. As John said: “Who could blame him, he was French”. Simone never divorced him. She just made him pay. I am sure that more than language was nuanced.

“OK, OK, OK”

I was once going to Japan to negotiate a business deal. Before I left our corporate attorney, who had lived in Japan for a few years as a young man, gave me some advice: He said if the Japanese start saying “OK, OK, OK” that means they don’t understand what you are saying. To which I replied: “You mean it is basically the same as with an American talking to another American?” Language can be nuanced.

The good news with supper clubs is that if you are enjoying a meal with friends, you are probably on safer ground. It is always a good idea to think about what you say and how you say it, but if you say it with a glass of wine in your hand and a smile on your face, you are almost certainly OK.

Supper Clubs Are Going Global

The supper club concept is a good fit anywhere in the world. We recently had a wonderful evening with old and new friends in Puszczykowo Poland. Our Impromptu Sunday Night combined interesting people, amazing food and engaging conversation in a perfect setting. It was the perfect supper club dinner party.

Lucien and Ela Vendome hosted the evening in their wonderful new home. Lucien and I have been friends for many years. The book, Impromptu Friday Nights- A Guide To Supper Clubs is an offshoot of a question Lucien asked me after a fun evening in Memphis years ago. He said: “Lots of people write cook books, have you ever thought about writing a book about what you and Susan do with supper clubs?” It took over twenty years, but the book published this year is the genesis of Lucien’s question. So much of what I know about food and fine dining comes from lessons learned from this friend and culinary genius.

The menu for the evening was fantastic:

Hors d’Ouevre

Tartellete aux champions (Marsala wine -cream – sage)
Chaussons a la Polonaise (Caramelized onions – Parmesan – sausage)

Salmon Saltimbocca

Pan seared – Beurre rouge – Parisian de celeriac – Melissa

Pork Medallions

Cider honey Mustard glaze – Rosemary – Caramelized apples

Pommes de Terre Anna

Butter – Chives

Roasted Root Vegetables

Citrus and chive butter

Fondant aux Chocolat

Crème Chantilly – Coulis de framboise – Melissa

For me, one of the most fun components of the evening was the preparation as it brought back so many fond memories. Lucien and I worked at Kraft years ago and had practice of:

Lucien would stop by my office at 3 pm on a Friday afternoon asking if Susan and I were in town this weekend
I would respond: “The usual suspects?”
A quick call to Susan to get clearance and the invitation chain started
Calls would go out to five couples at 4 pm. The guys were traveling the world and normal scheduling was a nightmare. But, amazingly 9 times out of 10 everyone would show up at 7 pm to enjoy a a la minute menu prepared by Lucien and myself.
The meaning of “Impromptu Friday Nights” was born and a lifetime friendships and memories created.

The good news is that the ability to recreate these events continues with the evening at Villa Vendome a perfect example.

(Lucien & Paul bringing focus to the cooking)

The group for the evening brought together old and new friends. Lucien and Ela were hosting Susan and I for the weekend. Ela and Magda have known each other years having been professors together at Poznan University. Magda’s husband Paol is a former military attaché from Denmark, enjoying retirement as much as Lucien and I. Marta is a concert pianist and professor of music who lives in nearby Puszczykowo. The group was perfectly eclectic and conversations covered a gamut of topics. It was so much fun learning about each other’s lives and adventures. As the evening went on it seemed that no one wanted it to end. Old friendships were renewed and new friendships born.

One of the beauties of Lucien and I being old friends of a certain age is that we have heard each other’s stories many times but can’t remember them. We had lots of fun retelling them to the delight of each other and new friends (we hope). Fortunately, Ela and Susan put up with hearing the stories for the thousandth time.

Wherever you live in the world, give the supper club concept a try. Whether it is in Pittsburgh or Puszczykowo the concept works. The fun we had at Villa Vendome is the perfect testimony.