Last Day of Summer in Trouville-Deauville

 

No more umbrellas to be seen on the beach 🏖️ last Sunday in August in Trouville/ Deauville.

Nice to know they cost 17€ and 7,50€ for deck chairs for next year’s visit.

Le trompe-l’œil, Musée Marmottan Monet

 

Yesterday I went to see the new Trompe l’Oeil 👁️(fool the eye) exhibit

At musée Marmottan in the 16th arrondissement (Metro 9).

Les Pieds dans le Sable - Trouville

Trouville is not just about lobster 🦞 

It’s a seaside town loaded with history

Marché couvert de Passy and Moule Marinières

 

It’s a classic French tradition to have platters of fresh oysters, shrimp, lobster, crab known as fruits de mer on New Years Eve.

I went looking for moules/mussels in the 16th arrondissement at Marché de Passy on New Years Eve day. The covered market is open every day but Monday, so if you need of some good seafood take the Metro to Muette.

I was surprised to see as many as 3-4 Poissonnière stands.

Teams were madly filling New Year’s Eve orders 

Of the most gorgeous platters of seafood. 

The place was buzzing with last minute customers buying luxe goodies for their soirées.

Beautiful displays of caviar.

And smoked salmon. Did they sell out?

Gillardeau is one of the top brand of oyster producers in France.

This is an upper crust marché and the veg are just as stunning.

I cleaned them out of the Bouchot mussels from the bay of Mont Saint Michel.

Moules Marinières is one of the easiest French dishes you can make.

2 pounds of mussels rinsed and de-bearded.

Throw the chopped veg (chopped celery, 4 chopped shallots, some chopped parsley and a couple of thinly sliced garlic cloves) into a pot with a lump of butter. Sauté a few minutes. 

*Include 1 bay leaf 

But NO ADDED SALT. 

The mussels will be salty on their own.

Add a cup of white wine🥂 or French cidre…nothing fancy

Add your mussels and cover the pot

In about 5+ minutes the mussels should be fully open and the broth steaming.

Et voila. À table.

Or you could have fruits de mer on Etsy…

❤️😊🐻🍾🥂Have a very Happy 2022 dear PBers🥂🍾🐻😊❤️

Rennes day trip with Chef Charlotte Puckette

I've been longing to go to Brittany since I landed in France.

When Charlotte Puckette  asked if I'd like to join on a day-trip to the marché des Lices in Rennes I jumped. She's researching butter for her French ingredients cookbook.

We were both researching sunshine and Rennes a 2-hour train ride from Paris, has plenty of it.

Marché des Lices is huge - 2 big buildings surrounded by outdoor venders.

You'll find the butter inside. I didn't know most Parisian patissieres prefer beurre de Charante though Brittany is famous for its butter. 

The Charante's Ile de Ré has salt too like Brittany's Fleur de sel de Guerande. Honestly when you're food shopping in France don't leave home without an Atlas de la France Gourmande or else forgetaboutit.

I was ready to dive into this vat of créme fraiche since I've just discovered the stuff. But Charlotte said no. *The label on the vat indicated 'industrial' not 'artisanal' (made in a place with less than 50 workers) so a big NO.

Instead Charlotte bought crème fraiche from a no-name vat. We both bought his hand-made salted butter. I just noticed a tag on it says '19 12'. Does this mean I have only 10 days to polish this off?

Mont d'Or is the cheese French people eat especially at Christmas. You just dip a spoon into it.

Note crystalized salt on the outside of this perfectly aged Gouda. Keep an eye out for that. Every minute was a lesson with Chef C.

Did this vender tell his assistant,

'Wear your best Pieter Bruegel outfit for the marché!"

They could have stepped out of this painting 🖼️ 

Fromager Beillevaire was at the marché

I bought this 'p'tit plateau' of 4 cheeses plus their barratte butter. I am loaded with butter 🧈 

Outdoors fresh and kicking seafood looked amazing.

Yet no one was selling it ready-to-eat on the spot. I could have downed these Coquilles St.-Jacques (scallops).

An oyster seller from Cancale displayed a few plates of oysters.

They were probably just decoration.

The vender was happy to open a half dozen for me for a mere 6 € or was it 3€?

He used this handy tool to grip them.

Eaten icy and deliciously fresh in the cold air - no oysters ever tasted better.

☺️ 

Their fresh moules samples were tasty too.

The Bouchot mussels come from nearby Mont St. Michel - they're small and sweet.

We were lucky to find the only seafood place near the marché - a moulerie, L'Abri du Marché.

When I spotted the waiter carrying the 'formule' of the day (8.80€) my decision was made. Charlotte had them with creme. I tasted my first Breton cider from Loic Raison. I'm hooked.

Perfection.

I ordered a crepe since that's what you  eat in Brittany.

It was lacy as any Breton's lacy cap. I was full of moules and happy as a clam. Where are you going next Charlotte? I'm in. Now I'll go butter 🧈 my toast with 3 kinds of butter.