I am about as far from being a professional chef as I am from getting a Ph.D. in East Asian art history. But I do enjoy cooking, especially for other people. As anyone who has ever watched a child lick the buttery crumbs of a grilled-cheese sandwich off his fingers knows, there are few greater pleasures in life than delivering the energy to make it through the day in a delicious fashion.
As the holiday season is upon us, it seemed a good time to share some various scraps of cooking knowledge I accumulated over my time in France. Whether it was the home-cooked meals prepared by my host mother in Paris, the daily specials at restaurants in Dijon, or the colorful, fascinating markets that run year-round across the country, France never runs out of ways to showcase food. In Burgundy, where I lived with my family from 2014-2016, snails, pungent cheeses, boeuf bourguignon, and a parsleyed ham terrine dominated the culinary landscape, accompanied by sips of Chardonnay and Pinot noir. I said yes to it all, and learned that when one lives in a culture that is so obsessed by food, one cannot help but absorb lessons, tips and traditions just by keeping one’s eyes open.
Here are some things that French people do. They seem capable of traveling outside of Europe, and well-suited for the Upper Valley. Embrace or ignore them as you see fit.
1. Don’t sweat food safety so much. Boy, that’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, but hear me out. French people sample food at their markets without any regulations to speak of. They invite customers to pluck slices of saucisson off the tip of their knife. They don’t wear plastic gloves when handling raw poultry. They leave leftovers out overnight on the stovetop. Their eggs are unrefrigerated. So far, they’re not dropping like flies from bacterial armageddon. Neither will you.
2. Buy higher quality in smaller quantity. Start with eggs. Get whatever eggs you are accustomed to for your baking needs. But when you want a fried egg to become an amazing experience, spend about $4 to get a dozen from a local farm. If they have a small feather or some residual nastiness on the shell, take it as a sign of authenticity. Make your own egg and cheese sandwich with one of those eggs. The deep orange color, the creaminess of the yolk, the taste will transform your egg experience. Yes, they are more expensive, so save them for when you want to showcase the egg.
3. Just about anything can become soup. The French make bread soup, garlic soup, onion soup, rice soup, fish soup. They say to serve them hot, so that guests “can appreciate them for their full value.” Once, I watched my host mother make what she called vide frigo, or empty-the-fridge soup. She took a fresh onion and chopped it and sweated it in olive oil. She poured in some chicken stock (water is always fine) and in went a few spoonfuls of leftover green peas. A few roasted potatoes, skin on, with a small smear of sour cream, joined the party. A limp carrot, roughly chopped, was soon in the pot. She scraped a few ounces of cooked lentils out of the bottom of a Tupperware container. Salt, pepper, a quick blending, a swirl of creme fraiche (see #5), some chopped parsley and — ta-dah! — no recipe, no hassle, no overthinking. Just delicious homemade soup. Explore your refrigerator; there’s soup in there.
4. Take chances and cook outside your comfort zone. Shop without a grocery list. Get what looks best regardless of your expertise, take it home and figure out what to do with it. If the internet is good for one thing, it’s showing you how to make cauliflower taste good or what to do with duck breast.
5. Make crème fraîche and Dijon mustard part of your life. Cook a pork chop in a pan. Remove it. Add crème fraiche and a little liquid (stock or water) while the pan is hot, stirring up all the little bits. Add a spoonful of mustard. Stir together with some salt and pepper. Pour under or over the pork chop. Serve with white rice. Your life just changed. Make the sauce again and again — with some minced shallots or snipped chives or white wine — and put it on anything. Happiness results.
6. When you don’t have an onion, use a shallot and vice versa. Recipes are not dictatorships: no one will judge if you don’t add ¼ of a teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary or if you sub curry for cumin.
7. Form a positive relationship with leeks. When they look beautiful, buy a couple and figure out what to do with them.
8. Try cheese after your main course. I love cubes of cheddar on Triscuits before a meal. Every once in awhile, though, it’s fun to topsy-turvy the whole deal: Cut slices from a hunk of Swiss cheese or from a triangle of Brie with some good bread after your meal. It’s not in the least bit snooty; indeed, every socioeconomic class of Frenchman does it. At this time of year, this little change can turn your meal into a special occasion.
9. Leftover bread never belongs in the trash. Know what the French call French toast? “Lost bread.” They take the hard pieces and they soak it in egg and milk and then fry it, cover it with something sweet (jam, jelly, powdered sugar, chocolate, etc.) and eat it as a snack or a dessert. Croutons and bread crumbs are also great options.
10. When in doubt, roast a chicken. The magic of a quality roast chicken is not lost on French people. Cook one a week and your family will love you. Use the carcass to make stock, remembering to add a chopped leek. Use the stock to make soup. Add some leftover mashed potatoes to the soup, stir in a little crème fraîche, float some torn pieces of yesterday’s bread on top, chase it down with some cheese, and voilà! you are an honorary French person.
Bon appétit!
Mark Lilienthal lives in Norwich. He can be reached at mlilient@gmail.com.