Members
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What’s on the cheeseboard this month? Le Crottin de Chavignol
Le Crottin de Chavignol is the most famous goat’s cheese from the Loire valley. It takes its name from Chavignol, a little village just a few kilometres from Sancerre where cheese has been made since the 16th century.
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Tips from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – freezing egg whites
Egg whites freeze really well and it’s very useful to have them on hand. When I make a recipe that requires just the yolks, I pop the whites into a bag, note the number of whites and pop them in the freezer.
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Personal News – my life in the Loire 27th May 2018
Yesterday, after a rather odd day when it was cool in the morning and really hot in the afternoon, the skies turned black around five o’clock and then suddenly, a violent storm accompanied by hailstones, battered the house and garden for about a quarter of an hour and then stopped, just as suddenly.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – pastry for quiches and savoury dishes
You can buy pastry in any French supermarket and I certainly don’t judge anyone for using it as it saves time, comes rolled and is ready to slide into a tin. But, it’s not quite as good as homemade. Probably because when I make my own I use rather large quantities of really good fresh butter
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – Puy lentils with lardons and thyme
We often serve these lentils as a side to duck confit, roasted Toulouse sausages or griddled salmon. As time has gone by I have modified the recipe to make it easier and less time consuming. You can make them the day before and reheat gently when serving so they are great to do when you have people over.
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Wine Education – sediment in red wine, should I worry?
Sometimes as you pour the last glass or two from a bottle of red wine you find sediment in your glass. Should you worry about that?
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Wine Education – the appearance of wine
There is a lot you can gather from just looking at a wine. Tip the glass at an angle of 45°C preferably against a white background and take a look. What can you see?
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Recipes from le tasting room’s kitchen – Clafoutis
Clafoutis is a classic French dessert and one that I cook on a regular basis throughout the summer. I have various versions but this one is a particular favourite as it contains ground almonds in the recipe and can very easily be multiplied up or halved to make large or smaller quantities without compromising the final result.
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Recipes from Le Tasting Room’s kitchen – Lieu Noir with chilli, marjoram and garlic
I posted a brief resumé of this recipe on Instagram. This is a really easy recipe that really peps up a large fillet of fish. I used Lieu Noir (Coley) which is much cheaper than Cod and just as delicious.
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Wine Education – ageing wine on its lees
Often you hear winemakers talking about ageing wine on the lees, the yeasty deposit that falls to the bottom of the tank or barrel when the alcoholic fermentation has finished. But what is to be gained by leaving the wine on its lees?
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Technical wine & vineyard vocabulary de-mystified – décavaillonnage
There are a number of vineyard practices that are routinely done in the Springtime and in recent years we have seen more and more growers working their soil mechanically instead of using chemicals. So what exactly is décavaillonnage?
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Personal News – my life in the Loire 1st May 2018
Happy May Day!
Temperatures dropped to just around freezing last night in the Vouvray and Muscadet regions so growers were out lighting fires in the vineyard to try and avoid the potential risk of frost. The weather forecast is pretty encouraging but temperatures were due to have a dip last night.