Larousse Gastronomique | The Rambling Epicure

Gareth Jones: Memories of Old Belgium & Malmedy’s Gooey Kisses

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, July 3, 2013 Permalink 0

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Memories of Old Belgium and Malmedy’s Gooey Kisses, including Recipe

by Gareth Jones

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When two chewy, gooey meringues come stuck together either side of a slather of butter cream or crême chantilly, the pâtissiers of Malmédy call this a ‘kiss’. Their description is obvious – it’s a fond embrace. Such is its fame, the Baiser had a place in the original Larousse Gastronomique compiled by Prosper Montagné in 1938.

The story goes that the Baiser de Malmédy started life in the late 19th century in this region of the Eastern Ardennes that many still prefer to call ‘Old Belgium’. The name appreciates that here, in the small towns like Malmédy, Stavelot, Bastogne, Spa and Francorchamps, the old ways continue and courtesy comes before all else – much as continues in Norfolk and Suffolk, Dorset and Somerset, where people living here still have time for each other.

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, February 29, 2012

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

The art of using up leftovers is not to be considered as the summit of culinary achievement.–Larousse Gastronomique

The Larousse Gastronomique is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is devoted to French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes as well as detailed, illustrated explanations of cooking techniques.

DESTINATION DESSERT: From America to France

Published by Jonell Galloway + Wednesday, June 15, 2011 Permalink 0

by Jamie Schler

MON PETIT CHOU: A Love Affair with the Perfect Treat

Chou: cabbage

Chou: cream puff, a type of pastry

Chou: cute

Chouchou: teacher’s pet

Mon petit chou: my little sweetheart, darling

It’s funny how one single food ties my old, American childhood to my new adult life in France. This one food, the perfect choux, was a favorite, one my father would make, light and airy, crispy and golden on the outside, so ethereal on the inside. He would shape them into perfect, saucer-sized rounds, bake them until they were puffed up into pillows and lovingly fill each one with thick, creamy pudding, chocolate, vanilla or pistachio. The almost flavorless choux puff was the perfect casing for the flavorful filling, tempering the sweetness and adding texture to the smooth creaminess of the pudding, and quickly became my most loved sweet treat of all that my father baked for us. My dear old dad passed away a mere two months before I married my French sweetheart (mon petit chou) and as I prepared to join my soon-to-be husband, I pulled the carefully clipped recipe off the refrigerator in my parents’ house, my childhood home, where it had been taped for decades, words and image now faded with time and handling, and tucked it lovingly and ever so carefully amongst my few worldly possessions in my suitcase and carried it with me across the ocean to France.