#version francaise turn around

[roshanzion2023]

[clarenecessities]

4/15/21

most days i can tamp down on the combined instincts of my alphabet soup brain, but today was like.... not that day

i had a small epiphany yesterday about eternia/etheria in that the ether is “space” and eternity is obviously time, so they’re like. you see? they’re spacetime. but spacetime is merely the stage upon which physics dance so i went on a very light retread of relativity, briefly detoured into time dilation/the planet of the apes movies, and in the process brushed up against apeiron

i’ve come across it before but had never investigated its origins, but it seemed like, you know, a cool word, and i’ve been doing a lot of research to pick an overarching name for the feline humanoids in my she-ra graph, right, because D’riluth iii is a stupid fucking name and I don’t want catra to be a subspecies of “““Driluthian”““ so i was like hey. is there a way to make this look less like ‘ape’

so it turns out kind of yes and no? the doric version of apeiros is transliterated as epeiros, which is also the spelling of ‘mainland’ (whence Epirus). of course, that led to epeirid, an adjectival form of Epeira.

“well, okay,” i said to myself, “is it like infinite, or like mainland? what does either have to do with spiders?” but of course wiktionary had no etymology listed. rather than using my brain and googling “epeira etymology” which would have taken me directly to the merriam-webster (heh. web) definition, i just googled epeira and found the fucking uh. wikipedia article for Araneus, because Epeira was the genus name for all of ten years. and like, okay. in my defense. the root they’ve listed is wrong. we’ll come back to that later.

so this french bitch had written a treatise on them in 1805, right? describing the members of the genus? so i was like fine. fuck it. whatever. maybe he explained why he picked it. so i looked up the fucking Tableau des aranéides ou caractères essentiels des tribus, genres, familles et races que renferme le genre Aranea de Linné, avec la désignation des espèces comprises dans chacune de ces divisions. because if the french know one thing, it’s brevity. 

“it’s fine,” i said, “i’ll just ctrl+f Epeira and get to the good shit,” i said. of course the only version online was on a spider website that you needed an account for. i was like you know what? fine. whatever. i made an account for the spider website. i gained access to the pdf of the 1805 french spider report. the 1805 spider report did not have searchable text.

this was around the point that i realized i was being deranged.

i read the fucking spider report. could have skimmed it! should have, probably! but i was so convinced i was going to skip over the explanation that i read the whole damn intro, right up until he starts describing the little bastards. considering my french is kindergarten level i owe most of it to the cognate power of science words. thank you, historical nerds, for being weaboos for greco-roman shit. you nailed it this time.

about 50 pages into the old timey spider pamphlet, i found a spelling en francaise. épéire. okay, sweet. googled that. it’s a modern french word, with one fewer accent, épeire--garden spider. etymologie just called back to Epeira. i returned to the spamphlet. i found another spelling, épéïre. this one yielded the french wikipedia article for Epeira.

“okay, fine,” i said, “fuck it, i’m 60 pages into a fucking spider report from 1805, i can read wikipedia.“

eureka. french wikipedia yielded the answer to my prayers. ἐπί (epí, “upon, on”) + εἴρω (eírō, “weave, string”). i updated wiktionary immediately, after a brief but ferocious battle to understand how the fuck their coding works.

my dudes, the euphoria was off the charts. never have i felt so accomplished. i hunted that motherfucker down like a dog. i dispersed this information to the masses, to save some hapless future nerd the trouble. i am never going to die.

oh also merriam-webster has it listed as “New Latin, from epi- + -eira (from Greek eirein to fasten in rows, string together)“ but like not only does it neglect to show greek letters, it’s not from eira. eirein isn’t even a god damn word! i can only assume they mean εἰρήνη (eirḗnē), because it means ‘to tie together’ literally, but in practice it means peace! and it’s still derived from eírō, not the other way around! i don’t even know where the -a comes from, unless they’re suggesting it’s in the fucking aorist. this is why it’s important to include the greek spelling. transliteration is fucking dumb.

i digress. the point is, sometimes being a nerd is a gateway to insane levels of dopamine, and i’m drunk on etymology

[totallypathet]

Okay so I have watched the 2 premiers twice now, and I have FEELINGS about the season 12 cast!

Before we get into it, let's address Sh***y P** real quick: we do not stand for abusers in this house, I hope she never works again and that she ends up in jail.

Now that's out of the way, in alphabetical order:

1. Aiden Zhane

I see potential! I loved her spring look, and her Fosse performance was on point. Her makeup could use a little finessing, but I definitely see where she's coming from. Having said all that, she's already got herself involved in a world of drama. Her comments about the Atalnta drag scene I found really odd, because it's just not true? Weird. Her comments about trans people and specifically trans women doing drag... hmm. On one hand, I appreciate that she apologised, and it seemed fairly genuine - as did her message about all forms of drag being valid. On the other hand, there was a defensive tone, and there seemed like a lot of "I've learned, I've grown, that was a long time ago" and I kind if feel like... 2018 wasn't that long ago girl. You were already 26/27, it's not like you were a teenager making stupid comments. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but also I'm not a trans woman and I dont do drag, so my opinion doesn't mean much!

2. Brita

Whenever I hear her name I feel thirsty 😂😂 I'm kind of underwhelmed so far, her entrance look was okay, both her mini challenge looks were alright, and her rap challenge look was a bit meh. The look she wanted to wear for the challenge (posted on her insta) was stunning though. I hated hated hated hated her runway look! It looked like a disco ball version of Alexis Michelle's rainbow look from season 9. I dont have all that much else to say about her, I didn't love any of her looks, I wasnt blown away by her performance, let's see what she does next week!

3. Crystal Methyd

I. Love. Crystal. Methyd. That fall look ended me. It was so perfect, she was giving me fashion, she was giving me camp, she was giving me references, she was giving me attention to detail, she was giving me LIFE. Every look she served was incredible. I knew exactly who she was when she walked in the work room, she elevated herself in the mini challenge, she showed up for the performance in the rap (and by the way her Nicki Minaj look was perfection), and her runway look was so well executed. I adore her. Top 4 pick.

4. Dahlia Sin

I still cannot get over how much she looks like Aja! I had really high Hope's for her because she's from the Haus of Aja, but she just didn't quite measure up, which is a real shame. Her entrance look was gorgeous, her mini challenge looks were okay, her runway look was alright. Her Fosse performance was okay, I think her voice is pretty, I liked her lyrics and she can clearly dance; she just wasn't giving me the ~performance~ aspect, which is a shame. I'm hoping she gets out of her head a bit and loosens up, I think she'll do much better! She's middle of the pack for me at the moment, but if she can trust herself a bit more I think she'll be unstoppable.

5. Gigi Goode

Good morning Miss Goode! I'm blown away by Miss Gigi. I cannot wait to see what she pulls out next week! She's fashion, she's elegance, she's beautiful, she's a performer, she's personality, she's funny, she's clever, is there anything she can't do?! Her entrance look had me screaming, her mini challenge looks had me in the floor, her runway look had me gagging. The only problem for me was the rap challenge look, it was pretty horrific. I'm counting it as a blip, and her verse more than made up for it! Top 4 pick right there.

6. Heidi N Closet

Okay, I'm not in love with Heidi's name choice, but can Ru and Michelle really say that it's the worst name in drag race history?! I mean girl, Kalorie Karbdashian Williams? Really? I like Heidi so much, though. I wasn't the biggest fan of her looks, particularly the mini challenge spring look, but girl the headpiece fell off and just kept on going! I respect the fuck out of that, that's a professional right there. And anyone that is in hospital during the night and turns around the next day and delivers a performance like that?? What a trooper! I fully respect her. I just wish her hair and makeup was a little bit more polished. She could definitely be the dark horse here, anyone who discounts Heidi N Closet is making a huuuuge mistake.

7. Jackie Cox

Yaaaaaas Jackie Cox!!!! I was nervous when she walked in in that red skirt, but as soon as she pulled out her mini challenge looks I was SOLD. She has a really distinct point of view, she clearly builds characters for each look and sells you that fantasy with every walk, and that's talent. She's also hilarious and adorable as shit. Her performance was incredible as well! I. Love. Jackie. Cox. Top 4.

8. Jaida Essence Hall

So many queens come into this competition with room to grow, and things to learn (which is not at all a bad thing), but my girl Jaida is THERE. My queen is polished, she is elegant and elevated, but she also knows how to have fun! I feel like she is going to go from strength to strength in this competition. Her entrance look was gorgeous (and she made it!), her mini challenge looks were really well thought out and well executed, her performance in the Fosse number was amazing, and her runway look was so stunning. This is someone who knows exactly who she is, she knows her strengths, she knows how to play to them, and she knows exactly what she's doing. She's Top 4 right there.

9. Jan

Just Jan! I'm speechless. I adore her. She's perfection. This week was the perfect set of challenges for Jan, and she sooo should have been in the top 2! Her voice is amazing, her lyrics were perfect, and cam we talk about her tulle look?! It was so so so smart, and so well done! I would have been impressed just with the idea of the tool/tulle look, but to also have it executed so perfectly?! Gagged. Also she is just to most adorable little ray of sunshine!! She's so happy to be there and her energy is so infectious! Every time she was on screen she made me smile. So excited to see what she pulls out next week. Top. Fucking. 4.

10. Nicky Doll

La diva Francaise! Every single look she pulled should be on a Vogue cover. ESPECIALLY that fall mini challenge look I was screaming. I was so worried that her verse and performance wasn't going to be up to scratch because she might just be a "look queen" but she proved me so wrong and I was soooo happy! She's a performer, she's a fashion queen, she's a dancer, and I was so proud of her! Is she Top 4 material? Yes she is! Don't discount Miss Nicky as a look queen because she's got hidden depths.

11. Rock M Sakura

Rock M Sakura? Rock my world! She gave me everything I didnt know I needed!! She's a little fireball, she's got so much talent, and ambition, and passion and I cannot get enough. Her mini challenge looks were perfectly executed, fully realised, and fully Rock M. I feel like I know her already, and I love her so much. I'm so glad she told her story, and I hope she knows how important her story and her voice is. Her Fosse performance was really good, but i wish she hadn't put on the character - it's Rock M we love and Rock M we want! Her tulle look fully made up for it though, I loved it! I think if you're going to do tulle then fucking do tulle. And she gave me that. She's fully Top 4.

12. Widow Von Du

The Widow Von Du, where to even begin? Here entrance look was a 10. Her mini challenge looks were a 10. Her rap challenge look was a 10. Her runway look was a motherfucking 11. Her rap performance was the. Best. Performance. Of both premiers. Her lyrics were incredible, and she is so clearly a performer! I am so so impressed by Widow and I absolutely cannot wait to see what she does next! She's a superstar. Even if she doesn't win (which something really left field is going to have to happen for her not to be at least top 4), she's going to be one for the fucking history books. I think you already know I think she's Top 4.

To sum up, this is the most exciting cast (for me) yet! I can't imagine any of them going home, I think they're all amazing!!

As a side note as well, can we talk about Nicki Minaj? Shes the best guest judge that has ever been on that panel. Her critiques were thoughtful, detailed, personalised, and constructive. She really listened to their lyrics, she had something good to say about everyone and she was so sweet watching them perform! I love her.

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[mercurygray]

So, I hear you liked TURN.

Apres the Season 4 finale, I know there’s going to be a lot of crying, and hand-wringing, and rewatching, and these are all good and proper things to do in the wake of a TV show you’ve enjoyed.

But after the smoke clears from all of that, you’re maybe going to go looking for your next 18th century fix, just something in between rewatches or while you’re trying to flesh out your next story idea. (Hey, now that we have our canon, go hog-wild on story ideas, guys, seriously.) 

So I’ve saved you some trouble and made you all a helpful list.

Obviously there are a lot of movies and TV shows out there - this is just a selection that I wish more people knew about.

Note: Everyone enjoys a show or movie for different reasons. These shows are on this list because of the time period they depict, not because of the quality of their writing, the accuracy of their history or the political nature of their content. Where I’m able to, I’ve mentioned if a book is available if you’d like to read more.

Before we get to the rest of the list, there are three excellent shows that are either currently on television or about to be very soon:

Poldark (BBC/PBS) is based on a series of books by an author named Winston Graham. It was made into a PBS series in the 70s starring Robin Ellis as the handsome Captain Poldark, who returns from the American Revolution to find his family farm in tatters and his long-time love interest married to his cousin. Drama ensues. The 70s series is worth your time, and the recent remake with Aidan Turner in the title role is also definitely worth a go. (If you like leading men who make terrible life decisions and the women who put up with them, this is totally your show.)

Harlots (Hulu) - If you really loved the TURN ladies, thought Lola and Philomena deserved more than they got, or are just interested to learn more about what life might have been like for the lower classes in London in the 1750s, have we got a deal for you. Harlots follows the lives of 18th century sex workers in this new drama, which was just recently renewed for a totally deserved second season. Female-lead ensemble drama. A little violent at points and deals with some pretty heavy-duty topics like rape, murder, and bastardy, but in a humane and understanding way. Totally bingeable.

Outlander (Starz) - Based on the wildly popular series of books by Diana Gabaldon, this time traveling drama jumps between a couple of different centuries and follows the story of Jamie and Claire, two very strong personalities trying to literally find their place in history. (Hewlett talks about the blade his grandfather picked up at Culloden; that battle forms a critical part of this show’s storyline.) It’s a real pretty show with very high production values.

And, without further ado, the rest of the list!

John Adams:  If you haven’t watched this already, do yourself a favor and go pick it up from the library. Starring Paul Giametti in the title role, this HBO miniseries follows John Adams’ role in the formation of America, through his early days in Congress up through his own presidency. As with any biographical show, characters that we know and love from other media (Rufus Sewell’s Hamilton comes to mind, but see what you think of David Morse’s Washington, too) are presented in a slightly different light and provide some food for thought about how history can be selective in how it remembers us. The costuming is great, the sets are fantastic, and the acting is first-rate.

The Patriot: An oldie but a goodie. Mel Gibson plays a highly fictionalized version of Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox while Jason Isaacs turns in a really stellar hottie we love to hate in Colonel Tavington. A little heavy-handed at times, this is a good movie to laugh over with friends.

Sons of Liberty: I’ll be really honest - for a show from the History Channel, the history on this show is pretty awful. But the cast is pretty. This one’s up to you, really. It fills a hole.

Garrow’s Law: William Garrow was a barrister and a pioneering legal mind in the 18th century, and this show (which ran for 3 seasons) is based on real Old Bailey cases and Garrow’s defenses, while also working in his fraught social life. Were you interested in learning a little more about Abe Woodhull’s erstwhile legal training? This is the show for you.

City of Vice: A miniseries that explains the origins and work of the Bow Street Runners, one of London’s first police forces.  Does a great job of opening up some of the early 18th century underside of London including a smidge of 18th century gay culture.

A Harlot’s Progress: William Hogarth was an 18th century artist, printmaker and social commentator whose “A Harlot’s Progress” famously depicts the downfall of a woman who goes into prostitution. This 2006 series explores the relationship that inspired the ‘Harlot’ piece.

The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant: At around the same time America was busy trying to figure itself out, halfway around the world another one of Britain’s colonial possessions - Australia - was just getting started. Hundreds of convicts found themselves stuffed in ships and sent to the other side of the world - a sentence deemed almost more humane. This 2005 series with Romala Garai follows a very famous convict, Mary Bryant, and her experiences.

Banished: Another take on penal colonies in Australia. Currently available on Hulu.

Black Sails: A more recent offering from Starz, this show explores the backstory of the pirates in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Lots of great representation issues, a whole lot of ‘how does your story get told’ - and there’s a real big community on Tumblr who loves it and very actively produces all kinds of fic.

Clarissa - Simcoe fans, this one is totally for you. Based on the epistolary novel by Samuel Richardson, Clarissa follows a girl of the same name as the infamous rake Lovelace tries to seduce her. Another look at what how women can be corrupted. Also, for you fandom nerds in the crowd, Lovelace was one of the first characters to inspire fix-it fic. Yes, really! Fix-it fic in the late 1700s. Lovelace is one of the original men for whom the ‘No, really, I can reform him’ trope was created. (Richardson, his creator, was so horrified by this reaction by his fans that he actually revised the book several times to try and make Lovelace even more villainous and irredeemable, with little success. Then as now, women apparently love the idea of a bad boy.)

Amazing Grace - The history of slavery in England and its colonies is complicated and nuanced; this story deals with one of the more famous names from that story, William Wilberforce, and his contribution.

Belle - Based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral. Another look at racial politics in England.

The Aristocrats - One of my all-time favorite TV miniseries and based on the nonfiction book by Stella Tilyard, this show follows the (actual, nonfictional) Lennox sisters, daughters of the Duke of Richmond as they grow up, marry, and adjust to rapid social change from the early 1700s into the 1790s.

The Duchess  - About the same time the Lennox sisters were out in society, so was Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire. This is based on (I’m not sure how closely) Amanda Foreman’s biography of Georgiana, one of the leading ladies of her day.

Dangerous Liasons - Another story about corruptible young women, this one has 3 very well deserved Oscars to its name and an absolutely stunning Glenn Close.

Barry Lyndon - a very evocative, sumptuous film by Stanley Kubrick. Short on action, but very, very Aesthetic, as only Kubrick can do.

The Scarlet Pimpernel - Based on the book by Baroness Orczy, The Scarlet Pimpernel is largely considered to be one of the world’s first ‘superhero with a secret identity’ stories. Sir Percy Blakeney uses his identity as a dim-witted fop to provide cover for his activities rescuing French aristocrats from the guillotine during the French Revolution. The 1982 version with Anthony Andrews and the 1999 version with Richard Grant are both a lot of fun.

Speaking of the French, where would we be without them? Our small domestic dust-up with Britain has far-reaching international consequences, setting in motion so many other social movements in Europe. The French, for instance, will have their own revolution several years after ours, which, of course, will lead to a total political shakeup ending with an artillery officer named Napoleon Bonaparte on the throne as Emperor. (You may have heard of him. He goes on to have his own series of large wars and, you know, completely changes the geo-political landscape of Europe. Like you do.)

La Revolution Francaise, filmed for the 200th anniversary of the Revolution, is available on YouTube in it’s entirety with English subtitles! Starts in 1774 and goes through the 1800s. C’est merveilleux.

Marie Antoinette - Sofia Coppola’s wild, modern romp through the life of one of the 18th century’s most notorious women. It may not be great history, but darn me if it isn’t fun to watch.

Farewell, My Queen - Another story about Marie Antoinette - this one is in French.

Nicolas Le Floch: An 18th century crime procedural set at the court of Louis XVI. The whole show is in French, so watch with subtitles, but the costumes are a lot of fun and it gives an interesting picture of the life a character like Lafayette would have left behind when he came to America. (He gets name dropped a few times, actually, though he never actually appears.)

Ekaterina: A 2014 miniseries from Russia discussing the rise of Catherine the Great, the Empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, contemporaneous to the Revolution. The 18th century is a fascinating time in Russian history and Catherine is a really, really interesting lady. Totally go and read about her.

Anno 1790: A Swedish crime procedural set in 1790s Sweden and following Johann Däadh, a doctor recently roped into the police force. Däadh is a bit of a reformer, interested in the rights of man and giving everyone a chance to be heard. Costumes are fun, and there’s a really great slow-burn romance between two of the characters, one of whom is (gasp) married. This show only ran for one season, but it was a really, really good season.

If you’re still jonesing for period dramas after the rest of this list, here’s a lot of shows and tv series set during the Napoleonic Wars that are also totally worth your time - the Richard Sharpe miniseries, the Horatio Hornblower miniseries, the BBC’s War and Peace, Master and Commander, and then, of course, anything based on a Jane Austen novel.

Have fun!

[doyoueatlikethiseveryday]

It's a seventies thing.  The preparation travels by different names.  Back then it was “Francaise.”  Later it morphed into “Piccatta,” which apparently means annoyed in Italian.  A dish prepared Piccatta could lose the egg batter sometimes but not others and might add capers to the lemony sauce as well. Depends on the chef, depends on the place. No use arguing about whether one is right or wrong.  And if you put some sauteed spinach under it, it was “Florentine.” I guess spinach was a thing in Florence.  

The usual vehicle was veal.  We don’t eat that.  If you want a similar taste,  an uncooked turkey breast boned, skinned, and sliced with the grain (the opposite of how you usually slice meat) and gently pounded into thin filets makes a very nice substitute.  The prep is a bit of a chore though you end up with a dozen or so portions of the next best thing to veal...I haven’t butchered a turkey breast in years because of the chore part.  Chicken would fall apart unless it was too thick, defeating the point of the whole thing.  The idea is that the meat or fish plays a somewhat secondary role to the rest of the preparation.  Something strong or thick would defeat the purpose, so yes to sole, thin turkey filets, but not so much to chicken breast or bluefish!  Here it is about 12 oz. of nice fresh sole filets from the Don Quijote Japanese grocery store around the corner.  Their seafood is generally pretty good.  You can go a little lighter on the weight than usual since we will be making it go farther with the egg batter.

In the seventies in Rochester, NY, where I first learned how to navigate a commercial kitchen, fine dining was just getting past the Steaks, Prime Rib, Lobster, and a Cigar phase and lots of restaurants were trying hard to outdo each other with who could be more “French.”  The “Francaise” was the pièce de résistance or whatever when I first started out as a dishwasher (1975-76 or so), Versions of this dish were a valued commodity.  In-the-know chefs would demonstrate the recipe to interested owners for fifty bucks and a deal not to tell where they got it. I learned it from one such demo.  

The putative original was true American seventies “French cooking.”  The egg batter was loaded with parsley, dry herbs, and parmesan cheese, it was then sauteed -- actually more like pan fried as it needed quite a bit of clarified butter to keep the egg batter from drooping off the sides into the pan like a sad omelet with a chunk of meat in the middle. The butter was drained after lightly frying, some chopped shallots went in the pan, a shot of lemon, a little chicken stock, and a bit more parmesan and parsley.  The whole thing simmered a minute or two, not more than long enough to cook the minced shallots through and soften up the eggs so they did not taste fried.  Throw in a little more parmesan and parsley to make it look nice, finish it off the heat with a slab of whole butter like a makeshift buerre blanc, serve with rice and a side vegetable, voila, fifty bucks for the knowledge, please.

Our version is a bit more healthy, but not totally so. I’ll walk you through it.  We got some nice, very fresh local eggs from Oahu Fresh. Their stuff is always good.  Take one of those out and let it warm to room temperature.  This makes the batter cook better and come out a less oily and lighter.  

Slice the sole fillets into medallion size, a couple of inches by a couple of inches.  A regular size thin filet of sole (avoid if too thick -- see chicken above for why) should yield three pieces give or take.  Grind some nice French gray sea salt over them, fine setting on the mill.  Same for some white pepper (get two mills). Black pepper will taste as good, but won’t look as nice.  You probably already have a mill for that. Be generous but not overbearing.  Putting the seasoning on the fish rather than in the batter is important, lending a little savoriness to the inside that does not happen with seasoning the flour or batter.  Kind of a little secret in the middle taste-wise.

Set up two-thirds of a breading station.  This is a good thing to know how to do.  Here we skip the breadcrumbs though.  Put about a half a cup of flour in a mixing bowl.  It has a job to do, so don’t add anything to it. Our flavor comes from the inside and the outside.  Crack the now-room-temperature egg into a second bowl. add a couple teaspoons of water. This helps cut the viscosity and make the eggs cook a little lighter.  Don’t overdo it though or they won't stick to anything, including the fish or the herbs we will put in.  Chiffonade about a quarter of a bunch of flat-leaf Italian parsley Put half in the batter and set the other half by the stove in a little bowl.  Avoid the American type of parsley, which looks nicer as a garnish and has a fresh taste raw.  It turns to nothing when cooked.  Add a little dry or fresh oregano, thyme, tarragon, as you see fit. If using dry tarragon, be a little generous or you won’t taste it.  leave a little tarragon aside if using that. you can drop it on top of the reserved parsley. The eggs should be about half egg and half herbs.  Beat them thoroughly making sure all the viscosity is gone, otherwise you will get scrambled eggs and fish instead of Francaise! Skip the parmesan.

This part is crucial, your mise en place, the setup. You’ll see why.  Put the following things in place next to the stove: A half a lemon and a strainer, a half a shallot, sliced into rings as thin as possible, about 3/4 of a cup of nice light colored chicken stock. Vegetable stock would taste better perhaps with the sole, but it is often dark, which would mess up the look here.  A shaker of cayenne pepper and a whole nutmeg and a grater. The reserved herbs.  A teaspoon or so of whole butter, not melted. Cold is fine.  Not too much. Set a plate off to the side with a paper towel over it.  Get a pair of tongs and a spatula out. You will need both for fish. 

Put enough decent olive oil in the bottom of a 10′’ saute pan to provide a complete layer of oil in the bottom of the pan.  Heat up the pan gently, no hotter than medium-high, being careful not to let the oil smoke.  I place a sliver of parsley in the pan as it heats.  Once it is sizzling a bit you are ready to go.  Apparently getting a good olive oil too hot makes it bitter. I never really noticed, and like to use good olive oil for cooking unless it is high heat despite the warning of the olive oil trolls. I think it tastes better.  Costco currently has a decent first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil that is not too decadent to cook with. The brands change from year to year. Loyalty is penalized. As one brand gets popular, quality goes down to meet demand.  Trolls use this instead, which is also not bad actually.  

Now the mise en place in action. You need to work quickly but gently here.  Put the egg batter next to your frying pan, and the flour next to the egg batter a little further away.  Next to the flour, furthest from the fire, place your sole fillets.  This is the two-thirds-of-a-breading-station part. Give the eggs a quick last-minute whisk.  Working with one hand, with a pair of tongs in the other, lightly slap a piece of seasoned fish in the flour on both sides, shake gently and dredge it through the egg batter, making sure to cover all and pick up some herbs. Still using the same hand (your “wet” hand) place the fillet best side down in the pan. Fish almost always has a best side, which you always want to cook first. Just for looks. Repeat.  Don’t overcrowd the pan. It will take two shifts.  Once the pan is full, turn the first piece using a combination of spatula in your wet hand and the tongs in your dry.  The batter should be a light golden color. Be brief, don’t worry about whether the fish is cooked inside, just get the eggs right.  If it cooks too hot it will taste like wet grease when finished, and if the oil is not hot enough it will soak into the batter and taste even worse so be careful. As the first piece finishes cooking on its second side, remove it to the paper-towel plate.  Gentle.  Replace it with a new piece, repeat the process until finished. Avoid any temptation to dredge the fish in the flour ahead of time, even by a minute.  Doing so will create wet flour that fails as a binding and your batter will fall off, leaving bare flesh gaping through (!!) and messing up your oil so as to make cooking anything else in it impossible.  Same goes for leaving it in the egg batter after the flour. This makes the egg soak up the flour, thickening the batter into a gluten egg ball and generally fouling up the works.  

Once all the fish has been sauteed and removed, drain off nearly all the oil and all the crusty bits (If you have followed the cautions so far, there should not be much detritus).  Toss in the shallots and saute gently until you can smell them and they become a little translucent.  Add the stock. grate in a little nutmeg (skip it unless you are grating it fresh). Sprinkle a tiny bit of cayenne.  You don’t want heat, just a little catch in the back of the throat that goes really nicely with the richness of the nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and add all the fish back in, not worrying about crowding this time. Again keep the heat gentle or the batter will come apart.  This is why you don’t worry about whether the fish is cooked through, as the simmering will finish it off.  Squeeze the fresh lemon over it, toss the herbs on top, once most but not all the liquid has soaked in (you can add a little more if need be), pull the pan from the heat, plate the fish.  If the pan is dry, add a quarter cup of stock at the most to moisten it.  remove from the heat once it simmers.  Toss in your pat of butter, swirling it around until melted and distributed. If you have done the nutmeg and cayenne right, the little bit of butter will taste richer than the amount would seem to warrant.  Make sure it does not boil or simmer anymore once you put the butter in or it will break.   pour over the fish.

The second to last, liquidy step was the big secret, which was to finish eggs that you had so carefully fried in a simmering stock, defeating the usually crispy-making purpose of the frying and putting in its stead a pillowy soft, nicely herbed coating over a delicate inside with a lovely sauce.

Divide the fish on to two plates. Pour the sauce over the top. Serve with rice cooked in chicken stock with half a sauteed onion, a sprig of thyme, and a bay leaf. We do ours, from sauteing to rice cooking in our instant pot but you can wing this if you can cook rice.  We had fresh steamed broccoli (just salted a little) and a salad with apple, local greens, pumpkin seeds, a little pomegranate drinking vinegar (ours is from a neighborhood Korean market), a little pomegranate molasses, (from the Indian/Middle Eastern shop) some olive oil, salt, and pepper.  

Yum. We ate like that today, and the whole thing took less time than writing the blog to prepare.

[jothebearfrance]

2018/03/10

Granville - Mont Saint Michel - Avranches

(scroll down for the English version)

(bientôt: défiler vers le bas pour la version francaise)

Heute wurde wieder ausgeschlafen. Nach dem Frühstück haben Rhea und ich uns ein bisschen über Mont Saint Michel informiert, bevor wir am späten Vormittag mit Clément's Auto losgestartet sind.

Nachdem Autofahren, sich unterhalten und nebenbei auf's Navi achten zu viel Multitasking für mich ist, sind wir nicht direkt nach Mont Saint Michel gefahren, sondern zunächst nach Granville. (Dort wollten wir eigentlich erst später hin, war aber so herum besser, wie es sich später herausstellen sollte.) In Granville sind wir über einen Markt gegangen, wo es viel frischen Fisch und Meeresfrüchte gab, und sind dann lange am Strand entlang spaziert, beziehungsweise stellenweise geklettert, da es so felsig war. Das Wetter war der Hammer. Richtig warm und freundlich. Nach unserem Spaziergang haben wir uns nach Mont Saint Michel aufgemacht und sind auf dem Weg dorthin noch schnell in einen Supermarkt, um was für ein kleines Picknick einzukaufen.

Um 15:15 Uhr bei Mont Saint Michel angekommen (also ca. 2km entfernt auf dem Parkplatz) haben wir es zunächst aus der Ferne bewundert, bevor wir in der Touristeninformation eine Karte geholt haben und dann mit dem Shuttlebus zur Sehenswürdigkeit selber gefahren sind. Wir wären zu Fuß gegangen, wenn wir nicht so hungrig gewesen wären. Es war atemberaubend schön. Wir haben als erstes einen Ort zum Picknick machen gesucht und haben einen schönen Platz mit toller Aussicht gefunden. Nach dem Picknick sind wir 2 Stunden über den Mont spaziert und ein bisschen außen herum. Als die Sonne angefangen hat unterzugehen, sind wir wieder zurück zum Parkplatz (diesmal zu Fuß), um nach Avranches zu fahren und den Sonnenuntergang von dort aus anzuschauen. In Avranches sind wir dann in den Jardin des Plantes, von wo aus man einen guten Blick auf Mont Saint Michel hat. Als die Sonne komplett untergegangen war, sind wir wieder zur Fermette zurück gekehrt.

Dort gab es Raclette zum Abendessen, zur Nachspeise Teurgoule und danach haben die Kinder noch eine Show gemacht. (Wie man in dem jungen Alter um 22 Uhr noch so viel Energie haben kann, ist mir ein Rätsel.) Ich war schon fast am Einschlafen und bin um kurz nach 10 im Bett gewesen.

Es war ein wundervoller Tag und ich bin froh, dass Rhea nach Mont Saint Michel wollte, denn alleine hätte ich die kleine Reise vermutlich nicht auf mich genommen.

Granville - Mont Saint Michel - Avranches

Today, we slept in again. After breakfast, Rhea and I read a bit on Mont Saint Michel before starting off with Clément's car in the late morning.

Because driving, talking and looking at the GPS appears to be too much multitasking for me, we didn't go directly to Mont Saint Michel, but first to Granville. (We actually wanted to go there later, but it was better this way around, as it later turned out.) In Granville, we walked across a market where there was a lot of fresh fish and seafood, and then walked, or rather climbed in some places because it was so rocky, along the beach for a long time. The weather was awesome. Really warm and friendly. After our walk we went to Mont Saint Michel and on the way there we quickly went to a supermarket to buy something for a small picnic.

At 3.15pm we arrived at Mont Saint Michel (as in about 2km from it in the parking lot), we first admired it from afar, before we got a map in the tourist office and then took the shuttle bus to the sight itself. We would have walked if we hadn't been so hungry. It was breathtakingly beautiful. The first thing we did was find a nice spot with a great view for our picnic. After the picnic we walked around on the Mont for 2 hours and a bit over the beach around it as well. When the sun started to set, we headed back to the parking lot (this time on foot) to drive to Avranches and watch the sunset from there. In Avranches we went into the Jardin des Plantes, where we had a good view of Mont Saint Michel. When the sun was completely set, we returned to the Fermette.

For dinner we had raclette, for dessert Teurgoule and then the children put on a show. (It's a mystery to me how much energy children this young can have at 10 pm.) I was already almost falling asleep and was in bed shortly after 10pm.

It was a wonderful day and I'm glad that Rhea wanted to go to Mont Saint Michel because I probably wouldn't have gone on the short trip on my own.

Granville - Mont Saint Michel - Avranches

Aujourd'hui, il a été reposé à nouveau. Après le petit déjeuner, Rhea et moi avons lu un peu sur le Mont Saint Michel avant de partir avec la voiture de Clément en fin de matinée.

Parce que la conduire en voiture, bavardé et regarder le GPS est trop multitâche pour moi, nous ne sommes pas allées directement au Mont Saint Michel, mais d'abord à Granville. (Nous ne voulions y aller que plus tard, mais c'était mieux comme ça). À Granville, nous avons traversé un marché où il y avait beaucoup de poisson frais et de fruits de mer, puis nous avons longé la plage, ou grimpé par endroits, parce qu'il était si rocailleux. Le temps était génial. Vraiment chaud et agréable. Après notre promenade nous sommes allées au Mont Saint Michel et sur le chemin nous sommes allées rapidement à un supermarché pour acheter quelque chose pour un petit pique-nique.

A 15h15 nous sommes arrivées au Mont Saint Michel (soit environ 2km dans le parking), nous l'avons d'abord admiré de loin, avant d'obtenir une carte à l'office de tourisme et ensuite prend la navette vers le monument il-même. Nous aurions marché si nous n'avions pas eu si faim. C'était à couper le souffle. D'abord, nous étions à faire un pique-nique et avons trouvé un bel endroit avec une vue magnifique. Après le pique-nique nous avons marché 2 heures sur le Mont et un peu dehors. Quand le soleil se couche, nous sommes de retour au parking (cette fois à pied) pour aller à Avranches et regarder le coucher de soleil à partir de là. A Avranches nous sommes allées au Jardin des Plantes, d'où vous avez une belle vue sur le Mont Saint Michel. Quand le soleil fut complètement couché, nous retournâmes à la Fermette.

Il y avait raclette pour le dîner, pour le dessert Teurgoule et ensuite les enfants ont fait un show. (C'est un mystère pour moi combien d'énergie on peut encore avoir à ce jeune âge à 22 heures.) Je faillis m'endormir et j'étais au lit peu après 10 heures.

Ce fut une journée merveilleuse et je suis content que Rhea ait voulu aller au Mont Saint Michel parce que je n'aurais pas fait le petit voyage seul.