Another incredible Chef Pascal dinner!

After an action packed day full of goats, bread, wine, and tarts, Chef Pascal greeted us with his favorite selection of Edith Piaf classics and a remarkable dinner.

Here we go:

1. Green lentil salad with carrots and parsnip along with smoked pork belly and stuffed pigs feet
2. Duck Confit with bacon wrapped asparagus, potato mash, and a roasted tomato with garlic and parsley
3. Cheese course: morbier, pont l'evique, brebis cors herb, fresh goat
4. Fresh sweet and bitter strawberries in a simple syrup

Le Tasting Room

Welcome to Le Tasting Room, a wine/cave cellar that was built in 1869. The lovely owners, Cathy and Nigel (nigh, as his friends call him) are both British, expert oenologists and viticulturists.

There are over 33,000 people in the Loire Valley that employed in some fashion by the wine industry.

The Loire Valley is broken down into 4 main regions of wine production:

• Nantes: specializes in white muscadet
• Anger/Saumer: specializes cabernet franc and chinon
• Touraine: specializes in gamay
• Sancerre: specializes in pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc

Our wine tasting and lecture including a sampling of 6 different wines along with assorted canapes..."Nigh, where are those canapes!?"

La Maison du Pain

La Maison du Pain...or as I like to refer to it, The House of Pain.

Located in the city of Angers, Phillipe & Catherine Soulard are artisinal bakers that specialize in a wide variety of baked goods including 14 different types of baguette produced daily.

During our visit, Phillipe walked us through the entire preparation of his breads along with a lesson in proper dough rolling & braiding.

TEKIAH!!!!

Prepping for Rosh Hashanah 2010!

I'm pretty sure that this guy wasn't too happy with the fact that I was using his lost horn as my personal Shofar. But...it just so happens that this is the resident goat stud whose sole responsibility is to impregnate the rest of the herd...so, I think he'll get over it real quick!

Who's The Boss?

Our first stop of the day was to the 54 acre goat farm of Hughes de Laye.

Ferme Caprine de Maury is the home to 70 goats which produce 200 liters of goat cheese/day, each log of cheese weighing 1.4 liters.

While it may appear that Hughes is running the show at the farm, there is someone else that definitely thinks otherwise...

Oreo the goat-herded dog is the real alpha male on the farm. Hughes told us that at 7 yrs old, Oreo began to develop an ego and often times Hughes will have to remind Oreo who's in charge.

After Hughes established who the boss of the farm was, I asked if there was a dominant goat in the herd. To this question, Hughes unleashed a horrific tale of how in 2005 a young female goat started to make strategic moves in order to lead the herd. This lady goat killed 4 of her goat-compadres in order to rise into power and has held the crown ever since!

Tart Time with Chef Kathryn

Breakfast at 7:30AM...on vacation...are you for reals?

Well, it was certainly worth it once I learned of our early morning lesson with Chef Kathryn. Before I could even down my first cup of coffee, we were reviewing the recipes for an assortment of classic French savory tarts.

Who loves savory tarts? I do!

The lesson included the following dishes:

1. Chevre Rosemary Tart with Mealy Walnut Dough
2. Onion, Bacon, and Gruyere Tart on Pate Brisee
3. Roasted Tomato Basil Tart on Whole Wheat Puff Pastry
4. Brittany Kouing Amann

l'Aile ou la Cuisse

Towards the end of dinner, Chef Pascal and Bernard suggested that we watch a classic French comedy, entitled l'Aile ou la Casse (the wing and the thigh), featuring Louis de Funes. As I had fair share of wine with dinner, coupled with the incredible English language over-dubs, the movie was actually quite funny. It was the story of an undercover food critic named messieurs Douchiman (pronounced Douche Man) who was trying to publish a Zagats style comprehensive French restaurant guide. Oh the trouble that ensues as his son would rather be a clown in a travelling circus, his top secret reviews are stolen, and he eventually loses his taste buds.