THE MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD
by Julia Stuart
Available here on Amazon
A book review for Food for Thought,
a delicious blog for readers with
an appetite for the written word.
This light quirky novel is full
of both humor and culinary delights.
The cuisine of France is
certainly not lacking in this whimsical read.
Yes, there are many delectable treats
among the pages of MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD.
Just as there is an abundance of
romantic mishaps in this village of Amour.
Guillaume Ladoucette, the successful village barber, suddenly finds that his clients have grown older and balder, and it becomes apparent to Guillaume Ladoucette that he must pursue a new profession. Set in the small French village of Amour-ser-Belle (population 33) "despite its name, love was something that Amour-Ser-Belle was sorely lacking." To alter this village status, Guillaume Ladoucette takes on the task of village matchmaker.
"Guillaume Ladoucette wiped his delicate fingers on his trouser leg before squeezing them into the glass jar. As he wiggled them around the cold, slippery fat he recognized what he felt was an ankle and his tongue moistened. He tugged it out and dropped the preserved duck leg into the cassoulet made by his mother thirty-one years ago and which had been on the go every since."
My first inclination for a FFT connection was to make a cassoulet. So I went straight to Julia's MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING. Clearly this recipe was a bit too adventuresome for moi. The ingredients alone made me feel as if I were taking inventory at la boucherie.
So instead I settled on a fishing trip picnic.
"For whilst the two men were fiercely competitive when it came to fishing, their unspoken rivalry was not over what one another caught, but the contents of their picnic baskets. And the barber, who had been labouring in the kitchen since five that morning, was convinced that victory would be his."
~ Baguette ~ bunch of tomatoes-on-the-vine ~
~ jar of cornichons ~ bunch of pink radish ~
~another baguette ~ duck paté ~ vichyssoise ~
~ potato salad w/ lobster tails ~
~goat's cheese tart ~ walnut and apple cake~
"No, thanks, otherwise I won't be able to manage this! ' the baker announced, lifting a walnut and apple cake out of his basket with a flourish. But they both knew it was useless: nothing could have beaten Guillaume Ladoucette's caprine masterstroke."
Guillaume Ladoucette's goat cheese tart couldn't be topped.
So Goat Cheese Tart it is for FFT!
I used an Ina Garten Food Network recipe found here.
Instead of using garlic-and-herb soft goat cheese, I opted for Montchevre fresh goat cheese and then added fresh chopped garlic in with the saute of chopped shallots.
"Mmm, really goaty! Fancy some?"
I might add, I even impressed "the chef" with this one.
This recipe is a keeper!
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Food For Thought reviews of
MATCHMAKER OF PERIGORD
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