“Oeufs en cocotte” - recreating a little Paris kitchen

Have you been watching Le Tour de France on TV? and what has it got to do with "Oeufs en cocotte" - Eggs in Pots?

Read on!













 Maybe you have visited France while the Tour de France has been on?  We got tangled up in a bit of it at Cambord in the Loire Valley in July 2005 - this was before I was really interested in "le Tour".

Now we really enjoy watching the Tour de France on TV just as much for the fantastic scenery and travel-log - and it is easy to become involved in the cycling too as you get to know the names of the riders and teams - especially if you are following your country's team.  You can see my post in 2011 when Cadel Evans won Le Tour -  by clicking here - Congratulations Cadel

But this post is not about the Tour de France, although in a way it prompted me to write this post. No, this post is about food in France – or the food “we” ate in France.

I don't know if you watch cooking programs. I love the kind that takes you on a cultural, scenic and culinary tour of a country. I have recently discovered Rachel Koo’s – “The Little Paris Kitchen” on SBS Australia. You can also see it on the BBC - BBC - the Little Paris Kitchen

Seeing Rachel cook in her tiny Paris apartment kitchen and buying produce from the street markets takes me right back to our only visit to Paris and France in July 2005. It was our present to ourselves for our “significant” birthdays and wedding anniversary that year. 

We were invited to France by our French friend Aude, and stayed in her grandmother’s apartment in Paris, then travelled down to visit her friend Armelle in La Rochelle on the west coast, and then down to her mother’s house at Montpellier on the south coast. What a wonderful two week trip we had and what wonderful food we ate. Aude was an amazing tour guide who guided us through the maze of the French language, showed us all the "best bits" and her knowledge of French history was amazing!

Here is a pic of grandmother’s tiny kitchen. Rachel’s kitchen in “The Little Paris Kitchen” reminds me of this. If you leaned out of the second bedroom window you could see the Tower Eiffel – it was our proof that we had arrived in Paris! 







I love visiting markets when we go overseas, it is like being engulfed in the essence of the country. Our first introduction to Paris markets was in Bercy not far from the apartment.

I had only just bought my first digital camera. I think I know a lot more about food photography now! And oh how I wished I had taken more memory cards with me and had taken lots more photos – next time….

 That first day in Paris we went for a boat ride on the Seine River and bought chocolate crepes at the Jardin des Plants garden. Oh my goodness, so delicious, I wish I could buy them here!

 
 A couple of days later we drove down to La Rochelle. On our way we had afternoon tea at Chateau de Chenonceaux in the Loire Valley.  The Chateau and the gardens are magnificent.  You can see Chenonceaux in the collage below. 
and Aude introduced us to the simple deliciousness of buttery, flaky, chocolaty - pain au chocolat – chocolate croissants – although I just read on the internet that to make them properly takes several days to prepare the pastry! I don't know why I don't have a pic of them!

 In La Rochelle we met up with Aude’s friend Armelle, and we went to a magnificent market where Aude and Armelle selected cheeses, cured meats, pate, olives, breads, fruit and of course a bottle of wine. We took it down to the waterfront and sat on the stone wall in the sun to eat. We even had “tourists” take photos of us! What an amazing feast we had – the best simple delicious picnic I have ever had – and of course enjoyed with good friends. 
(Now I know a bit more about food photography, I would have cut open that black bun in the middle of the pic so you could see the yellow cakey centre) :)

 
 In the afternoon we drove over to Cognac and went on a tour of Martell’s cognac distillery and tasted the product after.

 Then down to a creperie on the coast for evening dinner - Creperie Cabane du Pertuis. I wanted to take a photo of them making the crepes, but unfortunately wasn’t allowed. 

 
 In Montpellier Aude’s mother cooked us delicious meals (what a fabulous cook and host Genève is), and one hot afternoon we sat by the pool, and drank a cold pastis with pistachios and Tapenade olive paste on little toasts.  

Below you can  see the Mediterranean coast between Carbob and la Grande Motteyou  where guys trundle food trolleys along the beach. And the cafe is at the walled city of Aigues-Mortes.
 

We also drove up to beautiful La Baux Provence, the lavender fields at Notre Dame de Senanque Abbey and to the Roman built bridge Pont du Gard.

Back in Paris who can resist the cafes and restaurants. I thought it was curious how all the chairs at the tables were all facing outwards towards the street, but now I think what a great idea – you can sit close to your partner to chat and watch the passing parade at the same time. We were lucky enough to experience the Bastille Day parade.

We ate panini for lunch on the riverfront, afternoon tea in Jardin des Tuilerie before the Bastille Day fireworks, at a little restaurant in Montmartre with Aude’s cousins, and at the Eiffel Tower before going to the Moulin Rouge on our last night in Paris. 

Oh Paris is such a wonderful food, cultural, and historical experience.  I loved our Paris and France adventure and would love to visit again one day. 

But back to “The Little Paris Kitchen”…..Rachel recently cooked “Oeufs en cocotte” - eggs in Pots – or as in her case – “eggs in cups”. I loved the way she served this simple recipe in tea cups. The coffee cups in France are like bowls, so would be perfect! 


I dug out some colourful sturdy roundish tea cups and gave it a go.  Such a simple recipe. Eggs in Pots


I didn’t have the crème fraiche (but Rachel says you can substitute with a white sauce – and yes this works well). I added chopped bacon and some fetta cheese to the mixture, added some grated cheese on top, skipped the roe, and substituted parsley for the dill. As Rachel says you can put in whatever you have.  Make sure you add hot water to the baking dish, not cold as I did…twice the cooking time….

Oeufs en cocotte would be perfect for Sunday morning breakfast/brunch. 

 I hope you don’t mind my little departure from Western Australia this week, and that you have enjoyed my trip down memory lane – and oeufs en cocotte!

I am linking up to Mosaic Monday, Travel Photo Monday, Our World Tuesday, Travel Photo Thursday and Oh the Places I've Been. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Mosaic Monday
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Our World Tuesday
Travel Photo Thursday
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