I’m making another loaf of brioche. It’s rare that I try something a second time when it was just alright the first. I’m trying a different recipe, the recipe from Ferrandi rather than ‘RecipeTinEats’ which, whilst having a 5 star rating, just feels a bit wrong. I’m not knocking RecipeTinEats (RTE) (not the Irish TV channel) because I’ve used lots of their recipes before and they work out just fine. Just fine though! Just Fine. I’m excited because this Ferrandi brioche recipe has crème fraîche which I love in all its forms, baked in to a cake or on side of some fruit. I wish the dairy industry wasn’t so evil because all dairy products are so beautiful and tasty I might put them above any other form of food. Perhaps I will need to purchase my own cow. I will update you on all of this tomorrow. The brioche, not the cow.
French Phrase of the Day - 17th March 2025:
raconter des salades - to tell salads (lit.)
We’re all guilty of the odd lie every now and then. Some people do it compulsively, they just can’t help themselves. Others only use one when they really need to, to get out of something they don’t want to do or get in to something when they really want. I’ve thought about putting some little lies on my CV to get a desirable job, under the impression that I, if making it to the interview, could raconter des salades - tell stories or spin yarns, make up enough nonsense - to see me through. I end up not opting for this option, though attractive, as I don’t think I could handle the pressure and/or keep a straight enough face to make it through.
This weekend it was cold and grey over here, so it was mostly getting cosy at home, watching some football and great TV (Only Connect, Season 20, 12 episodes in total) (Severence 209 on Friday (wow)) (Adolescence on Netflix). We ate good though!
Friday night I opted to use the rest of the Brioche and the sausages I bought earlier in the week from my million euro Monoprix shop. Monoprix is a great store and I love to go there but if you don’t look intensely at the prices (oops) you will spend a fortune without even knowing. A lesson was learnt. Anyway, I put an egg in to the sausage sandwich and then served with some crinkle cut crisps (too salty) and some tomatoes. We’re starting to get some French tomatoes in the shop and whilst they will definitely be grown in some kind of tent or however it is that that works, I’m happy that they at least haven’t had to travel very far. They’re not super flavourful but that’s what you get for eating tomatoes in March.
I know a lot of people are railing against brioche buns for burgers and such. To those people I say get a grip. Alright, you don’t want your burger to be sweet, you don’t want it to fall apart etc. etc. Whilst I think a sesame seed adorned white roll is a perfectly adequate burger bun, I love the extra depth of flavour brought through from the sweet and buttery richness of the brioche bun/bread. I also eat a burger mostly with a knife and fork, especially one I’ve made myself. Sorry if that gives you the ick, I just don’t like having to wipe my hands before I pick up my knife and fork for the other part of the meal. The exception to this is McDonalds and other fast food type places, as their burgers are dry and fries are also a handheld treat.
A short interlude to say hello to the baguette we got at the weekend from Joseph. According to Inês (unsure on the source), she and the Portuguese call the end of a loaf of bread the cu, which translates to ass (non-Donkey). To our great joy, this was the end of our weekend bread.
I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this. The perfect cu and a delicious bread.
To wrap up, on Sunday I made a ‘put ingredients in to a pan and pair it was pasta’ pasta dish. Courgette, plum tomatoes and lardons were the closest things I could see so in they all went. It was pretty good in the end. I put some parmesan in the pan before I added some pasta water and stirred vigorously before adding the pasta, creating what I’m assuming is some kind of emulsion? Though I can’t be sure. Basically it made an almost creamy sauce with the fats from the lardons and olive oil and cheese and the starchy pasta water. It ended up tasting great, which was a relief because I assumed that it was going to pretty dull.
The brioche is now in the fridge, chilling down before I split it in to balls and braid. I’m also going to bake a pain au lait and butter pudding tonight, possibly the last of the year lest I become a walking dessert myself.
à demain !
A burger in a brioche is a great combination and we love Only Connect!!