We're going to be in Paris for two weeks in late May/early June, staying in an apartment in Saint Germain des Pres. Since our 15-month old twins will be with us and still go to bed fairly early, I suspect we'll be doing a decent amount of self-catering. So inspire me. Tell me about your best self-catered meal in Paris. What did you make? Where did you get the ingredients? Anything we absolutely must try? (Need not be kid-friendly, although those suggestions are also welcome.)

You can find fabulous rotisserie chickens at the street markets in Paris, with potatoes (sometimes with onions and peppers) cooked underneath the rotisserie so that the chicken juices drip down on them. With salad greens or a simply steamed seasonal vegetable, a baguette, and a bottle of wine, it is one of my favorite meals in the world. It's also one of the easiest.

Even simpler is our staple for lazy evenings, bread, cheese, maybe some sliced sausage, maybe an apple. And wine.

Don't overlook (or sneer at) Picard. This frozen food emporium (stores all over France) has some amazingly good (and quite inexpensive) dishes that only need to be heated. I understand that many French women buy their dinners at Picard, hide the boxes, and their husbands think they have slaved over the stove all day.

- Roz

Roz, I can't wait to hit that Picard store in Paris while we are there. Besides the fact I just love to shop in foods stores of any kind, we are definately going to be trying a few of their lovely frozen entrees for that quick meal. Gotta save the pennies somehow. I have even decided to have a garage sale before we go at the end of this month. With the rotten exchange rate I need to supplement our holiday money.

I second the simplicity of roast chicken, fresh greens from your local marche, a baguette, and a good bottle of wine.

Last spring, the Place Maubert marche had a vendor selling fresh pasta. I purchased some gnocchi, a nice sausage from another vendor, some fresh tarragon and made a light cream sauce for the whole lot. That was quite the hit after a dreary day spent tromping around Fontainebleau.

Is there a Picard store in the 6th? We are renting an apartment on rue St. Andre des Arts in May and plan to eat most of our dinners in.

Sharon J

It looks like there are two in the 6th. Try this and look for Postal code 75006.

quote:

It looks like there are two in the 6th.

Thanks Chris. I printed out maps for both.

Sharon J

We actually call the rotisserie chicken "Gite Chicken". We embellish it a bit by mixing 1 1/2 cups of creme fraiche "epaisse" with a heaping tablespoon of Dijon mustard, and reduced a little. Often we'll add some grated Tome de Savoie - or any hard cheese. Then pour it over the re-warmed chicken pieces.

This is our favorite, however:

Magret de Canard with Cassis sauce

For 2 people

5/8 cup Sirop/Syrup de Cassis.
This is very hard to find in the US. In France every market has it. It is not the Creme de Cassis that's alcoholic. The Syrup is non-alcoholic and you can probably find it in the section of the store that has Coke, 7-up, etc. It comes in a 750 ML or 1 liter container that is either glass or metal. Cassis is also known as Blackcurrent syrup. There are other flavors of syrup - Peach, Blackberry, etc.

1/2 Cup Red wine vinegar

1 Cup Normandie Cream "Entiere" (full fat).
This is not normally found in the refrigerated section of the store. It comes in a container that is just a little fatter than a pack of cigarettes. It has a red (or it may be blue) plastic screw top & is often shrink-wrapped in a set of 2 to 4 containers per. It does not need refrigeration, until it is opened. You'll probably need 2 containers to get 1 cup (use the rest in your coffee).

2 Magrets
You will probably have some left over. For 4 people, we buy 3 magrets. In groceries, they are usually found in the refrigerated section next to the chickens. Some are larger than others. Get the larger ones. Sometimes they are packaged 2 to a "shrink-wrap".


Pour the Cassis & Vinegar into a sauce pan & reduce to 1/2 Cup. Don't reduce it too much or it will turn into hard candy (this happened to me once).

Score the skin of the Magret with a knife - making 2 sets if diagonal cuts 1 inch apart. This will give you diamond shapes in the middle of the duck. Do not cut through to the meat - just barely cut the skin. Salt & pepper both sides.

Heat a non-stick skillet/saute pan to med hot

Put the Magret on the skillet, skin side down. You do not need cooking oil - the fat will be rendered enough to make the oil. Cook 7-8 minutes on the skin side. If you get a real fat magret, you may need 9 minutes. If you are not using a non-stick skillet, move the magret around every 1-2 minutes to make sure it does not stick. You will probably have to remove the skillet from the heat mid-way through cooking to drain the duck fat from the skillet.

Turn the magret over & cook 4-5 minutes on the flesh side. Add another minute if the magret is large. It will plump up quite a bit while cooking.

Remove the magret, keep warm by covering with a plate or tin foil, and get all the fat out of the pan & wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.

Return the pan to the flame & pour in the cream & reduce to 1/2 cup.

Pour the reduced Cassis/vinegar into the pan with the cream & whisk a bit to blend. Reduce a tad if it's too thin.

Cut the magrets into 5/8 inch slices, put on plate, and spoon the cassis sauce over the top.

22 days before we leave for Paris. We are looking forward to shopping, cooking and eating some great food.

You can also go to a market and have them compse a seafood platter for you. Oysters, boule, shrimps, your choice. Get a fresh bottle of white wine, a baguette and make your self some home made mayonaise.

As far as baguettes go I prefer the "tradition" to the plain baguette.

For breakfast there is a line of preserves called Bonne Mamman that is so good. Toasted split open baguette, butter, your favorite flavor of preserves, coffee and juice.

We're already drooling -- thanks so much for the Picard tip, since there's a location just three blocks from where we're staying!

Any other ideas welcome -- especially on markets in the SGdP neighborhood.

Stu,

You are the absolute Martha Stu-art of Slowtrav.com!!!! (cooking, shopping, driving tours, etc.)

You are amazing, and let me be clear, I ADORE Martha!!!!

Laura

In the 6th…
You can get catered dishes in the traiteurs along the food market street rue de Buci. But their prices tend toward high.
The itinerant markets on bld Raspail have high quality and less expensive fares.
Bon voyage.

Is Picard only in Paris? We will be renting in the Luberon in a few weeks, will we be able to find Picard?

There are Picard all over France. The "tarte Tatin" they have is very good. The "chou farci" also. The "Aligot" (a traditional Auvergne potato puree made with cheese) is fantastic. I think the catch is not to use a microwave. Use a "real" oven, or the cooktop, depending on the type of dish.

Barb, I think there are two Picard stores in the Avignon area.

In the Luberon you can buy food at the big supermarches (we go to Leclerc on the west side of Apt) or small village alimentation shops. In Bonnieux we have a Cocchi market, where you can actually buy provisions for your full week. You can also go to small specialty sotes (like a village butcher) and of course the outdoor markets.

There are lots of options for prepared foods. Our Leclerc has a big refrigerated section of prepared foods, many bearing the signature of famous chefs. And the frozen foods section seems to be expanding and may offer some easy choices. Or the butcher shop in Apt sells a mouth-watering assortment of prepared dishes and special salads. At the markets, in addition to the chickens, you can buy paella or various Chinese noodles and egg rolls. We like to buy cooked sausages at the same stands that sell the chickens and potatoes.

I absolutely love food shopping and cooking in France-- it's just different than what we do at home. When you're in the Luberon, be sure to visit that Leclerc in Apt (or the one in Cavaillon)-- it's fun to compare cultural differences.

Kathy

Stu,

Mrs. twofer (i.e., the cook), here. Your recipe is getting packed off to Paris with me. Hopefully I'll be able to do it justice. And thank you for the specific packaging descriptions, too! I love seeing what's available in other parts of the world, but I don't always know how to utilize items that aren't as readily available where we are. So I really appreciate the suggestions on what to look for and how to use it!

One more: heat up the chicken in that paper bag they use to pack it. It's designed to stand temperatures up to 100°C (a proper "heating up" temperature), and will keep the chicken from getting dry, which will happen if you stick it in the oven straight. And ask for "jus" or "sauce" to be added in that bag. Careful when it's hot.
That's if you don't have time for Stu's recipe...

I just got on Picard's website and I am really excited about getting above average frozen food at Picard, which is why I like Trader Joes here.

One of their suggestions for a meal was this translated by google:


2 guinea fowl supremes, stuffed mushrooms and port
020147 1 vote 2 vote 3 vote vote 4 to 5 vote stuffed mushrooms and Porto, 2 guinea fowl supremes are an alternative to traditional poultry feast. A gourmand pleasure to be enjoyed at two.

Box 440 € 9.75 g (22.15 € / K) In my cart add to my lists


Sounds yummy to me and 10 euros for dinner is fantastic! That way we can spend more on wineto drink in our apartment! We are planning to eat out at lunch but this and other market ingredients will be fine for dinner.

Since you guys are ecstatically Picard-ing all over the place, I allow myself to hijack this thread a little bit:
where o where can I find zip-lock bags in Paris? And what the *$#@ is it called in French?

Americana -

I believe that would be "sac au zip" in French - widely available at the Leclerc in Apt - though in that backwater where you live up north, wouldn't have a clue.

As for Chez Picard - come on guys, you can't be serious about this... 22 euros/kg for frozen bird in a box ? That's downright silly...

If you're going through all the effort of flying 1000s of miles to spend valuable vacation time (not to mention big bucks) in the culinary capitol of the world - why would you then go ahead and have a glorified TV dinner ? I don't get it...

-Kevin

p.s.: I hope I'm not coming off as a snob. And I don't mean to say you should be eating out at restaurants all the time. But if you are going to eat in and don't feel like cooking, at least head to a butcher/traiteur (they are all over the place) and buy something home made to heat up.

The fact that France still has butchers/fommageries/patisseries/etc/etc is one of the things which sets it apart and which visitors should be experiencing. Not the frozen food section in the local grocery store...

Kevin, don't get yer knickers in a twist, its just another option in a sea of lovely food that is France.

We love to cook so we will be frequenting butchers and outdoor markets as well. Its what we do in every country we visit, not just France.

So we forgo a couple of nights in a restaurant, we're not cancelling our trip because we can't go out every night to eat.