Cooking Organ Meats with Two-Star Chef in Paris & Interview about Natural Skincare on Vibrant Health Summit

My October newsletter is just out on Cooking Organ Meats with Two-Star Chef in Paris & My Upcoming Interview on Oct 24 on natural skincare on the upcoming Vibrant Health Summit!……

After I had the honor of being inducted into the 800 year old Jurade of Saint-Emilion, and visiting dear friends in Bordeaux, I promptly sprained my ankle (again!) the day before my train to Paris. I stayed with friends, visited with more friends and generally walked around on that ankle (motion is lotion?!) all over Paris, reconnecting with people, places, and memories. And one of the big bonuses was that I got to work with two-star chef Romain Dubuisson (pictured above)!


Rodin Museum Gardens, 7ème Arrondissement, Paris


I met Chef Romain a year ago through friends in Saint Emilion and Paris, while I was with my tour group ladies in Paris last fall. I asked him then if he’d be willing to work with me at some point for my next book on organ meats. He said he would, and finally it worked out this October! Romain and I worked on four simple recipes together: Veal kidney, veal thymus (sweetbreads), veal tongue, and veal brains! It was so much food, and guess which part I ate up, practically licking the plate?! 

Answer: The brains! Amazing! I couldn’t waste a morsel!As a true chef does, Romain cooked everything in different stages but sort of all at the same time, so I was taking notes as fast as I could, flipping back and forth from one page to the other in my notebook. Not actually that complex, the main flavoring ingredient for the recipes was: SALTED BUTTER!


Veal thymus (ris de veau) in tallow and salted butter


It’s hard to keep up with a two-star chef, I was trying to photograph, video and write at the same time, but luckily he said I could ask him questions when I’m editing the recipes!
Sautéed Veal Kidney on an herbed butter sauce

As per my request and according to ancestral tradition, we actually used the rendered fat surrounding the kidney (called suet) in which to sautée each organ meat. He simply heated the fat in a pot and used the “liquid gold” fat for each recipe!
 

Rendered tallow from solid suet, kidney fat


The veal tongue was accompanied with a Ravigote sauce made of olive oil, vinegar, cornichons, capres, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. (The other traditional sauce served with veal or beef tongue is Gribiche, more of a mayo-based sauce.)
Veal Tongue and la Ravigote sauce


And speaking of nutritious food…..I’m a part of the
Nourishing Vibrant Health Summit October 23-27 How to reclaim vibrant health in the modern world of dis-easeWatch this summit for free…My interview airs on October 24th and is available for 24-hrs when you sign up for the summit. The session was recorded in front of my tour group participants on-location in the Alps of Switzerland! I talk about how to nourish your skin inside and out and how to find the best, natural skincare ingredients in your products and lifestyle! Then I’ll be on a live Q&A on October 25th at 1pm EST via Zoom alongside the amazing Sally Fallon Morrel, Dr Bill Schindler, and Dr Tom Cowan!! Write in or chime in your questions live with us! 
Watch the summit for free here!(Should I update my head shot?!)

And as a subscriber to my newsletter, you are the first to have my link to my summit “freebie” on natural skincare right here! To healthy skin!

And speaking of nutritious food…..I’m a part of the Nourishing Vibrant Health Summit October 23-27 “How to reclaim vibrant health in the modern world of dis-ease.”

Watch this summit for free…My interview airs on October 24th and is available for 24-hrs when you sign up for the summit. The session was recorded in front of my tour group participants on-location in the Alps of Switzerland! I talk about how to nourish your skin inside and out and how to find the best, natural skincare ingredients in your products and lifestyle! Then I’ll be on a live Q&A on October 25th at 1pm EST via Zoom alongside the amazing Sally Fallon Morrell, Dr Bill Schindler, and Dr Tom Cowan!! Write in or chime in your questions live with us! 
Watch the summit for free here!



And as a subscriber to my newsletter, you are the first to have my link to my summit “freebie” on natural skincare right here! To healthy skin!
 

Bestseller Lavender Grapefruit Whipped Body Butter made with tallow from regeneratively-raised, organic, grassfed cows! 

VISIT MY ETSY SHOP: BordeauxKitchen for natural skincare products — grassfed tallow-based lip balms, lip glosses, body butters, deodorants, foot salve and more!

See the rest of the newsletter here: Cooking Organ Meats with Two-Star Chef in Paris & My Upcoming Interview on Oct 24 on natural skincare on the upcoming Vibrant Health Summit!……

Fall 2022 Newsletter

Take a peek into my group tours to Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion & Paris as well as my side trip to Dijon for recipes for my NEXT BOOK….

Also check out my TOURS pages to FRANCE and SWITZERLAND!

October 2021 Newsletter

I sent myself to Bordeaux on a mission: to gather recipes and photographs for my next book, video clips for my upcoming online cooking courses (wish me luck), and to remind myself that France was, in fact, still there. How? By reconnecting with my friends there who have become like family to me. I came back inspired and overwhelmed with beautiful material, and with some insights on weight/fat loss (what!?), while having worked on delicious recipes for organ meats (les abats), and a fig tart (video here)…..read the newsletter here.

SPRING 2021 Newsletter

EUROPE ON MY MIND! Here is the Spring 2021 Bordeaux Kitchen Newsletter on : Fasting, Friends, Florida & Flashbacks! Latest articles and where to buy grassfed meats in Virginia and the US…

Spring 2021 Bordeaux Kitchen Newsl – Check it out!

Chicken Liver Dip – Sauce aux Foies de Volaille

EPIC chicken liver dip-open endive -H or V-1456screen

CHICKEN LIVER DIP – Sauce aux Foies de Volaille

This recipe is from the book and was also published, along with the photo above, in the EPIC Impact Journal 2018. I though I would share the recipe and photo from the book (below), as a way of posting recipes again, now that The Bordeaux Kitchen book is almost ONE YEAR OLD! As we head into summer, this versatile recipe will be a great way to introduce friends and family to organ meats!

 

I learned this recipe from my good friend and Bordeaux University wine course buddy, Malika Faytout, an organic winemaker in the Bordeaux region of Castillon. She says she still remembers me telling her that first day of class when we met that I was writing a book called The Bordeaux Kitchen, an ancestral French cookbook with a wine chapter and food and wine pairings.

 

We sat next to each other in the first row throughout the academic year, and she ended up being the top student in our class of about 45 students. Luckily, some of her smarts rubbed off on me, and I was able to pass the course, too. Malika had decided to take the wine course to be able to play a more central role in her family’s organic vineyard, Château Lescaneaut, in the Castillon – Côtes de Bordeaux appellation, next to St. Emilion, both of which produce fruity, bold Merlot-based wines, and, as it turns out, a delicious accompaniment to the liver dip!

 

Season: Year-round

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 12 to 15 minutes

Serves 4

This chicken liver dip recipe is versatile in that you can eat it warmed, room temperature, or chilled, with a variety of raw vegetables, such as a type of romaine leaf (“Paris Island” heirloom variety), as we did, or with endives or on top of lettuce, and with a thicker or thinner consistency. This is a delicious way to eat nutrient-dense chicken livers. This recipe can be halved or doubled, depending on your needs. It can be served as a party dip, an appetizer, or as a meal. When Malika and I made this recipe together, it was spring, so we used local spring garlic-onions (oignon aillé). In the photo here I used the sheath of a green onion. A scallion or peeled clove of garlic may be used instead of green onion.

 

2 tablespoons bacon fat (or duck fat)

15 whole chicken livers (12.5 ounces or 350 g)

1 tablespoon spring onion or garlic, minced

4 pinches of fine sea salt

1/3 cup water

3 teaspoons mustard

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Fine salt and ground pepper to taste

Fleur de sel for garnish

 

Melt the fat in a medium or large cast iron skillet over medium-high to high heat. Add the chicken livers, green onion (or garlic), and salt. [A reminder that a pinch (une pincée) is using three fingers. For fine salt, fleur de sel, pepper, and spices this turns out to be slightly less than 1/8 teaspoon. For coarser grains of sea salt, it might be slightly more.] Allow the livers to stick a bit to the pan, letting them caramelize a bit, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, stirring occasionally for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, until the livers are cooked through.

 

Remove the livers, allowing them to cool in a bowl for several minutes. Deglaze the pan with1/3 cup water to loosen the caramelized material stuck to the pan, and add this liquid to the bowl of livers.

 

Mix the livers in a food processor, in batches if needed, adding the mustard, vinegar, and olive oil, until you reach the desired consistency. (This step should take about 30 seconds.) To increase the liquid consistency of the sauce, add a bit more water and/or olive oil. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Top with fleur de sel for garnish. Fleur de sel is often used as a finishing touch, a chef’s secret topping to a savory dish or dessert. The fine, white cubes are pleasing to the eye and delicate on the tongue, and add a subtle crunch.

 

Serve while still warm, chilled, or at room temperature with romaine or endive leaves, with carrot or celery sticks, homemade beet or sweet potato chips. I prefer eating the dip warmed or at room temperature.

chicken liver dip malika-3234

WINE PAIRING TIP Malika’s family and I had their house wine, a flavorful 2012 Château Lescaneaut from the Castillon Côtes de Bordeaux appellation. Another classmate of ours, sommelière Annabelle Nicolle-Beaufils, alternately suggests a dry white Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec, from an area located between Bordeaux and the Pyrénées foothills of Pau more known for its sweet wines, which are also worth a try. Otherwise Annabelle proposes either an effervescent white Muscat from Languedoc-Roussillon or a Champagne. More such wine pairings are suggested in The Bordeaux Kitchen book.

 

Paleo Breaded Veal Sweetbreads

Ris de Veau Panés

Tania Teschke Photography-RisDeVeau-2934

This recipe can be used for both Veal or Lamb Sweetbreads. The photos in this post depict Veal Sweetbreads. The flour used in this recipe is organic chestnut flour, locally-sourced, Paleo-approved!

Prep Time: 35 minutes (plus up to one hour if you wish to soak the sweetbreads first in water)

Cook Time: 10-15 minutes

Total Time: 45-50 minutes

 Serves:  4

Description: Sweetbreads are the thymus gland of the animal. They have a light texture, like very tender meat and are not chewy. In France, they are a delicacy, as they have a very subtle flavor and are nutrient dense. They are also rare and therefore expensive, as there is only one pair of thymus glands per animal. This recipe can be used for veal or lamb sweetbreads. This can be served either as an appetizer or a main course.

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