New Cookbook

I received The Cuisine of Normandy by Marie-Blanche de Broglie in the mail today. Eugenia Bone uses this cookbook as a reference in her own, At Mesa's Edge, for a scrumptious-looking roast partridge recipe, and I couldn't wait to find out what else Mme. de Broglie had to offer.

She has a lot.

The cookbook itself is very simply designed. It was published in the early eighties, and unlike more recent tomes, this one lacks fancy photography or illustration. There is a short introduction by Simone Beck of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and a forward by the author describing her childhood at "La Coquetterie", her family's estate in Normandy.

The cookbook is divided by season, with summer first, and then by menus. I generally dislike this outline for cookbooks, as it makes things hard to find. The menus are ornate for someone of my ability and means: The first, a country picnic, entails Duck Pate with Calvados and Prunes, a Three-Layered omelet with Peppers, Spinach Salad with Honey and Oranges, and Almond Tartlets. [On the other hand, who cares how ornate they are. After reading over the Pate recipe again, I will splurge and buy that bottle of Calvados - even if I have to go all the way to France to get it.] Each menu comes with wine and cheese recommendations, as well, and most have a soup or appetizer, a salad, an entree and a dessert.

The recipes are straight forward, and Ms. de Broglie's experience as a cooking instructor is demonstrated in her simple way of describing complex tasks. I had no trouble at all following the recipe that I made tonight, or adapting it for only one person. I've read some of the more complex recipes - for terrines and pates and lobster mousses, for example - and they seem equally straight forward. Not knowing much about the intricacies of Norman cuisine, I don't know how much the author's "[skillful] blending of American efficiency and techniques with a European flair"(from the dust jacket) translates into "dumbed down for Americans" but I can say that the dish that I made tonight was excellent.

The first recipe that I chose to try was a simple one: Tomates aux Oeufs Poches et Coulis de Concombre - Baked Eggs in Tomatoes with Cucumber Sauce. (See the picture below.) Adapting the recipe for one was easy, and it made a delicious light dinner alongside a greens salad and a glass of Chardonnay. [de Broglie recommends a Saint-Emilion.] I chose a mixture of white and cremini mushrooms for the stuffing, and when I make this again, I think that I'll experiment with the type of mushrooms that I use for the stuffing. I also would like to try adding other ingredients to the stuffing. (Bacon. mmmmm . . . .) I found the cucumber coulis unnecessary, though. The flavor did not complement that of the tomatoes well, nor did the mint-green flecked puddle it made complement the look of the dinner. One of my tomatoes, as you can see in the picture below, flattened while baking. That was pretty. You can't tell, but it came out in a sort of star shape.

Here is the recipe, as I adapted it:

Tomates aux Oeufs Poches et Coulis de Concombre

Baked Eggs in Tomatoes with Cucumber Sauce
Adapted from The Cuisine of Normandy by Princess Marie-Blanche De Broglie

Serves a first course for 2 or a light dinner for one.

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes
8-10 mushrooms, a mix of what ever you like, minced fine
1 small yellow onion, minced fine
2 T unsalted butter
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 eggs
ground coriander
6 inches or so of an English cucumber, split, seeded, and chopped
3 T sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Slice the tops from the tomatoes, scoop out the seeds and pulp, and invert them on paper towels to drain. Melt the 2 T butter in a pan and saute the onions and mushrooms over medium heat with salt and pepper until they begin to dry. (I took this to mean that the water had mostly seeped out of the onions and there was very little visible butter in the bottom of the pan.]

Place the tomatoes in a buttered baking dish. Fill the tomatoes with the mushroom and onion mix until there is about 3/4" of space left in the top. Taste the mixture, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper if needed. Break an egg into each tomato, and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper and some ground coriander.

Bake in the oven until the eggs have set to your liking. I like my yolks a little runny, and so had to bake them about 20 min. (I really think, though, that my oven temp isn't accurate.) Check them after about 15 min.

While the tomatoes and eggs are baking, puree the cucumber in a food processor or blender, season, and stir in the sour cream. Serve the tomatoes hot, with the cucumber sauce on the side. For a light meal, serve with a salad.