« November 2006 | Return to LPC Main Page | January 2007 »

December 11, 2006

A Savoury Cake of Saussisse, Ham and Sundried Tomatoes

A savoury cake of saussisse, ham and sun dried tomatoes

I really only believed my uncle JL is gone when I saw my aunt shaking violently with grief at the sight of the casket. That was such a painful sight. I cried buckets and still there are days worth of crying to be done.

Grief is like a heavy blanket that I want to crawl under and turn my back on the world. I don’t have energy for anything. I don’t feel like doing anything. It’s one of the few rare times in my life that I don’t feel like eating either. But I know I must. I can’t fall sick now. I have my family to take care of.

So, I’m hoping that savoury tarts and sweet breads can trick the mind and hopefully, bring my appetite back. I made “un cake à saucisse et tomates sechée”. In French, a cake is pronounced just like cake in English. But it is not the cake that we know. Un cake is like a quick bread and is usually savoury. It is also always made in the form of a rectangular loaf. Un cake is easy to make and you can be inventive with the ingredients once you get the basic dough right.


Ben found a good video showing how to make a cranberry loaf. In the video, you can see the type and size of the baking tin. The method is exactly the same as making this cake. All you really need to do is stir. Try your best to ignore the ninny commentator in the clip… she’s one of those annoying people who keeps talking but says nothing. Otherwise, I thought the clip is well done and the cranberry loaf looks healthy and delicious.

Savoury Cake of Saussisse, Ham and Sun dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:

  • 250g flour + 1 tablespoon for the pan
  • 10g of baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 15cl olive oil or oil from the jar of sundried tomatoes
  • 10 cl of white wine
  • 2 teaspoon of mustard
  • black pepper to taste
  • 200g white ham or 4 slices
  • 200g saussise (cured ham) or 20 slices
  • 10 sundried tomatoes
  • 150g of gruyè ;re grated
  • 15g butter for the pan
  • Heat the oven to 180degC. Butter and flour the pan.
    Beat the eggs, olive oil, white wine, mustard and black pepper until mixed.
    Add the flour and baking powder and mix until the mixture is smooth.

    Tear up the ham and saussisse into even pieces.
    Add them to the mixture and mix well. Add the grated cheese and mix.
    Pour the mixture into the pan.
    Bake for 50 minutes.

    December 05, 2006

    La Butte Chaillot, a Guy Savoy restaurant

    I’m still trying to digest everything that has happened in the past seven days. In the space of a few days, I celebrated the birth of a baby boy, someone’s 60th birthday bash and the death of a family friend. We knew he was suffering from cancer, but he had been in remission for over a year now. And then, boom! A call to say he was in the ICU and 12 hours later he passed away. He didn’t really pass away. Someone made a mistake. Can’t be. He loved life. He was too young to die. People die when they are 80 or 90 in this country.

    After the news, I walk around like a zombie. I am sad to the core. I carry this heavy weight with me everywhere. The grief and anger is bottling up and I need to have a big cry.

    Roti de Bar or Roast Sea Bass at La Butte Chaillot, a Guy Savoy restaurant

    Below is the start of this crazy week, where the celebration of a new life began:

    As you know, I work right smack in what I call “Le Seizieme Profond” (the deep 16th). Every now and then, during lunch break, I take a long walk at lunch time to get some fresh air, away from fussy women and their bratty kids. A long time ago, a woman kindly pulled me aside and whispered “We should never wear black during the day. Try camel or beige colors. ” I almost died. Sometimes, I walk as far away as Avenue Kléber towards Etoile. I’ve always walked by La Butte Chaillot and thought that one day I’ll have lunch there, like celebrating an important project.

    So when Ben came over for lunch to celebrate some good news, I thought of La Butte Chaillot, the same time he said he saw a nice restaurant on the way. This is telepathy after 5 years of marriage.

    Guy Savoy needs no introduction. He’s one of France’s most celebrated chefs. The story goes that this French star earned his first Michelin star in 1981 only one year after opening his restaurant. He earned his second in 1985 and his third in 2002. He has taken great chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Hélène Darroze under his wing and his staff has only good things to say about him. I eat better knowing that the chef’s not psycho.

    La Butte Chaillot is one of the several Guy Savoy restaurants. It doesn’t have a Michelin star but the food and service are good. The d&eactue;cor is warm, modern and feels low-key. The waiters are polite and dressed casually in black T-shirts and pants. The lunch crowd is young, trendy and it seems that most people come here for business lunches. The women from the 16th with their gigantic fur coats and frou-frou dogs don’t fit in here for lunch. Thank God for some respite!

    Lunch was fennel soup (EUR9), a slice of roasted sea bass with snow peas (EUR21) and a glass of freshly pressed orange juice (EUR4.50).

    La Butte Chaillot (google map)
    110 bis Avenue Kléber
    75016, Paris
    Tel: 01 47 27 88 88
    Métro : Trocadéro

    All writing and photography in this weblog is Copyright © 2006 LPC, unless indicated otherwise. All rights reserved.
    Powered by
    Movable Type 3.2