Under Construction

"Louis" has encountered a series of problems using Blogger as the host for his "Recettes" that Blogger has chosen to ignore. These problems have persisted for 22 weeks! So "Louis" will be saying 'good bye' to Blogger and moving his blogs to a new location soon. He will post the new address(es) when the new sites are up and running.

Pain de Brioche

Poor Marie. Not only did she lose her head, she is misquoted as having said "S’ils n’ont plus de pain, qu’ils mangent de la brioche."
The word brioche first appeared in print in 1404. This bread is believed to have sprung from une recette normande traditionnelle. It is argued that brioche is probably of a Roman origin, since a very similar sort of sweet holiday bread is made in Romania ("sărălie"). The method of baking it and tradition of using it during holidays resembles the culture surrounding the brioche so much that it is difficult to doubt same origin of both foods. Brioche is often served as a pastry or as the basis of a dessert, with many local variations in added ingredients, fillings and toppings. It is also used with savory preparations, particularly with foie gras, and is used in some meat dishes.

Perhaps the most popular version is Brioche à tête. Today, we will bake a loaf version, using a slow-rise, cool fermentation method. "Louis" lets the dough ferment in the refrigerator twice overnight before a third rise at room temperature on the third day before baking. You can proof the dough quicker than this, but the long, cool fermentation helps develop the flavor and improves the keeping quality. Without further ado,

À table!
Pain de brioche

Oven 350º F (180º C)

INGRÉDIENTS:

1/2 cup whole milk
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cool water
7 grams yeast (1 packet)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
17 ounces unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
egg wash (optional)

MÉTHODE:

1) In a small saucepan, scald the milk.
2) Add the butter to the milk, stir until the butter melts, then add the sugar.
3) Set aside, allow to cool to under 100º F (38º C)
4) Allowing time for the milk/butter mixture to cool, pour the water into the mixing bowl of your mixer* fitted with the whisk attachment.
5) Add the yeast. Allow the yeast to soften for five minutes.
6) With the mixer on low speed, blend the yeast into the water.
7) Pour the milk/butter mixture into the mixing bowl and blend.
8) Add 1/2 cup of the flour, continue to blend on low speed.
9) Replace the whisk attachment on the mixer with the dough hook.
10) Add another 1/2 cup of the flour.
11) When that addition of flour is absorbed, with the mixer running, sprinkle the salt over the dough, blend well.
12) Continuing to mix at low speed, gradually add the eggs.
13) Gradually add remaining flour, running the mixer until the dough forms a soft, sticky ball.
14) Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl from time to time.
15) When the dough develops a sheen, the gluten is properly developed. At this point, turn the mixer off and remove the dough hook.
16) Resist the temptation to add more flour. This is a soft, sticky dough. The key is to mix long enough for the dough to develop a sheen, indicating proper gluten development.
17) Scrape the bowl. Oil your hands, coat the dough with the oil, shaping the dough into a ball.
18) Cover the bowl well and place in the refrigerator overnight.
19) The next morning, punch the dough down, cover and refrigerate again until the third morning.
20) Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, shape it to fit the pan you've selected to bake it in.
21) Oil the pan, place the dough in it, cover and allow to proof until at least doubled. Because the dough has been refrigerated, it will take a long time for it to 'wake up' and proof.
22) Bake at 350º F (180º C) for 30 - 45 minutes, depending on the pan you've selected. Brush with an egg wash the last ten minutes of baking to give the crust a sheen.
23) When golden brown and you get a hollow sound by thumping on the bottom of the pan, remove the pan from the oven, placing it on a cooling rack.
24) Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes before depanning. Resist the temptation to cut into it right away! Let it cool until the internal temperature falls below 100º F (37º C) before cutting.

* Assumes a Kitchen Aid mixer
Voici! Bon appétit!

Nôtre premier anniversaire

Our first anniversary

Clic sur l'image pour l'agrandir


"Louis" and the future Mme. la Vache were introduced by a mutual acquaintance not long after "Louis's" return to California from France - on his birthday actually! "Louis," having been divorced for 28 years really, no longer considered marriage to be an option. Then he met Mme. la Vache!

Mme. la Vache was born and raised in China and had lived in Japan for about 15 years. She had worked as a photographer and journalist for a Tokyo newspaper. She published a novel, written in Mandarin, that became a best-seller in China.

She is a smart, funny, wonderful woman and "Louis" thanks God that she has come into his life. "Louis" says that she is the best thing that ever happened to him!

Today is the first anniversary of "Louis" and Mme. la Vache's civil wedding. Following their civil wedding, "Louis" and Mme. la Vache repeated their vows in a church ceremony on le 4 novembre. ("Louis" says, 'I'm glad she has a sense of humor, otherwise she'd kill me for calling her 'Mrs. Cow!' - and who would blame her?! He fears he'll wind up looking like THIS!. He can get away with it largely only because she doesn't want her name on the blogosphere.)

Le 4 ème Juillet: Colombe, aigle ou dinde ?

July 4th: Dove, Eagle or Turkey


In "1776", Benjamin Franklin argues that the turkey should be our national bird.
(Hat tip to The Pink Flamingo)


Farms in Berkeley*? The Statue of Liberty in Paris?
(Click to enlarge)
* San Francisco Bay Area readers will understand this reference
Don't forget that the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States. Here is a model of "Lady Liberty" in la Seine in Paris, near la tour Eiffel. Gustav Eiffel engineered the supporting structure of "Lady Liberty". French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and chose its site in New York Harbor.

Flag Day aux Ètats-Unis

Flag Day in the United States

Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, CA



Aux Ètats-Unis, Flag Day is celebrated on le 14 juin. Flag Day commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, when the Second Continental Congress on adopted the Stars and Stripes by a resolution passed on le 14 juin 1777. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established le 14 juin as Flag Day; National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress in aout 1949.

"Louis" adapted this history of Flag Day from Wikipedia:

The earliest reference to the suggestion of a "Flag Day" is cited in "Kansas: a Cyclopedia of State History, published by Standard Publishing Company of Chicago in 1912. It credits George Morris of Hartford, Connecticut:
'To George Morris of Hartford, Conn., is popularly given the credit of suggesting "Flag Day," the occasion being in honor of the adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777. The city of Hartford observed the day in 1861, carrying out a program of a patriotic order, praying for the success of the Federal arms and the preservation of the Union.'

1885

Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at Stony Hill School in Waubeka. The school has been restored, and a bust of Cigrand also honors him at the National Flag Day Americanism Center in Waubeka.

From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke around the country promoting patriotism, respect for the flag, and the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14, the day in 1777 that the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes.

He moved to Chicago to attend dental school and, in June 1886, first publicly proposed an annual observance of the birth of the United States flag in an article titled "The Fourteenth of June," published in the Chicago Argus newspaper. In June 1888, Cigrand advocated establishing the holiday in a speech before the "Sons of America," a Chicago group. The organization founded a magazine, American Standard, in order to promote reverence for American emblems. Cigrand was appointed editor-in-chief and wrote articles in the magazine as well as in other magazines and newspapers to promote the holiday.

On the third Saturday in June 1894, a public school children’s celebration of Flag Day took place in Chicago at Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks. More than 300,000 children participated, and the celebration was repeated the next year.

Cigrand became president of the American Flag Day Association and later of the National Flag Day Society, which allowed him to promote his cause with organizational backing. Cigrand once noted he had given 2,188 speeches on patriotism and the flag.

Cigrand lived in Batavia, Illinois, from 1913–1932.

Cigrand generally is credited with being the "Father of Flag Day," with the Chicago Tribune noting that he "almost singlehandedly" established the holiday.

1888

William Kerr, a resident of Collier Township, Pennsylvania, for a number of years, founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania in 1888, and became that organization's national chairman one year later, serving as such for fifty years. He attended President Harry S. Truman's 1949 signing of the Act of Congress that formally established the observance.

1889

In 1889, the principal of a free kindergarten, George Bolch, celebrated the anniversary of the Flag resolution at his New York City school. Soon the State Board of Education of New York, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia, and the New York Society of the Sons of the Revolution celebrated Flag Day, as well.

1893

In 1893, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, attempted to have a resolution passed deeming June 14 as Flag Day. That same year, the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania were responsible for a resolution passed requiring the American flag to be displayed on all Philadelphia's public buildings. In 1937, Pennsylvania became the first state to make Flag Day a legal holiday.

This is Alex, from Guam, standing by the grave of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Alex's father served as an orderly for Admiral Nimitz in World War II. "Louis" happened upon Alex at the Golden Gate National Cemetery and learned that Alex was looking for Admiral Nimitz's grave. "Louis", knowing where it was, took Alex to it.

France sings for the United States!

Don't miss this! Delightful!