School is too much with us; late and soon,

La Fin du Monde has been on hiatus for a little while. But check back next week for some new updates. Here are a few things (not from the book) to tide you over. Stuffed lamb, and turkey-avocado eggs benedict.

Day 24:

• Gratin de Courgettes (zucchini gratin)
• Noisettes d'Agneau a la Creme d'Ail (medallions of lamb with garlic cream sauce)
• Tarte aux Poires Alsacienne (Alsatian pear tart)

Confession: I don't really fancy tomatoes all that much. Sometimes they add a nice flavor, but lots of times I pick them out (of food I cooked myself!).

Eggs: 6
Butter: 1 stick

Day 23:

• Mayonnaise (boo-ya!)
• Salade Hermine (chicken salad with endive, celery, and olives)
• Estouffade de Boeuf Provencale (braised beef casserole, Provence style)
  

Nathan and Scott saw Hermine when they were in Oxford.

Eggs: 2

Butter: none

Day 22:

Julienne Darblay (creamed leek and potato soup with julienned vegetables)

Eminces de Rognons de Veau a la Graine de Moutarde (sliced veal kidneys with mustard sauce)

Pommes Parisiennes (Parisian potatoes)

Gateau de Riz Autrichien (Austrian rice pudding)

I do whatever the book tells me to. If the book jumped off a cliff, I would jump too.

Thought you might want a closer look:

Eggs: 3
Butter: 1 stick

Day 21:

• French bread (a la elephant man)
• Omelette aux Fines Herbes (fresh herb omelet)
• Paves de Rumsteak au Poiure Vert (Serloin steaks with green peppercorns)
• Pommes Sautees a Cru (sauteed potatoes)
• Pets de Nonnes (choux pastry fritters with apricot sauce)
• Narcissism

Eggs: 14 (new record)
Butter: 1 and 1/4 stick

Day 20:

• Flamiche (leek pie)
• Longe de Porc aux Pruneaux (Roast pork loin with prunes)
• Mousseline de Celeri Rave (creamed celery root puree)
• Poires a la Diable (flamed poached pears)
• Tuiles aux Amandes (almond tile cookies)

There seems to be a leek shortage in Lansing. I had to go to 5 stores to get enought leeks to make leek pie.








Eggs: 10
Butter: 2 sticks

Day 19:

• Poulet Saute a la Grecque (sauteed chicken, greek style)
• Pudding Diplomate, Creme Anglaise (ladyfinger pudding with creme anglaise)

It's just chicken - I have nothing to say about it.

Eggs: 11
Butter: 2/3 stick

Day 18:

• Oeufs Brouilles aux Foies de Volailles (scrambled eggs with sauteed chicken livers) [sans chicken livers]
• Cotes de Porc Flamande (baked pork chops with potatoes and thyme)
• Poires Belle Helene (Poached pears with vanilla ice cream and warm chocolate sauce)

We also made Shirley-Temple's.

Eggs: 10
Butter: 1 and 1/2 sticks

Correction:

It has been brought to my attention by my good friend EG that the record number of eggs so far is 14 (on day 14); even though I claimed that Day 16 was tied for the record at 11 eggs. I will try to be more careful in the future.

For those keeping track, that puts me at 110 official eggs so far (those used in the meals below)and nearly 300 eggs used in my cooking in general.

Next week I'm off for spring break, so there should be lots of updates.

Day 17:

• Oeufs Cocotte a la Creme (baked eggs with cream)
• Paupiettes de Veau (stuffed veal rolls)
• Carottes Vichy (vichy carrots)
• Tarte aux Agrumens (citrus tart)

I was in such a hurry to get the veal rolls to the table while they were still hot that I forgot the sauce. The sauce contained neither eggs nor butter though.

Eggs: 10
Butter: 2 and 1/3 sticks

Day 16:

• Fondants de Poisson au Beurre de Citron (salmon croquettes with lemon-chive sauce)
• Magrets de Canard aux Poires (duck breasts with pears)
• Petits Pots de Creme (Vanilla, chocolate, and coffee custards)

It is sometimes challenging to find the specialty ingredient called for by the cook book I'm using. This was especially true in the case of today's meal as, according to the book, "real magrets are rarely available outside of France". This is probably because "A true magret de canard is the breast meat of force-fed ducks raised to produce foie gras."

On the other hand, I have discovered a number of excellent stores in the Lansing area. One of my favorites is "Foods for Living", the local organic food store that sells only the most socially conscious, free trade items. They've got a great selection of spice, tea, and produce; and not too bad of a meat section. I was browsing the other day - "Free range chicken...grass fed beef... 'happy' pork.... Ahh yes; this is what I'm looking for - the tender juicy breast of a force fed duck."

These were supposed to look like little pears.



Eggs: 11 (tied for the record so far)
Butter: 2 and 1/2 sticks (tied for the record so far)

a break:

Dear readers, today is Paczki day here in the midwest (pronounced "poonch-kee"). This has nothing to do with my cooking mission, but since it's an important midwestern food holiday, I thought it was worth mentioning. Paczki day is a polish tradition, wherein you attempt to use up all of the fruit, sugar, and lard in the house, which is forbidden during lent. Stalwart Paczki day observers will only eat paczki's on paczki day; and although some stores have had paczki's for a week or two, many only carry them on paczki day.


I had some extra cheese that was just starting to get moldy, so I decided to make deep fried cheese sticks. At $13 a pound for gruyere cheese, you'd expect them to be pretty good - and they were. Maybe I'll make them every year in honor of Paczki day.

Day 15:

Potage Crecy (carrot soup)
Escalopes de Veau a la Milanaise (breaded veal scallops with milanaise sauce and spagetti with fresh tomato sauce)
Peaches, Poires, et Pruneaux au Vin Rouge (poached fruit in red wine)
Madeleines de Commercy (madelines)

Sometimes my roommates don't come home on time, and I have to eat everything myself. This night I ate so much that I nearly threw up. Throw-up of joy, that is.

Butter: 2 sticks
Eggs: 5

Day 14:

Souffle au Comte (cheese souffle)
Truite de Mer, Sauce Verte (whole poached fish with herbed
mayonnaise)
Creme Brulee

After a marginal success with seafood yesterday, the sea got its revenge. The fish was a mess from start to finish. My biggest problem was trying to figure out how to divide a whole fish into portions for serving - especially after
trying to create cucumber "scales" on the back. Yea. I know. It looks kinda freaky.


Everything stank like fish for several days. I spent a long time trying to clean, but I'm still finding fish scales here and there. Here's a good tip though- For sterilizing your person, I recommend the following procedure: Shower. Sauna. Shower again. Repeat.









Butter: 1/3 stick
Eggs: 14

Happy Valentine's Day

Cygnes chantilly (choux pastry swans)

Eggs: 4
Butter: none

Day 13:

Coquilles Saint Jacques Dieppoise (Scallops with mussels and shrimp in cream
sauce) [sans shrimp]
Foie de Veau au Vinaigre et aux Deux Pommes (Sauteed
Calf's liver with roasted apples and potatoes)

Ahhh liver- The Jezebel of the meats. So beautiful to look at, but in the end she will only leave you with a bad taste in your mouth.

As an act of conscience, we finally put her down, having succumbed to the temptress' beauty for far too long. We are not as strong as we think we are.
What we ate instead:

Eggs : 0
Butter: 1 and 1/3 sticks

Day 12:

Canard a la Nicoise (duck with garlic, tomatoes, and olives)

It's a lot of extra work to capture a wild duck, but it's totally worth it.

Butter: 1/3 stick
Eggs: 0 (!)