An Apt Dinner at La Colombe d'Ocre (10/07)

Our local boucher in Roussillon was closed that day, so we set off to Apt where we found a fantastic Boucher - Charcutier - Traiteur: J. C. Malavard. He had an amazing selection of meats (that you could have cut to order) and prepared foods. We chose a heavenly Gratin de Chou-Fleur to go along with our steaks (seasoned with a little herbes de provence). We had some left over ratatouille to finish off and roasted some tomatoes and onions too. As we were nearing the end of our two weeks in France, we were trying to finish off the edibles that we had accumulated while there.

La Charollaise - Apt en Provence
Boucherie ~ Charcuterie ~ Traiteur: Jean-Claude Malavard
8 rue de la Sous Préfecture, 84400 Apt en Provence
Tél. : 04 90 74 14 16

To finish off dinner, I had three beautiful macarons from a place I discovered while in search of beef. We were walking through Apt and it was sort of like I had a honing mechanism: I had this strong urge to look right and there to my surprise was a massive display of macarons in all of the colors in a box of crayons. With approximately 16 flavors to choose from, I walked out with Passion Fruit, Lavender, and Rose. There isn't anything to say other that I was pretty sure that I needed to move to Apt. They also had floral flavored marshmallows, which I regretfully didn't try. Still, I guess it gives me a reason to return.

Alain et Valérie Bouchard Pâtisserie

34, rue des Marchands 84400 Apt en Provence

Tél. : 04 90 04 84 71

Je T'aime: Sibell Chips à l’Ancienne aux Herbes de Provence (10/07)

Tired from all of the uphill walking, we decided to have a relaxing dinner at La Colombe d'Ocre. To start things off, we had a lovely G&T with a bowl of chips. I'm not a big fan of potato chips (unless you put out Lipton's onion dip, now that's another story), but when I spotted this bag of Herbes de Provence flavor at the hypermarchés Géant Casino in Avignon, I couldn't resist.

The flavor was so strong and they were absolutely divine. I couldn't stop eating them. They had the right amount of salt, and not too greasy. This is yet another reason why I want to live in France.

Goat Cheese Tart, Carottes Râpées, & Celeri Remoulade (10/06)

We didn't want a huge dinner that night, so before we left for Avignon, stopped at the local boulangerie where I scored myself one of these luscious Goat Cheese Tarts. It was heaven in a pastry crust. The tart consisted of red and yellow tomatoes, fresh basil, and that creamy chunk of my favorite cheese. After seeing it, I nearly didn't make it to Avignon!
To keep it light, we served it with several salads: lettuce, Alison's tomato salad, and two French classics: Carottes Râpées (shredded carrots dressed in a light vinaigrette) and Celeri Remoulade (shredded celery root in a mayonnaise sauce). Now, I adore celeriac and have been to France several times, but this was a first for me. It was one of my favorite foodie discoveries (along with Perrier Menthe and Macarons) and I will definitely be adding it to my staple recipe collection, once I have mastered it. In the upcoming weeks, I'm going to give it my all to see if I can recreate the taste, and once I do - will be sharing it with you.

This was all washed down with a lovely bottle of chilled Pouilly-Fumé. Pouilly Fumé is a fantastic budget friendly alternative to the pricier Sancerre.

Our Market Treasures (10/05)

We ended up back at La Colombe d'Ocre for a nice, relaxing dinner that night were we sampled some of the treasures that we found at the market. We had some lovely jambon de montagne from the local charcuterie in Roussillon. It was total heaven, not too thinly sliced, and divinely smoked. This was joined by some beautifully marinated olives, conrichons (Maille, of course), radishes, and a few other gems that didn't make it into the photo. This was finished by the macarons that were left over from L'Auberge du Pere Bise and the boulangerie in Duingt.

Ah, what bliss!!!

A Local Bar for Local People ~ Roussillon

This was the beautiful image that greeted us as we went out to dinner. The street was lightly illuminated and the sky was a deep blue.
This is how the street looked after dinner, and several drinks later...

It was still fairly early after dinner, and J wanted to go explore the night life of Roussillon. We went out the front door, to the left, towards a nightclub. They were playing very loud techno music - not a type I would consider cool - Eurotrash would be a more accurate description. Now I know that the drinking age is way younger in France, but the first few people we spotted looked around 14. Or am I just getting older? When the ambulance pulled up to this "Restaurant by Day - Nightclub by Night" establishment to tend to a girl who looked more like she should be working on book reports, we decided to have a quiet drink at the bar next door to the house, to the right...

When we walked in, it looked like a safer bet. There were still people dining in the back, and the people at the bar looked our age. Now I should tell you that by day, Roussillon is completely overrun by tourists. By night it dwindles down to a few, but is mainly inhabited by the locals, which explains the reaction when we entered the bar: Everyone looked at us like it didn't occur to them that someone out of the clique at the bar might possibly enter. This was far too amusing to walk away from, so we stepped up to the bar and ordered our drinks. Service from then on was pretty much non existent. We were given our drinks and there was a minor to-do about shutting the door so no one else would wonder in. We took our time drinking in the atmosphere and the fact that we were having a drink in a small bar in France, as opposed to our local watering hole. It was very dimly lit, there was a wide screen television which was playing the National Geographic channel - something about a ferry that had sank in the '80s, listening to various jazz and blues legends like Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and the likes. And even though we were not accepted as part of the bar group, their laughter and warmth towards each other really seemed to emit throughout the place. When we were finished with our drinks we had to call attention for the bill. The reaction from the man behind the bar was almost Oscar worthy - like he had totally forgotten that we were even there - despite the fact that we were only 5 feet away. Now did I really need another drink that night? No, but it left me with a memorable evening.

... and this was a more accurate vision of the street that night as we were leaving.

Dinner at Le Clos de la Glycine, Roussillon (10/04)

We had a very indulgent dinner at Le Clos de la Glycine on our first night in Roussillon. The hotel was around the corner from La Colombe d'Ocre, so driving wasn't an issue. The staff were so welcoming and friendly and the menu was superb. With courses chosen, we sat back to enjoy the view of the illuminated ochres out the panoramic window in the dining room. They had an outside terrace for dining, but it was a little too cold that night, so we stayed indoors.

We were promptly treated to a plate of salmon sandwiches, chilled tomato and basil soup, and a lovely dish of spicy olives. This was followed by an onion stuffed with mushrooms. I had never thought of stuffing an onion before, so really enjoyed this unusual dish. After the first bite I felt an idiot for not thinking of it before. The flavor of the mushrooms cooked in wine with rosemary complimented the mellow taste of the roasted onion so well that I was almost sad when I had finished. That was until I saw the next course:
My next course was a lovely medium-cooked pork with a mushroom, rosemary, wine reduction. This came served with Braised Endive Gratin. The Endive Gratin was also a first for me, and left my head swelling with ideas on new ways I'd like to try cooking vegetables.
Then the ending: dessert. This was not a disappointment. I had a poached pair, some chocolaty/melting ice cream thing pictured on the left hand side and in the middle: my favored MACARON!!! It was a lovely chocolate macaron with a heavenly deep, dark chocolate ganache in the center. If I could have a plate of those now, I could never want for anything else...

Le Clos de la Glycine

Place de la poste – 84220

Roussillon - France

Tél. +33 (0) 4 90 05 60 13 / Fax 04 90 05 75 80

E-Mail: mailto:le.clos.de.la.glycine@wanadoo.fr

Tournée du Chat Noir

After we had unpacked and settled in, we decided to have a drink on the terrace to celebrate our arrival. As we were sitting there taking in the breathtaking view and indulging in a bottle of sparkling rosé , this sleek black cat appeared on the top of the terrace. He circled above us to the neighboring roof where there were birds nesting. After a very loud (and short) protest by the birds, the cat came back towards our terrace, completed the full circle overhead, and left us the same way that he had come...

La Colombe d'Ocre, Roussillon, Provence

We stayed at this dreamy house, La Colombe d'Ocre, while we were in Roussillon.
I have a fetish for retro French music, so the curtains in the kitchen looked like the album cover to one of my iPod play lists...

The house was so well decorated, right down to the littlest features, such as this knife set, the most amazing lamp I've ever laid eyes on (yes, it was hard for me to leave it), and this beautiful little mask that was outside one of the windows:

The back garden had two lower layers from the terrace. The first was a garden with roses, oleanders, and bamboo to name but a few, then had a narrow staircase that went down to the private pool.

Please check this post again: As I'm still sorting out the 2,000 photos I took, more photos from the house will be posted as I work my way through. Will also add more text about the house as I do.