VIRB

To pick up where we left off, once the lardon is in the feuillette you need to add the creme fraiche/egg combo, but not before adding some cheese-

Pictured is an emmemental rapé (shredded), but you can use all kinds of cheese, and for instance the last time we made this we had some mozarella in there. A little salt and pepper for seasoning as well as a noix de muscade, which I guess is muscade (I think I have seen that in a store, certainly never bought it) but here its an actual nut (hence the noix) in the spice jar and they include a little finger grater. I think little things like this are why the french can eat such ridiculously rich foods; besides all the walking, a typical Francaise in the country doesn't have electric everything (dryers are rare), so a little bit of actual work goes into just about everything. Novel idea, eh?

Hey, if it means you can eat what amounts to a pig fat, creme, egg and cheese dish, with heavy emphasis on the creme, once a week and not keel over before you are 50, I am all for a little extra work.

So, once that is all mixed up you dump it into the pan as well-

And once you crimp the crust, its ready for the oven-

Now, I think pretty much everyone has made their own oil and vinegar salad dressing, or at least I have and if I have you gotta assume a lot of people have. Whats weird is that Hélène never buys salad dressing. Ever. Of any kind. Nor do her friends. Instead they make it. And when she first said that, I thought 'boy, I bet oil and vinegar gets old'. But as it turns out, they make what is essentially a vinaigrrette, and apparently there are lots of little changes you can make to make lots of different salad dressings.

Its actually super simple, just start with some Dijon mustard, then add oil and vinegar and spices to suit. Pretty basic, but with different vinegars and spices and juices, you can come up with whatever you like-

So, I am off to Zurich tomorrow for some 'real' work related stuff, so it will probably be Monday or Tuesday before you get to see the final product.

Its worth the wait...