Good Eats, Good Prices

We never got around to describing a few of the excellent meals we enjoyed while my mom and Cathy were in town in early January, but hey, better late than never!

L'Astier is a traditional bistrot near Métro Oberkampf in the 11th arrondissement. (Traditional means red-checkered décor and no-frills, über-French food.) We went on a tip from the ever-reliable Jesse's List and were not disappointed. Although all the food was of relatively high quality - at least, what you expect for a 32-euro, 4-course menu - the highlight was definitely the cheese plate.

This plate made the rounds between tables, just like a ceramic vat of smoked herring and large jars of mustard, depending on what you ordered. That's the bistro spirit rearing its noble head - big portions, sharing between tables, take as much as you like! and then pass it on. If we were to go back, we might just get an entrée and the cheese course, which would be good both for our finances and our sense of well-being. Mmm, cheese . . .

Fast Forward a month and a half to Katie and Darryl's visit, when we finally tried out a Belleville restaurant that we've had our eyes on for a few months now. La Bouche is not a bistrot, boasting a keen design sense, a hip graffiti logo, and gastronomically-creative food. For instance, we were offered (quite unexpectedly) two amuses-bouche, just like at Le Cinq. First was orange-zest-infused hummus with bread, and second was a lamb soup with a dash of paprika.

There's also the matter of La Bouche's 28-euro, 3-course menu design. Your choice for entrée included an Andouille-sausage soup and an endive tatin; both were served with a goat-cheese mousse (the white-ish dollop on the left in the soup, and to the right of the green-smothered tatin).

For the plat, both the salmon (Maggie's choice) and the veal (my choice) came with a passion fruit dressing and a side of bacon-enhanced mixed-vegetables.

For the dessert, both the coconut milk/white chocolate soup and pistachio crumble came with citrus fruit kabobs. Unfortunately none of us got the soup, but the restaurant gets extra credit just for the plating of the pistachio crumble.

For the chef, it seemed to be about coming up with constraints - how to connect two dishes with a common element - and reacting creatively. We were impressed. And it's not like they sacrificed taste or presentation for this slightly cerebral conceit. No, La Bouche is the real deal, and thanks to their thoughtfulness, skill, and excellent service, they won over four new devotees who couldn't have been happier with their meal.

L'Astier

44 Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud
75011 Paris, France
01 43 57 16 35

La Bouche
1 Rue d'Eupatoria
75020 paris, France
09 53 56 24 14

Crack-and-Cheese

Thanks again to Smitten Kitchen for providing another absolutely delicious recipe. A few weeks ago, the same night we debuted this warm-for-winter sausage soup, we discovered a mac-and-cheese recipe that called for two things we just can't resist: cheese and cheese! You might call this a "grown-up" version of mac-and-cheese, but the 9-year-old we had over for dinner seemed to enjoy it just fine.

The key to this recipe, and perhaps the reason why this SK commenter can't get enough, is the rich, creamy roux-based cheese sauce:

A few simple (really!) steps later, and out pops this:

Looks good, huh? It is! And here's our version of the recipe (In addition to changing a few ingredients, we halved everything and converted to metric):

120 g butter, plus more for greasing the pan

half a baguette, left out for a night or two, broken into bite-sized pieces

660 mL whole milk

30 g flour

2 t salt

1 t Beau Monde spice mix courtesy of The Spice & Tea Exchange of Sarasota, Florida

250 g grated Mimolette cheese

115 g grated Gruyère cheese

350 g elbow macaroni

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Butter a 2-liter casserole dish; set aside. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 30 g butter. Add the breadcrumbs to the melted butter and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.

2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 90 g butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. While stirring, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, Beau Monde, 200 g Mimolette, and 90 g Gruyère; set the cheese sauce aside.
5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 50 g Mimolette, 25 g Gruyère*, and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes; serve.

*I gave Louis a hunk of Gruyère and told him to grate it. Therefore, we don't have an exact measurement for this step. I say, the more cheese, the better.

And the perfect accompaniment to the most delicious mac-and-cheese ever? Challah! (Looks strange, tasted great.)