Androgynous

This confused The Guy no end. One of a pair marking the restrooms at our hotel in Paris. Très chic mais pas évident.

Sunday Morning Belgian Style

Yes, there are stalls selling socks - and even mattresses - but Belgian markets are first and foremost about the food,


shopping for lunch, brunch or the rest of the week


mouthwatering rotisserie chicken


something sweet and nutritious for dessert


choosing flowers for the table


and enjoying a treat while you browse.

Strip Feest

That's strip as in comic strip or BD (Bande Dessinée) Brussels 2010, not the kind you catch at the "gentlemen's club".

A two-day celebration of comics starting with a balloon parade through the centre of town on Sunday afternoon. This gets better and better every year.

If I had better planned my life I would be there this weekend through the next so I could join in the fun and catch Josh Ritter at the Botanique on Thursday. Next time!

Aligot, aligot, aligot

In the 1ere arrondissement in Paris stands a brasserie, Chez Flottes, that offers good reasonably-priced traditional food and specialities from south-west of France, including aligot, a comforting combination of mashed potato with Tomme or Cantal cheese, garlic and butter. It's easy to make at home and now that cooler weather is coming I can contemplate a plate of cheesy mash.

Aligot
Peel and boil a couple pounds of baking potatoes, drain, return to a low heat and mash with half a stick of butter and a good tablespoon or so of cream or creme fraiche, Stir in one finely chopped garlic clove and 8 oz of Cantal, tomme de Savoie or sharp cheddar cut into tiny cubes. Season with salt and pepper. The secret is to have enough heat to melt the cheese but not to overcook the mixture. Pull the spoon up out of the pot as you stir. As soon as the mix becomes glossy and forms big strands pour it into a serving dish.

You can serve it with pretty much any well-flavoured meat, Confit de canard, pavé de boeuf or sausages. It would also work as a base for a filet of firm white fish such as cod, haddock or monkfish. If it's done right and you like mashed potatoes and fondue you'll love this hearty dish, cooked too long and it's like glue & sits in your stomach like the hills of the Auvergne.

Bare Naked Ladies

Look it's Paris and it's art, so no modesty patches or drapes and no stupid pixels disguising the beauty of the sculptures.


No sensibilities offended, no youth corrupted, just the artist's interpretation of the female form. Enjoy!

Slow Food Belgian Style

"What are "petits-gris de Namur"? I asked the waitress at Le Trois Chicons in the Marolles district of Brussels
"Escargots, madame" she replied
All the years I'd lived in Belgium I'd never seen this offered as an appetiser. Normal sized escargots - in or out of their shells - I've been eating since I was a schoolgirl; les crevettes grises, those tiny pinky brown morsels of shrimpy deliciousness often served in croquettes, I'd first consumed even earlier in my childhood on the edge of the North Sea, sold fresh the off shrimping boats in "pokes" but the tiny petits-gris, a delicacy of Namur in Wallonia, I'd never come across let alone sampled. "I'll try those" I said.
They were served in a puff pastry shell with a sauce of white wine, finely diced mushrooms, garlic and herbs; tiny, tender and delicate they were much superior to the escargots I'd eaten the previous Friday in Paris. The farm "Vieux Tilleul" in Bierwart near Namur has been raising these snails in a sustainable manner since 1987 and appropriately enough they are part of the locavore or Slow Food movement. I discovered many recipes for the speciality but for me the simpler the better to allow the snails to shine.

Petis-Gris de Namur
First procure your snails (6 per person), rinse them and warm very gently - you don't want to boil them or dry them out - above all avoid making them explode! Set them aside. Heat four individual puff pastry shells. Finely dice a mirepoix of two carrots, one shallot and the white part of a leek, sweat this in an ounce of butter until the vegetables are tender but still have a little bite. Add salt and pepper and 7 fl oz dry white wine, then carefully add the reheated snails and another ounce or so of butter to make a homogenous sauce. Divide between the pastry cases and dust with finely chopped parsley or, for an extra crispy topping, garnish with fried parsley. I'm going to sprinkle a tiny pinch of the Sel Fumé HALEN MON I bought on the market at Watermael-Boitsfort over mine.