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When Cary Neff, chef/owner of Sansom Street Oyster House, said he was opening a French bistro at the corner of Fifth and Bainbridge streets, memories of glorious Paris filled my mind.
In France, bistros are family owned and the food is wholesome, fresh and unfussy. They are places to stop in for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, a glass of wine or to eat lunch, dinner or a late-night meal.
One of the best books on this type of cuisine is "Bistro Cooking" by Patricia Wells. Vivacious with a passion for cooking and baking, Wells divides her time between an apartment in Paris and a farmhouse in Provence with husband Walter, editor of The International Herald Tribune. She has been the restaurant critic and food columnist for the newspaper for many years.
"Bistro is robust soups and rustic salads, wine-scented stews, bubbling gratins and desserts from a grandmother’s kitchen," Wells wrote. "Bistro is everyday china and elbows on the table and second helpings. It is best friends over for no particular reason. Bistro is earthy, not fussy; easy, not painstaking."
Here are some recipes from "Bistro Cooking:"
Roquefort Salad with Walnuts and Endive
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of hazelnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds of Belgium endive (about 6)
1 cup of walnut pieces
6 ounces of Roquefort, crumbled
Directions:
In a small bowl, blend the lemon juice and salt. Add the oil and blend. Adjust the seasoning and set aside.
Separate the endive leaves, wash and pat dry. Place in a large glass bowl. Sprinkle with the walnuts and cheese.
Pour on the lemon mixture, toss and serve.
Serves six.
Layered Vegetable gratin
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme
2 small onions, cut into rounds
Salt, to taste
2 small eggplant, cut into rounds
4 small zucchini, cut into rounds
5 small tomatoes, cut into rounds
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Generously rub the bottom of a shallow 5-cup gratin dish with the garlic. Sprinkle with some thyme. Place the onion in a single layer on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle with the salt and add more thyme. Add a layer of the eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes. Drizzle with some of the oil and add more thyme after each layer. Continue layering in this manner until all the vegetables are used. Cover securely with foil.
Bake for about an hour, or until the vegetables are tender.
Serves four.
Blue Cheese Potato Gratin
Ingredients:
1 quart of whole milk
1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup of heavy cream
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
3 pounds of baking potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste<
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Scald the milk in a saucepan and set aside.
Blend the cheese and cream in a food processor.
Use some of the butter to heavily coat a large oval gratin dish. Add half of the potatoes. Season generously with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Dot the potatoes with half of the cheese mixture. Layer with the remaining potatoes and season again with the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Dot with the remaining cheese mixture and butter. Pour in the milk.
Bake about 90 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden and bubbling.
Serves six to eight.
Note from Phyllis: Any type of gratin dish may be used in this recipe, such as square, round or rectangle.
Pied de Cochon’s Onion Soup
Ingredients:
1 very large (about 1 pound) Bermuda onion, sliced thin
2 cups of dry white wine, such as Muscadet or Macon-Villages
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
6 cups of chicken stock, preferably homemade
6 slices of crusty baguette
2 cups (about 5 ounces) of freshly grated imported French or Swiss Gruyere
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Combine the onion, wine and butter in a baking dish. Braise, uncovered, for about 45 minutes, or until the onion is very soft and most of the liquid is absorbed. Increase the oven temperature to broil.
Meanwhile, bring the stock to a simmer in a large, nonreactive saucepan.
Evenly distribute the onion mixture among six deep soup bowls. Pour in the stock. Place a slice of bread on top of each and evenly distribute the cheese. Place under the broiler and broil until the cheese melts, about two to three minutes.
Serves six.
Note from Phyllis: Pied de Cochon is a 24-hour bistro in Paris.
Parisians serve this soup in traditional, round, stout deep bowls that sit on small pedestals. They may be found in cookware shops.
Use a stainless steel, enamel or cast-iron pot to make this recipe.
It is helpful to place the soup bowls on a cookie sheet before broiling.
