Couscous Salad and Merguez Sausages

Sometimes traveling to an exotic destination only takes a typical meal from another country and a lot of imagination. Since I don't lack imagination, the only thing I needed to feel like I was spending a summer day in the south of France was a typical Summer BBQ meal. A few days ago, a friend surprised me with this delicious diner: Merguez Sausages and a savory couscous salad (A.K.A Taboule) and I was overwhelemed with joy and gratitude.

A Merguez sausages is a spicy blend of lamb and beef with mediterranean seasoning, cilantro and harissa. They are hard to find in Los Angeles but most French people have their favorite spot they like to go to when they want to get their Merguez fix. However, if you've never tried them before and want to give them a try I would highly recommend: "Payless Internation Market" on Venice Bld and Westwood Ave (10817 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034). This store is a little gem in West L.A, offering a variaty of Halal meat (don't plan on buying any pork there"), Feta cheese from various countries, and cheap but flavorful fruits and vegetables.

Unfortuinately, the stash of charcoal bricks and our supplies of gas were both gone and we had to grill the sausages on the stove instead of the BBQ, which was a bit of a disappointment but roasting the merguez in the oven for about 5-10 minutes after cooking them was a perfect way to get the sausages crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

We enjoyed this diner with some good wine, we had a digestive spliff and I was esctatic when I had the chance to eat the leftovers the day after.

Dear French Bakery

Dear French Bakery,

You never know how much you miss someone until they're gone....and I miss you.

You were there when I was a child, tempting me with your displays full of colorful candies and salivating chocolate croissants. I remember your crunchy baguettes waiting for me after school next to the jar of Nutella. I remember the sound of the slicing machine cutting up the loaf of bread previously picked by the gorgeous cashier. I remember staring at the rows of Kinder Eggs on the counter, wondering which one I would buy when I saved enough money to purchase one.

You were there when I was a teenager, helping me learn about life by offering me one of my first job as a cashier. You rescued me from my first hungover mornings with your fluffy croissants and strong espressos.
You fed me cheap and decent lunches with your savory sandwiches, allowing me to save money to buy important things like basketball cards and CDs.

You've been there throughout my adult life, luring me into your store with your  homemade desserts. You've comforted me during the rainy days with your tasty quiches. You've saved me from dehydration during the sunny days.  You've indulged my munchies with your filling pastries and you've managed to make my belly look a lot bigger than it's supposed to. 

You've helped me through my tough times and enhanced some of my good times. You've seen me grow up and become a man. Sometimes you're closed, but you've never been the jealous type and you never held a grudge against me for going to another bakery.

I can't wait to see you again next time I go to France and hope you will continue to surprise me with delicious creative treats.

Sincerely,

Me.

French Tapas Plate

Last night we had a few people over for diner and my girlfriend had asked me if I could put a little french diner together I agreed to took this mission seriously.

The morning of the diner I wasn't quite sure what I was going to make. We had talked about starting with a cheese fondue but the "Pizza hut dinner box" we shared during the poker night I went to the night before had left a dent in my stomach and I wanted to start with something a little healthier. I had to go to the doctor before my trip to the grocery. There are a few ways to use your time wisely in the waiting room while you wait for your name to be called: you can catch up on the celebrity gossips by picking up "Entertainment Weekly", you can pretend to care by gazing at the TV screen playing CNN with closed captions, or you can stare at the ceiling while envisioning the best diner ever.

So that's what I did, I started thinking of a fun plate of tasty but somewhat healthy french treats. It ended up becoming a Mediterranean plate but here what the plate was made of:

- Ratatouille topped with Gruyère cheese

- Skewer of Tomatoes and Mozzarella with Basil leaves

- Skewer of Merguez and Mushrooms with green peppers

- Bread with Radishes and salted butter

And that was our appetizer....I then made an olive and lemon chicken but I was too stoned and too inebriated with the delicious wine the guests had brought to take a picture of it. I was also a little tired from peeling and cutting vegetables all day long and just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night without thinking about my stupid blog. It was quite yummy though!

"La Cocotte et la Marmite" - Clichy

My friends always have the best chiropractor in the world, they always hang out at the coolest bar EVER!, and they always know the best restaurant in town...so when I get a referral I'm always giving the restaurant a background check before stepping in the money sucker.

So when the man with a glass of wine in his hand told me to check out "La Cocotte et la Marmite" in Clichy, I went online to see what some of the previous customers had thought. They all mentioned an authentic and tasty french cuisine with a welcoming owner. Since one of my favorite things to do is eat french cuisine and one of my other favorite "things to do" is try new things we decided to give it a try.

The restaurant was nothing pretentious but we did feel welcome from the moment we walked in. The owner makes you feel like a VIP even on your first visit and you will start ordering items just to be able to chat with him again. Since it was a warm day, I started my meal with a cold cucumber and avocado soup with big chunks of soft goat cheese. My sister had a poached egg on top of an artichoke.

We ordered some wine that was from my mother's best friend's vineyard (Targé) and we were happy to see this familiar bottle in this cozy restaurant. The owner posed with the bottle for a few pictures with us and we resumed eating the delicious appetizers that were sitting in front of us. 

After the first course was over, our giant "Cote de boeuf" (beef rib) arrived at our table along with my sister's dish (Lamb and vegetables) and my mother's dish which was some kind of "tripes stew" which is why there shall be no pictures of her meal! ;)

The meat was perfectly cooked and tender and everything on our table was devoured in a record amount of time. I finished the meal with an orange and chocolate mousse and a delicious spliff once we got back home. I can't wait to go to this restaurant again and you have to try it on your next trip to Paris!