She is from France...

Well as promised here is the description of the amazing class I took on Monday evening: An evening of Exquisite Foie Gras, Artisanal Cheese and French wines with proprietor Ariane Daguin of D'Artagnan and Maitre Fromager Maz MacCalman.

The class was amazing, informative, decadent and very special to me. Ariane has that super French breezy confidence mixed with a down to earth, warmth that just made it so easy to listen to her. Ariane is credited with bringing Southern France to America and luckily for us the Hudson Valley.

On the Cheese Menu we tasted in order along with offical Artisinal descriptions:

1. Chabichou du Poitou- Goat cheese (thick, rich, this cheese is all about texture)

"This is one of the older French cheeses. It has won AOC, guaranteeing the authenticity of its origin. It is made in the very limited geographic area above the chalky soils of the threshold of poitou, halfway between Paris and Bordeaux. The size of a wine tumbler, Chabichou has a crinkly skin and nice, dense, chalky paste that melts in the mouth. One small piece weighs approximately 6 ounces."*

2. Flueur du Maquis (as James said the star of the show here is the rosemary, the cheese itself is very subtle)

"Fluer du Maquis is made in Corsica from the milk of the Lacuane ewes. Its name means "Flower of the Maquis." the maguis being the local term for the typical thickets of rough underbrush where highway robbers and guerrilla fighters used to hang out. This cheese is quite similar to Brin d'Amour, meaning "a breath of love". During production, the smallish wheels are encrusted with rosemary, fennel seeds, juniper berries and the occasional bird's eye chili"*

3. Abbaye de Bel'loc (Aunt Heidi would like this cheese and it is so earthy)

"Abbaye de Bel'loc is still made in the traditional manner by Benedictine Monks at the abbey of Notre-Dame de Belloc. A French Pyrenees sheep's milk cheese. Abbaye has a fine, dense texture and is high in fat. The milk comes from the red nosed Manech ewes (an old local breed) whose milk is brought into the monastery from neighboring farms. Abbaye de Belloc has a trye Basque character, and it is believed that many centuries ago the monks from the Belloc Monastery first taught the Basque shepherds how to make cheese. Proper care in the right maturing conditions will accentuate the rich, caramelized flavors that make this cheese so addictive."*

4. Le Moulis ( this was Jame's favorite, the unpasteurized nature of this cheese makes the flavor go on and on, lots of grassiness and needs a strong red. I like the air pockets too- its a nice break from the dense nature of the cheese)

"Le Moulis is a firm, moist cow's milk cheese made in a small mountain creamery high in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees are generally known as a haven for delicious sheep's milk cheeses. Moulish is a cow's milk cheese rarity. It's rustic natural rind lends a distinctive earthiness to Moulis' more dominant buttery, eggy flavors."*

5. Fleuron (really interesting lots of flavor packed so tight)

"Fleuron is a rare cheese from Aquitaine with the distinctly rich and floral flavor of brown Swiss cow's milk. Since 1928, the Baechler family has been making this cheese at the Domaine de Broc. Today, the 5th generation continues to produce this excellent pressed and cooked cheese, which, like fine wine, hold in its caves for a full 12 months of affinage before releasing. This permits enough time for it to develop the complex flavor of a true Artisinal cheese."*

6. Blue de Laqueuille (Summer's favorite of the 6 cheeses- it punches you right in the face with salt love it)

"Blue de Laqueille, produced in the volcanic mountainous Auvergne region of France, is made only during the summer and autumn months from the milk of Salers cows. This robust blue, reminiscent of Blue d'Auvergne, is salty and full-bodied with a creamy blue paste. It pairs well with robust reds."*

On the Foie Gra Menu she provided:

1. Duck Liver Pate with black pepper on bread
2. Foie Gras emulsified with sauternes wine on bread
3. Foie Gras center of prune soaked and aged in Brandy
4. Foie Gras emulsified with black truffles on bread
5. Foie Gras seared in olive oil, salt & pepper with dollop of duck fat on bread

I will say that the night was very special to me. It was a really powerful way to start my internship. I had never had foie gras before, mostly because of the animal cruelty aspect of it all. The concept of gavache seems horrific but as Ariane explained it is a natural process that geese perform on themselves in order to prepare for the long flight and high altitudes of migration. She explained that geese and ducks have the ability to store calories only in their skin and in their livers for this migration experience. She even notices that unlike the liver on almost any other animal the liver is found in the middle of the stomach area so that when it is at it's heaviest the bird can still fly.

To be honest it doesn't make me okay with gavache. I would very much like the geese to gorge themselves naturally then by machine. But I thought it would be in very bad form my first class to abstain from this honor of attending this once a year class. My feelings aside, I must admit this foie gras was delicious, luscious and a very unique taste and texture. My favorites were the emulsified foie gras starting with the black summer truffled foie gras and then the sauternes wine foie gras. The black truffle foie gras was so silky and so aromatic.  Sauternes wine is a very special wine that uses grapes that have "noble rot" which is actually kind of mold on the grape. This fortuitous mold yields some of the world's most fancy schmancy wines and to have it emulsified with this fine foie gras probably meant that my little tiny piece of this delicacy cost more than my groceries last week.



I apologize for losing the wine sheet!!!

* These descriptions were not written by me but by the magic makers at Artisanal Cheeses