Last Pain au Raisin in Mollans

This morning at 8 am, I got the last Pain au Raisin in Mollans...or so I thought.

At just 8 a.m., before going into the hotel dining room, I dashed across the street to the bakery closest to my hotel to buy myself a Pain au Raisin.

It's just a simple pastry made of sweet breadlike dough and lots of raisins. It's rolled like a snail.

I know I can get them at home, but I first discovered them in Paris and I love them...not too sweet and not as rich as a croissant. And, somehow, the French ones always taste better.

After breakfast, on my morning walk, I stopped at the other bakery to see if they had Pain au Raisin and they still had two. I told the owner that I adored them but had all ready had one at breakfast, but that I'd come to his shop tomorrow.

He offered to reserve one for me. I said "oui" and I introduced myself. We shook hands. He asked if I was American and we talked a bit about California. I feel like I'm starting to become part of Mollans.

If all goes well, I'll have sampled all the Pains au Raisin in Mollans.

Just to catch up on last night's food, in case you are worried that I'm not eating properly, last night was cheese and bread, and a bit more at Hallie and Mary's.

It was totally informal and very relaxed and a perfect dinner after our three-hour lunch.

We shared bread, cheeses,ratatouille, tapenade, and the biggest-ever apple that a neighbor had brought by.

Another Day, Another Provençal Market

Thursday is Market day in Nyons, a town about half an hour north of Mollans.

Because this market attracts so many cars, Hallie and Mary decided that we should, all eight of us, travel in one car.

Mary is driving an Alhambra mini-van that can seat seven. Since Hallie is the smallest of us, she got to travel in the storage area. Fortunately, the Alhambra has very good air conditioning as the temperature has been in the 80s most of the day. Hallie survived the day.

En route we made a quick stop at the market on a farm where they were carrying in trays of fresh-picked produce.

We spent a few hours at the Market where I bought some herbs from a vendor we were introduced to on Tuesday in Vaisson.

We also stopped at the Nyons Cooperative to taste olives and buy and look at other local products.

It was then off to Condorcet for a very leisurely lunch at La Charrette Bleue, a lovely restaurant overlooking the countryside.

Sorry the picture is mottled; we were sitting under a screen on the patio.

Some of what we ate during our almost-three-hour lunch were a white bean spread with crostini, brochettes of shrimp and chicken, a much more appealing version of Caillettes than what was served the other day, Lieu ( a fish in the hake family), Floating Island, a chocolate mousse-like dessert, and poached peach Melba.

And then we drove the scenic route home through the winding, mountainous roads of Buis les Baronnes.
Back in Mollans, I stopped at our local organic produce store for some fresh fruit for tomorrow's breakfast...curiously, while our hotel is a Logis member and quite nice, the fruit at breakfast is either dried or canned fruit cocktail!!!

First Meal Prepared in Provence

Yesterday I described our day of prepping for last night's dinner.

Every bit of the fruits of our labor was perfection!

With cocktails, we munched on the Cheese Sables and the Black Olive Tapenade. The bread was one we bought that morning at a local bakery while we walked around town.

By the way, the population of Mollans is about 900 and yet it has two bakeries, a butcher shop, a grocery store, an organic food, produce and personal care shop, as well as at least three restaurants, our hotel, a beauty parlor, two bars, and more.

The roasted peppers, tomatoes, and Provençal olive first course was vibrant in both color and taste.

The Duck and Chicken Casserole was succulent.

And, the White Bean Gratin the perfect accompaniment.

I know they look kind of dark in my photos, but, trust me, they are beautiful "in person," especially if you are the one who shelled the beans and browned the poultry.

And, latstly, there was dessert, the Red Wine Tart which is so dark, it could be mistaken for a chocolate tart.

Not to worry, the first taste is something one must experience.

Since this is pear season, we topped each serving with a scoop of pear sorbet.

Guess what I'll be serving at my next dinner party?

First Day of Cooking in Provence

While I certainly enjoyed yesterday's day of touring the area, since I came here to cook, today was what I was looking forward to.

With less than an hour before we eat our dinner, this post will just concentrate on the cooking.

We did get a tour of Mollans with Hallie and Mary to start our day, with stops at the olive oil maker, the bakeries, the butcher, and the local winemaker, as well as enjoying views and learning more about this historic village. More on that in another post.

Our first task was to shell the cocos ( white beans) of Mollans for a dish that I think is going to accompany our main dish.

Then Mary demonstrated making the crust for the red wine tart we will be having for dessert.

By now it was time for our picnic lunch on the upstairs terrace.

It included cheese and spinach tarts, green olive tapenade, cheeses, figs we picked off a tree this morning, and mirabelles, tiny fresh plums.

Then, it was time to get back to work.

Nancy and I got sent to the kitchen to brown duck and chicken pieces.

The others pitted prunes, cut shallots, and prepared pates sable hors d'oeuvres.

Jane, who owns a cooking school but claims to not cook, did a great job of pitting olives.

I took a last look at our main course before it baked, making sure the duck and chicken was still properly browned.

Hallie gave us more pastry demos, filled the tart shell, and demoed making an authentic Provençal tapenade...it contains anchovies as well as olives.

Our last project before going to taste wine at Tyrand was to prepare our evening's first course, peppers stuffed with tomatoes.

Stay tuned for pictures of the final results.