#boullion

[opelman]

1000 km Spa 2007 by Ste Tit

[foresmeforever]

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7vvWXU7aVxOBeF9id1jZ7P?si=a2b5978b901b4be2

[apoptoses]

Armand, Haussmann, and Paris:

The thing about Paris that's not really discussed in the VC books themselves is the Haussmann project.

In 1853 Napoleon III commissioned Haussman to completely renovate Paris. The plan was to tear down all of the old structures and rebuild the city; reorganizing the streets and reshaping them to accommodate more green spaces, and replacing smaller buildings with taller apartment blocks in more uniform style.

The Paris Armand knew when he arrived as the coven master and which he came to know as the theater leader would have looked something like this:

Dark, winding streets leading off wide boulevards and short, leaning buildings.

The Haussman project would see all of these places systematically torn down, occupants removed to other areas of the city while new buildings were put in their place. In some areas workers were destroying and rebuilding things 24 hours a day.

At this time Armand would have been living at the theater on the boulevard du Temple, Paris's street of theaters:

This dagguerotype shows the boulevard in 1838. This painting, in 1862, looks much the same:

But by 1863 all but one theater on the street had been destroyed, and that was only because that theater was on the opposite side of the street shown in the painting. How and why it wasn't pulled down, I don't know- no information on it seems to exist, just like no explanation for the very small handful of other old structures that were left untouched.

That theater, the Théâtre Déjazet, still exists today. But it was established in 1770 by Comte de Artois, so while it could have been Anne's inspiration for Armand's theater it's not the 'rickety wooden rat trap' that seats 300 that Lestat describes in TVL.

Anyways, knowing all of this, I think it makes even more sense why Armand so quickly grabbed onto Louis and was ready to run away with him at any cost.

Armand, who'd been kidnapped from the monks, who'd had his palazzo torn out from under him, who'd established something of an existence under Les Innocents and was then ripped out of that world when the cemetery was destroyed. Who was watching the city he'd finally come to know get systematically torn apart. Everything that was familiar to him was being taken again.

So why not let Louis burn the theater? He arrived in Paris in 1870, just as Haussman was dismissed. But the work of destroying and rebuilding Paris was set to carry on. Chances were the Theatre de Vampires would be next, and if that were the case there's no way the crypts beneath the place would remain safe and undiscovered.

And if he'd stayed where would they go during the renovation? What would they do? What would the point be in continuing trying to run a coven he was bored of and a life he didn't care for in a new location?

Armand was going to have to begin again somewhere- better that be with Louis, out in the world, than roaming a now unfamiliar Paris. And even though he didn't burn the theater himself, allowing/instigating Louis to do it still gave him more control than letting a stranger come in at some unpredictable moment to demolish things all over again.

(And what of Lestat, what does he feel about these changes? He never could have shown Louis the Paris he knew and loved, which existed when Louis was still mortal- that Paris was largely gone)

Chances were Anne might not have known most of this at the time she wrote interview or even TVL. But I think it still makes a lot of sense and brings up a point about Armand and immortality that I don't see brought up much- that not only do vampires lose every mortal they've ever known, but with time they also see the destruction of every place they've ever known or loved.

(ps: I'm not an expert on this topic or anything, so if anyone does know why some buildings were unchanged or has any interesting historical info to add by all means please, reblog and add it on!)

[writhe]

ok here’s what to do rn: you take the farro you’ve had sitting around for like a year and boil it in big pot of salted water. after about 15 mins of it cooking throw up the chopped-up butternut squash you had to use up and let it boil (med-high). in a separate pan, brown 2-4 tbsps butter. throw a generous few pinches of sage in it. once it’s brown set it aside. finely chop a shallot & carmelize it in olive oil. throw a generous about of minced garlic in there too and cook until it smells heavenly. turn off the heat and stir in the brown butter. set it aside. after 20-25 mins have passed, drain most of the water from the farro/squash pot, except for some covering the bottom of the pan. put it back on the stove on low heat & stir in some bouillon (i used vegetable but chicken would probably also be good). stir it all and mash up the squash. pour in the oil/butter/aromatics. stir it all up. accidentally add in way too much black pepper & a lotta red pepper flakes too. once it’s all cooked down and gooey but not wet, throw in the rest of the parmesan from the fridge (1/4 - 1/2 cup?). salt to taste

[roehenstart]

Crossing the Bosphorus in May 1097 by Godefroy de Bouillon. By Emile Signol.

[fyeahfrenchmovies]

Samuel Goldwyn Films Unveils Official US Trailer, Poster for THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

[certifiedceliac]

Poulet Yassa (via Low Carb Africa)

[fuckkbrunch]

Every time I've went through this book, I was intimidated by this one. That and the price of this recipe is ridiculous, so fucking it up would cost me around a hundred bucks.

This one is a riff on the old French classic of steaming a truffled chicken in a pigs bladder. It's served with a foie gras and black truffle sauce, and is meant to be done with a Bresse chicken, which is a fancy French breed. Obviously I couldn't find that breed of chicken here, but I did get all of the other ingredients. Tony says the chicken substitution is totally acceptable as well.

Intimidating, yet simple. Starts by making a court boullion by combining a carrot, a stalk of celery and a leek with a pinch of peppercorns and a sprig of thyme. Pour in a cup of wine for two quarts of water and boil for fifteen minutes. Strain it, and this is what you'll steam your chicken with.

Truffles. Never tried them, never worked with them, always thought they were ridiculous with the insane pricing you hear about. These three cost me thirty dollars, but they're not fresh. They were jarred and in a small amount of brine.

Slide the slices of truffle under the skin of the chicken breast, along with a couple chunks of butter. Wrap in cheesecloth and secure with twine.

I broke a strainer to use as my steaming basket. Boil the court boullion and pop the chicken on the basket. Cook at a high simmer with a lid for 45-50 minutes, rest for 10.

This would look better with some browning, but what do I know. Now, this fucking sauce.

I searched EVERYWHERE to find this. Nowhere had it. I asked online and had people climb up my ass about it. Don't message me about foie gras animal cruelty. I know it exists, I'm eating it once not starting a foie gras factory. Moving on.

Anyway, I finally found it on a shelf in a French pastry shop by chance. Blend this whole can with two truffles, some cream and butter and white pepper. Thin it with hot court boullion if necessary.

I thinned this too much. My butter solidified with the cold cream and I panicked thinking that the sauce had curdled. I splashed a bit more boullion than necessary, and here we are. Flavour is fantastic though, so rich and smooth.

Ignore my ugly peas, they weren't required. Neither were the potatoes, but come on. A French dish with cream sauce without potatoes? No way.

| Poulet "en Vessie": Hommage à la Mère Brazier |

Taste is a 4 out of 5. Rich and classic. Steaming the chicken keeps it so perfectly moist.

Difficulty is a 3 out of 5. Not difficult, just particular.

Time was about two hours.

As I was packing up the leftovers, I realized this sauce smells like a very fancy mushroom soup. Smells fucking great, and you could put it on anything. Which is a good thing, because I have like 3 cups of it to use up. No way in hell I'm throwing any out, the sauce alone has about 70 bucks sunk into it...

[juststarsandthemoon]

making magic soup call that saucery

[the1312daysofchristmas]

its very simple if someone not of my culture spoke to me in my cultural language which i cannot speak and when informed i cant speak it says they are more authentic to my culture than i am i would kill and eat them.

[steakbones]

i started watching gravity falls btw

[briarpatch-kids]

That post popped up as I was making dinner and remembering the minute and a half long video of Bethany Beal from Girl Defined trying to peel an onion and the recipes that Karissa Collins brags about making for her 8 or 9 children.

[tonaldissonance]

my dreams are getting way too coherent im just straight up doing regular shit in them now. i thought i wasnt gonna have to go get groceries today but i do

[bonecouch]

i made too much beef lo mein last night so i will just have leftovers for dinner tonight

[lago-morpha]

I do love meat but I cannot stand dishes where the point is a slab of meat. Why would I eat straight up steak or pork loin where are all the other ingredients. shit is so boring

[toastedpopsicle]

I wish for a savoury caffeinated broth or soup for a morning libation.