Remember Gourmet Magazine? I still grieve. And if you go WAY back, then you remember when Gourmet used to have a feature called “Gourmet Holidays”, which exhaustively covered a specific destination with a luxurious word count (10,000 or so), capped off by restaurant and hotel recommendations, and recipes. We’ve toured many a city, clutching our dog-eared issue of Gourmet, prior to the days of TripAdvisor and Open Table.
My friend Dale in Charleston recently gave me an issue that was really retro: May of 1973 (her mother collected them). And there it was: “Gourmet Holidays: Burgundy”.
The photos were definitely vintage, but as to the rest—well, things generally hum along in Burgundy just as they have for the past few centuries. Their coverage of all the sights and villages was quite correct, and I was surprised that even some of the restaurants were still around, after 42 years. Like the Restaurant Greuze in Tournous, which has gained and lost a star or two along the way, but is still flourishing. Photo: the old Gourmet articles included a cartoon or two, like this elegant Burgundian monsieur.
Many of the recipes they share are classic ones, still on les cartes today. Things have lightened up a bit; there is a Crayfish Omelette from the Greuze which may have the record for the highest fat and calorie count you can possibly cram into one dish (first you make a half pound of crayfish butter, then a sauce with heavy cream…). I won’t share them all with you—after all, are you going to whip up ‘Eggs with Foie Gras in Ramekins’ for breakfast tomorrow? I didn’t think so. Photo: Jambon persillé, featured in the article, is still on many a Burgundy menu. Food photography has changed a bit, you think?
However, there was a classic fish dish that sounded yummy and not terribly difficult. In my own test kitchen, it turned out to be pretty délicieux. And the article inspired me to plan some more traveling in my ‘home department’ of beautiful, bountiful Burgundy. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever done an overview of touring La Bourgogne for first-timers, so let’s do that soon, shall we?
RECIPE: Gourmet’s Lotte à la Mistral (Monkfish with Mushrooms, Leeks, and Cream)
A firm white fish like cod, halibut, or haddock should work, if you can't get monkfish.
- 8 slices of monkfish, or other firm fish, 1” (3cm) thick
- a (partial) bottle of dry Chardonnay
- 4 cups minced mushrooms
- 1 cup minced leeks
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cup tomatoes, peeled, chopped, and seeded
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 1 teapspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablesppon chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup dry vermouth
- 3 to 4 tablespoons crème fraîche
Pre-heat oven to 350 (175C). Arrange fish slices slices in a buttered, shallow, flameproof baking dish and add enough dry chardonnay to barely cover the fish. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover loosely, and poach for 15 to 20 minutes, or until opaque. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer fish to a heated platter, pouring the liquid into a saucepan, to reduce; keep fish warm.
In a large skillet, sauté mushrooms and leeks in butter until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and seasonings except basil. Sauté the vegetables over medium high heat, stirring, until most of the moisture has evaporated. Add the basil the last minute or so; remove the bay leaf and add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, reduce reserved poaching liquid over high heat to 1 cup, add 1/2 cup dry vermouth, and reduce by half. (this took me a while. Reduce it well, as the crème fraîche doesn't thicken it as much as you might think). Remove pan from heat, stir in crème fraîche. Top each slice of fish with a portion of the mushroom mixture, and nap with the sauce.
In the COMMENTS: Several readers have been to gîtes and share their experiences—and Page is going in June and will report back. Thank you, Paula and Rachel (of And Then Make Soup), for reminding me that gîtes are rated by wheat stalks, from one to five, which is based on the amenities offered (wi-fi, pools, etc.).
Favorite Reads: If you haven’t seen Kristin Espinasse’s review of Tita
9 thoughts on ““Gourmet Holidays, Burgundy”: Reviving a Classic”
Have you started your yearly migration? I will call you this weekend for a catch up…Wish I had kept my Gourmet magazines…They were a treasure!
Mention of Gourmet Magazine always bring me back to my early days as a foodie, although there was no such word then. My mother also collected Gourmets (and so did I–I actually have the 1973 issue you mentioned), and I spent summers home from college in the 60’s reading Gourmet. I also spent the summer of 1965 in Europe, and while we students did not eat in starred establishments, at least I had knowledge of what these plats were on the menu of our local bistro. I loved those articles, although I preferred Joseph Wechsberg to the aforementioned Maria Kozslik Donovan. Gourmet holds many fond memories (and memorable cook alongs too.).
Like you, I am still grieving the loss of Gourmet. I still have a few special issues on my cookbook shelf that I turn to from time to time. Those Gourmet Holidays articles were enchanting.
Sounds like my kind of food. I think even I could make it if my husband would let me in the kitchen!
Lynn,today’s post(and recipe!)are absolutely wonderful!
Makes me miss Gourmet all the more;each issue beautiful and a keeper,
those recipes harking back to younger days where taste was key and there was a great deal less regard for the fat and calories accompanying it.And!Such terrific places to visit!
Thank you for this treat!
Bonjour Lynn, any tips for Bourg en Bresse or Alexe Corton or in between? I’ll be traveling there in June.
I think I still have an article on Provence that I saved from an old Gourmet magazine. That’s when a client always got an individual pitcher of strong hot coffee and rich hot milk with petit dejeune, no matter where they were in France. Happy cooking. Love the fish in France!
We decided to stay at home, why pay for a gite when we have our own and a heated pool!
We ate at several restaurants and our favourite was the Auberge du Paradis in Saint Amour, not cheap but such a clever way with spicing.
It also does rooms.
The vendange was in full swing when we went and we had an aperitif on the terrace and watched all the vendangeurs come back for lunch in the backs of the trailers.
Very atmospheric.
The fish recipe sounds delicious! I do not have, however, a flame-proof baking dish. What kind do you recommend, Lynn?
When I was a kid, my mother (who is still active at 97) planned almost all of our travel based on where Gourmet told us to eat and sleep. One of my happiest and yummiest memories of those many vacations involved a trip to Cornwall (yes, yes, England not France, I know…) where we stayed in a small coastal hotel that served cream so thick it wouldn’t pour onto my oatmeal, but rather had to spooned on. Oh my… thanks for reminding me! Mmmm…