The Blog

As our Supper Club works its way clockwise around France’s 13 regions, Normandy follows Brittany! Aside from its stunningly beautiful coastline, countryside and cuisine, a visit to Normandy also included a visit to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. Walking through the German trenches protecting the bluffs, was a chilling experience. We owe so much to the individuals from the US, Canada, UK and the French citizens who participated in the D-Day offensive.

While in Normandy, we stayed at a friend’s beachfront home in Deauville. After a wonderful dinner at Auberge de la Touques, (the chef was from Laguna Beach), we woke up the following morning to a beach blanketed by snow – a first for me growing up in San Diego. It was an extremely chilly morning and while we were having our morning café et croissant, were surprised to see horses from the nearby racetrack being exercised. It was surreal. While touring the countryside, I also fell in love with the spotted “Normande” cows – they were adorable!!

We also visited the UNESCO heritage site of Mont-Saint-Michel. The abbey was constructed in the 11th century by an Italian architect for the Duke of Normandy and the church is in the Romanesque style. We made a pact that the next time we visit, we are going to spend the night on the island!

Similar to Brittany, Normandy is not known for its wine production – the region’s beverage of choice is cider. Over 800 apple varieties are cultivated in Normandy and the first orchards were planted in the 8th century. Apples seem to make their way into many of the regional recipes. Normandy is also famous for its seafood, apple brandy – Calvados and Pommeau, a fortified cider. Dairy products, including cream, is one of the hallmarks of its regional cuisine. When you see “à la Normande” describe a dish, think cream!

We began our Normandy Supper Club evening with a trio of ciders for our aperitif and served it with pâté de campagne, cornichon, a wonderful rustic loaf from Wayfarer Bakery and my favorite French “Label Rouge” butter.

For our entrée, I found a recipe that looked incredibly tasty “Veal à la Normande”! I loved it because it had a sauce comprised of apples, onions, cider, cream and calvados- all regional specialties. I also thought it could be easily prepared by my guests. Note: we substituted Duroc pork in lieu of veal as we had a slight mix up with our butcher (they thought we had ordered it for the following Saturday). We included a sumptuous “Paris Mash” and colorful roasted carrots to complete the dish.

Apple tart tartin is a regional specialty and one of my personal favorites so I added this to our menu for dessert. We served the Tartin with vanilla ice cream and Poire, a cider made from pears. The combination was fabulous.

Our guests did a marvelous job with the entrée and dessert, we used two types of apples to see if there was a preference and I would say that to be expected, the Tartin made with Honeycrisp Apples was a little sweeter than the Granny Smiths. Both were equally devoured.

Dinner and Recipes follow:

Domaine Artefact Supper Club

Normandy Dinner

February 22, 2025

~ Aperitifs ~

Tasting of three ciders

La Lande Foy 2022 – Cidrerie du Vulcain (sparkling)

Outlands 2021 – Floral Terranes (still)

L’Herbage Cidre de Normandie – Domaine Cyprien Lireux 2022 (sparkling)

~ Hors d’oeuvres ~

Pâté de Campagne à la Normande

Cornichons, Radishes, Salted Butter

Country Levain

~ Entrée ~

Veal chop Normande

Paris Mash

Roasted Petite Vegetables

Domaine Artefact “As the Crow Flies” 2023

~ Salade ~

Camembert

Mixed greens with Cider Vinaigrette

~ Dessert ~

Apple Tart Tartin

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Poiré Authentique

~ The Recipes ~

Veal Chop Normande

Prep- 30 minutes

Cook Time- 30 minutes to 1 hour

Serves- 2

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. To make the veal chops, heat the oil in an ovenproof frying pan and fry the veal chops on both sides until browned. Add the thyme and garlic and place in the oven for 6–8 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
3. Remove the veal from the oven and add the butter and Madeira to the pan, stirring, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon. Baste the veal chops with this mixture whilst resting for 5–10 minutes.
4. To make the garnish, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat and fry the onions, bay, apples and bacon until lightly browned and soft. Stir in the flour and mix well. Add the cider and cook to reduce by about half, then add the cream and crème fraiche. Bring to the boil then add a splash of calvados to taste and the parsley.
5. To serve, slice the chops and serve with the garnish on the side.

Ingredients

For the veal chops

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 rose veal chops
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1 garlic clove
• 25ml/1fl oz Madeira
• 15g/½oz unsalted butter

For the garnish

• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Braeburn apples, peeled and sliced
• 200g/7oz streaky bacon, diced
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 300ml/10fl oz cider
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream
• 1 tbsp creme fraiche
• 25ml/1fl oz calvados
• 1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

Apple Tart Tatin

Prep- 40 minutes

Inactive – 1 hour 15 min

Cook Time- 55 minutes

Total: 2 hours 50 minutes

Serves- 8-10

Method

1. To make the crust: In a food processor combine the butter, flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Pulse until it looks like finely grated Parmigiano. Add the egg yolk and 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water. Pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture comes together. If it seems a bit dry add a little more water and pulse, pulse, pulse. The mixture should come together into a ball. Dump the whole thing out onto a clean lightly floured work surface. Knead the mixture 1 or 2 times only to make it a smooth ball. Using a rolling pin or your fingers roll or press the dough out to an even circle about 11 to 12 inches in diameter. Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or preferably overnight, covered with plastic wrap.
2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
3. To make the filling: While dough is chilling, place the sugar, apple cider, lemon juice in a 10–12-inch nonstick ovenproof pan (we are going to use cast iron). Stir to combine. Over high heat bring the mixture to a boil brushing down the sides of the pan occasionally with a pastry brush dipped in water, if necessary. After 6 to 7 minutes the mixture will eventually begin to turn light brown. Swish the pan around gently to promote even cooking. Cook the mixture for another minute or so until the mixture becomes a much deeper amber color. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, 2 pats at a time. The mixture will bubble up. That is okay, just be VERY CAREFUL not to get any of this on you. When all of the butter has been incorporated, begin to arrange the apples rounded side down in circles. Try to do this neatly and in a pretty way. Remember, the bottom will be the top!
4. Return the pan to the burner and cook over medium for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat.
5. Retrieve the chilled pastry from the refrigerator and place it on top of the apples. Tuck the pastry in around the edges of the pan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and crispy. Let the tart cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Place a serving platter upside down on top of the pastry and CAREFULLY flip the platter and the pan over. Let the tart fall gently out of the pan.

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1 stick butter, cut into pea size pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Pinch salt
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water

For the filling

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1 stick butter, cut into pats
• 6 apples, such as Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, McIntosh or your favorite baking apple, peeled, cored and quartered

Normande Pâté de Campagne (5-7 hours)

Pâté de Campagne uses locally sourced heritage pork finished on walnuts. We are going to have to improvise a bit here in Southern California and find locally sourced pork. We had to substitute some of the meats (see below).

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F/170 C

Chopping the meats

In a food processor, using the pulse button, chop the pork shoulder until you have a coarse mince texture. Using a spatula, transfer the meat from the food processor to a large mixing bowl. Proceed in the same way with the belly of pork, the smoked streaky bacon and the liver, combining all of the meats together in the bowl.

Preparing the pâté:

Add the egg, salt, pepper, juniper berries, five-spice powder, chopped thyme, white wine, cognac and nuts to the bowl and vigorously mix everything together with a large wooden spoon.

Filling the terrine:

Tip the mixture into a 23 x 7.5 cm terrine mold and with the edge of a spoon, press and pack the meat down into the mold.

Tap the terrine a couple of times on the work surface to ensure that there are no air pockets, and that the meat is compact. Press the bay leaf and thyme sprigs onto the top of the mixture.

Cooking the pâté:

Cover loosely with a piece of buttered greaseproof paper, then place the terrine in a roasting tin and slide it onto the oven shelf.

Pour boiling water into the roasting tin until it reaches two-thirds of the way up the side of the terrine mold.

Cook for one (1) hour. The top of the pate should be slightly rounded. The inside should be 160 degrees/65-70c. If you have a temperature probe, check this.

Remove the terrine from the oven and leave it to cool at room temperature for 2 hours then cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate for two days so the flavors develop.

To serve, did a knife blade in hot water and slide it against the sides of the terrine to loosen the pate. Turn the terrine upside down on a tray and tap the base to free it from its mold. Carve generous slices onto a plate and enjoy!

Ingredients

250g boned pork shoulder, cut into a 1 inch/3 cm dice (we used pork shoulder)

250g boned belly of pork, cut into a 1 inch/3 cm dice (we used pork butt)

250g smoked streaky bacon, cut into a 1 inch/3 cm dice

300g pig’s liver, cut into a 1 inch/3 cm dice (we used veal liver)

1 medium organic or free-range egg

6 pinches Salt

1 pinch freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp fresh thyme leaved, finely chopped

50ml white wine, boiled for 30-40 seconds to evaporate the alcohol

2 tbsp Cognac

20g pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, or walnuts (we chose pistachios)

1 fresh bay leaf

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

If I’m making a salad in the fall, there’s a good chance that I’ll drizzle an apple cider vinegar dressing on top. Maybe it’s because fall is apple season, but there’s something irresistible about the combination of apple cider vinegar and autumn foods. In a hearty salad or side dish, an apple cider vinaigrette adds a tangy pop of flavor that brings these sweet ingredients to life.

Ingredients

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey

1 garlic clove, grated

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method

In a small bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, garlic, mustard, salt, and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking and continue to stir until the dressing is emulsified. Alternatively, combine everything in a Mason jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shake to combine. Season to taste and enjoy!

“Paris Mash” Potatoes

How to make Paris Mash at home

There are a few techniques that make Paris Mash different to other mash:

· Cook the potatoes whole – optional! This is how chefs do it – because it stops the potatoes from becoming waterlogged so you get a more intense potato flavor. But it does require a bit of a juggling act to peel the potatoes while hot!

· Potato ricer, grinder or masher – I use a potato ricer which is an easy way to make smooth mashed potato. If you don’t have one, just use a handheld masher. Tip: Potato mashers with round holes work the best because they mimic the effect of a potato ricer;

• Dry out potato over low heat – once the potato is mashed, stir it over low heat to steam out any residual water which will intensify the potato flavor and start the process of making it really creamy;
• Cold butter – stir in cold diced butter a few at a time. The reason we use cold butter rather than soft or melted butter is because the butter melts so you get a more even distribution of the fat and milk solids throughout the potato. It makes the texture more luscious and enhances the intensely buttery flavor;
• How much butter?? I use 150g/5 oz for 1 kg / 2 lb of potato if I’m being a bit sensible. But if I’m really going all out, I use 200g/7 oz. Hey – I never said this was healthy!
• Milk not cream! While many restaurants use cream in their Paris Mash, I adopt Guillaume Brahimi’s method of using milk instead because sometimes, the flavor of the cream can overwhelm. I prefer the pure unadulterated flavor of just potato and butter;
• Stir with a wooden spoon for a creamy-yet-fluffy Paris Mash, the way it’s supposed to be!
• DO NOT use a food processor blender – this activates the starch and makes the mashed potato gluey (it’s inedible, I made that mistake in my youth!);
• DO NOT use a stand mixer or electric beater – again, this activates the starch and while it doesn’t become gluey, it does make the mash more dense-creamy rather than lightly-creamy which is the way Paris Mash is supposed to be.

~ The Ciders ~

Cidrerie du Vulcain – Cidre La Lande Foye 2022 (750 mL)

Cidrerie du Vulcain (Normandy, France)

Cidrerie du Vulcain’s Cidre La Lande Foye is a gorgeous, French cider from Jacques Perritaz’s Normandy based orchard & cidery.

A Blend of bitter and bittersweet apples (Petit Jaune, Douce Coet, Douce Moen, Binet Rouge, Kermerrien, Marie Ménard, Fréquin rayé), and another 5 other unknown varieties of acidulated & lightly bitter varieties. The apples come from a farm in the Domfrontais region of Normandy called La Prémoudière (farm & orchard). The soils are mainly composed of wind-generated silt on upper Brioverian shales and Cadomian granites (550 million years), on the Massif Armorican, Lower Normandy.

The pure apple juice cider is fermented on its own wild yeasts and coarsely filtered on white clay. Ancestral method without disgorging: partial fermentation in stainless steel and resin vats, then in bottle.

Slightly opaque orange color. Nose still reduced, with spicy apple after aeration. Fresh attack and round. Discreet bubbles. Rich, broad mouthfeel, candy sugar, bitter orange. Soft finish, astringent and bitter.

Tasting notes: Dry cider with well balanced tannins and acidity (both medium-plus). Ripe bittersweet apple, phenolic profile, with notes of lemon and lime zest, and minerality. Finishes nice & dry.

Cidrerie du Vulcain is a cider project from Jacques Perritaz – a legend amongst cider enthusiasts and wine lovers for his artful cider and perry making while in Switzerland. His in Swizterland included foraging apples and pears from over 150 trees, all regional varieties from old, high-branched trees with exceptionally small yields, harvested only every other year.

In 2022, Jacques bought a farm in Normandy, France in the Domfrontais – the French land of Poire (Perry)! It’s the first time in 17 years producing ciders, coferments & perry that he now owns his orchard, his facility & his home (used to be the other way around in Switzerland: 100% rental, as no one lets go of real estate there). All the farming is organic, he also has sheeps, cows & chickens – a true farmer’s dream for him.

For all of his cider and perry products, Jacques presses the fruit and then clarifies the juice before fermenting it slowly on indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and epoxy tanks. After the juice is fermented to half of its potential alcohol, he filters the cider to remove particulates, then decants into sealed vessels to allow “ancestral” secondary fermentation. He then draws off the lees, clarifies it, and then bottles the naturally-effervescent ciders.

L’Herbage Cidre de Normandie 2022 – Domaine Cyprien Lireux (sparkling)

L’Herbage Cidre de Normandie is a cider offering from Cyprien Lireux, one of the youngest cider makers in France. Made with traditional French cider apple varieties grown in the Pays d’Auge region of Normandy, all hand harvested from untreated high-stem orchards. L’Herbage is the name of the family orcharrd, where Cyprien fell in love with apples as a boy – making it a micro/single orchard selection.

The cuvée (blend) is two-thirds sweet/bittersweet apple varieties (Boudin, Douce Moen, Douce Coelinier), one-third tart (Petit Jeanne and René Martin), and a bit of bitter varieties (Frequin Rouge and Marie Menard). After picking, the apples undergo a long maturation (2-4 weeks) in wood crates before pressing. Slow fermentation with native yeasts to fully express the aromatic potential of the fruits. The primary fermentation is stopped before bottling, leaving residual sugar in the bottle for a couple months while natural secondary fermentation occurs. No additives or sulfites.

This cider is absolutely delightful. Semi-dry cider with balanced tannins & acidity and flavor notes of fresh bittersweet juice, baked pineapple, lemon & lime zest, and a fresh-water (petrichor) and soft mineral finish.

About Pays d’Auge: The Pays d’Auge in Normandy straddles the départements of Calvados and Orne and is known for agriculture – specifically apples and dairy. Pays d’Auge has been granted appellation contrôlée status for its cider and calvados

About Cyprien Lireux: At age twenty-four, Cyprien Lireux had completed business school but longed to return to the land, working the orchards as he had as a child with his father and grandfather. Under the tutelage of Etienne Fournet at Domaine des Cinq Autels, Cyprien learned and honed his craft before starting his adventure in cider in Normandy, on the border between Pays d’Aige and the Pays d’Houlme. When he began (three years ago), Cyprien owned only his grandfather’s orchard plot but knew of other traditional, abandoned orchards in the area, which he now brings back to life, safeguarding the local varieties and living heritage.

Tasting Notes: “Semi-dry cider with balanced tannins and acidity with flavor notes of fresh bittersweet juic, baked pineapple, lemon and lime zest with a fresh water and soft mineral finish”

Outlands 2021 – Floral Terranes (still)

Semi-dry, with medium-plus acidity, this cider is a pleasant integration of slight sweetness, green apple, and barrel notes.

Still cider (no carbonation) made with a blend of foraged apples sourced from three different sites in New York, including one location in upstate New York and two locations in Long Island. The focus was finding a blend that melds the salinity of Long Island to the structure of the mountains. Semi-dry, with medium-plus acidity, this cider is a pleasant integration of slight sweetness, green apple, and barrel notes. Belongs on your dinner table!

About Floral Terranes: Located on Long Island, New York, Floral Terranes is garage-based winery/cidery started by Erik Longabardi and Benford Lepley. Inspired by sustainable agriculture and land preservation, all the apples used in their ciders are foraged with permission from the landowners. Read more about Floral Terranes here: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/10/nyregion/cider-long-island-floral-terranes.html