Fried Camembert

I first tried this dish about 40 years ago in Frankfurt, Germany, at the "Dippegucker Restaurant am Hauptbahnhof." * It is called "Gebackener Camembert" in German.** Camembert is a cheese made from cow's milk, with a creamy inside and a relatively soft edible rind, which is grayish or off white in color. Camembert is from Normandy in northwestern France, a region famous as the location of the Allied invasion of Nazi occupied France in June of 1944. Cherbourg and Caen are two of Normandy's important cities. It is also famous for William, Duke of Normandy, who sailed with an army from there across the English Channel to England in the latter part of 1066. England's King Harold was killed at the decisive battle of Hastings, thus making William the king of England.
 
Fried Camembert is used as an appetizer or even for a light lunch. In Germany and Austria it is often served with "Preiselbeeren;" that is, "lingonberries," which come in jars as a jam, but Americans can certainly use whole berry cranberry sauce, although lingonberry jam is not uncommon in stores anymore (it's often from Sweden).

Ingredients:

1  8 to 10 ounce round of Camembert, cut into 8 wedges   
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs 
1 cup fine bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Put the flour, the beaten eggs and the breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls. Whisk the salt, pepper and paprika into the egg. Dip each cheese wedge into flour, then into the egg to coat, and then roll each in the bread crumbs. Repeat the process, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, so that the cheese is double coated. Heat about an inch or so of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Drop in a small piece of bread. If the bread is golden brown within about 15 seconds, the oil is ready. Put 4 coated Camembert wedges into the hot oil. You must watch the cheese carefully. In about 30 to 45 seconds, the wedges should be browned and ready to turn. Let it fry on the other side for about 15 to 25 seconds, or until nicely browned, which should not take more than 30 seconds, and likely no more than a 15 to 25 second range. Remove the cheese pieces to a plate with paper towels to drain excess oil. Fry the next four pieces. Serve hot, as the inside will be filled with creamy, runny, melted, delicious cheese. Serve with lingonberry jam or cranberry sauce on the side. A slice of toasted bread is another common  accompaniment. 

* For a little more information about my memories of the "Dippegucker Restaurant" and Frankfurt, here is the link to another article:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/03/memories-am-hauptbahnhof-frankfurt.html

** In this case, "gebacken" is the adjectival use of the participle form of the verb, "backen," the close relative of English "bake." Most often "backen" also means, "to bake," but it can mean "to fry," at times, "more so" in the southern German speaking regions. In order to clarify the meaning of "bake," German speakers may use, "im Ofen backen" (to bake in the oven, and yes, "Ofen" is the close relative of English "oven.").

WORD HISTORY:
Heart-This word is related through Indo European to "core," a word of Latin derivation borrowed by English from French. It goes back to Indo European "ker(d)," which meant, "heart." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "herton," with the same meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "heorte," which meant, "heart," and figuratively, "will, spirit, courage." This then became "herte," before the modern spelling. Forms are common throughout the Germanic languages as: German "Herz," Low German Saxon "Hart," West Frisian "hert," Dutch "hart," Danish "hjerte," Norwegian "hjerte," Icelandic "hjarta," Swedish "hjärta." By the way, the expression, "to know or learn something by heart," comes from the idea long ago that the heart was the center of intelligence and, thus, memory and emotion, with the emotion part still expressed to this day by "hearts" signifying love and, usually, good thoughts and deeds, as in, "John donated his pay this week to the family who lost everything in the fire. He has a big heart."  

Tartiflette Potato Casserole From Savoy

I came across this dish quite by accident, but it is well worth fixing. The dish from the Savoy region of France (French: Savoie, pronounced as if, "sahv-wah"). It is a mountainous area, with historical connections to Italy and to Switzerland. The dish is really pretty simple to make. I have no idea what reblochon cheese tastes like, but I checked around and found others who used either Camembert or brie as substitutes. Reblochon is banned from import into the United States, because it is made from raw milk. This is not a low fat dish, but in order to cut some of the fat, you could use low fat sour cream and omit the butter. I sent a copy of the recipe to my doctor, but he didn't answer, because they had to keep him overnight in the hospital. Hm, wonder what that's about?

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds potatoes, in their jackets (skins)
2/3 pound slab bacon, cut into 1 inch x 1/2 inch strips 
1 large onion, chopped
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 pound reblochon cheese (substitute Camembert or Brie), cut into bite sized pieces, rind on
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 to 1/3 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
butter or oil to grease dish

Simmer the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork/knife tender, but not mushy (about 15 to 20 minutes, but remember, the potatoes will be in the oven, so if they are a little firm, that's okay, and likely even better). Drain and let cool a bit, then peel and cut into 1/4 inch slices. In a skillet over medium heat, add the bacon strips. Cook until just starting to brown. Pour off all but about 1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat. Add chopped onion, the salt and the pepper. Cook until onion begins to brown; this will take a few minutes. Add the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Cook until much of the liquid cooks off. Butter a baking dish and then cover the bottom with potato slices. Put the onion mixture over the layer of potatoes and spread it around to even it out. Place the remaining potato slices over the onion mixture, then spoon on the sour cream and spread it over the top potato layer. Now place the cheese pieces on top and spread some pieces of butter around on top also. Bake in a 350 F degree oven for 30 minutes, then turn the heat up to 450 F and bake for 15 more minutes. This should give the dish a little browning. 

With some asparagus ....

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WORD HISTORY:
Slow-While certainly a common word, the ultimate origin of "slow" is unknown, and tracking down its relatives is a task. It goes back to Old Germanic "slaiwaz/slæwaz," which meant, "dull;" thus also, "blunt;" thus also, "sluggish." Perhaps too, the secondary meaning of, "mentally sluggish, not alert or sharp." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "slaw" (long 'a'), meaning, "sluggish, lazy (obviously connected to "dull")." A verb form, "sláwian," meant, "to be sluggish;" thus, "slow." Another verb form, "asláwian," meant, "to become dull, sluggish." The adjective form then became "slow" circa 1200, and the meaning of, "sluggish, lateness;" thus, "being slow" moved to the fore, where it has been ever since. Some other forms in Germanic languages: Low German Saxon has "slee," meaning, "dull;" Danish "sløv," meaning, "blunt, dull;" Swedish "slö," meaning, "dull, sluggish, lazy;" Icelandic "sljór," meaning, "dimwitted, dull." German once had "sleo/sle," meaning, "dull, blunt, worn out."