Talk and Table, writer Ann Mah, who masters the art of French eating.

Via Twitter invited Ann Mah to join in in my blog series “gesprekken en gerechten” Talk and Table American writer and traveler Ann Mah is the author of  the book “Mastering the Art of French Eating”  Her story on eating all kind of French delicacies when she stayed in Paris. Her husband, a diplomat took off for a year and Ann decided to discover the French fare. It took her from Troyes to Lyon, from the Provence to Cap Finistère. From andouillettes to soupe au pistou. Ann tried it all and wrote a book on it. At first glance the title suggests a connection with that other American writer, Julia Child, who made her way through Cordon Bleu and wrote “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”. The book of Ann Mah takes you in another direction. Not the preparation but the enjoyment and discovery.  My friend Susan Herrmann Loomis says on the cover: “Ann Mah goes straight to the esential in this lively, mouthwatering book, as she explores the foundations of French cuisine. Bravo!”  She did the same in a book on China.  I am really happy to meet Ann in my series Talk and Table. Based on her answers Ann Mah will be rewarded a customized recipe. To pair with a wonderful wine.

I’m a writer, Francophile, devoted home cook, and tea drinker. I love to eat and travel and I never feel like I’ve truly experienced a new place until I’ve eaten the regional specialty.

I lived in China for four years, thanks to my husband’s post at the US Embassy in Beijing. I am ethnically Chinese and grew up eating Chinese food, and before I moved to China, I thought I was an expert on the cuisine. I was surprised and delighted to find an extremely diverse regional cuisine—one of my favorite discoveries was the food ofYunnan, a province in the south that borders Vietnam. They use a lot of ingredients found in European cuisine—fresh herbs, morel mushrooms, and even a special kind of cheese!

I’d always wanted to take a road trip through France, using Julia Child’s classic cookbook,Mastering the Art of French Cooking, as a guide. When my husband and I moved to France for three years, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, he left for Baghdad shortly after our arrival in Paris, and my dream of living in France changed. But with his encouragement, I still traveled throughout the country – albeit, on my own. The book grew from those travels, from my eating adventures, my fascination with the history I discovered, and my admiration for the home cooks and food artisans I met along the way. But, really, writing the book was just an excuse to tour around France and eat!

Thank you for reading my blog! It’s been fun to meet fellow Francophiles and food lovers through my blog. Writing and taking photos for it certainly takes a lot of time, but it’s also a labor of love.

Definitely! Global flavors play a huge role in many popular new Paris restaurants. It’s exciting to see the Parisian palate expand—though I still love classic French country cooking.

Honestly, I don’t have a favorite cuisine, but prefer a diet of varied international foods – Indian dosa for breakfast, falafel for lunch, sushi for dinner… that would be a wonderful day! Perhaps that means my favorite cuisine is American?

The book explores a topic that fascinates me: the connection between food, and place, and history in France, the sense of continuity, the way a recipe grows from the land, takes root, and is cooked and eaten in that same spot for hundreds of years.

Just as I don’t really have a favorite cuisine, I don’t have a favorite recipe—I tend to choose what I cook based on factors like time, season and mood. But I will say, my favorite recipe in the book is for soupe au pistou! I worked hard to get it (if you read the book, you’ll find out why).

I love French wine and one of my favorite parts of living in France is getting to know the different appellations. Happily, I still have a lot to learn!

I fell in love with Burgundy wine while researching an article about Thomas Jefferson in the Côte d’Or. I’m also fond of Beaujolais, particularly Moulin à Vent and Brouilly.

I have several Dutch friends who love to cook—though they always seem to make fantastic Italian food! I would love to learn more about Dutch cuisine—rijsttafel sounds especially delicious.

I used to go grocery shopping every day, which allowed me to buy just enough food for one or two meals and created very little waste. But as a new mother, this is now impossible. Instead, I find myself freezing a lot of food and raiding the freezer when I don’t have time to cook (which is often).I also hope it’s another way of curtailing waste!

I would love to write a novel about French wine one day. At the very least, it would give me the excuse to do some delicious research.

It would be wonderful to discover the regional cuisine of the Netherlands—I’m more of a sharer than a teacher!

1 tin/jar of confit de canard

2 large pots of white beans/cannellini beans

1 carrot

1 red  bell pepper

1 tsp dried thyme

2 red onions

2 cloves of garlic

2 tsp pimentón de la Vera or piment d”Espelette

4 pork sausages

salt and pepper

chopped parsley

Open the tin/jar carefully  and get duck bolts out of it and place them in a baking dish. Preheat  the oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 356 degrees Fahrenheit and bake the meat  in some of its own  grease for 20 minutes until crispy.

Cut the onion, carrot and bell pepper into small cubes. Chop the garlic finely. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a skillet p and fry the pork sausages on. Remove the sausages when they are done from the skillet and  put them on kitchen paper towel. Then add 2 tbs duck fat to the skillet and fry the vegetables and garlic. The garlic last, because it can burn and add bitterness. Add the thyme, paprika and pimentón  Followed by the beans. Cut the sausages into pieces and put back into pan. Pour the glass of wine and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Add some extra salt and pepper. Serve the beans in big dish, together with the crispy fried duck bolts. Garnish with some parsley. Serve the dish with bread e.g a crisp baguette.

Let’s not waste food. What to do with te leftover grease from the confit? I always put it in a clean jar to keep it in the refrigerator  The fat can be kept for quite a while and it is delicious to fry  potatoes or vegetables in it.