easy meals working moms

the secret recipes of the lyon mothers - hello caroline- hello michel - you are early! and you started to work, you are on my place - well, i dared, i confess. because this is a meal i especially like. today we are going to talk for once about the women because wewill prepare a menu in dedication to the lyon mothers,

easy meals working moms, these women who have distinguished themselves for the first time during the long history of french cuisinein the early 20th century. but it is you who prepare the menu, of course,so i’m listening to you - so as a starter we are going to cookartichokes foie gras, inspired from the "mã¨re brazier" because thanks to this recipe,she was known in france and worldwide.

so i think that it was great to make artichokes with foie gras, and it is very very tasty. then we will cook a half-mourningbresse poultry, so with a lot of truffles andvegetables cooked in a stew. and as dessert, roasted apple with spices, brioche and caramel sauce. shall we start chef?-yes, let’s go! simplicity and refinement, the kitchenof the first women chefs in lyon in the early twentieth, called "mã¨res"(mothers) also inspires michel roth. meilleur ouvrier de france and bocuse d'or in 1991 ... michel roth immersed himselfin the kitchen books of these lyon mothers

to unveil someof their tastiest secrets. - so michel, we are preparing the starter?- yes, the artichokes to remove fibers, you need muscle.- yes i have everything i need - great!- i impress you, right? - that was good! - so now you begin to turn them?- that is what we call turned artichoke hearts. that remembers me thekitchen brigade, when there was a lot to do, we did small competitions. so today they are a little bit hard.

we have to remove the green part because itis what is hard and bitter. - and did the lyon mothers do that? with their small hands? - i don’t know if they turned them at the time. so here it’s lemon water. - yes. so the lemon water will avoid them turning black? - yes, and now we can plunge the artichokes. - and how long do artichokes have to cook, michel? - well, i think they need about 20 minutes in simmering water. after 20 minutes we will check the cooking. - and then we will prepare this famous, mythic starter: artichokes foie gras

- yes, artichokes foies gras, i think that it is important to cook this when we want to cook in dedication to the lyon mothers. the lyon mothers. behind this glorious nickname hide talented cooks and especially the first women, in the late 19th century, to enter the official history of gastronomy. confined for centuries to the domestic sphere and to the family kitchen, the woman’s kitchen is perceived as less refined than the court kitchen, the noble kitchen, a predominantly male bastion. in the early 19th century, the “bourgeois kitchen cook” becomes an indispensable attribute to social life. and it is these cooks who, among the first, will establish their own business and open their own restaurants. what arouses the displeasure of these gentlemen, who fear a devaluation of their profession and a drop in wages. however, in paris and in some provincial towns, we start to find women chefs and they enjoy a growing reputation.

some are even celebrated by the writers of the time. but it is in lyon that this phenomenon develops itself even more. so that by the early 20th century, those so-called lyon mothers attract gourmets. talented and with a strong character, these women will turn modest taverns into renowned and gastronomic meeting places. - can we put the fingers? - well… they are still hot. so, we are going to prepare the foie gras, that i will take from my fridge. - how did you prepare this terrine? - it needs between 24 and 48 hours, because it has to rest.

so i bought a lobe of raw foie gras, one lobe of duck foie gras, about 500g, it should not be too big. i opened it, i removed the nerves but i took care to keep the whole pieces. then i seasoned it with nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, pepper and some red porto. i let it macerate during one hour. then i put it in the terrine and cook it in the oven, in a water bath, at 100â°c during 40, 45 minutes. it has to be at 60â°c at the heart. so, you may want to taste?-yes i would like to. - because it is nice to talk about it - but we are going to check - with a spoon! i like to eat it. we have to take a big piece to have all the taste, the thickness. do you like it? - perfect, it is really good. it is very good seasoned!

- it will be up to our dinner of the lyon mothers, with the artichokes. - so, now we prepare the main course michel? - so the main course: bresse poultry with black truffle and a lot of vegetables in a stew. - alright, so another main course typical from the lyon mothers.- absolutely. isn’t it beautiful?- yes it is. so, bresse poultry? - i am not going to cook it the authentic way. i mean that i am not going to cook it entirely. i will cut the supremes. - so you adjust the recipe?- exactly, i do it my way. so here are my two supremes. i will loosen the skin.

- why?- because i will put truffles slices. - the famous half-mourning poultry! - yes. so, i will cut slices from the truffle. i put one. - you don’t add anything to make them stay under the skin?- they will be maintained under the skin. i will just add some salt and we take a piece of plastic film, like this. we will add some twine, so it has a beautiful form. do you want to make the second?- of course. - meanwhile, i put the vegetables.

- like this?- yes, we try to roll it like a kind of sausage. - oh yes and then i make small knots.- oh it’s beautiful, it looks like a butterfly! - so, just a little bit of the stock will enter, just what we need isn’t it?- just what we need, and this is what is interesting. so the stock is already flavoured with the wings and all the giblets. we added all the vegetables. - how long does it cook?- about 20 minutes, it just has to simmer. the bresse poultry has a firm flesh. what is interesting with this cooking is that it will keep its softness but at the same time it is juicy and flavoured. we really have this poultry taste.- yes, intense with the stock, the truffle and everything. bresse poultry, truffles, artichokes but also quenelle, cardoons with marrow, the repertory of the lyon mothers draw on home produce. restricted and rigorous, their dishes participate in the gastronomic reputation of the city when the regional cuisine takes off.

with the advent of the railway and then the one of the automobile, lyon, bourgeois city, is a crossroad. and next to the “bouchons”, there are the mothers. in the 30’s, there are about 20 and among them, the famous mother brazier. student of mother filioux, she runs the kitchen of her two restaurants vigorously and, 1933, received the “honneurs suprãªmes” from guide michelin. concerned about her products, she raised her pigs herself at the col de la luã¨re. this outstanding cook has everything a top chef has. she receives during about 50 career years a select clientele who comes to taste her mythical dishes like the artichokes with foie gras and the half-mourning poultry. - we can prepare the starters.- yes, because our guests will arrive soon.

- let’s go - so what are we doing now? spread the foie gras?- we will spread the foie gras. why? because it is easier to make circles as big as the artichokes. - so it has to be thin?- then we take the cookie-cutter and we cut. - may i prepare the plate for the presentation? - so we are doing like this: a slice of foie gras, a slice of artichoke. then we put the mix of artichoke and the meat. the artichoke is highlighted. it is a different way, more contemporary, to present the foie gras artichoke. so, i will continue.

- michel, i let you introduce your guests. - jacotte brazier, granddaughter of the famous eugã¨nie brazier. so i hope that these dishes will remind her some memories. - it is a surprise! and dominique brunet who represents the new generation of lyon mothers. i had the opportunity to taste her cook in lyon. i think the future is assured. - so, bernard pivot, we don’t introduce you anymore. but we can add that you come from lyon and a great gastronome. (bernard pivot is a french journalist and host of cultural television programmes.) - gastronome yes, greedy i would say. - so at the moment it is a man who is in the kitchen.- i have to go, i am coming back.

- so jacotte, i don’t know if it means something to you - oh yes it does! what a great job! - it is artichoke with foie gras. - the mother brazier didn’t serve it like this - no, it was really simple. it was a bed of lettuce with a vinaigrette and then a slice of foie gras on it. - so chef, let’s eat? - yes, it is good to talk but we have to eat. i wanted to make this course more …contemporary but still respect the products. - the taste is similar. - it is very tasty.

- i wanted to know what this union artichoke foie gras meant. did the mother brazier set it up or was it earlier? - it was earlier, it was the mother filioux. she was very lucky, because she worked with a lyon mother who was very famous. my grandmother came from a family who lived in the country, they were not even farmers they were peasants. she arrived in lyon very young and never learnt to read or to write. she had the chance to be a nurse in a family who sent her to mother filioux. - so she already was with a woman?- yes of course. - was she among the first? - well there are several generations.

it's the generation before mother brazier with mother brigousse or mother guy but it is at the end of the 18th century. after the late 19th century, in the 1880’s, 1890’s, there are quite a few restaurants so there are women in the kitchen who work with their husbands. at the beginning it is a really simple cooking with sausages and cold cuts, because the pork products are very important in lyon. and this cooking was gentrified over the years. - most of these women were first employed by bourgeois. they all learnt their profession, what explains why they all started their own restaurants that late. they did not start at 18 like it often happens. these are completely different destinies.

i mean, they first were with the bourgeois,they've learnt how to cook with the bourgeois of lyon,who - of course - wanted to have the best and later, they've established themselves, they got married and opened a restaurant. but why do we call them mothers? - i don’t know if it's true but i think that it's going well with the history. remember our childhood song: “the mother michel who lost her cat”, she is in the kitchen. - so i am going to sing this in the kitchen now. - if you agree, it's time for michel to go back to the kitchen.- yes, but i will sing with dominique! - thank you to welcome me here.- you are privileged. so you are going to present the poultry - do you want me to help you? tell me.- here are scissors, if you could cut the strings and remove the plastic films. i want to make you work!

so you do a line of vegetables and one more with carrots. do how you feel it. at the moment i will slice my poultry. it looks good isn’t it?- great! - it is juicy. and the smell of the truffles... they will like it. - oh yes, this is the half-mourning poultry! - you've recognized it?- almost full mourning, because he has put a lot! - this is michel’s generosity, we cannot blame him. - it is a pleasure, it is unbelievable! - do you know the origin of the expression “half-mourning”?

- well, half-mourning poultry because in the past,there was the mourning where the women where all in black. half-mourning, why? because we put the truffle under the skin of the poultry but we cannot cover it entirely. it is not possible and it would be too expensive. the half of the skin is covered so the poultry is in “half-mourning” - very good. i wish you a good appetite. - so, is lyon the capital of gastronomy according to the gastro critic curnonsky? do you still agree? is it still relevant? - well if you ask me, of course! i am chauvinistic. - lyon owes its vantage point in the french gastronomy to its geographical position, to its chefs and particularly to the lyon mothers, but also to the clients. we should never forget this.

lyon’s residents are very greedy. in my youth i have knownseptuagenarians, octogenarians, dressed in black, you know, very overweighted, and who did extraordinary meals. ours was a very little one compared to theirs. at the end they stand up and recited poetries of valã©ry. it was admirable! - we also have to say that lyon’s residents, the rich industrialists, didn't like to receive, but their very close friends, at home. they didn’t want to show their ancient furniture, master paintings or their ferrari. they preferedto invite their guests to the restaurant. at the time we lived next to the town hall, so there were all the mayors of lyon, because edouard herriot set the ball rolling with my grandmother, and he loved to eat. he ate an entire poultry! that is why we all had, since my grandmother, an extraordinary clientele. - the chefs, and in this case the mothers, had to be encouraged. if you do not feel this greed, if you don’t feel that people are leaving delighted, with a lot of compliments, telling you that it was wonderful,

calling you on the next day to tell you that it was good … that makes the reputation of a city! - yes caroline, you are going to help me!- i’m coming! - so, how is it going in the oven? what do you think?- the famous “pommes bressanes”. so michel, what does this recipe consist of? - here, the most important are the apples. this is a reinette apple that i peeled with a knife. then i cooked them into a sirup with vanilla, badian, clove. sugar, of course and i cook slowly but at a good temperature during one hour and a half, two hours. then, once it was cooked, i've put it on classical brioche dough. i prepare my dough with flour, sugar and some salt. i add eggs, yeast and butter.

all of this is mixed and was left to stand during 24 hours. then the next day, we make small balls, we spread them into small pancakes, we let stand during two hours and we cook them at the oven 35 minutes at 150â°c. and here is the result!- perfect! - then, the caramel sauce.- oh, your caramel is beautiful! it is thick and has a beautiful color. - in lyon, we are greedy! the little touch of fresh cream. - so, i think it’s time to make your guests taste! let’s go? - would she have the courage to open a restaurant alone? i don’t know and i never will. - so, our dessert!- wonderful! - do you recognize?

- yes, it is an interpretation of a dessert called "the chabraninof". my father gaston had a passion of fried apples, just fried in the pan. when he behaved well, my grandmother cooked him fried apples, just like this, in butter, as a dessert. that were the chabraninof apples that we served with bresse galette. and you revisited it. i think it will be magical! - it is delicious.- i really like it. - do you think that it’s a desert of a male or female cook? - i want to say female cook. - let me remind you that the history of the apple is linked to women. - so, do you think that we really payed tribute to the brazier mother tonight with this dinner?

- according to me, absolutely- jacotte told me yes and i am really happy, and very touched. - now, really, i could make him a small thank-you kiss. - we particularly payed tribute to the brazier mother because if we wanted to pay tribute to all the lyon mothers, we should have cooked 10 or 12 meals! we should have work a little bit more! - well, why not? - it is a next challenge!