Vous Avez de la Grey-Poupon?

The creation of mustard is
apparently quite a simple process: just add water, vinegar, and salt to the
crushed seeds. Where in the world American
French’s Mustard came from I haven’t a clue; it surely has nothing to do with
the Dijon variety. Apparently it is the
addition of turmeric to the American recipe that changes both the color and
taste. As for Dijon mustard, I’m a huge
fan. While it is available in just about
any supermarket in the U.S., my favorite, Amora, is not. Unless I’m mistaken, upstate New Yorkers have
to go to Montreal to find this brand. As
soon as we arrived in Paris, I made it a point to get a jar of the special moutarde forte de Dijon at our local
grocery store!

A new dish that we tried last week is lapin à la moutarde. First you spread some mustard on the pieces of rabbit and brown them without burning in a little oil; add in some chopped shallot. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, bring about a cup or so of white wine to a boil, adding in a clove of chopped garlic, a bay leaf, a little thyme, and a sliced carrot. Sprinkle some salt and pepper onto the pieces of rabbit and pour in the hot wine mixture. Cook until tender, about a half-hour. In a small bowl, combine a few tablespoons of crème fraîche with a teaspoon or so of mustard. Remove the rabbit from the pan and add in the cream sauce; warm through. Pour the sauce on top of the meat, sprinkle with fresh, chopped parsley, if desired, and serve with noodles or rice.
Tonight I tried something new: turkey cutlets with mustard. I spread mustard on the cutlets, added salt and pepper, and dipped them in bread crumbs. I then browned them in a little oil, adding some red pepper, mushrooms, and shallot when the cutlets were nearly done. I put in about a half cup of white wine and a little cream to make a sauce. Not bad at all for just making it up as I went along!
Mustard is a very versatile condiment which adds a bit of zest to ordinary recipes.
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