10h00 – Went to the clinic in Bléneau this morning and had my annual blood test and a tetanus injection. Results will be at the pharmacy on Saturday.
15h00 – My hate food is soft boiled eggs well NO MORE, I would eat a soft boiled egg in preference to an ‘andouillette’. P had often warned me about this French speciality and I had avoided them. They look like a kind of sausage, I don’t mind sausages even if they may have some strange ingredients, I also like haggis. that’s got some interesting contents , BUT …
So while in Toucy I treated myself to lunch while P was elsewhere. I found a nice little resto advertising ‘coq-au-vin‘ as their ‘plat du jour‘ [dish of the day], a Burgundian classic. So I thought yes. Having installed myself in a seat near the window I ordered a glass of Leffe beer, a starter and coq-au-vin only to be informed that there was no more, I could have a ‘piece de bœuf’, pizza or andouillette. Well I did not fancy the beef it was likely to be tough and well undercooked no matter how well you ask for it to be brown all the way through. There was a pizza resto next door where I could have gone to so I selected the andouillette. I thought why not, it’s a restaurant and I’ve never had it before so being adventurous I’ll give it a go.
“Whata mistaka to maka !”, it was disgusting, the smell alone was awful and I nearly queried it then and there but the owner/waiter seemed to deliver and place it on the table and not think anything was amiss, he must have smelt it. Having wrestled with the especially provided steak knife to get into the thing, I took a tiny piece of the contents into my mouth, had one chew and put the mouthfull back on the plate. I had carefully choosen ratatouille to go with it and there was plenty of that. Other options were chips, boiled potatoes or salad. I ate the ratatouille with relish. I can still taste and smell the ‘andouillette‘ whilst writing this.
I finished off the meal with ice-cream and a strong coffee. The owner looked carefully at the andouillette left on my plate and enquired if I liked it or not !!!!!
P told me later that polite French andouille eaters even when among other meat eaters will always ask if anyone minds if they choose andouillette or andouille. It really does smell like a turd and I guess it tastes like eating one only a lot tougher, I suspect eating a turd would be more pleasant.
Oh for a soft boiled egg with soldiers for dipping – Emma !
NON merci AAAAA ou AAAAA (en Français).
Someone else’s viewpoint, a The Times article.
“To eat it, your eyes, hands and mouth must override your brain, which sends out frantic signals and alarm bells. But if you can triumph over your nose, then your palate will be amazed at the milky, nutty, sweet and savoury complexity of this king of sausages”. (Jill Dupleix).
