The time – June 1998, a summer beautiful afternoon.
The place –  a  supermarket in the town of Châtillon-en-Bazois. 
 
We  were on our first canal boat trip, complete with two college aged sons –
on the Nivernais Canal in the Burgundy Region of France. 
The boys were surprised at how much they were enjoying a week’s boating on the canals, (with Mom and Dad). It did help that they encountered many students of their own age each time we got to a lock. The students were also on their summer break, working helping boaters negotiate the lock system on the canal.  The boys easily fell back into a  pattern that was very familiar to them. When we lived in London and they were only 5 and 7 years old,  we spent the summers camping in Franc.  Each time we pulled into a campground, they would head off to playground and play with all the other  kids there  – it didn’t matter that they all spoke different languages – they made it work. This time however,  both taken French throughout High School, so communication was a little easier.

Each day during our trip, we would stop at the villages along the way
and buy fresh items for the day’s meals
 – it’s a great way to enjoy the flavors and specialties of each region.


Canal Boats along the beautiful Canal du Nivernais

It was Monday afternoon and not unusually,
many of the smaller shops in the village were closed.
We did however, find a  supermarket that  carried  a wonderful variety of fresh meat and vegetables as well as all the usual grocery items. 
Comme habitude,  I couldn’t resist just browsing through the market,
checking out  all the  new items. 
I found some wonderful large mushrooms and a garlic sausages
 – perfect for stuffed mushrooms. 
Then I noticed something called Escalope de Dinde – it was an Escalope of meat that looked like it came from a chicken, but it was way too big. 
It was displayed with other game birds and cuts of game birds. 
I looked a little further and found a cut called a Cuisse de Dinde, boy this was a big bird!  How on earth did it fly?  I must have stared at that “dinde” for several minutes ....... 
I decided to be adventurous and try the escalope of this strange large bird......... 
(Wake up Marianne!)   I was looking at Escalopes of Turkey Breast!   Did I ever feel silly! 
It was amazing that just not seeing a turkey in the way we usually see it - usually at Thanksgiving -  with all the trimmings -  it was so unfamiliar!


Le Poulet de Dinde - "what is that big bird called???!!!"

The butcher told me that a very easy and delicious was to serve Escalope de Dinde
was to bread and gently cook it in Olive Oil, served with lemon wedges and whatever accompaniments you wish.
That was a hit and still is a family favorite,
as is garlic sausage stuffed baked mushrooms.

      
            Escalope de Dinde (turkey)                     Osso Bucco de Dinde    (turkey)

                

That was the first of many “different” turkey applications that I have seen
on our visits to France.

Since turkey is very topical at the moment, I thought I would share some of them. 
Of course, a roasted turkey is the central part of the Christmas Day meal
in most homes in France - we all know about that recipe…….
........but who would have thought of Turkey Osso Bucco?!  Yes, using the drumsticks, cut cross ways, this is not only a delicious way to serve turkey, but is also much more economical than the traditional veal Osso Bucco.  
Then there’s Turkey “Nems”!   Nems or spring rolls as we know them,  are very popular in France and quite often seen at Market stalls. 
But we’re not finished ……  How about Turkey Beignets with a spicy sauce?  
These are not my recipes, but ones that I have found since I discovered the versatility of the “dinde.”   
Happy Thanksgiving to you and all your families......... and I wish you lots of creativity with your left over dinde, or future cooking ventures with Le Poulet Dinde!

Don’t wait until Thanksgiving 2011