BARRISTER BITES By: Angelia Morie Nystrom The UT Foundation Institute of Agriculture
COOKING WITH YVES PONS Aside from my family, my dog and my job, there are two things in this world about which I am passionate: Tennessee basketball and food. I haven’t missed many basketball games over the past decade and have even been to a number of away games. On multiple occasions, I have attended alone. I’ve attended dressed for a cocktail reception several times, and I even went to one game in a ball gown. Suffice it to say, Volunteer basketball is one of my favorite things. As much as I love Tennessee basketball, I also love food. To me, food is like art. I love preparing new foods to see how flavors meld. It’s fun to find menu items that complement each other to make a satisfying meal. Last Spring, Hugh and I had planned to travel through Belgium and France while Trace attended a two-week exchange program in Paris. While there, we had scheduled a chocolate-making class in Belgium and a cooking class in Normandy. COVID-19 had other plans, and our trip was cancelled. I found solace during quarantine in cooking. I learned to make delicious meals with limited ingredients, and we made lots of my childhood favorites from the backs of boxes, bottles and cans. I’ve tried my hand at some “fancy” things which have turned out well and others which have not. Although recipes from magazines and watching cooking shows were great, they were a poor substitute for the experiential learning of a class. It’s an amazing thing when your passions collide, and it is even more amazing when your spouse makes the opportunity happen. For my birthday, Hugh signed me up for “Cooking with Yves Pons,” a class Yves was hosting to benefit Make-a-Wish East Tennessee. I had seen Yves live-stream a demonstration of how to make perfect French crepes, so I knew this would be an unforgettable experience. The class was going to be hosted via Zoom, and we were given the instructions as to when to expect details. When I got the ingredient list about a week before the class, I was beyond excited. For the dish, we were told to get a 5lb bag of potatoes (I used petite reds, which I peeled, cut into 1/3 inch rounds and boiled preclass), 4 onions (chopped), 2 cloves of garlic, 1 package of smoked beef or turkey bacon (I used Benton’s hickory smoked bacon), a pint of heavy whipping cream, Herbs de Provence, and 2 large wheels of brie. Hugh and I guessed that we were making some sort of potato soup but were excited to see what we would learn in the class. On the evening of the class, Yves told us that we would be making tartiflette, a traditional dish from the Savoy region in the French Alps. He said that the dish is French comfort food and is often served in the colder months because of its heaviness. He said that it is often used to serve large groups because a little is all that you need. As we started the
December 2020
class, he talked to us about his background, about foods he loved (and loved to prepare), and what American foods he likes and dislikes (he loves lobster mac-and-cheese from Ruth’s Chris and does not understand the appeal of oatmeal). We also met his wife, Laetitia, who is also French and who is lovely. You could tell that she was just as excited to share a part of France with us as he was. To make the tartiflette, we sautéed the onions and garlic in olive oil until the onions were golden. We then cut the bacon into small pieces and added it to the onions and garlic and sautéed until the bacon was fully cooked. (Note: because I used Benton’s hickory smoked bacon – which tends to be fattier—I actually drained the mixture at the end of this step. Yves used turkey bacon, and he did not drain his). After the bacon was cooked, we added the pint of heavy whipping cream, continuing to stir until it thickened. Toward the end of the process, we added 3 tbs of Herbs de Provence. Once everything was mixed, we set it aside. Next, we layered half of the potatoes in a baking dish, covering the bottom. We topped the potatoes with one-half of the onion/garlic/bacon mixture. Then, we repeated the process. Afterwards, we cut the wheels of brie so that they were like hamburger buns and then placed them cut-side down on top of the potato mixture in the casserole dish. To complete, we baked at 450 for about 15 minutes (until the brie was melted and started to brown). Yves said that the French generally use reblochon cheese instead of brie; however, it is difficult to find in the U.S. Brie is a nice substitute. When the dish was finished, it looked and smelled amazing. Hugh and I served it with a salad of mixed greens, chopped apples, and pecans, finished with Stonewall Kitchen’s Maple Balsamic dressing (from Fresh Market). The lightness of the salad was a perfect complement to the heaviness of the tartiflette, and the apples were especially good with the melted brie. We were actually able to get 24 servings out of the tartiflette over 3 days. It was every bit as good warmed up as it was the night we prepared it. If you see that Yves is cooking for Make-a-Wish again, please do yourself a favor and sign up for his class. If you try this recipe and enjoy it, donate to Make-a-Wish East Tennessee in Yves’ honor. He is a great teacher, but he is also warm and engaging. He answered a ton of questions about a myriad of topics from the participants, and he does a great Rick Barnes impression. When he found out that it was my birthday, he sang “Happy Birthday” to me in French. This might go down as the greatest birthday gift in the history of birthday gifts for me.
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