Market Day in St. Cyprien

We awoke to a bright and gorgeous day and headed out to the Sunday market at St Cyprien, a little town about 10 minutes drive away.  The car was driving rather sluggishly and we vowed to go to the nearest Hertz station to try to exchange it later in the day.

The market was lovely, perhaps not quite as picture-perfect as the ones we went to in Provence, but it was pretty darn close.  One of the biggest differences was that every third stall sold foie gras!  We tasted and bought a few tins from the stall pictured above.  This is a short summary of the instructions the seller told me:

1. Store in the cupboard or pantry.
2. Put it into the refrigerator one day before you plan to eat it.
3. Open the tin on the top AND on the bottom, and push the foie gras out.
4. Use a thin, sharp knife dipped in hot water to cut the block into slices.  
5. Make sure the slices are not too thick.  
6. You need to dip the knife into the hot water after every cut so your edges are smooth.
7. Serve with country bread.  Not brioche.  Not honey bread.  Do not toast the bread.
8. Make sure you fan the foie gras out when you are serving it.
9. Make sure you don't spread the foie gras on the bread, just place the slide on top and eat it together.

I may have missed a few details.  He talked to me for a long time ;)

We also bought 3 kinds of cheese, the right kind of bread to eat with the foie gras (!), white asparagus, little teeny, super sweet strawberries and a great ham and cheese crepe for a late breakfast from a lovely husband and wife team.

And finally, of course, we couldn't resist the poulet de fermier, a roasted young farm chicken - which we planned to have for dinner.  Also sold by a lovely husband and wife team!

All in all, a great way to spend Sunday morning!

Alas, things turned a little sour later on, as our deadbeat Ford Focus would not start.  I had to call the Hertz emergency number and a tow truck turned up after a 50 min wait.  Then another 30 min wait for a taxi to take us to Sarlat, where another car was procured.  Note that the new car was procured from a Hertz franchisee in a Shell gas station, where they sold both wine and foie gras!

Foie gras - from a gas station!  That's why I love France.