The Duck Tour d'Argent

(http://www.latourdargent.com/)

Tour d'Argent

La Tour d'Argent (The Silver Tower) is a restaurant in Paris, France.

The restaurant's own site claims that it was founded in 1582 and frequented by Henri IV. However, neither the restaurant nor any cabaret, inn, etc. at that site, nor its supposed founder (Rourteau) appear to be mentioned in any period source.

Frédérick Delair and the Numbered Duck

Under the helm of this headwaiter turned owner of the Tour d'Argent  in the middle of the 19th century, table service took on a whole new dimension. Frédéric imposed the carving of a duck on the end of a fork without allowing it to touch the platter. He codified the recipe of the "pressed duck" or "duckling" as we know it today, and he was so certain of the durability of his endeavor that in 1890 itself he decided to give a number to each duck served.

The Origins of the Duck

The origins of the famous duck date back to the reign of Philip IV of Spain, in 1650. Spanish emigrants arrived on the Vendée coast.

They captured a great many wild ducks in the marshlands and domesticated them. The inhabitants of these marshlands, known as "maraîchins", have continued to breed this duck, today, well known as the Challandais duck.

It is bred along the marshlands stretching some 20 miles along the Atlantic coast and about 10 miles inland in the northern part of the Vendée region.

This region is perfectly suited to duck breeding, thanks to its climate, its marshy soil and the water from the canals running from the Loire River and the Lac de Grand Lieu.

For almost sixty years La Tour d'Argent has bought its precious ducks exclusively from the Burgaud family in Challans.

The Duck Tour d'Argent

If there is an emblematic dish of the House, this is the one. Invented in 1890 by Frédéric Delair, it is numbered and served according to a celebrated ritual. The millionth duck was served at the Tour d'Argent in 2003.

The duck is half wild, raised by the house of Burgaud in Challans in the Vendée region of France, and prepared in the dining room by a canardier, a duck carver. Its carcass is pressed and exudes its last drop of flavor into the sauce to which is added a dash of Cognac, lemon and Madeira. The aiguillettes or wings are delicately removed and cooked to perfection separately upon a hotplate.

The Pommes Soufflées, sophisticated twice fried potatoes and grilled legs are served separately. 

DUCK TOUR D'ARGENT

Probably the most spectacular classical French recipe, le canard à la presse, here made at La Tour d'Argent, a Paris restaurant open since the16h century.

Consommé is added to the press to help get the canard's liquefied innards out.

A glass of Fine the Champagne is added, then the sauce is salted and peppered.

The sauce is mixed, heated a little, then filtered using a fine chinois.

They let the sauce reduce on a flame until it thickens. I believe the blood coagulates and gives it its blackish, heavy texture.

The magrets are served covered in the sauce. The ducks' thighs continue to cook while you eat and they come in a second service, without sauce.

Finally, the bill comes. At lunch this dish costs about 70€ per person, not as expensive as some people think but still a rather pricey meal. Dinner time is much more expensive I'm told. The restaurant's location, view and decor and just unbeatable. You have to come once.

 

The restaurant's logo and motto "La Tour d'argent poinct ne leurre" -"The Silver Tower Doth Not Deceive".

 

La Tour d'Argent
www.tourdargent.com
+33 (0) 1 43 54 23 31
15-17 Quai de Tournelle
75005 Paris
France

BACANA E TAL, MAS... FALA SÉRIO!!! Mundo apaga as luzes contra as mudanças climáticas

(http://oglobo.globo.com/ciencia/mundo-apaga-as-luzes-contra-as-mudancas-climaticas-4465812)

Mundo apaga as luzes contra as mudanças climáticas

Este ano Hora do Planeta destaca a Rio+20. Cidades escuras foram flagradas do espaço

Publicado:31/03/12 - 17h31

Em Atenas, a Acrópolis ficou às escuras durante a realização da Hora do Planeta. A Grécia foi um dos países que teve mais monumentos apagadosAFP

Milhões de pessoas em todo o mundo participaram hoje da Hora do Planeta, um protesto simbólico contra o aquecimento global e outros problemas ambientais, organizado pelo WWF. No Brasil, o evento destaca a Rio+20. Vinte e três capitais e 125 cidades brasileiras participam da celebração, que consiste em apagar as luzes por uma hora, às 20h30m.

Este ano, pela primeira vez, o evento foi fotografado do espaço, pelo astronauta holandês André Kuipers, a bordo da Estação Espacial Internacional (ISS), na sigla em inglês. De Roma a Sydney, milhares de cidades apagaram as luzes de monumentos e pontos importantes durante a celebração.

Pela estimativa do WWF, 5.411 cidades de 147 países participaram do evento, que acontece desde 2007. A celebração deste ano é a maior já realizada. No ano passado, cerca de 1 bilhão de pessoas, em 5.251 cidades, de 135 países apagaram as luzes. Este ano, Sydney, Xangai, Roma e Atenas foram algumas das cidades que ficaram às escuras para chamar a atenção sobre os problemas ambientais.

(http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/starbucks-and-the-great-beetle-extract-controversy/2012/03/30/gIQA7QAylS_blog.html?wprss=rss_social-style-headlines&Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost)

Posted at 05:49 PM ET, 03/30/2012

Starbucks and the great beetle extract controversy

By Cara Kelly

Beetle juice? In a frappuccino?

As salacious as it may sound, Starbucks's use of cochineal beetles as food coloring in strawberry frappuccinos is not an unprecedented, or even uncommon, practice.
Some Starbucks patrons got the heebies when they learned the coffee company uses beetle extract for food coloring. (Seth Perlman/AP - ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The news of the food coloring erupted this week with outcries from vegans and vegetarians who were under the assumption that a soy version of the drink did not contain animal products.

The dye, made of the crushed skin and bodies of the Peruvian cochineal bug, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration and is hailed by some as a natural coloring. In 2009, the FDA passed a law requiring cochineal extract to be included on ingredient labels, though it does not require an explanation that it is derived from bugs.

But as Connie Thompson of KPIC found, the ingredient can be found in a wide range of products, from yogurt to cheese.

The revelation of Starbucks's dye choice is just the latest government-approved food that has left many Americans with concerns over what they are ingesting.

"Pink slime" or ammonium hydroxide-treated beef cuts, is 
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback (L), Texas Governor Rick Perry (C) and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad (R) examine a package of the beef product known as pink slime or lean finely textured beef during a tour of Beef Products Inc.'s plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska March 29, 2012. (REUTERS)similarly condoned by the FDA, but it has made many consumers uneasy.McDonald's and other fast food chains announced this month they would stop using the treated beef, but three governors and two lieutenant governors toured a plant where the beef is produced Thursday before making statements promoting the product.

In the same vein, the FDA will decide today whether to ban BPA, a plastic additive, from food packaging. The issue of whether the additive can leach into foods and cause health concerns has been debated for years, though the government has found it's very unlikely that BPA poses a health risk in recent studies, NPR reports.

It is hard to say whether the string of events will have any impact on consumer behavior, though Starbucks has experienced a huge backlash in the last few days. The company issued a statement defending its choice but also mentioning it will review other alternatives:

As a company, we always strive to exceed our customers' expectations and we take their feedback very seriously. Based on recent customer feedback, we learned that we fell short of these expectations by using cochineal extract.

Cochineal extract is a commonly used ingredient and is a natural, FDA-approved colorant found in a wide variety of food and beverage products in the U.S.

We use the extract in the strawberry base for our Strawberries and Crème Frappuccino® blended beverage, Strawberry Smoothies and three food items — the Birthday Cake Pop, Mini Donut with pink icing, and Red Velvet Whoopee Pie. While it is a safe, sterilized product that poses no health risk, we are reviewing alternative natural ingredients.

The company is in a sticky situation. In its push to find a more natural additive, it stumbled upon a product that may just gross people out. So which is better, chemical-free or unappetizing? "Pink slime" or the possibility of e-coli?

By Cara Kelly  |  05:49 PM ET, 03/30/2012 

LET'S GO FLYERS!!! Flyers, Senators looking to move up in East race

(http://flyers.nhl.com/club/preview.htm?id=2011021170)

Flyers, Senators looking to move up in East race

LIVE ON NHL

SENATORS

SAT

03/31/2012

1:00 PM

FLYERS

	1	2	3	T
SENATORS				0
FLYERS				0

• PREVIEW

Flyers, Senators looking to move up in East race

NHL.com

	Stats
77	GP	77
39	W	45
28	L	24
10	OT	8
88	P	98
0.571	P%	0.636
3.00	G/G	3.17
2.90	GA/G	2.70
18.6	PP%	20.2
81.6	PK%	82.2
31.1	S/G	32.2
32.0	SA/G	28.3
50.0	FO%	48.4

Date	Vis/Home	Final
Jan 8, 2012	PHI@OTT	OTT, 6 - 4
Jan 7, 2012	OTT@PHI	PHI, 3 - 2
Oct 18, 2011	PHI@OTT	PHI, 7 - 2

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
SENATORS (39-28-10--88pts) at FLYERS (45-24-8--98pts)

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1. SEASON SERIES
This is the fourth and final meeting of the season against Ottawa… The Flyers own a 2-1-0 record against the Senators, dropping their last meeting by a 6-4 score on Jan. 8… The Flyers have recorded 14 goals in the three games against the Sens this season, five of which coming on the power-play, going 5-for-15 (33.3 percent).

2. THE FIRST HALF
BOTH the Flyers and Senators play the first of games on back-to-back days entering today with the Sens taking on the Islanders and Flyers taking on Pittsburgh on Sunday… The Flyers are 8-3-1 in the first part of games on back-to-back days, while Ottawa is 6-8-2 in the first half of back-to-backs.

3. POWERFUL POWER PLAY
The Flyers come into today's game having scored at least a power-play goal in five of their last seven games, including each of their last three games, going 5-for-14 (35.7%) in that span… Ottawa has allowed at least a ppg in four of their last five games to the opposition.

4. Player to watch SENATORS: Erik Karlsson
Karlsson is the NHL's leading scorer among defensemen in goals (19), assists (57) and points (76)… He also has six points (2G-4A) and a plus-5 rating in three games against the Flyers this season.

5. Player to watch FLYERS: Matt Read
Matt Read has had good success playing against the Sens in his rookie season… In three games, Read averages two points a game, with six points (2G-4A) in the season series… Read also has scored a goal in each of his last three games, posting five points (3G-2A) in that span.

---

GAME PREVIEW
Last 10: Ottawa 5-3-2; Philadelphia 6-3-1

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Season Series: This will be the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the teams. The Flyers won the first two games, but the Senators won their most recent matchup, 6-4 in Ottawa on Jan. 8.

Big Story: The Senators need a win to stave off the on-rushing Sabres. The Flyers need a win if they want to catch the Penguins and Rangers in the conference race.

Team Scope:

Senators: Coach Paul MacLean remembers how things started for him and his team -- four losses in the first six games, and in two of them his team allowed seven goals. 

Back then, it would have been hard to imagine the Senators where they are now -- entering the final eight days of the season in the top eight in the conference.

"When you go back to the start of the year when you're (2-4) after giving up two touchdowns, if you could have said the last five games of the year you're playing for an option to be in the playoffs, we all would have fast-forwarded and jumped to that place," he said.

MacLean said he's stayed consistent with what he's said all season long -- that this season is part of building a foundation for how his team needs to play.

"We've said all along we're going to play 82 games and we'll see where we are," MacLean said. "If we work hard and play the way we want to play, we believe we'll like what we see."

Flyers: Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov took part in all of the team's practice Friday, but doubt remains if he'll be able to play any of the team's games this weekend -- Saturday at home against Ottawa or Sunday in Pittsburgh.

Bryzgalov suffered a chip fracture to his right foot during pre-game warm-ups prior to Monday's game against Tampa Bay. He sat Thursday's game in Toronto. 

"There's some progress," said Bryzgalov, who added that he "would love to play" as soon as possible.

Bryzgalov's availability will be decided by the player, coach Peter Laviolette, GM Paul Holmgren and trainer Jim McCrossin.

"Ultimately, I have to fill out the lineup card and sign it and make that decision," Laviolette said. "We'll do what's best for the player and the organization. We're not going to put a goaltender in a situation where he goes out there and risks injury."

Who's Hot: Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson has back-to-back 2-goal games, and has 6 points in his last two games. … Flyers center Danny Briere had a career-best 4 assists Thursday, and has 2 goals and 5 assists in his last three games.  

Injury Report: Senators forward Jesse Winchester (concussion) and goalie Ben Bishop (lower body) are out. … Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (foot) and defensemanKimmo Timonen both practiced Friday and but remain day-to-day with their injuries. 

Stat Pack: The Flyers' win Thursday was their 11th in March, the fifth time in franchise history they've won that many games in March. In three of the four previous seasons they've done it, they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final -- 1974 and 1975, when they won the Stanley Cup, and 1985, when they lost to the Oilers in the Final. The only year they didn't get to the Final was 1979, when they lost to the Rangers in the playoff quarterfinals.

Puck Drop: No team in the League has had a bigger impact from its first-year players. The Flyers have used 12 rookies this season, including seven who made their NHL regular-season debuts this season. 

They had seven rookies in the lineup Thursday against Toronto, and they contributed four of their seven goals.

On the season, the Flyers have gotten 59 goals from rookies -- 24.2 percent of their total this season.