Rest Day--But with Food

Bon Jour Mes Amies,

I wanted to give myself an easy day today, but since the activities would not be exciting, I wanted the food to be.  Besides, I can't help but notice that when there's some reference to food in the blog title my reader count goes up.  I am not blaming anyone for that.  As I've said before, I know my audience.
Today was a lot of walking around and some shopping.  I began by attending Les Halles de Paul Bocuse to obtain some nice comestibles.  We shall discuss my purchases one by one, but if you are offended by foie gras skip the next paragraph.
Because foie gras de canard with truffle bits is my apero along with some sparkling wine from the Loire Valley.  Foie gras is best served lightly chilled on a slice of good bread.  Sparking wine--Champagne for the deep pocketed--is a traditional accompaniment, but also a sweet white or even a dry white would do.  Not red wine, ok?  Or beer.  A dry cidre would work.  Oooh.  So rich and creamy.  Just the fois gras would have an almost nutty taste of liver--umani?--the truffle bits add something I cannot describe except to say it's definitely vegetal, but not at all mushroomy. They also add to the price!
One very characteristic product of Lyon is quenelles, which may take some explaining.  They are a sort of rich dumpling affair with meat or fish, or sometimes mushrooms that are very popular in some regions of France. I got Quenelles de Brochet, which is made with pike perch mushed into a paste and then mixed with cream, flour and sometimes egg.
Uh.  How are you going to eat these?
Poached. Yes I had to cook them, and I got some crayfish butter to put on them, too.
But, Pil, how did you know how to cook them?  This isn't your usual fare.
Well, I can follow the instructions on the box the nice lady at the counter put my quenelles in, and failing that--you do know you can find Anything On the Internet. I don't have an appropriate wine to go with them, but you can always try a crisp white wine from the Loire Valley where Quenelles de Brochet are also popular. I had two quenelles which I thought was a good portion.
Ready for a bite?  They smell slightly fishy.   Mmm.  Very mild and dumpling like. It probably needs a stronger sauce, but it's still good.  Yes, a nice dry wine would set this up very nicely.  I like these.
Now in French fashion I am going to have some cheese after dinner.  Pont L'Eveque is a cows milk cheese from Normandy, and the cute young cheese monger was especially enthusiastic about it.  I don't know if it was because he was instructed to push it or if he recognized a true cheese lover in me.  The cheese is semi soft and has a rather stubborn rind.  Rinds apparently are edible, and some people like them. I trim them off, but I don't get upset if the rind is not perfectly removed. The truth is in the eating.  To give it every chance, said cheese is served on Pain Polaine with a nice dry red wine, which as far as I can tell is an AOP from the Auvergene-Rhones-Alps.  In other words something fairly local.
This is good!  I would call Pont L'Eveque, a medium strong cheese.  It's got that definite earthy Norman taste, I happen to like, and the cheese and wine pair very well together.
My last purchase was some cream because ugh! my skin was so dry and getting flaky.
Flaky.  Pil, somehow that's so appropriate.
Bleah. Is the water in Lyon?  My advanced age?  French skin care products are widely available in the United States. I got a kind that isn't, but I can read simple French so I think it's ok.