MARZOUK
One sells a horse for many reasons, but usually because either the rider has grown out of the horse's capabilities, or the horse is too much for him. I couldn't believe Steve was selling Marzouk. Same origins as my Kergoff, but where Kergoff is a noble clown, Marzouk is reserved and courteous. Experienced as an endurance horse, but with all the qualities for a good school or lead horse. He would have been a lovely horse for Steve's son. The price was more friendship than commercial deal. He had been trained to back up whenever he refused and this was on the way to becoming a rearing defense, but once that was corrected he was perfect. It didn't figure. Then he began escaping together with pastures-full of companions. This was another mystery for awhile. Most horses who want to get out will pick the dummy of the group and throw him against the wire. He has one quick shock before the wire breaks and then they're all gone. But this was simply not in Marzouk's character. It wasn't long before we saw him jumping single-wire electric fences. Finally someone, Michel I think, saw his trick. If he wanted the others to follow, he would drag one rear foot against the wire - in the air the horse is not grounded, and feels no shock - which would break to let the others out. He would stay in if the grass was ample, and he wouldn't jump electric ribbon, so we found a way to keep him more-or-less contained. Next time I saw Steve I mentioned this. And learned why Marzouk had left Plougastel. The town is Brittany's strawberry center. When Marzouk let his friends out for a gallop, they invariably crossed the fields of fruit. In the end, Steve's insurance refused to pay up. It's the one time in my life I owed a horse to a strawberry field.
SATURDAY EVENING
The kitchen was the heart of the house - with fireplace and bar, full of the smells of cooking. This was where the new arrivals met on Saturday evening, and while I served drinks I also prepared supper. Here's what we often served.
Liver pat, leg of lamb with rice and frita, ice cream
Liver pat. This is so fast to prepare you can make it as you start to cook the evening meal. Put the liver (any kind), cut into large pieces, into a deep, heavy skillet, together with pieces of smoked raw bacon, coarsely cut onions, chopped garlic and a great amount of butter - the ingredients swim in it as if in water. The butter should melt but not darken. When the liver has just lost its redness and the onions have softened put it all into your food processor and whiz it to a mush. Add Madeira and verify the salt (a bit saltier than you might imagine). Then pour it into a mold, cover and refrigerate for an hour or two (you could start it in the ice cube compartment but it must not actually freeze). Unmold onto a platter and surround it with rounds of cucumber laid out in a double ring. Serve as a first course with toast, crackers or thin slices of baguette. Leg of lamb. Slice deseeded sweet peppers (in all the colors you can find) into rings, slice an equivalent amount of onion, add sliced garlic and let this simmer in olive oil until thoroughly cooked. Make a lot of this frita. It goes with the lamb as a vegetable. Interlard the lamb with slivers of garlic and dust with leaves of thyme. Put it to cook in a medium-to-hot oven. Get the rice going - a mustard glass per person. While the lamb is still just a bit pink, take it out of the oven and slice it thin. Put the pepper mixture into the meat juices and stir them to deglaze the pan. Add a bit of salt. You might want to add a minidrop of vinegar. And just as you take the mixture off the fire stir in some New Orleans filet or gumbo flour, if you have some. Once mixed into the sauce it must not heat. Filet is French for string, and if reheated the whole sauce will live up to its name and turn stringy. Put the sauce in the bottom of a deep platter, arrange the sliced lamb on top. Serve the rice separately. Finish with salad, a piece of cheese. And dessert. Never-fail ice cream. Beat separately until stiff a cup of heavy cream and two egg whites. This will make just about a liter. Add a good pinch of salt and a third of a cup of sugar - I would beat the sugar bit-by-bit into the cream, and to make sure the egg whites "held" I would add a pinch of cream of tartar to them. Multiply these amounts for the quantity you'll need. If you're going for several liters, whip the cream in your processor at the same time you whip the egg whites with your hand mixer. Whipped ingredients won't hold forever, and you can't have one ingredient deflate as you prepare the other. Add the flavoring (vanilla) when you fold the two beaten ingredients together. They must not collapse. Put this into your freezer - a real one, not the ice cube tray in your fridge. In two hours you should be able to unmold and serve. I froze this in a mold - baba, charlotte, kugelhopf. You can garnish this with chocolate or butterscotch sauce, fresh strawberries, etc. You can also flavor the ice cream with mint concentrate (add green coloring), or grated orange peel and a drop of Cointreau (color it orange). But don't attempt to stir solid ingredients into it before it freezes. It's held aloft by air and whatever you stir in will sink to the bottom and take some air with it. To unmold dip the mold
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