Late in the day, her two-course meal is ready. She ladles the broth into bowls and spreads the marrow on toast. And follows with a table-side magic act: pulling from the caldron turnip, potato, pork, beef, sausage and hen — entertainment for a cold night and hearty appetite.
We like to arrange the sharp turnips, smoky sausage and earthy leeks in earthen bowls, ones shaped and glazed by the family's newest potter. After all, pot au feu can also mean the pot itself. The earnest homemade meal looks at home in its earnest homemade pot.
Pot au feu
Prep: 45 minutes
Cook: About 1 hour, 45 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (butt), rolled and tied
2 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed
1 onion, peeled, trimmed and quartered
1 bouquet garni (thyme, parsley and bay leaf tied into cheesecloth)
1 tablespoon coarse salt
10 peppercorns
3 smoked sausages, such as andouille
12 slim carrots, peeled and trimmed
12 small, waxy potatoes (such as red or yukon gold), whole
3 leeks, white and pale green sliced into 1-inch rings, soaked and drained
