Baeckeoffe

I've invited our cousin, Francois, to lunch on Saturday. Understand the pressure. This man is an amazing cook. The last time I saw him, he made a blanquette de veau that would make you forget your mother. The time before we had a rabbit stew. He hand picked the rabbit hours before : ( Then I saw him pick the head out of the stew pot and proceed to eat EVERY last piece of flesh still sticking to it, brain, cheeks, tongue . . . . I was just thankful he'd done it after I had finished. Francois loves to press my buttons and I cringe every time he invites us over to eat. The last time I had him over for dinner I made a duck and olive stew. He kicked me out of the kitchen and it finished as a duck stew in a four spice cream sauce that was orgasmic! He is such connesieur that I cannot make "just anything" for this lunch. I mean, this is the man that has made me eat Chicken Testicle and Cock's comb soup, kidneys roasted on a flame, headcheese, and many other delicacies that I've chosen to forget because the memories give me dry heaves. So, what shall I concoct for dear Francois? Baeckoffe (it's Alsacian). It's REALLY REALLY REALLY good. It's a layered dish. You marinate all the meat in white wine for 24 hours. You slice 2 kg of potatoes and alot of onions. Then you make a layer of potatoes/onion, layer of pork, layer of P/O, layer of lamb, layer of P/O, layer of beef, layer of P/O. Pour the marinade over the top and let it cook on low heat for like 5 hours. Unfortunately for my "petite nature americaine" the pork meat consists of 2 pigs feet and two tails. It's seems it's these ingredients that make the sauce. I honestly didn't know where I'd find such delectables. Anyway, I went to my local outdoor market this morning and found a butcher that specialises in pork. What I wasn't expecting was the long line I had to wait in and especially the shopping lists of the people around me. EVERYBODY was buying pigs feet, muzzle, ears, tails, some shoulder every now and then. Alright, the feet I can understand, good sauce, and when the butcher struck 'em open and quatered them I could see some meat. Even on the tail there is some meat. BUT holy schmoley what's up with ears and muzzles? We're talking about skin and cartilage! I've been here almost 12 years and culture shock is still an everyday occurence.