Travel another way

In the afternoon we went to a chocolate factory.  What a great experience in several ways.

The place is very well organized for visitors.  The tour began with a cinema, or so we thought.  It was all computerized.  English speakers were grouped together for the intro and history of the development of chocolate.  We walked into what turned out to be an elevator that took us down into the first of several rooms with a mini Disneyland-like presentation in each one.

Rooms were decorated, animated, interesting, informative, and fun  There was an ever-present smell of chocolate.  Everytime the speaking ended in a room, a door opened to another room.  That was followed by a room full of cocoa beans, hazel nuts, almonds, etc, with information about all the ingredients, the benefits of chocolate for our health, etc. The smell…..Hmmm, cocoa everywhere.

Cailler is one of the few manufacturers worldwide to use slightly condensed milk instead of milk powder. It is a special process of vaporizing the milk into the cocoa that gives Cailler chocolate its unrivalled  taste and texture.

The milk in milk chocolate is from local cows, and the sugar is also from Switzerland.  Other rooms showed the old and new machinery and process of mixing, forming, and packaging  of individual pieces of chocolate.

Then there was a tasting room where no one paid attention to how many samples you tried…with no wrappers to slow you down.

Oh boy!  I decided to risk a migraine headache, and sampled with reckless abandon.

So far so good, though I most definitely pigged out and enjoyed every bite.

We all skipped dessert after dinner tonight.

You too, taste this delicious chocolate by joining our tour to Switzerland.

In previous post, Betty, one of my guests on the Switzerland tour, mentioned that she ate meringe with double creme. Well, it is worth to tell you more about this Gruyeres specialty.

If the region of Gruyeres is most well known for its Gruyere cheese, a close second is the fresh, local cream, famous for its high butterfat content.  Gruyeres has more cheese and double cream per square metre than any other town in Switzerland.The local make a fuss about it and they are right, it is really  worth the fuss, for its unparalleled, unctuous texture and its rather unique aroma.

Thick cream skimmed off milk. Its aroma, its delicacy and its creaminess make it one of the region of Gruyeres specialities. That’s probably why it’s served on top of just about everything, at all hours of the day. It is most often served on top of meringues or various berries. Hmmmm, really delicious.

The meringues are weightless and have the same texture throughout.  Bite into one and it just crumbles away in your mouth (and all over your shirt). The double creme is always served in a traditional wooden dish and with a sculpted wooden spoon as well like in the old traditions.

If you’re in Gruyères, you won’t have any problem at all finding meringues or double cream to buy.  Step into any shop and you’ll see walls piled high of plain meringues, or bags with different flavors, including caramel, chocolate or even cheese.

Every restaurant serves it a different way. They are all soooooo gooood!!!!!!!

Bon appetit!

If you want to taste this delicious double creme with meringue, join our tour to Switzerland.

I am now in Provence with my first cooking group in Provence: 9 women who love food and want to learn the secrets of provencal cooking.

On our first day, we went with Finette and her master to hunt for truffles. Finette is an expert dog in finding truffles. Despite the rain, Finette found several big truffles. Since we are in May, the truffles are the white truffles or spring truffles. They don’t have the same aromas as the black truffles from the winter (and are only worth about 180 euros/kg instead of 1000 euros!!).

After the hunt, we got invited by the master into his house.  We were served rose and white wine and toast with truffles of course.

To make the toast: grill some little pieces of baguette on both sides, cut the truffle on top, add salt from Camargue and olive oil. Let them sit for a few hours so the olive oil can melt the salt.

It was delicious.

Tomorrow, we will be cooking a ratatouille in a farm, picking the herbs ourselves.

Today the girls went shopping. They didn’t have to go very far…inside the house there is my portable French Escapade shop: visors, shirts, table cloths,…Of course, all painters chose visors (not that they will use them now with this cold weather!!!!(.

Anne and Judy bought the same shirt also,looking like twins:

Judy and Anne and their new French Escapade outfit

Judy decided to wear her new table cloth as a skirt. Why not?

Judy and her new skirt

Niki and Nancy bought the same visor so I wanted to take their picture together but Joan wanted to be in the middle because she didn’t belong to any picture:

Niki, Joan and Nancy and their new French Escapade visors

The shopping was done in 10 minutes because they wanted more paint more or was it to eat more? For sure, for Joan it was to eat more. She admitted that she came on the trip for the French food and she was not disappointed.  She is now doing a little painting for the chef to thank him for his wonderful food.

Our chef, Mr Poulet

Check back tomorrow to see the painting of Mr Poulet’s food by Joan.

Cindy, you have no idea how right you are. We had to visit a supermarket today so that Hope & Pam, as well as Rosa and also Sarah could buy some extra luggage to carry home all their shopping!!!

We started the day by drinking wine!!!! Well, visit of Chateau Neuf du Pape village and of course visit of a cellar before the tasting of three Chateu Neuf du Pape wine, The very famous Cote du Rhone.

Linda, Sarah and Sue are very serious abut the swirling, an important step in the tasting.

A bottle in the US is at least $80 when it is only 30 euros here (about $45). Everyone bought as much as they could which is three bottles per person. Hope and Pam maxed out.

After all this wine, we needed some food. Sarah was wondering how she will finish her “little” salad.

After lunch a little dessert was needed. Why not some chocolate tasting? We met with Stephane, the chocolate maker at Castellain in Chateau Neuf du Pape for a little demonstration on how to make chocolate. We kept asking him questions and therefore got many more samples that we were supposed to.

Not sure the group will appreciate this picture on the Internet but I couldn’t resist.

Join us next year on this great trip to Provence. Sign up before Oct 30th and get $150 off.

Click here to see the details of the trip.

What are the specialties? Here are some of the specialties our group bought during their excursion in Provence :

Lavender of course: Fine Lavender is from Provence while the Lavandin can be found anywhere in the world. Everyone in the group bought  and bought and bought some lavender products, from soap to essential oils to hand lotion or shower gel. I think the 2 big winners (I mean buyers) were Linda and Hope.

But Lavender is not all. Today in “Les Baux de Provence” everyone rushed into the cookie store. The first reason was maybe to warm up since it was so windy out there but then everyone felt for the cookies. The nougat is of course the specialty of Montelimar in Provence. Prepared in Montelimar since the 17th century, the nougat combines artfully honey, sugar, egg white, vanilla, almond and pistachio nut in a recipe kept secret…. Its velvety frosting is due to the azymous bread in which the dough cooks.

“Calissons” is the specialty from Aix en Provence. Calissons are white diamond-shaped sweetmeats, made from ground almonds and candied fruits. it is a white cookie with an almond paste inside. Calissons were first prepared in Aix en Provence during the 15th century, and its name is said to come from the expression : Di Calin Soun, which means in the dialect : “they are a stroke”…

Not sure what Lynne and Pam bought but they seem very happy about it:

But there is more than food. What about the “Santons of Provence” From the 19th century, the Santonniers of Provence (santons manufacturers) started to introduce the village people of Provence in the nativity scene: the Water Carrier, the Lavender Lady, the Shepperd, the Cheese Maker but also the Bush Ranger or the Gossiper ! All of them are now part of the traditional Provençal crèche.

Rosa was very interested by the tiny ones but did she have time to buy them? She wasted her time at the restaurant for lunch and missed the “Santon Museum” in les Baux de Provence.

Tomorrow, we are going to Chateau Neuf du Pape for wine tasting and chocolate tasting, so there will be more shopping. Stay tuned!!!

Visit our complete itinerary at www.frenchescapade.com

New tour, new group. We have spent only 2 days in Provence and so much shopping already.

Yesterday we visited Andre, an olive oil maker at the Clos des Jeannons in Gordes, in the Luberon, Provence. But how is olive oil made?

In Provence, harvesting normally takes place around November.

Using traditional methods, this will be done by hitting the olive branches with long sticks, thereby forcing the ripe fruit to tumble onto nets spread on the ground beneath the tree.

After harvesting, olives must be taken to the mill for processing as quickly as possible -  within 3 days to get the AOC (Apellation d’Origine Contrôlée, which is a label of quality from France). Leaves and twigs are removed, the fruit washed, then the olives – pits included – are ground into a paste … using huge millstones.

Yes, the pit is included because it contains a anti-oxydant that will preserve the oil. No preservatives are added to the oil.

A first centrifuge at 4000 rpm will separate the solid (skin, pit) from the liquid (water an oil) and a 7,500rpm centrifuge will then separate the water from the oil.

The best quality oil is made from the “first cold press”. In other words, it must be derived from the first pressing of the olives. And cold pressed olive oil means the olive paste must be kept under 27C (80F)  for, if too much heat is used, the oil chemistry will change.

Our group (from the left: Linda, Lynn, Rosa, Pam, Hope, Sarah, the olive producer Andre, Sheila and Susan…and all our bags full of olive oil !!!!!)

If you are interested in joining one of our tours, check www.frenchescapade.com

Based in Namur for 3 days, we gave  our four guests (Mary, Holly, Bernice and Barbara) a tour of Wallonia out of the beaten paths.

                                                                       In the visitor house of the American cemetery

On day 1. even though we visited the well-known museum of the battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, we spent the afternoon at the home of Germaine  (a survivor of WWII) who was 11 in 1944, and spent 6 weeks in a stable when the German army took over her farm. She talked about her experience of the war and treated us with Belgian cakes and coffee. We later paid a tribute to the American liberators by visiting the American cemetery in Neupré.

                                 Translating Germaine ’s stories about WWII

On our second day, we attended a speculoos workshop at the Chateau de Harzé; our pastry chef was  tough about the shapes of our cookies but we all passed the class :) ! In the afternoon, we went to Hermalle for its Cramignon festival where couples dressed in prom oufits, dance in the street, drinking beer and fighting musicals feuds between loud  bands. But first, we had a decadent pastry feat at Annick and Fernand’s, 2 locals who had invited us in their home. They even offered each of our guests , a basket full of Belgian treats.

                                                           Cramignon girls in Hermalle

                                                             Speculoo workshop: the pastry chef and Bernice.

As for today, Monsieur and Madame Bouvier demonstrated the art of making chocolate pralines, in their family workshop near Dinant.

For more information about our tours, visit our website at www.frenchescapade.com

Hikers, climbers and trekkers have searched and found paths of serenity in the French Alps for decades. But before the 19th century, mountains were not friendly to anybody, when local tales and customs were full of dreadful stories about deadly mountain encounters with scary creatures  living at the top, awaiting for daredevils.

But this empty space was also a heaven for those who really wanted to escape the human world, with its corruption and material wealth. In 1084, Bruno, a monk from the North of France, found that “desert” he was looking for, in the Chartreuse range near Grenoble, and he built the first monastery of what was to become the Cartusian order.

Today, 40 monks still live in the original location, whereas the order has spread all around the world with 22 other monasteries. Its survival lays in its ability to find new ways of maintaining its living, and its major success was the discovery of the recipe for the world famous Chartreuse liqueur, the green of which gave also the name to the colour. 

The recipe dates back to 1605 and the liqueur contains 130 different plants.  The Chartreuse Liqueur is also known for being aged in the longest liqueur cellar in the world.

Even though the liqueur is often drunk “on the rocks”, it can be part of more elaborated cocktails:

• Episcopale : one part of Green Chartreuse + 2 parts of yellow Chartreuse
• Chartreuse Royale: with Champagne
• Shuttle: with whisky
• Alaska: with vodka
• Sunburst: 1 part of green Chartreuse + 5 parts of orange juice and a dash of lemon juice

Remember, to enjoy Chartreuse, a small quantity is advised!

It can also be used in cooking: chocolate mousse, baked ham, apple crumble, hot chocolate, etc…

For tours in the French Alps, check www.frenchescapade.com (women-only tours and painting workshops available)

Visit Belgium and you will understand why chocolate is essential in the life of this tiny country: you will find a chocolatier in every village, in every main street, and in big cities such as Liege, Brussels or Bruges, there will be an infinite choice of  chocolate makers displaying their beautiful pralines all around you!

So why is it so delicious? Well, the best ingredients are used and the traditional techniques still prevail. Most belgian chocolates are made by hand in small workshops, by people who love their job and are very proud of their specialties. They receive their chocolate paste still warm and liquid in heated tanker truck and not in solid cold paste like in other countries. This way, it keeps its original flavor longer.

Why is it different? Well, Belgian chocolate became internationally known thanks to the invention of   “pralines” (not the same as the sweet treats found in the States). This technique was invented in 1912 by Jean Neuhaus, a swiss man who had moved to Brussels. Praline-making consists in moulding a cold chocolate shell that can then be filled with any flavored chocolate or other ingredients (nougat, creams..). Neuhaus were also the first to use “ballotins”, the chic box to carefully wrap pralines.

Our favorite Belgian chocolate?

Pralines

• Neuhaus -   The original Boutique in Galleries de la Reine in Brussels.
• Leonidas - check here to order some from the States
• And many small chocolatier like Bouvier, in Anseremme near Dinant.

Chocolate bars

• Galler, made in Namur.  Check here to order some in the USA

For tours of Belgium including chocolate tasting and praline-making demonstration, check www.frenchescapade.com (50% off on August trip to Belgium).

The video below is a praline-making demonstration from Planète Chocolat.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WflQgQ7NV9g

This year was a very special year for the new Michelin guide, as it was its 100th edition. The first one was issued in 1900 (no issues during the 2 World Wars and in 1921) as a promotional brochure for the Michelin tires) and it is therefore the oldest European gastronomy guide. In the first editions it only mentioned addresses of car mechanics. The first restaurants  only appeared in 1920. It is now a prestigious hotel and restaurant guide covering over 20 countries and published in several languages. Over 30 millions guides were sold over all. Many city guides are now also published, Tokyo being the city with the most starred restaurants.

This year’s  edition can also be purchased in a collector box or on your i-Phone. This year’s edition only added one  new 3-star restaurant among the 548 happy few to receive stars, and of course, others have lost the prestigious award.

Too much pressure?

Many chefs have recently quit the painful race   because of  overwhelming  pressure. Celebrated chef Marc Veyrat who received 3 stars for his restaurant “l’Auberge de l’Eridan” by the Annecy lake in Veyrier-du-Lac (French Alps), declined his nomination this year. A few months ago, chef Olivier Roellinger even closed his 3-star restaurant, “Maison de Bricourt” in Cancale, Brittany. These are just a few examples that show the infernal moral and physical tension bearing on these top professionals whose business highly depends on the red  guide to succeed or not. When chef Bernard Loiseau committed suicide in 2003, some said it could be related to the rumour that he was about to lose one of his 3 stars.

Another criticism consists in tagging the guide of conservatism and of favoring traditional cuisine. For the fans of the guide, however, the biggest problems will be to manage to make a reservation in one of these starred restaurants. Indeed, the 548 awarded establishments attract gourmet clients from all over the world and are difficult to access.

Our selection among the new establishments in the 2009 edition:

*** star restaurants = 26 restaurants in this category (only  1  new one)

• Chef Eric Frechon , “Le Bristol”, Paris 8eme.

** star restaurants: 73 restaurants (9 new ones)

• Chef Gordon Ramsay, “Le Trianon”, Versailles.

* star restaurant:   449 restaurants (63 new ones )

• Chef Cedric Bedache, “Auberge Basque”, Helbarron (Pyrénése Atlantiques)

+ 527 bib gourmands = good value for money (meals under $45).

Clickable useful links:

• Michelin Guide and routes
• To buy the 2009 Michelin Guide / France
• Gastronomic and cooking tours in France

Videos:

• Eric Frechon in the Bristol cuisine, about his 3rd star.
• Gordon Ramsay, the chef who does not know about politically-correct !

The winners: Eric Frechon, Gordon Ramsay and the Auberge Basque team.

From Valerie,           our chef on our      French Escapade Tours

Leek is not regarded as the king of vegetables in the US. I have often heard this question from the cashier when I put my bundle of leeks on the conveyor: “What do you do with that? Are these onions?”

Leeks are used a lot in French cooking. It is one of the main ingredients in “Pot au feu” , in many sauces and in our vegetable soups. They are also eaten boiled and served cold with a vinaigrette as a starter. But since we are in winter, in the northern hemisphere anyway (but our Australian friends can serve the following recipe as a “cold vichyssoise“) , here is the recipe for Leek soup.

Leek Soup recipe

Ingredients: 1 cup of chopped leeks (some people only use the white part; I personally use some green too for color purposes). 1 cup of milk 2/3 cup of water ¼ cup of cream. 3 tablespoons of butter . 1 teaspoon of chicken stock. 1 boiled potato. Chopped chives or parsley and cream to garnish.

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Put the leeks in the skillet and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock and the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the milk and cream.
Add the potato and use a blender at low speed to crush the pieces.

Pour the soup in plates and garnish with cream and chives or parsley.

Bon appetit!!

If sourdough is said to have appeared as early as 1500 BC in Egypt, and was widely used in the Middle Ages to make bread, it was brought to California during the Gold Rush, and became one of the city’s landmarks thanks to  Isidore Boudin, a French baker from Burgundy who settled in San Francisco during in1849. Growing from 1,000 to 20,000 inhabitants in 2 years, the population needed food, especially staples such as bread, and the city counted some 60 bakeries in 1849.

But what is sourdough?

In San Francisco, sourdough refers to bread  that is baked using wild yeast from a dough or batter, with a long, slow rising process so that it develops a characteristic sour flavour. By adding flour and water to it, this starter dough can be kept indefinitely, which was very convenient for the gold miners. Some pioneer stories mention people wearing the dough in a bag around their neck to keep it warm and favor the bacteria culture.

Today, San Francisco is still famous for its sourdough bread, and even the 49ers mascott’s nickname is Sourdough Sam. Boudin is still baking its famous bread in the city at many locations: Market street, Geary Boulevard, Fisherman’s wharf… San Francisco sourdough is particularly tangy and is well appreciated with seafood, clam chowder or chili.

If you come to the city of hills, you can’t miss it!

San Francisco Tours

For information about tours and vacation packages in San Francisco and California,  check   http://www.frenchescapade.com/california.html .

French Escapade offers now a great variety of visits in Northern California, from privately guided custom tours to pre-established tours.

All pictures are from the Boudin bakery ’s website .

Everybody has made plans by now: whether they will spend Christmas with Auntie Paulette or with Mom and Dad, with friends or strangers, whether they will celebrate this special day in a  cold snowy resort of the Alps or in a family home by the Mediterranean Sea, they are set.

Four great feasts  will take place during the French  holiday:  one on Christmas Eve , one on Christmas  Day, one on New Year’s Eve and one on New Year’s Day ! You can imagine that it will be  a big challenge for all French livers !!!!

On Christmas Eve, or Réveillon de Noël, people generally meet with their family and first have an apéritif: Champagne and a lot of appetizers. Then, around 9pm, they start to eat and some of them leave the table just before midnight to go to the local midnight mass. Most french people are not observant catholic but they go to church to perpetuate the tradition They go to bed  around 1am, and still have to get up early for the next day lunch that will start around 12pm and end around 4pm, all these dinners being formal seated dinners of course.

On New Year’s Eve, it starts all over again, but a lot of people choose to gather with friends or  join a huge party with unknown people in a restaurant or a club.  Dinner is followed by a long dancing party. People stay up late, until around 3 pm and often show up with sleepy eyes or a hangover  for the next day lunch, that will start again around 12pm.

By now, everybody has  planned what food will be served and what wine will perfectly match these special meals. So let’s find out what is on the grocery list for these 4 important meals.

Even though the late dinners are slightly smaller than the luncheons (which last about 4 hours), all these 4 meals consist of one per category of  the following traditional dishes:

• Oysters on the shell / Seafood / Foie gras / snails / smoked salmon
• Lobster  / scallop gratin / calf sweetbreads / bouchées à la reine 
• Roast Capon / Beef Roast / goose / turkey / boudin blanc with trufles
• green beans / mushrooms / chesnut / a potato dish
• A huge cheese board
• the Yule log (the traditional pastry or ice cream shaped in a log)

If you live near L.A., you can also celebrate Christmas the French way. Check this restaurant menu , and if you do not look at the restaurant opening hours, you could think it is in France  http://www.lepetitchateau.org/events.html#

Picture credits:

1. Capon from http://www.foodavenue.fr/

2. Snails from Valerie, our chef on the tours to France with French Escapade

3. Yule log from http://venezmangerchezlaura.centerblog.net/5.html

Dijon is world famous for one thing: its mustard. But the last jars are about to be made in this town located  150 miles southeast of Paris, in the heart of Burgundy.

Amora-Maille mustard, the biggest brand in France, has been making mustard since 1900, but has announced the closure of 3 of its Dijon factories by the end of the year.

Even though Dijon was already known for its mustard in the 14th century, it became really famous  when in 1856, Jean Naigeon  started to make the celebrated yellow paste   using vinegar instead of the usual verjuice from grapes. It then became  easier to preserve.

In the late 19th century, Maurice Grey and  later Pierre Poupon (Grey Poupon! Got it!) initiated the first industrialization of the product, which had been family made until then. In1937, an edict established  that Dijon mustard had to be made a certain way and  to follow a very strict process. Unfortunately it never received a A.O.C. label which would have prevented this product to be make anywhere else but in Dijon.

In the last decade, mustards seeds started to be  imported from Canada and the prices for this staple ingredient have recently increased tremendously, up to 144%. Since it was bought by Unilever in 2000, the Amora-Maille Dijon factory has not been very prosperous.

The board of the company has consequently decided to concentrate its production in its Chevigny factory, in a Dijon suburb. However, the employees are now fearing that the board of directors  should decide to take another step, and move  its production to Turkey or Poland as it has previously happened for other brands.

A facebook group  has been created to campaign against the closures at the following address (it is in French, sorry, but you can still check it)                                                       http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34241799860

So let’s keep our fingers crossed so that we could enjoy  Maille mustard for years and years. You know it is my favourite one! (See previous post from August 4, 2008.)

Here are some useful links:

• how to make a simple vinaigrette with Dijon mustard:

http://www.metacafe.com/w/1106206/

• The  complete history of Dijon Mustard :

http://pagesperso-orange.fr/wiencis/mustard_story.html