La Gastronomia Italiana (2)

Today I sailed to Bellagio (if you think Vegas, you're wrong!), a charming town on the bank of Lake Como, known as the Pearl of the lake. It lies on the very narrow strip of land between the two branches of the lake.
Bellagio features narrow steep streets among the harmony of its architecture and the beauty of its neo-classic mansions or villas such as Villa Serbelloni or Villa Melzo d'Eril.

We stopped for lunch at La Punta, a restaurant in the Punta Spartivento, a place surrounded by the generous gift of nature where land meets the lake. The delightful verandah was fresh in spite of the heat!I started with a plate of grilled vegetables (antipasto), with grilled slices of eggplant, zucchini, red pepper and potato. ... followed by a plate of home made gnocchini di patate (prima piato) in a Grogonzola and cream sauce.
As usual, I passed il secondo piato to leave room for il dolce or dessert. I had tiramisu!
We had a Pinot nero (black pinot) white wine, fresh and fruity.

Photo du Jour - The Cheese Guy

He happily gave samples and arranged the cheese so I could take a photo.
We ended up buying a small sliver of rather strong, salty, delicious fromage de brebis that had been matured for 18 months.
It was also covered with a powdery layer of cheese mites.
Bon Appetit!

Chinese New Year

I celebrated the Chinese New year in a plane, flying between Paris and San Francisco.

Given what the food served in planes has become, the best thing is to fast and drink lots of water. And then had a Chinese meal upon arriving.

In the Chinese tradition the rat (or mouse, there is no difference in the character used for these two different animals) is an animal that "saves". So save everything for the years to come. Starting with food! How? Making preserves!

Happy New year to all!

Photo du Jour

Flowering rosemary that grows on one of the roads into our village.

Inauguration Day: Congres Auteuil

If you read my last post, you'll understand we're happy that this week the Congres Auteuil (right under our flat) is open again with a new, stunning look - but a similar menu and same prices.
My husband and I went on inauguration day to "test" it. We sat in the first floor and had a beautiful view from the window (same view I have from my deck, since my deck is just above that part of the restaurant).
We started ordering two glasses of champagne (it was also our 30Th wedding anniversary), and were told Champagne was on the house since it was opening day.

We had an endive salad with nuts and Roquefort cheese - a classic here. Then I had lamb chops with thyme sauce and vegetables, and Jean-Louis had a "steak tartare" (that is seasoned raw minced beef). The one they used to serve here was very good he says, and fortunately, that has not changed!
We wrapped this good meal with a bottle of St Emilion wine - I LOVE St Emilion wine.
Sorry, dessert lovers, we did not have desert this time, but the Mousee au Chocolat is excellent at le Congres.
It was a good celebration!

Photo du Jour - L'Ancien Café

L'ancien Café Lauriol in our village.

A restful stop

Arriving in Saumur, our friend was cleaning wine bottles to store local Borgueil wine in one of his several troglodyte cellars! Martica, his wife, has created a modern "classy-chic" decoration in a country environment. His yard was welcoming with flowers and we sat outside to enjoy a wonderful Parnay 1962. If you want to stay over at Martica's, visit my blog AtHomeinFrance.blogspot.com Cheers!

Photo du Jour - Mimosa

February is when the little, golden, pom-pom flowers burst into bloom on the mimosa trees.

Winter vegetables

I cut in small dices some winter vegetables: carots, leeks, onions, and these two winter vegetables that I did not know.
I fried the leeks and onions in some walnut oil, then added the rest of the vegetables, a bit of water, some dry herbs, salt, and I covered.

Mary-Laure's birthday and a bird called Malo

Good morning LA - good evening Paris! Today is Mary-laure's birthday, and I am sending her a bouquet of tulips for I know she loves them!
Our pigeon tried to fly away today. Because it is Marylaure's birthday, I have decided to call it "Malo" as she called herslef when she was little.
This morning my friend Nora placed a tray/platform half way between the plant pots where it has its nest and the 3rd floor window iron edge, and Malo is using it all right. It went from the plantpot to the platform deploying and agitating its own almost adult size wings.


Enjoy the flight!

Blog Notes

Pages

I've updated Chez Loulou to include pages, which are located under the header photo.
There's a bit of info about me, a weekly updated French cheese list, the links to both my flickr page and Facebook page, the story of how I attained French Citizenship and of course, the ongoing Moving to France Tutorial.
There is also a Links list - if you'd like to be added, please let me know in a comment on this post.


La Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event

I've hosted this monthly event for the last year and a half and have decided to put it to rest. A giant thank you to everyone who participated!
That doesn't mean that my weekly cheese tasting, also called La Fête du Fromage, will end. I plan on faithfully tasting my way through every French cheese I can get my hands on.
Here's the list thus far.


The Moving to France Tutorial

I'm amazed by the huge response I've gotten from this little tutorial.
It's great to be able to answer some of those seemingly unanswerable questions about what it takes to move to France and to make the process seem possible. (even though it may sometimes look impossible!)
If anyone has information to add, or would like to share their moving to France stories, I would love to hear them.

Celine's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Celine!

Red or yellow cheese?

A French friend used to say when you visit the Netherlands you are asked if you want yellow or red cheese! Of course, France having so many different types of cheese, he felt he did not have enough choices there. But he had forgotten that Dutch cheeses were a delicacy during the reing of French King Charlemagne!

I always try to eat local products when I travel. I was in Amsterdam for two days and found delightful cheese shops that cater many different types of the classic Gouda, Edam, Maasdam, Mimolette. Some have cumin, which adds a sharp note; or herbs.

Enjoy!

Weekend's bounty!

Sunday afternoon: Upon returning from a weekend in Berry , a region in the center of France, I spread my "bounty" on my kitchen table: six large farm eggs, four farm yogurts in glass pots (only culture and whole milk, absolutely no additives), non-pasteurized "creme fraiche", honey bread, a fabulous baguette, and five different types of goat cheese such as the well-known Valencay , the pyramid shaped one with the label on top, made a few kilometers south from Selles sur Cher, where I did my food shopping ...
Once at home we tasted the cheeses with the bread and a glass of cold Sancerre (white wine made in the upper part of the Loire with sauvignon blanc grapes, a very good match for goat cheeses).
Miamm...

Vidimo se kasnije...

or should I say la Revedere*?

After six glorious days in Paris with my sister I have a couple of days at home before leaving again to meet friends from New Orleans.

You'll never guess where they've invited me to join them this year.


Over the years we've spent time together in some amazing cities: Barcelona, Avignon, Milan, Geneva, Dublin and Lucca, to name a few. And there are so many wonderful European cities left to discover, I was expecting the choice to be spectacular.

So what did they choose? Or should I say, what did one of them choose and the rest of us are following along like good little lemmings?

Zagreb and Bucharest.
And we're even going to go spend a night in Transylvania. Possibly in a castle. (I'm still waiting for husband to tuck some heads of garlic into my suitcase)

I must admit, neither of them would have been my first choice.
Why not Rome or Lisbon? Oslo or Copenhagen? Budapest or Munich? At first I was a bit disappointed, but now I'm really excited. I have absolutely no expectations, and that is a good thing, right? Also, I'm traveling with three of the best people to explore new places with.

So, off to Eastern Europe I go!



*See you later!

Photo du Jour - 24K Gold

Golden apricots ripening on the tree.

We're in the midst of Clafoutis Season. Also know as cherry and apricot season.

Apricots thrive in our Mediterranean climate of long, hot summers and cool, fairly wet winters. They ripen in early summer, just after the local cherries.


Here's a little tease...
the recipe will come tomorrow.

My neighborhood treasures

Every Parisian neighborhood has its own treasures!
Among mine's, the Bois de Boulogne that stretches west of Paris. I took this picture in the morning .. I go regularly for walks. You wouldn't say you're in a large city, everything is quiet and calm.

La Fête du Fromage - La Tomme Céronnée

France's Savoie region is famous for its rugged snow-capped mountains, clear lakes and gorgeous green valleys. It is a mecca for skiers, campers and hikers.

Tomme Céronnée is also a mecca. For cheese mites.
If you look very closely you could see the little creatures frolicking amongst the hills and valleys that they have created while munching away on its rind.


Tomme Céronnée is produced in the mountains of the Savoie from unpasteurized cow's milk, then aged for 3 months. The cheese is supple, ivory colored and dotted with small holes, and the mites create a powdery, holey rind like Mimolette's.
The slightly salty, milky and hazelnut flavors combined beautifully with the meaty, chewy texture. It was a very enjoyable tasting!

So if the thought of tiny insects crawling around on your food doesn't bother you, and it shouldn't because you cut the hard rind off anyway, this cheese will definitely win you over.


Enjoy with a glass of red Côtes du Rhône or white from the Savoie region.


Since it is obvious that I can't get my you-know-what together and get any writing done on Tuesdays, la Fête du Fromage is officially moving to Wednesdays.

Tuesday is market day in Olonzac, it's the day that I get most of my errands run and we often have friends around Tuesday evening for dinner. Basically, I run out of time for cheese. Of course, one could argue that I could be more organized and have the post written before Tuesday, but I just don't see that happening.

So, Wednesdays it is!

La Fête du Fromage - December Round Up

Some of my favorite French cheeses were submitted for this month's Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
I appreciate everyone taking time out from their holiday preparations to submit an entry.


Tammy, who also lives in the Languedoc and writes La Vie Cevenole, tasted the ultimate winter cheese: Vacherin Mont d'Or. She describes this special, spruce wood infused cheese as having "long-lasting aromas of mushroom, balsam and sometimes potatoes."
Thanks for reminding me to pick up a wheel while it's in season! And thank you also for that fantastic vin chaud recipe.

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Soft little rounds of Rocamadour are Camille of Croque-Camille's entry to December's Fête. She's celebrating foods from le Périgord this month, so what better cheese than the region's most famous?
Camille describes Rocamadour as "ultra smooth, with a rich, creamy flavor, mild goaty tang, and a hint of pepper on the finish." Yum! I have fond memories of this one too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To wind up 2009 I thought I would submit the smelliest cheese I've ever tasted: Vieux-Boulogne. It is a wonderful, rich cheese with an aroma that will knock you on your derrière. I highly recommend it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks again you two. Bonnes Fêtes!


A new year brings us to the 13th Fête du Fromage International Cheese Tasting Event.
Why not make trying new cheeses one of your New Year's resolutions for 2010?
If you would like to join in, please have your entries to me by January 13. The entire round-up will be posted on January 15.

Tell us why you chose this particular cheese. Tell us how it tasted. Tell us about its texture and aroma. Did you eat it on its own? Or with something? Did you drink anything special with your cheese? Would you recommend it or not? Is there something unusual or interesting about it?

• Photos are wonderful, but not necessary
• Entries must contain the words La Fête du Fromage and contain a link to Chez Loulou
• Posts should be written specifically for La Fête du Fromage and not entered in any other food blog event
• Please send the link to your post to louloufrance (at) gmail (dot) com with the words Fête du Fromage in the subject line

Easy Monday, enjoy bread: bakeries near my house

Chrisitne of Soul Aperture sugested a "simple things Monday" in her last post. I signed for it and here is mine: bread, one of the simplest if not the simplest of all meals!
Kristy Gourmet who lives in Johor, Malaysia, and runs the fabulous My Little Space , asked me to take pictures of French bread, so this post is also for her!

I have seven bakeries within walking distance from my Paris home! Today I will tell you about the two nearest ones: Le Grillon d'Auteuil and Bonneau. When we moved to our current home, we bought "baguettes" from the closest bakeries and did a "baguette tasting", can you believe it? Our favorite is from Le Grillon d'Auteuil. It is on rue d'Auteuil; there are three other bakeries on that street, but only Le Grillon has a line everyday! This was the line Sunday morning at 10 am!! We patiently wait inside to get our favortie type of bread. Don't come at lunchtime, the line swirls outside past the wine shop and the cheese shop!

The biggest sale is "baguette". Here they are presented in a rattan basket that comes and goes: they bake new baguettes every half hour or so!
A "baguette" weighs 250 grs and is 60 cm long. It is made with yeast, flour, salt, and water - but can contain up to 2% of fava flour. The special kneading gives the baguette its aspect and texture.

This is the right side display at Le Grillon. Besides baguette, there are many special breads as well: rye bread (for sea food and oyesters), with grains (for those concerned about healthier foods), batard (a 500 gs baguette type), sandwich bread (for canapes, or smoked salmon)...

This is the left side display, with crowns, peasant brads, "boules", country breads ....

The other bakery near my home is Bonneau. You may read Artisan Boulanger clearly here. Only bakeries where the bread is baked in the same place where it is sold can use the word "artisan". So places like Paul, very popular among tourists, cannot use the word "artisan" because their bread is more industrialized, it's kneaded in a centralized place (very big indeed) and then distributed around Paris. Often frozen baguettes are delivered, and they are baked on the spot, that's why you find warm bread at Paul's or Fournil de Pierre.

Bonneau bakes all bread in the shop. Dark flour baguette, "Bonneau" baguette (I love it), traditional baguette, reregular baguette ... you have a wide choice, all freshly baked.

Bonneau has a screen where you see the bread being baked! You can visit their website, where you can see the bread being baked (click on webcam)!

Bonneau has a different bread for every day of the week. On Sundays, it Mustard grains bread.

So now you understand why I do not bake bread! I admire those among you who bake their own bread. I often leave comments in your blogs saying so. Having seven bakeries near, I am not so motivated to bake my own bread.

Carte de Séjour Watch

Have you ever seen the movie, The Jerk, and there's that scene where Steve Martin is jumping around yelling "The new phone books are here, the new phone books are here!!!"

Well, that was me on Friday, only I was screaming "My new Carte de Séjour is here, my new Carte de Séjour is here!"
And only six months late.

Photo du Jour - Weathered Doors

Old, weathered doors in the center of Aigne, a 1000 year old circulade known as the "escargot" - a village where the little streets spiral out from a central square.

Oenology course closing dinner in Saumur

The closing dinner of the Oenology course I have attended this year (Universite d'Angers) was organized in a charming little restaurant, La Taverne d’Antoine, located on the road between Doué-la-Fontaine et Saumur, at Ulmes.
The evening started with a quote, written on a small board and attached to one of the beams of the ceiling: Drink wine and live a joyful life!

Our Master of Ceremonies was Mr Patrick Rigourd, a passionate sommelier and instructor at the University of Angers (Oenology Dpt.).
In 2001, Patrick ranked 5th in the contest of best "cavistes" of the francophone world. His enthusiasm for wine is truly contagious! Thirty participants attended the event and the atmosphere was joyful indeed!

Provence flavors and friendship in Sanary

Weather was pretty bad in Paris beginning of June; gray skies and chilly days were the daily fare. So when my friend Michelle invited us for a long weekend in her beautiful house in Provence, by the Mediterranean, I promptly said yes!
Her husband is an excellent chef and a fine gourmet, and when he asked me what he had cooked the year before, when he had visited in January, I said it did not mind since I was ready to have encores! He found in the local market the freshest red mullets from the Mediterranean .... as well as other sea delicacies such as squid .. and more. The days was so great that he decided to prepare the whole meal on a very hot "plancha". We started with fresh tiny squids. You get a glance of the plancha in this picture. Then came the shrimps also done in the plancha and we ate them simply with sea salt. The main course was a plateful of red mullets that he had floured lightly. They were so fresh and delicious! Michele had prepared some fresh salads with local produce. And we had the sweetest cherries and apricots for desert.

As we do not see each other as often as we used to when they lived in Paris .. or in Baghada, where we actually met (we were neighbors), we chatted in the verandah while the meal was being prepared by our 5-star chef!