The Floating Island

I love that the French have given such descriptive names to their desserts. My favorite is the meringue dessert called iles flottantes.Literal translated into English it means floating islands. A big ball of meringue is floating in a bowl of creme anglaise (aka melted vanilla ice cream) and caramel is drizzled over the meringue. The dessert really does look like its name.

"Sea" of creme anglaise

My Last Supper

I recently discovered a book of photo essays called "My Last Supper" in which famous chefs state what they would want to eat as their final meal on earth. Some of the chefs want really elaborate meals and others want simple dishes their mothers used to make. This discovery provoked me to think about what I would want as my last meal in France. I am only twenty years old and hopefully will live many more decades so thinking about my final meal ever was too hard. I decided the roasted chickens sold in the outdoor markets would be the perfect last meal. The chickens are delicious and smell so good, as soon as I get near a markets I can immediately smell them. I would also want the potatoes that are cooked in the chicken fat and sprinkled with herbs de provence. Luckily for me there is a market on Sunday so I might just have to go by one final chicken.

 

Algeria's National Dish

I have been pleasantly surprised with the North African food I have found in France. The most common food served in North African restaurants is couscous. Couscous was first created in Algeria by the Berbers after discovering semolina. The couscous dough is created by mixing water and coarse semolina particles and then is "crumbled" through a sieve creating tiny pellets. I went to an Algerian restaurant and ordered the lamb couscous. A big hunk of lamb was served on top of a bowl of couscous, along with carrots, chickpeas, zucchini, and cabbage. A bowl of the cooking liquid was served as a sauce and was flavored with cinnamon, cumin, and ginger. It was very good and also very filling; the waiter made fun of my "tiny stomach".

Fruits of the Sea

I recently spent a week traveling along the French Riviera where there is an abundance of seafood. Almost every restaurant serves a dish called moules-frites, which is simply mussels and french fries. The most common way the mussels are served is "moules marinieres". The mussels are steamed with a broth of white wine and shallots. I do not like mussels mainly because of their texture but decided to give them a try. Also moules-frites is usually the least expensive item on a seafood menu so that was another incentive. After a couple of mussels I came to the conclusion that they are just a food I do not like. If I am going to eat a mollusk I prefer scallops, especially scallops provencal.

   

Roman Picnic

One of my most favorite activities to do in Europe is to go to an outdoor market and buy food for a picnic. The Italian markets are not as good as the French markets but I still managed to find some delicious food while I was in Rome. I bought some sweet provolone, provaolone dolce, which is made from cow's milk and is milder in flavor than provolone piccante. Slices of salami and Italian rolls similar to popovers with a crusty outside and a hollow, chewy inside were also added to the picnic. Finally wild strawberries were bought for dessert. The picnic took place over looking the entire city of Rome on Janiculum Hill.

Janiculum Hill

 

Potato Pillows

As much as I love Italian food, I am not really a pasta lover. Sure, I love lasagna but the pasta is not really the main attraction, more like the supporting character to the cheese and homemade tomato sauce. But I have always been intrigued by the potato pasta known as gnocchi. I am hesitant to make gnocchi because many people run into problems with the dough and I am even more hesitant to order gnocchi for fear of a plate of gummy, dense pelts. While in Rome, I put my gnocchi fears aside and ordered "gnocchi ai quatrro formaggi". I was pleasantly surprised when the gnocchi was fluffy and light but really what should I have expected, I was in Italy. My friend also order gnocchi with a simple tomato sauce.

 

Do not be fooled by the imitators

I was lucky enough to return to Italy one more time. I visited Milan in March and fell in love with the gelato so a trip to Rome meant I could be reunited with my lover. I know that sounds a bit dramatic but gelato captures the essence of the ingredients used in a way that American ice cream does not. Coffee gelato tastes like you are actually eating a coffee bean, very intense and a little bitter but still very tasty. I thought I had tasted the best gelato until I visited a restaurant in Piazza Navona in Rome. The restaurant was called Tre Scalini and outside there were signs for "Tartufo". I had no idea was a "Tartufo" was but figured it must be a big deal if it cost 10 euros and was claiming to be the original. After ordering a "Tartufo" and taking one bite, I fell even more in love with gelato. A tartufo is a gelato dessert that is supposed to resemble the savory black truffles. It is chocolate gelato sculpted by hand into a ball. Then the center of the ice cream is scooped out and chocolate chunks and a cherry soaked in some type of liquor is placed in the hole. The ball is then rolled in shaved chocolate and topped with whipped cream. The tartufo was so good, I had to go back the next day and get another one.

 

Bacon Soup

There was one French dish called a Tartiflette that I have been dying to try. The best way to describe this dish is bacon soup. Potatoes, leeks, and bacon are covered, quite an understatement, with a cream sauce and then Reblochon cheese is put on top of the whole thing and broiled until crispy. Tartiflette is usually eaten in the winter before going skiing because of the extremely high fat and calorie content. I had a Tartiflette for lunch and only ate about a third of it because it was so rich. It was very yummy!

Bubbly and Gooey!

   

EGGcellent

I am continually amazed at how much better simple ingredients taste in France. All the produce and especially the eggs are superior to their American counterparts. On the few occasions that I have had access to a kitchen and was able to cook, my food tasted better and looked more vibrant. The egg yolks are a much richer yellow color. The apartment my parents rented in Paris had a large kitchen, by French standards, so I decided to make a quiche. I made a traditional French quiche Lorraine with leeks, bacon,Comte cheese, and, of course, fresh eggs.

Almost gone!!

Cheese Please!!!

I can't believe I have not done a post about cheese! Since living in France, I have eaten more cheese than I would like to admit. My favorite is goat cheese. During my recent trip to Paris to visit with my parents, we bought a variety of cheeses to sample; Camembert, plain goat cheese, Manchego, and blue cheese, and goat cheese covered in herbs. To accompany the cheese, we also bought a baguette and a fig preserve. All of the cheeses were very good. I especially liked the Manchego which is actually a Spanish cheese.