Travel Archives - Page 12 of 17 Kitchen Conundrum

Renee’s Run Away to Live In Paris. Ok, Just For A Month.

December 28, 2011 by Renee

It’s true! I have run away from home and I am living my dream in Paris. Well, not perfectly of course. It is the middle of winter, you know. It’s rainy, cold and foggy and I’ve had such a migraine since I arrived. I’ve been fully functioning in the early mornings for a few hours, then by mid-day I have a mini aneurysm, and end up sleeping until dark when I get up and head out again, missing most of the daylight.

But alas, I have had several adventures in my short three days that I’ve been here so far. Arrived Monday morning and delivered myself promptly to the studio I’m renting. It’s in one of the nicest areas of Paris in my opinion-much like the upper east side of Manhattan (and costs about the same!). It’s a 6th floor walk-up that faces a courtyard. It’s the kind of apartment that if I had a half million I’d buy in a heartbeat! Cute and cozy!

Since I had no sleep whatsoever on the plane ride over, I spent Monday day in bed sleeping and then I finally dragged myself up in the evening to go to the FranPrix (an ok grocer, but rather limited selection) to buy some groceries only to discover there is a huge, beautiful grocery store, MonoPrix, just around the corner in the opposite direction. Now, I know!

Ok, I didn’t buy the chocolate pudding. But look at that! A massive tub! I could seriously eat the whole thing in one sitting. Hence the reason I did not buy it. Because I would. But the rest, all came home with me. An interesting thing about the milk. It’s not found in the refrigerator. It’s all found stacked like water bottles on the shelves. Must be ultra-pasteurized. I prefer my milk cold, so I put it in the fridge, but it doesn’t have to be chilled. It tastes perfectly fine too to my Americanized palate.

Tuesday morning I woke up and headed to a cooking class where we learned how to make three dishes. I always love taking cooking classes, learning new techniques and tasting food from other peoples perspectives. I have had and made two of the dishes we prepared so the methods were not unfamiliar to me. But it was really fun nonetheless. And of course, eating lunch with new people you meet is always great. The class can be scheduled through Viator and is held in the home of Chef Marthe. She’s extremely knowledgeable, very hospitable and quite personable. She really made the class a lot of fun. There were only 5 people in this particular class including myself. The small size made it that much more intimate and many laughs were shared among the group as we all rallied for one another during our “tasks”. Marthe also has one of the most beautiful stoves I have ever seen. Covet, covet!

The three dishes we prepared provided a feast for us for lunch. Starting with Les Gougeres (Cheese Puffs or Cheesey Poofs as we called them), Chicken with Two Vinegar’s and for dessert, an Orange Cake with a Glaze that was divine! Along with that, we were served cheeses, salad and warm baguettes that we picked up at the market just before class. And yes, of course there was wine! It was a delightful way to spend the day. Cooking, eating and drinking wine with new friends.

So, if you are in Paris, and want to try something fun and different, attend this small group cooking class. You have to eat anyways and this is an exciting, hands on experience and a great way to meet people.

VinItaly U.S. Tour 2011- A Lesson in the Volcanic Wine Regions of Italy

October 21, 2011 by Renee

Wednesday I had the opportunity to engage in one of my favorite activities-drinking wine. Then, learning about the wine in front of me. The VinItaly US Tour 2011 made its second US stop at NYC’s Metropolitan Pavilion with Russia, China, Germany and Sweden still on the roster of countries that will host the exhibition between October 2011 and November 2012.

The exhibition was created to spread the knowledge of Italian wines around the world and to showcase some of the more famous wine producing products and wine growers of Italy. The event features in-depth seminars, wine professional training and workshops, B2B events, and of course an opportunity for producers to meet with buyers, distributors and food & beverage managers.

Having much more knowledge of French wines (thank you Olivier!), I decided to attend two seminars that would serve as a basis of understanding for Italian wine.

The first seminar focused on the white wines of the volcanic regions. With ten wines to explore, this session highlighted the terroir (soil composition) of each wine’s origin and discussed their unique characteristics. These volcanic area’s soils are rich in minerals and provides the perfect composition for these delightful white wines. Soave, the Phlegraean Fields, Ischia and Etna are all important and distinct white wine production areas.

Soave is the largest production area in Italy specializing in white wine production. There are over 6,500 hectares devoted to the indigenous grape varieties Garganega and Trebbiano di Soave. The vineyard soils of this region are considerably less fertile than the alluvial soils in the plains. The soils in the western part of the Classico zone (the specification “Classico” with the designation “Soave” is reserved for wines from grapes harvested from the hillside vineyards around the municipalities of Soave and Monteforte d’Alpone) contain a high percentage of limestone which retains the warmth of the afternoon sun and helps produce fuller, more fruit-forward wines. In the eastern vineyards near Monteforte d’Alpone, the soils are made of decomposed volcanic rock that tends to produce bolder, more complex wines.

The wines of the Phlegraean Fields are produced on volcanic soil rich in ash, lapilli, pumices, tuffs and microelements that yield very attractive aromas and flavors into the grapes and wines made from them. A fascinating aspect of this region is that the wines from the Campri Fiegrei D.O.C. are produced with grapes from ungrafted vines. This was one of only a few areas in all of Europe to not be affected by the attack of Phylloxera that devastated the vineyards in the second half of the 19^th century. (Santorini’s volcanic wine production area was also unaffected. Must have been all the ash in the soil that drove the bugs away!) While the rest of Europe’s vineyards now have been grafted with American rootstock, this area’s vines remain on their own original roots.

The Ischia D.O.C. produces three grape varieties, Biancolella, Foraster and Per’e Palummo (Piedirosso). The area’s complex soil of tuffs, lavas, pumices and an absence of calcium carbonate, but substantial sodium and high levels of potassium impart to the wines an almost almond like taste with delicate aromas.

The vineyards of the Mt. Etna region grow on sandy soils with substantial stone content. The high altitude of many of the areas vineyards lends itself to producing wines with a great freshness and elegance as well as longevity. Etna also has the distinctive characteristic of being a region that produces not only white wine but also red wine produced from the indigenous grapes of Nerello Mascalese and Nero Cappuccio.

I believe that personal tastes should always influence your wine purchasing decisions, not so much what publishers or critics declare is best. It is important to develop your own “tongue”, so to speak, of the characteristics you enjoy.

That being said, for me, there were two notable wines that I really enjoyed. The first was the 2010 Soave Classico Balestri Valda. It was deliciously crisp and well-structured with good minerality and smooth finish. It also felt like it has the potential to improve further with a bit of age.

The second wine on top of my list was the Soave Classico Castello 2010, Cantina del Castello. With a nose of peaches, apricots and almonds and a soft finish, this is the kind of wine you could drink every day. It’s refreshing and smooth but fills your mouth with flavor.

I hope to try many more Soave wines. They are far better than you would think they are. Salut!

Greek Cooking Continues with FAGE

July 19, 2011 by Renee

Just a few days after returning from Greece, I had the opportunity to take a cooking class sponsored by FAGE yogurt at the International Culinary Center located at the French Culinary Institute in NYC. One of my favorite meals in Greece was the yogurt breakfasts served everyday with honey. The brand of yogurt I was had there was FAGE (pronounced “fa-yeh”) so I was excited to learn some new recipes using this brand back here at home.

You may think that all Greek yogurts are the same- dry, gritty and extra thick. Well, I assure you they aren’t all like that! FAGE Total is creamy, smooth and silky. Not only is the texture unlike the other brands of Greek yogurt, the flavor is full and rich regardless of which fat content you choose. There are multiple flavors and three variations available; full fat, 2% and 0%. But classically, the plain flavor, full fat or 2% is the way to go.

For this class, we had planned on making eight dishes, but we were all starving and since we kept taking breaks to eat what we were making, we actually only had time to prepare six dishes. We did, however, receive recipes for the rest to attempt to make another time.

The class was broken up in threes and I paired up with two blogging friends, Monica from Macaroni Kid East Side and Lisa from New York Chica. We had such a good time! There was lots of laughing and even more tasting! Monica and I couldn’t stop eating the Macaroni and Cheese, even before it went into the oven! It was that delicious! (Made with a bechamel sauce and lots of cheese, it was incredibly decadent, but worth every calorie!)

Here’s what was on the menu (the last two we didn’t make, but we tasted!):

FAGE FRIED CHICKEN