Napa: The Game Changer?
July 13th, 2011 | Rachel
The whole idea behind this blog is my belief that my destiny lies (at least in part) in running my own bed and breakfast somewhere in the French countryside surrounded by vineyards. This belief was further cemented into my brain (and heart) after my boyfriend and I took a two-week road trip around France and spent three days touring wineries outside of Bordeaux.
Its not that I don’t love New York City. I think this is one of the greatest cities in the world, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to live here. Still, I am drawn to a culture focused more on quality of life than on one’s bank account balance or job title. I love sunshine and fresh air and good food. Throw in a great bottle of wine, and I am in heaven.
This past weekend I went on a trip to California with my mom. We flew into San Francisco and then drove up to Napa where we spent our first two nights. We then spent two nights in Sonoma and one night in San Francisco before returning to the east coast. During the day, we toured a dozen or so wineries and drove around the countryside. In the evening, we ate at three amazing restaurants in Napa and Sonoma: Bottega, the girl & the fig, and El Dorado Kitchen.
Downtown Sonoma at Dusk
View from the Napa Valley Wine Train
Accepting the challenge of eating an unripe grape
I had never spent any time in California before this trip, and yet I’ve always wondered if I would like living on the west coast. Now that I have had the chance to see it for myself, I know the answer is yes.
The people definitely have a laid back attitude you don’t see too often in native East Coasters. As someone whose only work criticism has been that I am too laid back, I think I might have found my kindred spirits.
I talked to owners of both of our bed and breakfasts at length — one has been in business for 21 years and the other 15 — and now a storm of new ideas is brewing in my head.
Hillview Inn in Napa
Sonoma Chalet in Sonoma
Cute kitchen at the Sonoma Chalet
In my element at the Sonoma Chalet
Don’t worry… this isn’t the end of the France dream. It might be a practical stepping stone on my way to France or perhaps an opportunity to take my obsession with French culture and create something unique here in the United States.
Stay tuned.
The Wines of Saint Émilion
July 7th, 2011 | Rachel
In honor of an upcoming trip to California wine country with my mom, here’s a few notes on one of my favorite French wine regions.
I’m no expert on the wine side of things (for a more detailed assessment, you could start here), but I can testify to the fact that the town of St. Émilion and its surrounding countryside are gorgeous, and the wines are DELICIOUS (albeit a little on the expensive side).
St. Émilion
Two of many wine stores in St. Émilion
Steve and me in St. Émilion
St. Émilion is the name of both the town and the appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) for wines originating in the surrounding region, which is located about thirty minutes west of Bordeaux. The wines are predominantly made from Merlot grapes as the base with varying proportions of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
The wineries in this region take great pride in the classifications that are unique to the region and are reevaluated approximately every ten years. These classifications are the Premiers Grands Crus Classés and the Grands Crus Classés.
Upon the recommendation of our innkeeper at Chateau De La Moune (more on it later), Steve and I spent a delightful afternoon at Chateau Fonplégade, a St. Émilion winery. [As a reminder, you can click on the photos to view them larger.]
Chateau Fonplégade
This winery was purchased in 2004 by American billionaires Denise and Stephen Adams. It is currently classified as Grands Crus Classé, but they are trying to achieve the higher classification of Premiers Grands Crus Classé. The Adamses spent $7 million renovating the facilities and installing state of the art wine-making equipment. They also have switched to organic farming methods.
The facilities at Chateau Fonplégade
Whatever they are doing, they doing it right because the wines were so delicious that Steve and I joined their wine club (a concept the French we spoke to had never heard of). With the exception of their rosé (also a relatively new concept for that region), many St. Émilion wines have to age ten or more years before they reach their true potential. We hid the bottles we brought home with us and are trying to forget about them for the next eight or so years so we don’t accidentally drink them prematurely.
We tried to visit Chateau La France, pictured at the top of this post with the giant metal chicken, but sadly it was closed that day.
What about you? Any favorite St. Émilion wines we should know about?
These Are Not Macarons
July 3rd, 2011 | Rachel
Its been too long since my last post. I apologize.
Perhaps you thought I intentionally missed my fight back from Paris and have been living the simple country life I’ve been dreaming of – sans internet. Or perhaps you thought my love for la belle France had been satiated by my two-week trip in June and thus I had no need to cook French food and post pictures for you.
In truth, it is a long story. I still have a thousand photos of France to sort through and write about. But I also have to find a new job. The latter is the biggest reason I have been neglecting you. Fortunately, things are looking up in my job search, and so my brain can finally return to thinking about things that pre-date the job crisis…
…things like French macarons!
This dainty pastry made from meringue and almond powder is commonly served as a sandwich cookie with a cream or jam filling. It is also often brightly colored. It is NOT the lumps of shredded coconut commonly known as the macaroOn.
One of my souvenirs from the recent jaunt around France was a macaron recipe book. The text is in French, so making this slightly complex and finicky cookie was further complicated by the fact that I couldn’t really understand the instructions.
However, I am never one to back down from a challenge, and I attempted the project anyway.
It was a disaster.
I will share my thoughts on what went wrong at the end of this post, but first, here’s what I did. In case you are looking for a macaron recipe, here’s a link to a pretty good collection of French macaron recipes and instructions.
The ingredients (including almond powder personally imported from a French grocery store by yours truly)
As a quick side note, another reason my life has been somewhat tumultuous this summer is I moved in with my boyfriend just a few days before we jetted off to France. In an effort to conserve funds this summer — and perhaps also to try something new — I sublet my apartment to two business students with summer internships in the city.
I am now summering in a much bigger apartment (with a much bigger oven) in Morningside Heights, which is the quiet neighborhood surrounding Columbia University. Although I didn’t have to pack up my whole apartment, I did have to make some tough choices about what I couldn’t live without for several months. Somehow, in the hubbub of moving and preparing for my big trip I FORGOT my single most prized possession: my KitchenAid Pro 600 stand mixer!
Me with said mixer, circa 2007
I’m still not sure how it happened. I managed to pack up and bring my pasta-making attachments but no stand mixer. The thought of not having it with me this summer sickens me.
Anyway, you need a mixer to make macarons. A stand mixer will make your life easier, but a hand mixer will do if that is all you have. I had been meaning to add a hand mixer to my kitchen collection, so I picked up one made by KitchenAid from Bed Bath & Beyond.
Making macarons is basically divided into three steps: 1. make the almond paste, 2. make the meringue, 3. mix the two together. Then you simply pipe it onto your baking sheet, let sit for the suggested period of time, and bake. And then you assemble using the filling of your choice. What are we up to, seven steps? Whatever. Its actually not that complicated.
The almond paste is made by blending almond powder and sugar and then mixing in egg whites.
The meringue (depending on what kind of recipe you are using) entails beating egg whites until foamy, heating powdered sugar and water until it reaches the desired temperature, and then beating the sugar syrup into the egg whites until they are cool, stiff, and shiny.
This is not what meringue is supposed to look like.
I have a bad habit of assuming I have all of the necessary ingredients for a project and jumping in without actually checking. I have another bad habit of substituting other ingredients against my better judgment. With cooking, this is ok. With baking that is more likened to a chemistry experiment, this is asking for trouble.
In this case, I ran out of powdered sugar. Instead of running out and buying more or making my own in a blender, I took the liberty of substituting regular granulated sugar. The larger crystals didn’t dissolve into the water and instead stuck to the bottom of the pot while the water above reached the desired temperature. You probably don’t need me to tell you this, but you can’t make meringue out of egg whites and slightly sugary water.
To make a long story short, I screwed up the meringue. Then, knowing full well the end result was going to be disastrous, I proceeded to mix the egg white soup into my pink(ish) almond paste. I then piped the very liquidy batter onto cookie sheets and baked them as instructed.
Surprise, surprise, they didn’t turn out at all. They tasted right, but they were flat, bumpy, and soft. A proper macaron is slightly puffed up on its “foot”, smooth, and crisp on the outside.
These are not macarons.
Ah well. Better luck next time.
As a final note, I will add that I think my macarons were further hindered by the extreme humidity on that particular day. Right now, only two rooms in this apartment have air-conditioning, and neither is the kitchen or the dining room where I allowed my macarons to cool. When I left to have coffee with a friend, my macarons were slightly crispy around the edge. When I came home (and after it rained), they were so soft I couldn’t pull them off of the baking mat.
That’s enough excuses. Macaron attempt #1 is in the garbage and #2 is certainly in the near future. If anyone out there in Internetland has comments or suggestions, do share!
Au Revoir, La Belle France… For Now
June 9th, 2011 | Rachel
The problem with epic vacations is they fly by entirely too quickly.
And so, Steve and I have reached our final destination of this two-week jaunt: Paris.
It was my idea to spend our last two nights there. I had romantic visions of a hotel overlooking the Eiffel Tower and casual morning strolls for coffee and croissants from the nearby cafes.
Imagine my disappointment then when I bid on a hotel in the Eiffel Tower area of Paris through Priceline and was given a room in a hotel room outside the highway perimeter of the city. I don’t know if that is even considered Paris. Upon further investigation, I discovered the section of the map on Priceline that I chose had a microscopic growth on the far corner that extended over the perimeter. I would have had to zoom out to see it. This deviation was big enough for just one hotel, and of course that is the one I was given.
The only upside of this Pullman hotel (which is 4 star) was they initially gave us a room with a dirty bathroom and inadequate air condition, and when I complained we were upgraded to a large suite with a separate living room and two bathrooms. Not a bad way to end a trip :-)
We both slept like rocks, and the next morning we set out for Montmartre.
View of Paris from Montmartre
A little pop culture trivia for you: Montmartre was the setting of La Vie En Rose, Amelie, and Moulin Rouge. I love all of those movies!
We stopped and had lunch at one of the cafes, and then walked up the hill to the beautiful Sacre Coeur.
Shops and cafes in Montmartre
Sacre Coeur Basilica
We spent the afternoon doing touristy things like viewing the Eiffel Tower from the Palais de Chaillot and taking the boat tour down the Seine. Our boat actually broke down while we were on the tour, so we spent more time waiting for the police and another boat to show up than we did listening to the recorded tour guide.
Thanks, Mr. Photobomb Guy
View of Notre Dame from our boat tour
That evening, per the recommendation of two photographers we met in front of the Eiffel Tower (I have them to thank for the new banner photo above), we went to the 13th District for happy hour (cute bars with a young clientele, not far from the universities).
Bar in the 13th District
That evening, we followed the recommendation of our concierge and headed to the Boulevard Saint-Germain for dinner. There were dozens of great restaurants to choose from, and we ended up at one called Au Beaujolais. There were so many interesting characters in this restaurant — including the host, server, and Canadian gentleman at the table beside us — that I felt like I was in a sitcom (sorry for the iPhone photos… my camera died earlier in the day).
The food was great too. Since it was our last dinner in France, I stuck to the traditional dishes: French onion soup, beef bourguignon (amazing!!!), and creme brulee. Steve had the lamb. Everything was delicious.
The sky opened up in the middle of dinner, so we had a leisurely cafe au lait afterward as we waited for the worst of the rain to pass.
Paris in the rain
That concludes the updates for our trip. Stay tuned for more photos as I get them sorted out. I could say the trip was great, but that would be a gross understatement. It was the trip of a lifetime, and I am convinced more than ever that I want to live there. More on that later :-)
Au revoir!
Roadtrip Update: Cote d’Azur
June 5th, 2011 | Rachel
After we had our fill of wine in Bordeaux (if that is even possible), Steve and I drove east to the Mediterranean coast. We stopped for one night in the adorable, medieval town of Avignon. We didn’t have a hotel reservation before we arrived, so I picked a hotel in my Lonely Planet book, and we made several unsuccessful attempts to navigate the narrow, one-way streets of the old city. Ultimately we parked at the parking deck in the center of town and walked to the hotel, which was full. Ah, c’est la vie.
The next day we drove to Cannes, found a hotel for two nights, and picked up the Ducati Steve reserved. Wanting to make the most of our 48 hours with the bike, we immediately set off on the Rue de Napoleon toward Castillon.
Castillon
For our second day with the Ducati, we rode south on the coastal road to St. Tropez.
Passing through St. Raphael
Red cliffs of Massif de l’Esterel
Cove on the drive from St. Tropez to Cannes
We made it back to Cannes in time for the sunset that night.
Sunset in Cannes
We were sad to return the motorcycle on the third day, but we drove to Nice afterward and spent the afternoon on the beach, so the day wasn’t a total loss.
Pebble beach in Nice
The plan was to drive to Lyon next, but we stayed in Nice too long and only made it as far as Aix-en-Provence. The next morning we drove to Paris, stopping for an early dinner in Dijon.
Dijon was full of friendly, quirky people, including several bachelors and bachelorettes dressed up in odd costumes (one bride was dressed as a surgeon super hero, two separate grooms were dressed in drag). We also stocked up on mustard.
Dijon
Popular square in Dijon
It was an eight-hour drive from Aix-en-Provence to Paris, but Dijon was the perfect pit stop. Now, its just two nights left in Paris and then time to return home :-/
