Jour du Macaron 2011

Sunday, March 20th was the French "Jour du Macaron". The French macaron is a very special dessert, not to be confused with the American coconut confection.
What makes these treats so special? They are extremely difficult to make. The ingredients must be of varying degrees of freshness, one extra beat of an egg white can result in a collapsing top, and the temperature of the oven and duration of cooking varies every time. Therefore, when Parisians find out there is an opportunity to sample these treats for free, and from some of the most famous patisseries in Paris, you can imagine the crowds.













After taking the train into the city with friend on a gorgeous sunny day, and stopping at Pierre Herme, one of the most famous sweet shops in the city, we came upon this waiting line, and decided to take advantage of the weather by strolling through St. Germain-des-Pres instead! We purchased a few macarons at a much less expensive shop nearby to fill us with energy for our walk. The neighborhood near Odeon was filled with people out taking advantage of the sun and blue skies!

The March weather was too good to be true, so we strolled to the plaza of the gorgeous St. Sulpice church (known by many tourists as the "church where the nun is killed in The Da Vinci Code"). Then over to St. Germain church, where a jazz quartet was setting the mood for spring.

Our friend, Priscila and her mom (visiting from Brazil!) were in the area too, so we all stopped at the very famous cafe, Les Deux Magots, for a coffee.

Cafe au lait (coffee with milk)

Priscila's delicious "cafe gourmand" which is an espresso served with some sweet treats.

The not-too-shabby view of St. Germain church, on the same plaza as the cafe

As we sat outside, enjoying our coffee, a group of hundreds of people came flying down Boulevard St. Germain on rollerblades, for one of the popular rollerblading days where the streets are closed off to this massive crowd.
We may have missed out on our free macarons, but we still enjoyed a lovely day in Paris!


*American macaroon image taken from
http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CookieHistory.htm

Cheese of the Week: Livarot

Last week, when we had a French friend over for dinner, he brought us a special treat: cheese! As a faithful reader of our blog, he knew about our slight obsession with cheese, and that Livarot was one we hadn't sampled yet. The photo above depicts the somewhat mangled remains of our very first Livarot.

Livarot is an exact cross between the Maroilles and the Langres. It’s very pungent both in scent and flavor, but is a little less strong than the Langres. Rather than having a bitter, nutty aftertaste, it is slightly sweeter while retaining an aroma that matches the Langres in strength. The Livarot is much more manageable to eat, but be sure to put it away immediately after slicing your portion: the scent will quickly take over the kitchen and may last awhile. Keep it in a ziplock bag!

Livarot is made in the Normandy region in Northwest France, and it comes from cow's milk. It is sold in small, round cylinders and its orange-red rind is wrapped in rings of reeds, which help prevent the cheese from collapsing during maturation . These reeds resemble the stripes on a colonel's uniform, giving the cheese the nickname "The Colonel". It is recommended that Livarot is allowed to sit out for 10 minutes before serving, and it goes well with a plate of fruit, like sliced apples and pears or grapes.

photo from www.ookaboo.com

Marche des Enfants Rouges and Bercy Village

 A month or two ago, I took a long (and rather unsuccessful) walk through Paris in search of the much-talked about covered food market, the Marche des Enfants Rouges (the Market of the Red Children, named for the red-cloaked children who used to live in an orphanage on this site). I had arrived on a day when it was mostly shut down, but finally, Peter and I had time for a second attempt, and we were NOT disappointed.

This is a market as well as a lunchtime haven. Not only can you buy your fresh vegetables and meats, you can shop for foreign specialties like Italian cheeses, and snack on freshly made cultural delicacies from all over Europe and Northern Africa. Then, for the hungry, the marketplace is circled by picnic tables where shoppers can order off of simple menus to try the dishes that look so scrumptious in the market.

We started our trip off right, at the Italian food stall, snagging seats at a table enclosed by clear glass and heated from above, since the day was chilly. Minestrone soup and fuscili pasta with truffles warmed us up very quickly!

After filling our bellies, we had time to explore the market.

Satisfied and ready for our next adventure, we hopped on the metro (at this cool stop, Arts et Metiers which is near the Marais) and headed for Bercy Village.

During the reign of Louis XIV, the first wine warehouse in Bercy was opened. From that point on, Bercy was known for its ample store of wine and spirits. In the 19th century, as the wine trade flourished, Bercy became the center of wine and spirits. Today, Bercy Village is a cobblestone pedestrian area filled with shops and cafes. It's a nice place to walk around, and stop for lunch on a nice day, and we hope to go back when the sun comes out and when we're a little more hungry...

Bercy also has a beautiful park, which reminded us a little of the marshes back home in the USA. It was nice to have such a contrast between city and nature, and this park was definitely worth a visit.




After our long afternoon of eating, touring, and walking, we headed home, but not before a stop at Jean-Paul Hevin, an irresistible patisserie near the Eiffel Tower. Tomorrow is National Macaron Day, and since Peter will be working tomorrow, we decided to sample the goods a day early.
We put together a little collection of: coffee, chocolate & praline, mango & coriander, orange & ginger, fig, and creme brulee. For an early celebration of Macaron Day, we were given a 7th one free (classic chocolate), and it was possibly the best macaron we've tasted in the city!
*The creme brulee flavor was the first one we sampled... and after the first bite, it oozed out a thin stream of liquid burned sugar, just like the real dessert. Now we are pretty impressed.*

Cheese of the Week: Brie de Meaux

On last weekend's day trip to Provins, we found ourselves in the heart of Brie country! Along the way to our medieval town we saw a few signs for homemade Brie cheese dairies. That was our first clue that this was Brie region. At lunch in Provins, the house specialty salad was a delicious combination of lettuce, croutons and "lardons" (French bacon) and two thin, creamy strips of Brie cheese laid right across the top. It may not sound like much, but I can say honestly that while most of us have eaten Brie cheese, the fresh, locally made version was really outstanding.

Brie de Meaux is a mild, yellow cheese. It is soft and creamy and easily spreadable. The aftertaste is slightly tangy and the rind has a distinct moldy, mushroomy flavor.

http://www.theaffineur.com/mature/pages/Briedemeaux.htm

Brie de Meaux originated in the Middle Ages in the Ile-de-France region, which is actually where we live! Using 6 1/2 gallons of unpasturized whole or part-skimmed milk to make one large wheel, it is then sold in smaller wedges. Brie cheese should always be served room temperature and is delicious with a glass of Champagne (which is the next region over from Ile-de-France!)


Brie de Meaux has been in production in France since the 8th centuries. French legend holds that a taste of Brie cheese was King Louis XVI's last request before his execution in 1793.

Cheese Etiquette

When cutting a slice of cheese from a wedge, always start at the rind and cut down the entire length of the wedge, ending at the tip. Never slice off the tip or cut horizontally across the cheese! Also, eat the rind. Only on very hard cheeses is it truly acceptable to leave the rind behind on your plate. A French friend recently told us that her father eats the rind on all cheeses, no matter how firm!

http://www.dadamo.com/typebase4/depictor5.pl?75

Friday in Provins, France

To kick off a beautiful, brisk March weekend in France, we decided to take a little road trip to the famous Medieval village of Provins. Our trusty new friend, Francois, who is our new Renault manual-shift, 6-gear buddy, took us on the gorgeous hour and a half drive through the French countryside. This is what we saw as we approached our destination.

We parked Francois safely in a lot near this church, which turned out to be Saint Ayoul church, which was originally built in the 11th century. It's famous for housing relics of St. Ayoul, and was built specifically to protect those relics. This church is currently closed (which, you will soon find out, was the theme of this trip) for restoration, but the outside of the church was beautiful.

We strolled through the Ville Basse, or the Lower Town, passing quaint shops and cafes, and climbed the slight hill towards the Ville Haute, the Upper Town.

This little stairway took us to the famous church Saint Quiriace.

St. Quiriace

This beautiful 12th century church was renovated in the 17th century, when a gorgeous dome was added to the the top. Outside the main doors there is a plaque, commemorating
Joan of Arc's visit to this church.

Just across the cobblestone square from St. Quiriace is Cesar's Tower, a keep built between 1152 and 1181 which was used as a lookout tower to protect the city, and as a prison. The unusual architecture makes it a point of interest for tourists. It is the only known keep in France built with a hexagonal tower on top of a square base. While it was originally built in the 12th century, additions and modifications were made in the 16th and 18th centuries. But it's pretty old.


As we toured the city, Caroline was sure to keep us updated on the historical background of each monument. Unfortunately, we didn't read the opening hours very closely: all of the museums and historical sites are closed on Friday until the real tourist rush starts in the summer! (Who would've thought, in a country where most things are closed on Sundays, and often on Mondays or Tuesdays...?) So unfortunately we didn't get to visit as many sites as we had planned, but the weather was too beautiful to be indoors anyway.

We did, however, have time for lunch in the Ville Haute, at a cute cafe overlooking the central square.

After filling up on Brie de Meaux salad, (Brie being made in this region), we walked to the edge of the city to see the Porte St. Jean, which is a fortified gate originally built in the 14th century. It was built to protect the citizens of Provins, as this town housed the route from the countryside to Paris.
Porte St. Jean (from both sides)

Provins may be most famous for it's 13th century fortified walls. The rampart walls are over 25 meters tall and were built between 1226-1236.

The view from the top of this rampart wall shows the site of some of the activities that take place during the summer's Medieval Fairs, and also provides a great view of the dome of Saint Quiriace and Cesar's Tower.



A short walk back down the hill brought us back to the Ville Basse. We wandered around the town, admiring the half-timbered houses and beautiful town hall building. After a sample of a delicious chocolate eclair, we were back on the road.



Along the road back to Jouy-en-Josas, we drove by Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, and it was too impressive not to stop to gaze at. Unfortunately, it is closed until mid-March, but we plan to go back as soon as we can!
Provins is a medieval city filled with history and is definitely worth a visit. We'll be sure to go back on a day when we can really visit all of the sites that the city has to offer. More than anything, our day trip gave us a view of the incredible countryside that makes France such an enchanting country.