Archive for the ‘travel’ Category

JUVENILE’S WINE BAR IN PARIS…A MUST STOP

Posted: October 2, 2012 in Drinks, Food, Juvenile's, Paris, Saveur, Tim Johnston, travel, Uncategorized, wine, wine bar
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Paris has a special place in the hearts of my wife, myself, and even my 5-year-old daughter. It’s where my wife and I got engaged back in 2002. It’s where we celebrated my wife’s 40th birthday with family and friends in 2005. And it’s where my daughter has ridden on seven—count ‘em—seven—carousels…a record I’m sure she’ll want to break on her next trip.

One of the reasons why Paris is so special to us is a small, unpretentious wine bar called Juvenile’s, at 47 Rue de Richelieu. The owner is Tim Johnston, a sharp-tongued wise-cracking Scotsman who happens to know a helluva lot about wine and spirits, and is in fact a consulting editor to Saveur magazine. Tim takes no BS from his clients, and that adds to the entertainment value of every visit.

Hangin’ with Tim.

My wife met Tim back in 2001, just a few months before she had met me, when she and her Mom took a trip to France. The friendship with Tim was forged, and it has been going strong ever since. Tim, in typical fashion, tolerates me because he enjoys the company of my lovely wife…and I can’t say that I blame him!

The food at Juvenile’s is rustic…nothing fancy here. But it is all very good and satisfying. We’ve found what we consider the best foie gras in Paris here. The potatoes with raclette and bacon are fantastic. Sausage dishes, duck dishes…all the favorites, all wonderfully prepared in a very, very small kitchen in this wine bar that holds, perhaps, 30 people.

Paolo, Tim’s right-hand man, working the tiny kitchen at Juvenile’s.

Juvenile’s is one of Paris’ original wine bars, serving wine by the glass way before everyone else thought it was cool to do so. And even the locals will come in on a regular basis to ask Tim what the latest great wines are. The man has earned the respect of those who know.

We make Juvenile’s a mandatory stop with every visit to Paris we make, lingering sometimes for an entire day…eating, chatting, and sampling wine and even fine cognacs that Tim is willing to share with us. Often, we come back for a second and even third visit during the same trip. It’s a great place to unwind and get away from the hectic pace of the day, whether you’re a tourist or a local.

Yes, that says 1962!

The next time you’re in Paris, stop by Juvenile’s and tell Tim I sent you. He will promptly throw you out!

Tim and me. Great t-shirt!

ARGAN OIL: LIQUID MOROCCAN GOLD

Posted: September 26, 2012 in argan oil, morocco, travel, Uncategorized
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Although Moroccan women have been painstakingly making Argan oil by hand for centuries, it is known by relatively few people outside of Morocco. Argan oil comes from nuts that grow on the Argan tree, and the only place in the world you’ll find Argan trees is in the southwestern part of Morocco, in an area that is only about 1.5 million acres in size.
That may seem like a lot of space, but it really isn’t, and despite the hardiness of the Argan trees and their ability to not only survive but thrive in the harsh climate of Morocco, their numbers disappeared by a third in the last century alone.
I remember my first glimpse of an Argan tree about five years ago when my wife and I visited Morocco. We were driving north from Marrakech to the coastal town of Essaouira and we had to do a double-take when we saw a tree by the side of the road that had about a dozen goats in it, literally standing on the branches of the tree and munching on the fruit. We later learned that although the goats eat the green Argan fruit (they look like olives, only larger and rounder), they leave the interior shell behind, and inside this shell are small kernels from which the Argan oil is extracted.

Nothing is wasted in the process of making Argan oil. Traditionally, the hard shells have to be cracked by hand, the kernels within removed. Then kernels are then crushed and mildy roasted and cooled before being ground by hand using a quern, or grinding stone. Later, the kernels are hand-mixed with water to form a dough, and it is from that dough that the oil is extracted (again, by hand.) Any by-product from this process is used to feed cattle…and the shells are crushed and burned as fuel.
Recently mechanical presses have been introduced to extract Argan oil. This process reduces considerably the time needed to do the job. Once the kernels are roasted, the mechanical press takes care of the grinding and extraction. More oil is extracted by machine than by hand, and since no water is added to press the dough, the oil can be stored longer without spoiling.
The most time consuming part of the process, cracking the nuts, is often still done by hand.
Argan oil is sensitive to heat and can spoil quickly, so once it is made, it is bottled, and once the bottle is opened, the oil is kept under refrigeration. You sprinkle it over salads, pasta, raw tuna, and other dishes at the last minute, just before serving.
It was only a matter of time before American chefs that visited Morocco would discover the wonderful nutty flavor of Argan oil and would bring it back home to use in their restaurants…and now, it’s all the rage.
In our visit to Morocco five years ago, we made a special trip to the Targanine Cooperative, where they gather local women to work together to produce the highest quality organic Argan oil.
The project has two objectives: to preserve what they can of the Argan forest by using sustainable harvesting methods…and to improve the social and economic status of the rural Moroccan women that make the oil.
As you can see in these photos, the women spend their days taking turns with different parts of the extraction process, sitting in a circle, and socializing while performing this tedious job. It’s no wonder that Argan oil is expensive…about $30 for 5 ounces here in the United States at gourmet websites. But, much like a fine olive oil or balsamic vinegar, a little goes a long way to flavor your food. And now Argan oil is becoming a popular ingredient in the world of cosmetics as well.
When you see the women of Morocco making Argan oil from beginning to end, and you realize just how much work it was to do it, the price is very reasonable. And it’s just another example of how often we take for granted what we can so easily buy on a store shelf or with a click of a mouse.

OUR QUEST FOR FLEUR DE SEL: GUERANDE AND BEYOND

Posted: September 13, 2012 in fleur de sel, Food, guerande, ile de re, salt, travel, Uncategorized
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It’s all about the salt.

I fell in love with Fleur de Sel, the rare hand-raked salt, several years ago. I’ve got high blood pressure, and unfortunately, I need to limit my intake of salt. So my discovery of “finishing salts” allows me to cook completely without salt until the very end, where I can then sprinkle just a few crystals of this moist, hand-harvested miracle on my plate, enjoying every tiny burst of salty ocean flavor without a lot of guilt.

Inspired by an episode of “No Reservations” where Anthony Bourdain journeyed to Brittany, my wife and I dreamed of traveling to what is arguably the epicenter of Fleur de Sel production, the small town of Guerande, France. Located on the Atlantic coast in the Pays de La Loire region just south of Brittany, it’s about a 5-hour drive from Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris.

A salt flat in Guerande

 

Some of the comments we read about the medieval town of Guerande said it was too touristy, but we found that it had a lot of charm: the perfect combination of old and new, with many interesting shops and eateries inside the ancient walls of this small town. Built in the 15th century and fortified in the 19th century, the surrounding wall around Guerande is one of the best preserved in all of France.

The salt marshes outside the city walls have been around a long time…the last of them built around 1800. Salt production here declined soon after, because salt was available more cheaply from salt mines. But you gotta love foodies…the influence of chefs and food lovers around the world have brought back the demand for this very special product. Salt workers now harvest about 15,000 tons of cooking salt a year, and about 300 tons of the very precious Fleur de Sel.

Worth its weight in gold!

The process is simple: the ocean tides bring the salt water in and channel it into shallow pools where the water then evaporates, leaving behind the beautiful sea salt Guerande is known for. When just a few inches of water remain, a salty crystalized film floats on the surface of the water. This is very gently hand-raked and produces the much sought after Fleur de Sel. Traditionally only women were allowed to rake this salt because it was believed they had a gentler touch.

Driving through the salt field was a wonderful experience. The roads are narrow, and wind almost endlessly through these flat marshes where salt workers spend their days raking, gathering and then bagging their precious harvest. You can stop anywhere along the way to buy your salt directly from these salt workers, which we did. It was easy to get carried away…we brought home over 20 lbs of salt! Of course, we shared it with friends. Otherwise, not only would my blood pressure have gone through the roof, but I’d probably be dealing with kidney stones as well!

Harvesting and selling salt in Guerande is a family affair.

One taste of Fleur de Sel, letting it gently melt on your tongue, and you’ll know what the big fuss is all about.

Our Fleur de Sel journey did not end in Guerande, however. After a couple of nights in that region, we headed south to the island of Ile de Re, just off the coast of La Rochelle, France. Connected by a 3km bridge, Ile de Re is a beautiful world unto itself, with an intricate network of bicycle paths that allow you to travel safely from one end of this flat island to the other, enjoying beautiful views as you ride through vineyards, salt marshes, beaches and small port towns.

As in Guerande, not only can you sample the local salt, but also the abundant supply of incredibly fresh seafood, especially their famous oysters. The salt flats seem somewhat newer in Ile de Re, but still very much a large part of the local economy. The salt itself differs in only the most subtle of ways from its Guerande counterpart and I would find it difficult to say which I liked better.

Ile de Re is long and flat, so many of the salt pools are larger than those in Guerande.

It may seem a bit silly to travel all this way for something is simple as salt. But it’s a journey I’m very happy I made…and will gladly make again in the near future.

A MOMENT OF BRILLIANCE IN PARIS

Posted: September 10, 2012 in chicken, Food, Paris, potatoes, spuds, travel
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I love French cooking. Whatever they create, no matter how simple, is almost always better than its American counterpart. Part of that comes from the demand for the best quality ingredients. Nothing comes out of a box or a packet…everything’s made from scratch.

So it was no surprise that when I was in Paris on vacation recently, and I was walking through a Sunday farmers market in the Marais district, that something as simple as chicken and potatoes knocked my socks off.

You can find rotiserrie chicken anywhere in the USA, and it’s common in France as well. But what made this so special was the potatoes. They took small fingerling potatoes, peeled them, and then placed them on the bottom of the rotiserrie oven, where all the juices, herbs, flavors, and yes–fat, slowly dripped down from the rotating chickens above, basting and flavoring these spuds like nothing I’ve ever had before.

It was an incredible moment, popping one of those golden morsels in my mouth, and savoring the wonderful flavor of something as simple…as a spud.

Read more: http://www.94hjy.com/pages/alz_food_blog.html#ixzz264Ffyp3j

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