BACK IN THE STATES

Once again I would like to apologize for the few posts I have made in the last couple of months, but now, I can happily say I am back from Mexico! I had an amazing time preparing a musical concert in my beautiful hometown of Chapala, Jalisco; at times the job became hectic and I had little time to write on the blog , but I promise I will get back on track in the next week.

Like I promised in my last blog, the next city I will write about is Berne in Switzerland; for those of you who like the outdoors and cities with a historical feel to it, then Berne is your city.

After Berne I will take a break from Europe to write about Lake Chapala; since I just came back from my hometown, I am loaded with pictures and videos from this wonderful town loved by American and Canadian expatriates. Believe me, you will want to learn about Lake Chapala, a town considered to have the best weather in the world and the highest quality of life for retirees.

There are many great posts coming out in the next couple of days, but before I forget, if you live in the Los Angeles area or are passing by this city in the coming week, the LA Times will be presenting a Travel Show in the Los Angeles Convention Center this Saturday, January 28 and Sunday, January 29. There will be great speakers at this convention like Rick Stevens, Arthur Frommer, and Lisa Ling, as well as many representatives from Tourism boards from around the world. Tickets are $8.00 per person and you can make your reservations at the Los Angeles Times-Travel Show website.

Delicious French Recipes

RATATOUILLE (serves 4-6 people)

Ratatouille is a dish original from the region of Provence, France. Its ingredients make ratatouille a healthy dish great for diabetics and vegetarians, although it could also be served with seafood or meat. 

Ingredients
4 tbsp. Olive oil
2 white onions (sliced)
6 garlic cloves (minced)
3 tbsp. herbes de Provence (a mix of thyme, basil, sweet marjoram, oregano, tarragon, fennel, rosemary, and laurel) the herbes must be dried up           1 red bell pepper (chopped)
2 green bell peppers (chopped)
2 eggplants sliced into medium cubes
2 zucchini (cut into rondelles)
3 tomatoes (cut into rondelles)
1 tbsp. of tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp. of fresh basil

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil into a large pot. Add the onion until it turns almost see- through, add the garlic and the herbs and cook for about two minutes.

2. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 5 minutes stirring accasionally. 3. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 15 more minutes approximately. Season with salt and pepper and serve with basil.

CREPES

Nothing says France more than a crepe; this classic recipe from France can be made both savory or sweet, but since I have an extremely sweet tooth, let me show you the basic recipe to make crepe for sweet fillings and the very delicious recipe for Crepes Suzette.

Basic Crepes for Sweet Fillings (makes 24 crepes in an 8” pan)

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 ½  cups milk

4 large eggs

¼ cup melted butter

2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients at a medium speed. Pour the batter into a mixing bowl, cover and let rest for an hour before using. In an 8” pan heat the batter to make the crepes.

CREPE SUZETTE (makes 4)

Ingredients

1/3 cup fleshly squeezed orange juice

¼ cup butter

2 tbsp. sugar

¼ tsp. grated orange zest

12 crepes for sweet fillings

¼ cup Grand Marnier

Directions

1. In a 10” skillet heat orange juice, butte, sugar, and zest until the butter melts over low heat.

2. Fold crepes into quarters and arrange overlapping in the pan; simmer over med-low heat for 10 minutes.

3. Pour Grand Marnier into the center of the pan (do not stir); heat for one minute. Flambé by touching it with a flame from a long-handle lighter. As soon as the flame dies down the crepes can be served. Crepes Suzette taste great when accompanied with vanilla ice cream.

ICE CREAM

One of my very favorite blogs is called Scoop Adventures and as its title implies, the creator of this blog strives to discover the perfect scoop by experimenting with different flavors. There are dozens of ice cream recipes in this website, but the one that I choose for today’s post is the Lavender Honey Ice Cream recipe; French lavender fields decorate the landscape of Provence every year which is why I thought this recipe was appropriate for today's post.  

Ingredients

2 cups whole milk

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. corn starch

3 tbsp. softened cream cheese

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

1 tbsp. dried lavender

2/3 cup of honey

1/8 cup corn syrup

¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract

¼ tsp. kosher salt

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp. of the milk with the cornstarch. In another large bowl, whisk the cream cheese until smooth. Set a fine mesh sieve over the bowl and set aside.

2. In a large saucepan, combine the remaining milk with the heavy cream, lavender, honey and corn syrup. Bring the milk to a boil and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves (4 min.). Once the mix is off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture thickens (about 1 minute).

3. Gradually pour the hot milk mixture (through a sieve) into the cream cheese and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla extract and salt. Set the bowl into an iced water bath and let stand for about 25 minutes stirring occasionally.

Chill the mixture overnight. Once chilled, pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Place a piece of plastic or parchment over the ice cream and freeze until firm (at least four hours). 

I hope you find these recipes to your liking; although they might seem hard to make, the recipes are rather easy, but the more you practice the better you will be in the kitchen. I believe the next blog shall be about the beautiful Berne in Switzerland, a towns that has been declared a World Heritage site.

An Introduction to the World of French Cheese

First of all I want to wish you all a happy new year! I hope you had a great family/friend celebration just like me and that this coming year is better than the previous one. I want to apologize for the delay in the posts, but you know how it gets when you are on vacation reunited with the entire family. In any case, here goes another delicious post for cheese lovers.

French food is known to be delicious and pricey. Many French restaurants outside of France have expensive menus, exclusive wines, and gourmet cheeses. Going to a restaurant with so many choices in its menu can be a little mind-blowing, but today I will help you with your next cheese selection by giving you a brief description of some French cheeses.

Cheese: A Guide to the World of Cheese and Wine-making by Bruno Battistotti, Vittorio Bottazzi, Antonio Piccinardi, and Giancarlo Volpato, is an outstanding book that provides an excellent description of gourmet European cheese; although my copy is from 1983, this book is still a great guide for cheese-connoisseurs.

BRIE

As one of the most commercial of French cheeses, this cheese can easily be found in many big food-stores. Made from whole cow’s milk, Brie is creamy and buttery with a fruity flavor. Some versions of this cheese can be flavored with nuts and herbs. Brie is great for amateurs and it is great accompanied with walnuts, figs, and strawberries.

CHAMOIS D'OR

Similar to Brie, this fragrant cheese is made with cow’s milk enriched with cream. This combination makes the Chamois d’Or velvety and soft. Perfect with fruits and nuts.

COULUMMIERS

Coulummiers is a cheese in between Brie and Camembert in size and flavor; its taste is mild when fresh, but becomes acidulated when matured. This cow’s milk cheese is soft and delicious when accompanied with a chutney.

CAMEMBERT

Another famous French cheese. Because of its popularity this cheese is made all over the world, but the best Camembert is made in the Normandy region. A soft cheese made from uncooked cow’s milk, Camembert can be eaten with a savory jam.The Pays d’Auge makes a version of this cheese which is exquisite in flavor. Just like the Brie, this cheese is great for amateurs.

REBLOCHON

As one of the most expensive cheeses if genuine, this lightly pressed cow’s milk cheese has a subtle, fruity, and delicious flavor. Great by itself, on top of bread, or accompanied with melassa dei fichi.

CAPRICE DE DIEUX

60% of butterfat makes this cow’s milk cheese soft and creamy with a tender crust. Although its flavor its delicate, Caprice des Dieux has plenty of character. Because of its creamy texture, this cheese can be spread on bread and topped with extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

SUPREME DES DUCS

Very similar to the Caprice des Dieux because of its velvety and creamy interior. This cheese is fragrant and its flavor grows stronger as the cheese matures. Just like its counterpart, the Supreme des Ducs can be spread on almost anything and gets along with EVOO as well.

CHEVROTIN DES ARAVIS

Although not as famous as Brie and Camembert, this cheese is one of my favorites; this is a goat’s milk cheese with a mild flavor. Firm and pressed, the Chevrotin des Aravis is great when accompanied with honey, golden raspberry jam, and EVOO.

SAINTE-MAURE

Another goat’s milk cheese distinctive for its white or green mould. Like many goat cheeses, Sainte-Maure gets along perfectly with honey and sweet jams. This cheese is also great for people recently introduced to world of cheese.

PYRAMIDE CENDRÉ

Like its name implies, this cheese has a distinctive pyramid shape and an even more characteristic black coating. This goat’s milk cheese is rubbed with ashes to help lower the acidity of the cheese making it sweeter and easier to digest.

PYRAMIDE

Identical in shape to Pyramide Cendré, but without the black coating, Pyramide is another goat’s milk cheese which is soft and mild, but when matured for any length of time, this cheese grows in character and intensity.

CANTAL

If you love Cheddar then you will love Cantal. Thought to be the oldest French Cheese, this pressed and uncooked cheese has a very pleasant nutty flavor. Cantal is made with cow’s milk and has a hint of tartness and a pronounced bouquet; because of it, this cheese is recommended to cheese aficionados.

Great with a quince preserve.

ROQUEFORT

Another well-known cheese with a distinctive “blue-vein” appearance; made from ewe’s milk, Roquefort cheese is dense, salty yet buttery, but most of all, it has a distinctive ewe’s milk taste. The distinctive flavor of the Roquefort goes well with honey. Before trying this cheese, try one of the softer cheeses like the ones previously mentioned.

FOURME D'AMBERT

Its grayish-blue mold makes this cheese similar in appearance to Roquefort. Made with cow’s milk, the consistency of Fourme d’Ambert is firm, yet soft and subtle; it aromatic taste leaves a faint hint of bitterness which makes this cheese great with honey and fig jam.

BLEU D'AUVERGNE

Although Bleu d’ Auvergne has a greenish-blue veining of mould, this cheese is completely different to Roquefort in flavor and aroma; this cow’s milk cheese is firm, yet moist, fat, and creamy. Its flavor is strong and pronounced making honey and exotic fruit jams great complements for this cheese.

Because of their appearance and strong aroma, the last three cheeses are best after becoming acquainted with milder cheeses. The list I have given you is small compared with the vast quantity of French and international cheeses out there, but based on my familiarity and my personal experiences with this list, I can recommend the cheeses I have given you above. If you want to learn more about cheese pairings, thenibble.com is a great place to start. 

In the next post I will give you a couple of French Recipes which will make this gourmet cuisine available to you for a reasonable price.

Paris Famous Spots

So here I am, riding a bus with internet from Mexico City to Guadalajara and since I will be sitting down for the next 6 hours I thought writing in my blog was an excellent idea to pass time.   

Unless you were born in the European Union, Paris’ museums and attractions can be quite expensive so like I mentioned before, make sure to pick your must-sees before you leave for Paris.

Notre-Dame

According to the Cathedral’s website, “tradition has it that Notre-Dame’s first stone was laid in 1163 in the presence of Pope Alexander III.” Of course, throughout the years, many additions and restorations have been made to this gothic building but its essence is still the same as hundreds of years ago, which is why entering Notre-Dame is a must. Since Notre-Dame is a place of worship, there are no fees charged to enter the building (this is not the case with all cathedrals and churches though); with beautiful stained-glass windows, sculptures, and giant organs this place is art in itself.

Sacre-Coeur

This building is unlike any other in Paris, and yet this is perhaps one of the least known tourist spots; before going to Paris I had never heard of this place, but thankfully, a friend recommended this place and it was worth it. Although Romano-Byzantine in design the architecture of Sacre-Coeur seems Taj-Mahal like which makes hard to imagine this is a basilica. The contrast between the white basilica and the green hill where it stands makes the beauty of this building more dazzling--and a favorite resting spot for both locals and tourists.

Moulin Rouge

Close to Sacre-Coeur is in the world-known night-club theater of Moulin Rouge; unlike Sacre-Coeur, the Moulin Rouge is expensive with tickets starting at €114.00 to €216.00 depending on the menu. If you have the euros to spare then this show might be something you are interested in, but if you are like me, all about saving, then just take some pictures in it famous façade.

Jardin du Luxembourg Park

A beautiful park close to Notre-Dame, Luxembourg is ideal for a picnic or for an under-the-sky nap. During the afternoons the park is full of children playing with toy boats in the central fountain and with students reading and talking in the gardens. From time to time you can catch a free concert and amazing exhibitions.

The Louvre

Perhaps this is the most famous art museum in the world and this is no surprise considering it is the residence of some of the most famous art pieces by artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Jacques-Louis David, Raphael…

The Louvre is no small museum; seeing the entire collection might take as long as two days and getting close to the art might be an impossible feat with so many tourists walking through its corridors, so make sure to start your visit as soon as the doors open. The entrance is €12.00 but the first Sunday of every month entrance is free.

Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower

The question is not which one to see, but which one to go into; at around €8.00 the arc de Triomphe provides an excellent view of Paris’ beautiful streets and a perfect sight of Champs Elysees, Place de la Concorde, and The Louvre Museum. On the other hand, the Eiffel Tower charges €13.40 (lift to the top) for near aerial views of the entire city; take into account the tower is not apt for people with acrophopbia and the wait is rather long, but if you do not mind this then go ahead. In my case, I found the view from the arc much more worth it than the Eiffel Tower, but this all depends on your personal preference; if you have the money definitely go into both.

Versailles 

One of the most know palaces, Versailles is only a train ride outside of Paris. This is a place where you will need to spend your entire day since the Palace is divided in many parts and it gardens are simply breathtaking. The mirror room is one of its most famous rooms and the estate of Marie-Antoinette is a favorite amongst tourists. Entrance is around €18.00 for a one-day pass.

There are many other places that are just as beautiful as the ones previously mentioned and equally famous; the Catacombs, the Paris Opera, Champs de Mars, Centre Pompidou, and countless parks, museums, and churches make Paris one of the most magical cities in the world which makes Paris a destination like no other.

               

I Love Paris

We had a VERY WINDY week here in Southern California; power outages, bad wireless  connectivity, fallen trees, and destroyed roofs, sunny California looked more like a Hurricane state which is why I delayed my blog a couple of days, 1000 apologies.

In any case, I will continue where I last left of, Europe, and the entries for the next couple of weeks will be about Paris!

“I love Paris in the spring time, I love Paris in the fall, I love Paris in the winter when it drizzles, I love Paris in the summer when it sizzles,” those are the lyrics of one of my favorite songs by the one and only, Frank Sinatra, and how right those words are; everyday of the year, Paris has a charm that no other city in the world has. In the December 2011 issue of National Geographic, I found a small, yet interesting article about the most influential cities in the world; Paris ranked number four with its many cultural attractions and global organizations, high business activity, low level of censorship, and foreign-diversity. Paris is the city of fashion, romance, good food, art, and live entertainment and it is perhaps for these reasons that this beautiful city can be quite pricey. However, if you stay away from the expensive stores at Champs Elysees and opt for walking instead of riding the metro, then Paris can be easy on the pocket.

The city of Paris has one of the best public transportation systems in the world, but also one of the most expensive; last time I was there a week metro- pass was over € 50.00 which is why I recommend walking. To be able to walk around you need to book a hotel of hostel in the heart of Paris; although hostels are more expensive in the center of the city, you will definitely save more money than by staying in a cheap lodge in the middle of nowhere. Now, if walking it’s definitely not in your plans, then check out the Paris Metro and the Paris Pass site, where you can find attraction + metro packages that will save you some bucks.

Now, since there are so many tourists destinations in Paris, make sure to do some research about the places you want to see; The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Jardin du Luxemburg, Musée du Louvre, Place de la Concorde, Place de la Bastille, Panthéon, Les Invalides, Centre Pompidou, Notre-Dame, The Latin Quarter, Montmartre, Moulin Rouge, the list is infinite so try to have a set-up mind before arriving in Paris, because believe me, a couple of weeks won’t be enough to see it all.

Now, here is how I kind of managed my time while in Paris. Since me and my friend were staying at a friend’s house we would make a sandwich every morning in her kitchen before heading out to our respective destinations. My day #1 journey started at St. Michel Notre-Dame. After exploring the cathedral, I would head to the Jardin de Tuileries via the River Seine, check out the Place de la Concorde, walk the Avenue des Champs Elysees until  arriving to the Arc de Triomphe where I would sit to eat half of my delicious sandwich before starting for the Eiffel Tower through the beautiful, and very Parisian, Avenue Kleber. By the time I arrived at the Eiffel Tower 5 hours had passed since the start of my journey so I took a little nap in the Parc du Champ de Mars. After waking up I would head out to Les Invalides, and from there my final destination was Jardin du Luxemburg where a free concert, and the other half of my sandwich, would usually be waiting for me. Thank God I love walking and exercising otherwise there is no way I would have been able to walk over 9 hours in a day! By doing all this walk I discovered many things I wasn’t even planning on visiting like Jardin du Luxemburg and Les Invalides; also, the neighborhoods around the Eiffel Tower are beautiful and completely empty of tourists which was a nice break from the crowds and the excessive noise.

Walks like this one make you discover a city in a whole new way, all you need is a map, lots of water, snacks, and a good physical condition, believe me, you will end up knowing more about the city than the majority of tourists. During this first walk I did not go inside any buildings or attractions (with the exception of Notre-Dame). The walk was just to have an idea of the places where I wanted to spend a little more time at, which will be the topic of my next blog.

P.D. Next time I will be writing from Mexico, not known for its good wireless connectivity, so posting might take a little longer than usual, but do not fret, rain or shine the blog will come so please be patient, I will try my best.