EuroFoodie

No, not like food past its expiration date! I mean, French food throughout history. Haven’t you ever wondered what French cooking was like back before all the finery, and before the country was globally considered to be the cuisine capital of the world? Well, I have.

In the Middle Ages, and medieval era of France, food was eaten by hand. That’s right, even in France, where table manners are practically part of the law now. Back then, pie crusts were basically just containers for the pie, not actually food to be consumed. Honey, and sugar were major tools in preserving fruits and vegetables, while some meats were preserved by smoking, salting, or by packing them in jars with brine. They served the meals with all courses on the table at one time; so even though there were multiple courses for a banquet, it would all be out there at once, for the lords and ladies to sink their fingers right in. Gross!

Despite the lack of table manners, even back in the middle ages, the French were still crazy about presentation. Sometimes French chefs built elaborate pastry castles, such as the tourte parmerienne, which even had little chicken drumstick towers, coated in gold leaf. One of the biggest dinner displays would be a swan, or a peacock roasted and then sewn back into its feathers and skin, then gilded in gold or silver leaf. However, because swan and peacock are not exactly good eating –tough and stringy meat, — instead, many chefs just pack the skin with chicken and turkey instead.

Auvergne

The favourite mean in Auvergne is the “potée auvergnate”, which is found to be served in several local bistros, and small restaurants. It’s a local dish, so in this region, it will be served all over. So what’s in it? There’s cabbage, potatoes, bacon, pork loin, and sausages; all cooked together in its own little pot. It sounds like an easy dish, but trust me, every chef likes to mix it up a little, and add new twists to this favourite local recipe. Auvergne is also famous for its cheese; the region boasts five of its own AOC cheeses! If you’re a French cheese novice, AOC means appellation d’origine contrôlée, or in English, controlled term of origin.

Bordeaux

The regional dish in Bordeaux is foie gras with pasta, mushrooms, and crème fraîche, –which is delicious, if the preparation of foie gras doesn’t give you the willies. The twelve best restaurants  in Bordeaux, according to FRANCE magazine, are La Tupina, Restaurant Gravelier, Le Chapon Fin, L’Estaquade, Le Port De La Lune, La Cape, Le Pavillon des Boulevards, Restaurant Jean Ramet, Claret’s, L’Olivier du Clavel, Le Père Ouvrard, Au Bonheur Du Palais.

Champagne-Ardenne

That’s right; this is the champagne region of France, where it’s all about sweet taste, bubbles, and delicious white and rose champagne. But there’s a lot more to Champagne than just champagne. Touring this region means touring all the beautiful vineyards, going on a wine and champagne tasting tour, and perhaps even a picnic near the beautiful vineyards.

Franche-Comté

Dining experts claim that the best restaurant in France is located in the Jura, in Franche-Comté, which is fairly sur4prising considering this area of the region is a rugged part of the country, where hiking boots, and a good jacket is the favorable ensemble for a night out. Hôtel Jean-Paul Jeunet in Arbois, in the Jura region, was awarded the Best Establishment of the Year 2006 award for its excellent food, presentation and beautiful atmosphere.

Paris is one of the most beautiful cities in all of France; keyword being “one” of them, because there are several. And naturally, there are also several excellent restaurants found in Paris, but also in many other major cities in France. Take a look below to see what cities have which great restaurants, and maybe learn a little something for your next French vacation.

Alsace - This city’s French cuisine category may fall somewhere in between the “classic” and “international/evolutionary” categories of French cooking because it’s traditional, but influenced largely by German dishes. Try the Maison des Tetes, in Colmar for traditional French cuisine, or for Germanic influenced French cuisine, try Burestubel in Pfulgriesheim outside of Strasbourg.

Burgundy - Luncheon in Burgundy is an especial favorite for tourists of all distinctive classes, whether in a picnic, cafe, or outdoor seating setting. La Maison Vigneronne is recommended for their prices, traditional breakfast and serving styles, where it is located in Burgundy; many reviewers have attested that breakfast or brunch is a favorite meal to have here.

Côte d’Azur - In Côte d’Azur many of the most popular restaurants are located in Nice, while the others, though perhaps as equally refined, are less specialized, which probably means less expensive as well. The common that the food in this area is mostly influenced by Italian cooking techniques.

Savoie - Considered by many to be part of the Alps, most food experts agree that Savoy, or Savoie, is mostly well-known for its locally made cheeses. One of them is more textured, Reblochon, while the other, Beaufort, is a bit more refined. Beaufort is smoother, and made mainly from un-pasteurised, or “raw” cow milk, and is a bit more expensive and fruity flavoured than Reblochon.

Nutrition Basics:

1. The first thing you need to know about eating mouth watering French cuisine, is that it’s fattening! The three most important ingredients in most French dishes, are butter, butter, and butter. So if you plan to be dining out a lot during your French travels, keep track of your nutrition facts.

2. Don’t be afraid to ask for margarine to be used in the cooking of your entree, instead of butter; or even ask for it to be left out. Many restaurants offer alternative dishes for those of their patrons on diets.

3. Instead of the heavier entrees, see if the restaurant serves “nouvelle” cuisine; this is still traditional French cooking but with less fatty ingredients. Many great French chefs are “evolutionary” meaning they love to experiment with more nutritional methods of preparing French cuisine.

4. Instead of creamy, rich sauces, such as Hollandaise, Mornay, Béchamel or Béarnaise sauce, try wine based sauces, like Bordelaise.

5. French desserts will have your diet ruined in no time; that doesn’t mean you always have to substitute chocolate mousse with fat free pudding. Splurge at some point, after all, you’re on vacation. A healthy alternative to desserts like caramel creme is peaches in wine.

6. French cuisine is constantly changing and evolving; chefs love to experiment with different foods and cultures. That means you should too; not necessarily with calf’s brain, but definitely with dishes you’ve never had before. If you want a real French dining experience, and believe you can really work it off, let them leave the butter in the cooking!

While we’re on the subject of dining and travel within France, let’s take a quick stop at BedAndBreakfastParis.Biz, where they have been making the process of booking Hotel Paris and bed and breakfast Paris much easier. You start like on any other hotel booking site, by entering the dates and times of when you would like to reserve a room, what size and how many beds you’d prefer, and then just hitting enter! Instead of just showing you places all over France, BedAndBreakfastParis.Biz makes the process of booking a bed and breakfast room, or hotel room much easier, by only providing results that are actually in the city!

Another convenient feature, is included when booking your bed and breakfast Paris with BedAndBreakfastParis.Biz as well. There are no booking fees when you use BedAndBreakfastParis.Biz to reserve your hotel or bed and breakfast!

The site also explains the benefits of choosing a bed and breakfast for your stay in Paris, France as well. You’ll be able to avoid the huge crowds of tourists, such as that you’ll find at major hotel chains, as well as meet and interact personally with real Parisian citizens. They can recommend the best restaurants, since they actually live there, as well as the best times to visit all the major attractions, so you can avoid the crowd. Plus, you’ll be able to have great, traditional French cooking in the morning before you head off to experience your own Paris adventure.

French cuisine falls basically into four major categories of food types. The list isn’t better, to worst, however, the categories are just different types of cooking. There are hundreds of different dishes and variations inside each category, so if you plan to dine in France, don’t limit yourself to just one. Sample everything you can; where else but France, will you find real French food?

Gastronomique

This class of cooking is basically the higher end of French cuisine, and the dishes are most often named so that those of us who don’t speak French, will trip and stumble as we try to order. One example of “cuisine gastronomique” is “foie gras poil avec une rduction de vin paill” which is actually foie gras (duck liver, which is prepared in a special way that will probably put off your appetite), that’s been fried in a wine imported from around Juras.

International (Evolutionary)

This is French cuisine that is more influenced by other food cultures, hence the name “international”, particularly Asian and Middle Eastern cooking. Sometimes these dishes will reflect apparent French food culture, while other dishes may seem to be completely unrelated to traditional French cooking. However, there is no true chef alive who is afraid to experiment with different taste, hence the name “evolutionary”.

Bistro

Bistro is yet another type of French cuisine that’s pretty self explanatory; in a true French bistro, you’ll find such delicacies as calf brains served with capers, imaginative creations made on the kitchen’s grill, salads with hot ingredients, creamy or fragrant soups or vinaigrettes. The calf brains, maybe not so much, but many consider it a delicacy.

Classic

Traditional French cuisine; plenty of cream, butter, meat, and various other portions of particularly high calorie dishes. Duck is a particular favorite because of its rich, lean flavor, and not just foie gras, or canard l’orange, but several dishes in which duck is the flavored and favored fowl.

Here in Gozo, many people keep sheep and make the traditional cheese called gbejna (pronounced roughly juh-bayn-a, plural gbejniet). The villages on this small Maltese island in the middle of the Mediterranean are tight-knit. So are the houses, which are built side by side with high walls hiding most of the small gardens and courtyards. There are still a number of larger herds of sheep and goats that are led around the wild, grassy valleys by shepherds. Some keep just a few sheep for milk, and we frequently hear the bleating of sheep in the village itself.

The picture above is a fresh gbejna, which at its best is a barely-set, creamy, mellow, mild sheep’s cheese. This is a treat when eaten with crusty bread, olive oil, capers, and chopped onions and tomatoes, and the fresh cheese is also used in traditional Gozitan ravioli and cheese pastries.

When milk is plentiful, the cheeses are commonly air dried, either plain or coated with cracked black pepper. These delicious dry, aged unpasteurized cheeses can be purchased in any grocery store and from the mobile fruit and vegetable truck “hawkers.”

Photo: Gbejna friska ta’ l-ilma by jamiedecesare via Flickr.

At the Simply Brilliant Solutions office, we’re all pretty opinionated about food (here we are above, left to right, Federico, Paul, Pierre, Martin, and me, Catherine).

Federico, who is a genius programmer by day, is also an avid cook. He is Maltese-Italian and was born and raised in Rome; his mother, I have heard, cooks outstanding Italian and Maltese cuisine. We were talking the other day about Christmas plans and Federico said that he intends to make tiramisu to share with his girlfriend for their Christmas dinner. Federico told me that he got his favorite recipe from a woman in Germany, of all places, but that it makes a tiramisu that is very much like his mother’s. Since I had never tried to make the dessert before, I asked Federico for his recipe.

Tiramisu is ubiquitous here in Malta (where Italian food is very popular) but in my experience no two are alike. It also seems to be universally loved. I asked the guys here in the office if any of them knew anybody, a single soul, who does not like tiramisu, and we came up empty handed. Even my son, who cannot stand cheese or dairy products in general, will enjoy an occasional serving of tiramisu.

As Federico dictated the recipe to me — simultaneously translating it from German to English on the fly — he had to correct my pronunciation of mascarpone. Like many English speakers, I was pronouncing it “marscapone.” “Mascarpone,” he corrected several times. I tried a joke: “Oh, like NASCAR? Rhymes with NASCAR?” This fell flat with Federico but did provoke a chuckle from American-Maltese Pierre. Remember NASCAR and you will never mispronounce mascarpone again.

Tiramisu (makes about 8 servings)

5 egg yolks

1 pound mascarpone

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1.5 ounces amaretto

espresso (about a cup is all you’ll need)

milk (1/2 cup)

cocoa powder (to sprinkle)

ladyfingers (Pavesini brand)

Cream together the egg yolks and the sugar. Then stir in the mascarpone. Mix in the amaretto.

Prepare the espresso, cool it, and mix in the milk. Dip each ladyfinger quickly into the espresso — don’t soak. Make a single layer of ladyfingers in your serving dish, cover with a layer of mascarpone mixture, another layer of ladyfingers, and mascarpone again. Then sprinkle the top with cocoa.

Chill for several hours or overnight.

I couldn’t wait to try the recipe, and so I bought the ingredients and prepared the recipe last night. I made sure to find Pavesini brand ladyfingers so it would be the real deal the first time, and I remembered Federico’s exhortation to dip, not soak, the ladyfingers to avoid a watery tiramisu. “But don’t worry,” Federico said, “because even if it’s watery it will still taste good.” He was right, and the tiramisu was delicious. We stopped work early and enjoyed it today during our celebratory lunch on the last day of work before Christmas.