Some kind of magic

The story of my day in Gastronomical Heaven continues with the main meal. I'm sorry but this will be a long and picture heavy post.

The menu was presented to us while in the garden, maybe in order to get used to the idea that we'll have something special. The menu card was very simple, with a pastel by one of the owners on the cover. Naturally I kept it. The waiter explained every course to us and answered all our questions and asked if everything was alright for us or if we wanted to change. My French Boy would have liked to change the escargot and fish dish, go figure, but in the end I think he was happy he kept them, it was our favorite! He told us we'll have the menu waiting for us on the table when we decide to go.

When we were ready, we made our way from the garden to the main pavilion, the staff wished us a good meal. Everyone was very attentive, stopping whatever they were doing to say hello or ask if we needed something. Like we were the only and most important guests! The boy had told me I'd get used to the special treatment but as I was going to the second part of the lunch, I still felt like Cinderella.

The same lady who welcomed us earlier, showed us to our table, asking if the Champagne and the terrace were to our taste. She even adjusted my chair and my cardigan to the back of my chair, saying she will leave it here because I might get cold, but that it will get warmer during the meal. I was thinking: OMG, I might get used to this treatment!

The butter arrived on a stone plate: a mound for regular butter and a cone, the salty variety, both from St Malo, as the waiter specified but I did not retain the name of the producer. I noticed once again the attention to detail: the monogram of the family was on the butter. I looked around a bit, but found no bread. Well, I didn't have time to turn my head back to the butter that another waiter came, offering us 3 or 4 different types of bread on a basket. I chose the one with tomatoes and olives and it was a great choice, perfect with the butter.

I almost wanted to finish all the butter (in Bretagne they say that the sweet one is just grease, so imagine which I prefer after a whole year in Nantes?!) but luckily they brought in the next dish.

A 85 year old gentleman, Mr Jean-Paul Haeberlin, came by himself to say hello and wish us a good meal. He went to all the tables, but next to us was a group of pure blood Alsatians he seemed to know quite well, they said they were coming to the Auberge since the 70's and remembered the time Mr Haeberlin, a now retired painter, was mayor of the village. I looked at the menu, he had painted the watercolor on the cover and I would have liked to have it signed.

Back to our table, for a starter we had lobster salad with green mango on a bread of basmati rice with different types of dressing and Kombawa leaves. The harmony of taste was perfect but I hated destroying the nice arrangement they made with the ingredients. Was it good? I'll let you guess from the pics.

Next came the dreaded fish knife. I actually love fish but some have a hard time using the knife, ah well. It was grilled perch in leek reduction and escargot between two thin bread patties with herbs. We asked one of the (many) waiters about the name of the wine, a Marsagnant, it was a white delight that accompanied the fish perfectly. Delicious. The boy loved it despite not being a fish fan.

By this time I had to go powder my nose as they say in the movies. And that is when I saw the chef, standing in the reception area with the big hat and all and he too smiled as if I was some important figure. Cool. The powder room was coming from a movie as well, luxury details everywhere and a vanity desk I would like in my room. When I came back at my table I had a fresh new towel all folded in front of me, and to think I had barely used the old one...

The main dish was a beef cut called quasi, the best it seems, cooked in a low temperature for a long time, with tarragon reduction and a wild mushroom flan. The beef melted in your mouth, a delight that was perfectly matched by the red Languedoc wine.

I was already in heaven by now and I had not even noticed the time fly by, this 3 star lunches are so long, it was already half past one when a waiter brought us some sweets before the dessert.

A family was canoeing on the river in front of us, reminding me of ducks swimming. I was thinking Alsace is such a perfect region for all sorts of activities: good food, sports, culture and history in nearby Colmar, a great destination for holidays.

The dessert, a milk cream perfumed with lime, rhubarb and strawberry compote with a a soft ice cream came with a funny flake, apparently a Swiss tradition. I find rhubarb a bit sour sometimes, but here, they found a way to make it sweet. Rain had started in the garden outside and I was watching the drops of water on the plants outside.

Coffee came by and another waiter brought a huge plate with mini sweets of all sorts to chose from, telling me I could take as many as I wanted. Hard choice!

Perfect time to relax, put some sugar in the coffee. God, even the sugar looks different here: big lumps of brown or white sugar that seemed hand made or small, amber bonbons, even at the end of the meal you know that you are in a special place.

I looked around, at some tables they were bringing the cheese, a very wide selection on a refrigerated cart presented by two waiters. I was almost happy not to have had cheese, choosing must be difficult and besides, I couldn't eat one more bite, I just wanted to retain the taste of that day.

If you ever get the chance to have such a treat, don't hesitate! A culinary trip like this one is a must do and I think that I will never see a restaurant with the same eyes.

Pui cu Sos Gorgonzola - Chez Jiminy's

Azi am decis sa mergem la restaurant in propria sufragerie. Asta pentru ca de aici mi se spune ca nu se poate sa gatesti ca la restaurant, iar de aici ca e chiar foarte simplu. Ba o sa fac si socotelile sa vedem unde e adevarul (dupa mine, e undeva la mijloc, dar asta e alta mancare de peste).

Reteta de azi e foarte simpla, este vorba de pui cu sos de gorgonzola, legume pe gratar si putin orez, ca sa tina de foame. Mai jos, poza cu ingredientele. Am folosit doi piepti de pui, pentru sos gorgonzola si smantana ( in poza e ceva intre smantana si branzica de vaci pentru ca mai tarziu s-a executat un chec sarat), legumele au fost dovlecel, rosii cherry, ardei si ciuperci.

In poza sunt si ingrediente in plus pentru ca am facut un gaspacho pentru cina - aici a intrat castraetele in actiune. Iaurtul a fost pentru desert si anume iaurt cu gem de casa. Si inca ceva, nu va speriati ca toate au nume ciudate, asa e in Cehia, dar te obisnuiesti repede:) Dintre legume am folosit doar cam jumatate dintr-un ardei, vreo 6 rosii, jumatate de dovlecel si doua ciuperci. Restul vor fi folosite, stati fara griji, pentru alte preparate culinare.

Am stat un pic sa ma gandesc in ce ordine sa pun pe foc toate ingredientele si am dedus ca bottle neck pentru mine este gatitul puiului iar orezul pot sa-l fac in paralel. Asa ca prima etapa, pentru care am uitat sa fac poza, am pus orezul la fiert cu un pic de vegeta, ulei de sesam si curry (de asta e un pic galben si uite cum va dau secretele mele).

Jumatatile de piept au fost piperate, sarate, am pus cateva condimente dintr-un amestec pe care l-am facut mai demult, special pentru friptura (de data asta chiar nu pot sa va spun ce contine ar trebui sa va ucid, dar sigur are boia). Am uns puiul cu putin ulei de masline aromatizat cu oregano si l-am asezat in tigaia incinsa si unsa cu un pic de unt. In acest fel puiul va iesi ca pe gratar.

Am spalat si taiat legumele, nimic deosebit aici, rosiile le-am lasat intregi, pentru efectul artistic.Am aruncat legumele in alta tigaie incinsa si am stropit cu ulei de masline.

Am incalzit o craticioara in care am pus un varf de cutit de unt, apoi branza gorgonzola si smantano-branzica. Un pic mai tarziu am adaugat piper si un pic de vin alb.

  Si asa arata aragazo-plita mea cu toate oalele pe foc. Intre timp orezul s-a gatit singur.

 

Aici trebuie sa recunosc, am trisat un pic, am o masina de gatit orez care face totul singura, de parca era mare lucru de facut la un orez simplu.Iata si compozitia finala, pentru ca da, trebuie sa fie artistic.

Am scos farfuriile bune si am aranjat masa. Vinul l-am cumparat din Cehia, scrie in ceha pe el, dar este importat din Moldova si este foarte bun. Moldovenii se pare ca stiu sa-si vanda vinul, pe mine m-a costat cam 3,5euro si a fost extrem de potrivit.

Asta este cam tot pentru moment, o sa revin cu niste calcule, cat a costat tot. As fi interesanta daca ati putea sa-mi spuneti cat m-ar costa in Romania (sau altundeva) aceleasi ingrediente.Era sa uit, totul a durat 32 de minute si 7 secunde, ceea ce mi se pare rezonabil. Din nefericire mancarea s-a terminat mult mai repede.

Imi pare rau pentru aceia dintre voi care vor deschide aces blog si carora le va fi foame. Dar puteti incerca si voi :) Pofta buna!

French is the language of fine dining

So she loves to cook. As a new page of the cook book is turned over, your mouth is left watering, it says : Recette du jour : chanterelle et magret de canard. She also loves to invent and so the tender duck breast will have two sorts of mushrooms and mashed potatoes to accompany it on it's journey to the stomach.

Here's how it's done. You take some potatoes, you boil them in their nice shirt. After a while, you'll know when the time has come, your fork sinks easily in the potatoes, you take them out of the water and start peeling, being careful not to burn your delicate fingers. You mash the potatoes with a little bit of butter, milk and cream and add some salt, pepper and some nutmeg mace (or noix de muscade or nucsoara), for taste.

While the potatoes are boiling you can already start on the mushroom sauce. Or rather sauces because as I told you the girl likes to invent and so does her boy who prepared the sauces. First things first, chop some onions and cook them until they are almost translucent and then add the ingredients of the first sauce : the pleurotus mushroom. Prepare a sauce out of some cream and some moutarde a l'ancienne, which is mustard with grains and pour it over the mushrooms and onions. Then prepare the second sauce by putting chanterelles on the hot pan, adding cream and stirring. Pepper and salt for the taste. These mushrooms are from the agaricus family so quite common, even in Romania.

Now for the "magret de canard". This is a duck's file, cut from a fat duck's chest, more info here (don't you just love Wikipedia?) Just take the tender pieces of meat, put them on a hot frying pan, turn them on the other side when the first one is slightly cooked, you don't want to overcook these babies. And that's it! Add a nice red wine, full of tannins, arrange it all on a nice plate, light some candles and you have yourself a romantic dinner. Bon appetit!

PS. More of my culinary journeys will follow soon.