It was heavenly

As I've already told you, the whole Road trip 2011, revolved around finding good food. And we found just that, in Cluj Napoca, in a restaurant called Baracca, I found about here.

The first day of the road trip saw us in Oradea and Cluj. We were already a bit tired so I had made a reservation for 8pm because we were also very hungry. After looking for free hotels in town, we ended up in my back up, near the city center, which proved to be an excellent choice. Not to mention it was close to the restaurant. So we did some sightseeing before going to eat. Here is a proof of that: some weird finger like statues coming out the pavement. What you see between them is a bride being stolen from her wedding. A bit early in the evening for this tradition but what the heck, she was having fun.

Anyway, the restaurant was not very far so we located it easily. We went inside and I thought for a second that I shouldn't have reserved: only two tables were full so we got to chose were we sat. Hint: the white chairs are more comfortable. The restaurant has a very nice design, many quotes on the walls, bottles of wine, it was very cozy, you could see the pizza chef working next to the oven, quite posh. I was a fan.

The boys became fans of the waitress who brought us the menu, you can find the list on the site as well. I will not comment on the prices more than this: it's not a lot more than a regular place but this one here is well worth the price difference. We decided to go the Full Monty starter, main course, desert and the wines to go with that, plus a digestive. The wines were selected with the help of the very friendly waitress, who also spoke French and English, so the boys were more than happy. We had a Prosecco for the starters and a French red, both perfect for what we had.


First, the rabbit with carrot puree, warm goat cheese between two layers of pain d'epice. Divine. And the rabbit goes perfectly with the carrots.

Then foie gras with creme brulee. The tomato confit next to the foie gras was delicious, I want the recipe.

Both boys had the pigeon on a nest of vegetables with a delicious sauce. It was the first time I tasted pigeon but not the last, that's for sure, it has a more prominent taste than chicken so it can be very interesting.

I had the chicken. It was roasted in a way that reminded my of my grandma's cooking. The polenta was sweet and matched the chicken and the sauce in every way. It didn't seem like much but it was, for lack of a better word, heavenly.

 

I was quite full by now but when the words home made and desert reached my ears, my mouth said Yes! So I had one of the best ice creams ever: raspberry, vanilla, chocolate. I can still feel the chocolate.

The opera cake was awesome, I liked the chocolate again.

And the apple pie with a creme brulee crust. The waitress recommended it and it was a great choice.

From the sky

I know, I've gone AWOL on you, I haven't said much for the last two months but that doesn't mean nothing's been going on in my life. Quite the contrary. I've been to two or three weddings (I'm loosing count) and this meant a lot of travelling so I do have some photos for you.

Yes, food again, call me obsessed. I just had to capture this because I was surprised to have such an unconventional meal (usually is a very safe bread ham cheese sandwich) and it tasted fairly good. It was a chicken wrap with a nice sauce. One of the best in flight meals I've had and I think my top 3 includes only Lufthansa food. I'm flying a lot with Lufthansa these days because they have good prices on flights from Prague to Bucharest, even if they stop in Germany.

On the return trip I had another wrap, veggies this time, but not quite as good, still decent and better than the usual; and an apple juice, healthy leaving.

A picture from the sky, just to say good bye and sorry for being late :p

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.

I Just Died and Went to Gastronomical Heaven

And now I'm back to tell you all about this unforgettable experience. Because first thing you must understand about a 3 star restaurant is that it's not only about the food, the service and the décor are just as important. From the moment you walk through the door of the restaurant, until you step out, you are transported into another world.

We benefited from a special offer that gives everyone the chance to sample excellent cuisine for a moderate price. And thus, we got transported into a temple of French cuisine, l'Auberge de l'Ill.

This magical place is right on the river Ill and you can even spend the night in the very quaint inn next door. This is actually the plan for next year.

From a beautiful Alsatian village, just an hour's drive from Strasbourg, you step into an out of this world space. You can leave all your cares at the door because the friendly staff will take care of everything. After a very gracius welcome, we were invited for a flute de champagne on the terrace overlooking the river. And how could we have said no?

The weather was fine, sunny but not very warm. Polen from the willows was flying through the garden, the air was sweet and magical. Some ducks were playing in the shallow waters, I even saw a swan swim by and of course, the Alsatian stork was king of the garden.

A swarm of waiters offered us Champagne, amuse-bouche, explained the menu and over all were very attentive to every detail. It takes some time getting used to all this attention but it's amazing.

More about the menu and how I met a famous chef, in the next episode.

Still Life

 

 with Belgian beer, Czech bread, Corsican cheese and sausage, Ikea glasses, Tescoma knife and a book.

Walking in Brno

First of all, let me say I've tried to find better quality pictures, I've looked on my computer and it seems all I've got are not so good pictures of Brno, as if every time we go there, there is no time for photos. Maybe because of the partying?

A big part of Brno means the Universities it hosts, so the student life is quite thriving. Everyone who's lived in Brno knows Ceska, the street that starts near the Masaryk University's Social Studies Department and it ends in the main square, the Freedom Square or Svbobodaku as it is known by the Moravians. If you want to meet someone, just say Ceska, under the clock, they will know where it is, something like Piata Romana n°9 for Bucharest dwellers.

Very close by is a church dedicated to the great teacher Jan Amos Komensky. Of course there is also statue of TGM in front of the University bearing his name. For a very laic country, these guys are held in almost Saint-like reverence.

Going towards Namesti Svobody you will find bars and restaurants, nice places to take a young lady from MU. A cool place is this mall that hosts coffee houses and a Student Agency window. I will write sometimes about this company, another Moravian symbol. Anyway, the shopping gallery is in an old building that has kept its charm. You can go with the elevator to the top floor for a coffee or wonder around until you find a gem of an Indian tea  house. The shops are unique as well, art galleries, hand made, young designer clothes and jewelery, spice shops. From the outside you'd never say you're going to find some little treasure.




















The Square is a large meeting place, I like it very much in the afternoon because the sun lights up the roofs beautifully. But at night it is mysterious and wonderful and the architecture helps create this air. Well not all the buildings are equally successful (much as my pictures I'd say). This green lit shopping center is outright horrible in my opinion. Of course the square (which isn't quite square, ironically) has it's Plague Column, but I don't have a picture of that, once you've seen one or two of these, the rest pretty much look alike.


















Brno's old town lies between the hill of the Cathedral and the Castel hill. If you want to go to the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Cathedral, one way is to pass the Town Hall with it's interesting colums. There are many legends related to Brno and at least some of these have left a sign here. One is the legend of the dragon menacing the city who's skin hangs in the Town Hall. Another legend is that of the master who did not get paid for his work and so left one column crooked, as you can see below.

Above, a replica of the Castle Spilberk. The castle has never been taken and it has had a gloomy past as a prison, but it deserves a visit at least to spend some time in the gardens overlooking the town (maybe with that young girl you've met at Ceska?).

Both the Castle gardens and the Cathedral hill offer  beautiful sights to the city. These are favorite spots for Brno residents to relax in the sun and play some petanque for example. Sometimes, you can find couples celebrating their wedding on a terrace overlooking the city.


If you do go to the Cathedral though, and I wish you do, you will not be disappointed, the walk is long but the view is beautiful, especially at sunset.

Brno is the second biggest city in the Czech Republic and it has about the same size as Bucharest (around 230sqkm) but only about 400 000 inhabitants so it does not look very crowded. Several of the neighborhoods are perched up on hills, including old worker's quarters where you can now find the Montmartre of Brno, an area of older workers' houses restored by newer and richer owners.
  
The Cathedral is interesting as well and the astronomical clock it hosts, deserves a look. The bells in the two tall bell towers are said to have saved Brno from invading Swedish armies. After a long siege, the invading army's commander decided that if they don't take the city by noon the following day, they will give up the assault. Somehow a local soldier learned of this and convinced the priests to ring the bells 12 times at 11 o'clock. And so the city was saved but to this day the bells ring 12 times at 11. Just in case.



Now that you've been up the major hills of Brno, admired the sights (met a pretty Moravian blond, took her to a bar), and wandered in the cobbled streets,  you might want to try a local beer and a specific dish. Although Moravians are more proud of the local wine, they do have some good, traditional brews. One local beer is called Starobrno or old Brno, to be enjoyed responsibly. The brewery has a very good restaurant in the style of the Munich beer houses. I once ate some great spare ribs for a very decent price. Last time we were there, the restaurant wasn't open yet and we had to go just next door, to the Starobrno Pivnice, which would be the pub, but in very Czech/Moravian fashion, the pub serves food, very good food actually. What you see in this photo taken with my phone, is a wild boar goulash with bread dumplings, potato rosti and some slices of gingerbread that complemented the sauce very well and were a much welcomed although surprising, addition. It is among the top 5 goulash I've ever had. And the beer was just perfect.

There are much more things to see and do in Brno. There are very good theaters and art galleries. You should also visit the Villa Tugendhat for some design inspiration as well. If you are passionate about history, the site of the battle of Austerlitz is 6km away, in Slavkov u Brna. Each year the battle is reenacted for the public.

As for me, I like the Moravian capital for its laid back charm, the lazy afternoons after a picnic on the Castle Hill and the crazy nights spent barhopping. Reminds me of Nantes. Do give it a try, it might be a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Prague's many tourists.

Confit de canard

Je l'ai bien mérité ce confit de canard...

Ce matin j'ai fait une heure de spinning assez intense, mais les jambes n'étaient pas au rendez-vous. Pourtant, dans l'après midi, la demi heure de balade en vélo vers centre ville a été très agréable et en plus on a vu un couché de soleil assez magnifique. Moi je dit, j'ai bien mérité ce délice du Sud Ouest accompagné d'un petit Merlot - Beciul Domnesc, pour la touche internationale. Bon dimanche a vous aussi!

Source de l'image: marmiton.org

Scones, not cones

Am multa faina in casa, ba chiar as putea spune foarte multa si inca de mai multe feluri. Asa ca periodic caut idei ca sa o termin. Unele imi ies mai bine, altele mai putin. Din seria reusitelor, va prezint astazi scones. Inspiratia mi-a venit de aici, de la Mazilique. Nu sunt mare fan dar retele ei mi se par mereu destul de simple si de bun simt asa ca vroiam de mult sa incerc una. Ceva tipic englezesc: scones.

Si cum asta seara am fost singura acasa (si nu-mi place), am decis sa fac lucruri "rele". Reteta este foarte simpla si dureaza aproape la fel de mult pe cat spune Mazilique, doar ca eu m-am complicat si am facut  mai multe lucruri in acelasi timp. 

Ca tot imi place sa ma complic, nu am urmat intocmai reteta. Am pastrat cantitatile dar pentru ca nu-mi plac stafidele si pentru ca aveam chef de ceva sarat, nu am pus zahar si am facut o umplutura sarata. Am calit ceapa taiata foarte fin, ciuperci, sunculita, am amestecat la sfarsit branza (cu mucegai si cascaval).

Si am mai modificat vreo doua trei lucruri la reteta. Am facut coca mai subtire, cam jumate fata de cat spune reteta originala. Am pus umplutura mea intre doua felii de coca si  am apasat frumos marginile cu degetul. Dupa ce am pus prajiturelele pe tava, le-am uns cu ou si cam asta ar fi.

Au iesit delicioase. Se prepara repede, se coc foarte repede si sunt atat de bune. Plus ca exista o mie si una de posibilitati si de combinatii, sarate, dulci, ca mic dejun sau ca aperitiv, la ceai sau cu lapte, stiau ei ce stiau englezii, pardon, scotienii, cand au inventat aceasta reteta.

Super chouette

I don't mean to brag, but I spent a very nice weekend. For once I stayed home, well I didn't go out of town and I didn't have any visitors either. So I enjoyed the silence and did some shopping, relaxed watching sit coms and went out to dine.

Saturday, I took advantage of a very nice offer, a tasting menu based on venison meat. You can find the menu here. I was sorry I didn't take the camera with me, so I don't have pictures, but take my word for it: it was great. Good service, ultra-central, nice location, I think I will go again to El Cid Corso. They have a second venue, as well down town, where they serve tapas, I might go there pretty soon.

The starter was the game liver pate. The piece was huge and went very well with the cranberries. Next, we had the main course, wild boar. For once the pasta was cooked right (they tend to over cook them here) while the meat was tender and finely spiced. I enjoyed every bite. Unfortunately they did not have the pheasant, I would have liked to try it. The wine was excellent as well. While I was not surprised by the quality of the Sauvignon Blanc served with the pate, I was very pleasantly surprised by the delicious Shiraz that was served with the main course. A good red wine is quite hard to get here and this one was good. For desert we decided to go with the pie and it was a good choice (as far as French cheeses go, we have a pretty good selection at home). It came with home made cream. The menu did not include a last glass of water for the desert but other than that, it was a pleasure.

Sunday we stayed in. We made lunch ourselves, kiwi and curry chicken with rice and watched Inglorius Basterds (no comments on that, typically Tarantino). For dinner we had a treat: a Sushi heart.It looks exactly like in the picture and we bought the box from Tesco for about 300 cK or 12 euros.

It was very good, I am not a big fan of Sushi and usually there are some I don't like, but this time I liked all of them so It was a good choice.

How about your weekend? Mine was "super chouette"!

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.

On a culinary trip

So my hoards of fans have been complaining that I didn't write one word about my last trip to France. That is mainly because I didn't take pictures so I don't have anything to brag about. But I'll improvise.(No, my love life will not make it as a post, it's going very well, thank you for asking)

When I said trip in the title, I might as well have meant the kind of trip a high junkie goes into, because my taste buds where really spoiled last weekend.

It all started Thursday night when I got on the bus for Prague, all dressed up in my best black skirt with a nice halter top and fancy shoes. All ready for a dinner party in a very elegant restaurant in Prague. I'm really sorry I didn't take any pictures, but I promise to get back there some day, because it was worth it. The view from Letna hill is just about one of the most beautiful views in the world. Now, they say Prague is the most romantic city and all, meeting your beloved on St Charles bridge, but I think eating a romantic dinner on top of Letna, by night, is by far better.

So I got there, it's a beautiful pavilion in the middle of a park, with a terrace overlooking the whole city. I sat at a table outside, drank a good Moravian white wine and had a nice conversation with a stranger I'd met at the train stop, who was going to the same place. I felt like in one of the old commercials for Kent cigarettes. Very class.

When the others came, we joined them inside in the nice, Art Nouveau inspired, Bistro. The atmosphere was merry, I had my darling one next to my heart, good company, and we got some beers, some more wine, eventually we ordered. And this is where the gastronomical feast of the weekend begins. I had filet mignon in cognac sauce and for desert, a delicious chocolate mousse with strawberries. I'm very picky when it comes to desert. But this was heaven, an orgasm in every spoonful of chocolate. And the evening ended a little later with an orgasm of a different nature.

I like this picture because of the Laguiole knife on the table, I would have taken the same one.

The next day we left for France, where once again the menu was fabulous: a recipe from Normandy: Coquilles St Jacques with pasta and sauce.

And magnum ice cream for a perfect desert. I'm not going into the details of the weekend: just teasing you with some pictures of food. I don't have pictures of my own, but I searched for some resembling what we had, just to tickle your senses.

Saturday, we had faux filet with endive salad and for desert, a specialty from The Czech republic, after a traditional Armenian family recipe, a honey caked called Marlenka. Delicious, I can't get enough of it. (actually thinking of exporting this to the world, too good to be kept a secret).

To keep in line with the international cuisine theme, the evening was spent in an Alsatian traditional restaurant where we had, what I can only describe as the local pizza, only much better than any pizza. I could live only with this and Marlenka and H&M.

The wine we accompanied our meal with, was of course a local Pinot Gris. And for desert, another of my favorites: pistachio ice cream with real, grilled pistachios.

Ok, by this time, I was quite full; we had tarte flambé with cheese and lard and with Munster cheese and lard, and not just one serving each. So I had only one scoop of pistachio. But it was really divine.

And for the end, Sunday, just before coming back home: Barbecue. This really was a meat eater's feast. chicken, duck, sausages, skewers with meat. Lots of grilled meat.

So now you also know why I've been eating salads and light dishes all week. I have to make up for a weekend where my liver must have suffered (though I made no excesses) but my taste buds had multiple orgasms. And oh Doamne! It was sooo good.