Place de Lices Market

I've been saving this post for a rainy day. Literally. This is the view out my window right now.



How depressing is that? Where did spring go? Even though the weather is crummy, many farmers markets around Chicago start this week. I am planning on going to the market in Daley Plaza tomorrow. All this wishing for warm weather and and thinking about open-air markets brings my memory back to our trip to France last fall. The first part of our trip was spent in St-Tropez and we were lucky enough to be there on a day of the week when the market in Place des Lices takes place (Tuesdays and Saturdays). I took a lot of pictures of the different food vendors, but there are also tables selling bags, scarves, jewelry, and other goodies.

Here's a booth selling meat and some savory pastries:



A selection of olives, as well as olive oils and vinegars:



My favorite, le fromage:



Some veggies:




Cured meats:



Me smelling some vegetable soaps:



Here's what we ended up buying for lunch. Actually, it lasted for a few lunches.



Can I go back there right now? Please?

Food Photography

There's an article in this week's Dining section of the New York Times that pretty much sums up my life as of late - taking photographs of food both at restaurants and at home. I don't take photos of every single thing I eat - pictures of my daily breakfast of Kashi Go Lean Crunch would get boring pretty quickly - but I do photograph everything I cook and try to take pictures at most of the restaurants I visit. It's one thing when it's just Peter and I at dinner, or my sister or my parents...but when the group is big and extends to people beyond my closest family and friends it can get a little awkward. I also haven't been to a super fancy restaurant since I started this blog...I mean, it's a special occasion kind of thing so no surprise...but Peter and I are already toying with the idea of going to Le Bernardin to celebrate our first anniversary in September and I'm already wondering if I should take pictures. Not sure if I would want to because it's such a nice place (but I could be discrete and not use a flash)...also not sure if I would want to because I will just want to enjoy the meal. But how could I go to Le Bern and not document every tasty piece of seafood I might eat? I'll cross that bridge when, and if I get there.

All this thinking about fancy dinners and taking photos of food is reminding me of a very special meal on our honeymoon. We spent two nights at the Chateau de la Chevre D'Or (translation: Castle of the Golden Goat) in Eze, a village in the south of France which is about 20 minutes from Nice. I don't even know how to put into words just how breathtaking this hotel is. It is actually part of the ancient village of Eze which is perched on a cliff above the Mediterranean. The hotel has various levels of gardens you can walk through that bring you slowly down along the cliffside. Here's one of my favorite pictures I took, because it's obviously beautiful and because I was very proud of myself for holding the camera still enough to get the night setting to work.



The hotel's main restaurant, simply called La Chevre d'Or, has two Michelin stars for 2010. Upon arriving at the hotel we decided we should do our one big blowout meal of the trip here. This is me (in my pool clothes) studying the menu.



And here's the actual menu. We chose the set menu, without wine pairings, at a bargain rate of 95 euros per person. I decided not to bring my camera to dinner, but I was able to get a photo of it because it was included in the big binder of info placed in each hotel room.



Rough translation (pathetic for someone who studied French for 12+ years):
First course: mushrooms and eggplant. This was an eggplant and mushroom jam served on a little toast.
Second course: Mediterranean sea bass with black pasta and squids
Third course: milk-fed veal with osso buco juice, carrots, and spinach
Dessert: "Pear Williams" tart with a mini vanilla and pear milkshake.

Not included on the written menu were little in between courses: duck foie gras to start, a cheese course after the veal, and a second dessert (I guess it's really a first dessert) of profiteroles with ginger and citrus ice cream which was served before the pear tart.

And finally, the point about photos in fancy restaurants - even though I didn't bring my camera, Peter brought the Flip video camera and artfully shot three short videos which total about a minute. The middle part of the video is the waiter preparing the eggplant and mushroom dish tableside.



The meal, and trip of a lifetime. After paying the bill, we then had to eat stale baguettes for every meal on the rest of our trip.

Roasted Tomatoes

Look at what I made for dinner last night!!!



Just kidding, just kidding. I wish. That picture is from a dinner we had on our honeymoon in St-Tropez, in a restaurant on the Place des Lices. As you can see here, there are a few little roasted tomatoes on the vine in the corner of the plate. These tomatoes actually came with pretty much every meal we ate there. They were roasted enough so that they were a little shriveled, and so full of flavor I was sure they must have been injected with something. But they were just roasted. I tried to duplicate it last night:



So...not really the same result. I'm sure the tomatoes I used weren't as fresh as the ones we were eating in France, but also they weren't cooked the same way. The skins on some of my tomatoes broke a little bit, and they didn't shrivel. I cooked them at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, just because that's the temperature I was already using for the potatoes. I think maybe if I cook them at a lower temperature for a long time I might get that slow cooked, shriveled effect. Maybe 350 for 45 minutes? An hour? Anyone have any ideas?

Tea Time

It's a snowy cold day here in Chicago, a perfect day for a hot cup of tea (no, I'm not bitter at all that it's 70 degrees and sunny in Boston, New York, and Columbus). In the past couple years I've become much more of a tea drinker. I didn't used to really love tea, except the tropical flavored iced tea from the Cheesecake Factory (so good), and the occasional cup in the afternoon when the office was freezing. When I was waking up at 1:30am for work (yes, 1:30am. Not a typo.) I relied much more on coffee. Tea just didn't cut it in those early, early hours.

But a couple years ago Peter got me the blue Le Creuset teapot for Christmas, which I was lusting after. And my lovely British co-worker (hi Sital!) would convince me to come to the cafe at work with her to get tea and chat. And getting my hair cut at the Aveda Institute for years, I always looked forward to the Aveda tea they give you while you sit and wait - this tea is so delicious, it has licorice root and peppermint, and a wonderful naturally sweet flavor.

When we went to Paris for our honeymoon last fall, I definitely found my favorite kind of tea - Mariage Freres. We came upon this store in the Place de la Madeleine (gourmet food HEAVEN. I can't even get into it right now, this post will turn into a 10-page essay.). I wish I had taken pictures of inside the store...but I didn't. I certainly will when I go back in December (yay!).

They have dozens upon dozens of varieties of teas, all with the most beautiful and exotic names - Russian Star, Darjeeling Rose Camelia, Casablanca, Gold Mountain...the list goes on. The walls are lined with black tins of loose tea, and they also have barrels of loose tea so you can fill up your own tin on site. And they do have tea bags - they call them sachets - but only about half the flavors come in bags. Their tea bags are made of muslin and look too pretty to dunk in a cup of hot water.



We ended up buying 2 boxes of tea bags - Vert Provence and Marco Polo Rouge. Just listen to the description of the Vert Provence:

"The hinterland of Provence in southern France explodes with plants, flowers, and fruit that all boast heady scents. Lavender, rosemary, thyme, broom, juniper, heather, and boxwood dot hills and plateaus; forests of silvery mimosa colour the mountains of Maures and Estérel, and roses, tulips, jasmine, and violets blanket Grasse; finally, golden fruit trees (lemon, orange) light up the Riviera."

Now, tell me you don't want to drink that tea. It's not cheap, I think each box of 25 tea bags came out to $23, but it's soooo good. I can't wait to go back and buy more. You can buy it online from the Mariage Freres website, as well as several places in the U.S., I know Dean & Deluca carries it as well as Porte Rouge.

Here's my cup of Vert Provence I'm drinking right now. They even tell you the infusion time on the little tag, so thoughtful!

Macarons

What better way is there to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with a post about a French cookie?

March 17 may be the day for the Irish (and not so Irish) to celebrate with Guinness and corned beef, but for the French March 20 is Jour du Macaron! I think it's safe to say the macaron has replaced the cupcake as the trendy bakery item of the moment. It's definitely a smaller commitment than a cupcake...you can easily eat one of these soft little cookies and not feel like you've wrecked your calorie count for the day. Here's some fun items about the tiny French treat:

• New York is also celebrating Jour du Macaron this year, and you can get free ones at several places around the city. NBC New York's Feast blog tells you where, but I'll point you towards Butterfield Market on the Upper East Side because they have Payard macarons, and because some of our best friends run the place. Come on Chicago, get on le stick! I guess I'll have to have my own macaron party.
• The Washington Post has some tips for how to make your own perfect macaron. Doesn't sound like an easy task, but if you want to give it a try make sure to read this article first.
• The Wall Street Journal writes about the French confection going mainstream, since you can now purchase macarons at some McDonald's in France, and at several big retailers in the U.S. And some Frenchies are none too happy about it. Oh la la, l'horreur!!!
• And if you want the real deal, you must get them from Ladurée or Pierre Hermé. (I just figured out how to type accents! Finally!)