After the invasion of the Barbarians, the city began to expand. It became the perfect crossroads between North, South, and East. The Dukes of Burgundy chose Beaune as their site for both the Palace and Parliament.  Today Beaune is considered the capital of Burgundy wines. The Côte de Beaune and the Hautes Côtes de Beaune produce harmonious wines like Meursault, Pommard, Montrachet, Corton-Charlemagne to name a few.  To take a break from the wine tours we ventured around the city discovering little winding roads that lead us to adorable cafes and shops.

We also toured the famous Hotel-Dieu, a hospice founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin and his wife. It was inspired by the architecture of Northern French hospitals. I loved the geometric multi-colored Burgundian roof tiles that you see below in the picture.

The building is arranged around a central courtyard.  The Kitchen has a Gothic fireplace that immediately gets your attention along with the collection of period copper cookware. In the kitchen there is a mechanical spit designed by watchmaker De Fresne in 1698, which automatically turned meat over the fire. In the pharmacy there were all kinds of unusual potions that were stored in jars and pots. They would mix up concoctions and grind them in a bronze mortar to prepare the remedies for the sick.

We also found two religious masterpieces housed there. The Christ-de-Pitié statue that is carved from wood and the Last Judgment Polyptych by Rogier Van der Weyden.

We really enjoyed our day trip in Beaune. It is a a great place to visit while you are exploring the wine country!

Burgundy has some of the greatest wines in the world as well as one of the most complex classification systems. These vinyards were split into tiny fractions after the French Revolution resulting in a number of appellations.  So we set up wine tastings for the next 3 days.  The only thing I found hard was getting in the mood for a 10:00 a.m. wine tasting. I will say that tasting wine at 10:00 a.m. was interesting but after a few, you kinda start to get the hang of it.

We ate & drank our way through countless amazing dishes: Pastries, Escargots De Bourgogne, Langosustine, Blanc De Volaille Au Foie Gras, Oeufs en Meurette, Boeuf Bourguignon, and the cheeses  – dear god the cheeses - are seriously out of this world. At the La Montrachet’s in-house restaurant (of the same name), the cheese cart at the end of your meal included St. Nectaire, Cantal, Blue de Bresse and some that were handcrafted by French monks. Every meal at Le Montrachet was amazing, to say the least. The neat thing about it was I still felt right at home. The rooms were nice and comfortable. They always had food and drinks available during different points of the day to try. 

One night we decided to venture out and eat at a place where the locals go. The proprietors of Le Montrachet pointed us to a little town called Remigny. We ended up is the cutest place called Auberge L’Escale . This is where I had my favorite version of Oeufs en meurette.  The dinner was homey, the ultimate in French comfort food and a great way to spend an evening in Burgundy.

It is true what they say, but to me, the romance wasn’t sickening at all.  Lovers entwined on park benches, tongues down each other’s cafe cremes,  melting into each other on the subway; it all just added to the allure that is Paris. 

The sunset light where it doesn’t even get dark until after 9, the lacy lingerie shops, the music floating in the air from sexy Argentinian street musicians set the stage for love.  If my husband had been there with me, I’m sure we barely would have come up for air long enough to take in the view.

And what a view it was.  No, I never made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower, but it doesn’t matter.  I saw it lit up on a late-night in the city, under a no-kidding full moon.   A hefty portion of the French g.d.p. goes towards illuminating the Tower in a light show every hour on the hour after dark.  In a post-five-course dinner that included oysters, duck and creme brulee, we dragged ourselves over to the esplanade and waited, our tired feet and legs growing weary from jet-lag and several carafes of red wine. 

We waited some more.  And then,  Bam! the iron monument to modern spectacle and history in the making, began to glimmer like a million diamonds in the clear Parisian sky.  Wow!  Merveilleux!  Formidable! It was worth the wait.  What a way to showcase a week that would be full of Eiffel Tower moments.  There may have been kissing everywhere else, but none for me.  Maybe next time.  It was still romantic quand meme, all the same.

If I were to imagine heaven on earth it would be located in Champagne in the so-called “sacred triangle” that includes Epernay, Reims, and Chalons-en-Champagane. Champagne is like a magnet for wine lovers.  My husband and I landed in Paris and drove straght to Reims for our first stop! 

Reims is known for producing countless champagne lables like Krug, Lanson, G.H.Mumm & Cie, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Louis Roederer, Ruinart, Piper-Heidsieck, Pommery and Charles Heidsieck.

In Champagne you will find all types of French cuisine in the restaurants. The region borders Belgium so there are plenty of Flemish dishes on the menu as well. The regional cuisine has traditionally been rustic and hearty and include a selection of game such as venison and wild boar which are prepared as roasts or casseroles or in a potée champenoise (a stew from the Champagne region).   I also notice some dishes with unusual names that are derived from the Flemish origin and traditionally contain ingredients such as beer, chicory, prunes and raisins.

Our dinners included dishes made with Ardennes ham (Belgium’s answer to Prosciutto di Parma),  Boudin Blanc that are sausages made with pork, eggs, milk and some seasoning and sometimes truffles, chestnuts, foie gras or other ingredients are added.  We discovered patés and terrines made with roast rabbit or roast thrush flavoured with juniper berries that were delish!

We enjoyed a rosé by Ruinart one of the oldest Champagne Houses and also discovered a a Champagne made by Henri Abele that has a smiling angel on the label.  You can also find this angel in the Gothic Cathedral Notre-Dame at Reims. 

We visted the House of Taittenger Established since 1734.  Taittinger is now one of the few family owned Champagne houses in the region. The house uses Chardonnay as the dominant grape for the brand making, creating a light and elegant taste. The oldest parts of the cellars are located on the site of Gallo-Roman chalk mines dug in the 4th century. The tour was informative that ended with a tasting of your choice. We tried and feel in love with Taittenger rosé.

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Founded in 1772 by Philippe Cliquot. This was the first champagne house to distribute rosé champagne in 1775.  Philippe’s son, François inherited the company but died  in 1805 of a  fever, leaving his 27 year old widow Barbe Nicole Ponsardin behind becoming the  Veuve (widow) Cliquot. She was very successful, and is considered as one of the most impressive business women of modern times. It was the official champagne of the Danish, Swedish and English courts, and it was also drank at the celebration of the Queen’s silver jubilee in 1977.

Although we did not get to visit the House of Krug, it is my favorite champagne. If you are planning on visiting be sure to check the hours of the tours and tastings for any specific champagne house you want to visit during your stay. Our next stop Puligny-Montrachet!

In one chapter,  Turnbull describes what it’s like to host a typical French dinner party.  According to her, all those gorgeous patisseries that line the streets of Paris aren’t just there for the enjoyment of American tourists whose closest approximation back home is Dunkin’ Donuts.  When the French decide to entertain at home, they may spend hours on entrees and plats, but they purchase the dessert.

Well, not I!  The very notion of a store-bought dessert is an affront to my Martha Stewart aspirations.  When I decided to try my hand at French cooking, I planned my menu based around the dessert I wanted to serve.  It would be the crescendo at the end of the meal, the crowning jewel in my toque:  chaussons aux pommes.

Sara and I had practically come to blows over the ones we had in Paris.  I was determined to try making them myself.   Though they were a pain in the arse, (and the arms.  LOTS of rolling out pastry dough involved.) they were a delicious, sweet, flaky, aromatic success, if I may say so myself.  The picture at the bottom of the post doesn’t do them justice, but I would have made Martha and Julia proud.

I invited close friends over to celebrate Bastille Day, the 14th of July.  I knew they wouldn’t mind being guinea pig to my forays into the world of French cooking.  To complement the chaussons (apple turnovers), I would be serving the duck breasts with fig sauce from Le Petit Prince (See Le Petit Prince Post).  You can find ths Bastille day Dinner Menu below.

 
I thoroughly enjoyed preparing and eating this wonderful meal and encourage anyone to try their hand. French cooking is not as intimidating as you might think.  It’s based on three simple principles:  seasonality, simplicity, and passion.  After dinner was over and the wine had been drunk I came up with my own rules:

1. Allow yourself plenty of time.  It took me all day to shop for, prep and cook everything.
2. Cook for the people you love and they will love you for it.
3. Buy dessert.

Bon appetit!

Bastille Day Dinner Menu

Mediterranean Olive Medley

White Wine – Etienne Boileau Chablis Premier Cru Grand Vin de Bourgogne, 2007 from French Country Wines

Seared Duck Breasts with Fig Sauce 

Zucchini Gratin* The notes section of this recipe suggests that you can make these ahead and then rewarm them in the over just prior to serving.  Don’t do it.  Although you will be slaving at the stove while your guests are chit-chatting, you need to make these immediately before you want to serve them.  Right out of the pan they are crispy and light, but when rewarmed they become heavy and lose a lot of their flavor.

Baguette

Red wine – Terrasses Chateau Pesquie 2006 Cotes du Ventoux

Dinner is served!

Cheese Course

Gorgonzola with fresh pear, sliced very thin, brie d’affinois, goat cheese with honey, served with pretzels (pretzels?  Yes, I know.  Sounds almost like bar food.  The cheese maiden at Central Market suggested it, and it was outstanding.  The crisp, saltiness of the pretzels contrasted with the smooth, sweet, creaminess of the honeyed chevre.  Mmmm. )

Dessert & Cafe

Chaussons aux Pommes – This recipe takes up three pages in my cookbook.  Find it here**

Bon appetit!  Jamie toasts, “Vive la France!  Vive l’amitie!”  (Long live France!  Long live friendship!)