The Food of France

"I have unfinished business with Paris."

This is what I keep telling everyone who asks me how I liked Paris and how I liked the food I ate there. There are two main reasons I say this: first, because we only spent four days in Paris and two were completely filled with going to the Normandy beaches and the Versailles gardens. And second: when I actually WAS in Paris one of our group dinners was at the Hard Rock Cafe (to make myself feel a little less guilty I ordered the Paris Burger), and our very last dinner in Paris--and our last dinner of our whole trip--was at an Italian Restaurant! After spending a week and a half in Italy, we eat our last meal at an Italian Restaurant!

Delicious Raspberry Macaroon

So now you can see why I have unfinished business with Paris. I didn't get to visit a single place from the 15 pages I printed of "Where to Eat in Paris", or David Lebovitz's book, The Sweet Life in Paris (which I diligently read during flights and train rides proceeding Paris).

REAL French Creme Brulee

With all that said, I would like to tell you that I DID have good food in Paris, just not as much as I would have liked.

After some pretty dreary weather in Austria and Germany I was ecstatic when we got off the train in Paris, a city I have dreamed of visiting since I was a child, and it was sunny! That first night our whole group headed to Rue Claire for dinner. It was just around the corner from our hotel (which was also just around the corner from the Eiffel Tower!). The street was simply precious with tons of restaurants, bakeries, specialty food and wine stores, and produce markets. Now this is why I came on this trip!

Places to go on Rue Claire

I did stumble across a few wonderful cafes and bakeries in France but honestly one of my favorite wasn't even in Paris at all! It was in a small town on the northern coast of France, near Normandy beaches, called Sainte Mere Eglise.

I stumbled upon Le Fournil while scoping out a good place to have lunch. Many students from our group were going to have lunch at a hamburger stand nearby. Disappointing and disgusted, I went in search of a "more French" place (these students reported that it was the worst burger of their life, and subsequently came and had a second lunch at the place I picked out!).

After this good lunch we walked outside and discovered Le Fournil across the street. I had to go in. After looking around in astonishment at my dream French Bakery I decided to buy a small white chocolate and raspberry mouse cake (pictured above). I was so caught up in the moment that I took it to go eat outside and forgot a fork! I ended up eating it with my hands like a barbarian--it also didn't help that I was moaning and muttering "this...is...so...good" between mouthfuls of moist cake. 

I was so impressed with my cake that I had to make a second trip into the patisserie to buy something I could take home. My friends told me I probably didn't have enough time and might miss our bus, but this was worth it! I grabbed the first thing I saw that was packaged and paid for it--a small bag of tiny orange candies which I am eating right now!

Many people go to Paris with high expectations for delicious crepes. My first crepe--with nutella--was purchased at a small crepe shop right next door to the Moulin Rouge. But my favorite crepe place was also found on Rue Claire. 

I had heard several girls on my trip mention that they had frequented a crepe cart around the corner so many times that the man now knew their names. On our last night in Paris--after the depressing Italian dinner experience--I knew I needed a crepe. I went with a group of students to this stand. I ordered one of the most simple crepes you can get, cinnamon sugar with butter. I took so many pictures of the crepe man in action that he pretty much offered to apprentice me! I should have taken him up on the offer!

If I had to pick my favorite meal I had in Paris, I would say it was the very last meal I ate there before heading to the Paris airport to fly back home to Portland. I had gotten up early that morning to make sure I was packed and ready to go. I had a little extra time so I decided to wander in search  of a good breakfast. 

I discovered a boulangerie and patisserie directly across the street that I had never noticed before, J.M. Bretteau. I went inside and picked out a heavenly-looking almond croissant. Just thinking of it now is making my mouth water. It was the best pastry I have EVER put into my mouth.

To go with my croissant I went to a fruit stand and purchased a small container of raspberries and some fresh squeezed orange juice. It was such a humble breakfast, and couldn't have cost me more than 7 euros, but like I said, it was the best meal I had in Paris. It was so bittersweet, too, because it was also my last meal of my three week long trip.

Well, this concludes my blog posts about my awesome European trip. It was an experience of a lifetime and I really hope I am blessed enough to have the opportunity to go back again soon--especially to Paris! I made wonderful memories, met people from all over world, took about 2,000 pictures, spent about $300 on souvenirs and ate about 63 meals (with countless snacks and desserts). Just thinking about it now is making me hungry! I think I'll go make myself a crepe....Au Revoir!

Crepes Vs. Blinnas, An Easter Showdown

My family's new Easter tradition is very nontraditional. We forgo the big Easter dinner and do an Easter brunch instead. We skip the ham, asparagus, and potatoes and choose to prepare crepes in their place. We don't limit our day to enjoying our family, but rather we invite everyone we know and love, friends, neighbors, friends of friends, anyone who wants an awesome home cooked meal on Easter. 

Joy of Cooking cookbook older than me

We started this tradition last year when my mom and I were in the mood for a new Easter tradition. Who says you can only spend Easter with your family? We have so many wonderful friends, and we wanted to see if there was any chance they might not have plans or would rather spend their day with us. We were surprised how many people showed up! I guess we weren't the only ones tired of the same ol' Easter dinner. 

Last year we made crepes. A lot of crepes. We also had many other food options to choose from. My mom and I were at the stove all day making crepes to order. Our friends could choose from a sweet crepe or a savory crepe made with their choice of a big selection of ingredients that we sauteed up on the spot while simultaneously cooking the actual crepe itself. Then we assembled and served with a smile.

 Cooking blinna

I am sure you realize how labor intensive this was. As a result, this year we decided to modify our Easter brunch concept a little bit. Instead of cooking the savory crepe filling to order we made one filling ahead of time that we used in all the savory crepes. To keep with the Easter tradition a little, we baked a beautiful ham to use in the filling of the savory crepes. We used my favorite ham recipe of all time, one that always turns out phenomenal! (See the recipe at the end of this post!) We diced the ham, and added it to sauteed onion, garlic and mushroom, wilted spinach, and a store bought pesto sauce. We topped the mixture with a white bachamel sauce and mozzarella cheese. It was a delicious combination!

For our sweet crepe option we cut up a big bowl of fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana. We piled fruit inside a crepe with a dallop of fluffy tapioca cream, and topped the whole thing with whipped cream. It was a very fresh and simple way to make a tasty crepe!

 Bourbon Honey Glazed Ham

Sounds easy enough, right? Well, it gets a little more difficult. My mother is German, and often feels very nostalgic about traditional German recipes that she would watch her German grandmother make when she was a child. One of these such foods is blinnas, or German crepes. The previous year we had prepared solely French crepes, but this year my mom wanted to do both. She just loved the yeast-y flavor that blinnas have. 

Crepe in the foreground, blinna in the background

So there you have it. Our lucky guests were given the option of French or German Crepe, and sweet or savory. Well, needless to say everyone wanted one of each option. So we had to make sure we had enough crepes for everyone to have two. We had made about 40 crepes by the end of the party.

When the guests started arriving my mom and I took our place at our stations. I was the crepe girl. And she was right next to me, the blinna girl. We each had our own pan and our own bowls of batter (about 4 recipes worth of each). On the counter next to us we each had our own chafing dishes where we were to put our crepes in when they were made, to keep them warm before we started serving them. I am proud to say that my first crepe turned out great, but unfortunately I cannot say the same for mom. To her credit, she did have to try out a few pans first because I had the only official "crepe pan" in the house. 

This is where a little friendly competition came in. 1, 2, 3, 4 crepes made, but no successful blinnas.  I began joking to the guests sitting at the eating bar watching us that this was now a contest and the score was now crepes: 4, blinnas: 0. But my mom told them all that she would win in the taste category.  None of our guests had ever had a blinna and surprisingly a few had not even had a crepe before. 

Before long my mom took off to do other things, leaving me in charge of both the crepes and blinnas. Luckily, my cousin's girlfriend stepped in to help. After a while I got so good at making crepes I didn't even have to think about what I was doing anymore. I could socialize, eat, drink and make a crepe all at the same time. Maybe someday I could get a job as a crepe maker at my favorite creperie in Portland, Le Happy...

 Sweet crepe with a banana berry and tapioca filling

Honestly, I don't know if crepes or blinnas won. I do know for a fact that I made a lot more crepes than my mother made blinnas (I really think she stopped at 1), so crepes won in that respect. But in the taste category, blinnas might have won. They are made with yeast and sit overnight. They certainly do have more flavor than crepes, but the real question we need to ask ourselves is: are crepes meant to serve the sole purpose of containing and featuring the great flavors inside, or should the crepes themselves have a distinct flavor of their own? Honestly, I don't know the answer to that, and if I did my answer would probably change depending on what I was putting inside the crepe/blinna. So...what do you think? 

Bourbon Honey Glazed Ham

From Sandra Lee and Food Network

2/3 cup bourbon or whiskey
1 cup clover honey
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup 100 percent fruit orange marmalade
Nonstick cooking spray
1 (5-pound) whole bone-in smoked ham, fully cooked, unsliced
1/8 cup whole cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, heat bourbon, honey, molasses, and marmalade over low heat for 15 minutes or until reduced by half, stirring occasionally. (When measuring honey and molasses, spray measuring cup with nonstick cooking spray to keep measurements accurate.) Set aside.

With a sharp knife, cut a diamond pattern on the fatty part of the ham. Stud whole cloves in each diamond, at points where lines cross. Spread half of the bourbon glaze over the ham and roast for 30 minutes, uncovered. Baste occasionally with remaining glaze and continue to roast for another 15

French Pancakes, aka Crepes

Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine and sift the dry ingredients. Make a well in the sifted ingredients. Mix the liquid ingredients and pour into the well of the dry ingredients. Combine them with a few swift strokes. Ignore the lumps; they will take care of themselves. Heat a 5-inch skillet. Grease it with a few drops of oil. Add a small quantity of batter. Tip the skillet and let the batter spread over the bottom. Cook the pancake over moderate heat. When it is brown underneath, reverse it and brown the other side.

**Note from Kami: I found that using a non-stick skillet it was fine not using oil between each crepe. They turned out better when I stopped adding oil each time. 

**Second note: After trying a few crepes I found that the batter was too thick. Don't be afraid to add more milk until the batter is an easy consistency to work with.

German Pancakes, aka Blinnas

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 pkg dry yeast dissolved in 1 cup luke warm water

2 1/2 cups scalded milk, cooled

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup melted butter

3 eggs, beaten

Make a soft sponge by combining the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and 2 cups of flour, let set over night. In the morning scald 1/2 cup milk, add 1 tsp. baking soda to milk, 1/3 cup melted butter, 3 eggs beaten, add to batter.

Bake in hot skilled, brushed lightly with shortening each blinna the first time, or oftener if blinna stick. Brush with hot melted butter.

**Note from Kami: After trying a few blinnas I found that the batter was too thick. Don't be afraid to add more milk until the batter is an easy consistency to work with. 

Fluffy Tapioca Cream 

Adapted from the back of a Minute Tapioca Box :) 

1 egg, separated

6 Tbsp.  sugar, divided

3 Tbsp. MINUTE Tapioca

2 cups  2% reduced fat milk

1 tsp. vanilla 

Juice and rind of 1/2 a lemon

Beat egg white in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 3 Tbsp. sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Mix tapioca, remaining sugar, milk and egg yolk in medium saucepan. Let stand 5 minutes.

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to full boil. Remove from heat. Quickly stir egg white mixture into hot tapioca in saucepan until well blended. Stir in vanilla. Cool 20 minutes; stir. Serve warm or chilled. For creamier pudding, place plastic wrap on surface of pudding while cooling. Stir before serving. Store leftover pudding in refrigerator.

Bechamel Sauce 

From Mastering the Art of French Cooking

2 Tbsp butter

3 Tbsp flour

2 cups of milk and 1/4 tsp salt heated to a boil 

Salt and pepper to taste 

In a saucepan melt the butter over low heat. Blend in the flour,  and cook slowly, stirring, until the butter and flour froth together for 2 minutes without coloring. This is now a white roux. 

Remove roux from heat. As soon as roux has stopped bubbling, pour in all the hot liquid at once. Immediately beat vigorously with a wire whisk to blend liquid and roux, gathering in all bits of roux from the inside edges of the pan. 

Set saucepan over moderately high heat and stir with the wire whisk until the sauce comes to the boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring. 

Remove from heat, and beat in salt and pepper to taste.

Le Happy

The Top 5 Reasons Why I Love Le Happy:

1. The food is great (this should always be #1).
2. It's open late.
3. It's weird. Like Portland. 
4. It's the perfect spot for a date, or a group of friends.
5. They are not afraid to decorate with silk flowers. 

Who doesn't love crepes? They are warm, delicious and can be filled with anything anyone can imagine. What's NOT to like?!

After church, a group of us decided to go on a girls date to Le Happy- a creperie in downtown Portland. This was my first visit, and I had high expectations due to all the great reviews I had heard about Le Happy.

 Strawberry Nutella Crepe at Le Happy

On Saturday nights they are open until 2:30am (heck yes!), and we strolled in the door at about 9:30pm. The small restaurant was packed, and there was barely even room to stand and wait. But we could tell by the cozy and funky atmosphere that we were in the right place, and therefore we didn't mind waiting. The small restaurant is very dimly lit at night with the main source of light coming from candles and a disco ball that showers red spots around the room. Le Happy seems to be particularly fond of fake flowers, because there were entire walls of funky, brightly colored flowers.

Good thing we had to wait for seats, because it takes a while to take it all in at Le Happy. First of all, their idea of artwork is very "unique".  Several walls are covered completely with colorful silk flowers. Another wall contains eyeglasses hung as if they were artwork. Sitting on the bar is an area that appears to be a ceramic cat shrine. Upwards of twenty little ceramic felines--all unique--sit unassuming in the corner. Even the women's bathroom is something to behold. On the back of the door--looking at you while you pee--are almost one hundred tiny little pictures of men smiling back at you front of the fake-flower-wall. Creepy? A little.

The staff was really friendly and did their best to get the seven of us seated at a table quickly. Once seated I went straight to work on deciding what delicious crepe I would order. As you can imagine this was quite difficult. Le Happy's menu includes a full page of sweet crepes and a full page of savory crepes. As if that doesn't make it difficult enough, you can even create your own crepe from a list of mouth-watering ingredients. If you aren't feeling like a crepe (what is wrong with you?), they also serve steak and salads. After much thought and inner-turmoil I gave-up and ordered the same crepe as a friend as the table had ordered (which, by policy, I am usually against).

The strawberry nutella crepe I devoured was fantastic. The crepe itself was the perfect thickness and the filling was amazing. In my opinion, crepes and nutella go together like bread and butter. My friend ordered a simple savory crepe with caramelized onions and goat cheese, and it too was delicious.

After one visit Le Happy has instantly made it onto my list of favorite restaurant in Portland. You should try it out!