The daily breakfast Cafe

Breakfeast croissants, which are so good! (Especially on Tuesday, when they were still warm from the bakery)

Switched it up today with a chocolate croissant!

A picture of our little cafe, starring Chase right in the middle.

Bordeaux for under 10 euro

Finally, as I finish up my first round of Posts, I am drinking a wonderful bottle of Bordeaux, and it only cost my 9.25 Euro at the store. It isnt very dry, and is very fruit forward. Its medium bodied, and a very good, easy drinking wine. With a slightly acidic finish, every sip has you wanting to drink another.

Lunch by the Seine

This was Wednesday, at a small cafe down by the Seine River. It was packed with locals, so we knew it would be good. I finally, after several minutes, went with the Duck Confit. The duck was juicy and rich and delicous, and the beans were the best if ever had. They had some seasoning I couldnt quite put my finger on. The potatoes were roasted to perfection and were delicious as well. Hey, only 12 euro for a meal like this, I could live with that.

We also enjoyed a bottle of Gamay. This line was light, similar to a light Pinot Noir. It was fairly dry and light on the fruit, but had very pleasent spicy notes on the finish. It was very enjoyable, and for 19 euro, was also a great buy.

After visiting Notre Dame, taking a boat tour down the river(and the Eiffel Tower), I enjoyed an awesome Cappuccino at a cafe on the river.

Notre Dame!

Cappuccino at the cafe

Group Lunch Review

So, at our group lunch we had a three course meal. The first course was a goat cheese, chive, and artichoke spread with red bell pepper sauce. It was very good, especially to dip the bread in.

The second course was a chicken, braised or roasted with a sweet sauce(maybe cognac) and roasted leeks. The chicken was fantastic, as were the roasted leeks.



The final dessert course was a creme brulee with pear. It was decent, as I normally dont care for creme brulee. This was was more egg and less cream, so thats probably why I that it was decent.

I always thought that French food would be fancy, in little tiny portions, but I was obviously wrong. 

First Post in Paris!

It's Tuesday late afternoon, so I'm finally getting settled in Paris. On Sunday, we didn't do too much. After about 2 hours of sleep on the flight, the trek from the airport to the hotel, and the orientation with cheese and crepes, I was very tired, but managed to go sit at a cafe and split a bottle of Petit Chablis with Courtney and Sophie. oddly enough, it doesn't get dark here until like 1030, so wouldn't have been able to go to sleep early anyways.

So on Monday, I woke up bright an early for breakfast, which consisted of coffee, a delicious croissant, and orange juice, which is a typical breakfast here in france. We had class, then had a group lunch, which I will get to in a minute. Later on, we went down to the Champs Elysees, a main shopping strip in Paris. After the interesting experience in 5 story Abercrombie, with the shirtless guys and dancing employees, we walked down the strip and then had dinner at a cafe. I had the Nicoise salad, which was pretty good, but nothing to write home about. We finished the night with a couple glasses of wine at a nearby bar, then called it a night.

Shrimp and Corn Bisque

Served around 10 for appetizer.

For the Bisque:

2 lbs. Medium-Large Shrimp(heads on), peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 onion, diced small
2 ribs celery, chopped small
1/3 green bell pepper, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups of stock(see below)
2-3 cups of milk(not sure how much I used, probably 3)
4 ears of fresh sweet corn(cut off the cob)
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp Tomato Paste
Couple dashes of Cayenne pepper and White pepper
1 tbsp Hot Sauce(use more for desired spiciness)
1 tbsp fresh Parsley, chopped
4-5 leaves fresh Basil, chiffonade(thin strips)
6 tbsp Butter
S/P
1 tbsp Vermouth(if you have it)
1/2 tbsp Brandy(if you have it)
2 Green onions(slice green tops for garnish)

Before you begin making the bisque, the stock and corn should be ready. You can grill the corn while the stock is simmering. Grill the corn on high on all sides for a couple minutes per side, or until the kernels just start to get grill marks. Once sligtly charred all around, wrap in foil and finish cooking for about 15 minutes on the grill(turned down to medium). Cut the corn kernels of the cobs and reserve for the bisque.

1. Put the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Once melted, add celery, onion, and bell pepper. Saute for 3-4 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften. Add the cayenne/white pepper.
2. Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute.
3. Add the tomato paste and saute for another minute.
4. Add the flour and saute for another minute.
5. Add the vermouth and brandy, if using, and start stiring together, cooking for about 30 seconds.
6. Add the stock and milk, stiring the flour/vegetable mixture to incorporate into the liquid. Add a little S/P and the hot sauce.
7. Bring up to a low simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Then add in the corn and fresh herbs. Bring back to a simmer.
8. Once back to a simmer, add the shrimp. Bring to a simmer for about 1 minute, then take the pot off the heat. Keep covered for about 10 minutes, allowing shrimp to finish cooking. Taste, and add S/P or hot sauce as desired. Top with sliced scallions when serving.


For the Stock:

Shells and Heads from the Shrimp
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
8 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs of thyme
2 sprigs of parsley
1 sprig of basil
1/2 tbsp whole black peppercorns
2 tsp salt
Dash of cayenne and paprika
EVOO

1. Peel the shrimp, reserving the heads and shells.
2. In a stockpot, heat a couple tbsp EVOO over medium high heat. Put shrimp heads and shells in. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
3. Then put in the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic. Sprinkle with the dashes of cayene and paprika. Continue to saute for another couple minutes.
4. Add water, herbs, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
5. Cover pot with the lid cracked open. Simmer for an hour to an hour and a half, until the liquid has reduced by about 40%.
6. Once stock is ready, strain using a mesh strainer. Set the stock aside for the bisque.
(I had about 5 cups of stock, but used about 4-4 1/2 cups, leaving the stuff that settled in the bottom out of the soup. This can help avoid sand/grit that wasnt strained out from ending up in the bisque)

Sunday's Best

This was a meal that I just thought about in the Target parking lot, and after a stop by Publix, made it later that night. The asparagus, fish, and pasta are relatively easy to prepare, while the hollandaise can get a little tricky. The meal turned out great though, as the fish was grilled nicely with a little spiciness, the pasta had great herb and garlic flavor, and the lemony hollandaise sauce tied everything together for a delicious meal.

Fish fillets, snapper, grouper, whatever you have
Blacken seasoning
Bundle of large asparagus
6 cloves garlic, minced or smashed with a press
1 lb Angel hair pasta
Basil and chives
Evoo
S/P
Hollandaise sauce
6 egg yolks
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 lemon
2 sticks butter
Water
White pepper
Cayenne pepper
S/P
Fish/Asparagus/Pasta:
Cut off about a quarter to half an inch off the bottom of the asparagus(that part can be very tough). Toss the asparagus with a couple tbsp EVOO, two of the garlic cloves, a dash of crushed red pepper, and lots of S/P.

Next, rub the fish fillets with EVOO. Then lightly season both sides the fish with the blacken seasoning. Also sprinkle on S/P.

Turn the grill on medium high to high. Once preheated, put asparagus in a single layer on one side. The asparagus will take about 15 minutes or until cooked as desired. Lay the fish on the other side of the grill. Cook fish 4-5 minutes per side, depending on the fish. Make sure to get nice grill marks on the fish.

Boil pasta in salted water following directions on the box. Once the pasta is in the colander draining, place the pan back on the medium heat. Put 3-4 tablespoons of EVOO in the pot. Then, put in 3-4 cloves of minced(or pressed) garlic and several dashes of crushed red pepper when the oil goes into the pan(before it gets hot). Once the garlic starts to sizzle, cook for about 30 seconds. It can go to brown/crispy really quick, which we dont want. Toss in the chopped herbs and add the pasta in back in. Toss the pasta with the herbs and garlic, adding salt, pepper and olive oil as needed, until the pasta is coated well.

For the Hollandaise:
Put the egg yolks in a metal bowl. Whisk together with the dijon mustard, half a squeezed lemon, and about a tablespoon of cold water. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a glass cup, or something that can be used to pour the butter. After whisking for a few minutes, the egg mixture will be pale and thick, and will have added volume from whisking in the air. Add a small dash of cayenne, a few dashes of white pepper, and small dash of black pepper. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, as you would a double boiler, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Begin whisking when the bowl goes on. Be sure to constantly whisk. After about a minute, start pouring in butter. Make sure to start of pouring very slowly, and you can increase as you get further along. I had a little butter left over, in the bowl, so I didnt use the full two sticks. Add the other half lemon after adding the butter. The sauce should have been cooking and whisked for several minutes at this point. Salt to taste, and if you would like to thin out the sauce, add splashes of warm water, a little out a time, to desired thickness.