Lunch for one at Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat in the South West Dordogne

The Dordogne is one of my favorite areas of France.  This hotel Le Vieux Logis is a beautiful setting for a date for one or two or even for a wedding.  It is located in the center of this village and is a most beautiful building with fantastic gardens.  It is Early May and I am enjoying the outside as one of only two tables dining at this moment.  I sit imagining myself planning my wedding here tasting each dish as if it were being presented for consideration on my menu. Looking around for each setting, the rehearsal dinner, the  wedding ceremony, the reception and the photo session. Numerous nooks and expansive gardens fit all of the profiles with perfection.  I ordered the Degustation menu of the season.  The restaurant offers several menu options all looked equally delicious.

The beautiful garden in which my table was located. Food photos to follow....

funny things for my nephews

Hello to my nephews! Here are some more funny things from my travels.

This bike was on the streets of Paris neat the Jardin De Luxembourg.  They say people here are obsessed with the garden. Scooters and bikes are everywhere here too as well as in other parts of Europe.  As we saw in Rome and around Italy the scooters and small cars are needed as many of the roads are very narrow through the cities and villages. My larger car got stuck once in a rock wall lined hilltop street in a little village in Vence, France. I couldn't make the turn and got stuck as I was also poorly skilled at driving a car with a stick shift on a steep hill.  My tears turned to laughter once I finally got myself unstuck and found my way to the final destination for the day.

another little car for my nephews

Italian Institute of Advanced Culinary and Pastry Arts

I have received many suggestions from friends that I post about the "cooking school" that I attended in Calabria, Italy this year. Specifically about what a disaster it was and to warn others to beware it is not what it professes to be.  

Last year, after many years of not following my own passion but encouraging others and to follow theirs, I made a decision to go to Italy to attend a cooing school.  I was truly excited about the curriculum and the teachers/chefs looked great.  They were advertised as "masters" in their field and winners of World Cup competitions... I was looking forward learning from true experts.  We were to be housed in a fine hotel overlooking the sea in a popular resort town.  We had a list of excursions, consultations and meetings with producers, purveyors and artisans to learn deeply about the production and creation of things such as olive oil and gelato.  It was touted as a professional development program of the highest caliber.

Instead...

I arrived to a deserted town near Soverato Italy.  The hotel, abandoned for the winter, was cold in appearance and in temperature as the building remained unheated for the winter.  The hotel, positioned at the top of a tall hill overlooking two bays, had the potential to be fabulous and may have been at one time but years of neglect and seeming indifference have rendered it mostly uninhabitable.  Many rooms were closed because of the crumbling hillside. Many toilets, water heaters and room heaters did not function. The foul order of methane caused two members of the student population to become ill, plumbing issues which persisted and involved many student changing rooms repeatedly.  No hot water, no water, sewage back ups, I could go on. For many of us the heat did not work properly in our rooms (or at all).  The only heated area of the entire hotel was in the classroom and kitchen, the dining area and hotel lobby area remained unheated and frigid. The wifi access was available only in the unheated lobby or outside on the front patio... outside.... in the winter... getting the picture...  and was so slow it was almost pointless to use.   The resort town of the hotel was empty not really a soul around.  Soverato, the nearest functioning town was about 20 min by taxi at a minimum of 15 Euros or over 20 bucks.

I myself was bitten by something in my room that sent me to the hospital.  Bugs happen, I know, but I'm painting the full picture of my disappointment.

The first night of the welcome gala was a meal fit for a dive bar, touted as a wonderful display of regional specialities.  This was my first pang of fear that this might not be what I had thought or what I was looking for.  

France's coast Normandy and Brittany Mt Saint Michel, Carnac, Trouville

This part of the trip went along the Brittany coast.  I loved this area so much the food the people the sea.  It was so interesting with all of the history and cultural mix from celtic origins, actually before that.  There were sites of interest all along the way , castles, churches, monoliths and alignments ( stones all lined up facing certain directions in Carnac amazing.  

My route

the beach at Carnac a nice place for a nap...

The amazing rocks and alignments, the Carnac Stones.

Normandy and the coast

As I begin the journey from Paris I stop in  Giverny that town of Monet, and see his home and fantastic garden.  So the post dedicated to this place.  I then proceed to travel Normandy a beautiful norther region of France.  I admit I did not spend enough time there.  I went to the town of Rouen. Famous for Joan Of Arc  Rouen.  Then to the coast along to Le Havre,  Trouville-sur-Mer, Deauville.  I just loved these coastal areas and being one of the few people there at the time it was magical.

Paris to Angers map and destinations

Rotisserie chicken at the Rouen market.  Notice the potatoes at the bottom soaking up all of the juices!  They have another with other roasts, proc and such.

The road this was the most vibrant green.  All of the rain is fertile for spring.

This was brilliant yellow.  this cloudy day doesn't do it justice, so bright.

the bridge connecting Le Havre to Honfleur

Monet's garden

A little detour on my way to Rouen.  For some reason the name Giverny sounded important to me while looking at the map.  As this road trip was particularly spontaneous I followed my instincts and low and behold Monet's garden.  I knew I knew it.  It was 5 pm and I was nearly alone here, a magical experience.  It was raining a bit but it was still a fairytale garden.

the town

the front of Monet's house

Cooking up a little something in Paris- Macarons and a walk in the rain.

Weather report for the next 10 days - rain-.  Dang it.  Ive been walking in it and strolling and enjoying myself between rain drops and sun bursts.  Today I took a Macaron making class.  fun! My chef teacher was at La Varenne Ecole de cuisine for years ( a school I attended in 1986) and was even there when I was so it was fun sharing stories about chefs past.  I actually found myself strolling around the old neighborhood in the 7th before class.  Small world.  It is feeing much smaller to me now after traveling.

I have to say I cooked at home tonight just too cold to go back out.  I nailed it!  fennel and leek soup,  simple and great.  wild mushrooms with cream and leeks and reduced to a yummy intensity, I just put it on bread.  oh my! So much for a light dinner.  I did follow it up with a green salad... All ingredients from a few local markets that i've been wondering around.

Macaron class at La Cuisine Paris cooking school. http://lacuisineparis.com/content/english-speaking-cooking-classes-in-paris

Classes in english are available, this one was taught by a former La Varenne chef grad and current chef.  Students fromUS, Paris, New Zealand and Australia and Me.

The egg whites after the sugar syrup went in, beautiful white and fluffy.

A new look....

Today I was experimenting and somehow changed the look of the blog.  let me know what you think , better, worse moreconfusing. I guess all the goodies are on the left pane now... Im not sure I like it...

Thai Cooking school in Bangkok.

Cooking Thai food in Bangkok.  After checking out several schools this one proved to be the most entertaining and actually low key as well as informative.  With a classroom full of internationals from Brazil, Australia, Japan, England, Switzerland and the US, we enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and yummy food.  So after freezing my tush off in Italy for the last several months, I am now sweating it off in humid Bangkok.  As this was rather spontaneous I am glad for the few warm weather clothing items I happened to pack.  Mostly yoga clothes. These are quite a few photos beginning with a market visit and through various classes on different Thai dishes. Wow what a switch in food.  And after the crappy food we were fed at the Italian Institute of crappy food and abuse, Im thrilled with the fresh and fantastic food i am experiencing in Thailand.

this is coconut milk processing , this bowl contains the shredded coconut that later we will squeeze to get the coconut mil we use for the amazing dishes we prepare.

Fish and shrimp, Thai style.  I love going to different market.  This one is actually quite small and really clean and no stinky smells.  Other markets have all of the dried fishes, shrimps and other sea things then when dried smell very strong ! this one is bright and cheery perhaps it caters to all of the cooking schools in the area.  It seems to be everywhere that I see little signs for cooking schools, so it is quite a business.

our baskets of goodies

Not good at change

I feel like my parents.  As I sit here attempting to make sense out of a new Blogger format, I barely had an idea of how to handle the last version now we are on to another, I find myself remembering my father and the VCR.  I have become my parents.  I left several unfinished blogs in draft mode awaiting my photos and I can't seem to figure out how to find them now... Perhaps in time I will.

Buddhas in Bangkok

Here are a few photos of a few Buddhas in Bangkok.

This is the reclining Buddha.  It is huge.  I took several photos from various angels and in some included people to show its enormity.

A special touch at the hotel

A special touch in the room.  The day I arrived I had an array of small purple Orchids, so perfect in fact I assumed them to be fake.  The next day I noticed a change and then realized these to be real.  So I am taking a photo of all of them as they change because I appreciate the touch so much.  This hotel is a lovely oasis from the chaos outside.  I don't think it is extreme traffic, having grown up in Chicago and lived in several cities.

Another day in Bangkok- night too- the night market scene

Another day in this bustling town.  What a difference from the sleepy town we were in near Soverato, Italy.  Another friend has appeared in this town and a group of us went out to enjoy more yellow curry crab and a night out in the night market.  ( more like meat market- and not the steak kind) Back at home I was often in bed by 10 and up by 6, my schedule has had several changes over the past few months.  In Rome, I adjusted to the mid day huge lunch followed by an equally huge nap and later nights and large meals most of the time.  This continued for most of Italy until school- no naps but my nights were now later as I discovered blogging,online books and online movies/tv.  (old habits die hard).

Now it would seem that staying out until 2am and sleeping until noon was the new for last night.  I am attending another cooking school tomorrow so an earlier night is preferred.  The night market was so intense I forgot to take photos so I will do my best to explain.  I'm embarrassed to say what shows were being offered for our viewing pleasure ( some involved ping pong balls and others darts or "lady boys") I had heard about this before but as this trip was impromptu I had conveniently parked this information deep in the dark hallways of my mind.  Until last night.  We walked through areas of stalls selling clothes, watches, t shirts , knock off purses and wallets, lighting , jewelry and other trinkets.  Most stalls repeating the wears every 4 or 5 stalls.  these stalls were along the main road and through the center of a wide side road.  These stalls were flanked by various bars and night clubs and the occasional restaurant.  It began to close down around 1 am.  at least the stalls selling .  It looked as if the bars would continue for a while.  After an interesting cab ride back to the hotel I was happy for a shower in my beautiful rain shower.  The hotel is very nice.  the room is great and a perfect size.  The bed is dreamy comfortable and the AC is perfectly cold.  All in all the hotel is a great find.  But again I have the newest set if jumping kids above my head.  Tonight going out to see a rooftop restaurant or two...

Ronald McDonald in Namaste

Namaste

Day one Bangkok- doing pretty well so far

After a disappointment with the Culinary School in Calabria my friend Abeehru and I decided to make lemonade out of lemons.  We arrived in warm and friendly Bangkok.  I have never been here before and am pleasantly surprised with the warmth of the people every where we go here.  We began our day with a delicious lunch of fried grouper and yellow curry crab and the best iced coffee i've ever had.  We will try another school here, and plenty of culinary research - eating :)  

A view from the restaurant near the hotel

beautiful and yummy too, this came with a green papaya salad that was quite hot ( not quite rip your tongue off hot but hot !)

Yellow Curry crab

We are happy now, good food, good friendship good day!

More Venice- winter in Venice

This was a sight.  The canals of Venice frozen.

Aspects of Venice

There are many photos here I couldn't pick just a few so Ill keep the writing mostly here and captions by some photos.  Many years a go my brother and I spent a summer doing the post college summer trek.  I recall Venice and almost skipped it for sights previously unseen.  Let's just say I am so glad I went back. I must say I am thoroughly enchanted by Venice.  It was cold, I mean COLD.  I wore my long johns and wool pants and it was still COLD.  I went with a few classmates from culinary school.  We rented a great apartment well located to everything we wanted to see.  Six adults sharing one bath, we did pretty darn good.  These photos are in no particular order and are taken on my phone as I still have not fixed my "good" camera.  I think the little Blackberry is doing pretty well considering.

Canals and more canals. This place is a maze of canals.  ( I am speaking as if no one has been here just to help my descriptive process flow, I do not mean to insult anyone who has)  Per usual my traveling companion of three months and I wandered out without a plan or map and as usual discovered beauty and excitement around each turn.  We feel we should write a guide how to get lost in Italy and see everything anyway.  

Strange but typical- a quick post

For some reason there is a german family camped in the hall outside of my hotel room with all of their belongings and two young children spread all over the hallway crumpling piles of plastic bags for the past hour.  I had the opportunity to change rooms today as the original room I booked wasn't ready yesterday.  I decided to stay in this room because it was quite... go figure.  I have had a strange Karma with rooms for the past few years.  (up until now...)  if there was a banging door Ill be next to or above it, a fighting couple , jumping children on my ceiling, a party or elevator dinging... Don't know why, wish it would stop.  Maybe when I get to the point I can laugh every time it happens it will stop.  Today I am laughing and wondering... but as I had hoped for a nap, not going to happen... they are literally leaning on the wall of my room.. Im in a nice hotel too.  I'm making an assumption they are either awaiting entry to their room, lost their keys, are too hot to go out or are catching a late flight.  they did not want my help so...

But for today all I know is that I have A/C a terrifically comfortable bed and equally comfortable pillows for the first time in 3 months, I am no longer freezing my tucas off without hot water in a dumpy hotel in Calabria. It is a good day. :) My wish is for everyone to have a good day too.
 this is what my nice room looks like.. its a good day

Valentine's Day in Venice

This is a candy store window is so beautiful it deserves a large photo.

This one too wow

 Next, after a grand time wandering the streets of Venice on Valentine's day eve we enjoyed two apperativo places. Aperativo- A type of happy hour pay a price for a drink and eat from a buffet of various items such as pasta, crostini ( toasted bread with toppings), cheeses vegetables.  Our first stop was a place we visited the night before.  Standing room only and by the piece priced crostini. Topped with Baccala Montecato ( salt cured / dried cod reconstituted in milk and whipped up with cream / olive oil and parsley- like a chunky very rich mousse: cheese and onion or peperoncino marmalata, various prosciutto, sardines and anchovies.  We sang along with gondoliers to Italian classics and laughed.  So fun we went two nights in a row.

The headed to another restaurant on a hidden canal and dock near the grad canal.  The fist live music played here was a piper and drum trio.  We had bumped onto this trio 3 other times that day.  It was fun and lively and a reason to enjoy a second Aperativo.

Snow- White Carnival- Bologna

So, any of you from Chicago, or other parts with snowy winters may see this as a normal picture of a snowy airport.  This however is the Bologna, Italy airport on Feb 11, 2012.  I was on my way from Soverato , Calabria to Venice for some Carnival fun when the Rome airport closed and I opted to take a flight to Bologna and take the train the rest of the way to Venice.  This is what I arrived into in Bologna. Snow! Like over a foot.  De-icing of planes was taking place.  At this and many if not most of the airports Ive been flying to deplane down the stairs and then you are taken by bus to the terminal.. This sight was surreal, standing on the tarmac next to these large planes in the snow with bull dozers all around trying to keep up with the snow and ice.  I felt like I was in Chicago only without the benefit of inside gates.

 Bologna countryside on the way home a few days later.  Still white.

First Menu Execution- Northern Italy

Here is a copy of the first menu we did for the school.  It was our first menu execution.  We were split into 2 groups north and south.  I was voted head chef and we created menu to present to the judges and our peers based on a few rules.  Things we had seen made at school and related to the section of italy.  It was pretty fun.  We will have several more of these before the end.  Kind of reminded me of my production days, all about project and time management.

Italia Nord

Quail Galantine stuffed with truffles on a saffron Potato Crisp topped with a Grappa and Balsamico Traditional pickled Onion 

Baccala Montecato con Pane Di Sepia Toast

Squash Ravioli in a Sage butter Sauce con Parmigiano Regiano and Fried Sage Leaf

Risotto  al Porcini con Balsamico Tradizionale

Persico alla Livornese con Polenta

Focaccia Genovese

Tiramisu

Italia Nord

Leek Roulade with Truffles and Toasted Hazelnuts topped with a Mele Balsamico Tradizionale

Cauliflower Montecato con Pane Di Sepia

Ricotta and Parmesan Ravioli con Burro Salvia e Parmigiano Regiano and a crispy sage Leaf

Risotto Porcini con Parmigiano Regiano e Balsamico Tradizionale

Eggplant Livornese con Polenta

Focaccia Genovese

Tiramisu

Beautiful Calabria and its bounty Blue Fin Tuna

Calabria is at the southern tip of Italy.  It is surrounded by seas.  There are 3 seas in this area of Italy.  About 200 meters off the coast the sea drops to an abyss of 3000 meters.  Just north, in the Bay of Taranto, Blue Fin Tuna Spawn.  Down by Calabria the young swim by and here there is a proliferation of small tuna.  As they round the tip of Italy and enter the Mer Tyrrhenian and are in the the area of Sicily they grow larger and are readily available there and across to Sardinia. Italy map This is the only area that has Tuna.

Conserves Week

This week we are making conserves in class.  We are conserving Tuna as well as other fishes , vegetables and fruits.

Blue Fin Tuna

 Guts of Blue Fin Tuna

Cooking The Tuna 

Tuna has been cooked

Separating the sections to prepare for conserving or jarring.

This is as far as we got on this particular project today.  We do multiple things at a time throughout the day and keep quite busy.  much of what we are learning is artisan or old world.  We are learning what has worked for centuries and why and then making wonderful traditional dishes with the ingredients as we go along.  Some of the curing times for what we produce are days others months and over a year for others.  Guess I'll have to come back next year to taste what we made.  We are now tasting what the class of last year made.  So far they did a great job.  The process may not look glamourous but the results we are getting are so entirely worth the effort we put in.

Market Visit- Soverato, Calabria Italy

This is the local market about a 20 minute drive from me.  We will be shopping for our food stuffs at these markets regularly and Im very excited to watch the continuing seasonal changes reflected in the offerings.  When I was in Rome I saw an abundance of artichokes as it was just the beginning of the season upon my arrival.  As these phase out the changes show. In the southern regions of Italy there are differences as it is about 10 degrees warmer here.  Prolific fish as I am on the sea. Oranges and clementines, huge bulbs of fennel, mushrooms that don't have an actual name, raw honey of several varieties and the list goes on.

 Awesome sun dried figs, nuts seeds, procini mushrooms (dried) cookies a bounty and a fun group of guys here.

Happy Birthday to My Brother

Today is my brother's birthday !

I want to give a very big wish to him today for a Happy Happy Birthday! Today I scaled and filleted fish which brought back fond memories of our youth.  Our Dad took us fishing quite often and we had the opportunity to spend some wonderful time in some beautiful places.  We often brought home trout, blue gill, bass and salmon- huge salmon... As a matter of fact we caught so much salmon one year in Washington Island, Wisconsin that the small plane we flew over in couldn't take off with the weight.  If memory serves we took a ferry and the fish flew... Another time we had a stringer of blue gill and sun fish setting in the lake on the shore and a huge turtle tried to take the stringer of all of the fish. Another time while we fished with live bait an osprey swooped down to eat the bait and one of us either caught it or nearly did.  I also recall that my brother caught the back of his head, luckily our Dad had surgical skills.

We really were gifted so many wonderful experiences by our parents, not just fishing.  I was gifted a brother with whom I have enjoyed many adventures.  I am so very proud you Jim,  you mean the world to me.  I look forward to many more adventures with you.  Happy Happy Birthday!

Love, Pam

Big ugly fish and other crazy things for my nephews

Hi boys! I hope you are going to like these photos.  Look at the type of fish they catch off the beach where I am right now.  I am in southern Italy a region called Calabria.  A region is kind of like a state is in the United States.  Italy, the country where I am has several regions.  This one is south and warmer and is known for having short people and spicy hot food!  every where else in Italy they don't eat a lot of spicy food.  Here they have Blue Fin Tuna.  Only 3 areas around here do.  Today we cooked with Blue Fin tuna.

A Blue Fin Tuna.  Some grow to be bigger than you guys.  That is the teacher , the head Chef.  He is showing us how to clean it.

These fish are really bloody

 Thats them cooking

They are finished cooking

These are at the market where I shop, some still even have hooks in their mouths.

look at this ugly guy!

 This is a bowl of scorpion fish mostly little ones.  They have poison in them so they are tricky to eat a professional has to clean them and handle them.

lots and lots of fish

This is the inside of a sea urchin.  I ate this with bread.  It was really good.  It tastes like salty water and a little sweet.  You can get it in a sushi restaurant, you may have already tried it.  It is orange at home.

This is what the outside of it looks like.  Lots of spikey things.  When you see these guys under water they are on the bottom and the spikey things move around almost like waving.  On the very bottom there is a valve that lets in fresh water, they move pretty slowly.  Pretty cool aren't they.

I miss you both! 

Love you, Aunt Pam