Mardi Gras Aftermath

Sometimes I completely forget about national/religious/worldwide holidays here. Not just like, "Oh, I didn't know today was a French holiday," but more like, "Oh, I forgot today was St. Patrick's Day." I'll plan to go shopping one random Tuesday or Wednesday, all the shops will be closed, and I'll have no clue why. Most of the time I just figure it's some French cultural thing; I swear some shops only open when they feel like it. I guess that's what happens when you don't work in an office anymore... or have a calendar.

So, if it wasn't for social media, I would have completely forgotten that yesterday was Mardi Gras. Well, maybe not. I set out to test the Madelines from Blé Sucré - said to be The Best Madelines in Paris by none other than David Lebovitz. Quentin and I were going to play hacky sack afterward, so I figured I could be bad and have a little treat before. They were pretty tasty, but apparently not the best Madelines that Quentin has ever had... so I guess I'll have to keep trying them until I find the best. I will take one for the team and make that sacrifice.

In the park right across from the bakery were a group of kids covered in white powder and dancing and laughing in clouds of white smoke. We thought they were theater kids practicing for a play, but as we made our way from the bakery to the park to play hacky sack, we noticed more and more kids covered head-to-toe in the same white powder.

Out of nowhere, a group of kids sprinted past us and completely blasted an unsuspecting group of teens with bags of flour and handfuls of eggs. Apparently it's a tradition here in Paris on Mardi Gras for the kids to run around throwing flour and eggs on each other, as a symbol of enjoying the last moments of what is about to be sacrificed for Lent.

Tartine Tuesday: Egg Salad Tartines

My Dad is here visiting for the next few weeks, and he graciously lugged a suitcase full of all of the things from my "Bring from the USA" list.

Here are some of the things that were on that list:

Theraflu

Mascara

Winter Clothes

Stuff from Amazon.com

Yellow Mustard

With the start of the winter flu season, I asked for a hefty supply of my favorite go-to cold remedy... Theraflu (and I've already used one this week)... thanks Mom for sending 3 boxes! Mascara is inconceivably expensive here at around $16-20 for even the cheapest brands, so I asked for 2. Of course, I needed all my winter coats, stockings, and sweaters that wouldn't fit in my suitcases this past July. There were a few goodies I bought for myself from Amazon.com... a sharpening stone for my knives, yoga mat, knife guards, etc. And lastly, and somewhat most importantly, yellow mustard.

I feel bad being one of those people who needs something, especially food related, from home. I'm living in France, I should drink their wine, eat their cheese, and use their mustard. I can drink their wine, and definitely eat their cheese, but when it comes to their mustard, I just can't. One, some of the French mustards will literally kick you into next year. Talk about opening up your sinuses. And two, being the foodie that I am, there are just a few things that I refuse to make unless I have yellow mustard. One, is deviled eggs, and another is egg salad.

I refuse to pay the outrageous price of 5-7 Euros for a teensie weensie little jar of yellow mustard here. I've looked all over at discount grocery stores and random shops trying to find a decently priced jar of yellow mustard, but have been without luck. There are a couple of "American" grocery stores here, Thanksgiving and The Real McCoy, and I'm sure that's where I'll find the cheapest prices, but I figured since my Dad was already on his way here, he could just toss a bottle in his suitcase.

Perfect timing for me, because now I can make these:

Egg Salad Tartines

6 slices of sprouted wheat bread, toasted

3 large eggs

1/2 of a small red onion, minced

1 small bunch of chives, chopped

2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoon mustard

salt and pepper, to taste

To hard-boil the eggs, place the eggs in a pot and fill with cold water until the eggs are just completely covered. Place over medium high heat. Once the water starts to boil, remove from the heat, cover and set a timer for 13 minutes. Once the 13 minutes are up, pour the hot water out of the pot and fill with cold water to stop the eggs from cooking. Once the eggs are cooled you can store them in the fridge until you need them. If you need to, you can do this a day or two in advance.

Peel and roughly chop the hard boiled eggs. Place into a bowl with the mayonnaise, mustard, and a few pinches of the chopped chives. Mix gently to combine (taste as you go, you may like your egg salad a little more mustard-y or a little more mayo-y). Salt and pepper to taste. 

Place egg salad on top of the toasted slices of sprouted wheat bread and top with minced red onion and chopped chives. Serves 2.

Tartine Tuesday: Spanish Chorizo, Egg, and Chive Oil Tartines

I don't know if I'll ever adapt to the coffee and pastry regime that is the French breakfast. I love starting my day with a good stick-to-your-ribs breakfast of eggs and meat. Much like my scrambled eggs with créme fraîche and lardons recipe, I tried to use a little French inspiration to drive this more American-style breakfast. 

The French have an affinity for cured meats, and saucisson and chorizo make frequent appearances to the table. You can adapt this recipe to whatever cured meats you have on hand (I used saucisson rosette the other day), just make sure they are thinly sliced to make for easier noshing. For this recipe, I used a spicy Spanish chorizo, which balanced well with the slight sweetness from the bread and creaminess of the egg. Be sure to use a meat which is cured, and does not need to be cooked, unlike Mexican chorizo. This will make your morning a little bit easier; one less thing to cook, one less pan to clean!

Continuing my LifeGreens programme bien être, I am using an organic sprouted wheat loaf instead of regular bread for these tartines (introduced to me by the LifeGreens CEO himself). Sprouted breads have no added sugar, fat, or preservatives (literally, the ingredients in my loaf are: sprouted wheat, almonds, and orange blossom water), and helps to regulate your blood sugar and digestion.

The loaf I used for this recipe has whole almonds studded throughout, which gives the dense and sometimes "difficult to think of as bread" texture a welcome crunch. Toasting the slices also brings out the nutty flavors of the almonds and eliminates some of the gummy texture. You can find sprouted grain loaves in many different flavors in most specialty health food stores. The texture is quite unlike your everyday bread, and can take some getting used to, but the flavor is delicious and the health benefits are a plus!

P.S. - Best eaten with a knife and fork.

Chorizo, Egg, and Chive Oil Tartines

4 slices of sprouted wheat bread with almonds, toasted

100 grams (1/4lb) of thinly sliced spanish chorizo

4 eggs

1/2 bunch of chives, chopped

olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper, to taste

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the chopped chives and olive oil together just until a paste is formed. After you have a thick paste, whisk in about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to make the paste thin enough to drizzle on top of the tartines.

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a medium frying pan (or non-stick pan) over medium-low heat. Crack the eggs into the pan and cook until the white part of the egg has set, about 3-5 minutes.

Place equal amounts of thinly sliced chorizo on each slice of toasted bread. Top with a sunny-side up egg and drizzle the chive oil over the top. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.

Scrambled Eggs with Crème Fraîche and Lardons

My dad always told me that a great cook is one who can cook an egg perfectly. And yes, my dad can cook a pretty delicious egg. Now, I love eggs to death, but back in the day, I couldn't cook a perfect egg to save my life. I would either fry the egg in a pan on high heat and then smother it with ketchup, or scramble them till they are dry and rubbery, and top it with cheese. Sound tasty?

So I've recently started honing my egg skills, trying new and more complicated ways to cook them. Turns out I'm not as bad of an egg cook as I thought. I've nailed how to perfectly hard boil an egg. I've almost perfected the 2 minute omelette à la Julia Child, which yields a very delicate, almost silky omelette(unlike the ones I used to make, which had a texture so unappealing I would almost vomit). I've also become a little obsessed with my grandmother's very tasty deviled eggs, and have that recipe down pat.

This morning, I wanted something different, something to kick start my inspiration for eggs... in France. I had some eggs, crème fraîche, and lardons in the fridge, and figured I could do something with the three. I researched a little and stumbled upon Gordon Ramsay's way to cook perfect scrambled eggs: slow and low, and in a saucepan. His way yields creamy, light, and fluffy scrambled eggs. I usually made my scrambled eggs on medium to medium high heat, and in a frying pan... which probably explains why they yielded dry, rubbery, lack-luster scrambled eggs. I think I'll try his way.

So here's my French take on an American bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich: Creamy, fluffy scrambled eggs with crème fraîche(the cheese), topped with crispy lardons(the bacon) on toast. Drool.

Scrambled Eggs with Crème Fraîche and Lardons

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Perfect Scrambled Eggs
 

4 eggs
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon crème fraîche
150g lardons(if you don't have access to lardons, you can always just use bacon that's cut into small strips)
salt and pepper, to taste
2 thick slices of toast

Heat a saute pan on medium to medium-low heat. Add the lardons(or bacon) and slowly render out the fat until they are browned and crispy. Place lardons on a paper towel to soak up any extra grease.

Crack eggs into a saucepan(preferably non-stick) and add butter. Do not add salt or pepper. Turn heat to medium/medium-low, and whisk the eggs and butter together with a spatula. Stir the mixture until it starts to thicken; if it starts to scramble too quickly, remove from the heat and continue to stir(You want to cook this slowly, so you will need to alternate cooking the eggs on and off the heat until they are at the right consistency). Return to heat and repeat this process until the eggs are thick and creamy.

Remove the eggs from the heat, and stir in crème fraîche. Season with salt and pepper and serve on toast. Top with lardons. Serves 2.

Day One

Very exhausted and hungry as hell, we've finally arrived in France. Day one went pretty smoothly. After messes of paperwork, overnight FedEx fiascoes and one too many tears in trying to get Bruzer, my cat, to France with me, we ironically didn't even go through customs at Charles De Gaulle. Bruzer seems to have survived the flight as well. I was worried that the non-direct(layover in Iceland) flight would traumatize him, after a friend of ours told us that it took 2 years for his cat to start purring again after an overseas flight. The only thing that happened was that he peed in his cage, but after spending almost 18 hours locked up like that, I can't blame him, I'd do it too. So once we got to Quentin's parents apartment I gave him a bath and plenty of treats.

Speaking of treats, I was starving from the flight. Thank you Iceland Air for being so cheap, but now I know why. Zero in-flight meals(unless you paid for them) means buying a bunch of really expensive airport food to last you through your flight. I bought about $35 worth of food to last me and Quentin through both flights, and in total: 1 Turkey sandwich, 1 Ham sandwich, Cold Udon Noodles, a small container of Macaroni Salad and Pesto Tortellini. They were all pretty tasty, but definitely not worth the 35 bucks. So needless to say, my first meal in France was a good one. Nothing too big, just a little something to tide me over, but something I've had before, something comforting, and something delicious. Galette with egg and cheese... oops, excuse moi, galette oeuf fromage. Crispy outside, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth inside... pure deliciousness.

 

 

Besides all of the goodness going on in my belly, it's been pretty calm today... mostly just unpacking and recouping from the jet-lag. So, more sleep for now, but tomorrow I'm going into Paris to meet up with an old friend that I haven't seen in years... and we'll be likely to eat something tasty! À demain!