World On A Plate

Gastronomic Tour de France: Stage 5 | Épernay > Montargis

Regions: Start of Race in Champagne > Finish in Loire

Here we are again! Barbara over at Winos & Foodies has wrapped up everything that's great about wine, food and cycling and France into one big Gastronomic Tour de France. Here's the full list of participants, their blogs and links to keep your own pace by.

Every year the course for the Tour de France changes some stages ever so slightly.  In 2005, Stage 6 began in Troyes.  Fast forward 5 years and today's stage begins in the commercial capital of the Champagne region, Épernay just 88 miles east-northeast of Paris.  Stage 5 is made for sprinters and for champagne drinkers.

 Built on a chalk foundation the town is the key commercial center for the production of champagne.   Most visitors will find themselves on the L'Avenue de  Champagne where many well-known champagne producers including Moet Chandon, Perrier-Jouet and Champagne Mercier can be found. Most tourist information you will come across will say that this avenue is the most valuable--more so than Fifth Avenue or Champs Elysees due to the many bottles of champagne stored in the chalk cellar caves below.  (I’m happy to house sit!)

Specialties of this region include andouillette de Troyes, a savory tripe sausage  made from  pork chitterlings and tripe, seasoned with fresh onion, salt, pepper and stuffed by hand into natural casings it is highly sought out. Another regional specialty is potee champenoise--a pot-au-feu consisting of jambon des Ardennes (smoked ham), cabbage and sausage.  

And if you are looking for something new and different for your everyday salad dressings keep an eye out for Vinaigre de Reims or the more commonly named, champagne vinegar. It is an elegant way to mix things up as it is  milder than most vinegars, you can use it with just a bit of oil and a pinch of sugar to create a tasty vinaigrette.

The boys of the Tour will dash across the plains and end up in Montargis, the second largest town in the Loire region. Medieval in looks with several canals and bridges it is sought out for it’s charm, honey, saffron and pralines.  There is also a rubber factory where, as a young boy, the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made shoes--but that is an entirely another story.  

Most will want to locate the the shop from where these pralines were originally sold, Maison de la Praline, that visitors seeking to taste the original crunch confectionery made from almonds, and dissolved in sugar back during the rule of Louis XIII.  The story goes they were created at the chateau the French soldier, diplomat, and sugar baron, Marshal du Plessis-Praslin.   Pralines from New Orleans are made from the more readily-found pecan.  

There is a piece of folklore found on the Southern CandyMakers site that, if not entirely factual is slightly plausible:

“A more playful account paints du Plessis-Praslin as a notorious ladies man, who asked his chef to come up with an irresistible treat he could present to the women he would court. He would put the sweet sugary nuts into little parcels marked with his name, so people began to call the sweets after him.”

The two recipes that follow make for a perfect Saturday lunch in the garden with a  friend. You may want to pair with a glass or two of bubbles.

Recipes

Salad au Lard (Potato, Bacon & Greens) (commonly found salad in Épernay)

Almond Praline (this is great broken up into bits and served over vanilla ice cream)

Because you may want to know more:

History of Pralines | Southern CandyMakers

Splurge on the original from the source! Praslines of Montargis "Amandas"

And you want to move along to Stage 6 with Amanda over at EyeCandy Carousel

Giro di Italia Stage 4 & 5: Piedmont Region

I am working on reconnecting with writing and finding a place where I can create and learn all at the same time. I have had this site for nearly five years. At times more productive than lately. I thought the discipline of an event such as the Giro would help to getting me closer to understanding what it is that, or why it is that I feel the need to keep this very site going. So there may be some fits and starts along with some bumps along the way as I get my rhythm back.

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Stage 4: Time Trial; 32.5 km | Savigliano to Cuneo
Stage 5: 168 km | Novara to Novi Ligure

Today marks the first of series of posts focused on Italian regional cuisine as measured by the progress of one of the epic cycling events of the year, the Giro d'Italia. Although there is no "Lance factor" with the Giro it is still a great challenge to watch and yes, it goes on for weeks--that's the fun of it. The other two big races take place in France (July) and Spain (August).

Today and tomorrow find us at Stage 4 and 5 and through the Northwest corner of Italy through the region of Piedmont, an area surrounded on three sides by mountains.

What many don't know is that this region is home to grissini (gruh-SEE-nee). Not those bland, ubiquitous sticks found at standard bearer Italian restaurants. A true grissini is made by hand, pencil thin and crispy. At times it can be up to nearly a yard long (or one meter for those non American readers). Thought to have been created in 17th century Turin they can be found virtually everywhere in Italy (and around the world!) nowadays.

A great bit of folklore imparts that it was created in 17th century Turin to cure the digestive problems of a duke whose had a court baker who devised a recipe leading which healed the duke's tummy woes so well that he went on to be king. Legend has it that today the ghost of the king haunts his old castle, with a grissino in hand. It is also said that Napoleon had a mad obsession for grissini or what he called "little sticks of Turin" and would have them shipments follow him where ever he marched.

Stirato (straight) grissini are crisp and light in taste and are no bigger than 3/8" in diameter; Rubata are hand-rolled producing a thicker and more like an ordinary breadlike taste.

A former colleague of mine often made a lunch of grissini bought at the local bakery. He'd wrap anchovies and prosciutto around each and stare out his window. Maybe he was thinking of his next vacation. It did, however, keep people out of his office long after the meal was complete.

Often you will see breadsticks served alongside the region's signature dish, Bagna Caoda, a hot bath made of olive oil, garlic (often at a ratio of 1 garlic head to a person), chopped into a fine paste, and milk or cream. The breadstick, along with raw vegetables and sometimes cooked potatoes are used as a vehicle making for quite a satisfying meal. Often when the bagna caoda is nearly gone, an egg is added to the persons "bath," scrambled and eaten.

Tips:

Best if made and eaten on the same day as you want them crisp.

Quick light supper, wrap proscuitto around grissini, slices of Parmesan and nuts.

Piedmont References: World on a Plate

Gusto de Piedmont
Bicerin: coffee specialty
Cheese of Piedmont

Other recipes

Smitten Kitchen Cheese Straws
King Arthur Sesame Grissini
Cooking Light Parmesan & Cracked Pepper Grissini

Azteca Torta: Hot Sauces

Best pork sandwich lunch for $4.50 (with great thick chips!).

via www.worldonaplate.org

Best pork sandwich lunch for $4.50 (with great thick chips!).

Cranberry Sauce Making

Cranberry sauce making with friends: 1 pound fresh cranberries, 1 1\2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup cider. Combine in pot on low-med heat. Stir. Cranberries will burst takes about 12-15 minutes. Makes about a pint.