Today on Chef Ian's Menu: Baguette

Paris....

Following an eventful stay in London I traveled by train to Paris.

In the end I stayed in Paris for close to a week. During my stay I saw very little of the traditional sights and sounds, only Notre Dame and the Cathedral of the Sacred heart.



Instead, I spent the majority of my stay visiting with friends and eating with their host families.

Some of my fondest memories from the week include the three evenings I spent dinning with my friends Bessie, Matt, and Emerson and their respective host familes. I was inspired by my dinning experiences and learned a life lesson from each.(Warning the following is a little SAPPY / PREACHY).

Dinner at Bessie’s
My first dinner was spent at my friend Bessie’s house. Bessie’s host parents, Damien and Pascal, are both talented and highly successful artists. Damien is a film maker and Pascal is perhaps one of France’s most famous photographers.

Let me describe the dinner I was served, for it is from the food that I learned a valuable lesson:

Damien cooked the meal. He served a sort of chilled zucchini soup with hints of ginger as an appetizer. On top of this dish sat a thinnly sliced cut of fresh fish. All of this was presented in a delicate glass no larger than a double shot. The taste of the soup was strikingly light and delicate.

Following this came fresh bread, perhaps the best I had ever had. The loaf was warm and filled with grains adding to its texture and taste. Along side the bread radishes were served.

Next came the main course, (and the highlight of the entire dinner), chicken tagine served on top of a bed of pasta. So perfectly cooked was the chicken, that it melted in your mouth even before you began to chew. The chicken was soft and subtle in flavor, lightly spiced and a tad sweet. Real comfort food.

Following the entree came desert: fresh fruit.

The meal was fresh, simple, well balanced, and totally satisfying. Feeling full, warm, and happy all over, I asked for the recipe of the chicken dish. To my surprise, there was none! Bessie’s host father Damien, for all his cooking prowess, never cooks using recipes. That night’s dish, as with all served at the _ household, was one of a kind.

In the end I learned a valuable lesson from this enchanting and successful family: as with Damien’s dinner, there is no recipe for life. A good life, like a well cooked meal, requires time, inspiration, thoughtfulness, and quality ingredients. Each person must make their own recipe, choosing their preferred ingredients and proportions.

Dinner at Matt’s
Later in the week I ate dinner with Matt Stanton and his host family. The _ were quite different from Bessie’s family. Yet as before, I learned a valuable lesson from my dinner.

The _ was a more traditional French family, perfectly nice, however, a little bit more reserved. Mr. and Mrs. _ have five children, all boys. They are a very analytical troop. Each child studied German and is either an economist or engineer.

The dinner itself is not quite the focus of this story. Although perfectly delicious, it was what happened after dinner that really struck me.

After dinner, the men retired to the living room. The room was small with white walls, sprinkled with intricate plaster moldings - very old and French in design. The furniture was also both old and Fench, perhaps family heirlooms. On the far wall was a fireplace with a metal-door covering the opening where wood is normally placed.

For a few minutes we sat, speaking briefly with one another. The conversation was slow and spotted with thoughtful silences. Eventually, Henry (Mr. _) bent over and opened the metal door of the fire place. Instead of wood, bottles of alcohol were stored within.

Henry removed one of the bottles and opened it. It was an unmarked bottle filled with a dark gold liquid. Mr.___ poured the substance into small crystal glasses. Each of us was then handed a shot glass of the alcohol spirits. I was told to cup the glass in my hand, thus warming the amber liquid. As it warmed I was instructed to take deep whiffs of the alcohol and let the scent rest within my lungs. The alcohol smelled sharp and strong and felt as if it evaporated within my lungs.

I took a sip, the liquid was strong, but smooth. Unlike vodka, or even absinthe, I did not wretch or grimace from the taste of it.

I had just drank my first sip of Calvados, or as Henry described it, “the truth of apple”. Calvados is distilled apple juice, first made into cider, and then still further distilled until it becomes apple spirits. Henry was from Normandy, where Calvados is from, and had served Matt a glass of 50 year old Calvados from his homeland.

The lesson I learned from this family - be generous. Take pride as a host and share only the best with your guests.

Dinner at Emerson’s
For my final dinner of the week I ate at my friend Emerson’s house. Throughout the week I had heard much about Emerson’s host mother. “Madame”, as they simply referred to her, was very bourgeoisie. She came from a very import and wealthy family in Marseilles on the Mediterranean in the south of France.

Madame, and therefore Emerson, lived in the 6th district, the most exclusive district in Paris. Apparently, Madame was a staunch fiscal conservative. As Emerson explained to me:
“When beggars approach Madame on the street, she stops short, looks them over and say, ‘So you want money? Well, what will you do for me, what do I get out of it? Can you sing? Can you dance?! Why don’t you do a little dance for me, huh? Then maybe I will pay you. Go ahead - DANCE!’”

Despite her fiscal conservatism, Madame was apparently quite liberal socially. She was the proud author of a best-selling sex book, which she dedicated to her son. She dated men and had several boyfriends. To top it all off, Madame, at age 69, drove around town on her black scooter weaving in and out of traffic.

As you might imagine, given her status and eclectic personal and political stances, I was a little nervous for my dinner at Madame’s...

Madame arrived home late the night of out dinner. She was a little stressed from a longs days work (she owns her own business) and greeted me cooly. For dinner we ate sautéed cabbage with ground beefs patties (a.k.a. hamburger), followed by bread, cheese, and then apple sauce for desert.

Not exactly the dinner one would expect when dinning in the 6th! Yet, as I would soon discover, Madame was a complex women. Her life was filled with juxtaposition. Take her apartment for example. Yes, it was in the 6th district, HUGE, worth millions, and filled to the brim with valuable antiques. Yet, despite their worth and age, every antique was worn from use. Nothing in her house was off limits. Madame did not hover over her antiques for fear of the breaking. Back to the dinner....

Simply put, dinner with Madame was enchanting. We sat in the kitchen conversing for no less than three hours. Almost every imaginable topic was covered, from love, to work, to table manners. Madame is a very interesting and interested person. As the evening ended, it was our conversation concerning love and work that struck me most.

Regarding love, Madame had this to say, “Find a love story. No matter if it is three days, three months, or three years. Enjoy yourself and your youth. Each love will have an impact on your, for better or for worse, you will learn and grow from the experience.”

Concerning work, “Do what moves you, live with passion. There comes a point when one must stand tall and look themselves in the mirror and face themselves. It is at this moment that one must speak with honesty and confidence. State who you are, who you want to be, and how you want to get there.” Take ownership of your life, you know you best. Rebel against outside pressure, whether it be from family, friends, or society. Choose your path and find your happiness.

If I am rich and unhappy - I have failed, If I am rich and happy - I have succeeded. If I am poor and happy - I have succeeded. Happiness is success.

All in all my stay in Paris was thoughtful and rewarding.... Perhaps a little pseudo-philosophical.

Chef Ian -

Today on 'Chef' Ian's menu: Haggis

Long time no post, my deepest apologizes to all, especially Jake Rassat. On January 24th I arrived safe and sound at Frankfurt International Airport. After some mild mis-communication, which resulted in me being briefly stranded at the airport, I weathered the difficult and exhausting journey to my grandmothers house in Buechenberg, Germany. Check out the pictures below, the weather was quite nice in January. For all you tree huggers out there, be sure to check out the use of solar panels in a small rural german farming village, if they have enough sense to use them, shouldn't we?!



I have previously visited Robbie in the summer of 2007, yet had not been back to see him or his family since. Returning to Edinburgh was a joy and felt like home. The architecture, people, and general energy is amazing. I stayed in Edinburgh for a little over a week and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. In stark contrast to my last visit, I ate well and worked out almost everyday. One of my favorite highlights was running Arthur's Seat a few mornings during the course of my stay. The large foot hill positioned in the center of Edinburgh is something out of a fairytale - massive, imposing, with misted blanketing its peak. Unfortunately, due to the winter weather, I was unable to hike the mini-mountain this time around.

Another highlight of my stay was my visit to St. Andrews. The University is Scotland's best and one of the most prestigious in Great Britain....



All in all, my stay in Edinburgh was a blast, too many memories to relate and good stories to retell.

xoxo,

ian

Entre

So it begins....

I jet off to 'z' Germany, to eat 'z' choco-lates, und 'z' Beer, umpa umpa, ja ja. As I prepare for my trans-atlantic trek I have begun to ponder all that I will miss about the fair U S of A.

Things I have already begun to miss, even before my journey has begun:

Bravo TV
English
Hamilton College
The Dream Suite and all its lovely Dreamers
Barack Obama
J. Crew (yes, I can hear you snicker)
Me Family and me friends

Things I will not miss:
The drinking age

I suppose that is enough for the time being, stay tuned for hopefully more interesting and more in-depth coverage.

Tschüs,
Ian