French Food

I can't finish blogging about France until I've spent a little time writing about the food. THE food. The FOOD.  I had high expectations. And those expectations were not only met, they were exceeded.

Our first dinner in Paris was at a cafe on the corner of Boulevard Magenta, just two doors down from our hotel. As soon as I saw "croque monsieur" sandwiches on the menu, I knew what my first meal in Paris would be. I had taken a cooking class from Michele Reynolds a couple years back, and we had made these. I convinced everyone but my husband, and we ordered 6 croque monsieur sandwiches (my husband opted for Pad Thai - which I thought was crazy! Thai food in Paris? Really? So funny!) The sandwiches did not disappoint. Gooey melty cheese, white sauce, thick ham slices, and bread. Oh yum! (For the record, my husband quite enjoyed his Pad Thai too.)

We tried to stop at every bakery and street stand that offered fresh croissants. But the small restaurant right outside of the Louvre was particularly memorable. I ordered a quiche, Madi ordered a baguette, and Leasie ordered an apple pastry. They were warm, flaky, and buttery. We shared bites. We sat under the shade of the Tullerie trees and ohhhed and ahhhhed and mmmmmmed.

In Munster it was all about cheese and fresh fruit. We walked to the Tuesday outdoor market at the town square. The juicy strawberries tasted like a completely different fruit from the strawberries we can get in Jakarta. We ate them out of the carton like candy.

 

One of my favorite moments was sampling cheese from these huge round blocks at the outdoor market. Smokey and rich in flavor. We purchased a small slice - possibly the most expensive cheese I've ever purchased, but worth every penny.

  

We made sandwiches nearly every day. Huge sandwiches - almost two hand-lengths for each person. I know it seems strange to write about something as normal as a sandwich. But that's the thing. These weren't just normal sandwiches. The bread was the perfect consistency. The tomatoes had flavor (beyond the cardboard tomatoes we can get here). And the meat and cheese! It was like eating from a gourmet bistro, but we had made them in our kitchen. 

Finally, my favorite food moment of the trip. We ate at an outdoor cafe in Colmar. I ordered the potatoes au gratin - an Alsace specialty. The dish came in a small cast iron pot. The potatoes were smothered in munster cheese, slices of bacon, and cream.

Every bite was divine.

It was a good thing we walked everywhere and took 6-7 mile runs each morning because when it came to eating, I did not hold back. If food is joy (which I think it is) then France is perhaps one of the most joyful places on earth.