Culinaria, Trop Bon

My dear mother-in-law (no seriously, she's great) famously described me as "An Eater" at my first family dinner chez Raarup back when Troy and I were first dating. Though perhaps not the way one would love to be introduced to the family, it's a pretty apt description and one that Troy still uses. As I've said before, I grew up in a family where meals were eaten together and broad palates were encouraged from an early age. But, since moving to Europe, my interest in all things food, beer, and wine related has exploded, prompted by both the gift of time to pursue this passion and by immersion in a culture that embraces it. Food is not just utilitarian for me, nor are cooking and eating just tasks to be checked off the daily list (though it is important to note I am cognizant of and profoundly grateful for the luxury of my position in the world that affords me this view).

So you can imagine my excitement this past Friday when some of my girlfriends and I set out for a day at the ultimate fête gastronome - Culinaria. This epicurian event combines food and wine, cooking and product demonstrations, gourmet food vendors, and tasting menus assembled by 16 Michelin-starred Belgian chefs who hold among them 26 (yes 26) Michelin stars. And, as if all this wasn't enough, the event was held on a spectacular summery day and the venue was the super cool Tour & Taxis, an exemplary urban adaptive reuse project, having converted the enormous former Royal customs depot into a modern multi-use (eat, work, shop, play) facility. So what we have here is my perfect storm of bliss: food, wine, chocolate, historic architecture, sunshine, and friends.


Royal Depot, main hall

This is inside the Royal Depot, which is now the main hall at Tour & Taxis. The ground floor is restaurants and retail, while the upper floors contain offices. Windows in the floor show the old railroad tracks left in situe as part of the conversion--such a cool historical and design choice.


Arched entry-way, Royal Depot

Every detail was thoughtfully completed. The dramatic uplighting set off these already beautiful columns and arched ceiling.


My lovely foodie friends: Cat, Leah, Patty, Eléonore, and Ashley.

Our event 'passports' granted us our choice of 1 of 4 tasting menus, comprising two entrées (appetizers), one plat (main plate), and a dessert. Each course was paired with a dégustation de vin (tasting-sized glass of wine), plus water and Nepresso coffee to round it out. Between the six of us we managed to sample all four menus, and every bite I tried was delectable.



This is entrée 1 from my menu: Féra du Lac Léman pochée au beurre salé, quinoa aux algues et radis, et beurre d’érable, courtesy of Dôme. It was served with a glass of Domaines Ott Clos Mireille Blanc de Blanc (Roughly translated: Swiss lake fish poached in salted butter accompanied by quinoa, algae, and radishes, served with a glass of Provençal white.)



Menu 2 featured what might have been the single most hedonistic course of the day: Lard de ferme confit, souflé et laqué aux epices, courtesy of Chez Bru. (Roughly translated: Candied bacon lacquered in spices.)



This was my main plate, and though I am not normally a lamb person (for a variety of reasons), I have to confess that I love it on a special occasion, when it is prepared well. This was: Agneau rôti au cumin, safran, potimarron, et piment, courtesy of Sea Grill. It was served with a glass of Cantos de Valpiedra Rioja. (Roughly translated: Roasted lamb with cumin, saffron, pumpkin, and pimento, served with a Spanish red.)



The fine fellows at De Koopvaardij presented this ode-to-Magritte dessert, charmingly titled 'Ceci n'est pas une orange', which was as delicious as it was beautiful and clever. The cardamom infused ice cream was heavenly against the tart orange flavors.



These are "trees" made of CHOCOLATE. There were also chocolate "flowers", and buckets full of "blossoms". The chocolate fournisseur from whom we sampled was Callebaut, pronounced in the Flemish way "cal-ih-bough-tuh', a small but important distinction that I point out to you so that you don't repeat my error of pronouncing it with a French accent, and just backwards, as cabillaud "cah-bee-yo", which is cod fish.



After a couple of hours on our feet, wandering through the interior maze of vendors, demonstrations, and food, the sun's siren song was too strong to resist so we moved outdoors to "set a spell" (as my southern relatives would say) on the beautiful sunny terrace.



This is my new favorite aperitif: Martini Rosato and champagne spiked with blackberry and cinnamon. We struck up a conversation with our neighbors at the next table, some VIPs (or "veeps" as it sounds in French) from DHL, and rounded out the afternoon with some witty repartee and chilled Pommery while relaxing in the sun. An afternoon très belle to cap a truly lovely day. Chin chin...



Culinaria Photo Album - Click Here

Bon Weekend

This past weekend was chock-full of shenanigans, tom-foolery, and goings-on (to use a few $64 words)! First on the agenda, though, was a serious engagement: Troy's and my 5th Wedding Anniversary. It is truly unbelievable that five years have passed already--I can only attribute this sense of warp-speed to lots of love and happiness, respect and support. God definitely smiled down on me when He picked out Troy for me!




Flashback to 5 years ago!

Technically, we already celebrated our anniversary--last week we took a long weekend up in London, staying with our good friends Marc and Paloma. That will get a post of its own, but suffice it to say London was fabulous! So, this past Friday night, we "celebrated" again by attending by my concert, or as Troy very charitably put it: "I'm looking forward to Simone singing to me (and a few hundred others :-) tonight at l'Église Notre-Dame des Grâces du Chant D'Oiseau for our anniversary!" And isn't that a poetic name for a church? Our Lady of Grace of the Singing Bird.


l'Église du Chant D'Oiseau



The Brussels Choral Society, together with members of the Ensemble Orchestral de Bruxelles, performed an interesting program of Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings, Franz Biebl - Ave Maria, Aaron Copland - Quiet City, Eric Delson - O Lord Support Us, Morten Lauridsen - Lux Aeterna, and Franz Schubert - Missa in G. Interestingly, much of the program was new to most of my European colleagues (perhaps because four of the composers were American?). The church's acoustics were absolutely perfect for a program of this nature, and vice versa, and the evening was a completely lovely one.





Saturday morning brought it's own adventures: a trip to the airport to drop Troy off for two weeks in the States (boo!) and my first solo driving expedition EVER in Brussels--a drive, which I might add, I successfully completed intact and without needing the GPS! And, boy, is our car sure fun to drive. Hmmmm...

Given that I was up at an unusually early hour (for me) on a Saturday morning, I profited from the extra time by visiting the Flagey Market and fixing a huge breakfast. I even got to eat outside on our terrace during what turned out to be the few hours of sunshine we received that day.



I bought an antique silver caster spoon (a sugaring spoon) in London last week, and when I scored 3 flats of bio (organic) strawberries for 6€(!) at the market, I KNEW what would be the finale to the menu.





Later on Saturday evening, I met up with some friends to take in some of the Brussels Jazz Marathon. We bravely sat out on Place Fernand Coq in the intermittent rain, before giving up and retiring to the Ultime Atome on Place St. Boniface for a couple of beers. Afterwards, we ventured down to the Grand Place to finish out the evening. My friend Beth really wanted to hear a band, the Krazy Mess Groovers, that she first discovered at the Jazz Marathon year-before-last. Unluckily, we only arrived in enough time to hear their last few songs, but luckily they announced that they would be playing again Sunday night at Moeder Lambic. So, we trooped back down to the center last night to catch the show, and, it was awesome! A fantastic way to wrap up a really bon weekend...

Normandy - Mulberry Harbour to Pointe Du Hoc

Normandy. For many Americans this region of France is synonymous with the events of June 6th, 1944. D-Day and The Battle of Normandy.

I don't have any relatives who served in Europe, or in any WWII theater, but I acquired a few in-laws through Simone's family who fought courageously in WWII, and I was fortunate enough to hear some of their stories before they passed away. Like many Americans I've always felt a draw toward the beaches of Normandy and hearing my in-laws' stories of sacrifice in the Pacific and Europe made the draw even more poignant.

In March we spent five days in Normandy. The Battle of Normandy was a significant part of our visit, but our trip also included much of everything else this slumbering region of northern France has to offer. We'll tell you about it all, but it will take few posts. To get us grounded, here's a map I made of the places we visited - click on the blue dots to see more about that particular location.

View Normandy in a larger map

Our first full day was focused on D-Day sites between Arromanches (Gold Beach) and Pointe du Hoc (western most end of Omaha Beach).

The Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches is one of the most amazing engineering feats of WWII. In short: they pre-fabricated a harbor the size of Dover's harbor, towed it across the English Channel, and made it operational in two weeks. Here's a short video detailing the harbor I found on YouTube if you're interested.

The harbor was meant to be temporary, and its use was, but many of the massive Phoenixes remain.

The Musée du Débarquement . . . 

. . . it included a detailed model of the harbor structures.

Just 5km down the coast from Arromanches is the Longues sur Mer battery. This German battery features prominently in The Longest Day, as do many of the sites we visited in Normandy. The battery had four 150mm guns that each had a range of over 12 miles, which enabled them to fire on both Gold and Omaha beaches and Allied battleships.

While the guns are situated ~300 meters inland, the lookout is right on the cliffs.

The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, located just above Omaha Beach, is a sober reminder of the sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.

Early on the morning of June 6th, Army Rangers scaled the 300 foot cliffs surrounding Pointe du Hoc amid gunfire, hand grenades, and who knows what else, only to find the guns they were meant to secure had been moved from the strategic site. 

Eventually they discovered the guns back off the coast, and then battled counterattacks for two days until reinforcements arrived. The Allied bombardment of Pointe du Hoc in the days leading up to D-Day included "more than ten kilotons of high explosives, the equivalent of the explosive power of the atomic bomb used at Hiroshima." And the land still bears the scars.

Click the image below to view some video I took of the sites.

Click the picture below to view more pictures.

Normandy, Pt. 1 - March 2010

"Think Mother Day's"

Time to . . . Think Mother Day's!

Surprised no one caught this before it was actually painted on the window. Then again, I'd definitely screw up the equivalent phrase in French, so no stones here.

And while we're on the topic of 'interesting' translations . . . 

In addition to being Greek, Euclides sure was a Geek, but a golden one to be sure.

Mmmm . . . I love see food . . . sounds delicious . . .

This one isn't a typo (as far as I know), but what a word!

Perhaps this is due to hygiene and the spread of germs in Hong Kong, but I think there ought to be more signs like this (Simone would definitely disagree).

What?!?! No Frolicking!

Happy Mother's Day, especially to our two wonderful Mothers!