A random dream trip to France

I have to admit, after having graduated since May 2009 and still working as a server at a restaurant, January and February were two very down months for me. The weather, in particular, did not ameliorate the situation at all. I all of a sudden just felt like I needed to get out, to get away from Washington, DC, and disappear!
I had just finished reading two books, one was "A Year in Provence" by Peter Mayle, and the other was "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes. Well needless to say after reading those 2 books just made me want to buy a house in rural France and spend the rest of my life there. But as we all know, that probably isn't the most plausible thing that I could be doing right now. However, it did gave me a sudden idea of taking a trip to somewhere rural, where I could just enjoy nature by myself. No big cities, no annoying tourists, just the countryside to myself. Yet, that was still just a thought, I still didn't think it was likely to happen. Then my friend Dorothy, who had done a similar one month trip to France in the past told me why not? "Go travel while you still have the time." Well, then I started doing my research. It turns out that one can rent cottages in rural France for quite cheaply. Originally I was planning on doing it on my own, but I decided to pass along the idea to my parents who are currently living in Taiwan. They have never been to France. It's one of those places that they are unlikely to go on their own.
Since renting a car and a cottage to myself would be the same for 3 people, I invited them along.
It didn't take the long to say yes. My parents and I share the same interest in gastronomy, so the idea of being able to go to French markets and cook with fresh ingredients everyday is almost irresistable.
So after weeks and weeks of planning here is my tentative itinerary and plans.
We would arrive in Paris on March 4 2010.
From there we head down to Dijon via TGV where I have a rental car waiting for me at the train station. From Dijon, we will cruise one of the most famous Burgundy wine roads, the Cote de Nuits. After a day of wine tasting and fine dining, we will stay in a small locally owned hotel close to Beaune. The next day we will continue our wine journey down the Cote de Beaune by doing a bike tour. Wine tasting and biking just sounds like such a perfect combination. We will spend the night in Macon.
The next day we will head to our cottage in Provence. The cottage, or gite in French that we have rented is located in Saignon, in the Luberon region, which just happens to be the area where author Peter Mayle lives. There we will spend a week where I plan on just relaxing, cooking, biking, hiking, and of course drinking wine (the most essential!)
The next week we will be at our other cottage in Caunes-Minervois located in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.
Then it's 3 days in Bordeaux, and then we will finish up with 4 days in Paris. After all, a trip to France won't be complete without being in the "most romantic city in the world."

So look for my blogs in the coming weeks regarding my daily adventures in France, because, this trip is really a dream that is about to come true!

All snowed in!

It is complete madness outside. After getting more than two feet of snow this past Saturday, another storm hits the Washington, DC area. I woke up this morning, hoping that the snow would have stopped, and I would at least be able to go out get and a cup of coffee and maybe a nice stroll in the fresh snow. Negative! I woke up to see a blizzard outside, worse than the one on Saturday. Not only is it snowing hard, the wind has also picked up. I don't think anyone can even step outside in this weather.
Instead, I brewed some water and made my own cup of coffee. The coffee was delicious, but staring out the window, I just can't stand another day of being trapped inside.
Then I figured, what can I do to kill time? How about I cook up something time consuming! Since I don't eat meat, It's hard to find something that needs a lot of time to roast or baste, but then I remembered, why don't I make ratatouille? It's a dish with simple ingredients, yet a very challenging and time-consuming dish to make. And magically I just had all the necessary ingredients in my fridge.
I looked up on epicurious.com to find recipes, and voila! there was one by Julia Child, the master herself. I chopped, I sauteed, I basted, etc. And an hour and a half later, I had finished making my first ever dish by Julia Childs. Since it's still early, I've decided to let it sit in its juice a little longer before I dig into it at lunch time. Good thing is a dish that can also be served at room temperature! Pictures and tastings to come later!

Yum is all I have to say. This is all that I imagine a ratatouille dish would be. The vegetables are all soft and tender, and there is so much flavoring from just salt, pepper, and the vegetables itself. This is definitely a success!!

RW: Tavira in Chevy Chase

Oh yes, restaurant week ended in DC, and a lot of foodies like me are disappointed that we're going to have to wait for the summer to have another chance or excuse rather to fine dining!
Good thing Bethesda decided to have their own version of Restaurant Week. Bethesda, a suburb of DC located in Montgomery, Maryland boasts its own share of excellent restaurants. It's restaurant week offered a $15 lunch or a $30 dinner course. Knowing me, I opted for the lunch.
I decided to try out, Tavira, a Portugese restaurant that I have read great reviews about. I have never had Portuguese food in my life, and a lot of my friends hadn't either. There was also a coupon for a free bottle of wine, and hey who can say no to that?
My friends, Dorothy, Simon, and of course Amy joined me for this fun dining adventure.
The ambiance of the restaurant was very pleasant. As we walked in, I could already smell the many wonderful dishes that they had to offer.

For RW, they offered their "Taste of Portugal" menu which for the appetizers came with the choices of :

Caldo Verde: Portugal’s National soup, shredded kale, onions, potatoes & olive oil, garnished with chouriço
Salada da Horta: Fresh market greens, tomatoes, onions with Mediterranean dressing

Mexilhões na Cataplana: Steamed mussels, tomatoes and bell peppers in white wine sauce

Portuguese Sadrines: Marinated sardines with cloves garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, bay leaves,paprika served at room temperature served at room temperature

For our free bottle of house wine, we decided to go with a white wine, since we were going to be ordering seafood for the most part. It was a decent bottle of wine, and did I mention it was free?

I decided on the steamed mussels, Simon and Amy ordered the Caldo Verde, while Dorothy went with the Portuguese Sardines.

My first taste of the mussels was good, yet it was cold. I then asked the waiter whether the dish was meant to be served cold. He said oh no, and went ahead and took it back to bring me a new one (what is it with me with having to send food back, seriously?!") When it came back it was steaming hot. The tomato based soup was excellent; the red peppers were cooked just right and had a sweet after taste to it. The warm temperature definitely made the dish what it was.

Dorothy's sardine were marinated very well, and the olive oil base complemented the dish very well. Unfortunately I didn't try the Portuguese National soup, since it had meat in it.

For the main course the following were offered:

Bacalhau à Braz
Shredded salted cod sautéed with onions in olive oil, combined with straw potatoes, olives and egg
Lombo de Porco a Caçador
Pork loin with wild mushrooms, braised in brandy Croft, served with roasted garlic mashed potatoes
Frango à Piri-piri
Grilled chicken, Portuguêse style in Piri Piri sauce (hot spicy pepper sauce), served with home made potato chips
Caldeirada Portuguêsa
A traditional Portuguêse fish stew with shrimp, clams, mussels, sea scallops, potatoes
Parrilhada Mariscos
A traditional Iberian mixed seafood charbroiled on a skewer, served with aioli
Simon and I ordered the Charbroiled mixed seafood while Amy and Dorothy ordered the shredded cod. When the food came out, we were definitely wowed by the presentation of the Seafood skewer!

The taste of the seafood, however, was a bit bland and under-seasoned. It could've used a lot more taste as I found myself pour balsamic vinagrette over all the pieces. The rice was a good base to go along with the seafood.

The shredded cod was definitely an interesting dish. You definitely don't expected it to be what it was. First of all, there was very little taste of cod in it because it was blend up with so many different things. It was a bit on the salty side. The dish also tasted like a breakfast/brunch entree because of the eggs and potatoes inside. However, it still tasted mildly pleasant.
The dessert had to be the best part. Amy and I ordered the flan while Simon and Dorothy had the chocolate cake with ice cream.

The flan had to be one of the best that I have ever tasted. It was soft and creamy inside, and not to sweet for someone who likes my dessert on the lighter side. The portion was just right, and it was the perfect way to finish the meal.
Overall, it was a very nice meal, although the appetizers and desserts definitely outshone the main entree. I'd definitely recommend their "Taste of Portugal" menu as even during none RW days, they offer it at a special price, and it's a great way to try out some Portuguese favorites!