dreaming of macarons

For some reason I've become obsessed with macarons. Not the coconut macaroons, the French macarons made from almond flour. I've only had them once in my life, in Paris, but I've decided that one of my goals by the end of the year is to perfect making macarons in India. India loves sugar and food coloring, which are part of the specialness of macarons. But once my supply of almond meal from the States is used up, I'll have to grind my own from almonds that are expensive here. There's also a bit of a humidity problem this time of year. And I may have to grind granulated sugar in order to make it "superfine," as many of my recipes call for. It's going to be tedious and messy and time-consuming -- but hopefully delicious -- and I will have to run many miles to combat all the sugar and butter I'll be test-tasting over the next few weeks.

Armed with Cecile Cannone's Macarons: Authentic French Cookie Recipes from the MacarOn Cafe, I'll be making my first attempt this weekend. I'll be separating the eggs tonight, as Cecile suggests, in order to bake on Saturday or Sunday.

Stay tuned!

Image from Ladies Day to Play, "Interview with Cecile Cannone."
Note: I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on the book link and ultimately decide to buy it, I will receive a small amount of money. That will go toward purchasing almonds, most likely.

hotel oberland restaurant

We were wandering the alpine meadows of the Interlaken region of Switzerland when we came across the town of Lauterbrunnen and decided to have lunch. It was surprisingly warm outside in those meadows, under the glaring sunshine, and all I wanted was a refreshing green salad and a sweet apple juice (sussmost; I’m not a huge apple juice drinker but I can’t get enough of it when I’m in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria).

We sat down at an outdoor table at Hotel Oberland and I was delighted to see little gluten-free symbols next to certain items on the menu. Unfortunately I didn’t have much appetite for anything more than a salad. But one of the traditional meals from the region, rosti, is inherently gluten-free because it’s potato based. It depends on what’s added to the potatoes that determines the gluten-freeness of the specific dish. Two of Hotel Oberland's four rosti dishes were gluten-free, as well as all their salads and a number of other entrees. 

I still ordered the salad, but my husband had a rosti that I took a few bites of. It was cheesy, potato deliciousness. (I did get rosti for dinner on another day. More on that in a future post.)

chez paul

One restaurant during the whole vacation was definitely tops over all the others. It's Chez Paul, in Paris on rue de Charonne, and we ate there our first night.

Chez Paul has hearty, bistro-style food. As I sat down and started reading the menu, I made note of a couple dishes that would probably be safe. When the waitress came by, we explained my gluten-free requirement and I pointed out a few things on the menu. She went back to talk to the chef and when she came back she said, "Don't worry, the chef will take care of you."

We had a crudite plate of vegetables to start with (and of course my husband had bread). For my main course I had a steak encrusted with peppercorns and a dreamy cheesy potato dish to substitute the usual potatoes au gratin that comes with the steak. My dessert was an amazing creme brulee.

I can't remember the last time I ate so much, especially at a restaurant. The chef certainly did take care of me. The waitress was also ready with some wine suggestions and the bottle we chose was perfect with my steak and my husband's lamb.

Our friends recommended Chez Paul as their favorite restaurant in Paris. Now it's our favorite restaurant in Paris, too. It's a casual place. By the time we finished dinner it was crowded with more locals than tourists. The entire waitstaff was cheerful and helpful.

Chez Paul is at 13 rue de Charonne, close to the Bastille. Reservations are recommended, particularly during peak hours.

galettes

Galettes are savory crepes that are traditionally made with buckwheat, salt, and water. And I found them in Paris. Some people will tell you it's hard to track down restaurants that serve them. I think that's because few people have heard of galettes and call them crepes. I know I hadn't heard of the alternate name until I started doing some research.

Before leaving for our trip I made notes of some specific restaurants, but they were in neighborhoods we hadn't otherwise planned on visiting. On our last full day in Paris we made a point to travel to one of those areas and seek out galettes for lunch. 

Along the way we got distracted. We were in Montparnasses after having visited the cemetery. We decided to wander around a bit before getting on the Metro to seek out lunch. And low and behold we came along a boulevard full of lunch-seekers and cafes and creperies to accommodate them. I started reading the posted menus carefully. I quickly discovered that galettes and crepes were two different foods, to the French. Galettes are often posted as salee, and crepes are sucre. That means galettes are savory and are supposed to be for your meal and crepes are sweet and for dessert. And many places make the galettes in the traditional way with just buckwheat. 

I had one of the great French food experiences completely by chance. I ordered my galette salee avec jambon et fromage (with ham and cheese). And it was great. It was so delicious that I felt bad that I couldn't finish it. It was just too filling. 

Later that same day I found a grocery store that sold packaged plain galettes. I bought some and a jar of orange marmalade. The person at the checkout register tried to stop me from such a heretic combination. Galettes salee shouldn't be mixed with a sucre filling. It just isn't done. He had a look of true sadness on his face when I told him I couldn't eat ble, wheat. He said, "It won't be the same." 

It wasn't the same. But they made for light breakfasts that were good enough some mornings on the road.

Buckwheat has two different names in French. Buckwheat flour can be farine du sarrasin or farine du ble noir.

pizza and beer in edinburgh

Run, don't walk, to Mamma's in Edinburgh. It's an American-style pizzaria that offers a gluten-free crust, plus other gluten-free entrees, desserts, and beer alongside all the "regular" food. It was delicious. It was just like regular pizza. And it was such a mental pick-me-up, to be able to sit down and order pizza and beer just like everyone else.

We went to the Grassmarket location. The website says it's take-out, but they had a sit-down restaurant. You can see their full menu online. Most of the toppings are gluten-free as well, but I didn't want anything fancy. Just plain cheese and pepperoni for me. Mike had a bite and thought it was comparable to his crust. He said neither pizza lived up to his New York standards, but both were superior to the pizza slop they serve in California.


(Clicking on the image will take you to vacation pics on flickr.)

Eating in Poland

Just a quick note to say that the Polish restaurant card was extremely helpful. The waiters all seemed to recognize the problem. I received some sad meals (dried chicken breast and limp vegetables) and some curiously delicious meals (moist chicken breast topped with pineapple and strawberry preserves!) and I watched my husband and cousins eat some very tempting breads and cakes. But I got to try some of the local diary favorites (I love cheese and sour cream!) and I have survived Poland with my appetite in tact.

On to Austria tonight!

celiac travel

We're preparing for a 3-week jaunt through Europe (leaving in 2 days!) and while I'm very excited, naturally I'm a tad apprehensive about the gluten-free situation. I've stocked up on breakfast bars and hot cereals. I'm confident I'll be able to find plain fruits and vegetables wherever I go. I'll be relieved to get to the UK, where I'll be able to read the food menues and labels. (I've heard of a pizza place in Edinburgh that serves gluten-free pizza and beer!)

But for Poland, Austria, and Germany, I've turned to the help of Celiac Travel.com. While the website itself isn't terribly impressive or informational, there is one gem there. Restaurant cards in over 30 languages that you can download for free. I sent the Polish one to the cousin we're staying with in Poland and he said it's an excellent explanation that makes it very clear. So I'm hoping that I won't have any more trouble than I would in an English-speaking restaurant. My cousin also gave me the words for some foods I definitely can eat and some I definitely cannot. (PANIEROWANY means "breaded," for instance.) Mike speaks German and is familiar with a lot of the food we'll find in Germany and Austria, so with him plus my restaurant card I should be in good shape. (I've also already learned that reformhaus mean health food store in German, and if I see one I should be able to find gluten-free food there, just like a health food store in the U.S.)

Now as long as the airline got my gluten-free meals right, there should be no problem. Right?