St. Marcellin

Continuing on with my Michelin cheese board obsession, I had a beautiful cheese plate from the Meierei of Steirereck im Stadtpark in Vienna Austria as my fourth course from the insanely packed cheese trolley. I chose again, super runny (as usual)! My favorite cheese was the creamy gooey St. Marcellin accompanied by the home made farmers bread from the bread trolley (yes they are REALLY into trolley's in Vienna).. they also have a champagne trolley , herb trolley, and sweet liquor trolley....


Saint Marcellin is produced in the Rhone Alps region of South Eastern France in the town of Isere. A soft creamy cheese cows milk cheese composed of 50% fat, St. Marcellin has a nutty, mushroomy aroma. Usually packed in small terra cota pots to handle the creaminess, they lose their creaminess with age- and should be consumed young and tender. Much like Vacherin Mont D'Or AOC, it is believed that the cheese was originally made from goat's milk but converted to cow milk at one point in time.

Creamy, nutty , complex, rich- the rind again wonderful. It is said that the cheese should be chewed to help release its full flavor.

Two thumbs up. St. Marcellin now added to the cheese repertoire.

Vacherin Mont-d'Or AOC

Okok, so yes, I am in the land of fromage et chocolate.. and yes, I'm beginning to love ALL of it. Well maybe not the calories.. the cheese at least.. One cheese that I have been dying to try is Vacherin Mont-d'Or AOC. For me, and anyone who knows me, I am all about the goat, sheep, stinky moldy cheese OR the super runny, you know your stomach is so gonna churn later but it's gonna be so silky smooth on your tongue rich and creamy cheeses and worth all the pain cheeses.

Collecting my 7th michelin star dining experience since moving to Suisse two weeks ago at Le Perolles in Fribourg, Hayley and I added on a cheese course to our lunch sampler. I opted for a plate full of goat and sheep cheeses and an added Vacherin Mont-d'Or selection.

Vacherin Mont-d'Or (not to be confused with Vacherin Fribourgeois, which is our local AOC cheese)originates in the Valee de Joux in Jura- Canton de Vaud.It's believed that Vacherin is actually of French origin, made from goat's milk. The story goes that there was a shortage of goat's milk and thus cow's milk was used in its place. A relatively watery cheese, within every 100g, about 25% of it is fat, 55% water.

There are a couple of distinct characteristics to Vacherin:
1. the wooden pine container (band)that it's kept in (it's a super runny cheese, needs the support)
2. the orangy, yellow crust of the cheese with its soft dimples and folds of the soft cheese below.
3.There is often a white moldy fur that grows on the surface of the tangy, crusty goodness of the cheese.

I have to admit that I was hoping for something a little more pungent. The cheese is sweet, slightly tangy but not overpowering in flavor- in fact, none of the cheese I had on my plate had the punch that I had been hoping for (I love it when your nose tingles from the tanginess of the cheese). A great cheese to accompany fruits- it won't overpower the sweet/tartness of the fruit but will complement it quite well.

My favorite- favorite part of the cheese was the gritty, slightly crunchy crust layer of the cheese.. all this cheese talk in the morning is making me hungry! Must go to my local latterie today and pick up some cheese!

Jaune, Rouge, Orange et Vert

One thing that San Diego doesn't have that this wonderful little Swiss village does is- SEASONS! Since I do not have a car (thank god to that!), taking public transport through the lush, green fields now spotted with yellows, reds, and oranges (yes along with the black and white of bessies) is always a soothing site.


My runs in the forest have become that much more enjoyable as the flutter of leaves surround me as the find their new home on the forest floor. There's something graceful and magical about the way a leaf twirls, pirouetting it's way, floating softly to the awaiting bed of leaves below.
The crisp crunch of leaves below my shoes, the occasional mud pile that you sink into. It's Autumn- it's here.. and it's wonderful. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Le Perolles- 1 Michelin Star, Fribourg

So.. I guess this blog is a dual post. The first thing I should do is apologize for not writing sooner. With all the traveling, school work and turning into an asian popsicle as the weather has take a turn for the worst, I haven't gone to think about what to do next.
Haley and I decided to take a mini Vacay - to Fribourg- yes it's only 30 minutes away and I already go there at least once a week but.. after starving a whole week on dorm food, blowing our entire week's budget on what would have been dorm food on a michelin experience seemed quite fitting.
The second part of my post is to introduce a new series of photos that I will be taking- food art- the art of what's left on the plate after someone has consumed what they like, dislike and don't want to consume any more of.

Keep posted.. I promise ill get around to all those michelin reviews sooner or later...

Comfort Food

All feeling a bit down that the weather has taken a sudden change for the FREEZING cold, I decided to bring a little bit of home to Bulle. Britt and I had been dying for some good ol, Californian mexican food! Seeing that I hadn't cooked for months... it was nice to get back into the kitchen to make some comfort food...
The result: Chicken burritos, Guacamole, Salsa (with tons of Cilantro of course!) and great company with my girlfriends...

I miss my mexican food! The only thing that was missing was a nice huge tall glass of Horchata...


So instead, I had a nice glass of 10 year old, Tawny Port from Porto courtesy of my friend Nuno, who just so happens to be from Porto! This is his favorite vintage port.

Thank you Nuno!

Spikey Foods

I just realized.. I love food that is protected by spikes! It's probably because I think the hidden treasure inside is worth all that protection..

Chestnuts or marrons here where I live in Switzerland of the sweet variety (only found here in Europe) grow on deciduous trees and come to harvest in the Autumn time. The chestnut is actually not a nut but a fruit- with the burrs of the outside turning yellow and splitting open to release the fruit when ripe.

The creamy, white flesh of the chestnut has to be cooked (most often roasted street side and served in a bag) to soften but has an incredible sweet nutty flavor. One of my mortal sins!

For those of you who know me well, y'all know that my other temptation (besides ice cream) is... Uni! or Sea Urchin. Sorry for not having a picture.. but I don't have on of my own to display. I was just sooooo enthralled by this realization today that I felt compelled to write about it- even without the photo.

Sea Urchins are purple (sometimes brown, green, olive or red but the ones I like to EAT or purple) and considered Echinozoa's with their hard outer shell and globular shape and spikes covering their body. A very distinct flavor, Uni is not for everyone. Essentially eating the 5 perfect tongues of orangy creamy roe- it has a very fishy, distinct sea water taste, and if good uni, very sweet. Although it is mainly synonymous with Japanese food, it is also eaten in many part of the Mediterranean, made into a "cebiche" type concoction in Chile and in part so New Zealand.

Nowadays the best Uni comes from Japan. Small, beautiful tongues of Uni, packed with sweetness and flavor. I pity those who feel the need to cook it- as the slimy creaminess is part of the appeal. Most places in the US have Uni that is farm raised from Santa Barabara (yes and giving me easy access to it at all time whilst in California)

Sweet, delicious and creamy... just like the marron. I see a trend here!

My Favorite Sushi restaurant in San Diego is Zenbu a swanky, upscale small sushi eatery- priding themselves on the freshest sushi. The lounge is good too with great cocktails although the bartender will no longer make Mojito's since it clogs up the dishwasher. The lounge a couple doors down is a great alternative if the actual restaurant is packed. ALWAYS SIT AT THE SUSHI BAR. the sushi chef's take their jobs VERY seriously... and you get your food a lot faster that way ( The service is usually REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD at the tables... a waitress once tried to charge us for Toro when it was clearly just Maguro.. do you KNOW who your messing with missy when it comes to sushi????). If you sit at a table, you will have to wait for them to go out and catch the fish and probably eat your fingers before that point in time...

Zenbu has some definite highlights:
If available: Toro (DUH!)
If still available: Zenbu has a huge live tank in their kitchen- where they have live uni (sea urchin) and live amaebi (sweet shrimp) all taken live out of the tank a la minute and still moving when served to you.
Also quite good are their Tuna tots (not on the menu) with wasabi mayo
AND... although I would never ever ever admit this again- they do have some good rolls- Particularly the Wind-And-Sea (banana and eel- sweetness of the banana compliments the eel very well) and a roll with hamachi and pears (which they no longer have on the menu).

All this sushi speak is making me crave sushi! For those of you "advanced" sushi-ites like myself- don't get irritated by the incompetent scantily clad beach girls who mmmm and aww at california rolls and won't try anything raw.. TRUST me... there are a lot of them there. Enjoy your sushi because it is WONDERFUL.

Zenbu
7660 Faye Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037
Tel: 858.454.4540
Hours: Sunday- Weds 5pm - 10:30 pm
Thursday- Saturday 5pm - 1:30 Am

It's Marron Time!

After a strenuous two weeks in Financial Accounting, the girls and I couldn't wait to take our road trip to Lugano, located in the Canton of Ticino in the southern, east region on Switzerland. Bordering Italy, Lugano is the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The weekend coincided with the Autumn festival where chestnut (marron) season is just beginning.

One of the most pleasant surprises was that the headquarters for Münger a Panetteria, Pasticceria, & a Confetteria that has been around since 1923 was around the corner from our hotel in Paradiso. On our morning jaunt down to the lakeside, we stopped in to see what delectable delights the Panetteria ( bread shop), Pasticceria ( Pastry shop) & Confetteria ( Chocolate/ sweet shop) - Yes this one was ALL three combined into one.. had to offer.

It is gooseberry season as well as chestnut season in Switzerland. I was tempted to buy a whole bunch of these chocolate covered gooseberries along with the dark chocolate marron.. but was good and restrained myself.

Münger is really famous for their chestnut based treats around this time. The thing that most people get is the Panettone, a chestnut bread that looks like a giant muffin. The bread only lasts a day or two (well of course!) so I opted for the Marronitorte - something that was gonna last us a day or two for our stay in Praha (prague)

Münger's Marronitorte was a great treat for Cza and I. It wasn't too sweet, with the crust crispy but the torte itself very very moist. The torte had chunks of sweet chestnuts ( not marron glace) that lent texture to the soft moistness of the torte. It was delicious- with Cza and I having to do everything we could not to finish it on the first night.

Some more noteworthy chestnut treats for the season (from Münger as well) are the Vermicelles (chestnut puree of a a cream custard, topped with heavy cream) , Castagne E Panna - or in French Marron Glace- chestnuts macerated in sugar and liquor and lastly the Torta Pane- a chestnut cake with pinenuts- more like a cornbread sort of texture.

Did I mention that I LOVE chestnuts???

Münger

Three locations in Lugano:

Laboratorio Negozio + Tea Room

Via Geretta 7

6900 Paradiso - Lugano

Tel: 091-985-69-40

walk in bakery, pastry shop and chocolate shop

In the heart of Old Town shopping district:

Negozio + Tea Room

Via Luvini 4

6900 Lugano

Tel: 091-985-69-43

Negozio

Lungolago Motto

6815 Melide

Tel: 091-649-74-14