I am writing this month’s column in our hotel room in Paris, France. Our French adventure started on Saturday night last November at the Nouveau Beaujolais dinner at Pot au Feu Restaurant, which we had attended with our friends, Linda and Tony Cipriano. This dinner came with a chance to win a trip to visit Les Vins Georges Duboeuf winery. Imagine our surprise, when Sal’s name was drawn from the many entry forms submitted.
Our French adventure was about to begin! We were to be the guests of George Duboeuf for two nights and three days. On Sunday, April 7th we boarded a plane to Paris arriving at the Charles de Gaulle Airport on Monday morning. From there is was a fast and somewhat scary Taxi drive to the Paris Gare Lyon train station to take a TCV (French high-speed electric passenger train) to Macon. A driver picked us up and drove us to Lancie, small village in the south east of France where we checked into our hotel the les Maritonnes. That night we were treated to a wonderful dinner and a bottle of 2011 Prestige Duboeuf wine at the hotel.
les Maritonnes
After breakfast, Romain Teyteau, Export Director, USA arrived to bring us on our tour of the Dubeouf winery in the hamlet of Romaneshe-Thorins. Romain explained it was a hamlet as opposed to a town because it lacked a church. Our wine education was about to begin.
The grape vines are pruned to no more than 2” and were just starting to show new growth. The vines are kept low to decrease their yield but intensify their favor. Beaujolais wine is only made from one red grape, the Gamay; however, it is blended from grapes grown in five distinct types of soil and terrain that effect its flavor.
Over the course of two days, we tasted wine in its various stages of development, wines made at vineyards called Domaines, wine from enormous stainless-steel tanks, large barrels, and small barrels and in bottles. We visited Julienas and explored the Chateau des Capitans, a barracks that dated from Julius Caesar’s time. One of the highlights of our visit was the le Hameau in Romaneshe-Thorins. There we visited a museum dedicated to the history of wine, which displayed a variety of centuries old tools, presses, and all things wine. There was an animated displayed that illustrated the history of wine from the Egyptian times to the present, an exhibit, where you physically experienced a tour of the land as if you were two bees looking for nectar. Another building showcased Georges Duboeuf’s other passion, trains; housed there was Napoléon’s grandson’s personal box car as well as other train related items. The museum was first class, with interesting and engaging displays.
If you like Beaujolais wine and you are interested in a trip to France, I highly recommend a visit to Les Vins Georges Duboeuf. To continue the French theme, I share a recipe for Gougeres, which are savory cheese puffs. I learned to make this recipe during the cooking class at Pot au Feu Restaurant.
Gougeres – French Savory Cheese Puffs
Ingredients:
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup flour
4 large eggs, room temperature
5 ounces shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Heat oven to 425 degrees, and line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water, butter, salt and cayenne to a boil. Stir in flour all at once and cook, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon, until dough pulls away from the sides of the pot, 1 to 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon (Or scrape dough into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with a paddle until cooled slightly, about 30 seconds.) Add one egg at a time, letting each one incorporates before adding the next. Mix in Gruyère or Swiss cheese and continue to beat until it is mostly melted into batter.
Transfer batter to a large plastic bag, seal the bag and snip off 3/4 inch from one corner. Pipe 2-teaspoon-sized balls spaced 1-inch apart, onto baking sheets. Or use a spoon to form the balls. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake until golden and cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool slightly then serve immediately.
Mangia With Micheline 