Berlin

Today it is Wednesday, we travel to Berlin, a 7 hour drive, and we said goodbye to Genevieve. Jean-Baptiste never wakes before 8 if possible so we did not get a picture with him. PMB drove first to a grocery store north of Strasbourg to show us the “cockpit.”

It was in a very nice, upscale grocery and I was impressed by the organization, display of cut food and especially the enthusiasm of the 2 women who ran the operation. They were very concerned with the quality of the cuts, and the presentation of the display. It is a concept I believe can work in the US. PMB drove again and when we reached the German Autobahn, we were going 185 KPH, faster than I have ever driven before.

Germany in this area ranged from flat farmland to rolling hills, but everywhere there are windmill farms, with 12+ windmills at a time. By noon, PMB was hungry again and we stopped for lunch. He does not believe in “carry-out,” and does not eat in his car. He suggested the Goulash soup, and I corrected him when he said it was Polish. It is Hungarian! Phillou drove the remainder of the trip, at 185 to 200 KPH!!!!

inally we reached the outskirts of Berlin and slowed down. Our hotel was difficult to find, but we arrived about 7 PM and registered. The lobby is on the 5^th floor of an old building. 3 groups were waiting in queue ahead of us and it was a laborious process. The lights in the hallways are on timer and every 3 minutes or less, we waved our arms in the air to turn them on. The “receptionist,” who we decided was left over from the perestroika (look that up if you have too), missed the announcement that it was ok to go back to the Russian Motherland. It was such a complicated process to register we could hardly stop laughing. But she did say they had internet connections throughout the pension and a continental breakfast.

Olga had to tell, and show, each guest where they stayed and our imagination did not exceed reality, we had a bedroom with 2 twin beds and the bathroom was down the hall….but it was special! It had washers and dryers and we were the only one who had a key, except of course the cleaning woman who did the laundry for the pension in our bathroom. So we learned that timing is everything when it comes to taking showers.

It was late, we were tired and we had no idea where to get dinner, but left the hotel and walked 20 min to a nice area. After being rejected by the Italian restaurant we went across the road to the Greek restaurant and had a wonderful dinner.

I started with the soup of the day, a fish stew. It was a very light fish stock, with olive oil and lemon juice, small pieces of fresh fish,a rather large octopus, leeks, and a crayfish. I could live on a soup like this, and it was the best part of the dinner. John and I usually take the chef’s special of the day, after all, the chef spent most of the time perfecting this. But the main course was already sold out and so I choose Moussaka, a traditional dish that I have made myself. It was good, but I have made better. However, the highlight of the meal was a trip to the bathroom. ( see video) Espresso again and we walked back to the hotel.

Thursday morning found us on a bus to the exhibition hall. Believe it or not, for lunch there was a restaurant with an excellent selection of salads, stews and sweets. Needless to say , everyone partakes of lunch.

That evening we were invited to the dinner given by SORMAC, the Dutch company that manufactures the carrot and onion peeling equipment. It was at the top of a tall radio tower that we thought looked like a replica of the Eiffel tower. SORMAC had reserved the restaurant for their employees and sales team. An evening of good food and interesting people.

Friday morning we awoke to rain. PMB and Phillou were driving back home and we were to “see” Berlin. We had decided to take a bus tour, having no concept of the city, we thought this would be the best overview, and the next time we could visit the museums. It was a good decision. The city is large, and we were able to see the highlights in a comfortable setting. It has an amazing history.

The Brandenburg Gate, palaces, museums, the berlin wall & checkpoint Charlie from the cold war. “Hop on and Hop off” allowed us to conduct business at every Starbucks we saw.

PMB said Berlin doesn’t have Starbucks, but he is wrong, and it worked perfectly. I will return to Berlin.

Friday night found us back at our hotel, tired from walking many kilometers despite the bus. We decided to stay close by, which limited our dinner choices. It was not the best choice, but it worked. We were tired, but I tried the lamb shank stew with tomatoes, onions, feta cheese and hot peppers. Espresso and we walked around the corner to our Pension Arta.

Today is Saturday and we left at 8am for the Tegel airport., sharing a cab with another hotel guest. The airport does not have free wi-fi and each flight gate has its own security scanner. Everyone is patted down. We were in the air by noon and will be in our own bed tonight. Can’t wait, and I can’t wait to get back to lighter fare. German food is heavy on the meat.

Tuesday we left Klinganthal at 7:30 am and drove to Wilstatt to see George Kronen and his factory, at least the German factory. I met George, his son Simon, and the sales manager Frank. They demonstrated the equipment that they developed for the “cockpit.” Small lettuce spinner, blenders, food processors like the Cuisinart, cutters similar to the cutomato and even a small device to crack coconuts. Kronen now manufactures all of these items, in a factory in Cecezlovacia, rather than buy from other suppliers. After the demonstration, it was of course time for lunch. George invited us to go to a restaurant nearby, it was what I would imagine was a typical local German restaurant. Frank suggested we have the Gravlax appetizer first. It was enough for a meal, arranged on a large white square plate with only salt, pepper, and a slice of lemon, and that was all it needed. The salmon was one of the best I have had…no fishy taste. Then we had also ordered a main dish, I was trying to choose other than meat so I had a dish of spatzel with wild mushrooms in cream sauce. Large pieces of mushrooms barely sautéed with leeks. I can re-create this dish; just have to find the mushrooms.

We returned to the factory and spent the rest of the afternoon talking about opportunities with George. Left about 4 and drove 2 hours to PMB’s to drop off Phillip-Emanuel, then drove back to Strasbourg to pick up Jean-Baptiste from the train station. We walked around the city before he arrived and I was glad we were staying in the country rather than the city.

We left Strasbourg about 8 and drove the hour + to Klinganthal, dropped off Jean-Baptiste and went back into the village to eat dinner.

At this time it was about 9:30 pm, and the Bientot a Barr Les Hortensias was still servicing traditional Alsatian food. We had a salad, which in that area was a layer of thinly sliced cabbage with mache on top and a vinaigrette of very light olive oil and shallots. PMB suggested the Croute charchatieur. I chose the one for a single person, but when it arrived I could not imagine how big it would be for the plate for 2 people. There was a mound of sauerkraut surrounded by a smoked sausage, fresh sausage, fresh ham slices, and a pork cutlet. It was too much to eat, but I tasted everything and the sauerkraut was not too acidic, with a slight taste of juniper. A local white wine in a pitcher, with espresso and we were ready for bed again!

France

This is Friday night and we are actually in Germany now, but we have been so busy we haven’t had time to sit and write. And it is not easy to connect in perestroika. But we haven’t been too busy to eat!!!

Monday morning we ran/walked up the mountain trails behind PMB. It was about 38⁰. John tried to take pictures of the castle across the valley. Returned to the house and Genevieve had already left for work at her school.

Breakfast consists of 2 eggs fried, French-press coffee, toasted pain du jour with butter and jelly from the “nuns.” If you remember a few years ago Pie

rre-Michel sent us a selection of jellies made by some nuns. We considered importing them to the US, but didn’t pursue. However, they are exceptional, lemon with pieces of ginger, pear with honey. They make an ordinary breakfast special.

We worked in Pierre-Michel’s newly remodeled home office. Such a terrible place, with French doors opening to the front patio that overlooks the valley and the mountain across, total silence except for the birds. Soon our host declared it was time for “light lunch.” PMB has a special oven, a COMBI which uses both convection heat and steam to cook. He had steamed a fish on Saturday with only lemon, salt & pepper, and reheated it for us. It was simple and full of flavor. Fresh bread, a selection of cheeses and of course a small glass of wine completed the meal.

.PMB took us to a nearby supermarket to see the “Cockpit,” a concept developed by George Kronen. George was a chef back in the 70’s who decided to manufacture equipment for the fresh-cut food market in Germany. In the late 1980’s and throughout the 90’s, Bock imported George Krone’s equipment to sell in the US. George sold his business and retired. John really liked George and missed him. But George couldn't sit still and started another company that focused on small equipment for restaurants and small commissaries. The story goes, that he was in a supermarket and saw a new concept; in the middle of the fruit and vegetable area they were cutting vegetables and fruits in front of the customers. George went to the supermarket manager and told him that his company, Kronen, could make a better system…and convinced the manager to order it. So began the “cockpit.” A module unit that is designed to have all the equipment to cut pineapple, melons, crack coconuts, process pate, mayonnaise, cut vegetables for salads , sauces for vegetables, fresh orange juice, fruit juices. These are packaged and displayed around the perimeter of the glassed enclosed work area. The consumer can buy small amounts of the cut product, only what they need and no waste.

So we went to visit one installation near PMB. The grocery store was under renovation and the cockpit was not even there! So disappointing, but we were assured that we would see one before we left.

Genevieve had planned that we would be going out for dinner Monday, and we would be late for our 8 PM reservation if we did not hurry.

At 8 pm, we arrived at Aux Saisons Gourmandes to discover that we were the only patrons that evening. It is a small restaurant that can serve maybe 20 tables. We started with a glass of champagne, a bread basket and long sticks of twisted puff pastry.

After a long time spent discussing the menu we ordered dinner.

Our hostess, probably the owner, presented the “amuse-bouche,” a tiny dish that held perhaps a tablespoonful of soft scrambled eggs with small pieces of truffle mixed in. I can’t remember the last time I had a taste of truffles, but you could smell it before you tasted it.

Three of us had ordered l'entrée (remember in Europe this is the appetizer) ris de veau aux pleurotes, fois gras et truffle. This should have been the main course, as it was incredibly rich and a very generous portion. As Pierre-Michel explained, the ris de veau, is a gland in the neck of the anima which helps it assimilate milk, and fois gras is of course the liver of goose. Incredible! The pieces were lightly sauted with thin slices of truffles. It was an amazing taste.

We enjoyed a bottle of 2007 Traminer, from the Juris region of France. This was followed by my le plat principal, Rable de lapin en brochette, lentils corail, fromage blanc a la graine de moutarde torrefiee. Fillet of rabbit with a white cheese sauce and grains of mustard served over a small cake made from curried lentils, and a slice of fried polenta. With this course we drank a 2008 Crozes Hermitage, a smooth white wine with a mineral taste that was perfect for the food. The restaurant presented a plate of small cookies, meringue and crème puffs. But this was not enough….John and I had desert cheeses, three each from all around France to be followed by a plate of white chocolate mousse cake to share. All this was topped off by espresso and yet another restaurant offering of chocolate truffles with almonds. After this meal, we went home and slept in our little French bedroom. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.

Eating our Way through France and Germany

John and I barely left Detroit on Saturday during a blinding snowstorm. About an hour late, and I was fearful that we wouldn't leave at all! Arrived in Atlanta and waited only about an hour. Here is the sunset as we leave the US and the sunrise overEngland.

What is the first thing we see in the Stuttgart airport? Coffee from San Francisco.

After 2 hours we arrived in France and drove through Obernai and then to Klingenthal and finally the Brenner's home at the foot of the mountains.

We immediately celebrated with a Rose Champagne, le fois gras (a special mixture with pineapple no less) on fresh whole grain bread. Genevieve has prepared "Baeckeoffe," because she knew it was John's favorite meal. It was delicious and we enjoyed a lovely white wine. The portions were generous and a salad completed the meal....not quite though because it was followed by the cheese course. 6 cheeses from France - all different. Not finished yet! Desert was a fabulous chocolate mouse cake from a famous local Obernai bakery. Too much, all before 1 PM. Of course this was about 3am EST.

Our eating was not complete for the day. Pierre-Michel, John and I, dropped Jean-Baptiste off in Obernai and drove to Germany (Willstatt) to visit the inventor of some of our equipment, Herr Heinz Federolf. The four of us then proceeded to drive and arrived at a restaurant to have dinner at approx. 7:30PM.

Somewhere during the day I missed that we were still going to eat dinner! Probably because I was completely exhausted. The restaurant served traditional German fare (what else). John and I ordered Spaetzle with Chicken and the others ordered Spaetzle with kidneys (I was tempted). The food was delicious, the spaetzle very light. I had eaten enough for one day. Sorry no pictures of the food...I was so tired I forgot to take them. Today will be different, I promise.

More to follow....