I am back! Sorry for the disappearing act. I have been travelling for the past couple of months and spending more time writing longhand than on computer. All of July, I was in Paris teaching a course on culture and cuisine for Oxbridge. It felt so good to be back eating French food again in situ. I was reminded of how easy it is to cook well when you have access to such beautiful ingredients. Just seeing great produce inspires you to get into the kitchen, and then when you cook the ingredients are so cooperative you look like a genius no matter what you do. How I miss that!
After a few days home, I took off again with a friend for a trip down the Danube. We went to Prague, Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg, with a few stops in Germany, too. It was fun to dig German out from the back of my brain again. I used to be quite fluent (I spent a year in Munich in my early twenties), but I am quite rusty now. Language does come back quickly, though , so I am happy to know it’s in there if I ever really need it.
So, what was the best food part of that trip, you want to know? Bread, of course! Without meaning to sound disloyal to France: I LOVE Germanic baking. The breads are much heavier and full of flavour, and the variety is huge because they use many different flours and grains, and of course plenty of sourdough. I love the sandwiches in Eastern Europe, too. They do a lot of open-faced deals there and they are always imaginative, with a tuft of sprouts and a slice of pickle on ham here…and smoked salmon with lime and caviar there…. I want to work up a good repertoire of those little sandwiches (on serious bread, not baguette) as a new form of entertaining. I went to the Opera in Prague, and at intermission they served sandwiches just like that -- perfect food for when you know you won’t be able to fit in dinner.
Hope you have all had a lovely summer. Season III of French Food at Home starts airing this week, so I hope you’ll tune in!
