FABULOUS SOUP RECIPES

TWO GREAT SOUPS

Both:

French-connected,

white and creamy,

luxuriously rich

and

beautifully versatile (can be served hot or cold, summer or winter, with any number of garnishes changing the flavor).

I developed the Cream of Brie Soup for Food and Wines from France to serve at a convention. The organization wanted a dish that would showcase the rich, subtle flavor of Brie, yet have personality of its own and multiple uses. The soup was perfect, as garnishes contribute to flavor and change the nature of the dish, allowing it to enhance a variety of meals. I love to serve this soup at formal dinner parties garnished with seasonal fruits, and consider it sumptuous enough for Christmas brunch, especially if I can get my hands on white truffles for garnish.

Chef Rene Pianetti

The Cream of Bean Soup comes from Le Chef Coq Restaurant in Nuits-Saint-Georges, where Chef René Pianetti presides over the kitchen and serves food that is both contemporary and original. I found the soup on a summer luncheon menu disguised under the name “Gaspacho.”  The custard-smooth bean soup had nothing to do with gaspacho, except it was chilled, but it offered extraordinay flavor that was unique and distinquished. I like this soup best at casual seated dinners on chilly evenings and I sometimes serve it at Thanksgiving, garnishing with prosciutto, country ham, assorted grilled and diced sausages and even sautéed-slivered fennel, if smoked duck is not available.

TWO GREAT SOUPS

Each:

lusciously unique,

dramatically different

and

extravagantly delicious.

Bon Appétit!

CREAM OF BRIE SOUP

Yield: About 4 servings.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 leek, trimmed and chopped (use white part only)

1 celery rib, trimmed and chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 bay leaf

2 black peppercorns

Pinch ground cloves

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup whole milk

1 cup light cream

1/2 pound Brie, rind removed

Garnish suggestions:

Cognac

Crumbled Roquefort

Crumbled Roquefort and diced pears

Fresh berries (perfect for a chilled brunch soup)

Julienne strips of steamed root vegetables

Sautéed apples

Sauteed mushrooms

Shaved white truffles

Toasted nuts and brown sugar (a dessert garnish)

Melt butter in a 3-quart saucepan. Add leek, celery, thyme, bay, peppercorns and cloves; stir well. Cover pot and “steam” ingredients until they are soft, about 15 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over ingredients and stir until flour is absorbed. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in broth, milk and cream. Simmer 30 minutes. Cut Brie into chucks and stir into soup. Continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until Brie completely melts. Strain soup.

Serve immediately, garnished as desired. Or if serving chilled, cool soup at room temperature and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve chilled with appropriate garnish.

CREAM OF WHITE BEAN SOUP

Yield: About 4 servings.

2-1/2 cups dry white beans (about 1 pound 2 ounces)

Water

6 to 7 cups rich flavorful chicken broth

1 thick slice smoked bacon

1 carrot, peeled and halved

Several sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 large garlic clove, peeled and halved

1 cup heavy cream

About 3/4 cup buttery croutons

Hazelnut oil (optional)

Garnish suggestions

Thin strips of smoked duck

Thin strips of prosciutto

Thin strips of country ham

Sautéed sausage, diced

Cover the beans with cold water and let soak overnight.

Drain beans and put in a 4-quart saucepan. Add chicken broth, bacon, carrot, thyme, bay leaf, garlic. Gently simmer the beans until they are tender, about 3 hours. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Drain beans reserving broth. Discard bacon, carrot, garlic, thyme and bay. Mash beans. Stir in cream and enough (2 to 3 cups) reserved broth to make a thick soup. Pass soup through a food mill or strainer.

Serve immediately, garnished with croutons, a drizzle of oil and duck, country ham, prosciutto or sausage. Or if serving chilled, cool soup at room temperature and refrigerate until well chilled. Serve chilled, garnished with croutons, a drizzle of oil and duck, country ham or prosciutto.

FINDING CRUISE DEALS

If you feel like a fish out of water looking for a cruise that doesn’t go overboard on pricing, don’t feel alone; in this economy most of us are in the same boat. That’s why I called Bob Levinstein, CEO of CruiseCompete.com, for advice. If anyone can shore up our knowledge about cruise bargains,  Levinstein can as he has been in the business of finding consumers the best prices on cruises since 2003. Levinstein claims finding deals is smooth sailing once one knows the ropes and he offered the following tips to help cruisers become shipshape savvy about pricing.

HOW TO FIND CRUISE DEALS (according to Bob Levinstein)

Bob Levinstein

CRUISE IN LOW-DEMAND TIMES Choose to cruise in non-peak times, such as when most children are in school. In particular, avoid cruising over holidays as these sailings are typically higher priced due to demand. Less demand equals a lower price.

Think about traveling at the beginning or end of a season (shoulder season) when prices are more competitive and also consider a repositioning cruise. Repositioning cruises are those where cruise lines sail from winter to summer homes or visa versa. As the purpose is to move the ship, these cruises tend to have more days at sea and fewer port stops, but are cheaper than regular cruises.

The Crystal Serenity

BOOK FAR IN ADVANCE OR AT THE LAST MINUTE Cruise ships offer discounts for both. If early, you have the added advantage of choice of rooms AND you can turn in a frequent flyer to cover airfare or take advantage of advance airfare specials.

Close to sailing time—three to six weeks out—cruise ships, eager to fill empty rooms, can drop prices significantly.  Individual travel agents can also offer unadvertised discounts close to sailing time, so check out a few and compare prices.

Sail Away party on The Ruby Princess

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CABIN Cruise ships offer different price structures for different type cabins. Cabins on certain decks, and without certain amenities are cheaper to book than the premium cabins with all the bells and whistles. Right choice of cabin can drop costs dramatically.

Keep in mind that if you book a “category guarantee” you can reserve a category of cabin, but not a specific room—which will be assigned. You pay the lowest rate available and often end up being upgraded to a better category.

At a popular port.

CONSIDER ALL DEALS When factoring costs, consider the value of onboard credits. An extra $100 in your onboard account is just as good as a $100 discount off of your cruise fare. This onboard credit can be used for tips and anything else on board.

Think about a specialty soft drink option. For example, on Princess Cruises, soda cards are approximately $9 per person, per day for all you can drink. Some cards included such items as hot chocolate, “mocktails,” and specialty ice creams in addition to soft drinks. Specialty coffee cards are also available.

Purchase your shore excursions directly rather than through the cruise line.  A good site to research your options is AllThings Cruise.com.

The Silver Cloud in London

SEARCH THE WEB Use the Internet to locate the sailings with the lowest demand. Find the cruise you want, the exact date and the type cabin, but don’t buy at the price advertised as cruise lines only let agencies promote retail prices.  Get custom quotes directly from agents. You can contact multiple travel agencies yourself, or you can put a quote request into CruiseCompete.com and let the 1000 member agents come to you with their best offers.

Here’s how CruiseCompete.com works: You register on the site and then type in your cruise choice being specific about ship, sailing date and cabin type. Member travel agents will bid on your cruise. They will be competitive. You can communicate with agents by phone, E-mail or live chat to ask questions or to see if they can “sweeten the deal” with extra discounts or on-board credit. Compare prices, making sure that your price includes all charges and then you can book with the agent of your choice. There is no cost to you for this service and you will remain anonymous until you make your booking.

Watching movies on the Ruby Princess

OPENSKIES

Something old: the planes.

OpenSkies: business beds and great staff

Something new: the concept.

Something borrowed: a fine chef.

Something blue: the open skies that OpenSkies flies.

If ever there was a marriage made in heaven it’s OpenSkies airlines coupling all-business class service with low value pricing. Can’t beat the service or the deals.

Introduced in 2008, this airline, a subsidiary of British Airways, flies only from New York and Washington, D.C, to Paris. Its small and intimate approach—and its pricing—gives passengers much to love. Here, let me count the ways that OpenSkies rises above competition:

OpenSkies outfitted its fleet of four Boeing 757-200 planes to hold from 64 to 84 passengers. Each plane has only two cabins, both business class. One cabin sports business beds (luscious little pods that fully recline for sleeping), the other, business seats (wide leather seats reclining 140°). The small number of passengers allows

Washington Dulles International

for easy boarding and deplaning, as well as space, style and comfort throughout the flight.

The planes fly nonstop from Newark Liberty International airport and Washington Dulles International RT to Paris-Orly. Dulles and Orly are small and uncomplicated airports, easy to navigate and quick with check in and security. (Sorry, lack the experience to speak for Newark).

The airline offers plenty of perks, including pre-boarding access to airline lounges, truly accommodating staff and value pricing with occasional great bargains.

View from the window: an OpenSkies sunset

Oh, and of course, the food. Love is in the air for foodies, at least on the Dulles/Orly run where the airline hired Michel Richard, of renowned L.A. and D.C. fame, to dish up the catering.

I don’t say this lightly, but the best fish I have ever encountered on any airline was a Salmon with Eggplant served on Open Skies. After hunting literally high and low for a recipe that would allow me to enjoy the dish happily ever after, I found a home-cook’s facsimile in Michel Richard’s fabulous cookbook,

HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN (Artisan books, 2006, 352 pages, 151 recipes, good technique advice, and gorgeous photography. A must-have for the cookbook collector.).

The following recipe gives a taste of both OpenSkies and Michel Richard’s book. Both airline and book wed style to substance and offer much that is oh so easy to love….

EGGPLANT SALMON

(Recipe adapted from Michel Richard’s HAPPY IN THE KITCHEN)

Yield: 4 main course servings.

2 Japanese eggplants (4 to 5 ounces each)

About 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2/3 cup (14-inch) diced fresh mozzarella (about 4 ounces)

1/4 cup cut (1-inch pieces) garlic chives (about 10 chives)

1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

2 large ripe tomatoes (about 6 ounces each), chopped

Pinch granulated sugar

4 center-cut salmon fillets, (each 6 to 8 ounces and cut 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick), skin and any pinbones removed (If the belly, a thinner fattier section of salmon is still attached, cut it away and reserve for another use.)

10 basil leaves, cut into julienne

To make stuffing: halve each eggplant, lengthwise. Lay each half cut side down on a work surface and cut into thin half-moon slices, no thicker than 1/8 inch. You should have about 3 cups of eggplant. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the eggplant. Using a rasp grater, grate the garlic directly onto the eggplant (or mince garlic and add it). Cook, turning the eggplant frequently for about 5 minutes, until it is softened and the garlic is fragrant. Add the chicken stock and simmer for about 2 minutes to reduce the stock and glaze the eggplant. Season with soy sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Spread the eggplant on a plate and let it cool to room temperature. When completely cool, scoop the eggplant into a bowl and gently stir in the mozzarella and chives. Taste and correct seasoning. Set aside until ready to use. (The stuffing can be held at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)

To make vinaigrette: heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Add the tomatoes and sugar and simmer gently for 15 minutes.  Transfer the tomato mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325°F.

With a sharp knife, cut a vertical slit down the center of each salmon fillet, leaving the bottom 1/2-inch of salmon intact. With your hands or a spoon, pull the slits gently apart to make a pocket and stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the eggplant stuffing.

Place stuffed salmon on an oiled baking sheet, season with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil over top. Set salmon in the preheated oven and bake for about 12 minutes, or until the stuffing is hot throughout.

Stir basil into the vinaigrette. Spoon some vinaigrette into the center of each serving plate. Top with the salmon. Serve.

DIVINE TARTS

View from the window at L'Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort

I first met the tart in my hotel room at the L’Auberge Du Lac Casino Resort in Lake Charles, Louisana. Temptation knocked on the door in the guise of a “welcome gift” and I confess I abandoned all control and immediately,voraciously indulged. The encounter left me filled with guilt, but wanting more.

Fortunately we met  again, at the popular Rouge et Blanc, Lake Charles’ premier wine and food festival. I spied the tart in a discreet corner of the festival, seductive as ever. Bypassing the crowd waiting to sample the festival’s fine wines and food specialties, I rushed to the tart and again yielded to desire. Once. Twice. I couldn’t get enough.

According to dietician Shively Lampson, who made the tarts for both the hotel gift and the festival, I am not alone in my passion.

“Dark Chocolate Ganache Tarts are best sellers at our shop,” says Shively referencing Pure Foods & Health, the retail healthy foods shop in Lake Charles that she co-owns with her husband Gene.

Gene & Shively Lampson at Rouge et Blanc

“Because the tarts are made with unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, they are great for vegans, vegetarians as well as raw food dieters.” In addition, Shively said that  “using coconut butter makes the tarts heart healthy. The fat in coconut oil is made up of medium chain fatty acids, and as such is more likely to be used as an energy source rather than stored as fat.”

Talk about lucky in love. My sinfully rich, deeply decadent-tasting chocolate tarts turned out to be a vegetarian “health” food.

Ingredients may be a bit hard to find—and a tad expensive, but if you can’t get to Lake Charles and Pure Foods & Health, you can make the tarts at home with Shively’s recipe.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE TARTS

Yield: 8 to 10 three-inch tarts.

CRUST

3/4 cups cocoa powder

3/4 cups almond meal or fine almond flour

1/2 cup maple sugar or maple syrup powder

1/4 cup coconut butter or coconut oil

Pinch of salt

Put cocoa powder, almond meal, maple sugar, coconut butter and salt in a large bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon or mix your hands until ingredients are thoroughly combined and form a “dough.”

Line 8 to 10 three-inch tart pans with plastic wrap and then press dough over the bottom and up the sides the pans, dividing the dough evenly among the pans. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill 1 hour or more.

GANACHE FILLING

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut butter

Put cocoa powder, maple syrup and coconut butter in the jar of a blender. Blend until ingredients are thoroughly combined and completely smooth (taste to make sure the mixture is not grainy).

Spoon filling into the chilled tart crusts. Lightly lift and drop each pan onto the counter to release any air bubbles.  Place tarts in the refrigerator to chill and set at least 3 hours. (Tarts freeze well at this stage.)

TO SERVE

Remove plastic wrap and, if desired, garnish with fresh strawberries or raspberries or with a dollop of Shively’s Vanilla Cashew Cream Sauce (recipe follows).

VANILLA CASHEW CREAM SAUCE

Yield: 1 cup.

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for four hours and drained well

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons maple syrup or agave

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and process on high speed until smooth. Chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

GRAND VELAS SPECIALITY COCKTAIL

Talk about perfectionism; GRAND VELAS ALL SUITES & SPA RESORT in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, does everything right. Each of the resort’s 267 well-decorated roomy suites opens to a private terrace with an extensive ocean view.  Each of the four upscale, on-property restaurants serves a different well-loved cuisine (Italian, French, Mexican and International), covering a gamut of guests’ taste preferences. And the Grand Velas spa, which authorities consider the hands down finest on Mexico’s Pacific Coast, offers 80 different treatments to polish, pamper and please in a serene and peaceful setting. No doubt about it, this exclusive, all-inclusive sees to the details—no matter how large or how small.

Which brings us to the bar menu.

Some may consider it a coincidence, but I know Grand Velas is so perfection focused that the head bartender probably created the house specialty cocktail to color-coordinate with the garden plants around the resort’s various bars.

The resort's lobby and swim-up bars.

The Grand Velas Special, a drink that tastes of vacation with an easy-going refreshing charm, matches not only the bright green, orange and yellow crotons scattered around the grounds and backing the swim-up bar, but also the broad leaf water lilies that grace a garden pool in front of the lobby bar. Pretty perfect if you ask me.

THE GRAND VELAS SPECIAL  

A generous splash of green licor de melon (a melon liqueur such as Midori)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1-1/2 ounces ron Malibu (coconut rum)

Put licor de melon in a tall glass. Add orange and pineapple juice. Top with rum. Gently fill glass with ice. Don’t stir. Enjoy.

DIJON RESTAURANTS

WHERE TO EAT IN DIJON, FRANCE

Sophie Jugie

Sophie Jugie heads the glorious Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, France. As director, she not only oversees collections and operations, but also serves as the face of the museum, traveling, entertaining, and interacting with the leaders of her museum community as well as the international art community in Europe and other parts of the world.

One aspect of Sophie’s job entails dining with dignitaries visiting Dijon. Being a woman of highly refined and educated taste, Sophie knows restaurants as well as art and knows the perfect places to take visitors.

Eager for the inside scoop, I asked Sophie for a list of restaurants that she frequents with dignitaries and then requested  that she broaden the list to contain some of her favorite places that give an overview of the good food found in Dijon.

Ever generous, Sophie replied with the following:

SOPHIE JUGIE’S FAVORITE DIJON RESTAURANTS

The Place de la Liberation with two good restaurants: Le Cafe Gourmand and Le Pre aux Clercs

The most beautiful place in Dijon is obviously the Place de la Libération, the former Place Royale, in front of the Palace of the Dukes and of the States-General of Burgundy where the Musée des Beaux-Arts is located. Here are two favorite restaurants.

For an informal lunch, I like Le Café Gourmand (9 place de la Libération, 03 80 36 87 51) for its original and often renewed menus and its terrace. This is a perfect place to me.

Sitting next door is the famous Le Pré aux Clercs (13 place de la Libération, 03 80 38 05 05) where one of the most talented chefs of Dijon, Jean-Pierre Billoux, is cooking. Among the many delights of this one-Michelin starred restaurant, I recommend the spectacular “quenelles d’ecrevisse.”

It wouldn’t be fair not to mention the other Michelin starred chefs of Dijon producing inspired and rarefied cooking: Stéphane Derbord of Restaurant Stéphane Derbord (10 place Wilson, 03 80 67 74 64)  and William Frachot at Hostellerie du Chapeau Rouge (5 rue Michelet, 03 80 50 88 88).

Jean-Pierre Billoux

Jean-Pierre Billoux also owns a typical bistrot, Le Bistrot des Halles, (8 rue Bannelier, 09 80 49 94 15) on the market, with simple but genuine dishes. Also around the market, which is very animated Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, are a number of other good restaurants. I like Lilouhane (10 rue Quentin, 03 80 30 59 37) for its seafood and DZ’envies (12 rue Odebert, 03 80 50 09 26) where the talented David Zuddas produces original cooking in a design environment.

In other charming streets of Dijon, you will find a large choice of nice places.

Courtyard of La Maison Milliere

Behind the wonderful church of Notre Dame, La Maison Milliere (10 rue de la Chouette, 03 80 30 99 99) offers en trompe L’oeil garden courtyard in which to enjoy a pleasant meal.

In the animated rue de l’Amiral Roussin, not far or the Renaissance Palais de Justice, is my favorite Italian restaurant, Osteria Enoteca Italiana (32 rue Amiral Roussin, 03 80 50 07 36)—vera cucina Italiana, good Italian wines.

The fried Camemberts of Le Petit Roi de la Lune (28 rue Amiral Roussin, 03 80 49 89 93) is a tasting must.

Le Petit Roi de la Lune sits next door to La Causerie des Mondes

And next door you will find a  serene place for a cup of tea, a salad and a dessert at La Causerie des Mondes. Both restaurants are in medieval half timbered houses.

The Place Emile Zola reminds me of the south of France with its big plane-trees and fountain and there I recommend a funny vegetarian restaurant Les Pieds Bleus (13 place Emile Zola, 03 80 50 06 66).

Recently, in the nearby rue Berbisey, also full of bars and restaurants, I discovered Le Piano qui Fume (36 rue Berbisey, 03 80 30 35 45) with an astonishing delicious and refined menu at a very mild price.

CATALAN TOMATO BREAD

Maria-Lluisa Albacar, the foreign relations manager for Turisme de Barcelona, is an avid foodie, so when she offered to take a bunch of food writers to show off some of her favorite Barcelona restaurants, I was first in line.

My favorite of Maria-Lluisa’s favorite restaurants is Casa Leopoldo, a three-generation-owned oldie in Barcelona’s El Raval district. A leftover from when the neighborhood enjoyed more respect, Casa Leopoldo serves terrific traditional dishes in a setting enhanced by colorful tile walls, dark wood beam ceilings and numerous photographs of famous bullfighters who frequented the place.

As is the Spanish tradition, Maria-Lluisa ordered a generous number of her favorite dishes for us to try and my favorite of her favorites was a crusty, flavor-packed tomato bread that was placed on the table at the start of the meal.

According to Maria-Lluisa pa amb tomaquet (literally bread with tomato in Catalan) is not only one of the simplest Spanish dishes to make, but also one of the most beloved specialties in the whole of Catalonia. She said that sometimes locals top the bread with cheese, sausage or ham, but her favorite way to eat it is warm, crunchy and tasting like fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes—just as it was served at Casa Leopoldo.

CASA LEOPOLDO’S TOMATO BREAD

Cut a large round loaf of good rustic white bread, horizontally, into thick slices. Lightly toast the bread slices. While the slices are hot from the toasting, rub each with the cut side of a halved garlic clove. Halve one or two large, perfectly ripe tomatoes and press out the seeds. Rub the cut tomatoes over each bread slice. Drizzle a very good extra virgin olive oil over the bread and sprinkle with salt. Cut slices into serving size pieces and serve immediately.

DOOR COUNTY, WISCONSIN

There are a number of reasons to vacation in Door County, Wisconsin. Consider:

2,000,000 people visit Door County per year, yet this peninsula, with Green Bay on the west and Lake Michigan to the east and north, remains gentle, peaceful, somewhat rural and very nature-focused.

20,000 or more acres of Door County are devoted to protected park and recreational areas, providing plentiful opportunity for outdoor fun.

300 miles of shoreline makes the cup runneth over with water sports and water-based activities.

70 miles-long, the Peninsula is easy to navigate by car.

30 plus beaches delight visitors and locals alike; a few even welcome the canine crowd.

11 villages line the waterfront and each has its own personality as reflected in shops, galleries, restaurants, accommodation choices and fun venues to enjoy evening entertainments.

4 seasons bring many reasons to visit: spring for the cherry blossoms; summer for mild temperatures and every kind of outdoor fun; fall to see gorgeous foliage; and winter for peace, quiet, ice fishing, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

And last but not-at-all least,

2 vacation necessities —bed and breakfast— shine  in Door County.

BED

LODGINGS AT PIONEER LANE

Location in the heart of Ephraim village, itself in the heart of Door County, accounts for some of the Lodgings at Pioneer Lane’s draw. Ephraim makes a great base for exploring the Peninsula, and the charming white clapboard houses that hold the inn’s seven rooms are a short walk from Ephraim’s restaurants, shops and the shoreline (the most accessible shoreline in all of Door County).

But location isn’t all. Owners Hugh and Alicia Mulliken structured their inn to be heavy on both style and user-friendly substance. Although each room is unique, most are luxuriously spacious and all are filled with comforts such as whirlpool tubs (big enough for two), air conditioning (but you probably won’t need it as night air is so fresh and cooling), large closets, good beds with luxury linens (comfy to the max), TVs and free WiFi. Some rooms come with a fireplace (especially cozy in winter), while others sport a balcony or front porch area for summer lounging. Each room is individually decorated.

I stayed in the sleek and contemporary Sea Chest Room, which felt more like a small apartment than a hotel space, having a large living room and a kitchenette. Décor leaned to contemporary, with clean-cut lines and special design features that included lighting fixtures that are both form and function savvy and artist made wood furniture. Yacht-glossy wood floors, a blue and white color scheme and boat-related decorations supported the room’s nautical theme.

Simple, sophisticated, spacious, comfortable, convenient, the Lodgings has it all. Well, maybe not all. The Mullikens don’t serve breakfast—a plus in my book as I love  restaurant breakfasts and Door County had some winners to experience. Read on:

BREAKFAST

THE WHITE GULL INN RESTAURANT

Encouraged by Good Morning America’s claims that the White Gull Inn Restaurant in Fish Creek serves one of the best breakfasts in all of America, I tried a bit of everything on the menu: omelettes, corned beef hash, buttermilk pancakes, Swedish limpa bread toast and cherry-studded coffee cake included.  Yes, I know I’m taking a chance on hell for the gluttony sin, but who cares in the quest to find the best-breakfast-title claimer, which turned out to be a divine Door County Cherry Stuffed French Toast.

This awesomely rich, but totally worth-the-calories French toast is loaded with cream cheese and local Montmorency cherries. Andy Coulson, White Gull Inn’s innkeeper, gave me the following recipe. I didn’t retest it for you (was afraid I might eat all six servings), but if the recipe replicates what was served, and I am sure it will, you are in for a bit of cherry heaven.

DOOR COUNTY CHERRY-STUFFED FRENCH TOAST

Yield: 6 servings

1 loaf unsliced egg bread

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature

2 cups frozen tart Montmorency cherries, thawed and divided (see note)

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Oil for grilling

Cinnamon

Powdered sugar

Butter

Maple syrup

Trim ends from loaf and cut bread into six 1.5-inch thick slices. Make a cut three-quarters down the middle of each slice. (Bread will appear to have two separate slices, but will be joined together at bottom.) Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together cream cheese and one cup of the cherries. Spread approximately 1/6 of the mixture into the pocket of each slice of bread.  Gently press slices together, evenly distributing filling.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Dip stuffed slices into egg mixture and coat all sides. Immediately place on a lightly oiled griddle (or in a frying pan) and sprinkle with cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until golden brown, turning to cook second side.

Remove cooked slices from griddle and place on a cutting board. Gently halve each piece diagonally, forming two triangles. Arrange two triangles on individual plates. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and remaining cherries.

Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Note: The White Gull Inn uses frozen Montmorency cherries, which they buy from Seaquist Orchards, the largest growers and processors of cherries in Wisconsin. Seaquist’s owner Kristin Seaquist said if frozen cherries are not available, to use fresh or canned.  (Canned Montmorency cherries are available by mail order: click here).

FRESH PASTA

If they can do it, you can do it.

Making fresh pasta is child’s play, especially if you have a pasta machine to do the rolling. The instructions for making the dough and using the machine may sound complicated at first, but after a little practice, nothing could be easier. So why are you waiting?  Set up the machine and let the good times roll.

HOW TO MAKE BASIC PASTA DOUGH

The following recipe will make about two servings of pasta. The recipe may be doubled or tripled.

1 cup all-purpose unbleached flour

1 extra large egg

1 teaspoon olive oil

Pinch of salt

Mound flour on a wooden pasta board or other flat surface. Make hollow in flour so it looks like a volcano.Break egg into the hollow. Top with oil. Sprinkle with salt.

(Now comes the hard part: you need to keep the egg inside the flour mound when you mix the dough and not let the egg escape through the sides of the flour and run over the flat surface. The way you hold the fork isimportant.) Pick up a fork and hold it with the tines parallel with the flat surface, not pointing down. Keeping the fork flat (parallel to the surface), begin making circles inside the mound and gently whip the eggs and oil until white and yolk are blended. (You could support the side of the flour mound with your free hand to help keep the egg in the mound.) With the same flat circular motion, very slowly start bringing flour from the side of the mound into the egg mixture. Continue slowly and carefully incorporating flour from sides and bottom of mound into the eggs until you have a sticky dough. Then put the fork down and gently knead the dough with your hand, incorporating enough flour to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Gather dough into a ball. You will probably not have used all of the flour in the mound. Pass remaining flour through a strainer to remove all lumps (throw lumps away). Use strained flour for rolling dough.

TO ROLL PASTA DOUGH ON A MACHINE

(Cut dough in half. If the dough has been made with more than one egg, cut it into as many portions as eggs used. Roll each portion of dough separately.)

A little wheel at the side of the machine adjusts the roller size. Put rollers on the most open setting. Turning handle of machine, pass lump of dough through rollers.

Fold rolled dough into thirds (like a letter). Press gently to flatten the dough rectangle. Lightly sprinkle dough rectangle with flour. Put one of the narrow ends of the folded rectangle into the machine and repeat the rolling, folding and flouring.  Repeat about eight more times, or until dough is very smooth.

Move the roller wheel notch one  number, putting the rollers a little closer together. Roll dough without folding. Sprinkle rolled dough with a little flour.

Repeat rolling the dough, moving the rollers one number closer after each rolling, and not folding, until the dough is as thin as you want it. (The sheet of dough will get longer and longer as you roll and you may need some help handling it. I don’t know if a purist would ever do this, but beginners can cut the long sheet in sections to make handling a little easier. It is important to remember to never squeeze a long sheet of dough in your fist, but let it hang over your open hand or on the back of your hand to move it.) After the last rolling, gently pull the pasta to its full length and set on lightly floured dishtowels to “dry” for about 10 minutes before cutting.

TO CUT FRESH PASTA

Pass the dough through the pasta machine’s cutting “teeth” to cut into shapes offered by the machine, or cut with a sharp knife into shapes not available on the machine. Put the cut pasta on floured dishtowels and set aside for about 10 minutes before cooking.

TO COOK FRESH PASTA

Put a lot of water into a large pot. Set the pot over high heat. Bring the water to a full boil. Put the pasta in the boiling water and cook until tender, 15 to 30 seconds for very thin fresh pasta and up to a minute for thicker. Drain pasta in a colander. The pasta is ready to add sauce and eat.

FOURTH OF JULY SPIRITS

RED WHITE AND BLUE

TOASTING FOR THE

FOURTH OF JULY


FRENCH CANADIAN KISS

From the bar in Panache restaurant at the Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City, Canada

Combine in a cocktail shaker:

1-1/2 ounce pineapple juice

1 ounce vanilla Smirnoff vodka

1/2 ounce Ricaneux Framboise or raspberry liqueur

Add ice. Shake. Pour into a martini glass.

Garnish with fresh raspberries and cherries.

SOURSOP MARTINI

From Rosewood Little Dix Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Combine in a cocktail shaker:

1-1/2 ounces Kettle One Vodka

2 ounces soursop juice (see note)

Ice

Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

Note: Soursop (also know as guanabana) is a fruit native to the Caribbean and parts of South America. Wikipedia says, “Its flavor is described as a combination of strawberry and pineapple with sour citrus flavor notes contrasting with an underlying creamy flavor reminiscent of coconut or banana.” Soursop juice may be available in canned form from a specialized supermarket.

SIAM@SIAM COCKTAIL

From Siam @ Siam Design Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand

Combine in a tall glass:

1-1/2  ounces Bacardi rum

1 ounce Blue Curacao liqueur

1-1/2 ounces fresh coconut juice

1-1/2 ounces pineapple juice

1/2 ounce sweet and sour mix

Add ice and stir.

Garnish with a slice of lemon.