Tartines, or Fancy Sandwiches

Before I tell you about these tantalizing tartines, I wanted to let you know to keep an eye out later this week for a giveaway! Yes, I'm hosting my first giveaway--yahoo! CSN Stores approached me earlier this week and offered me to review a product or give something to you, and although I'd love to add a new item to my kitchen, I'm going to pass the luck on to you, my loyal readers! CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be office desks, fitness equipment, or even awesome cookware! I'll tell you more about it soon, but I wanted to give you a head's up. :-)

On to the tartines! I was introduced to lovely tartines when I lived in France. The French have such a fancy name that rolls off the tongue and elicits images of elegant food. Really, they're just open-faced sandwiches, but the French do it with such flair. Open-faced sandwiches in the U.S., at least in my experience, are often piled high with meat and smothered in gravy or sauce. Not so in France--they are delicate sandwiches, usually made with simple ingredients that meld together perfectly.

On Valentine's Day we recreated our favorite tartines from one of our favorite restaurants in Strasbourg, L'Épicerie. It is located such a quaint little space where you really get to know your neighbors (or at least their elbows!) and is combined with affordable (which is hard to find in Europe!) and delicious fare. My daughter would always order the smoked salmon while I would order the goat cheese tartine. Ahhhh...the memories!

These sandwiches are great as a meal if paired with a salad or would be great cut up into bite-sized pieces and served as an hors d'oeuvre. Feel free to be creative with your toppings--the French certainly would!

Smoked Salmon Tartine with Dill, Capers and Crème Fraiche


1 slice of rustic bread, preferably a boule-shaped loaf (I used homemade wheat.)
Crème fraiche
1 slice of smoked salmon
1 tsp fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp capers, rinsed

Spread a little bit of crème fraiche onto the bread. (A little goes a long way.) Lay the salmon on the bread and sprinkle with the dill and capers. Enjoy!


Goat Cheese Tartine with Honey and Almonds

1 slice of rustic bread, preferably a boule-shaped loaf (I used homemade wheat.)
1-2 Tbl goat cheese
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)
1 tsp sliced toasted almonds (or more to taste)

Spread the goat cheese onto the bread. Drizzle the honey over the goat cheese and sprinkle with almonds. Enjoy!

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A Walk in the Alsatian Countryside and Vineyards

On Saturday, we decided to go walk part of the "Route de vins" in the Alsatian countryside. Although other regions of France are more widely known around the world for their wines (Bordeaux, anyone?), Alsace can hold its own with certain grapes. The most well-known are the Riesling and Gewurztraminer varieties, but they also excel in the Pinot Gris, the Pinot Noir (which is more of a rose here), and their crémant, their version of champagne that contains mostly Pinot Blanc grapes. I know it may be sacreligious, but I actually prefer the slightly sweeter crémant to champagne.


After a four kilometer trek through the vineyards between Riquewihr and Ribeauville via Hunawihr, we bought a bottle of crémant to celebrate when we got home from the Giersberger winery. We added a tiny bit of crème de cassis to make it a nice summery drink. Mmmm...I could get used to this life!


In France, it's common to have a little wine with lunch as well, and I've really enjoyed trying the different wines of the region. I think I've started a little love affair with the slightly sweet and light Pinot Gris.

Although it was 90 degrees out, it is still spring here, so the vines aren't heavy with grapes quite yet...we only got a glimpse of baby grapes waiting to become delicious wine.

So, next time you see an Alsatian wine on the shelf, you may want to check it out--it can be surprisingly tasty!

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Monday Mouthful: Spaetzle with Meatballs and Mustard Cream Sauce

Okay, I confess. When I decided that we'd make spaetzle for the current Monday Mouthful challenge with ChefE over at Cook Appeal, I already had a dish in mind. One of my favorite restaurants in Strasbourg is La Corde à Linge, which specializes in spaetzle dishes (although I've already mentioned it here before regarding their delicious desserts). Usually, spaetzle is considered a side dish, but at La Corde à Linge, it becomes the main attractions. All of their dishes start with either the traditional spaetzle (which is what this recipe is based on) or a potato version, paired with a meat or veggies, and some sort of finger-licking sauce.

One of my favorites is the meatball and mustard cream sauce spaetzle--the dish I tried to recreate. I don't often cook without a recipe at all (although I often deviate from the ones I do use), and so this was a real challenge for me, trying to recreate a restaurant dish. And it was successful! I think I hit the mustard cream sauce almost exactly, and the meatballs were close, but I still have a little work to do on those. The spaetzle turned out tender and flavorful...and they were surprisingly easy to make, if a little time consuming. You can find the recipe here, but I documented some of the steps below for those of you who may be a little reticent to try making your own noodles.

I'll post a round-up and the next challenge separately, so keep an eye out! (It might be a little late as I am taking a short vacation to Zurich, Switzerland this week!) Okay, so on to the spaetzle...

Before starting, put a pot of water on to boil. After making the dough (to which I had to add a little more water than called for, but only took about five minutes to throw together), break a small piece off (about a quarter of the dough) and smash it flat with your hands to about 1/4-1/2" thickness. It doesn't matter if it's round--you'll just be cutting pieces off of it.


With a sharp knife, scrape pieces off of the dough. You can make them any size you want...I stayed rustic and made them in whatever size came off of the knife.

I scraped them off in batches because you shouldn't have more than one layer in the boiling water at a time. I found that the spaetzle was ready in about five minutes. So, while one batch was boiling, I'd scrape off the next batch. I set up a colander over a paper towel, and used a slotted spoon to remove the cooked spaetzle from the water to the colander. I drizzled just the tiniest bit of olive oil over the noodles, and mix them up with each batch I added to keep them from sticking together.

After boiling them all, I fried them in some butter and pepper. My frying stage was the least successful since I tried to fry them at high heat at first, but it turns out that they fry better at a gentle heat.


After they were done frying, I plated them up with the meatballs and mustard cream sauce! (See below for the recipe for the mustard sauce...I'll post the meatball one when I'm completely happy with it.) I do have to say, though, that I will definitely be making these again...

Mustard Cream Sauce
adapted from Recipezaar

1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup dry white wine (I used an Alsatian Riesling.)
1/4 cup whole grain mustard
A couple of grinds of pepper

Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, and cook, whisking often, 10 minutes. Whisk in wine , mustard, and pepper, and cook until thoroughly heated.

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Monday Mouthful--Flammekueche Roundup and Next Week's Challenge

This week's Monday Mouthful challenge was Flammekueche, and I was pleasantly surprised at how it turned out. I was a little fearful because although the recipe came from a trustworthy source, I had never made it before. I decided to go the traditional route because 1) I like traditional Flammekueche and 2) I forgot to get the fruit to make the dessert one! Good thing, though that I forgot the fruit because the entire two "pies" were eaten up at dinner. I did make one minor change and used red onions instead of the typical yellow onions--because I used up all the yellow ones the night before! I think I prefer yellow onions, but this was still tasty and very close to what I've had in restaurants here in Strasbourg. The only changes I'd make would be to roll out the crust a little more and season the crème fraiche a little more heavily for added flavor. If you weren't able to participate, I encourage you to try this...it's a great and easy alternative to pizza and would make some fabulous hors d'oeuvres.


Thanks to the other bloggers who participated this week! Please take a look at their takes on the traditional Alsatian dish--their submissions all had me drooling!

The Daily Spud--True to form, The Daily Spud made a lovely potato Flammekueche, which elicited an excited, "Wow! That looks good!" from my husband.

ChefE at CookAppeal--ChefE, as always, took the recipe a couple of steps further and added some beer to the crust and asparagus to both her "pie" and to her Flammekueche calzones...yummm!

And ChefE has announced next week's French challenge...Champignons de Paris! This challenge will be left open to your imagination, so we're looking for dishes (hopefully French ones!) that use mushrooms or are served with a mushroom sauce. If you haven't had a chance to join us yet, please feel free to jump in whenever! As always, if you participate, please email your link to me at mindysmouthful(at)gmail(dot)com or ChefE at elizabeth(at)cookappeal(dot)com! We'll post our results, your links, and the next challenge on Monday.

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Kugelhopf Ice Cream from Corde à Linge

One of our favorite restaurants in Strasbourg is Corde à Linge, a restaurant specializing in Spätzle, a German noodle. The restaurant itself is great for many reasons, including its unique and tasty fare, but also its prime location in Petite France (one of the most picturesque areas of Strasbourg) and the fact that the restaurant is open and serves food all day long (either in the laundry-themed interior or outside next to the river). Another draw is the moderate pricing--Strasbourg can rival Paris with its restaurant prices, and any sit-down restaurant that doesn't leave you penniless at the end of the meal is a winner in my book!

But really, something that may easily be overlooked at this restaurant are their desserts. They are all homemade, beautiful and tasty. I've had several, but the one that I go back to again and again is their Kugelhopf ice cream. (Kugelhopf is a dry bread that can either be sweet or savory and is shaped almost like a bundt cake.) The ice cream is shaped to look like the traditional Kugelhopf and is a little taste of ice cream heaven. I don't know exactly what is in this little gem, but I believe there is a little bit of Riesling and raisins. But what I do know is that I'll be filing this away in my "Must-Try-To-Recreate" file when I return home (and to all of my kitchen gadgets)!

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Monday Mouthful Roundup and Next Week's Challenge: Flammekueche

Thanks to all who participated in Monday Mouthful this week! Please check out the following bloggers who whipped up the Rustic French Meatloaf at a moment's notice:**

Mindy at, well, um, this blog made a Rustic Alsatian Meatloaf.

ChefE at CookAppeal made lovely little Rustic Mini French Pâté Loaves. They're so cute and look delicious with the addition of a vintage tomato jelly.

Greg at Sippity Sup made the most beautiful Terrine de Campagne. His French terrine mold is going onto my Amazon wishlist ASAP!

**Please check back in case there were any late entries! :-) And please feel free to join in any of the Monday Mouthful adventures! Just email me at mindysmouthful(at)gmail(dot)com or ChefE at elizabeth(at)cookappeal(dot)com with a link to your entry (or for non-bloggers, let me know, and we'll work something out!)

And for the big reveal (drum roll, please): Next week we'll be making Flammekueche! This is a typical Alsatian dish which is served literally everywhere in Alsace. I'm cheating a little because it's a little German and a little French...just like Alsace. (If you'd like to know a little more about the region, check out my previous post.) This tasty pizza-like dish, made with a very, very thin crust and topped with all sorts of things, both savory and sweet. I've chosen the most typical recipe, the traditional flammekueche (or tarte flambée in French), which is topped with crème fraîche, bacon and onions. You can make the recipe below or be as creative as you'd like. It can be served as an appetizer, main dish, or if sweet, even as dessert. (One of my favorites around here is a pear and dark chocolate flammekueche.) It's traditionally baked in a wood-fired oven, so if you have one of those laying around, feel free to bake it in there! (Otherwise, you can just use the oven like most of the rest of us...)

Feel free to google either "flammekueche" or "tarte flambée" to get a sense for what this actually looks like--there weren't any images that I felt comfortable putting on here as an example, but there are plenty out there.

Flammekueche or Tarte Flambée
from Petit Recueil de la Gastronomie Alsacienne: 75 Recettes Simples by Marguerite Doerflinger

1 recipe Flammekueche dough (See below)
2 large onions, diced or sliced thinly
1 2/3 cups crème fraîche (if you can’t find this in the grocery store, you can make your own or use good quality heavy cream)--This seems like a lot to me, so you might start at a little less than this and go from there...
At least 3 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into matchsticks (or 60g lardons fumés)
1 Tbl rapeseed or canola oil
Salt, pepper, nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 450F/230C/Th. 8.

Roll out the dough until it is very thin in a rectangular shape and place it on a pizza stone or cookie sheet sprinkled with a little flour or cornmeal to prevent sticking. Season the cream with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover the dough with the onions, bacon, and cream. Drizzle the mixture with the oil. When the oven is completely hot, place the flammekueche in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the crust is very crispy and lightly browned.

Flammekueche dough
from Marmiton
Should make enough for two flammekuechen

2 cups flour
3 Tbl olive oil
Pinch of salt
½ cup warm water

Mix all of the ingredients together until it creates a dough. That’s it!

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Monday Mouthful--Rustic "Alsatian" Meatloaf

What, I'm not making the Rustic "French" Loaf that all of the rest of you made?! Well, yes, technically I am, but I added a little Alsatian twist to it, as you'll see later.

As you all may know, I am living in Strasbourg, France for one year (which will be up in 2 1/2 months!). ChefE over at CookAppeal asked us to introduce an appropriate cultural word when blogging about our French/German cooking, so I'm going one step further and introducing you to a whole region: Alsace. It's not a region that many people have heard of, and a region that not many Americans visit, which is such a shame. Alsace has a rocky history, and has changed hands many times over the last few centuries between France and Germany. In fact, the Alsatian language--Elsässerditsch--more closely resembles German than French.

Alsace was briefly under Nazi control from 1940-44, but has been under French control since the Treaty of Versailles in 1918. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris even has a plaque to commemorate Alsace's return to France:


Strasbourg, in particular, is a beautiful and important city, culturally, politically, and economically. You can read all about the city on Wikipedia, but if you ever get to this part of the country, stop by! Here are a few pictures of the city I have come to love:

And finally, on to the food! I adapted the meatloaf recipe ever so slightly to make it more "Alsatian." Instead of chicken livers, I used local foie gras de canard. Alsace is known for its foie gras, so I thought that if I was going to use liver, I might as well use the good stuff! This meatloaf is definitely decadent--all of us really liked it, even my daughter who notoriously has to be bribed to eat her meat! You could definitely taste the foie, and although I thought it was a little weird to add prunes and pistachios, they both added a nice, fresh flavor to the otherwise rich loaf. This was an ugly loaf, though...I think that the addition of parsley is to cover the unappetizing top rather than to add flavor. I served it with mashed potatoes and red wine, garlic and pistachio broccoli.

I'm sure I'll be making this again, but I may have to substitute some of the ingredients to make it more wallet-friendly...

Rustic "Alsatian" Meatloaf
adapted from Epicurious

1 cup fine fresh bread crumbs (preferably from a rustic loaf)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 pound foie gras de canard
3/4 pound ground pork
3/4 pound ground veal
1/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, toasted
1 teaspoons dried thyme
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Accompaniment: Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 475°F with rack in middle.

Soak bread crumbs in milk in a small bowl.

Cook onion, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in oil in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly.

Add foie, pork, veal, prunes, pistachios, thyme, eggs, bread-crumb mixture, onion mixture, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and gently mix with your hands until just combined.

Transfer meatloaf mixture to an 81/2- by 41/2-inch glass loaf pan and bake, covered with foil, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 165°F, 50 to 55 minutes. (If using a metal pan, it may need to cook 15 minutes longer.) Let rest 5 minutes. Cover top of meatloaf with parsley before slicing.

We had some of the leftovers in a meatloaf sandwich with Dijon mustard for lunch today, and it sure was yummy!

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A Night Out: Au Crocodile in Strasbourg, France

My husband and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in January, and although we were in Spain on vacation, we didn't really get to celebrate the day of because 1) we had our two-year-old daughter with us and didn't have a babysitter and 2) my husband came down with the flu that day. We decided to wait until the new group of college students arrived to go out so that we'd have a babysitter, and we finally made it out two months later!

I mentioned to my parents in December that we really wanted to try Au Crocodile here in Strasbourg (a Michelin two-star restaurant), but that I wasn't sure we would go because it was just a little out of our price range. Right before they left, my parents gave us our anniversary gift--a stack of crisp Euros to only be used at Au Crocodile. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) I made the reservation, set up a babysitter, and off we went to celebrate our January anniversary on St. Patrick's Day!


We started off the evening with a little Alsatian crémant. Crémant is basically champagne or sparkling wine, but since the EU has restrictions on what can be called "champagne" (it has to come from the Champagne region), the Alsatians call theirs "crémant." Because Alsatian crémant is made from the sweeter Alsatian grapes, it tends to be a little sweeter than a typical champagne, and is a traditional way to start out a meal here.

Our meal began with two amuse bouches. The first was a shrimp served with an avocado cream and a lemony whipped cream. Now, I do not eat seafood or fish because I just don't like it. (And, yes, I've tried my fair share of very fresh, very diverse types of fish and seafood.) I'm happy to try new things, and since this was just a little bite, I tried it. I think that for a seafood lover, this would have been great. Me? The shrimp was fine (which is a big step up from spitting it out into my napkin, which is what I normally do with seafood), but the creams were wonderful! The avocado cream was so smooth and had a hint of red pepper in there. And I could have eaten a whole bowlful of the lemon whipped cream!


The second amuse bouche was a little cup of "forgotten" vegetable soup. I could definitely taste the potato in there, and there were little tiny bits of smoked ham, but we couldn't figure out the other "forgotten" vegetables. Either way, it was tasty! And my husband commented, "I could eat a whole plateful of the ham just by itself!"


We started out with the "Foie de Canard landais grillé, Compotée de Coing et Pommes, Jus aux Agrumes," roughly translated as "Landes grilled duck foie with a quince and apple compote and citrus jus." (Served with an Alsatian Pinot Gris.) This is only the second time I've had duck foie, and both times I've really enjoyed it. But again, the standout in this dish were the accompaniments. I had to stop myself from licking the juices off the place after I had finished the foie.


For the main dish, my husband ordered the "Bar de Ligne rôti, Purée de Potimarron, Sauce au Pinot noir, Soyeux de Moelle," or "Roasted line-caught bass with a potimarron (Hokkaido squash) purée and pinot noir sauce." (I'm not exactly sure what the translation for "soyeux de moelle" is...sorry!) (Served with an Alsatian Riesling.) I tasted all but the fish. The potimarron purée was buttery and smooth, and although the sauce was too fishy for my taste, seemed like it would work well with the fish itself. My husband is still talking about this fish today: "That fish last night was tasty."


I ordered the "Filet de Bœuf (origine France), Béarnaise à la Ceccina, Frites maison et Chou de Bruxelles," or "Filet mignon with a Ceccina béarnaise, homemade fries and brussel sprouts." (Served with an Alsatian Pinot Noir.) The plating on this dish was a little whimsical with the tiny brussel sprouts made to look like peas in a pod. The filet was cooked to perfection, and although a little heavy, the peppery béarnaise was divine (another lick the plate moment!). The "fries" were lightly crusted in salt, which gave them a little extra crunch.


When we had savored every last bite of our main dishes, we moved on to the cheese course, which consisted of "Tomme de Savoie et Gelée au Piment d'Espelette (Espelette pepper gelée) and Fourme d'Ambert et Confiture épicée de Poires (spiced pear chutney)." Now, again I tried something that I don't normally eat--a moldy cheese. Blue cheese tend to be a little too strong for me, and I've never liked any that I've tried. But this one broke the mold (pun intended!). I could have eaten an entire round of the Fourme d'Ambert, especially with the perfectly spiced pear chutney. The Tomme de Savoie was nutty and buttery and paired well with the pepper gelée.


Finally, on to the desserts, which were probably our least favorite parts of the meal, although still good. We received a pre-dessert amuse bouche of raspberry panna cotta. I really enjoyed the raspberry layer at the top (and there was a nice little surprise of a liquor-soaked cherry at the bottom), but the panna cotta itself was a little grainy and tasted a little to me like European-style yogurt. Again, it tasted good, but wasn't spectacular. (As a side note, this was the only dish served on a plate that was not white or clear. I'm not really sure why, but I definitely noticed this as it was being served.)

Along with the panna cotta, we received a plate of mignardises, which were fun, light and tasty.


My husband ordered the "Surprise chocolatée de Profiteroles à la Glace Vanille" (Vanilla Ice Cream Profiterole Chocolate Surprise). When it first arrived, it looked nothing like this--the profiteroles were actually contained in a beautiful gold-brushed chocolate sphere. Before we could take a picture, or even comment on it, for that matter, the waitress spooned a hot chocolate sauce over the top, melting the top half of the sphere, and creating this. It was a great effect, but my husband wasn't totally impressed by the overall flavor. He said it was good, but not great.


My dessert was better than his, I think. I ordered the "Gratin de Poire Williams et Croustillant au Praliné" (Williams Pear gratin and crispy praline). The praline wasn't really crispy and didn't really taste like praline, but was still good. It tasted more like a very thin layer of sweet pancake baked on top. The pears were good, but there could have been a stronger pear flavor to it.

Mine was also served with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream, which was delicious. It was only slightly sweetened, so the cream was really the star of this dish.

We ended our meal with tea (for me), coffee (for my husband) and truffles. The truffles were tasty, but after such a large meal, we couldn't eat too many.


We weren't told what these were, but the dark ones were definitely a dark chocolate. The white ones tasted, for lack of a better comparison, vaguely like the middle of a Cadsbury egg (but better in flavor and in truffle form). This actually makes it sound disgusting, but it was really quite tasty. The jelly-like ones were some sort of apple gelée.


Overall it was a great experience, and as my husband put it, not necessarily the best meal of our lives, but all put together, a wonderful experience and a well-cooked, balanced menu. The service was great (except for a short lapse in drink service right around dessert time), the food was excellent, and the atmosphere, although strangely decorated for a special EU-themed menu, subdued and intimate. A perfect dinner for a late anniversary celebration.

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Christmas Dinner Revisited--Choucroute Garnie

I'm back, after a ton of holiday house guests (which I absolutely loved having), lots of day trips, a trip to Paris for New Year's, and a two-week vacation in Spain with my husband and daughter (which included getting the flu during our last few days there). I am now recovered and ready to cook again!

Christmas dinner was a fun treat for us because we were able to cook a traditional Alsatian dish for our family--choucroute garnie. Choucroute garnie is an artery-clogger, alright, but since it's the dish of Strasbourg, we just had to make it. Basically, it's a variety of sausages and sauerkraut cooked in Alsatian white wine, and is yummmmmy.

Choucroute Garnie (from Bon Apétit)


1 3/4 pounds smoked meaty hamhocks
1 pound fully cooked bratwurst
8 ounces thick-sliced bacon strips, cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces
2 large onions, chopped
1 teaspoons juniper berries (optional)
1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
10 whole cloves
8 whole allspice
3 bay leaves
3 Red Delicious apples, unpeeled, cored, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 2-pound jars sauerkraut, squeezed dry
2 pounds fully cooked kielbasa, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 pound fully cooked knockwurst--**I would suggest putting these in during the last 15 minutes of cooking, as mine started splitting and turned ugly, even if they tasted good.
2 cups Alsatian Pinot Blanc or other dry white wine (I used Alsatian Riesling...more flavor than Pinot Blanc.)
2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes
2/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Assorted mustards

Place ham hocks in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until meat is very tender, about 2 hours. Transfer hocks to medium bowl. Boil broth until reduced to 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Place hock meat in medium bowl. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover hock meat and broth separately; chill.) **I've found that this makes much more than 2 cups of stock. I usually freeze the rest for other uses.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add bratwurst and bacon. Sauté until bacon is crisp and bratwurst is brown, about 10 minutes. Place in bowl with hock meat.

Add onions, spices and bay leaves to same pot. Sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add apples; sauté 2 minutes. Mix in sauerkraut. Add all meats; press to submerge. Add reserved broth and wine. Boil 10 minutes. Cover choucroute and bake 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 18 minutes. Drain; cool slightly. Cut potatoes in half. Dip cut sides into parsley. Arrange sauerkraut and meats on platter. Surround with potatoes. Serve with mustards.

I didn't get any pictures of the spread, unfortunately. These are actually pictures that my mom took since my brother, who was transporting our new, lovely camera, was delayed until Christmas day, and his luggage was delayed until that night. We went for simplicity with the meal since the choucroute is such a heavy dish...some white asparagus with aioli and steamed green bean bundles wrapped and baked in bacon. Of course, wine was abundant, and we sampled our way through several Alsatian wines: Sylvaner, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and a local brandy called "eau-de-vie." Good thing none of us were driving that night! ;-)

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Little Bites of Strasbourg--Swedish Bombes

One of our favorite recent finds in the Strasbourg Christmas market are Swedish Bombes. I think they're called something a little less PC in France, so I'll stick to the German translation. They're a wonderful concoction of a creamy, fresh marshmallow (think marshmallow mixed with mousse) covered in chocolate and flavored with cinnamon, mint, coconut, rum, coffee, and other yummy flavors. I think this will quickly become our new Achilles heel for the season!

Here's the pretty average picture I got yelled at for taking and in turn made me feel so guilty that I bought some. Sometimes a little uncomfortableness is worth it!


The box of 15 that we started out with, including croquant, rum, coconut, cafe mocha, strawberry, cinnamon and mint:




And the favorite unanimously was the mint:


A view of the creamy inside:


We still have a few leftover, but we'll be going back soon for more!

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Little Bites of Strasbourg

Strasbourg's Christmas market (or the Christkindelsmärik) started on Saturday, and I just can't keep myself away. There are a ton of stalls dedicated to little Christmas tchotchkes and other gifts, but what I'm really attracted to are the food stalls. I love vin chaud, and to buy it on the streets is like manna falling from heaven. But there are all sorts of baked goods, chocolates, and other delectibles to sample.

I'll post some of these throughout the market month as I take my time in discovering the different markets and stalls located throughout the city.

Gingerbread is a main staple of the Christmas season here, and as you can see in this picture, it's a popular item:


And who can resist fresh beignets?

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