Lunch at Châlet la Pricaz (9/29)

Our first full day there, we drove into the mountains to have lunch at this lovely restaurant with breathtaking views of the lake. The restaurant was Châlet la Pricaz and is located in Forclaz, which offers these stunning views of Lac d'Annecy:
The most popular dish that day seemed to be the Tartiflette: a Savoyard gratin consisting of potatoes, cheese, and some kind of meat such as bacon. Traditionally, the cheese in tartiflette is Reblochon*, and it is believe that the dish was launched in the 1980's by the Reblochon trade union in an attempt to increase sales of the cheese.
Châlet la Pricaz's presentation was brilliant, a simple piece of wood, with the dish of baked gratin, a sealed jar with nicely dressed salad greens, and a couple slices of jambon fumé de Savoie that were the best I've ever tasted: nice and thick with an earthly smoked flavor.

This was our first official "proper" meal out in France, and I was not disappointed. The presentation, coupled with the flavors and view created a perfect afternoon in France that I will always cherish. It will definitely go down as one of my all time favorite food memories.
Now I'm not sure if it is traditional of all tartiflette, this one was topped with thinly sliced bread. Here is a close up for you to enjoy... in the upcoming months, I will try to perfect my own version and will post the results when I do.

J opted for the meat platter: Again, I was so struck by the simple presentation: luscious meats, massive cornichons, and a dab of butter - all served on a plank of wood! While J's parents and I opted for a nice bottle of Apremont, J opted for a local brew:

* Reblochon is a nutty tasting, soft washed-rind cheese French cheese from the Alps region of Savoie, made from raw cow's milk. The cow breeds best for producing the milk needed for this cheese are the Abondance, Tarentaise and the Montbéliard. The owners of Châlet la Pricaz make their own Reblochon nearby from the milk of their Tarine cows. (photos of the cows to be added to this posting in the upcoming week)

For more info (including a menu and more photos) of Châlet la Pricaz, please click the following link: http://www.lapricaz.com/

Our Menu Choices:

Me: Gratin de la ferme, jambon fumé de Savoie, salade de saison 18.00€

J: Ecorce de charcuterie, confiture d’oignon jaune paille, beurre de ferme 16.00€

Chalet La Pricaz Restaurant avec vue panoramique sur le Lac d' Annecy depuis le Col de la Forclaz

Tèl: 04.50.60.72.61 Fax: 04.50.60.71.31

E-mail:lapricaz@aliceadsl.fr

Culinary Creations: Pesto Pork

My mom came over Sunday night for a pre-thank you dinner since she will be taking care of Harry while we are away. We wanted to keep it nice and simple so opted to do a pesto (or pistou since we're going to France) coated pork tenderloin.
This is super easy to do. I had half of a jar of pesto left over from the Layered up Chicken and Roasted Vegetables. I like cooking with jarred pesto as it has a stronger flavor (i.e. more salt & garlic), than the refrigerated pesto, which makes it not so desirable on pasta itself. With the pesto, I also added in some Herbs de Provence, then coated the tenderloin and let sit for 30 minutes. After, I baked at 350F for 45 minutes.

The results were divine. The pork was nice and tender and had such a good flavor. My house smelt absolutely divine! As we were keeping it simple, we served it with salad, olives, Boursin cheese, and a French baguette.

We sliced the tomato, added some chopped basil, lemon thyme, and chives - then drizzled it with olive oil and sprinkled a bit of Maldon sea salt.

The rest sort of speaks for itself. My Classic French Vinaigrette made another appearance, this time in the form of the pesto jar. The baguette is actually an import from France that I get from my local supermarket's freezer section. It is a nice staple to keep on hand, takes under 10 minutes to bake, and it as close to Paris as you can get in Florida. We threw in some nice French mustard, a bottle of rose, and felt like we were ready for Provence!

I Heart Local Produce

Recently, I was introduced to a local organic market that has been around since the '70s. They operate on 5 acres of land and are located next to a golf course, in the center of a suburb. Although this isn't exactly where you'd expect to find a working organic farm, I'm certainly glad they are there. Here is a sample of some of my favorite finds: the carrots are imported (Bunny Love) but the radishes are locally grown as well is the divinely green celery. We've paired it with a baguette from our local French bakery and some Applewood Smoked cheese that Target have started carrying. This was an amazing find is it is one of my favorite cheeses in England, which means I no longer have to consume my body weight in the stuff while over there.

Here is the link for my favorite local organic market:
http://www.jessicasorganicfarm.com/index.htm