Long live the travel bug

To escape the chaos of work and life, I take solace in travel.  

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world,” (quote unknown) reads the words inscribed on an old greeting card tacked to my wall.  

It has been hard to see the forest through the trees the last couple of weeks.  Work is trying to say the least, (I will spare you the sordid details and preserve this blog from corporate tales of woe and dispair)!  It continues to pour rain…  Add a cocktail of snow, ice and wind for good measure and people are in vile humour.  Today’s icing on the cake was the incredulous news the Belgian government which already can’t govern (we’re on year two of non-governments and quick fixes) seems to have a new national bank on its hands!  The latest palaver in a string of many… sigh.

But I digress.  It’s clear the sunlight at the end of the tunnel for me is family, friends and travel.  So it is in this spirit that I confirm my 2009 holidays – at least the big ones! Miami and the Caribbean this spring, west coast in summer and Asia in autumn.  I think LeJaguar is in a bit of shock but has nevertheless graciously accepted my imminent departure for a ”girls weekend” to celebrate carnival in Viareggio, Italy.  Having a travel plan takes off the edge like a smooth glass of Oregon pinot noir.  It gives those of us who like to think of ourselves as travel connoisseurs, something to look forward to.

So break out the feigling, toast to travel, carnival and friends and enjoy the temporary escape from reality while you can.  It will be worth it.

(oh and go to the gym and pound out your aggression on the machines.  I’m staying the course!  It helps!  Work may be tough but if I can look and feel like a million bucks I will be unstoppable.) Go, go, go!

Stocking stuffer smiles

‘Tis the season to be thankful after a challenging 2008. Following are a couple things that brought cheer to my life this week:

- celebrating the 36th birthday of one of my dearest Belgian friends for the first time in years along with her family (with LOTS of champagne).

- delivering an assortment of homemade ‘American Christmas cookies’ and a bag of fresh Georgia pecans to the Brussels chef and his staff that shared their culinary secrets with me. (The Rice Krispie bears were such a hit, they may as well have been Michelin star quality!) This week’s press coverage about the chef and ‘the marche matinal‘ (coincidence or not) was an added bonus.

For KO: precious 'Frosty' front and centre on our Christmas tree

- The overnight success of our village family-run pizzeria, Di Miceli. Two years after its Italian-Belgian owners had the foresight to open an Italian restaurant in our tiny village in the heart of Wallonie, the restaurant has tripled in size and moved two blocks down the street.  No small feat after the son (and manager) resolved to open the new restaurant before the holidays, only to slip and fall three stories from the roof six weeks ago. Miraculously, he only suffered a broken arm and large cut on his temple. Looking around the aubergine and white interiour design with black and white photos of the village in the 1930s, you would think you were in a posh, hip and trendy Brussels restaurant. In the proud words of the 80-year-old farmer sitting at the table next to us, ”C’est magnifique!” 

- Madacascar 2 Christmas Eve afternoon with my godson, his two sisters and my Belgian brother in the peace of the cinema avoiding the last minute Christmas shopping rush. Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria’s’ ‘movin’ adventures are just as entertaining in French!

- The arrival gate at the airport: watching a family of 25 of every generation break into a chorus of cheers and applause at first sight of a new addition to their family tree: an adopted one-year baby girl in the proud arms of her new parents. Big brown eyes calmly taking in the smiles, flashes and video cameras around her as if to say, ‘what’s the big deal?’ A Christmas present to remember.  

- My Mom as a Christmas present on Christmas Day after she literally got the last plane out of Seattle, WA on the heels of a winter snowstorm. Her luggage may have arrived a day later but it was a minor inconvenience compared to the thousands of others sadly stranded in airports across the United States.

- Christmas Eve and Boxing Day dinners with family, good friends, homemade tiramisu and egg nog.

- The “Merry Christmas” text messages, cards, phonecalls, emails – sometimes from the most surprising of sources – that continue to brighten each day.

- AND finding out those plastic wrap and aluminum foil boxes in your kitchen drawer have little cardboard tabs you push in on each end of the box to hold the roll in place. Now how many of you knew THAT?! (Run to your kitchen and check now!)  

Other smiles from your week to share?

In the kitchen with a two-star Michelin chef

Having survived the 5.00 AM food market on Tuesday, I woke Friday with a mixed sense of excitement and trepidation.  What if I would be in the way in the kitchen?  What if I accidentally knocked over a bowl of truffles or a piece of strawberry blonde hair landed on a plate destined for the dining room?

I arrived at 9 AM as ordered by the chef to a kitchen of curious stares and wary smiles.  What was this woman doing and why was she here?  Fortunately I had brought an apron with me, dressed discreetly in black trousers and a white shirt and made a purposeful attempt to wear comfortable shoes.  (I’m a desk rat in financial services, my feet are not used to standing all day, let’s face it.)

Cherry tomato flowers

No one seemed sure if I was going to stand around and watch over their shoulders or actually lend a hand. It took peeling a good 25 cherry tomatoes and twirling the skin around the stem to make it look like a cherry? or a flower? to prove I was serious. Despite a couple tomato casualties (that would surely end up in soup or tomato puree later), my new kitchen colleagues (all male) suddenly each needed my help.

Coconut macaroons, too many mussels and scallop towers

I rolled coconut macaroons and pistachio balls.  I shelled at least three kilos of mussels and after proudly bragging I was finished, was laughingly told to remove the suction foot from each.  I made scallop hor d’oeuvres – lots of them (supposedly for 50 people), containing truffle and cabbage stuffing between each of the five layers  (careful to keep the shiny side up or it will slip).  The sous-chef asked me to put lentils around the artichoke fois gras mousse – “but not too much” and “don’t forget to add a little sauce.”  Mashed potatoes – the secret: “they should be from baked potatoes, not boiled, add creme fraiche, butter and lots of chives.”  Mousse au canard – you know why it’s a mousse? Because it has been personally hand pressed through a screen to remove all pieces of carrots, celery and spices to create a smooth texture in your little serving glass.  Homemade ice cream: vanilla, coffee, pistachio…  cream, eggs (lots!) and BTW, cleaning the machine is a pain in the …!

A team profession for the strong and resilient

The kitchen was one well-oiled machine.  Everyone had a ’station’, yet everyone pitched in.  The morning was an impressive assembly line of preparation followed by an 11.30 lunch for a team of 17 that seemed to appear out of no where.  20 minutes later, the restaurant’s doors opened and the machine was back in action at a furious pace.  The ‘hot area’ was reserved for those that could handle the high pressure and every plate was personally scrutinized by the chef before it went to the dining room.

2:00 PM – Dessert time, everyone began to breathe a sigh of relief because with a little luck, the clients would leave and we could be out of there at 3:00 PM.  We took the opportunity to check the stock of prepared vegetables and peeled carrots, shallots and onions as the last plates were whisked away.

“Are you coming back tonight?” they asked.  Another round – 6.00 PM until midnight if they were lucky…

I was secretly glad I had plans as my feet and back were killing me, but slightly guilty I was not able to pull a full day with this talented team of hard-working individuals.  ”To work in the culinary profession you have to be passionate about your work,” one of the guys explained to me.  ”It is your life.  It is your weekends.  You have to love it.”

“My dream is to work in a restaurant in Las Vegas,” another said.  (Alain Ducasse has a fabulous restaurant in Las Vegas, so why not?!)

As for me, back to the desk job in January, but never taking the beauty, creativity and complexity of food in such fabulous restaurants for granted – ever again.

Much ado about shopping

I forgot to buy mint (for my Thai beef salad)

I need cream of tartar for my sugar cookies (from the British store) – but baking powder can apparently be a substitute according to WikiHow…

Fresh whole milk does not exist in the heart of Wallonie (for my eggnog – must go to Brussels’ supermarkets or the British store)

I ran out of scotch tape (to wrap the Christmas presents – and now the ‘librairie’ is closed for the weekend).

I love shopping in Belgium…