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Meal #71: Lunch

On our way to Annecy, we noticed this cute restaurant that was totally full – always a good sign. We both had the menu of the day. We started with the charcuterie plate- delish! Adam had the beef dish, not sure what cut it was, with a delicious country wine gravy and potatoes. I had some kind of white fish with an herb cream sauce and peas with onions and bacon. All was very simple and good. We then had dessert. Adam had the fromage blanc and I had a chocolate brownie-type cake – both nothing special. Of course we completed the meal with espresso 🙂

Apparently we hit the end of the lunch rush, because the place cleared out very quickly after we arrived (maybe we smell bad?). French restaurants are very strange. They are open from 12 until 2:30 then 7 until 10:30. Don’t you dare try to eat at 3pm or 6pm! 😉
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Meal #69: Dinner

I’ve been researching local foods. I found a recipe for Tartiflette, a Savoie tradition! It is thinly sliced potatoes, bacon, caramelized onions, creme fraiche, and white wine, all topped with thick slices of Reblochon.

Reblochon is a cheese that is only produced here in Savoie. To have the Reblochon name, the milk must come from L’Abundance cows that have grazed on summer Alpine flowers and high pastures. We can’t get it in the US because it is made with raw,unpasturized milk. Thanks for protecting us from amazing food, FDA dummies!ImageImageImage

Meal #68: Lunch

We packed a pic-nic and hit the road. We had no plan. We just figured we would find a cute place and stop. We were right! We found Brides-Les-Bains, an adorable city on an amazing rushing river with a gorgeous park. Perfect pic-nic place!

We had a delicious crusty baguette with some funky local cheeses – chevrotin and Tomme de Savoie. As well as some green olives and mini buchettes noisettes (mini sausages). After lounging in the sun for a while, we had dessert! YUM! We bought these little delicacies in Chambery – mini chocolate cupcake, mini lemon tart, and a meringue and raspberry sandwich.They were so yummy! I didn’t want to share with Adam 🙂

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Meal #38: Breakfast

Meal #48: Breakfast

Our sweet English friends hosted us for a few nights. They were raving about “American Breakfast with streaky bacon and syrup”, so I decided to make it for them. I made my grandmother’s style pancakes ( a bit darker in color and crisp around the edges because they’re cooked in bacon fat:), “streaky” bacon (American style smoked pork belly), and hash-browns. We found Canadian maple syrup, but it was ridiculously expensive, so I made my own syrup with Golden Syrup (similar to a light molasses), orange zest and segments and finished with a splash of good single malt Scotch. YUM! To my chagrin, our friends stacked everything on top of the pancakes and covered it all in orange syrup – lol. They loved it:) Robbie made us some proper strong coffee and the meal was complete!

Meal #59: Dinner

Scotch egg with Oxford sauce, The King's Arms, Oxford, UK

This was a delicious appetizer we had at the King’s Arms.  It’s a hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs, and fried.  We topped it with something called “Oxford Sauce” which was pretty much some rebranded brown sauce, I think.  The egg was served cold, and it made for a great appetizer/bar snack.  I wish we had these back home. (Adam’s opinion)

Lamb liver with "bacon" and mash and veg, The King's Arms, Oxford, UK

The most exciting meal EVER!!! No joke! This dish excited my taste buds like no other dish ever has before. The “bacon”- I’m calling it “bacon” because English “bacon” is not bacon at all. It is an extremely fatty, yet dry, very thin piece of over-salted, limp ham.

I think the chef started the tomato sauce with “bacon”, then added the lamb liver to the bitter, sickening sauce to cook and release all its disgusting minerally,   gagging nastiness to the mix. The lamb tasted and felt like eating a filthy penny covered in sand and soap scum with a tender jelly center. I have never hated anything so much that I almost barfed when my taste buds registered all its’ “complexities”… until this lamb liver in tomato sauce. I am so glad to finally find a food/ dish that I absolutely, unquestionably abhor. The veg was the only edible part of the meal, in my opinion, (Adam ate the liver!!!???!). Every somewhat decent meal will feel like a blessing from heaven itself after this “I’d rather spend a day in hell than take another bite” dish.

I was blind, but now I see!

Meal #54: Lunch

Greek panini, small sandwich shop, Oxford, UK

I had a Greek panini from a small shop on the High Street.  It was sort of lack luster, but terrible.  It had salami and feta and tomato and olives but there was no sauce, and the grill didn’t properly heat it up, so it was mostly cold.  I ate it though, for the nuritiousment it provided to my body. 

Ham and cheese on strange bread with a coffee, Oxford, UK
 There was way to much bread on this sandwich!  It was all bread I think.  No sauce, just ham and cheese with a bit of greens.  Not very good. 

Pecan danish, Oxford, UK
Delicious lunch dessert!