Gelato on Ile Saint-Louis and au revoir Paris

While Berthillon usually gets all the hype when it comes to ice cream in Paris, we discovered Amorino’s gelateria on rue Saint-Louis en l’ile some years ago. It had been a LONG time since we enjoyed their naturally made creamy goodness so on a lovely early summer day with just the right feel in the air it was time. Gelato here we come!

Believe it or not, this was our first strolling-around-let’s-get ice cream/gelato experience on this entire trip, save for some lemon sorbet I had enjoyed with a meal in Stockholm (and I kind of remember a small bit of ice cream with one of the rare desserts we ordered somewhere along the line). Steve, being the ice cream maven, was more than ready.

Amorino has a number of locations around Paris and beyond, so it’s easy to find no matter where you are in the city.

Classic cups

We each went for the smallish “classic” cup size. They allow you to choose as many flavors as you want, all of which go into this cup (or cone if that’s your thing). You can add a macaron on top if you like. We chose three flavors each, sans macaron: I had fruit de la passion, noix de coco et pistache; Steve chose stracciatella (chocolate chip - his favorite from our Italy days), caramel and inimitable, a chocolate hazelnut wonder. Mmmmm!

Lots of flavors to choose from

We sat in the shade at a small table with bar type stools and thoroughly enjoyed our treats. Gotta love it!

Our last few days in Paris gave us a great visual of the moon as it was approaching full status. Below it’s just over half full in the waning evening light after the sun has gone down.

A half moon lit sky

On our last night it was approaching full - I was up about 1 am and shot this one.

Getting close!

News flash - we are now home in Michigan after a wonderful adventure for the past 2 months. We couldn’t even begin to comprehend how much we’d be able to see and experience, both in places we had never visited as well as Paris, familiar as an old shoe.

We’re settling back in and looking forward to a quiet summer of calm, simplicity and of course a little bit of baking here and there - and let’s not forget homemade ice cream. Steve will be so happy.

Take care until next time.

Place Monge, 5th arr. and a bit about brioche

Friday market at Place Monge

We made a visit to our old stomping grounds on rue Monge on a beautiful Friday morning. It just so happens that Pâtisserie Pascal Pinaud, where I did my two stages after pastry school, is located just a few steps from the market. Back then it was often the task given to me (the gofer) on market day to buy whatever produce might be needed for the shop.

Market culture in Paris is very interesting. Parisians have their favorite vendors and will patiently stand in line awaiting their turn. Once they’re up, they take as much time as they need as the vendor picks out (with the customer’s guidance of course) their strawberries, tomatoes, melons, haricots verts, mushrooms or whatever is on their list for the day. It’s all so very orderly.

Back in the day at Pascal’s I was told in no uncertain terms which vendor stand I should visit (seen in the photo below) so I would patiently wait my turn to buy the pommes (Golden Delicious was the go-to) for tartes or chaussons, the berries and currants for garnishing the gateaux/entremets or to tuck into a layer for millefeuille aux citron et framboises and even the occasional lettuce for the daily baguette sandwiches. The stall is still in the same place and it looked like some of the same people were manning it. Fifteen years later!

Waiting in line

We snapped up some beautiful looking haricots verts and luscious fresh fraises for the weekend and strolled around admiring the fresh flowers, cheeses, seafood, saucisses, specialty honeys and so much more.

Fresh from the market

We popped into Pascal’s shop to say hi, Steve hoping to score some pâtes des fruits (they had none - awwwwww.) Chef Pascal wasn’t in, but his wife, who basically runs the front of the shop, remembered me and, in addition to the few pastries we bought, she gave us a small kougelhopf as un cadeau! How thoughtful.

Kougelhopf

Our haul included une tarte aux abricots, un èclair au café, un boule de campagne (country bread) and the gifted kougelhopf which I didn’t hesitate to slice into for a sample. There was un pain au chocolat in the mix but guess what - Steve scarfed that baby down tout de suite! BTW - we thought mine are better - just sayin’.

Treats from Pascal’s

A word about kougelhopf. It’s a traditionally Alsatian speciality with some Austrian ties as well. You can read more about it here. A rich brioche dough baked in a fluted mold, imbibed with a rum syrup and holding rum soaked raisins inside, it’s a treat enjoyed by many.

Working at Pascal’s was my chance to get a real handle on making brioche dough and for years I used the recipe from Pascal’s. He used to chide me if I added the butter pieces too quickly - they needed time to be blended into the dough. Over the years as I did more of my own comparisons and research, I now use a recipe that I find very satisfying. Because the dough is enriched with butter and eggs, the mixing and rising times are important to achieve the light crumb at the end. Nothing worse than a heavy brioche. Ouch!

Pascal’s brioche is indeed a fine example of a well made dough but, truth be told, I’m not a big fan of rum/raisins, and the imbibing syrup made for a soggy mouth feel. Don’t get me wrong - it’s a very well made kougelhopf, but I prefer a nicely baked, un-soaked brioche (a bit of lemon zest anyone?) with a schmear of jam and maybe some fresh fruit on the side. Yes.

Kougelhopf

Steve enjoyed the èclair as his after dinner treat. I loved the tarte aux abricots with my coffee the following morning, and we both thought the whole wheat boule de campagne made for great toast with a bit of butter and good cheese (or jam or PB or . . . . .)

A big thanks to the vendors at Place Monge and to Pâtisserie Pascal Pinaud. Those were the days my friends.

YUM!

Market flowers at Place Monge

Paris reverie

Paris. One word that conveys so much. For those of you who’ve been, this image of rooftops, chimneys, trees and beautiful evening light will speak to you. While not necessarily what most people think about when they hear that one word, the feeling I get from this image is one of calm, contentment and feeling at home.

Odd isn’t it? Steve and I lived here for 9 months during my Le Cordon Bleu pastry schooling and have been back a number of times over the years. Our last trip was 4 years ago, our return this time much longer than anticipated thanks not only to COVID but to life events in general. Things are always changing aren’t they.

Rows of plane trees in Le Jardin des Plantes

During those months, we lived in an apartment on rue Poliveau in the 5th arr, just down the street from Le Jardin des Plantes, the city’s primary botanical gardens. I took regular walks through the Jardin and along the Seine, always anticipating the vision of Notre Dame in front of me as I passed under the Pont de la Tournelle. Now undergoing restoration after the devastating April, 2019 fire, it is a much different image than the one that would always take my breath away a little bit every time it came into view. There’s something about it.

Restoration underway

Here are just a handful of images that help define Paris for me.

Wallace fountain on rue Jeanne d’Arc in the 13th arr

Small city garden at Place Louis Armstrong 13th arr

Streets named for artists like Edouard Manet (one of Steve’s faves!!), Rubens and Watteau.

Iconic art noveau metro signage - nearest line 5 station to our AirBnB

Fountains - this one is near the foot of rue Mouffetard in the Latin Quarter

One of Steve’s favorite pastries - Paris Brest from Maison Landemaine on rue Monge

Boat rides on the seine - Musée d’Orsay from the water

Lovely flowers on a neighboring balcony

Baguette from nearby pâtisserie/boulangerie La Gobelinoise on Av. Les Gobelins, 13th arr

Sailboats at Le Jardin du Luxembourg

Fruit stands - C’est la saison des cerises! Near rue Mouffetard.

Vintage shop signs at Musée Carnavalet

Do I have to say it??

There’s so much more - I’ve barely scratched the surface. It’s good to be back.

Stay healthy and enjoy summer!

Charles DeGaulle statue on Place Clemenceau

Cheese, siroopwafels, windmills and canals

As we were planning this trip, we knew the Netherlands would be on our itinerary. We considered staying in Utrecht, Rotterdam or Delft but our decision to make Gouda our stopping point came about on a bit of a whim after we read a NYT article about the place some months back. Known for its delicious cheeses (we’ve had our share of them from our favorite Cheese Lady shop in Grand Rapids), it seemed right to go directly to the source and check it out.

Let’s launch right into the food portion of the program.

't Kaaswinkeltje (Dutch for “the cheese shop”)

't Kaaswinkeltje was just down the street from our hotel and boy do they have LOTS of cheese. The center pile is mostly variations of Gouda but the case in the rear holds all manner of cheeses from many countries. Tasting is available and encouraged! We ended up with a shrink wrapped hunk of Beemster Gouda, one of our Cheese Lady faves, that would accompany us to Paris. Baguette anyone?

In addition to cheese, another Gouda food draw is the locally produced siroopwafels (or stroopwafels as they seem to be called by most). The Kamphuisen brand claims theirs is the original recipe, but we certainly saw many other labels selling a similar product. A thin, crisp, waffle-like cookie sandwiched with a skosh of caramel syrup and a hint of cinnamon, they’re pretty darn good with a cup of coffee or tea.

There are plenty of bakeries in town too. Curiously I noticed some identified as bakkerij and some banketbakkerij so I had to ask “What’s the difference?”. A quick search told me that the former is likely to focus on the daily breads, rolls, cakes and cookies while the latter will also offer finer pastries, chocolates and confections which require another level of production.

At a nearby banketbakkerij Steve just had to pick up some assorted pâte de fruits, a treat he fell in love with during my pastry school days in Paris nearly 16 years ago.

Our haul

A quick note about the word banket - for those of you not familiar with it, it’s a traditional Dutch almond-paste-filled pastry log that my Mom (and many other’s moms) made every Christmas for many years (always a big hit with the kids and grownups as well!). It can be baked in the shape of a letter signifying the recipient’s initial or made simply as a straight log. Great memories. (None of the shops are currently selling it since it’s a holiday offering).

Other than the items in the photo above, we didn’t indulge at all in sampling some of the other local baked goods. One needs a break every now and then, eh?

In addition to the many shops, the pedestrian and bike friendly central old town is picturesque with churches, the old town hall and market square, windmills, bicycles, canals and boats. It’s decked out for the town’s 750th anniversary too!

Gouda town hall (photo courtesy of Steve Soper)

Worn down from weeks of traveling, we spent our first couple of days in Gouda in a very low key fashion, relaxing, strolling, browsing the Saturday market and, of course, taking to the water. Wherever we travel, if there’s water nearby and a boat trip available, we jump at the chance; seeing a place from the water gives one a wholly different perspective on things.

Saturday market strawberries

Canal cruise in Gouda

Along the canal

We’ve been using Eurail passes for our train travel throughout this trip, and we found it especially easy bopping from city to city in the Gouda area. Steve has become a master of setting the trips up on our iPhones. When we’re ready to go, we head to the train station, scan in the QR code to get us through the turnstiles, find our platform and wait for the train. Slick!

One day we headed to Delft, an 18 minute ride from Gouda to Rotterdam Centraal where we then easily changed trains for a 12 minute leg to Delft. So easy and so much better than driving, finding a place to park etc, etc, etc! If only we lived where we didn’t have to depend on cars all the time. Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

Approaching the Oude Kerk

Delft is a beautiful city - canals, churches, shops, lovely streets and a pleasant vibe indeed. We visited both the Oude Kerk (above - it’s been leaning for centuries) where Johannes VerMeer is buried and the Nieuwe Kerk where the Dutch royal family members are buried. It’s mind boggling to realize how many centuries these structures have been in existence.

We stopped at Stads-koffyhuis for lunch, a popular spot that I had discovered online somewhere. It’s been in business for many years and gets good reviews. Let’s go!

Steve treated himself to a vanilla milkshake and a roast beef sandwich while I went for a perfectly sized bowl of cheesy tomato soup which came with a tasty dark roll. Delicious! Of course, I had to sample one of the offerings from their baking kitchen and, after a bit of thought, chose the strawberry tart - tis the season after all.

The crust was a bit chewy (in a very good way), reminding me of my favorite Breton dough. Filled with a light strawberry cream topped with fresh berries, my expectations were more than met. An equally tasty crisp almond cookie accompanied my cappuccino. Aaaah.

Our last day trip took us to Utrecht, another easy 18 minute train trip from Gouda. The Dom Kerk is usually on the agenda for many traveler’s with the Domtouren a goal. What had once been a connected structure, the church and the tower are now completely separated by an open courtyard space as a result of a severe wind/rain storm back in the 1600s that destroyed a section of the building. The tower is currently undergoing massive maintenance and is covered in scaffolding. We visited the church and were particularly struck by the peaceful calm of the old cloisters and gardens.

Being once again driven by the presence of water, we took another canal cruise which allowed us to view parts of the city periphery that we wouldn’t have seen during our very short visit to Utrecht. It’a bustling popular university town with a lot of territory to cover and we barely dipped our toe in, so to speak.

Utrecht canal

Time to say goodbye to the Netherlands and head for Paris. See you in France!