Should we eat meat? Hell Yeah!

http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2011/01/03/q-contest-should-we-eat-meat-1/

A surprisingly rationale discussion courtesy of Canadian Public Radio.

It Rains in Belgium

Ok, probably not a news flash, but it does rain in Belgium. This is not the epic, soul crushing rain of Seattle, but it is solidly depressing. That said, it is better than the snow that we have had so far this winter. For a country that gets a lot of rain, one would think that the drivers would be better in wet weather. A bit of light rain seems to impact the Belgians in one of two ways, either they hit the brakes and slow to a crawl, or they take the opportunity to powerslide like Jeremy Clarkson on a bender. So by the time I was home from work, I was really in the mood for the last bottle that we purchased over the weekend. A Triple Moine.

The Triple Moine is not in fact a tripel. Not sure how the Bocq brewery justifies the name, but there you have it. It is in fact a strong Blonde, which Bocq claims to have hints of green apple balancing the hops. Not sure I taste the green apple. It does have a nice hoppy bite and strong yeasty flavor. The color is almost a caramel color with a bit of cloud to it. Overall it is pretty typical of the style. Not a standout but certainly not bad either. Three and a Half Drunk Monks.

Corsendonk Agnus Tripel

Wrapping up the Corsendonk weekend tasting is the Corsendonk Agnus tripel. This beer pours a cloudy pale golden color with a lacey short-lived head. There is a yeasty, citrusy nose and this carries through to the palate. This tripel has a creamy mouthfeel with a lot of character. There are those citrus notes with spice and many layers of flavor. Really a very interesting beer. 4 Drunk monks.

The Joys of Roast Chicken

I make a killer roasted chicken. This may sound boastful, but it is true. Of course I can't claim to have discovered anything special here. Anyone can make a killer roasted chicken, just follow Thomas Keller's recipe which you can find here: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/kellers_roast_chicken/
I think Roasted chicken is one of the few perfect meals. When done properly, it is simple, hearty and a beautiful thing to look at. You can vary the herbs, the vegetables, the sauce, but in almost every form it is a real pleasure to eat. The one thing that you cannot skimp on however, is the chicken. I started roasting chickens in the US with your standard Purdue, steroid altered franken-bird. I then progressed to nice, small, free range chickens and I thought that they were pretty good. Then I moved to Europe. The chicken's here, like food in general, are better. I just finished roasting up a free-range french bird from about 70 miles away from my home and it was in a word, awesome. The bird was denser than the chickens in the US. Heavy for its size. It was obvious that the Bell and Evans "free range" birds that I had purchased in the US had not seen the kind of activity that this bird did. The meat had texture and real flavor, but was not tough. I seasoned it liberally with sea salt, put a little butter under the skin of the breast and filled the cavity with Taragon. For the vegetables, we had potato, whole shallot, mushrooms and carrots. All roasted with the bird with a little sea salt, pepper and dried thyme. We also had a nice side salad with a homemade vinagrette. To accompany, a nice French Sancerre. As I said, anyone can make a killer roasted chicken, so there is no excuse. I find a few things make a big difference:

1. Get the best chicken you can find. Prefereably free range and NEVER Purdue. (Purdue is Evil and you dont want that bad Karma in your food)
2.Do not buy a bird larger than 4 pounds. Small birds are best. I like between 3 and 4 pounds. (See note above. Franken-birds are the product of a malevolent force and should be avoided at all costs)
3. Season the bird liberally. This means salt &pepper. Do not skimp. Half will fall off anyway. Screw the cardiologists and health nazis. Nobody wants to live forever.
4. Truss the bird. It is not hard. Ruhlman can show you how: http://ruhlman.com/2010/07/how-to-truss-a-chicken.html
5. Dont tart it up. There is no point in guilding this lilly. Taragon, rosemary, sage, lemon, thyme, oregano are all acceptable herbs. There is no need for a 30 herb component blend from Whole Foods. Keep it simple.
6. Start the bird in a HOT oven 475 for the first 30 minutes. Then back it down to 375-400. (At this temp a 4 pound bird is done in 90 minutes and is juicy and deliciious)
Enjoy

Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me

The old Presidents of the United States of America tune, Peaches was running through my head as I sampled this light lambic. Prior to moving to Belgium, I viewed fruit in beers as an abomination. And I still do, unless the fruit is the point as it is with the fruit based lambics of Belgium. These beers use copious amounts of juice in them and are deisgned to be light, low alcohol beverages with the characteristic sour lambic note. The latest sample is Lindeman's Pecheresse. The bottle is both capped and corked. (A bit like wearing a belt and suspenders but they probably have a reason.) When I released the cork an immediate odor of peaches hit me. This lambic pours a clear amber color with a minimal head. As I mentioned, there is a strong smell of peach which persists on the palate. The flavor is light, crisp and efervescent. The sourness is there, but not overly assertive. The finish is clean and almost gives the sense of a hard cider made with peaches. At 2.5% alcohol, this is almost not a beer at all. While I think this beverage is probably best as an aperatif, I could see it also pairing nicely with a pork roast or perhaps barbecued ribs (I may have to try that). For me this would not be an every day tippel, nor can I see myself having more than one in a session, but it is nice and I believe I will be purchasing this again in the future (probably to go with those ribs I mentioned). Three and a half drunk monks!

Bigger Bottles are Better

Its Abbey beer time this weekend. We picked up a couple of offerings from Corsendonk for review while at the grocery store. As we tend to do whenever possible, we purchased these in the 750ml bottle size. (Same as a standard wine bottle). I really think that for the bottle fermented beers of Belgium, the larger bottle is the way to go. The larger bottle beers seem a bit rounder and more developed than in the small bottles. This might be all in my head, but I don't think so. But judge for yourself. I would be interested in hearing what other people think.

The first up of the pair is the Pater Dubbel. The first thing to note is that the bottle was wrapped in a tissue paper wrapper. It's all marketing, but it does make it look festive. This beer pours a deep reddish brown. The head is minimal and disappears quickly. The nose is sweet with a bit of herbal note. I was expecting the beer to be sweeter but it is surprisingly mild. There is a malty, yeasty palate that is nicely balanced. There is a tendency for beers of this style to be overly alcoholic, but this is not the case with the Corsendonk Pater. At 7.5% it is balanced and paired well with the lamb and gnocchi we had for dinner this evening. 3.5 Drunk Monks.

Paris is Overrated

I love Paris. I have been there many times and have always enjoyed it, but after living full time in Brussels, it impresses me less than in the past. We took a quick trip this past week with my daughter, as she has never been to the city before. The Thalys train from Brussels was quick and efficient; the type of transportation that Amtrak could well learn from. We arrived at Paris Nord mid morning and were checked into our hotel well before lunchtime. Our hotel was just steps from the Champs Elyseé; the perfect location for an overnight trip. Overall the trip was a good one. We spent time shopping, sightseeing and eating. I think my daughter was impressed with how beautiful Paris is (even when it is 0 degrees). And it is a beautiful city. The architecture is amazing and there is something to see around every corner. It is unfortunate though that the state of hotel rooms in the city generally do not live up to the surrounding architecture. Hotel rooms are exceedingly expensive and in most cases I have found them to be lackluster. We booked two adjoining rooms at the Sofitel and the furniture was rundown and the carpeting was stained. At 300 Euro per room, I would expect better. Still it was only one night, so we made the best of it.

The Christmas Market was still in effect during our trip. I really like this aspect of European Christmas. There is something festive about the little shacks with small gifts and food. Paris’ Christmas market is huge as you might expect but also fairly redundant. If you see a third of it, you have seen it all. Wandering through the market as well as all over Paris there was a significant military presence. I would assume this is thanks to Bin Laden’s threats. Another thing you see everywhere you go are the multitudes of begging Roma. They are all over Brussels as well, but France made a big deal out of kicking them out of the country earlier in the fall. Guess they missed some.

The one thing that was probably the most significant disappointment was the food. The food was extremely expensive and like the hotels, pretty lackluster. I would say that this might be due to the places that we picked, but I don’t think so. Unless you are willing to pay for Michelin Star restaurants, it is hard to find really good food in Paris. Certainly you can get nice croissants, and acceptable meals, but you are going to pay a high price for it. In retrospect, I think it has to do with the fact that it is largely a tourist city. In Brussels, the food is almost universally high quality. I think this is the difference between feeding tourists and feeding your neighbors. Whatever it was, if you want good French food at reasonable prices, don’t go to Paris, come to Brussels.

After our trip, She who must be obeyed and I had a conversation about the fact that we are glad that we live in Brussels and not Paris. Brussels is not quite as photogenic, but it is much more intimate. People are friendly and the city is accessible. I still love Paris, but I am glad I don’t live there.