Saturday, July 13, 2019

Wine and food of LeTour 2019: Stage 8: Mâcon > Saint-Étienne

Where are we?   
Mâcon: Michelin tells me that: Stretching along the River Saône, the southernmost of Burgundy's towns has a peaceful feel. The charm of the squares and narrow little streets of its historic centre, its cultural vibrancy and its good restaurants contribute to a pleasant way of life. Mâcon partly owes its lively atmosphere to the Hameau Duboeuf wine centre, a must for wine lovers. The town of Lamartine also offers pleasant rambles in the nearby hills and the vineyards that were so dear to the poet.
Specialties: Waffles, Ideal Mâconnais (cake), Mâconnais wines, wines (Viré-Clessé, Saint-Véran, pouilly-fuissé), wafers, boucon (chocolate with marc de Bourgogne), andouillette, snails and goat cheese.
Saint-Étienne: LeTour suggests we visit the largest bicycle collection in France and who am I to disagree? They say: Renovated by Jean-Michel Wilmotte in 2001 and labelled Musée de France, it possesses three collections of national and international scope: arms, bicycle and ribbons. The museum especially owns the largest collection of bicycles in France. 
These collections are a major link between the past, present and future of the St Etienne region. In 1866, the first French bicycle was manufactured in St Etienne, the first step in an industry that earned an international repute thanks to the productions of Manufrance, Ravat or Automoto. From the early ages of the bicycle to the sophisticated sport and leisure machines of the 21st century, la petite reine inspired artists, inventors and advertisers. The Superb Sparrow, the first French bicycle  produced by the Manufacture or Arms and Cycles in St Etienne, is now surrounded by its many offsprings.
Specialties: bugnes (donuts), sarasson (close to cottage cheese, seasoned with herbs), rapée  (potato pancake with beaten eggs), simmered soup, baraban salad (dandelions, served with bacon or soft-boiled eggs), barboton (potato stew), grillatons (pâté made from fat and meat residues), hot pâté (dumplings with tomato sauce), liver cake, wines from Cotes du Forez ...


The stage: This is one of those will they or won't they stages. By that, most commentators mean: will the gc men become involved or is this a day for the break? It is a rather fun four man break: deGendt, Terpstra, Ben King and deMarchi. Speaking of not so fun breaks: our of the Tour following his crash yesterday: Tejay vanGarderen with a broken hand. 


With about 100 kilometers to go, their gap was around three minutes. It is, again, rather scenic.


With 70 kilometers to go, the gap was at 3:20 and I was dreaming of a late Alaphilippe attack to take back yellow. Given that the commentators have mentioned in more than once, I am not the only one.
At the front of the race, DeGendt and deMarchi surge ahead of King and Terpstra. After a bike handling issue, DeGendt was solo in the lead, but he would wait. His odds on staying away were better as a duo than solo. Fifty five kilometers to go and they had almost four minutes. King and Terpstra were a minute behind the lead duo.
Behind, the peloton was shrinking with some riders bouncing on and off the back. Fifty kilometers to go and the gap was 3:40. Forty kilometers to go and the gap was under three minutes.


At thirty kilometers to go, the gap was under two minutes.
Twenty and just about 1:20.
Crash! Oh wow. Pretty much the entire Team Ineos down. Among them, Geraint Thomas. They were up and riding very quickly. Left behind:


Ahead, as they struggled back, the gap to the front was at one minute. Making it back, Geraint Thomas. Jumping from that group: Alaphilippe. With DrGendt ahead, he took 5 seconds. To get back in yellow, he had to keep going. Working with him: Pinot. A frenchman in yellow for Bastille Day would be really lovely.
This was going to be very close. To be honest, deGendt with the stage win and Alaphilippe back into yellow would be a great finish.
Yes!

 Stage:

1
 5h 00' 17''
2
 + 00' 06''
3
 + 00' 06''
4
 + 00' 26''
5
 + 00' 26''
6
 + 00' 26''
7
 + 00' 26''
8
 + 00' 26''
9
 + 00' 26''
10
 + 00' 26''


 GC:
1
 34h 17' 59''
2
 + 00' 23''
3
 + 00' 53''
4
 + 01' 10''
5
 + 01' 12''
6
 + 01' 16''
7
 + 01' 27''
8
 + 01' 38''
9
 + 01' 42''
10
 + 01' 45''



The wine: Chantereves Bourgogne Chardonnay 
 from Copake Wine Works    
Details from the team at Flatiron Wines: Chantereves is an absolutely brilliant tiny negociant in Savigny-les-Beaune. The Chantereves team is the very outgoing and charming – Tomoko Kuriyama and her shyer and more reticent husband, Guillaume Bott. Tomoko went to wine school in Geisenhem and became the estate manager at Freiderich Altenkirch in the Rheingau. In addition to her winemaking and vineyard work at Chantereves she does vineyard management at Chandon de Briailles. Her husband Guillaume Bott worked at Etienne Sauzet and became the winemaker at Domaine Simon Bize, where he still works. Their partnership at Chantereves started in 2010. 
They make wines of stunning purity and focus in both red and white. Their approach has resulted in remarkably expressive organic wines that are very clean and free of flaws unlike so many “natural” wines. They adapt and adopt the best of modern winemaking techniques in an ever-evolving style that emphasizes the true nature of the vineyards where the grapes were grown. These are indeed wines of great transparency.
The food:  Bugnes from Jacques Pepin in Food & Wine 
Similar to beignets, bugnes are a specialty of Lyon made on Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, the last day before the 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter. When I was a child, my mother and my aunts would make bugnes that day, and so did all the bistros in Lyon. The bugne is a fritter made with strips of thin dough flavored sometimes with orange water, rum, or vanilla, and deep-fried. Some are made with yeast, which makes them spongier. I like my version without yeast. Drier and crisper, it is covered generously with confectioners' sugar. I also like to sprinkle vanilla sugar on top of my bugnes. I always have some leftover vanilla beans that I put in a jar at home, cover with sugar, and leave to flavor the sugar. I dust some of it on top of my bugnes, and then sprinkle on some powdered sugar, which sticks to them. Beautifully dusted with the sugar is just as I remember them when my brother and I fought over big plates of them at the restaurant.


Bugnes are fried in regular vegetable oil; I like to use corn, peanut, or canola oil. They cook quite fast, in a couple of minutes. If you are making a lot of them, the best way to drain them is on a wire rack, and they should sit there for a minute or two to cool off a little before you put them on plates and dust them with the sugar. In Lyon, they are usually cut with a wooden wheel with a crinkled edge, called a jagger or a roulette in French. Sometimes, however, they are cut by hand with a knife into various shapes, usually little rectangles about 1 inch wide and 4 or 5 inches long. Often, a lengthwise incision of about 2 inches is cut down the middle of these dough rectangles, so that when they cook the dough separates, giving it a nice look and crunchy edge. Also, sometimes one of the ends of the rectangle is pulled through the incision to create a ribbon-like shape that is classic with bugnes.


I make my bugne dough in a food processor, which makes it easier, and then I roll it very thin. My mother mixed the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spatula to make a dough that was quite soft. My dough is also soft, and it can be used right away, although it is a bit more tender when made ahead and allowed to rest. Use flour and a rolling pin to roll the dough, even though it can practically be extended with your hands because it is soft and easy to roll. Well-made bugnes will stay crisp for hours at room temperature.


Measure out 1 1/2 cups (about 7 ounces) of all-purpose flour and put it into the bowl of a food processor with a dash of salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 stick of room temperature butter. Process for about 10 seconds, then add 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 1 tablespoon of dark rum, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 2 eggs. Blend for another 15 seconds, or until a soft dough forms. Transfer the dough to a table to roll immediately, or let it rest, refrigerated, for an hour or so.

Lightly flour the table roll the dough into 4 balls. Place on ball a on the floured surface. Spread with your hands, then turn the dough over and extend it further with your hands. Spread or roll lightly with a wooden rolling pin until the dough is no more than 1/8 inch thick. Cut into rectangles about 1 inch wide by 4 inches long with a crinkle-edged wheel or with a knife. Leave as is, or cut a 2-inch slit down the center of each rectangle to make a hole that will spread open as it cooks. If you like, slip one of the ends of the rectangle through the slit and pull it back, to give a kind of spiral or corkscrew effect to the strips of dough. Work quickly because the dough is very soft and delicate to handle. If you have a problem with it, cool the dough in the refrigerator to firm it up.

    

In a shallow skillet, heat 3 cups of oil to 325°. Put 4 or 5 strips of dough into the hot oil and cook for about 1 minute on one side, then turn with tongs and continue cooking for another minute. Lift the bugnes from the oil and place on a wire rack while you repeat with the remaining dough. Sprinkle the bugnes with a little regular sugar, vanilla sugar (if you have it), or, if you like, cinnamon sugar (not used in France, but appreciated in the U.S.). Then sprinkle with powdered sugar on both sides. Pile up on plates and enjoy.

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