Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Food and Wine of Le Tour 2019 Stage 4 Reims > Nancy

Where are we? Reims: A word I associate with Champagne and the home of numerous champagne houses. So, a fine place for food and wine of Le Tour.  But perhaps also a great place to visit a cathedral.
Reims Notre-Dame cathedral was built in the 13th century, after the cathedrals of Paris and Chartres, but earlier than Strasbourg, Amiens or Beauvais. It was completed in the 14th century when it was broadened to allow attendances to coronations inside. It is considered one of the major realisations of gothic art as well for its architecture as for its ornaments which include as many as 2,303 statues. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1991. The most visited monument in Reims, it attracted 1.5 million visitors in 2007. Since the coronation of Louis I in 816, almost every coronation was held in the cathedral in memory of Clovis crowning by St Remi, the first bishop of Reims, in 496.

Le Tour specialties: champagne, Reims ham, mustard and vinegar, pink biscuits, ginger bread…

Nancy: Le Tour tells me that: St Nicholas Feast soon listed by UNESCO?
In the East of France, the two main events of December are the Christmas market of Strasbourg and the St Nicholas Feast of Nancy, which start on the first week-end of December. The tradition is repeated every year: St Nicholas visits schools with Père Fouettard and offers books and sweets to the children who sing the song of St Nicholas while a procession goes to the St Nicolas-de-Port basilica where the mayor hands the keys of the city to St Nicholas and delivers a speech from the balcony of the town hall. Firelights crown the day along with 75 concerts and shows in the streets. Several other events take place throughout December: Christmas market, big wheel, skating rink… Since 2018, the St Nicholas Feast in Nancy has been listed as a national heritage custom. A first step towards recognition by UNESCO. 

Le Tour Specialties: bergamots, macaroons, plums, rum baba, saint Epvre (cake), pâté lorrain, quiche lorraine, steak and kidney pie. Daum crystal factory.

The stage: Ahh, yes, the classic first week of the Tour sprint stage. We've been waiting for you. Our likely doomed break of the day is established early:
Yoann Offredo, Michael Schaer and Frederik Backaert. One could say that even the LeTour social media folks are a bit bored by the stage:



Did I mention that it was a long flat stage?



On they went.

On they went to the bunch sprint. 


Stage:
1 ELIA VIVIANI28DECEUNINCK - QUICK - STEP05H 09' 20''-B : 10''-
2 ALEXANDER KRISTOFF126UAE TEAM EMIRATES05H 09' 20''-B : 6''-
3 CALEB EWAN161LOTTO SOUDAL05H 09' 20''-B : 4''-
4 PETER SAGAN11BORA - HANSGROHE05H 09' 20''---
5 DYLAN GROENEWEGEN84TEAM JUMBO - VISMA05H 09' 20''---
6 MIKE TEUNISSEN87TEAM JUMBO - VISMA05H 09' 20''---
7 GIACOMO NIZZOLO207TEAM DIMENSION DATA05H 09' 20''---
8 JASPER STUYVEN138TREK - SEGAFREDO05H 09' 20''---
9 MICHAEL MATTHEWS141TEAM SUNWEB05H 09' 20''---
10 CHRISTOPHE LAPORTE151COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS05H 09' 20''-

GC:


1 JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE21DECEUNINCK - QUICK - STEP14H 41' 39''-B : 15''-
2 WOUT VAN AERT88TEAM JUMBO - VISMA14H 41' 59''+ 00H 00' 20''--
3 STEVEN KRUIJSWIJK81TEAM JUMBO - VISMA14H 42' 04''+ 00H 00' 25''--
4 GEORGE BENNETT82TEAM JUMBO - VISMA14H 42' 04''+ 00H 00' 25''--
5 MICHAEL MATTHEWS141TEAM SUNWEB14H 42' 19''+ 00H 00' 40''B : 6''-
6 EGAN BERNAL2TEAM INEOS14H 42' 19''+ 00H 00' 40''--
7 GERAINT THOMAS1TEAM INEOS14H 42' 24''+ 00H 00' 45''--
8 ENRIC MAS25DECEUNINCK - QUICK - STEP14H 42' 25''+ 00H 00' 46''--
9 GREG VAN AVERMAET111CCC TEAM14H 42' 30''+ 00H 00' 51''--
10 MICHAEL WOODS98EF EDUCATION FIRST14H 42' 30''+ 00H 00' 51''B : 2''-

The wine: Champagne Lelarge-Pugeot Rose de Saignee NV   
from CopakeWineWorks
An importer tells me that: Lelarge-Pugeot is an eighth-generation winery in Vrigny, on the rolling slopes of the Montagne de Reims (about 15 minutes west of Reims). It is a real family operation, helmed by the two parents, Dominique and Dominique, and supported by their kids, one of whom is our good friend Clémence.  
The family’s vineyards, which are planted mostly with Pinot Meunier, face northward, offering some protection rom the effects of global warming, though Clémence is quick to note that they can now make red wines for the first time in the history of Champagne.  
Certified organic since 2014 and biodynamic since 2017, the wines of Lelarge-Pugeot are bright and full of pizzazz, and the family is producing some electric juice—including Nature et Non Dosé, their no sulfur/no dosage cuvée.  Truly remarkable fizz all around; Prince Charles would agree.
 

The food: Quiche Lorraine How could I resist a recipe from the French Consulate in New York?

Recipe for 6 to 8 people

For the short pastry

• 250 grams sifted flour
• 150 grams butter, cut in small chunks.
• 5 g salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 5 cl water.

For the filling
• 250 grams cubed bacon
• 150 grams Emmental cheese (note : the true quiche Lorraine does not include Emmental, but it is so good with it !)

For the batter
• 2,5 dl (8.5 oz) milk
• 3 dl (10 oz) heavy cream
• 3 whole eggs
• Grated nutmeg
• Salt and pepper

Instructions for the short pastry
Place the chunks of butter and the salt on top of the flour. Mix the butter and flour together with your fingers, until it reaches a sand-like, powdery consistency. Add the egg yolk and the water, and form a ball.
Knead the dough, pressing on the sides with the palm of your hand. Repeat 2-3 times.
Form a ball again and set aside in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours

Instructions for the filling
Blanch the cubes of bacon in boiling water for 1 minute, and drain.
In a non-stick, ungreased pan, cook the bacon for five minutes on medium heat, and drain on paper towels to remove the excess of fat.

Instructions for the batter 
In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the cream, the milk, the nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Last steps
Butter your tart pan if necessary, roll out the dough and place it in the pan.
Place the bacon and Emmental at the bottom, and delicately fill in with the batter.
Bake in the oven, pre-heated to 350°F, for 40 minutes.
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Monday, July 8, 2019

Wine & Food of LeTour 2019 Stage 3: Binche > Épernay

Where are we? Leaving Belgium and heading to France. 
Binche:  Michelin tells me that: An impressive fortified town perched on a steep slope, Binche is famed mainly for its carnival and particularly for its fascinating Gilles characters. But the town has another passion: gastronomy. Doubles, crêpes filled with cheese, and Binchoise, ale and lager made by the brewery of the same name, are the local specialities.
LeTour Specialties: PROVINCE OF HAINAUT (Belgium) prune and beer rabbit, Escavèche of Virelles, doubles of Binche (cheese pancakes), pork guts, péket (aperitif)

 Épernay:Champagne!  Michelin tells me that:
Épernay's flower-decked streets, which form an extension of the parks of the production houses, come to life in particular during the Habits de Lumière with festivities and champagne. The surrounding area is very charming, with its old buildings that have witnessed much history and their renowned sites such as the Côte des Blancs vineyards (Moët et Chandon, Mercier etc). Their cellars are open to visitors: the basement houses millions of bottles in 100km of galleries hewn out of the limestone!
Le Tour Specialties:  MARNE DEPARTMENT (51) champagne, Ardennes ham, Reims ham, Bouzy red (wine), vinegar, mustard, croquignoles, nonnettes, roses of Reims (cakes), potée champenoise (stew), lentillons, pied de cochon.  

The stage: LeTour twitter seems pretty pleased with the composition of today's break:


Their gap after 50 kilometers was 4:55. Behind, Tony Martin was dragging the peloton along. They would continue to hold the break under five minutes, with the main excitement coming from field art and punctures.
Along the went, went Tim Wellens eventually taking the lead:




 He was looking good, but the teams behind were massing in a determined chase.



Speaking of the teams behind, that peloton was shrinking as riders fell off on the climbs. Among those struggling: our race leader. With the wind, they were apparently 20 minutes ahead of the fastest schedule. That schedule, by the way, is set by the race to give towns and fans estimated times of arrival. 
Wellens was really starting to struggle.



Flying past him, Alaphilippe. For the record, my pick for the day. Plus the great hope for my fantasy team. Watching him descend is both terrifying and thrilling. Yikes.



First day in France, first French win, plus yellow! A whole lot of joy today.




 Yellow: 

1 JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE21DECEUNINCK - QUICK - STEP04H 40' 29''-B : 15''-
2 MICHAEL MATTHEWS141TEAM SUNWEB04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''B : 6''-
3 JASPER STUYVEN138TREK - SEGAFREDO04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''B : 4''-
4 GREG VAN AVERMAET111CCC TEAM04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
5 PETER SAGAN11BORA - HANSGROHE04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
6 MATTEO TRENTIN107MITCHELTON - SCOTT04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
7 SONNY COLBRELLI43BAHRAIN - MERIDA04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
8 XANDRO MEURISSE195WANTY - GOBERT CYCLING TEAM04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
9 WOUT VAN AERT88TEAM JUMBO - VISMA04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''--
10 THIBAUT PINOT51GROUPAMA - FDJ04H 40' 55''+ 00H 00' 26''



The wine: Georges Laval Champagne Brut Nature 1er Cru NV (Base 2013) from Copake Wine Works

From Peter Liem, www.champagneGuide.net
This tiny, impeccably-run estate in Cumières is known only to a select few connoisseurs of champagne. You could drive through the village a hundred times without knowing it was there, and in fact, aside from a well-worn, barely legible placard with the words “Champagne Georges Laval” written in about three millimeter-high script just above the doorbell, there is no marking whatsoever to indicate its presence. Behind these simple, unassuming wooden doors, however, lies one of Champagne’s great treasures.

While the Laval family has been growing vines for four generations, Georges Laval began producing estate-bottled champagne in 1971. His son Vincent (pictured) joined the estate after finishing his studies in 1991, and has been in charge of the cellars since 1996. Laval’s vineyard holdings comprise just 2.5 hectares, including a half-hectare of meunier in Chambrecy, in the Vallée de l’Ardre in the western Montagne de Reims, that is sold to the négoce. The other two hectares are all in the premier cru village of Cumières, spread over seven parcels. Average vine age is over 30 years, and the oldest vines of the estate are over 70 years of age.

Note: sharing here my Podium Cafe write up, just for fun: Champagne! How happy was I when the route map was announced and I had an excuse to drink Champagne for several stages and not just the final one? To start something geeky and fun. Georges Laval Champagne Brut Nature 1er Cru NV from Copake Wine Works.  What, you ask is brut nature? Eric Asimov says:" Most fascinating of all has been the rise of low-dosage Champagnes, those made with less than six grams of residual sugar. These can be labeled extra brut, and if the dosage is three grams or less, they can also be labeled “brut nature,” “brut zéro” or “non-dosé.” "
Laval is a tiny 2.5 hectare estate that has been farmed organically since the 1970s. Their Champagnes are hard to find and expensive. So why am I recommending them? Because they are also great. But if you can't find them, there are a lot of other great grower (produced by the same estate that owns the vineyards where the grapes are grown) Champagnes out there. Or, you know, find whatever bottle of bubbly you can and drown your Cav related sorrows along with me. 
The food:  Roses of Reims 
The Pink Champagne Biscuit was born 300 years ago in Reims, the capital of the Champagne region. Since then it has kept all its authenticity. Its unique texture, tender rose color and delicate icing powder have charmed connoisseurs. The Biscuit Rose tradition is to dunk it in a glass of Champagne or wine. All offerings from Fossier are original recipes that stand out as great treats and could become your new favorites.  
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Sunday, July 7, 2019

LeTour 2019 Stage 2: Bruxelles Palais Royal > Brussel Atomium

Where are we? Time trialing around Brussels! 
LeTour tells me that: With the Palace of the Nation, home to the Federal Parliament, which lies at the other end of the Royal Park, the Royal Place of Brussels is a symbol of constitutional monarchy. It is the administrative residence of the King and his main workplace. Built between 1815 and 1829, it was the reunion of four older 18th century town houses. Since 1965, it has become a tradition for the Royal Palace of Brussels to be accessible to the public every summer after the National Day on July 21 until the beginning of September.
Atomium
One of the symbols of Brussels since its construction for the 1958 World Fair, the Atomium is a representation of a unit cell of the iron crystal enlarged 65 billion times. Contrary to popular belief, the nine balls of the building do not represent the nine provinces of Belgium. Designed by engineer André Waterkeyn, it rises to 102 meters and its metal structure weighs 2,400 tons. Destined to be demolished after the exhibition, this monument to the glory of science became so popular that it was finally preserved.

 The stage: Team Time Trial time! What is that? For those not familiar with the sport, the TTT as it is known, features entire teams of riders racing against the clock rather than each other. Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart. The recorded finishing time in a team time trial is based on the 5th rider of that team. Therefore a team may choose to have a few of its riders take a strong pull towards the end of the TTT event, in which the riders take as hard a pull at the front to lift the pace at the cost of exhausting themselves with no hope of being able to latch onto the back of the formation for drafting. They then drop back and leave the remainder of the team to finish the time trial. Or, watch this video:


Up first, Ineos, the team once known as Sky, one of the favorites on the day. They would come in with a time of 29:18. Astana in at +21 seconds, which given Fuglsang's crash yesterday was a great time for them. Great ride for FDJ, in at 29:29. As the other teams come in, the most noticeable thing is that with a few exceptions, the gaps were nut that large. Sometimes in a ttt, a gc riders team would perform so poorly that it would hinder his attempts to podium. So far, that had not been the case today.
Just about midway through the day and the standings were:

Team Ineos 29:18.00
CCC Team 29:28
Groupama-FDJ 29:29
Astana 29:38
UAE Team Emirates 30:01
Movistar 30:02
Trek-Segafredo 30:15
AG2R La Mondiale 30:16
Total Direct Energie 30:39
Arkéa-Samsic 30:48

 Next in Katusha, who looked for a while to be challenging Ineos, but they would finish 6 seconds down. Also coming close, Sunweb. 


Wow! Jumbo was super fast on course. But could they hold it? 
And wow, Quickstep just missed out. They finished .82 seconds back. 
Ineos waiting to see Jumbo's time and they were looking really fast.


And, wow, indeed. Amazing ride by Jumbo today to keep the yellow jersey.
Apparently they averaged 57.2km/h. 


GC:

1 MIKE TEUNISSEN





2 WOUT VAN AERT





3 STEVEN KRUIJSWIJK





4 TONY MARTIN





5 GEORGE BENNETT





6 GIANNI MOSCON





7 EGAN BERNAL





8 GERAINT THOMAS





9 DYLAN VAN BAARLE





10 ELIA VIVIANI





The wine: Or beer, again. Going back to our friends at Visit Brussels to find another suggestion: The beers of the Brasserie de la Senne are produced by two Brussels natives Yvan de Baets and Bernard Leboucq who are first and foremost passionate beer fanatics. They work in an artisanal brewery and for them, brewing traditional, unfiltered, unpasteurised, additive-free, high-quality natural beer is a point of honour. These complex-flavoured beers with strong personalities have real character. They ferment again in the bottle or in the cask, which guarantees that they keep for long and their flavour evolves. The names of the Brasserie de la Senne beers shows their love for Brussels: Zinnebir, Brusseleir, Stouterik, Saison Meyboom, Brussels Calling, and their quirky vision of Brussels is never far away, with the Taras Boulba and Jambe-de-Bois beers.
Visits for groups only, minimum 15 people (booking required)
Chaussée de Gand-Gentsesteenweg 565, 1080 Bru | +32 (0)2 465 07 51 | info@brasseriedelasenne.be | www.brasseriedelasenne.be
The food: You didn't think you were going to get out of Belgium without waffles, did you? What Visit Brussels has taught me is that there is not one single national waffle. The say: When you ask for a waffle, be sure to specify “Brussels waffle” because in Belgium waffles come in all sorts and sizes in the various regions of the country, each having its own speciality, mostly cold versions of it. Amongst other famous waffles, there is the Liège waffle with chunks of sugar, which caramelize rendering a slightly sticky outside. This waffle is also preferably eaten lukewarm.

Brussels waffles (yield: approximately 30 waffles)


  • 1/2 kg all-purpose flour
  • 5 eggs, separated
  • 3/4 l milk
  • 250 g butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
  • 32.5 g active dry yeast (fresh – available from your baker or in your local supermarket)
  • a pinch of salt
  • 2 packets vanilla sugar
Set aside a small bowl of milk.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, flour, rest of milk, melted butter, vanilla sugar and salt.
Heat the small bowl of milk (lukewarm) and dissolve yeast. Stir well. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir the yeast mixture into the batter.
Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, gently fold into the batter.
Cover the large bowl with a clean cloth and let rise the batter in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Bake your waffles using a waffle iron with large holes. Preheat the waffle iron. Brush it with oil. Spoon a small ladle of batter inside the edges of the iron. Close the lid and turn the waffle iron over in order for the batter to spread evenly in both parts.
Bake until steam no longer escapes from the iron. After a few minutes, the waffle is golden brown. Serve immediately.
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Saturday, July 6, 2019

Wine and Food of LeTour 2019: Stage 1: Bruxelles > Brussel

Where are we? In Belgium! More precisely: Brussels. Michelin tells me that:
Brussels. A name that often crops up in the media in conjunction with the European laws that it generates. But the Belgian capital is, of course, much more than its European district, which is but one of its many faces. A modest-sized city, one of the loveliest squares in the world (Grand-Place), a giant atom (Atomium), ruins, Art Nouveau gems, Haussmann streets, empty spaces, modern buildings... Brussels is certainly a city of contrasts, but it remains an inviting and friendly one.

Perhaps because I was so charmed by the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, I'm very curious about a museum that sounds similar.

LeTour Specialties from along the road:  
PROVINCE OF WEST FLANDERS: mussels, speculoos, shrimps, nœuds de Bruges (Brugse achtjes), Bruges lace , babeluttes. 
HAINAUT PROVINCE: rabbit with prunes and beer, Escaveche of Virelles, doubles of Binche, cheese oatcake, pork paunch, peket (spirit)


 The stage: Here we go. Despite my feelings about the lack of Mark Cavendish in the race, it is time for another Tour. This one is set up to be a sprint, making the Cavendish absence even worse. Team decision. Bah!




Onward though. Our early break:


Eventually GVA would drop back, leaving three ahead on the road with about a two minute gap at kilometer 109. 
As they neared the intermediate sprint points, the peloton was strung out as Bora pushed hard to catch the break. Sagan clearly wanted the sprint points to help with his green jersey quest. Off the back, Viviani with a mechanical. He was not the only one. At the sprint point, Sagan took the maximum points. 
Breaking away from the bunch, Stephane Rossetto. he was likely doomed, but nice to see the effort.



 Indeed, as they got closer, his lead began to drop.


Crash! Fuglsang down and bloodied, but back on his bike. Yikes. He was expected to be a contender for the yellow jersey, but sure didn't look good. Despite visibly struggling, he would make it back to the peloton.
Ten kilometers to go and the sprint trains were forming. The favorite on the day was Dylan Groenewegen, but opening sprint stages at the Tour have often been chaotic.

Inside three kilometers to go and it was time for the gc riders to make way for the sprint trains.
Sure enough, another nervous crash. Among those down, Groenewegen.
Weird sprint, with a photo finish. Wow: Mike Teunissen! 

 Stage: 
The wine: Belgium, so the wine is beer. Visit Brussels does suggest a brewery tour after all. Why not start with their first choice? "
The Cantillon brewery is a family business that brews lambic, gueuze, faro and kriek beers and where their artisanal process has not changed since the brewery was established in 1900. Lambic beers are spontaneous fermentation beers, the oldest and most primitive way to turn sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Lambics were traditionally made in Brussels and in the Pajottenland, in the province of Flemish Brabant, just west of Brussels, and these are the last places where old gueuze, old kriek or faro are still brewed. The traditional brewing process is the only of its kind in the world. Cantillon Brewery and Museum unravel the mysteries behind the lambic brewing process."

The food: So many possible recipes, but I've opted for chocolate. To be precise, the Neuhaus Taste of Belgium.  Because, really, how could I resist this copy: Taste of Belgium is a unique tasting experience that will guide you through Belgian history and our chocolate-making expertise. Each praline has a particular link with Belgium. They will invite some to learn more about their roots, and lead others on a delicious journey through this captivating country.
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