Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations- Paris

I was lucky enough to run into the new series on the travel channel called BF: Delicious Destinations and the first episode was on Paris. Andrew Zimmern digs into the legendary foods of Paris and I plan on trying everything I can get my hands on. I've been watching the travel channel constantly now since I'm getting ready for my trip and I just can't contain my excitement. Paris has been considered the culture capital of the world, setting the standard of beauty for art and food. Many consider Paris as a destination for culinary explorers. 

So here's some of the foods mentioned in this episode:

Steak Frites 

Beefsteak and fries. Many people (especially Americans) are surprised to find that this is considered the national dish of France. One of the most authentic places to get steak frites is in Brito Paul Bert located in the tiny street of 11th arrondissement. Steak frite has origins dating back to the late 1800s. Workers would set aside slices of meat they would bring to a local eatery and have it cooked up for dinner and it was paired up with fried potato slices, a popular food street vendors have been selling since the 1780s. This eventually became known in America as French fries. The owner of Brito Paul Bert says he prefers the filet of beef and it is cut into an ounce and sauced with butter and salt. Bloody meat is considered perfectly cooked, not well done. In the Bistro, the potatoes are twice fried in lard fat instead of vegetable oil. 

Coque Monsieur

Known as the "king of French sandwiches." It virtually translates into "Mr. crunchy." It's just a ham and cheese sandwich and the French manage to transform it into something beautiful. Cafe la Palette is a classic French bistro where Picasso and Hemingway used to hang out and it is now especially known for their coque monsieur. The coque monsieur dates back to 1910. It is a hot ham and cheese sandwich fried in butter. French workers who accidentally left their lunch meals on a radiator inspired it. Their meat, cheese, and bread all melted together. In Cafe la Palette the base of the sandwich begins with a slice of organic pan poi lane (the world famous Parisian sourdough bread), followed by a generous spread of butter, a layer of ham is added, then it's covered with a mixture of milk and the best French gruyere cheese. It is then place under a broiler for 10 minutes. 

Baguette 

For Parisians, a baguette is a daily necessity. Some of the city's greatest masterpieces came from baker's ovens. Nobody makes bread and pastries like they do in Paris. Nothing is more iconic than the baguette. There is a bakery in every corner; there isn't a meal in Paris that isn't accompanied by a baguette. The basic ingredients for a traditional French baguette are wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. For a baguette to be called a baguette it must be made at the location it is sold. Paris is full of great bakeries so it is difficult to say who makes it best. But Le Moulin de la Vierge, one of the oldest bakeries in Paris, definitely knows how to make a great baguette. They use organic flour, the dough is mixed very slowly, and it is shaped by hand. They also own the oldest wood-burning oven still in use in all of Paris. They are now considered a historical building. The baguette became popular around 1914 during World War I when labor shortages prevented bakeries from staying open all night to make the traditional morning loaf of bread so they substituted a smaller, more narrow loaf of bread. Now, the baguette is a MUST in Paris.  

Croissant 

If there’s one Paris food more famous than the baguette, it’s the croissant. This is famous all over the world, and it originates from Austria. In 1838, a Vietnamese bakery in Paris introduced the kipferl, an Austrian crescent roll. It was a huge hit, and every bakery in town started making their own version. Early in the 20th century, an anonymous hero added butter to the recipe, which formed to be what is now known as the croissant. Gerard Mulot is a famous bakery known for their croissants. The basic ingredients are flour, sugar, bakers yeast, fine sea salt from South Western France, and powdered milk, all mixed in cold water. Once the dough is chilled, then a pound of butter for every two pounds of flour is added. What sets a great croissant apart from a good croissant is the way it is made. It must be cooled at the right temperature, folded like an envelope, and the layer of butter must be closed. 

Macaroon

It doesn't melt; it evaporates into your mouth. It's like biting into a cloud full of flavor. It is a delicate pastry, with each once weighing less than a house key. They are as beautiful as they are delicious. Macaroon is two thin wafers made of almond and egg white with a ganache or jam filling that's almost lighter than air. One of the best places to find a macaroon in Paris is at the award winning, Meilleur Ouvrier. The macaroon traces back to the almond based cookies of the middle ages. In the beginning of the middle ages, Paris's Laduree bakery became the inspiration for sandwich cookies with a variety of fillings creating the Parisian macaroon. The powder used to make the macaroon is a mixture of egg whites and powdered sugar, mixed by hand. When the dough is ready, it is piped into small rounds. The fillings range from hundreds of flavors.  The way it is filled is what sets apart a great macaroons from just good ones. They should melt and crunch at the same time.

Crepe

Tijos is a famous restaurant in Paris known for their crepes. The sweet, twin creation most Americans know is actually not how the crepe was originated. The buckwheat galette is the original. It was developed centuries ago in the rugged costal regions of Brittany. Britton farmers started growing buckwheat in the Middle Ages, soon after they started making thin, flat, buckwheat cakes that they used as bread. It was the worker's people food. The ingredients are simple, buckwheat flour, water, and sea salt. The crepe cooks in seconds, it is paper thin, and hard not to burn. It is then wrapped with savory fillings such as ham and cheese. Sweet crepes developed over time when kitchens with access to wheat flour, milk, sugar, and eggs began using those ingredients to create a lighter, thinner, version.