Three countries. Twelve Days. 36 Meals. One delicious European adventure! My partner and I just returned from the most divine vacation! We visited St. Tropez, Provence, Barcelona, and ended in Capri. Over the next few posts I’ll share my trip with you..starting with our arrival in St. Tropez;

When author Peter Mayle speaks about Provence, people listen. Peter calls L’Auberge de la Mole one of his favorite restaurants. That’s pretty high praise!

I had been there before two years ago and loved it. I couldn’t wait to try it again. I remembered the vast amounts of food and the charming ambience….

 L’Auberge is located in a little town that has one stop light, about 20 minutes away from St. Tropez. It’s a family run restaurant..unpretentious and absolutely delicious.

Me in the kitchen

We ate in the garden…and sitting a few tables away I was delighted to find Joan Collins and her friends.

 

You must pace yourself here. They begin by bringing out several terrines, pates, rillettes & foie gras, with grilled bread and a large jar of cornichons…all homemade, of course.  

We then ordered frogs legs….steak with truffle butter and potato (phenomenal)…and duck breast (which was a little tough).

 But there’s more… a huge platter of cheeses and then dessert… chocolate mousse, prunes in syrup, pears cooked in red wine.

 What a way to start a vacation! And reasonably priced as well. It was a beautiful night.

 

The beach clubs in St. Tropez are where it’s happening during the day. You must make reservations. We normally go to Club 55 but I wanted to try something new so we went to La Voile Rouge instead. I loved it! Simple salads to start…grilled dorade, and a bottle of Domaines Ott. The DJ was terrific, as was the crowd and the fashion show.

Dorade at La Voile Rouge

Our foodie friends told us about Chez Camille for the best bouillabaisse. When you walk in, you see your pot of bouillabaisse bubbling away on the outdoor stoves. It’s a casual Restaurant, located right on Pampelonne Bay. They bring out the rouille, that spicy garlic aioli, and plenty of toast…then the soup, and the seafood on the side which you add to the soup yourself. It’s difficult to be in the south of France and not eat bouillabaise and this one was excellent. The experience of Chez Camille was authentic and I always love that.

 

To really experience St. Tropez night life, you must go to the clubs. We met friends and went to La Romana. This Bar/Restaurant is a scene. We definitely had a lot of fun, and the sexy fashion show was great, but the food was not good and overpriced. We then went dancing at Les Caves du Roy of course until wee hours in the morning….

Bellini at La Romana

 

After three days in St. Tropez, we headed to the heart of Provence.

We stopped in St. Remy on the way to Gordes where our hotel, La Bastide de Gordes, was located. Saint Remy was terribly hot so walking around this charming town was limited a bit. Everything closes down at one, and understandably so…the heat is very prohibitive. We lunched at Le Bistrot des Alpilles. This turned out to be one of my favorites.  

We cooled ourselves down with ice cold Belgian beers that hit the spot. We started the meal with a simple heirloom tomato salad…summer perfection..

 Then we split the langoustine cooked in pastis and the fennel and potato puree which was creamy and irresistible. I went into the kitchen and asked the chef for the recipe. He was happy to give it to me. I’ll be trying it soon and of course I’ll share it with you.

Langoustine with fennel-potato puree

Me and Soussi Samir, Chef at Le Bistrot des Alpilles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way to Gordes, which is one of Provence’s most beautiful hilltop medieval towns, we passed The Lavender Museum. I made “M” turn the car around. Can you believe there’s a Lavender Museum?! Provence is known for its special lavender and the museum actually taught us the history of how it is harvested and then made into lavender oil. Of course there is a store to buy products. I have always wanted to be running through fields of lavender, so I asked “M” to photograph me.  I hope there’s lavender in heaven.

 Our hotel was overlooking a medieval village in Gordes. The view from our room and the restaurant was very special….miles of fields and it stays light until 10PM so it’s magical watching the sunset. We each got a massage at the Hotel Spa, with lavender oil, of course.

That night we ate at the modern Le Bistro d’Eygalieres…a 2 star Michelin restaurant. We had a fantastic meal in the garden. Although it was roasting during the day, there was a cool breeze at night.

The chef, Wout Bru, is quite young. He and his wife, Suzy, built a small hotel, Maisonbru, and this restaurant about a year ago.

We had cannelloni of lobster and pan fried langoustines with tomato tartar and wakame. Wow!

Then I ordered baby lamb chops and ”M” had the red mullet a la plancha. This was true fine dining in France and a meal to remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following day, we visited a market in Apt. I adore the outdoor markets in Provence…The variety of local, artisanal products is mind blowingly wonderful and I am happy just wandering from one booth to the next. My dream is to stay in Provence long enough to cook…maybe one day it will happen.

 

The next day we got up early and drove to Barcelona. Stay tuned to the next blog post to join us on the Spanish leg of our eating frenzy!

I had a minor disaster in my kitchen this weekend. And it was all my fault.

Cooking with family and friends in the summer is high on my list of favorite activities, along with long walks on the beach and relaxing pool-side.

At our house, everyone gets an assignment…from cutting and chopping to setting the table and picking flowers. And of course, as an added bonus, I give out entertaining and cooking tips and tricks to anyone who wants them.

Some of my most memorable times are listening to music as I cook with friends, and drinking wine or summer mojitos with fresh mint from the garden. This is the time when guests who are staying at our house get to know each other, share jokes, and recipes….there is just nothing that connects people like getting them in the kitchen together.

When all the food is ready and everyone sits down to a beautiful, delicious meal, there is this special feeling that I have…I did this. I created this magic. I get instant gratification from the ooohs and ahhhs…and my guests feel wonderful too because they all participated.

There is no substitute for cooking at home. It’s a free therapy session….for the stomach and the soul.

This weekend, we created three fantastic meals…Two lunches and a dinner on the last night where we used all the left-overs and made an outstanding frittata.

Sally, my son Zach’s fabulous girlfriend, came up with the first lunch theme…Mexican! Grilled chicken and shrimp with Mexican spices and guacamole, warm tortillas, and a bean, corn, and tomato salad….lots of cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, and ripe avocados….and summer margaritas too!!

We marinated the shrimp and the chicken in smoked paprika, lime juice, garlic, and a barbeque rub from Steve Raichlen.

We combined black beans with summer corn fresh off the cob, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and lime juice…a perfect accompaniment to tortillas and guacamole.

The following day’s lunch had a Mediterranean theme…I made my fava bean spread from my cookbook with grilled bread, and my friend Sharon helped me out by shelling the beans.

Then we made a gorgeous summer salad with cucumbers, avocado, tomatoes, green beans, olives, and feta, and served it with a tangy vinaigrette. We grilled shrimp and scallops, marinated in garlic, lemon, olive oil, and oregano, and kept it nice and light.

Dessert was a perfectly refreshing watermelon with lime juice and fresh mint.

Perfect summer days.

As I write this, I am sitting at my desk, slowly savoring a piece of the richest, most decadent dark chocolate bar: John Kelly’s Chocolate with French Grey Sea Salt Fudge….

I am so loving the combination of chocolate and sea salt.  I brought this  home from the Fancy Food Show, (June 27-29th), where I made my way through hundreds of gourmet products.

I look forward to this show every year. It’s my time to visit old friends, try new products and discover the trends. The creativity, the branding, the care that this industry takes to make their products irresistible always excites me.

This year, I noticed that the trend is toward adding healing elements into foods…from Yogi Chips to organic green tea with turmeric, and I’m happy to say there are more organic products than ever before and more companies dedicated to environmental causes.

Some of my favorites are:

Republic of Tea… always  a trendsetter.. has a new Raw Green Tea that is filled with antioxidants and because its made from Rooibos it has no caffeine. They have created the most divine flavors.. I loved the plantain coconut the best.  It’s coming out this month.  Can’t wait.

Rick Bayless  from Frontera Grill has a new line of products…..

I love this guacamole mix  in a pouch…you just add the avocados. I tried it.. absolutely authentic and delicious.

And so many companies are doing great things with charities.. donating proceeds and trying to help the environment.

Partners Tea has biodegradable silken tea sachets and works with women’s charities.

Equal Exchange chocolate supports farm co-ops in Latin America….

Sweetriot chocolate nibs is creating a sweet movement to fix the world…

And of course, I love this new company because they have my name but they spell it differently. Add this low sugar, low calorie liquid concentrate to your water. We all need to drink more water and this makes it easy, healthy and very flavorful.  You can see why I love this idea.

And there was so much more…..looking forward to next year already…..