124 replies to this topic

[heidih]

Wow those asparagus look huge in your daughter's hands. By simple were they just steamed or quickly boiled and dressed with olive oil or? I have never had them. How would you compare the taste to the green ones. Just the same without the vegetal edge?

As to the scallops - I love the color but I think you are saying the taste was just too busy/overwhleming?

[LindaK]

Franci, what are your impressions about the restaurant scene in Monaco? Neighborhood places vs fine dining? I'm curious where you (or your neighbors) go when you want a casual meal out, especially with a family?

Thanks for blogging, it's great to get an insider's view into a place like Monoaco.

[Hassouni]

I have nothing to add apart from saying that everything looks extremely delicious! Oh, I suppose I'll ask this: The guo tie looked lovely, any more Chinese food on the horizon?

[Franci]

Wow those asparagus look huge in your daughter's hands. By simple were they just steamed or quickly boiled and dressed with olive oil or? I have never had them. How would you compare the taste to the green ones. Just the same without the vegetal edge?

As to the scallops - I love the color but I think you are saying the taste was just too busy/overwhleming?

Heidi, they were steamed for 20 minutes. Differently than the green asparagus they need peeling and longer cooking. The taste is also quite milder sometimes with a bitter note. One time I tried some white asparagus brought from people living around Padua, they were amazing, so much better than other white asparagus I tried. So I think sourcing the right product is very important in this case to really have a good experience.

Franci, what are your impressions about the restaurant scene in Monaco? Neighborhood places vs fine dining? I'm curious where you (or your neighbors) go when you want a casual meal out, especially with a family?

Thanks for blogging, it's great to get an insider's view into a place like Monoaco.

I would like to be able to answer in a more specific way to your question, Linda. Reality is that I've really not dining out much since we got here and especially in Monaco. We go either to Nice for fruit de mer or to Italy for pizza...And I don't know what my neighbors do. I know that most people here don't stay in Monaco all the time, they travel and have properties all over the world. So if they get bored with the local fair they surely have the opportunity to go to fancy restaurants elsewhere. I don't have the impression that people is very much interested into food. There is not a high-end supermarket.

I have nothing to add apart from saying that everything looks extremely delicious! Oh, I suppose I'll ask this: The guo tie looked lovely, any more Chinese food on the horizon?

Hassouni, I'd love to cook more Chinese food especially because I don't go out for Chinese here and I miss it but my Chinese husband doesn't want to eat Chinese food that much
I don't want my children to perceive Chinese food as foreign...but so far my son dislike the taste of soy sauce. This morning I took a couple pictures of my local little store for Asian ingridients...another reason I don't cook much asian food.

[Franci]

This morning I went to the bakery and got a couple pains au chocolat for breakfast and some bread to make a roll for my son's trip with the school.

Then, I went to the Beausoleil market.
Around there are also 2-3 little Asian stores, where I get some bottle sauces or sushi rice, very limited selection.






I especially don't feel like buying their vegetables

[Franci]

On Friday I can have someone bringing in fish from Ventimiglia. Today I got a big red mullet, enough for pasta for me and my daughter. A sole that is going to be childrens' dinner and half a kg of small red mullets to fry for my husband and I.

Here is the red mullet for our lunch



I filleted the fish and used the head and bones for a quick fumet. Some EVOO and garlic, trimmings and head, some cherry tomatoes, parsley stalks, deglazed with white wine, water and quick cooking for 10 minutes. Strained the sauce and put on the side.



I cut the fillets in bite sizes and saute them in garlic and EVO, plus cherry tomatoes, some black olive and the fish stock



Saute' some spaghetti in the sauce, dusted with chopped parsley. Done. It was nice



And the head it's for me

[Franci]

Today the weather is very nice and warm. I decided to bring the girl down to the beach in the afternoon



By the beach there are many snack places and little restaurants.

A relaxing atmosphere






From here, facing the beach, I couldn't take pictures, it was too bright. So I had to move on a little bit, to the next restaurant






We decided to stop at the last coffee place on the way out for an ice cream



A couple more weeks and here is going to be very crowded

Edited by Franci, 11 May 2012 - 09:05 AM.

[Franci]

The children already had their dinner

The sole was very nice



Served with oven roasted chips. My daughter ate half of the fish, my son ate the potatoes



We are going to have a late dinner.

Tomorrow morning we are going to Italy. Please, let me know if you are curious of particular aspects. There is a big vegetable market, one side dedicated especially to farmers. In the far back the fish section and on the sides some general stalls (salumi, fresh pasta and butchers).
Ventimiglia is also full of wine stores, they make most of their profits with the French and Monaco shoppers.

[scubadoo97]

Late to the party but had to see what Franci was up to. Always like reading your posts. You will tackle most anything and do it well. Your food pictures are an inspiration and make me down right hungry any time of the day.

[Franci]

Oh, thanks Scudadoo97! You are very nice .

I kept my food very simple and I try to cook what I know is liked in my house, in fact, tonight dinner has already been seen to egulleters on the "dinner thread".
Two things my husband is particularly found of: fried fish and fried artichokes.

I generally like much smaller red mullets for frying but these were still pretty good.





and I think I'm going to be done with artichokes for a while, they were still sweet but time to replace them with zucchini blossoms which strangely I couldn't find this morning

Edited by Franci, 11 May 2012 - 02:56 PM.

[heidih]

Looks delightful Franci. Just dredged in flour? Are they pan fried in what oil? Just a few inches deep? How do you deal with your frying oil?

[Prabha]

All your food looks so delicious, Franci! Thanks for taking pictures and describing everything. I'm really enjoying reading about Monaco and your cooking.

[rotuts]

everything looks so good. You seem to have a real talent for fish, my favorite! Artichokes might be second!

[Franci]

Hello!
Sorry it took me so long to get back, it has been a long day, spent mostly shopping for food and eating.
Today I got up and was out of eggs. Sometimes I treat myself with a middle eastern style breakfast (I loved Hassouni or Nikki beatiful breakfast in Beirut) but let's say that I didn't have much in the fridge. So I got a tomato and cucumber salad and some feta with pain au levain.

Looks delightful Franci. Just dredged in flour? Are they pan fried in what oil? Just a few inches deep? How do you deal with your frying oil?

The red mullets are dredged in a mix of fine cornmeal and flour. The artichokes are dipped in a simple batter of eggs and flour, fairly thick. I use peanut oil for frying. I deep fry (in a wok) first the artichokes and secondly the fish. I don't think there is a particular policy on discarding oil here, when I use a lot of oil once cool I pour back in the bottle and goes in the general garbage, if the oil is not much I admit I drain down the toilet.

[Franci]

Ventimiglia is a small town at the border, a working class town. Bordighera and Sanremo are closer to people's idea of charming places on the Riviera. Not Ventimiglia. But it is convenient for us to shop for food and wine.

This is the entrance to the market



Saturday morning is very crowded, full of Italian and French shoppers.

One aisle is taken mostly by farmers



cardoons




borage




wild dandelion








wild fennel




prepared minestrone



fresh beans



Trombetta everywhere, which cost 8 euros in France and Monaco

Edited by Franci, 12 May 2012 - 09:42 AM.

[Franci]

Cheese mostly from Piedmont









Honey, also coming from the mountains in Piedmont



Some bakeries/pasta stalls. In Liguria they are big on ravioli (meat or borage filling and trofie with pesto)





A pastry shop

[Franci]

Plants, here tomatoes








More vegetables








Dried mushrooms and dried tomatoes by these guys.



Porcini and black summer truffle






Many deli stalls on the side



Nuts

[Franci]

At the far end of the market they sell fish.





Cod tripe, anybody?

[Franci]

Next stop was the liquor store.



I don't know how many liquor stores there are in Ventimiglia. Many. Many.

Distribution is set in a way that once you cross the border you cannot find such a variety of Italian wines. We talked about this over lunch my husband and I. He is the one who does the shopping for wine and he has been very impressed with Ventimiglia. He has not seen such a place where you find wines for all over Italy, with such detail, and very good ones.

[kayb]

The wine looks expensive, if I recall my Euro exchange rates correctly. Is that low, mid or upper range in overall wine prices?

So very much enjoying your blog, especially the markets!

[Franci]

The wine looks expensive, if I recall my Euro exchange rates correctly. Is that low, mid or upper range in overall wine prices?

So very much enjoying your blog, especially the markets!

Hi Kay!
The wines span between 5 euros to 300 euros, which really represents the range of Italian wines. In Liguria, and for the French consumer, the prestigious Piemontese wines (e.g. Barolo, Barbaresco, Barbera, Nebbiolo, and Docetto) are prominent and take high prices. Some of the super Tuscans are also represented and expensive. Fortunately, there are also some good regional wines, especially whites, that are available. For example, Valpolicella (bad name in the States) are actually excellent, along with its cousin Amarone. There are also wines from where I grew up in Puglia (e.g. Primitivo di Manduria aka Zinfandel, Salice Salentino) that cost 5 euros. The Italian whites deserve special mention. I don't think any other country quite have the variety of whites that still exist in Italia. I can name Roero Arneis in Piemonte, Pigato and Vermentino in Liguria, Vernaccia in Cinque Terre, Lugana and Soave in Veneto, Falanghina and Greco di Tufo in Campania. My husband usually gets 12 bottles at a time from Ventimiglia - 2 barbera d'asti, 2 nebbiolo, 1 dolcetto, 1 primitivo, 1 salice salentino, 1 nobile montepulciano, 1 barolo, 2 lugana, 1 roero arneis.

[Franci]

When eating in Ventimiglia we are left with two options: pizza or Ristorante Hanbury





We like it for many reasons: we can eat outside so feels less formal, the children can walk around if they are done eating and the food is good. Local food, maily fish, not boring and it tastes great.
We are welcomed with a little pizza plate





She is definitely more interested in the food than her brother



My husband got as antipasto a "crudo di pesce"



and the house antipasto for me. Some warm potato and octopus, saute' scallop and shrimp, baccala' mantecato (very good!) and some fried anchovies. Good seasoning, perfect temperature at the table, delicious.



Then spaghetti with vongole for the husband



And spaghetti with langoustine for me, shared with the children. Well executed.

Edited by Franci, 12 May 2012 - 02:15 PM.

[Franci]

One more stop to a supermarket to buy some salumi, cheese and pasta.

[Franci]

We got home late in the afternoon. To tell you the truth, left with little energy for cooking...

I'm very grateful to the Italian service: my fishmonger cleaned all the fish for me, included the tiny anchovies I bought! I only had to rinse the fish and fry.



And although I didn't feel like putting much effort into dinner, we cannot go without some vegetables. A plate of cucumber, tomatoes and pepper was good enough for the family.







Thanks everybody for following, I had a lot of fun blogging and I hope you have enjoyed it too

[Franci]

Oh, I forgot to show you what we broght home!!!



Greetings from Monaco

[PopsicleToze]

What a wonderful blog. I am awed and inspired by all of the pictures and things available to you. I have always wanted to enjoy a just-caught red mullet and have read that they taste somewhat akin to shrimp. Is that true?

Also, my favorite line in this entire blog was, "If I want XXX, then... unless I go to Italy." That tickled me.

You do a great job of juggling the love of cooking, shopping economically but tempering that what is nearby to not overly burden yourself since you want to spend quality time with your children.

Bravo! And thank you so much for blogging and showing us a glimpse of your world.

Now, just to appease the audience, we need a picture of your pretty self driving a convertible around a mountain road with a scarf and sunglasses

[heidih]

The cheese!

I forgot to mention earlier that I was really taken with your red mullet and pasta dish. I have that method on my "to do soon" list. Also on the list are the small fried fish. I can get them so there is no reason not to indulge :)

[rotuts]

Many Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Fabulous blog Franci - I'm not a fish eater - I wanted to eat those fish! Thank you so much for sharing your week with us - not sure how you managed to fit it all in!

[heidih]

And I must give a big "high five" to the brave Franci who waited to blog pending a camera only to have the camera "dropped and destroyed" by her adorable boy days before the blog start. She pushed on and took great photos with the iPad. I have been inspired. Thank you!