Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Poulet Languedoc

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

From the Camargue

Poulet Languedoc
Chicken in wine sauce Languedoc style

• 1 free range chicken
• 3 shallots chopped
• 1 onion chopped
• 300 g (2 cups) mixed fresh or frozen wild mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red and one green bell pepper, roasted, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 green olives
• 3 ripe red tomatoes, or 1 small can
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken stock

Remove chicken legs, wings and breasts and make the stock with the carcass.

Sauté chopped onion and shallots in olive oil until translucent, add chicken pieces, slowly browning them on the outside.

Add all other ingredients and slowly simmer for 45 minutes adjust seasoning.

It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!

"Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé !" This is a phrase you're likely to hear every year on the third Thursday in November, at 12:01 a.m. local time around the globe, as the newest vintage of wine from France's Beaujolais region is released to the public.  This wine, fermented for just a few weeks, is known as Beaujolais Nouveau.  It is a red wine made from Gamay grapes that are grown and harvested by hand in the Beaujolais province, at the southern tip of Burgundy.
 
Though perhaps not as complex as red wines from this region that are aged for one or more years, Beaujolais Nouveau is a bright, fruity, and very drinkable wine. It is recommended to be served slightly chilled, and is intended for immediate consumption. It is not a variety to stock away in the wine cellar, as it does not improve with age.

Beaujolais Nouveau is produced using carbonic maceration.  This whole-grape anaerobic fermentation process brings out fruit flavors, without imparting bitter tannins from the grape skins.   Whole bunches of grapes, stems and all, are placed in huge vats, along with some yeast. The vats are sealed and carbon dioxide is introduced.  The weight of the grapes themselves crushes those at the bottom of the vat, which begin to ferment.  More carbon dioxide is released by the fermenting fruit, and in this environment, starved of oxygen (the 'anaerobic' part), fermentation begins even in the uncrushed grapes.  Eventually the fermentation process causes the whole grapes to burst, releasing their juice.  In a short six to eight weeks, the wine is ready to be bottled, shipped, and consumed.

Considered by some wine connoisseurs to be too simple, many find the simplicity and freshness of this wine to be its greatest charm.  And, a plus for those minding their budget, Beaujolais Nouveau is very affordable.

In the US, with Thanksgiving falling just a week after 'Beaujolais Nouveau Day,' it's the perfect opportunity to stock up on a few bottles to enjoy with friends and family over the holiday weekend.  Outside the US, well, you really don’t need a special occasion to enjoy this wonderfully refreshing, young wine.

Visit BoutiqueHotelBarges.com for information on cruising in the Burgundy region.





Each year, on the third weekend of November, Beaune plays host to the world's most famous charity wine auction. Professionals, connoisseurs and wine lovers come together for two days of festivities, the epitome of pure Burgundy tradition.

The auction takes place in L'Hôtel-Dieu, an extraordinary collection of 15th century hospital buildings. Since 1471, vast tracts of land have been donated and bequeathed to the Hospices de Beaune and its vineyards extend throughout the côtes de Nuits and the côtes de Beaune. Since 1859, the Hospices' prestigious vintages have been sold by candlelight on the third Sunday of November. For several centuries now, the entire proceeds of this exceptional charity auction have been dedicated to the charitable and religious works of the old hospices as well as new civil and secular hospital institutions.

Below are scenes from the 2015 Gala Dinner held at L'Hôtel-Dieu compliments of Rory and Caroline Macrae (pictured on right), owners of Barge Après Tout, who attended this fabulous event.

Highlights of the Midi: Olives

Among the most beautiful sights in the countryside surrounding the Canal du Midi are the groves of olive trees with their silvery-green leaves and twisted trunks. The Languedoc region's dry, hot, summers and mild winters provide the ideal climate for olives, and they have been cultivated here for centuries.

Many varieties of olives are grown in the Languedoc, for both general consumption and pressing into the wonderful golden oil that is so highly valued in the kitchen. There are always one or more vendors at the local markets with mounds of locally-grown olives of every sort: green, black, oil cured, Picholines, Lucques, Négrettes, Noirettes, and more.

A Visit to the Olive Mill

If you love olives, you won't want to miss a visit to the Coopérative Oléicole L'Oulibo, near the village of Bize-Minervois. L'Oulibo is a growers' cooperative where olives from across the region are brought to be pressed into oil.

L'Oulibo offers guided tours that include a 20 minute film, The "Odyssey Olivier", a chance to see the oil press operation, and stroll through their olive grove, where display panels feature a history of the olive tree. The highlight of your visit will be L'Oulibo's shop, where you can sample all of the many varieties of olives and oil, and pick up a few bottles to take home. The shop also offers a wide range of regionally produced products — soaps, corkscrews and pepper mills made from olive wood, colorful hand-knit scarfs and socks — all perfect for gifts, or to keep yourself as a souvenir of your fabulous cruise week.

Learn more about barge cruises that include a visit to Coopérative Oléicole L'Oulibo at Boutique Hotel Barges.

Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Tarte Tatin

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

With Fall in the air, and the farmers market full of delicious apples, what better time to make this upside-down caramelized apple tart?

Tarte Tatin

Quick puff pastry:

• 2 cups white flour
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup very cold butter grated with a large cheese grater

Work in butter slivers, add water little by little and form a ball. Roll out and fold over by thirds a few times, as for puff pastry. Roll out and put in pie tin to refrigerate while preparing the apples.

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 8 firm apples, peeled, cored and cut in half
• 3 tablespoons Calvados apple brandy
• 3 tablespoons apple juice

Place sugar, brandy and apple juice in large heavy skillet over low heat, stir to dissolve sugar, add butter and allow to melt and bubble. Lower heat.
Add apples, dome side down, the liquid has to reduce to a caramel eventually. This is a lovingly tended 45 minutes procedure, the apples have to remain firm but cooked through each one coated in caramel.
Place your pastry on top.
Bake at (400ºF/200ºC/Gas 6) until pastry is golden, and caramel is sizzling underneath.

Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Sticky Toffee Pudding

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

STEP ONE Cake Batter

• 175 g (6 oz) dates, chopped in mixer
• 2 cups of water
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 175g (1/2 cup) white flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 50 g (2 oz) butter
• 150 g (6 oz) sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put water into a saucepan with salt, add dates and bring to a boil, simmer 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Add baking soda.
Mix butter, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla into a smooth paste.
Blend into cooled date mixture.
Bake in oven (375ºF190ºC/Gas 5) oven until brown and risen, approximately 35 minutes

STEP TWO Butterscotch Sauce

• 125 g (5 oz) butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 250 ml (1 1/2 cup) cream
• 2 tablespoons icing sugar
• 6 mint leaves for decoration

Put butter and sugar in saucepan, stir constantly so it doesn’t burn, caramelize until a nice light brown color
Add cream carefully so it doesn’t splutter, bring back to boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, set aside.
To serve, ladle the sauce onto dessert plates, cut squares or circles out of the cake and place onto the warm sauce. Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and place a mint leaf on each.
Serve warm.

Understanding Terroir

Contributed by Dawn Shepherd from Boutique Hotel Barges' US Office 

Terroir is a French word which translates literally as 'soil', but the meaning of this word encompasses much more. To wine lovers and vintners, terroir expresses the combination of environmental elements, including soil type, weather, topography, and nearby crops or native plants, that impact the overall character of wine made from grapes grown in a particular area.

Terroir is at the base of the French wine Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system, the strict set of rules governing how French wines can be labeled. Unlike American wine labels that generally feature the variety of grape a wine is made from, French wines are primarily labeled based on the region where the wine was produced.

Although I knew the definition of terroir as it applies to wine, I first truly understood it after spending a few weeks in the Languedoc aboard the beautiful barge Tango. It was grape harvesting time in September, with warm sunny days and refreshingly cool nights. We cruised along the Canal du Midi, past vineyards and olive groves, and fields where sunflowers had grown. It was a very pleasant and memorable experience. About 6 months after returning to the U.S., I opened a bottle of wine that I had brought back with me. It was from the domaine of Marie-Claude and Jean-Louis Poudou in Minervois, Chateau Tour Boisée. One sip and I was instantly transported back to Southwestern France. It is hard to describe the magic created by the blend of aroma and taste, but the wine held the very essence of the Languedoc - its terroir.

The concept of terroir applies to other crops, particularly tea, coffee and cacao, and increasing the term is being used as it relates to the production of artisan cheese.

When applied to cooking, the term cuisine de terroir means 'regional cooking.' It implies that the chef is using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, prepared using traditional methods and recipes unique to the region. This is the true cooking of the French people, that you can find, not only in the local bistro, but also being served at home for Sunday dinner.  It is France's 'soul food.'

Experience terroir for yourself aboard one of the wonderful barges at BoutiqueHotelBarges.com.

Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Mustard and White Wine Onion Soup

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

Dijon mustard originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted verjuice, (the acidic juice of under-ripe grapes) for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.  Although still produced in France, French Dijon mustard is now made from seed and wine imported from North America.

Mustard and White Wine Onion Soup

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 potato chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of parsley
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 white of leek, sliced and washed
• 4 oz slice of smoked bacon
• 300 ml (2 cups) white wine
• 800 ml (41/2 cups) water
• 1 tablespoon Dijon grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon Dijon smooth mustard
• 1 teaspoon vegetable stock paste
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup liquid cream
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Heat oil and butter in saucepan.

Add onion and leek, and gently fry until translucent.

Add other vegetables, cook for three minutes stirring occasionally then add water and white wine, mustards, stock paste. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaf and parsley sprig, blend and adjust seasoning.

Stir in cream and pour into individual bowls, decorate with chopped parsley.

Highlights of Burgundy: A Trip to the Dijon Market

Even on a grey day at the end of the barging season in late October, a trip to Dijon's fabulous Les Halles market is a guaranteed pleasure for anyone with a love for food. The covered market occupies an expansive 19th-century structure, designed and built by Eiffel Tower architect, Gustave Eiffel.

On market days, the shopping begins before you even enter the market. Vendors line the street, featuring everything from seasonal produce to tee shirts. On our fall trip there were tables heaped with late-season crops, the stars of which were les champions — the mushrooms.

Inside, Les Halles hums with activity, filled with stalls offering shoppers every sort of wonderful food imaginable. Fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, cheese, eggs, dairy products, sausages, snails, pate, bread and pastries, endless varieties of jams and jellies, wines and liqueur de cassis — all as much a delight for the eyes as for the taste buds.

A stop at the fromage counter finds the amicable vendors eager to offer samples and make recommendations for new and enticing types of French cheese to try. Our purchases on this visit included some Saint Marcellin, Fourme d'Ambert and and a particularly decadent and creamy Pont l'Evêque, later enjoyed back at the barge with a loaf of crusty bread and a bottle of sparkling Crement.

The biggest market days are Tuesday and Friday. Thursday the market is only inside Les Halles. It's always best to go early in the day. You will be done with shopping in time for lunch in one of the many small cafés and bistros within walking distance of the market.

Learn more about barge cruises that include a visit to Dijon at Boutique Hotel Barges.

Recipes from "A Week on the Water": Bourride

Founder of Boutique Hotel Barges and "A Week on the Water" author, Hazel Young, is a graduate of the French National Cooking School in Beaune. She has run numerous cooking seminars and culinary cruises aboard her former barge Fandango, and planned the boutique barge's extraordinary menus for over two decades.

Bourride is a stew of vegetables, fish and fruites de mer that has its origins in the Landguedoc and Provence regions of Southern France. The name is derived from the Occitan bourrido, meaning 'something boiled'. Less well known than bouillabaisse, but equally delicious, the major difference between the two dishes comes from the garlic-rich aioli added to the bourride at the end of cooking, giving it a creaminess and wonderful aroma.

Bourride

Monk fish and mussels in a spicy aioli stew.

• 1kg (2.2 lbs) monkfish, filleted and cut into small pieces
• 1kg (2.2 lbs) mussels, cleaned
• 2 leeks washed and finely sliced
• 2 carrots peeled and finely sliced
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon paella spice
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red hot peppers or cayenne
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 L (7 cups) water
• liquid from mussels after steaming
• 1 cup homemade tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable stock paste
• 2 cups homemade mayonnaise aioli*

Heat olive oil and gently fry leeks until translucent. Add carrots and potatoes, and stir over a low flame until coated in oil.Meanwhile steam mussels for 5 minutes in separate saucepan with a lid on, no extra water needed, to obtain liquid.

Drain mussels and add stock to vegetables along with white wine, water, tomato sauce, stock paste and seasonings. Let simmer for 20 minutes then add zucchini and simmer another ten minutes.

Remove half of the mussels from their shells then set all mussels aside to add at the last minute. When ready to serve, add monkfish and simmer for only two or three minutes, adding mussels.

Remove from heat, stir in 1 cup of aioli.

Put into individual bowls, decorate with two or three mussels in their shells on the top. Serve extra aioli in small individual sauce dishes.

Aïoli mayonnaise*

• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

All ingredients should be at room temperature to ensure success.

In a deep bowl, whisk mustard with egg yolk, then drizzle in the vegetable oil whisking vigorously, hold back the oil and beat more if it isn’t thickening fast enough. If ever it separates, put a tablespoon of boiling hot water into a new bowl and whisk the mixture once again until it thickens. Resume adding the rest of the oil, beat in vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

To make aioli, add two cloves of peeled and crushed garlic.

Do You Speak French Wine?

You'll want to brush up on your French wine label reading skills before your barge cruise.  Here are some key terms.

• Appellation contrôlée - Designated growing area
• Appellation d'Origine Protegée - AOP, highest grade of French wine
• Blanc - white
• Château or Domaine - wine estate
• Clos - "an enclosure," usually an enclosed vineyard
• Crémant - sparkling wine produced outside the Champagne region
• Cru - a vineyard or group of vineyards, of recognized quality
• Cuvée - usually denotes a special blend or selected vats of higher quality, but an unregulated term
• Grand cru - Regionally graded wine, not technically a classification of wine quality, it indicates the potential of the vineyard or terroir
• Indication Géographique Protégée - IGP, Regional French wines, middle-grade French wines
• Millésime or Récolte - vintage or harvest date
• Mis en bouteille au domaine - bottled at the estate
• Réserve - implies a higher quality, but an unregulated term
• Rouge - red
• Vielles Vignes - old vines
• Vin de France - French table wines, lower grade of French wine

Resources:

Visit Rocket Languages for a list of French words about wine with audio, so you can hear the correct French pronunciation for each.

An incredible listing with ratings for wines of Burgundy and Languedoc Roussillon is available on winemag.com

Learn more about French barge cruises that feature visits to vineyards, winetasting, and special wine-harvest cruises at Boutique Hotel Barges.