Photos from France continue

With the outdoor pool closing, Garrett has found an indoor alternative. We'll post photos when available. Meanwhile, two more from the kitchens of La Maison de Troisgros including the many young chefs. [caption id="attachment_1313" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Fresh mushrooms from the French countryside"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1314" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Kitchen staff efficiently working together at La Maison de Troisgros "][/caption]

Roanne, France update

Two photos that illustrate two sides of Garrett's trip to France. Watch for more! Or, get them directly by following him on Twitter at G_WeberGale. [caption id="attachment_1307" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""My Sanctuary" as Garrett calls this pool"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1308" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tasty food from street vendor in Roanne"][/caption]

Twitpics from Garrett at Maison de Troisgros in Roanne, France

Garrett reports that his back is killing him after hours and hours in the kitchen--the counters are too low and swimmers aren't used to standing for 10 or 12 hours. The work, however, is delighful. He's learning incredible things about food preparation. Here are a few twitpics from his first couple days: [caption id="attachment_1290" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Restaurant of Garrett's dreams"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1291" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Day two started at the fish market"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1293" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption=""Family" meals are provided for staff"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1294" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The best restaurants buy the freshest ingredients"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1296" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pigeon is a common item. This became pate."][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1297" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Young chef at work on prep"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_1298" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Local square outside of Garrett's "tiny room""][/caption]

Eggs…worried about salmonella? Try pasteurized instead!

(I put this post "in the can" before leaving for Europe not knowing when I could post again. Watch for more from Roanne, France, in coming weeks.) Almost every newscast for the past 10 days, or so, has had a story about the "largest egg recall" in history--over half a billion eggs. Nearly 1,400 people in 20 plus states have been confirmed ill, from salmonella poisoning. Did you know that according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, eggs are one of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the FDA. In fact, they are #2. If you always cook your eggs to well done, maybe you don't need to worry about salmonella. However, if you bake brownies and love to eat the batter raw, or eat your eggs "over easy," you may be putting yourself and your family at risk. My mother always buys pasteurized eggs. She says, "it's better to be "safe rather than sorry." Unfortunately, it isn't always easy to find pasteurized eggs in most local grocery stores. Grocers may not want to take up shelf space with unproven items. You can probably find a dozen different variety of regular eggs... different sizes, brown and white, farm fresh, cage free, no anti-biotics added or omega 3 added, Pasteurized eggs mostly come in one type...pasturized and white. One of the largest producers of pasteurized eggs is Davidson's Safest Choice. They put a little P inside a circle on every egg, so there is no confusion about what you are eating. They do cost a little more. You need to decide if they are worth it. The egg companies who make pasteurized eggs claim there is no difference in taste or consistency. My dad thinks the consistency is a little different and they are harder to beat into egg whites. Regardless, this may be a good time to change your eating habits by buying and eating pasteurized eggs.

Cooking, traveling, swimming, who knows…Off to France

[caption id="attachment_1262" align="aligncenter" width="422" caption="Garrett is off to cook and swim in France"][/caption] His chef's knives are sharpened, and now Garrett is headed to the Culinary Capitol of the world. (Turns out it is just outside of Lyon.) More about his experiences in the kitchen and in the pool (Perhaps a few sprint sets with his French rivals from Beijing??) as they unfold. So stay tuned. We'll also post notes and links at the ATHLETICFOODIE blog.

Irvine, Austin, France

Here's a pretty sweet article in the Austin American Statesman about my summer swimming...and my plans in France at Maison Troisgros in Roanne. Thanks to my swim coach, Eddie Reese and my cooking coach Daniel Boulud.

Tuesday Tweet of the Week: Naked Pizza…Naked Goodness

[caption id="attachment_1072" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="This beauty was inspired by the folks at Naked Pizza"][/caption] Pizza! Pizza! I love the stuff. Actually I'm a freak for it. Last summer in Italy I ate slice after slice after slice. At the conclusion of my month long 'stage' at a restaurant in the countryside of Italy (Castello delle Regine) I even came back with a tried and tested, delicious recipe for dough. The recipe was based from a type of baker's yeast which is 'live', not dormant. Dormant yeast is the kind you find in the packets in stores...it becomes activated with warm water. Upon my return to Austin a local grocery store carried the yeast...I was in luck. Every week I was making a pizza or two loaded with veggies. Unfortunately my luck ran out. The grocery store stopped carrying my sacred yeast. I attempted many times to recreate the magic which was once my Umbrian pizza crust delight, but to no avail. I was sunk. The dormant yeast which comes in the tiny little balls just doesn't give the same end result. Trust me I was super bummed. After searching all over Austin for the 'live' yeast with no luck, I finally gave up. Recently I had the urge to try for a great pizza dough once more. I decided to message some guys who seem to really know what they're doing. @NakedPizza is out of New Orleans and has been serving up some healthy and down right delectable looking pizzas for a good bit of time now. You need to see some of their twitpics of the tasty creations their coming up with. This was @NakedPizzas response to me when I asked for some advice about making a pizza dough... @G_WeberGale min 6 flours. canola oil (not olive). no sugar. used flaked spices, not powder. let dough sit 3-4 days b4 use. The second response is very intriguing... @G_WeberGale we shud develop a pizza together - swim like the fishes kind of good for u. we r rolling national. engage ppl 4 btr health. What would I call it!? What would I put on it? What would you put on your ultimate pizza?

Flashback to meeting world-renowned Chef Daniel Boulud…and a glimpse of things to come in France.

The morning of Memorial Day I got a call on my phone...the screen read "Daniel Boulud (Mobile)". I was still lying in bed at the time and before I knew it I was on my feet screaming in excitement. I ran into the other room and took a deep breath before answering. Behold on the other end of the line was the man himself with his strong French accent. We spoke for a while about my swimming and what I have planned for this summer as well as his new restaurant in London and a new one he's opening in Singapore. Daniel went on to say... Well, let's take a quick look back to 2008 before getting into that: On a warm summer night in Beijing, after the swimming portion of the Olympics had finished, I had a chance meeting with a very special someone. As I finished a segment of The Today Show, I happened to run into world famous chef Daniel Boulud. My calm and collected demeanor instantaneously went to giddy and freakishly excited at first sight of him. I took no hesitation to introduce myself and begin a short conversation. Briefly I told him about my passion for food and cooking and how I would love to come to his restaurant in NYC in the fall. Before heading on the set to do a cooking demo he gave me his card and told me to email him when I wanted to come. The conversation which started in Beijing almost two years ago has formed into a very meaningful friendship, one that I truly cherish. [caption id="attachment_842" align="aligncenter" width="320" caption="In the kitchen with Chef Boulud and staff at Daniel, NYC"] [/caption] In Beijing I also formed a friendship with Daniel's daughter, whom I met on the The Today Show as well. She took me to his newly opened restaurant in the heart of the city, La Maison Boulud. Since first meeting Daniel and shortly after delighting in his cuisine, I was hooked on the Boulud train. (Don't get any ideas. His daughter and I are just friends.) About a month later when in New York my sister and I ended up eating at his restaurant Daniel and had an incredible time. Since then I've built a much stronger relationship with Daniel. I'm so honored to have his friendship. In many ways surprising to me, he is happy to have mine as well. His daughter once told me, "one of the reasons he has gravitated so much to you is because he so readily sees your passion for food and cooking and he loves your work ethic to get better at it and to learn." As some of my readers know, last fall I had the privilege to do a month-long "stage" in Italy at Castello Delle Regine. (You can scroll back at my Cooking in Italy archives to see more on that. Thanks so much to my friends Adam Siegel and John Wise at The Bartolotta Restaurant Group for helping with that.) From there I did a short Stage with Daniel and his staff at "Daniel" for three days in NYC. My experience was unbelievable! You can read about it here! And more here. By the way, "stage" is a French term for training in a restaurant kitchen. Now back to Memorial Day 2010: After talking for a bit, Daniel gave me the news I had been waiting to hear...about France, about an amazing restaurant...about a kitchen he regards as one of the best in the world... about an opportunity for me to work as hard and learn as much as I ever have in my life... Here's a glimpse of where I'll be traveling to...

An Umbrian Inspired Dinner

Gazing. I'm a gazer. I swing the door to the refrigerator open. Crouch down. Take in a deep breath of the cool air. As my eyes move from ingredient to ingredient I begin to formulate a plan for what will soon be on the stove. Generally I don't have a plan to cook anything in particular but a rough idea of what might taste good with the ingredients I have. As I cruise the farmers' markets and/or grocery store aisles I try to think of how I could put various items together. A mainstay of my dining room table is a cookbook. Right now it is "Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home". Flipping through the pages I'm not usually looking for recipes per se, but rather to see how the chefs put different flavors together, what cooking methods they use, and of course, the pictures! Whenever I sit down to eat I'm always reading. You might be surprised at how much this helps elevate one's knowledge...try it! I smell prosciutto. I see a half of radicchio, half of an onion, some mushrooms. My mind remembers a can of plum tomatoes in the cupboard. This past summer while working in a restaurant in Umbria, Italy I was first introduced to radicchio. Now radicchio is a mainstay in my refrigerator. Oh and what about that little piece of Asiago cheese I have left over from last week...that will be a great addition too. All of these ingredients distinctly reminded me of my stay in Italy. The Italian influence had yet again inspired me. Ingredients:

• 1/2 of a radicchio. Coarsely chop
• 1/2 of an onion. Diced
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms of your choice.
• 4 slices prosciutto. Diced
• 5 plum tomatoes. Pureed
• 2tbs Asiago cheese. Finely grated
• Whole wheat pasta

Preparation:

1. Cook the onion, mushroom, and radicchio in a pan on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until browned
2. Add Prosciutto and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat.
3. Puree plum tomatoes in a food processor and add to the pan.
4. Mix everything together so that the tomato is fully incorporated
5. Add the cheese and combine with the rest of the ingredients
6. Mix in whatever type of pasta you like.

My insight: Radicchio is somewhat bitter so if you don't like that add a little less of it. I only added four slices of Prosciutto to minimize the sodium content but you could add more or less depending upon your preference and tolerance for sodium. (Think of meat as a flavor enhancer, not the main ingredient.) Make sure not to add too much pasta as it will take away from the flavors in the sauce. I hope y'all enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Off the grid for a few days

Garrett is traveling to Sienna and Montignoso Massa and then to a few more places in Tuscany with friends. He'll be back online early next week.