June 27, 2012
Today we were in the
classroom once again focusing this time on salt and the microbiology of the cow
rumen, which is pretty much as densely packed with bacteria as physically
possible. After such appetizing discussion, we broke for lunch. After lunch, we
were not returning to the classroom in order to give us a little extra time to
work on our final presentations.
Laura and I went to Le Cellier del Abbaye to
purchase the wine’s we wanted to do our research papers on. I absolutely love the
Chardonnay from the Macon region, compared to California Chardonnay. The fruit
really comes
forward and shines on its own, enhanced simply by the soil’s minerality. I
never thought I’d really enjoy Chardonnay so much.
 |
| The wine I chose with Sonia's help! |
It was super hot out, and
what’s the best remedy on a hot day? ICE CREAM. I got a perfect scoop of violet
ice cream and I felt like a cartoon. In Cluny, they have these big, big ice
cream cones that taste like American waffle cones but better because they have
a fragile, light, layered texture. Adding to this ridiculous cone, was a
perfectly round scoop of lavender hued ice cream—like Easter purple. Ice cream
cone in hand on this beautiful day, I was happy as a dog with two tails.
After spending the remainder
of the afternoon working on my cheese and wine presentations, we headed out as
a group to Auberge du Cheval Blanc, a really nice restaurant on the edge of
town where you pretty much have to have a three or four course meal. No messing
around.
At 7:30 we sat down and began
piecing together our meal selections. For my first course (entre), I selected a
salad topped with gingerbread toasts and warmed brie.
My main course was sea bass with a creamy
seafood sauce, asparagus, and rice pilaf. All our main dishes were accompanied
by tiny side portions of nutmeg spiced carrots and mushrooms in cream sauce.
Then, they wheeled over a cart of cheeses with a
glass window through which the cheeses could be seen for selection.
I decided on 2 fresh goat
cheeses, one aged goat, and Roquefort. The aged goat, once more, was my
favorite. The fresh goat cheeses had no flavor, and the Roquefort was straight
up salt—I guess when it come to blue cheese, I’ll be sticking to Stilton. After
that, there was the option of dessert, but there was no way I was fitting
another morsel in me.
A leisurely three hours after
being seated, we dragged ourselves out of the restaurant, and, me, I scurried
to the bar to catch the Spain and Portugal semi-final euro cup game! I arrived
toward the end of the game, and the bar was packed! Except it was packed with
Portugal fans (boo!). There was one family, who’d I’d seen at the bar for
several of the other games, that had everyone there. Their young children,
around 2-years-old, were decked out in Portugal memorabilia. They even had
their dogs there with them: green Mohawk and all. Yep, the dog had a green
Mohawk in support of the Portugal team… awesome. But alas, Spain was victorious
and I pretty much floated home on excited.
- Adrianne Speranza
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