Tag Archives: lasagna

BeNeLux

The last full day in Mons (part five)

On Friday morning, Bill told me he would probably be finished early and would come back to the hotel at some point after noon. So, instead of walking around Mons on Friday, I decided to wait for Bill to come back to the hotel. I put the “do not disturb” sign on the door and waited for a private message. I finally got one indicating that he’d be back in the early afternoon.

I got a little bored waiting for him, so I made another talking video for YouTube. It was about our experience at the restaurant the night before, listening to the blowhard talk about his vast experiences as a foodie. I mainly made the video to pass the time, since I find typing on my laptop somewhat difficult. If you know where to look, you can find my video, but I don’t think I’ll post it here. I like to keep the travel blog somewhat PG rated. 😉

When Bill got back to the hotel, I told him about La Fontaine, the charming little brasserie I’d noticed the day before. I looked them up on Google, and saw that they were open for lunch. So we headed over there, and found that yes, indeed, La Fontaine is a local gem in Mons. It was bustling with business! They had room for us, though, so we took a seat and waited a bit for them to get to us. There were a couple of boisterous parties there for lunch that were taking up their attention.

The waitress who helped us didn’t speak perfect English, but she spoke enough to answer when I asked if the lasagna had mushrooms. It didn’t, so I ordered that. Bill had pork loin with mashed potatoes and gravy. Both dishes were excellent, and we washed them down with local beers. I couldn’t help but notice the friendly, convivial air in the restaurant. I could see why it was so busy, and I was very glad I’d found it. Bill and I agreed it was our favorite place of all the restaurants we tried in Mons. And there are many more we didn’t get a chance to try.

I really liked the lasagna because it was such a nice change of pace. Somehow, I managed to eat the whole thing! The waitress told me that usually, they do make it with mushrooms. I’m glad I asked before I ordered it. It was delicious!

A little amuse…
He appeared to be a local character. I was struck by his sartorial savvy.
They gave us a house digestive of homemade brandy after we paid.

By the time we finished lunch, it was late afternoon. Bill and I had a feeling we might be too full to go out again, so we stopped by the Delhaize on the way back to the hotel to pick up some snacks and wine. It’s so weird to see the lion logo, which looks so much like Food Lion. Now that I know Food Lion is owned by the same company, it makes sense!

That’s pretty much all I have to write about Friday, as we basically hung out in the hotel room, talked, drank wine, and maybe watched a little TV? I don’t even know… I did buy some hamburger flavored Lays Potato Chips because I was curious. They mostly tasted like pickles. We got some Belgian chocolate bars and long chips, which are kind of like Pringles, but in long, rectangular strips.

22 years of bliss…
He’s so good to me…

We went to bed early, and on Saturday morning, woke up to our 22nd wedding anniversary. Bill gave me one of his trademark mushy cards, which I really appreciated. He said he’d actually bought the card for another occasion, but misplaced it. This year, there was no time for him to find a new one, so he used the one above when he happened to find it.

I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts, depressed, and anxious since Election Day. Bill’s card was a real morale booster. We had breakfast, loaded up the car, checked out of the Belgian hotel, and made our way north to The Netherlands. I will write about that in the next post.

Before we got on the road, though, we stopped at the enormous Carrefour store at a huge shopping center, just outside of Mons, and picked up some beer to bring back to Germany. I’ve been enjoying our haul all week. Feast your eyes! Maybe we should take a day trip back into Belgium for another beer run. Why not? I really enjoyed Mons and would happily go back, although next time, I would prefer a different hotel. I also wish we’d remembered to buy some chocolate… but then, maybe it’s better that we didn’t.

The drive up to The Netherlands was pretty boring. It was cloudy and grey outside, and there wasn’t much to see on the drive. I didn’t take any pictures, so now is a good time to stop until the next posting. Stay tuned, because the next post will be a big one.

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markets

Weekly market leads to profanity and homemade Friday night goodies!

This may seem like a mundane topic for my travel blog, but for those of you who know me personally, it might make some sense. Yesterday, after Thursday’s weekly market in our market square, I decided I wanted to use some of that delicious produce to make sauce. One thing led to another, and after a few hours of work, I had made lasagna with homemade sauce and a loaf of fresh garlic bread from scratch. The only thing that would have made it better is if we had also made the lasagna noodles, which we could have done, as we do have a pasta maker. We usually reserve fresh pasta projects for when the weather sucks or there’s a lockdown order because of a pandemic. 😉

I know I have a few readers who have met me offline and know there was a time when I really enjoyed cooking and baking. I don’t do it so much anymore, as Bill kind of took over that chore some time ago. But there was a time when I was a pretty damned good cook. I even got paid to do it. So, as Bill was finishing up his Friday work day at home, opting to use a few comp hours to take the afternoon off, I ventured into the kitchen and started a pot of water to blanch the beautiful vine ripened tomatoes we bought on Thursday.

“What are you doing?” Bill asked.

“I feel like making sauce.” I said.

“Great! I’ll get the peppers!” He was genuinely excited, as one of the reasons he decided I might be worth marrying is because I cooked a mean pot roast and made homemade cloverleaf rolls when he visited me at the apartment I lived in during graduate school. Like any good moonchild, he is easily seduced through his stomach.

Bill laid out the beautiful fruits and vegetables from the market. I started chopping them as the tomatoes blanched in the hot water. I was going to remove the skins, but decided not to bother trying to take out the seeds. I peeled the tomatoes and boiled the skins to render out even more of the flesh, then threw three kinds of sweet peppers, onion, garlic, fresh basil, and salt and pepper into a pot, where it simmered for most of the afternoon. I also used up the last of our oregano.

When I mentioned wanting to make bread, Bill said, “We already have bread from the bakery.” But it was the chewy kind that I don’t like that much. Besides, I enjoy baking bread. The kneading process is a great stress reliever. So I made a perfect loaf of garlic bread. Then, it came time to mix up the cheeses (mozzarella and Parmesan) and make Bechamel sauce for the lasagna. Although it started out a vegetarian dish, I decided to add a little Black Forest ham from the market. Just a little bit, mind you, as the ham was a bit smokey and strong, and a little was really all it needed. I wouldn’t usually put ham in lasagna, but Hell, I’ve see people put boiled eggs in them here, so why not? The ham was very good, by the way.

Below are some photos from yesterday’s project, courtesy of the market. Bill did have to go pick up some spinach for the cheese layers, and I added a little tomato paste from Parma to move the sauce a little bit. We still had enough sauce left to make a pizza later today. He also picked up a couple of slices of our local bakery’s version of a Sacher Torte… which wasn’t really a Sacher Torte, since it wasn’t made with apricot jam. There was also plenty of wine and good music, and the kitchen smelled fabulous!

I’m really pleased with how it turned out. Bill quipped, having tasted the lasagna, “That’s a fucking good lasagna.” He was channeling The Kids in the Hall, which probably ages us a bit. But I agree, it is a fucking good lasagna. I’m glad I “still got it” in the kitchen.

Yeah, I like it. It’s really fucking good…

Arran was happy to hang around and help us clean up, too. That’s good, because while I might be a good cook, I’m not the best at cleaning. But I make a fucking good lasagna… and an even better loaf of bread.

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Hessen

The prettiest view in Eppstein… Ristorante Kaisertempel

After last night’s wonderful dinner and our outing to the Fasanerie, Bill and I decided we’d take another trip to lovely Eppstein.  I wanted to explore the temple on the side of the mountain I noticed when we visited Eppstein Castle a couple of months ago.

The Kaisertempel.  Right next to it is a very nice Italian restaurant called Ristorante Kaisertempel.

After a rather scary, white knuckle ride up a steep, narrow, mountain pass, we came to the restaurant, a large, charming building with a stone oven for pizzas and a full bar.  The area is full of walking trails, so there were plenty of bikers and hikers, although there are precious few spots on the narrow road that make it easy to pass cars going the opposite direction.  It wasn’t a problem when we went up the mountain, but it was when we came back down.  In any case, we had a very lovely lunch.  Here are some photos.

My very first view of the view… Absolutely stunning!
They ask for a small donation at the door.
A little info in German…

The inside of the temple, which opens out into Eppstein’s most beautiful view.

What the temple looks like from the lookout point, where there’s a telescope and a bench for taking in the gorgeous panorama.
We spent a few minutes gazing at the beautiful landscape, then went to the restaurant.  We didn’t have a reservation, although I have read they are a good idea to have, especially at dinner time.  They don’t take a pause.

The inviting front door.  You pass the bar and the stone oven before you enter the beautiful dining room.  I wouldn’t have minded eating in there, but of course the weather was fine.  We sat outside, right next to the soul stirring view.

The menu had a number of options.  There were a few pasta dishes, pizzas, and main courses like steak and fish.  They also had a special fixed price meal that could be ordered in courses or on their own.

I decided to have lasagne.  It was very good… maybe not the best I’ve ever had, but definitely tasty.  It was Bolognese style, with bechemel sauce and ground beef.

Bill had a buffalo mozzarella pizza.  It was delicious!  I don’t usually go for pizzas in Germany, but the crust on this was magnificent.  We paired our dishes with the usual sparkling water and a glass each of Montpulciano.Total bill came to about 45 euros.  

Bill gave them 50 and asked them to keep the change.  Then, we took the white knuckle ride back down the mountain.  Kudos to the guy who was coming up as we were going down.  He backed much of the way down the last stretch of road so we could pass.  It really is a scary drive up, but well worth it at least once, if only to see the views.  It’s gorgeous up there.  There was a nice breeze and it was noticeably cooler, too.  

I could see it’s a very popular place for bikers and hikers, but there was plenty of free parking available.  I’d go back, as long as someone else does the driving.

Eppstein is so beautiful!

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I needed a vacation like nobody’s business… Lasagna by the lake! Part 6

When it became clear that Zane and Arran were going to be okay after their Saturday night food orgy, Bill and I decided to take them for another walk.  This time, we walked them down the hill into the town.  Zane was feeling very frisky as he pranced along, taking in the sights and sounds of Italy on a Sunday morning.  Unfortunately, we had to cut their walk a bit short because I suddenly needed to pee.  One thing that Domaso doesn’t seem to have is public restrooms.  Yes, we could have stopped into a bar or a cafe and had a drink, but it was still kind of early for that.  So we walked the dogs back up the hill.  Really, it was a long enough walk for them, anyway.

At lunchtime, we decided to head back to the lake without the dogs.  I was going to get my lasagna.  I had read that the beach hostel had good lasagna and I knew it offered a prime spot right by the water. We got there a bit early for the lasagna.  We were told it wouldn’t be ready until 1:30pm.  Or, we could have pizza or a panini.  I wanted lasagna, though, and was willing to sit at a table and drink beer until it was available.  And that is exactly what I did.

The beach hostel offers two beers on tap.  Bill and I enjoyed them both.  I commented that the above beer was a bit like sex in a rowboat, though…  đŸ˜‰  

 

The staff at the beach hostel were very friendly during our visit.  The hostel was also very kid and dog friendly.  One lady brought a hilarious cocker spaniel, who was making the rounds saying hello to everyone, including a nearly identical cocker spaniel who passed by.

Sitting at the hostel, we were able to watch people enjoying the lake.  I didn’t see anyone swimming or wading, although I’m sure it’s acceptable.  I think the water was still a little cool for that.  However, we did see people windsurfing and there were plenty of sunbathers.  There were also many small sailboats on the water.  I’m sure in a month, people will really be enjoying watersports on the lake.

The above beer was less like sex in a rowboat.

After our second beer, the cute girl who waited on us said it would be another forty minutes for the lasagna.  We ordered another round and waited…  and finally, it came out piping hot and delicious.

This was worth the trip!  Made with bechamel sauce and a light Bolognese sauce, this lasagna really hit the spot. 

If you’re in Domaso looking for a laid back hangout that caters to kids and dogs, this is the place.

Bill bought some food at the market, so we had dinner in the apartment on our last evening in Domaso, paired with plenty of wine.  We planned an early departure for yesterday, knowing it would take several hours to get back to Germany.

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A whirlwind trip to Austria, Italy, and probably Switzerland, part 6

I went to the mall yesterday.  I mostly went there to give the housekeeper a chance to clean the room. But I soon found myself in an enormous store two or three times the size of the Real in Jettingen.  I wandered the aisles and ended up buying a decanter and two wine glasses from the Czech Republic… and, of course, I had to buy wine too.  If there’s one thing I noticed about this particular store, it’s that if you want to buy a lot of wine cheap, you can definitely do it there. You can pretty much buy anything you want in that store.  But if you don’t find what you need, you can wander among the other stores and maybe find something you can’t live without.

Italian mall, all decked out for Christmas.

Italian McDonald’s, complete with fancy ordering computer.

And its own birthday room and climbing wall… This ain’t your hometown Mickey D’s!

And a dentist office in the mall.  I probably shouldn’t laugh, since my Texas dentist was in a mall.

I saw maybe one or two bottles of wine that cost over twenty euros.  The rest were ridiculously cheap.  I had trouble determining which one I would purchase.  I brought one back from the South Tyrol region.  Then I went to lunch at the hotel’s restaurant.  It was quite fabulous.  I had lasagne and a glass of wine.  It was probably the best I’ve had in years.

Killer lasagne…

 

I paid 12,50 euros for lasagne, bread, and wine.  It was worth it.  So good!   And I could tell the locals like eating there, too.  Later last night, Bill and I went there for dinner and had a fantastic meal for 61 euros.

Bill had wild boar with potatoes and eggplant…

I had branzino, which was expertly prepared for me table side.  

No bones!  And delicious!

Naturally, we were talked into dessert…  This was some kind of sinful cream cake that Bill ordered.  Again, it was prepared table side.

And once again, I had creme brĂ»lĂ©e.  It was prepared in the kitchen, probably because it involved fire.  Look closely at the picture and you can see that it was served flaming.

After dinner, limoncello… and it was delicious!  Look at Bill’s face!  Mine was also registering surprise at how good it was.

It was a successful stop… so successful that I had lunch there today.

 

I figured out that tipping is not a thing here.  The way things are organized in a lot of Italian restaurants, it kind of isn’t conducive to tipping, anyway.  It’s hard for me since I used to wait tables.  But anyway, I’m not gonna worry about it.  I’m just going to enjoy the food and wine.  If I can’t have a pretty view, I can have delicious lasagne, right?

Tonight, we will find somewhere else to have dinner.  But if we couldn’t, the hotel restaurant is pretty damn good.  One redeeming quality of this particular hotel.

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It’s still coming down…

But we did manage to go out and get a snow shovel yesterday…  Seriously, there are no signs that it’s going to stop anytime soon.  I’m having visions of Little House on the Prairie.

This was Zane this morning.  I think he is enjoying this winter sloth weather.

Last night, I made a very nice dinner.  Bill was talking about wanting lasagna and we had some stuff that needed to be used.  So I made a lasagna that turned out perfectly!  We paired it with wine the landlords brought, homemade bread that I made, and music by Van Morrison…

I should cook more often…

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