It was such a lazy, laid back day today, absolutely wonderful! I slept in til 8am, spent more time talking with Suzanne (she is one of those friends that no matter how long it has been since we've last seen each other, we just pick up where we've left off. Betty and Vicki are the same kind of friends), ate breakfast, and drank coffee. I spent time reading the February digital issue from the ACF (American Culinary Foundation) and looking online and reading about personal chefs and catering-one of the jobs I am considering when I return to Nevada.
For dinner, we drove over to Grand Case on the French side of St Martin. I noticed this time around on both the Dutch and the French side, that the countryside looks cleaner and more lush than two years ago. Last time I was here, you could still see the ravages of Hurricane Luis that happened back in 1995. Even ten years after that particular hurricaine, the island still seemed ravaged. Now the landscape seems more lush, houses have been repaired and most of the excess debris has been removed. The Dutch side, Sint Maarten, broke away from the Netherland Antilles, and declared themselves an independent country, but they are still under Dutch rule. All very interesting and somewhat confusing. Labor laws differ drastically between the French and the Dutch. On the Dutch side, if you are Antillian (an islander), you have a better chance of getting a job than a Dutch citizen. It also makes it harder to fire you. You have to be caught strapping from your employer at least three times before you can be fired. On the French side, a French citizen is cavorts for a new hire over someone born on the island, so you see more white workers than black workers in the shops and working in restaurants. Such a difference!
We parked the car, then walked along the main boulevard. There are really no sidewalks in Grand Case, so people and cars are both in the streets. The only good thing about it is that the "main drag" is a one way street. Mthe restaurants are all open to the street so you can either sit in front and watch the people who walk/drive by, or sit further into the restaurant where it is more quiet. We sat inside the restaurant called La Cottage. I've never eaten there before, I've only eaten at the Blue Martini in Grand Case. Our waitress (French), went over the specials fornus. Suzanne told me she did not understand a word the woman said, but loved to listen to her talk, it sounded so pretty, lol! I told Suzanne she just went over some of the menu items that were considered house specialies, so she really didn't miss anything. The menus are in French and in English, which helps. Having a culinary education helps with reading the menus asmthe language of the kitchen is French. We had a Kir Royale for an aperitif (made with Campagne). Suzanne and I split the Foie Gras appetizer, which was done three ways, (seared and served with toasted gingerbread, a Foie Gras lollipop and Foie Gras mousse), then she ordered a trio of Scallop dishes (a scallop mousse, seared scallops with a tomato sauce and Scallops served as tiny sandwiches). I ordered duck breast four ways (shredded duck in a pastry cone topped with whipped herbed butter, duck mousse wrapped in prosciutto, duck confit in a glass topped with some sort of whipped potato and roast duck breast). Pat had French onion soup (no melted cheese or crouton on top!) and then had lamb chops which were suppose to be served with beets but he does not like beets so they substituted potatoes. For dessert, Suzanne and I split a Grand Marnier Souffle and Pat had a cheese plate made up entirely of cheeses from France. They let me order the wine, which was difficult, as they had a wonderful list of French wines from almost every region in France, but I settled on a 2007 Chateaunouf de Pape, which was excellent! All in all, a place I would definitely go back to.
The ride home was uneventful though filled with talk of changes Suzanne and Pat have seen on St Maarten/St Martin over the last several years. A little reading and then bed for me. I will be going back to St Thomas tomorrow on the 11:55am Liat flight. Suzanne says she is making blueberry pancakes for breakfast. She has a new recipe for pancakes that uses ricotta. Sounds wonderful! Suzanne is also a good cook, always willing to try something new. I wish I had more time here but the last couple of days have been a wonderful break from routine! AND I am so happy they have WiFi now at the house! I can still blog while here even though a phone call would be international. Modern technology!
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