Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Paris Part 2 - The French Baguette


Growing up in an Italian home, fresh bakery bread was always tucked away in the bread drawer. When I'd come home starving after school, Nutella spread on some fresh bread did just the trick. My mother's Sunday sauce was never quite the same unless I cut a piece of bread and dipped it in for a taste.

One of my fondest memories of growing up was going to the beach on Sundays and packing up the cooler. After a morning full of swimming and making sand castles my mother pulled out a french stick and freshly sliced prociutto, mortadella, salami & cheese and right there on the beach would create the most amazing sandwiches with freshly sliced tomatoes, various pickled vegetables & olives.

It was so good, you didn't mind eating the tiny grains of sand that still lingered on your hands.


In Paris, I was reminded of these wonderful simple lunches. There was nothing complicated about ordering a sandwich. It wasn't choosing the type of bread you'd like to pair up with a spread and what veggie or meat or other topping you'd like to add. It was a freshly made baguette sandwich, yes with various ingredients, but you'd grab it, and off you went.

This was the perfect lunch for 2 walkers like us! After spending an entire morning walking from one end of Paris to another, it came time to sit and relax under the Arc de Triomphe and EAT!

Thanks to JB who captured this action shot of me devouring my baguette!


My choice was a poppy seed baguette with fresh Jambon de Bayonne (French Prosciutto) tomato and arugula and maybe a little butter, but that was it... simple.

It was delicious, so good in fact we had one for lunch almost every day.