The BDE did it again! Crêpes and board games were a hit, bringing the fall’s GTL students together unlike never before.
My favorite night of the year happened last week: crêpe making night!! Okay, it isn’t my favorite night of the whole entire year, but I love crêpes, and I love making crêpes, so it’s always a great time. The Bureau des Etudiants pulled out all the stops with assorted jams, hella Nutella, and even a jar of that Biscoff cookie spread (the only thing we look forward to on Delta flights – you know I’m right). We got the crêpe hot plates heated up, Ratatouille on the big screen, and a plethora of various board games that are usually stowed away in the BDE closet.
Giant Jenga was a big hit: I’m not sure whether to blame the design-oriented part of us GT students, or the need for a small no-stakes gamble. Regardless, it’s simply fun to watch this massive tower crash down and make everyone in the GTL lounge jump every 20 minutes. I haven’t played small baby (now) Jenga in a long time, but I’m nearly positive you couldn’t do the craziness that I saw with big Jenga. Or maybe that’s just GT engineers blowing my mind with their planning and balancing skills. To be honest I’m a little shocked that no one happened to get hit by the avalanche.
The crêpes were a bit of a mess at first: getting an even consistency is difficult the first time, and then flipping it just becomes a jumbled debacle not dissimilar to scrambled eggs. Soon enough everyone got the hang of it, and people not in BDE came over and just made crêpes for others out of personal enjoyment.
All in all, it was a very successful night, in which people from all realms of GTL – some that I see every day, some I’d never met before – could come together for games and food.
Are you a chocoholic? Downtown Metz is home to the one and only Maison Fabrice Dumay – master chocolatier and favorite destination of GTL’s own HTS 2100 class. Check out this unique field trip!
Written by guest bloggers Amira Abadir and Tiffany Chu.
Hidden away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Metz in a small residential area: a brown, modern storefront stands with the smell of chocolate wafting through the street. Early one Friday morning, a van of unassuming Georgia Tech students arrived there at Fabrice Dumay Maître Chocolatier.
Photo courtesy of Fabrice Dumay social media.
As our group entered, we were first shown the main storefront, which housed a counter with dozens of flavors of bonbons, or candies,along with shelves lined with varying displays of chocolate bars and gift packages. Towards the back of the store was a large window that peeked into a large, gleaming white kitchen. The window, as we were later told by Mr. Dumay, is there so that his customers can be certain that his candies are produced in-house.
After piling into the kitchen, Mr. Dumay told us a bit about himself. He spent 7 years as a chocolate patissier in the Vosges mountains, then 12 years as a chocolatier before opening his own store. He considers himself to be the only “master chocolatier” in Metz making artisanal chocolates.
Mr. Dumay explained to us the process of chocolate making from cacao seeds into cocoa beans, cocoa powder, and cocoa butter, with the aid of samples. We sampled the three traditional types of chocolate in his shop – dark, milk, and white – each
with varying combinations of sugar, vanilla, and milk. The last bar chocolate we sampled was new: blonde chocolate. Blonde chocolate emerged just 2-3 years ago and is rare to find in stores. It is a special white chocolate that took 7 years to develop has been “smoked” or cooked until the sugar has caramelized with an even, smooth texture.
We next moved on to other chocolates such as the pralines and ganaches, beautifully crafted with perfectly creamy and crisp texture.
Finally, we witnessed M. Dumay’s legendary house specialties – liqueur filled chocolates, chardons, that come in spiky colorful balls of every color. We tried the raspberry and mirabelle liqueur chardons and were blown away by the strength, flavor, and freshness of the artisanally produced chocolates – quite different from industrially produced chardons. M. Dumay sells approximately 3 tons of these high-quality chardons every year!
Throughout the trip, Mr. Dumay’s passion for chocolate was evident. Before visiting his shop, we wondered: what makes chocolate artisanal? Modern processed chocolate – the candy bars we buy at the grocery store – is a product of the Industrial Revolution. By contrast, artisanal chocolate is an intense labor of love. While many corporate candymakers have found ways to automate the chocolate-making process, people like Mr. Dumay make as much of their product by hand as possible. Dedicating their lives to the art of chocolate making, the master chocolatier’s artisanal chocolate is an entry point for people of all cultures to share and enjoy the heart of chocolate, made with love.
This was a field trip of the Georgia Tech-Lorraine class HTS 2100, “Science and Technology in the Modern World: Regions of Europe.” For more information, see Georgia Tech-Lorraine’s website, www.lorraine.gatech.edu.
Featuring meats, potatoes, and more, Bavarian food is done right in Munich. Lina shares her top picks from many a Munich menu.
Munich is a beautiful city, and although it 90% of it was destroyed in the second world war, the rebuilding efforts for the 1972 Olympics have preserved the old world charm of the classic Bavarian city.
This is the Neues Rathaus, the city government building in the center of town.
So, my posts have been quite history heavy lately, so I decided to change things up this week and talk about my favorite food: Bavarian Food. With its amazing ham dishes, wonderful sauces and great atmosphere, the food scene in Munich cannot be beat. Here are some of my favorite Munich foods, ranked from 5th-most delicious to most delicious:
5. Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut
You can never go wrong with bratwurst in Munich. Sold on the street at small stands, in restaurants, or in beer halls, this Bavarian classic is a go-to tourist food. Bratwurst is served as a nice thick sausage, served in a small bread roll so the ends stick out, topped with tangy sauerkraut. Deliciously messy, this is really fun to eat and an absolute must-taste in Munich! Where was the best one I tasted? In a small street stand right across from the Neues Rathaus in the city center.
4. Kartoffelpuffer (Potato Pancakes)
Vegetarian? No problem! Due to Lenten restrictions, I was unable to eat meat on Friday. As a result, I tried one of my new favorite dishes- Kartoffelpuffer! With the consistency of a flattened hashbrown, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, served with applesauce or sauerkraut, you will be singing the praises of this dish in no time!
3. Spanferkel (Suckling Pig)
This delicious cut of pork is so tender you can cut it with a fork and it melts in your mouth. Typically served with potatoes and in a dark brown beer gravy, this dish is the perfect ending to a day of sightseeing. Where did I find the best Spanferkel? The Augustiner Keller, famous beer garden restaurant of Munich. Definitely worth a taste!
2. Weisswurst (White Sausage)
I love weisswurst, which is a white colored sausage made from pork and veal back bacon ground with herbs. Traditionally, weisswurst was a breakfast food because before refrigeration, it was the sausage that kept the least fresh and was therefore a dish for the morning! Where is the best weisswurst in the city? Pay a visit to the Viktualienmarkt close to Marienplatz. This outdoor market has the finest meats and crafts in Bavaria. Pro tip: Peel the skin off before you eat it. Although you can eat the skin, the locals may laugh at you a bit.
1. Schweinshaxe (Pork Knuckle)
The number one delicacy of Munich is Schweinshaxe, which is a particular cut of pork. With its amazing, crispy skin on the outside, and a texture reminiscent of roast beef but the tenderness or pork you can’t go wrong with this dish. Served with baked potatoes, it is the most highly acclaimed Bavarian dish. Where to get the best one? Pay a visit to the historic Hofbrauhaus! In addition to hearing amazing live music from a traditional brass band, you can enjoy some of the best food that Bavaria has to offer. Happy eating!
Sam’s travel bug has gotten to his stomach! He’s tried lots of food, but he’s whittled it down to his top five. What made the list? Check out his blog!
Thinking introspectively I’ve come to the conclusion that my love for travel might actually be not so subtly linked to my love for good food. Seeing famous landmarks and learning about the history of places is great and all, but my favorite part is undeniably the food. Be it street vendors, marketplaces, little cafés, or fancy restaurants, good food can be found everywhere, and in Europe you have nearly unlimited access to foods from many different cultures, and cuisine that might not be so easily accessible in the United States, so in the spirit of Buzzfeed, I decided to make a top 5 list of my favorite encounters of the food kind.
5. Schnitzel with Noodles, Heidelberg
Don’t get me wrong, this simple meal from Germany was delicious, but it secures a spot on my list for the experience of finally getting to eat the iconic food combination sung about in the Sound of Music. Growing up hearing that song, I never even knew what schnitzel was before coming to Europe, so it was fun for me to not just figure out what is actually was, but also to eat it.
4. Hot waffle with Ice Cream, Amsterdam
Right outside the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, by the famous sign, there’s a little food stand that sells an amazing combination that I had never seen anywhere else. Waffles, ice cream and coffee was a perfect way to break fast before enjoying the incredible art of Van Gogh and touring the beautiful canals of Amsterdam.
Picture Courtesy of TripAdvisor.
3. Roasted Duck, Paris
This was one of the very first meals I ate in Europe, occurring in my very first weekend of travel. I’ll always have a soft spot for that first destination and the trip was highlighted by finding this tiny little café in the middle of Paris with great hospitality and even better food. This was also my first time actually trying duck and it has quickly taken it’s place high among my favorite meats.
2. Pork Belly with Creamed Potatoes, Munich
This whole meal at a lively restaurant/pub in Munich was amazing but I can say with some certainty that their potatoes were the best I had ever had. People who know me know that I love potatoes, so this was truly a wonderful experience. There’s just something great about the simple cuisine of Germany, and when it’s prepared as well as it was in Munich, there’s not much that can beat it.
1. Gyros, Athens
Right across from our hotel in Athens.
My number one spot comes from a little hole in the wall in the middle of Athinas street called the Pita Bar. My girlfriend and I discovered this place near the end of our trip and proceeded to go there for at least 4 meals in 3 days. It wasn’t particularly fancy or anything, but they knew how to make gyros like you wouldn’t believe. If you ever find yourself in Athens, I cannot recommend the Pita Bar highly enough. Just watch out, because other gyros will never taste as good again.
It might sound a little weird that food would be such a big part of traveling, but really, food is a huge part of culture. Europe is known for its diverse and impressive cuisine and it hasn’t disappointed. I look forward to a few more weeks of amazing food and amazing places.
Lina was blown away by Berlin – and we’re sure you’ll learn at least one new fact about the city from her new blog post! Click to delve into history.
Berlin: the capital of Germany, known as the most international city in Europe, and the headquarters of one of the most evil regimes in history. The city is beautiful, modern and shiny (as a result of the old buildings being bombed so much), but dig a bit deeper and you find a scarred and difficult past.
My favorite activity in Berlin was the 3 hour walking tour we took. Beginning at the Brandenburg gate and ending in the square where the book burnings took place, I don’t think I have ever learned more about a place in that span of time.
The Brandenburg Gate, topped with the statue of Victory carried by her triumphant horses in her carriage holds a German joke. After Napoleon took the initial statue back to his personal collection in France, the Germans built the new statue to look straight at the French embassy that sits in the square, constantly watching. Funny right? Speaking of embassies, Berlin holds one of the few North Korean embassies in the world. Our tour guide joked that his hand had been to North Korea.
See the gaze of victory? Totally pointed at the French embassy!
World War II, as you can imagine was not a good time for Berlin. Especially at the end. Citizens were not permitted to leave as Allied forces took the city, and many were caught in the crossfire. Our tour guide took us to the site of Hitler’s suicide bunker, which was below what is now residential apartments and a sad playground. In his final days, Hitler behaved very madly, obsessing over his dog and eating an entire cake for every meal. The bunker was blown up and filled in, and now is marked with nothing but a tiny plaque stating what happened. The city didn’t want to make anything bigger for fear of it looking like a memorial.
The Holocaust memorial, on the other hand, is a very powerful place. The large stones, situated in rows on uneven ground, and tilted slightly from one another give a sense of the anonymity of the Jews that were murdered in Europe. The museum below, tracing stories, quotes and the lives of the jews killed in mass shootings and concentration camps was exceedingly powerful. Another amazing museum was the Topography of Terror, with powerful photos of the atrocities committed.
Then, the tour shifted to the Cold War, and the very famous WALL. The wall went up to prevent the East Berliners, specifically academics, and skilled workers from leaving to the more prosperous and decidedly less Communist West Berlin. We walked past Checkpoint Charlie, the American controlled way from East to West, where Cold War tensions arose over one American man’s desire to get to the East Berlin opera. We saw the last remaining Nazi building, in grand but severe stone, that served first as the Nazi air force headquarters, then as the Soviet government building, and is used today as the tax department of Germany.
Although the sign is a replica, the frame is original.
We also learned that the Berlin Wall came down entirely due to a TV announcer’s error. After delivering an exceedingly boring and dry report of the East German state of affairs, he was slipped a memo that said travel restrictions would be lifted for those over the age of 65 that could pay a hefty fine and give 12 months advance notice. Because he was flustered, he read only the first part. When the reporters asked him when “travel restrictions will be lifted,” he panicked and responded with the only date he saw on the paper: the very same day as the press conference. As a result, thousands swarmed the wall, overtook the guards, and were reunited with their western brothers once again.
Another really interesting thing about Berlin: the Nazi’s planned it to be the capital of the world. It was designed to hold 8 million people. Today however, it houses only 4 million. The sewers must be periodically flushed with water because their is not as much flow as anticipated. Lots of wild animals live in sewers and other such unused spaces. In fact, about 6 weeks ago a wild pig attacked two people at a bus stop in the city.
Berlin still remains a thoroughly international and political city.
My absolute favorite thing about Berlin is the currywurst. Currywurst is a delicious snack consisting of a sausage in a curry ketchup, covered in curry powder and paprika. It is absolutely delectable. Total currywurst tasted: 4.
It seems food is on the brain. Lina has some suggestions on how to make easy AND delicious meals – no matter what your dorm style.
I live in Aloes, which is great in its proximity to Cora and GTL, as well as its reasonable price. The only drawback is the fact that you have to use the communal kitchens for cooking. They are often a bit too crowded, and let’s face it, I am a bit too lazy to carry all my pots, pans and cooking supplies down to the kitchen. So, as a resourceful young student, I have learned to make a few hot meals using a microwave, toaster oven, and tea kettle.
Ok, so Aloes rooms don’t come with toaster ovens and kettles, but you can buy both at Cora for under 30 euros. Definitely worth it!
Having a toaster oven effectively means that you have an oven. My favorite thing to make in my toaster oven is loaded potatoes. It’s quick, easy, and really good.
Loaded Potatoes
Ingredients:
New potatoes (that are small enough to cook in the toaster oven)
Olive oil
Cheese (I find that Cora’s 3 cheese blend is nice)
Tomato sauce
Canned corn
Chives
Optional: Add some crumbled up cold cuts! I had some leftover chicken that I sprinkled on top
Recipe
Stab the potatoes with a fork and brush with olive oil
Wrap in foil, and let bake in the toaster oven for 45 minutes, or until soft
Take out the potatoes and cut a slit down the middle. Place cheese, tomato sauce, corn and meat inside.
Put the loaded potatoes back in the toaster oven and bake for another 5 minutes
Enjoy!
Reheating one of my baked potatoes I made earlier this week.
Having a kettle is a great way to boil water without a pan and stove. I like to make hard boiled eggs, pasta and rice. If you are making pasta or rice, use a thermal bag (sold at Cora), to make sure that the pasta and rice on the heating element don’t burn up.
I drink tea every time I get back from school. I love my kettle. Her name is Roberta.
The other food that turns out really well in the toaster oven is quesadillas! Below is my favorite recipe, although you can make all kinds of variations of quesadillas.
Quesadillas
Ingredients:
Whole wheat tortillas
Mexican cheese blend
Onions
Green Peppers
Tomato
Salsa
Sour Cream
Chorizo (pre cooked, sold at Cora)
Rice
Recipe
Preheat toaster oven to 425 degrees.
Thinly slice onions, green peppers, and the tomato.
Place a tortilla out flat, and on half of it, put a layer of cheese, peppers, onions and tomato. Sprinkle chorizo inside.
Fold tortilla in half and place it in the toaster oven for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Enjoy with rice (as pictured below), cooked in a tea kettle!
For especially lazy days, Cora microwavable meals come in clutch.
Doesn’t that sound appetizing? I know right? My mouth is just watering writing this blog. Ok, ok, this recipe is absolutely mouth watering. I love popcorn, especially the caramel variety. It’s really impossible to find it in France though. This recipe is the perfect cure for homesickness.
Caramel Popcorn
Ingredients
1/2 cup un-popped popcorn
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon kosher salt + more for sprinkling
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Recipe
Pop ½ cup uncooked popcorn and place in a large brown paper bag (sold at Cora).
To make the caramel, throw the brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and kosher salt in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute. After one minute, take it out and stir it and then microwave it again for 1 minute or until boiling. Be careful not to burn it!
Add baking soda and vanilla to caramel and mix it up.
Pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir it up in the brown bag.
Roll down the top of the brown paper bag and place in the microwave. Cook on high for 1 minute. Remove from microwave, keeping the bag closed, and shake it vigorously. The microwave for another minute, and shake it up again.
Pour some salt in the bag to taste and shake it up.
