Trail Head/Ski Resort: Chamonix
We arrived in Chamonix in the morning – so had to wait to get into our hotel room. Not a big deal – our hotel graciously stored our bags while we wandered the town and had lunch. We stayed at Hotel les Aiglons Resort and Spa – situated near the entrance to the village. We booked our room through Expedia, though it looks like you can book directly from their own website now. It was a great place – modernized and energy-smart (hall lights turned on as you entered and turned off when no one was there). We felt pampered and catered-to during our two night stay. They had a great pool/spa/sauna area that was clean and pleasant after walking the streets all day. They also had an amazing breakfast buffet – try not to stuff your pockets with the plentiful food! And any extra request was responded to like we were at a big city 5-star hotel. We saw other groups taking advantage of pack lunches to take with you for the day, though we opted to buy bread and cheese from one of the many small grocery stores in town.
We followed the advice of a seasoned traveler from the flight over who recommended just staying up – not trying to nap at all that first day – in order to overcome potential jet lag. It definitely worked like a charm. We had slept some on the flight, obviously, but not a normal, restful 8 hours. We went to bed that night and woke the next morning completely converted to European time. We did the same thing going home, and neither of us had any trouble.
We have no idea what Chamonix is like when it isn’t crowded with runners and their entourage. It is obviously a ski resort town, with tons of restaurants of all varieties and expensive clothing and gear stores. The post office is in the middle of town, though I was able to buy stamps at any shop that sold postcards. We walked around a lot at first, but then realized that there was a free bus that ran a route around town, with numerous marked stops.
Here is the journal entry from August 28:
We are WELL rested at last. We wandered around town even more yesterday, checking out shops, scoping out where to get food and water, deciding where to eat dinner and what we might want to do the next day (today). We had a yummy “local” meal last night. Barry wanted to find a place with a “menu complete” – 3 courses of real French cuisine. But who knows what’s real cuisine when you come to such an area? My meal was thinly sliced potatoes, sausage, bacon chunks, tomato and boiled egg on top of salad greens with a side dish like scalloped potatoes. Barry had the same side dish, but on salad greens he had little bruschetta-like slices of French bread with ham and cheese. The dessert course was soft cheese and raspberry sauce for him and yummy “profiteroles” – like mini eclairs with custard inside and chocolate sauce. So far, it does seem to be all about the food, doesn’t it?
Today we took trams up to L’Aiguille du Midi to view Mont Blanc up close. It was amazing and beautiful. We saw all sorts of people making their way up to the summit. We hiked over to Lac Bleu – all in all spending 2-3 hours on the south side of the valley, then came back to the hotel, dumped our warm gear (needed for a morning trip, but not in the afternoon), and then headed over to take a lift and tram up to Le Brevent, basically the top of the black diamond slopes on the north side of the Chamonix valley. Now it is 5:00 pm and the racers and supporters are gathering in town for the start of the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc. CRAZY people! I think we’ll go watch them head out and then grab supper somewhere. Tomorrow we take the train to Argentiere and begin the Haute Route in earnest.
Photos from Chamonix:
Beautiful building
Mont Blanc
Hikers on their way down.
The morning started out cloudy – we couldn’t see down into the valley below. And it was chilly up there!
Here is one of the trams. You take one to a midpoint, and then hop on another to the top. At the top there is also an option for taking a cable car into Italy!
The clouds finally burned off and you could see the valley far below.
We hiked to Lac Bleu, where we saw the first of many cairns.
This is a view of the lift up to Le Brevent – you can barely see the tram wire running across to the highest point (on the left).
The start of the race was wild.
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Mont Blanc sunset taken from Chamonix
Pecan-Crusted Pork with Red Onion Marmalade and Roasted Sweet Potatoes*
Photo by: Randy Mayor
- Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 cutlets, 1/4 cup onion marmalade, and 3/4 cup sweet potatoes)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds peeled sweet potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- Cooking spray
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided
- 1 bacon slice, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium red onion, sliced and separated into rings (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1/3 cup ground pecans
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine
- 4 teaspoons finely chopped pecans, toasted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Arrange potato slices in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar; arrange bacon on top. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes. Turn potatoes over; bake an additional 30 minutes or until tender. Keep warm.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and 2 tablespoons sugar; cook 6 minutes or until onion is tender and lightly browned, stirring frequently. Stir in water, vinegar, and ginger; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes, and remove from heat.
Trim fat from pork, and cut crosswise into 8 pieces. Place each piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup. Place 1/4 cup flour in a shallow dish. Combine 1/4 cup flour, ground pecans, and pepper in a separate shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess. Dip pork in egg whites; dredge in pecan mixture, coating both sides.
Melt butter in pan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Arrange pork in pan in a single layer. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Top pork with onion mixture; sprinkle with chopped pecans. Serve with sweet potatoes.
- Calories: 685
- Calories from fat: 30%
- Fat: 23.2g
- Saturated fat: 5.4g
- Monounsaturated fat: 11.4g
- Polyunsaturated fat: 4.9g
- Protein: 33.2g
- Carbohydrate: 87.3g
- Fiber: 9.1g
- Cholesterol: 86mg
- Iron: 4.5mg
- Sodium: 190mg
- Calcium: 89mg
No Bake Cookies+
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups oatmeal
Waxed paper
Directions
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.
My original recipe calls for 3 Tbsp cocoa, 1/2 c peanut butter and 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp vanilla. Not much different.
Jerk-Rubbed Catfish with Spicy Cilantro Slaw+
Ingredients
- 3 cups cabbage-and-carrot coleslaw mix
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped habanero or serrano pepper
- Cooking spray
- 4 (6-ounce) catfish fillets
- 4 teaspoons Jamaican jerk seasoning*
Preparation
1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well to coat.
2. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Sprinkle fish evenly with jerk seasoning. Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from heat; serve fish with slaw.
*I made up my own jerk mix based on allspice and spicy red pepper – then you can include cloves, cinnamon, scallions, nutmeg, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper
Nutritional Information
- Amount per serving
- Calories: 256
- Fat: 12.6g
- Saturated fat: 3.1g
- Monounsaturated fat: 6.5g
- Polyunsaturated fat: 2.8g
- Protein: 26.6g
- Carbohydrate: 6.2g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Cholesterol: 76mg
- Iron: 0.3mg
- Sodium: 426mg
- Calcium: 24mg
Spaghetti with Caramelized Onion and Radicchio+
8 plus points
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups pasta mixture and 1 1/2 tablespoons cheese)
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 cups thinly sliced yellow onion (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 pound uncooked spaghetti (used Pappardelle’s Garden Spinach angel hair pasta)
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced radicchio (about 1 head)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 15 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook until deep golden (about 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Add red pepper and garlic. Cook 3 minutes; stir occasionally. Add wine; cook 4 minutes or until liquid evaporates.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add reserved cooking liquid, pasta, radicchio, parsley, and oregano to onion mixture. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper; toss to combine. Top with cheese.
CALORIES 300 ; FAT 5.8g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.7g); CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 160mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.7g; SODIUM 468mg; PROTEIN 12.1g; FIBER 4.1g; IRON 2.5mg
Polenta Squares with Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts+
I would use a larger pan for the polenta so that it is more like 1/2 inch thick. Also, rather than drizzling the reduced vinegar on top, I would let the bottoms of the squares soak in it to give in a nice dark bottom (like the photo in Cooking Light 12/2010 mag.). The flavor is great, but they look a little “dirty” with the dark vinegar soaking in on top.
Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 3 topped polenta squares)
4 cups water
1 cup quick-cooking polenta
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
1/4 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons currants
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Gradually add polenta and salt, stirring constantly with a whisk. Reduce heat to low, and cook for 4 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in butter. Spoon polenta into a 9-inch square baking pan coated with cooking spray, spreading evenly. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface of polenta; chill for 1 hour or until polenta is very firm. Cut into 30 squares.
2. Combine 1/4 cup boiling water and currants in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes or until currants are plump; drain. Combine currants, cheese, pine nuts, and orange rind in a small bowl.
3. Heat vinegar in a small saucepan, and cook over medium-low heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons (about 10 minutes). Cool slightly.
4. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the pan with cooking spray. Add half of polenta squares to pan, and cook for 6 minutes on each side or until golden. Remove polenta squares from pan, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining polenta. Top each square with rounded 1/2 teaspoon of cheese mixture, and drizzle with about 1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar. Garnish with parsley.
CALORIES 130 ; FAT 4.2g (sat 1.7g,mono 1.1g,poly 1g); CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 33mg; CARBOHYDRATE 19.8g; SODIUM 268mg; PROTEIN 3.1g; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 0.7mg
Fall Apple Salad
Yield: 4 servings
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups torn butter lettuce
- 1 c sliced endive
- 1 c torn radicchio
- 1 c thinly sliced apple
Combine first 6 ingredients in a bowl (through garlic). Whisk in oil. Toss with remaining ingredients.
Calories: 91; Fat 6.9 g
Beef Filets with Mushroom Sauce and Parmesan Popovers+
9 points (includes popover)
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 steak, 1 popover, and 1/3 cup sauce)
Popovers:
1 cup fat-free milk
2 large eggs
4.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray
2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Sauce:
1/2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 cups boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced shallots
4 ounces sliced fresh cremini mushroom caps (about 2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup pinot noir
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Beef:
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Combine milk and eggs in a bowl. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt to milk mixture, stirring well; let stand 30 minutes. Place popover tin in oven for 5 minutes. Remove tin from oven; lightly coat popover cups with cooking spray. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each cup, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until puffed and golden.
3. Place porcini mushrooms in a bowl, and cover with 2 cups boiling water. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain through a sieve over a bowl, reserving mushrooms and soaking liquid. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shallots to pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add cremini mushrooms to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until almost tender. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in porcini, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add wine to pan; bring to a boil. Cook until liquid almost evaporates (about 3 minutes). Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour over mushroom mixture; cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Gradually add the reserved mushroom soaking liquid, stirring constantly; bring to a simmer. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring frequently. Stir in herbs.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle beef with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add beef to pan; sauté 4 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove from pan; let stand 10 minutes.
CALORIES 405 ; FAT 19.9g (sat 6.9g,mono 9.1g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 146mg; CALCIUM 113mg; CARBOHYDRATE 24.8g; SODIUM 675mg; PROTEIN 29.7g; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 3.6mg
White Bean Soup with Kale and Chorizo
Be sure to use smoked Spanish chorizo, not raw Mexican chorizo.
5 points
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)
2 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage, finely chopped
1 cup prechopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 (15-ounce) cans organic cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups prechopped kale
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cracked black pepper (optional)
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chorizo to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add onion and garlic to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender.
2. While onions cook, pour broth into a microwave-safe bowl; microwave at HIGH for 3 minutes. Add hot broth and beans to pan; bring to a boil. Partially mash beans with potato masher. Stir in kale and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; cook over medium heat 6 minutes. Sprinkle with cracked pepper, if desired.
CALORIES 235 ; FAT 7.3g (sat 2.1g,mono 3.4g,poly 1.2g); CHOLESTEROL 12mg; CALCIUM 157mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.7g; SODIUM 586mg; PROTEIN 13.4g; FIBER 7.6g; IRON 3.5mg