Monaco: Nun sëmu pa gaire, ma defendëmu tüti a nostra tradiçiun. (We are not very numerous, but we all strive to defend our identity)

After our voyage to the small island nation of Saint V&G, it was off to the second smallest country in the world.  Is it French?   Is it Italian?  Is it Fretalian?  Oui, Si, and Yes.  This is the land of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier.  Their love was inspiration for all of Hollywood to pack up their Louis Vuitton luggage and head East to this posh vacation destination.  If you're not at the Grand Prix, you can spend your time losing several thousand Euro in one of Monaco's exclusive Casinos - only available to tourists.   However, we come for the food. We'd like to begin by pointing out that this country of no more .78 square miles was incredibly difficult to research.  It houses almost 33,000 people, none of which prefer to share Monegasquen cuisine on the internet.


We timed everything to perfection for this course; it all finished at the same time.  Bear in mind, that this is opposite of tradition European cooking with everything is served in courses. We started with a "Baked Cheese Wedge".  We've be watching Jersey Shore Season 3, and felt this to be a welcome version of this Monegasquen dish.  This by far surpassed any other cheese bread we've ever had. It can best be described as a hybrid of bread and quiche.  Take note that this requires some simple preparation, so start it first.


After beginning our baked cheese alchemy, we moved on to 'Oignons a la Monegasque'.  What comes to mind when you think of Onions?   Of course, like a true Monegasquen, you're saying 'raisins'.   Peanut butter and jelly.  Waffles and syrup.  Onions and raisins. These are some of life's great pairings.  You might be shaking your head right now, but seriously, don't knock it until you try it.  You start by soaking the onion to cut it's pungency.  You combine red wine vinegar and sugar until your reached the ideal sweet/sour ratio.   Next, your make fancy herb wraps to float atop the delicious ocean of simmering onions.  Turn the heat and leave it a while; seriously, don't "sweat the onions".

On to the main course, "Pan Bagnat".  This was the original 'Grace Kelly' recipe.  We scoured Al Gore's internet for Monegasquen cuisine to very little avail.  However, the ONLY consistently mentioned dish was Gracy Kelly's own Mediterranean style stuffed sandwich.  We made it with green pepper, onion, black olives, tomato, boiled egg, drizzled olive oil, and fish.  We were adventurous in using the traditional anchovy, but tuna, sardine or chicken would be easily substituted.  The sandwich is sans formage, but we think feta or goat cheese would be a welcome addition.



The whole meal was excellent, but the highlight was the cheese bread.   We were so exhausted from cooking and dodging the paparazzi that we had to hop on our G-6 to head somewhere south of the Equator.  "We're now cruising at 36,000 feet", said the captain, "you're now free to move about the cabin".  It's time for a quick nap, because next stop is Madagascar.  Until next week we say, "A votre sante", "Salute", "A votre salute".


Music this week brought to you by: "Radio Monaco".