European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Living today islands in the Cream classic desserts Are a dream by Sharon Hudgins special to stripes Magazine people often ask me for advice about eating in French my first suggestion especially for those who dont speak French is that they always carry a copy of the Marling menu master for an pocket size menu translator available at most stars and stripes even though Ive studied French and spent a lot of time in that i  think of going to a French restaurant without my menu and the gastronome that they dont mind at All if you spend a Long time laboriously translating each item on the menu before you in most waiters Are pleased when a foreigner takes such a serious interest in the restaurants my second piece of especially for the is to order from the daily menu instead of a la All restaurants offer a fixed Price prix file daily menu a set meal whose courses reflect the ingredients fresh at the Market that plus the chefs specialities or often there is a Choice among three or More prix file the least expensive one might feature a Small selection of simple a Choice of two or three main and ice or pastry for the  menu usually offers a larger selection of made from costlier ingredients sometimes a fish course preceding the or course a Choice of or meat dishes and fancier at the highest end of the financial scale will be a fixed Price menu often referred to As the menu gastronomic be my husband Calls it the pig out or the heart attack youll be offered a wider Range or More appetizers a fish perhaps followed by a palate cleansing sorbet a meat course with several garnishes separate salad and cheese courses and an array of heavenly if the restaurant is a really fancy there might be even More each separated by tasty Little titbits that Arent even mentioned on the most of the it makes sense both financially and astronomically to order from one of the fixed Price daily regional specialities Are often giving the diner an excellent Opportunity to Sample the Best of the local but there Are also reasons for ordering a la from the menu whose dishes Are listed separately according to perhaps the particular dish you want is Only on the a la carte portion of the not on the fixed Price perhaps youd like one of the chefs specialities not listed on the daily or maybe youd just prefer a lighter meal an a fish and a each a la carte item is priced separately and ordering a meal from that portion of the menu can quickly add up a Large in most menus Are set up to encourage you to order prix not a la As i discovered the first time i spent an entire month travelling through after a couple of weeks of eating fiver six course meals twice a i was beginning to feel like a Force led so i decided to order nothing More than an appetizer and a fish a la perhaps with a salad or cheese to if i were particularly invariably the Price of my Light meal was equal or greater that of my husbands huge prix file even wheat he particular dishes 1 chose a la care portion the French have their versions of fast but with a Little the mystery of ordering in restaurants of the menu were also listed on the fixed Price so much for any relationship Between Price and Quality or Quantity one of the desserts youll often find listed on French daily menus is Olufs a la Neige Snow a classic dish rather than a regional it is served at restaurants throughout the when translating the menu into there might be some confusion about what you Are actually Olufs a la Neige Are called floating in English but to the French a floating Island lie Fittante is a very different adding to the problem is the fact that some cookbooks give two recipes for floating Island one for the traditional version made with a sponge and another for the egg custard dish that the French Call Olufs a a to set the matter straight a floating Island in old French a sponge cake split into layers moistened with and spread with and the cake was covered with whipped Cream Creme Chantilly and surrounded by a Vanilla custard sauce Creme the whole concoction looked like an Island sitting in a custard the French name for this dessert is lie what the English translate As floating Island the term is sometimes plural Zed consists of one Large or several Small meringues which actually float on top of a Creme a Glaise custard the meringues can be Small poached in the milk later used to make the the French name for this dessert is Olufs a la or the meringue May consist of one Large mass of egg baked in a moldy then surrounded by custard the French Call this of Latante hence the in both the effect is of one or More islands floating on an Ocean of custard the following recipes distinguish Between these two similar although youll find Many variations on the Basic recipe for Olufs a la the following recipe is the classic and chocolate floating Island is a delicious example of what the French would indeed Call lie Olufs a la Neige Snow eggs 6 eggs 4 cups milk cups sugar Teaspoon rounded Cream of tartar vib Teaspoon Salt 1 Teaspoon cornstarch 2 Teaspoons Vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons Brandy or Sweet Sherry optional 2 Tablespoons thinly sliced toasted almonds Garnish spun caramelized sugar recipe follows separate the putting the Whites into a Large bowl do not use plastic or and the Yolks into a medium size Combine the milk and 1 cup of sugar in a Large deep for a less Sweet use Only y cup of bring the mixture to a simmer Over Low stirring occasionally to dissolve the do not let the milk heat beyond the Point of barely beat the egg with an electric mixer on medium until add the stripes Magazine apr