October 2003 Archive

October 31, 2003

Boudin Antillais, Purée Maison

Last week-end, as Maxence was walking up the rue Lepic, he was lured into one of the many inviting charcuteries (a charcuterie is a store halfway between a butcher's shop and a deli). The boudin antillais was tempting, so he bought four small ones. Boudin antillais (a twist on boudin noir) is a specialty from the Antilles, the French Carribeans. ...

"Boudin Antillais, Purée Maison" continues »

October 30, 2003

Happiness (A Recipe)

On a Sunday afternoon, after a copious lunch, wait for your next-door neighbor Patricia to knock on your window with a wooden spoon. Agree to come over to their place for coffee. From the special chocolate cabinet in your kitchen (surely you must have one) grab what's left of the excellent dark chocolate with fragments of roasted cocoa beans that...

"Happiness (A Recipe)" continues »

October 29, 2003

Salmon & Leek Quiche

Picard Surgelés is a French chain store, the concept of which finds no equivalent in the US (to my knowledge) : it only sells frozen goods. This may not sound very appealing to the foodiest foodies among you, but their products are surprisingly good and high-quality, much like I remember the frozen section at Trader Joe's, in which I loved to wan...

"Salmon & Leek Quiche" continues »

October 28, 2003

Bloxicon

I have worked on creating a handy little lexicon of the French words and expressions I use in this blog. It can be found here, and will be added to, as new posts introduce new words! You can all thank me when you're fluent in French... Note that a link has also been added on the left navigation bar, in the "Features" section....

"Bloxicon" continues »

October 26, 2003

Layers in a Glass

This is one of my favorite recipes when I want to make a light individual dessert that's quick to make, yet looks nice and sophisticated. I served it the other night to end our duck confit meal, after which “light and refreshing” was definitely the way to go. This recipe lends itself to an endless number of variations, but I’ll ...

"Layers in a Glass" continues »

October 25, 2003

The Paradoxical Duck Confit

Thursday night, on a whim, we asked our neighbors Stéphan et Patricia over for dinner, and I prepared the kind of dish that epitomizes the French paradox * : duck confit. Back in July, Maxence and I spent a lovely extended week-end in the South-West of France, visiting his grandparents in Gourdon and driving around the incredibly beautiful coun...

"The Paradoxical Duck Confit" continues »

October 24, 2003

Luscious Persimmons

Persimmons are still a newly discovered continent to me. I experienced my first persimmon about two years ago, in California. Sofya, a coworker of mine from Russia (St-Petersburg to be precise), had a tree laden with them in her garden, so she brought some to work for sharing. I loved that about my workplace, there was always something in the kit...

"Luscious Persimmons" continues »

October 22, 2003

Brunch at Joe Allen's

On Sunday, we went out for a brunch with friends of ours, Baptiste and Véro. We decided to go to Joe Allen's, a place our neighbor Stéphan had talked to us about, that was also mentioned in our "Guide du Fooding". This is a very good guide to eating out in Paris. It is issued by Nova Mag, a hip Parisian magazine that could be compared to Time Out...

"Brunch at Joe Allen's" continues »

October 21, 2003

Salade de Pois Gourmands aux Trois Sésames

[Triple Sesame Snow Pea Salad] In French, snow peas (or sugar snap peas, apparently the difference is that snow peas are a lighter green) are called Pois Gourmands (Gourmand Peas) or Haricots Mangetout (Eat-Everything Beans). The reason for that, I just found out, is that unlike regular peas, you eat the pod as well, so you "eat everything". And...

"Salade de Pois Gourmands aux Trois Sésames" continues »

October 20, 2003

Les Desserts Préférés de Pierre Hermé

[Pierre Hermé's Favorite Desserts] Pierre Hermé is a world famous pastry chef. His stores in Paris, New York and Tokyo are designed like jewellery stores and are constantly crowded, with lines often going around the corner. He is a very prolific and inventive chef, who actually imagines new pastry lines twice a year, a spring/summer collection, ...

"Les Desserts Préférés de Pierre Hermé" continues »

October 19, 2003

Crèmes Brûlées Beware!

Please let me introduce you to the latest addition to my ever-growing collection of baking knick-knacks, tools and toys : <drumroll, please>... the Blowtorch! You do understand, of course, how badly I needed one of these. No, really. I mean, crèmes brûlées are just one of these desserts that any self-respecting cook *has* to be able to mak...

"Crèmes Brûlées Beware!" continues »

October 18, 2003

Soupe de Brocoli

[Broccoli Soup] I am not a soup maker. For a very long time, I was most intimidated by it. Something about the large pot and the veggies cooked to death turned me off. I also didn't grow up in a soup family -- we hardly ever had it, though it was delicious when we did -- so I don't think of it as a particularly comforting dish. And finally, I'd ...

"Soupe de Brocoli" continues »

October 17, 2003

Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Cake

Yesterday we had a small party at my office to celebrate my company's fifth anniversary, and our pendaison de crémaillère, which is French for a housewarming party. Une crémaillère is a trammel, i.e. the metal adjustable hook that was used to hang pots in the fireplace in the days of yore, and the hanging (pendaison) of this essential piece of eq...

"Melt-in-Your-Mouth Chocolate Cake" continues »

October 15, 2003

Fondue Savoyarde chez nos Voisins

[Cheese Fondue at our Neighbors' place] We are lucky enough to be very good friends with our next-door neighbors. Stéphan and Patricia live on our floor, in the apartment to the right of ours. We met on the night of our housewarming party : we had posted a note to apologize in advance for the noise and music, and to invite everybody over for a d...

"Fondue Savoyarde chez nos Voisins" continues »

October 14, 2003

Gâteau de Mamy à la Poire

On Sunday, Marie-Laure came over "pour le goûter". Le goûter is the afternoon snack kids are given when they come out of school around 4. In my family (by that I mean "at my parents'"), it is also called simply le thé, and is practically an institution. Around 5 on weekends, somebody will invariably ask "on fait le thé?" (alternatively "on prend ...

"Gâteau de Mamy à la Poire" continues »

October 13, 2003

Cheeseburgers with a Twist

Reading the article on DIY Diner Food over at Digs Magazine put me in the mood for burgers, so that went on the menu for lunch on Sunday. For the patties, I used 150g (5 1/3 ounces) lean ground beef, in which I mixed a chopped shallot, a large handful of chopped fresh herbs (I had basil and tarragon, both home-grown, as well as flat-leaf parsle...

"Cheeseburgers with a Twist" continues »

October 11, 2003

Sardine Harissa Polar Bread Sandwich

Or : The Return of the Polar Bread Sandwich I made myself another yummy sandwich on polar bread for lunch today. This time, the filling was this : a can of quality sardines packed in olive oil (drained and patted with paper towels), a shallot - chopped with my friend the chef knife, a handful of flat parsley - chopped with my other friend the mez...

"Sardine Harissa Polar Bread Sandwich" continues »

October 9, 2003

Like Caramels au Beurre Salé, only Spreadable

The other day, I was walking up the avenue d'Italie in the 13th arrondissement - I was coming back from the information meeting for a singing class I may take - and I noticed a bakery named "Le Grenier à Pain". It was very inviting, so I walked in. I didn't need or want to buy bread or pastries, you see, but I like to look anyway. I do the same t...

"Like Caramels au Beurre Salé, only Spreadable" continues »

October 7, 2003

Sun-dried Tomato Polenta Squares

This recipe is from the apéro section of my cookbook "Mes petits plats 100% naturels". In France, apéritif (also called l'apéro) is the general term for the drinks and savory nibbles you offer your guests before dinner. It is also a widespread custom to invite people over just for l'apéro, which is a more casual way to entertain than a full-blown...

"Sun-dried Tomato Polenta Squares" continues »

Homemade Yogurts

The yogurt maker (yaourtière in French) is often used to illustrate the concept of an appliance that seemed like a good idea at the time of purchase (back in the seventies), but ends up collecting dust in the dark depths of a kitchen cabinet. It strikes me as terribly unfair a way to disparage a perfectly respectable peace of household equipment....

"Homemade Yogurts" continues »

Fennel & Tuna Polar Bread Sandwich

Over the last few years, I've noticed an increasing number of bakeries and sandwich places in France selling sandwiches made with Pain Polaire. Polar bread, sometimes also called swedish bread, is a round, soft flatbread with dimples. Polar bread sandwiches are made between two of these pancake-like slices, and the whole sandwich is then cut into...

"Fennel & Tuna Polar Bread Sandwich" continues »

October 6, 2003

Honey Hazelnut Cake

Yesterday, my parents came over for tea. This is always a perfect occasion for me to bake (yeah, like I need one), and today being my father's birthday, I decided to bake a cake. After perusing my cookbooks and recipe files, I set my heart on this Honey Hazelnut Cake from the book "Les Gâteaux de Mamie". The original recipe is titled "Gâteau a...

"Honey Hazelnut Cake" continues »

October 4, 2003

Tartelettes Absolument Chocolat

[Absolute Chocolate Tartlets] I could have met my friends Marie-Laure and Laurence at a Chocoholics Anonymous meeting, so when they came over for dinner last night, I decided I would treat them to Absolute Chocolate Tartlets. The recipe comes from one of my cookbooks, called Je Veux du Chocolat! ("I want chocolate!") by Trish Deseine - another...

"Tartelettes Absolument Chocolat" continues »

October 3, 2003

Courgettes Rondes Farcies au Quinoa et à la Ricotta

"Man, I'm stuffed!" said the zucchini. Tonight, Laurence and Marie-Laure are coming for dinner, and as a main dish, I will serve them Quinoa Ricotta Stuffed Zucchini. Those small round zucchinis had caught my eye in the sidewalk stall of our produce store and I immediately saw, in blinking letters : "stuffed zucchini!". I got nine of them as th...

"Courgettes Rondes Farcies au Quinoa et à la Ricotta" continues »

Choc & Zucc Dinner

Tonight, two of my best friends are coming for a "girls only" dinner, as Maxence is on vacation in Tunisia (he leads quite the tough life, doesn't he). Marie-Laure Laurence and I go way back, we have in fact recently celebrated our ten-year friendship anniversary (yup, that's the kind of things we do!). We met in the first few days of junior high ...

"Choc & Zucc Dinner" continues »

Swiss Chard Pie

Spinach is one of the rare vegetables I will not eat. Possibly, this has to do with the green puke they were trying to pass off as spinach at summer camp. I did try real supposedly yummy fresh spinach, but could not take it. Bleh. The only form I can eat it in, is when it doesn't taste like spinach at all, in spinach ravioli for instance. Now,...

"Swiss Chard Pie" continues »

October 2, 2003

Chouquette Story

What are chouquettes (shoo-kett) you ask? Chouquettes are little "pâte à choux" pastry puffs, sprinkled with coarse sugar. They can be bought by weight in French bakeries, in a thin bulging paper bag. When you're a kid, the best part is eating the sugar cristals that have collected at the bottom of the bag when the last of the chouquettes has bee...

"Chouquette Story" continues »

October 1, 2003

Chouquettes

2008 update: Below is a revised recipe, as it appears in Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris, my book on Paris restaurants and food shops. Here is the recipe for chouquettes. For the whole adventure, see Chouquette Story....

"Chouquettes" continues »

The Magic Baker's Store

Last weekend, while I was in the 1st arrondissement to buy kitchenware, I suddenly remembered my grandmother telling me about a professional baking supplies store she used to go to when she was still baking for four sons. The store is called "G. Detou", which happens to be a pun, and I can't decide whether it is completely lame, deliciously old-...

"The Magic Baker's Store" continues »