November 30, 2003
Rose Bakery
Rose Bakery is a small bakery/restaurant of British inspiration in the rue des Martyrs, close to where we live. I love this place and find myself going, on my own or with friends, as often as the opportunity arises. It is run by a couple - he's French and she's British - who used to own a similar operation in London.
A low semicircular wrought iron door opens onto a long and narrow room. Historically, this used to be a "chartil", where produce...
November 29, 2003
The Incredible Thick-Lipped Vegetable
This morning, Maxence and I went for a stroll towards Barbès and Chateau-Rouge, a more ethnic part of the 18th arrondissement, just a few blocks from where we live. In the rue de Clignancourt, we stumbled upon a few small stores selling food (mostly) from the Antilles - the French Caribbean. We both love browsing around exotic grocery stores, and these reminded us very nicely of our recent vacation, as the Seychelles cuisine is somewhat similar...
"The Incredible Thick-Lipped Vegetable" continues »
November 28, 2003
Soupe de Courge Musquée aux Epices
[Spiced Pumpkin Soup]
I am ordinarily not a huge winter squash fan. I used to dislike sweet and savory together when I was little, and that seems to vaguely remain when it comes to pumpkin and its brothers and sisters. But I do love the look of them and how they come in all shapes, sizes and colors and look like a little munchkin tribe. And the other day at the grocery store, I could not resist buying a big plump slice of bright orange courge mu...
"Soupe de Courge Musquée aux Epices" continues »
November 27, 2003
The Wonderful World Of Tartines
Tartines have been a fairly trendy lunch fare in Parisian restaurants for a while. Originally, "tartine" means a slice of bread, toasted or not, with something spread on it, usually eaten for breakfast : butter (tartine beurrée), jam (tartine de confiture), cheese (tartine de fromage)...
For a few years now, the concept of tartine has been recycled into an easy but delicious main dish : one or two slices of bread on which ingredients are laid,...
"The Wonderful World Of Tartines" continues »
Where Do I Eat The Best Tartines?
As a complement to my post about The Wonderful World Of Tartines, here's a list of my favorite restaurants for tartines in Paris :
Boulangerestaurant
85 bd Malesherbes, 75008 Paris
01 45 22 70 30
(Baker Eric Kayser's restaurant)
Androuët sur le Pouce
49 rue St Roch, 75001 Paris
01 42 97 57 39
(tartines starring the best cheese in season, several other addresses in Paris)
Le Potager du Père Thierry
16 rue des Trois Frères, 75018 Paris
01 53 28 ...
"Where Do I Eat The Best Tartines?" continues »
November 26, 2003
Pear Rosemary Crème Brûlée
Two weeks ago, my parents came over to my apartment. The plan was for the three of us to have lunch together, and then go out on a mini-tour of the 9th and 18th arrondissements, using a guidebook called "Paris Buissonier", which my sister and I gave our mother for Mother's day : it describes itineraries to walk through parts of Paris that are seldom visited, providing interesting and unusual facts and comments about what you see along the way. ...
"Pear Rosemary Crème Brûlée" continues »
November 25, 2003
The Victoria Food Market
On the last Saturday of our Seychelles vacation, we were on the island of Mahé, the largest and most populated of the archipelago (ooh, a good 150 km2 and 70,000 inhabitants!), which holds the small capital city, Victoria. Only a handful of streets, but still, it’s the biggest in the country. It has a daily food market, and Saturday mornings are the busiest, so that’s the moment we chose to visit.
This is a covered market mostly, h...
"The Victoria Food Market" continues »
November 24, 2003
Eating Our Way Through The Seychelles
Well, well, well. Even the best things come to an end, and here we are, back in Paris! This was a fantastic vacation: a perfect mix of discovering the islands, their breathtaking landscapes and incredible fauna and flora, snorkeling, resting on perfect beaches, and enjoying the delicious local food.
There is definitely something to be said about extremely fresh seafood, prepared with care, eaten in the company of the love of your life, while s...
"Eating Our Way Through The Seychelles" continues »
November 14, 2003
Off Somewhere Sunny!
Maxence and I are leaving tonight for ten days of well deserved vacation in the Seychelles islands. The plan is to lie on the beach, sleep till noon, read under coconut trees, swim in lagoons, walk in the natural parks, search for geckos, scuba dive, marvel at the multicolored fish, and sip on drinks with chunks of exotic fruit perched on the rim of the glass.
I probably won't be posting until we get back, but I heard that the Seychelles serve...
"Off Somewhere Sunny!" continues »
The Giant Pomelo
Another instance of blog synchronicity - there may be some pheromones at work here, who knows? Deb recently posted a picture that made me laugh, on which a pomelo looked huge, posing proudly next to a teeny tiny mini-grater. On the very same day, I had taken a somewhat similar picture of my first pomelo ever!
I enjoyed the taste very much, by the way, nice and tart, and I like tart. But I peeled it like an orange, and the skin of each section ...
"The Giant Pomelo" continues »
November 13, 2003
Oursins From Outer Space
Or : Maxence the Fearless Eater
Maxence loves sushi. It is hard for him to decide which type is his favorite (I know, I asked), but it could very well be Uni, sea urchin sushi, which is somewhat hard to find in France. So when we spotted sea urchins at the rue Lepic fish market (which we don't like very much apart from the good shellfish selection : bad service and overpriced fish) we bought five....
"Oursins From Outer Space" continues »
November 12, 2003
Rochers à la Noix de Coco
For the little goûter party we threw at home last Sunday, I wanted to make another item in addition to the apricot and ginger chocolate cake. As one of our guests has to follow a gluten-free diet, I was hoping I could find something that she could eat, too. In my cookbook "Les Gâteaux de Mamy", I found a recipe for Rochers à la Noix de Coco – coconut macaroons - that sounded perfect, as it involved no flour at all. It is also a very easy ...
"Rochers à la Noix de Coco" continues »
November 11, 2003
R'Aliment, une Cantine Bio
2005 Update: Unfortunately, R'Aliment is now closed -- my friends and I mourn the loss. You can still however go to the sister restaurant Biotifull Place, on the 1st floor of the Printemps de la Beauté department store, at 66 Bd Haussman in the 9th.
R'Aliment is a small modern restaurant in the 3rd arrondissement, that I would label "cantine bio" : "cantine" is French for a school or office cafeteria, and is sometimes used to mean a restaurant...
"R'Aliment, une Cantine Bio" continues »
November 10, 2003
Cake au Chocolat, Abricots et Gingembre
On Sunday afternoon, we had a few friends over for the goûter. In attendance were : Marie-Laure and Ludo, with whom we had had brunch earlier in the day ; my friend Sophie, who used to work at my company ; Stéphane and Caro, who are friends from college ; and our neighbors Stéphan and Patricia. To feed this crowd, I wanted to make something chocolate. I know, I know, I surprise myself too, sometimes.
When Pierre Hermé's Chocolate Desserts cook...
"Cake au Chocolat, Abricots et Gingembre" continues »
November 9, 2003
Petits Gris à la Bourguignonne
Last week, Maxence and I were at the Poissonnerie Bleue, the fish market at the bottom of the rue des Martyrs, a.k.a. fish lover's paradise : they have a very wide and very tempting selection of sea food. It is always pretty crowded, but the service is friendly and fast. As we were standing in line to pay, we noticed they also sold frozen garlic snails, so we promptly bought two dozens.
Petits gris (literally "small gray") are a variety of sna...
"Petits Gris à la Bourguignonne" continues »
November 8, 2003
Le Troyon
Update, spring 2004 : Le Troyon is now closed, but the same team now runs Caïus at 6 rue d'Armaillé in the 17th (01 42 27 19 20).
[Very surprisingly, Le Troyon does not give out little address cards like most restaurants do, so I don't have a picture for this entry!]
Last Monday, my parents invited Maxence and I to dinner at Le Troyon, Maxence's favorite restaurant in Paris. This was our fourth time eating there, we had raved about it to my par...
November 7, 2003
Garlic Press R.I.P.
I broke our garlic press yesterday, and now I can't help but wonder... Is this a sign of the Gods? Do I use too much garlic? Do I *eat* too much garlic? Have I pressed too much of it? Or too hard? Is this the first spasm of the Worldwide Garlic Mutiny? Some people are violently against garlic presses, so was this affirmative action from a commando of those guys? Sabotage?
I think I will hold off buying a new one for now, see what happens... Bu...
"Garlic Press R.I.P." continues »
November 6, 2003
Le Thé Mariage Frères
I could not agree more with Amy. Tea from Mariage Frères is one of those things that just make life a whole lot better. The beauty of the tins it comes in does nothing to hamper my feelings, nor does the beauty of the boxes the tins themselves come in!
And the names, indeed, the names! If you can't make it out on the pic above, I have : "Thé sur le Nil" (fruity and lemony green tea), "Casablanca" (Morrocan mint and bergamot) and "Jasmin Mandar...
"Le Thé Mariage Frères" continues »
November 5, 2003
La Famille
La Famille is a restaurant that opened a few months ago in Montmartre. It got an impressive amount of flattering reviews in the press (whoever takes care of their PR would get my business!) which naturally teased me into trying it. I'm a sucker for new restaurants, and when they open just two blocks from us, what's a girl to do?...
November 4, 2003
Lemon Thyme Crème Brûlée
Ever since we bought the Oxylaser Blowtorch I’ve been pining for an opportunity to use it. My sister Céline has (at least) as much of a sweet tooth as I do, so I decided to make us Lemon Thyme Crèmes Brûlées for dessert on Saturday.
I found a disturbing number of very different crème brûlée recipes out there, calling for widely discordant oven temp, cooking time and quantities of eggs/cream/sugar. They starred various ingredients for fl...
"Lemon Thyme Crème Brûlée" continues »
November 3, 2003
Porcini Walnut Risotto
My sister Céline lives in Frankfurt, Germany. She is to come back to work in France at the beginning of next year, which makes me deliriously happy, but until then we have to make do with the weekends she comes to spend with us. This Saturday, after the traditional afternoon of shopping together, Céline came over for dinner. She is very appreciative of my cooking, so it's always a pleasure feeding her.
As a main dish, I prepared a porcini waln...
"Porcini Walnut Risotto" continues »
November 1, 2003
Le Salon Du Chocolat
A Chocolate Trade Show - has anybody ever heard of a better concept? The Paris one takes place every year in late October, when the weather gets a little chilly and Christmas is getting near and people need to warm their hearts and stock up on chocolate goodness. Passionate as we are about our chocolate, Marie-Laure and I just had to attend, and we decided to go to the late opening on Friday....
"Le Salon Du Chocolat" continues »