November 2003 Archive

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 i...

"Rose Bakery" continues »

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...

"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 ...

"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 recyc...

"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 ...

"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 sel...

"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 of the country! It has a daily food market, and Saturday morning...

"The Victoria Food Market" continues »

November 24, 2003

Eating Our Way Through The Seychelles

Well, well, well, even the best things have to come to an end, and here we are, back in Paris! These were fantastic vacations : 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 ...

"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...

"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 th...

"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 selecti...

"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 ̵...

"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...

"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 choco...

"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 ...

"Petits Gris à la Bourguignonne" continues »

November 8, 2003

Le Troyon

Update, spring 2004 : unfortunately, Le Troyon is now closed. [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,...

"Le Troyon" continues »

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 command...

"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 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?...

"La Famille" continues »

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...

"Lemon Thyme Crème Brûlée" continues »

Ramadan

Nassim is a friend of mine, who used to work at my company. Being a Muslim, he is currently fasting for Ramadan, and he has just e-mailed me that he'd have to wait till sunset to read my blog, because it's just torture during the day... I find it a very nice compliment and wish him strength in his fast! :)...

"Ramadan" continues »

November 3, 2003

Porcini Walnut Risotto

My sister Céline lives in Frankfurt, Germany. Thankfully 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 week-ends she comes to spend with us. This Saturday, after the traditional afternoon of shopping together, Céline came over for dinner. She is ve...

"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 ...

"Le Salon Du Chocolat" continues »