April 2004 Archive

April 30, 2004

Maryland Delights, Act III : Old Bay Seasoning

And this is the third and last installment of the Tale of the Maryland Delights which Alicia sent me. The last item is a tin of Old Bay Seasoning, without which, I am told, no Southern kitchen is quite complete. It is a mix of celery salt, mustard, red pepper, black pepper, bay leaves, cloves, allspice, ginger, mace, cardamom, cinnamon and papri...

"Maryland Delights, Act III : Old Bay Seasoning" continues »

April 29, 2004

Soupe de Carotte à la Menthe

[Mint Carrot Soup] Have you ever noticed how un-photogenic soup is? Well, now you have! The very things that make soup tasty and comforting, all pureed chunks and blended veggies, make it somewhat messy close up. In this case, I almost didn't post about the soup because I was unhappy about the picture. But then I decided that the dictatorship of ...

"Soupe de Carotte à la Menthe" continues »

April 28, 2004

Crème de Calisson

On a recent Saturday morning, Marie-Laure, Ludo and I embarked on a large-scale cooking-toy shopping expedition, ostensibly to get Laurence a birthday present. It was their first time experiencing the magic of E.Dehillerin, A.Simon and Mora, and we had a grand time, which culminated in a delicious lunch at Oliopanevino, a tiny Italian restaurant ...

"Crème de Calisson" continues »

April 27, 2004

Raspberry Rhubarb Grunt

On Sunday, we were invited to my sister Céline's place for lunch with my parents, and I offered to take care of the dessert. With the beautiful spring weather we've had lately, I felt like making something light and fruit-based. Rhubarb season has just begun and we are all big fans in my family, so that was the fruit of choice. I looked around ...

"Raspberry Rhubarb Grunt" continues »

April 26, 2004

Deprived? Who, me?

One of the things that fascinated me about my workplace in the Silicon Valley was the very American profusion of food : the huge refrigerators in the kitchen were filled with every possible kind of soft drink (including those nasty nasty frappuccinos), the freezer was stocked with instant meals and frozen burritos (we're talking engineer food her...

"Deprived? Who, me?" continues »

April 24, 2004

Asparagus! Yay!

Let us rejoice, my friends, for asparagus season is upon us! They are starting to appear on produce stalls, the really thick white ones, and the thinner pinkish white ones, and my favorite, the glorious green with purple hues, and their pretty pointy little heads, curling onto one side or the other. Simplicity is key. I discard the tough ends,...

"Asparagus! Yay!" continues »

April 23, 2004

Brouillade de Truffe

[Truffled Scrambled Eggs] The other day at lunchtime, I was on my own and starving. A glance in the fridge, and lunch rolled out before my eyes : I had one truffle left in its little jar, some eggs, fresh watercress, and fabulous walnut bread from the BoulangEpicier, which Patricia, the best neighbor in the whole wide world, had bought for me on...

"Brouillade de Truffe" continues »

April 22, 2004

Strudel de Blettes

[Swiss Chard Strudel] Last Saturday, I recruited a few dear friends to help me eat the Chocolate & Zucchini Cake I had baked : with Maxence away on a business trip, it was just me and that good-lookin' cake, and although I can always be trusted to do my fair share of the eating, that's exactly the problem. Plus, I needed opinions! So Ludo and Ma...

"Strudel de Blettes" continues »

April 21, 2004

Coffee and a Boggle

Last Saturday, it was my great pleasure to have two American friends over for a late morning cup of coffee. Ruth, a coworker from my California days, was visiting Paris with her partner Pia, and she had contacted me to know if I'd like to meet up. We had the loveliest time chatting together and catching up. It should be said that Ruth and I have...

"Coffee and a Boggle" continues »

April 20, 2004

Maryland Delights, Act II : Baking Mixes

Last week I told you about the Chocolate Cremes that Alicia had sent me in her Foods From Maryland parcel. This parcel, neatly packed up in a large box of chicken bakes, also contained three boxes of assorted baking mixes. We do have baking mixes in France of course (yup, got 'em about the same time as electricity, early last year), but they are...

"Maryland Delights, Act II : Baking Mixes" continues »

April 19, 2004

My Father's Vinaigrette

In my post about Pissaladière, I alluded to my father's signature vinaigrette. Such a teaser could not go by unnoticed, and many of you expressed an eager curiosity. The request for more information was passed on to my father, and I will now step aside, and let you read his reply : Yes, perhaps the time has now come for the secret recipe of CDV...

"My Father's Vinaigrette" continues »

April 18, 2004

Chocolate & Zucchini Cake (IMBB3)

Today is the third edition of the one and only collaborative food blogging event, otherwise known as "Is My Blog Burning?". The first edition, hosted by Alberto, was all about soup. The second edition, hosted by yours truly, had a tartine theme. Today's event is hosted by the lovely Singaporean foodie, Renée, and the theme is Cake Walk. As René...

"Chocolate & Zucchini Cake (IMBB3)" continues »

April 17, 2004

Maryland Delights, Act I : Chocolate Cremes

After I posted about the American food items I sorely missed, C&Z reader Alicia, from Maryland, offered to do a little food swap with me. Me? Food? In the mail? I happily accepted. I received her package just last week, and will now, ladies and gentlemen, before your startled eyes, proceed to uncover its content, in three installments. The first...

"Maryland Delights, Act I : Chocolate Cremes" continues »

April 15, 2004

Tomates Mi-Séchées

[Semi-Dried Tomatoes] Remember how I mentioned buying a bottle of balsamic vinegar and some coriander anchovy tapenade at the balsamic vinegar tasting the other day? Well, I lied. I also got a little bag of semi-dried tomatoes, moist and plump. They come in a sealed package which seems to protect them well because the best-by date is in June ...

"Tomates Mi-Séchées" continues »

April 14, 2004

Pissaladière

Pissaladière is a specialty from Nice, in the South of France. It's an onion tart with black olives and anchovies, on a thin pizza-like dough. The name comes from "pissalat", a condiment made with pureed anchovies, cloves, thyme and bay leaves, which was spread on the tart before baking. The name has taken on a somewhat looser meaning in my fami...

"Pissaladière" continues »

April 13, 2004

Hot Cross Buns

My family has always been very fond of British baked goods. Marks & Spencer's has sadly closed off all their French stores, but when it was still around [deep sigh of nostalgia], we were their most faithful customers for English muffins, crumpets, mince-meat pies and hot cross buns, to be enjoyed with tea in the afternoon. Only recently did I fi...

"Hot Cross Buns" continues »

April 12, 2004

Punk Leek

It might have become apparent by now that leek is pretty high on my top-5 list of vegetables. The playful way in which it hides lumps of dirt between its leaves, reminding you how freshly from the earth it comes ; the distinctive sound of the knife, cutting through the layers when you chop the whites ; the sweet oniony taste, so good it hardly ...

"Punk Leek" continues »

April 11, 2004

Joyeuses Pâques!

In my family, we don't celebrate Easter in a religious way. Unless, of course, you consider a strong taste for chocolate to be a religion of sorts. Which I do. My sister and I have received chocolate gifts from our parents for Easter every year since we were little. The traditional gift in France is a hollow chocolate shell, shaped like an egg,...

"Joyeuses Pâques!" continues »

April 9, 2004

Pounti

When we were at the Marché d'Aligre the other day, I noticed a charcuterie with a sign that said : "Ramenez votre pain et je réalise votre sandwich avec mes produits fermiers." ("Bring your own bread, I'll make you a sandwich with my farm products.") I thought the idea excellent : a truly outstanding sandwich is made of the best ingredients on th...

"Pounti" continues »

April 8, 2004

Goose Eggs and Truffles

Last Saturday, while we waited for the balsamic vinegar tasting to begin, Maxence and I seized the opportunity to explore the covered part of the Marché d'Aligre, where the tasting took place. The stands (butchers, cheese stores, charcuteries, bakeries, produce stalls...) are more upscale there than in the open-air area, and the products tend to ...

"Goose Eggs and Truffles" continues »

April 7, 2004

Lait Ribot

Lait ribot is a traditional fermented milk that has been made in Brittany for thousands of years, dating back to the Gauls. It is in fact fermented babeurre, or bas-beurre (litterally "low-butter"), which is the white liquid that remains after you've beaten cream to make butter. Ribotte, besides sounding cute, is an old word for churn, hence the ...

"Lait Ribot" continues »

April 6, 2004

Sticky Toffee Pudding à l'Abricot

[Apricot Sticky Toffee Pudding] This past Sunday afternoon, we had decided to throw a little surprise birthday party for my dear friend Laurence. This sounded like the perfect occasion to try and recreate my own sticky toffee pudding miracle. Among the different recipes that I had dug out or that you kindly recommended, my favorite was the one ...

"Sticky Toffee Pudding à l'Abricot" continues »

April 5, 2004

A Taste of Balsamic Vinegar

Wine tasting? That is so yesterday, haven't you heard? Balsamic vinegar tasting is all the rage! On Saturday afternoon, Maxence and I attended such a tasting, organized by the Bastille Slow Food convivium. It was held at Sur Les Quais, a spice and oil store in the covered area of the Marché d'Aligre. I've always been very fond of the taste of b...

"A Taste of Balsamic Vinegar" continues »

April 4, 2004

Pink Buffet : More Pics

If you would like to see more of the pictures I took while preparing the Pink Buffet last week, here is a little pink gallery!...

"Pink Buffet : More Pics" continues »

April 3, 2004

Sticky Toffee Pudding

See this? Doesn't it look just scrumpalicious, nested in its little takeout box? See how the sticky caramel coating has rubbed off a bit on the right side, where the little pudding's shoulder was leaning, as I carried it home? I had walked to Rose Bakery for lunch, armed with a magazine and a notebook, my personal treat when I'm home on a weekd...

"Sticky Toffee Pudding" continues »

April 2, 2004

Fruits Déguisés

[Dressed-up Fruit] And what are fruits déguisés you ask? Most people would tell you that they are a traditional Christmas confection, in which dried fruits (dates and prunes mostly) have their pit replaced with a piece of brightly colored pâte d'amande (almond paste). To me however, fruits déguisés are much more than that : they are one of my ...

"Fruits Déguisés" continues »

April 1, 2004

Pink Buffet!

Yesterday was an exciting, if exhausting, day : I went and helped my friend Keda Black, a fellow cook and writer, with the creation of a buffet for the opening of an art show, at a gallery named La Périphérie. This gallery is a really great place, roomy and bright, setup in a rehabilitated workshop just outside of Paris. The show features illustr...

"Pink Buffet!" continues »