November 2004 Archive

November 30, 2004

Tarte à l'Artichaut et au Thon Fumé

[Artichoke and Smoked Tuna Tart] ...and here is the tart I made with Pascale's pâte brisée! Slices of artichoke hearts and strips of smoked tuna, on a bed of roquette leaves and a smooth layer of mascarpone cheese. The artichoke's tender sweetness, hand in hand with the salty strength of the tuna -- I cannot recommend the pairing enough. I f...

"Tarte à l'Artichaut et au Thon Fumé" continues »

November 29, 2004

La Pâte Brisée de Pascale

[Pascale's Short Crust Pastry] As surprising as it may seem -- to me at least -- this is the very first savory crust I make from scratch in my entire life. Before that, I would hop gaily to the nearest grocery store, for a ready-made and conveniently rolled-out dough. In truth, savory tarts and quiches had sort of fallen out of fashion in my ki...

"La Pâte Brisée de Pascale" continues »

November 26, 2004

Marble Mortar Finds True Soulmate

Finally! Finally, I have acquired a pestle to go with the marble mortar my dear grandmother gave me as a birthday gift last summer. Okay, I make it sound like I've been searching high and low for one but it's not quite true. It's been on my mind all that time, I was thinking well, isn't it a shame to have such a marble beauty and just use it a...

"Marble Mortar Finds True Soulmate" continues »

November 24, 2004

Zucchini Tart on a Hazelnut-Thyme Crust

At the Bar à Veloutés I hosted a few weeks back, one of the little accessories you could choose to dip in your velouté was an Allumette Noisette-Thym, a hazelnut and thyme cracker shaped like a matchstick. These allumettes were a personal favorite of mine, because they happened to be a recipe I had created from scratch, simply based on the idea t...

"Zucchini Tart on a Hazelnut-Thyme Crust" continues »

November 23, 2004

Foie Gras Tasting

If you are in Paris on Monday, November 29, 2004, I'd like to invite you to join us at La Table de Lucullus, where my friend Nicolas Vagnon is organizing a (free) tasting of his homemade foie gras. The foie gras is from Les Landes (a region in the South-West of France), and Nicolas prepares it in the traditional salt-cooking method (cuisson au ...

"Foie Gras Tasting" continues »

November 21, 2004

Pistachio Cookies (IMBB10)

Today is the 10th edition of Is My Blog Burning?, the collaborative blogging event! It is hosted this time around by Fabulous Baker Jennifer, from The Domestic Goddess, and the theme is Cookie Swap. A cookie swap, if you'not familiar with the concept, is a little party thrown between friends and/or neighbors before the holidays, where each gues...

"Pistachio Cookies (IMBB10)" continues »

November 19, 2004

The Joy of Room Service

On Sunday night, wanting to put the finishing touches on my talk, I decide to stay in and have dinner in my room, a small room with a view out onto the harbour, in the four-star Cannes hotel where the Gourmet Voice festival is taking place. I order a club sandwich of course, not hesitating for one second : the first room service of my life, it h...

"The Joy of Room Service" continues »

November 17, 2004

Notes from the Gourmet Voice Festival

Well, here I am, back from Cannes! The Gourmet Voice festival was a fabulous three days of food- and media-oriented conferences, conversations and debates. I feel tremendously privileged to have had the opportunity to attend, it was really heartwarming and exciting to meet so many people from all over the world, all sharing that same passion of c...

"Notes from the Gourmet Voice Festival" continues »

November 14, 2004

Off to Cannes!

I will be in Cannes for a few days to attend the Gourmet Voice conference, the first world festival of gourmet media, where I will be speaking about C&Z and food blogs. In my absence, don't eat all the chocolate, be good, and don't forget to brush your teeth!...

"Off to Cannes!" continues »

November 12, 2004

Galettes à la Brise de Châtaigne

[Chestnut Meal Galettes] When I went to the Salon Saveur last spring, I returned with quite a number of purchases. Some of them were fresh and perishable, and the days that followed were a happy procession of delicacies, as we methodically and dutifully consumed what needed to be. Such food shows are always Temptation Hall for me and I would g...

"Galettes à la Brise de Châtaigne" continues »

November 11, 2004

Bar à Veloutés : Picture Gallery

iPhoto and I have put together a little gallery of the pictures that were taken during the two sessions of our Bar à Veloutés... Click here to view it. Many thanks to the photographers -- Maxence, Patricia and my father!...

"Bar à Veloutés : Picture Gallery" continues »

November 9, 2004

Topinambours

It's not everyday that one gets to discover a whole new, previously unpublished vegetable. It's not everyday that this new vegetable seems to belong to a little tribe of bulb-headed, purple-hooded munchkins. And it's not everyday that said munchkins turn out to have a delightful taste, halfway between an artichoke and a sweet potato. As I'm well...

"Topinambours" continues »

November 8, 2004

Bar à Veloutés, Take 2

On Saturday, Marion and I hosted our second Bar à Veloutés at the Printemps department store, during the Invasions Gourmandes event. We had served savory veloutés last Thursday, and served sweet ones this time. Our guests could choose one of three veloutés : - Velouté coco (a kind of coconut mousse) - Velouté pistache (a pistachio-flavored crème...

"Bar à Veloutés, Take 2" continues »

November 7, 2004

C&Z in the NYT

Chocolate & Zucchini is mentioned in this month's edition of the New York Times Style Magazine! Read the article (thanks for the pic, Josh!). It can also be viewed on the online edition (scroll down to the middle of the page)....

"C&Z in the NYT" continues »

November 5, 2004

Bar à Veloutés, Take 1

Yesterday was the first session of the Bar à Veloutés that Marion Chatelain and myself are hosting at the Printemps de la Maison department store during the Invasions Gourmandes event. Visitors had a choice between three savory veloutés (a velouté is a thick velvety soup), three toppings to sprinkle on, and three edible accessories to dip in : ...

"Bar à Veloutés, Take 1" continues »

November 3, 2004

Moutarde du Pêcheur

My parents took a short vacation to Brittany a few weeks ago, to Carnac-Of-The-Many-Happy-Childhood-Memories, and to Belle-ÃŽle, a breathtakingly beautiful island (or so I'm told) a few miles off the Atlantic coast, where a dear friend of theirs now lives. Brittany, as I've mentioned http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2003/10/like_caramel...

"Moutarde du Pêcheur" continues »

November 1, 2004

Les Invasions Gourmandes

From now until November 13th, a promotional event around food will be held at Le Printemps de la Maison (the home section of the famous Parisian department store). The event is called Les Invasions Gourmandes, which could be loosely translated as "gourmet invasions", and involves a variety of artists, culinary designers and chefs who will do thei...

"Les Invasions Gourmandes" continues »