April 2005 Archive

April 28, 2005

A Lunch in the Life

On a Saturday morning, you go to the pool for your weekly swim. As you come out, limbs pleasantly weary and hair still wet, you reflect that it would be nice to buy a baguette for lunch. So, instead of making a right and walking directly home -- you are fortunate enough to live just a block from a clean and quiet swimming-pool -- you go left and ...

"A Lunch in the Life" continues »

April 27, 2005

Parmentier de Hareng Fumé aux Brocolis

[Smoked Herring and Broccoli Parmentier] In France, we get pretty much the same télé-réalité shows as everywhere else in the Western world -- yet another perk of globalization -- but I don't often watch them, as I find most either really boring or really painful to watch. However, I have somehow let myself get sucked into the current show call...

"Parmentier de Hareng Fumé aux Brocolis" continues »

April 22, 2005

Paris-Grown Meyer Lemon

About a year ago, I posted a recipe for one of my favorite cakes, a flourless orange and ginger cake. In the course of the comment conversation, I mentioned that the recipe could also be made with other citruses, and Meyer lemons in particular. Meyer lemons are a variety of lemon, believed to stem from the love affair between an orange (or maybe ...

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April 21, 2005

Ratatouille Confite au Four

[Oven-Roasted Ratatouille] The quality and selection of produce is often a good criterion by which to judge a grocery store and its general attractiveness/cleanliness, because it's the first thing to look terrible if it's not carefully taken care of. A bit like peeking at the state of somebody's fingernails -- not that I actually do this and dra...

"Ratatouille Confite au Four" continues »

April 19, 2005

Is My Paris Better Than Yours?

If you happen upon the May issue of Budget Travel magazine -- which should land on US newsstands today -- and leaf your way to page 120, you will find a piece that I wrote, called "My Paris Is Better Than Yours". It is the second part of their "My [insert-city-name-here] Is Better Than Yours" series, which started last fall with a piece by Charl...

"Is My Paris Better Than Yours?" continues »

April 18, 2005

Tarte Asperge et Fraise

[Asparagus and Strawberry Tart] About a year ago, a little group of us Parisian (by birth or by heart) food enthusiasts started a tradition of organizing potluck dinners at one another's place. On Saturday night, my dear friend Alisa hosted her second such event, setting Aphrodisiac Foods as the theme for the night. The event had been scheduled ...

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April 15, 2005

Petites Moutardes

I'm sure this happens to you all the time, too. You set out to buy a gift for someone, say, a hostess gift. You happen to be on the Place de la Madeleine, or any other place where razzle-dazzle food stores abound -- La Madeleine is home to Fauchon, Hediard, Petrossian and La Maison du Chocolat among others. And you think: a food gift! Now, th...

"Petites Moutardes" continues »

April 13, 2005

Gianduioso

[Spreadable Gianduja] It's all in the packaging, is it not? Because really, if you look at it from an objective stance, this is quite simply, well, Nutella. For about six times the price of regular industrial Nutella, as purchased by yours truly, in a moment of sheer giving-in-to-temptation, at the beauty/home store Résonances. Ah, yes. But. It...

"Gianduioso" continues »

April 12, 2005

Chicken & Zucchini

We all need easy and healthy meals that can be whipped up in very little time (and even less planning) for a week-end lunch or a weeknight dinner, without sacrificing taste or feeling like you're slapping ready-made stuff together. So I thought I'd share the very very simple lunch we had last Saturday. I'm sure you've noticed how the way you cut...

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April 10, 2005

Chez Gianni, Ferme-Auberge Le Castelas

GO:: Granted, reaching today's featured restaurant requires a little more effort than the usual metro ride. This ferme-auberge*, owned and operated by Gianni from Sardinia, is located atop the Luberon mountain range and can be reached after a breathtaking -- both literally and metaphorically -- two-hour walk up curvy dust paths. Nothing superhuma...

"Chez Gianni, Ferme-Auberge Le Castelas" continues »

April 8, 2005

Fraises au Sucre et Eclats de Fève de Cacao

[Just a little something to keep you happy while I busy myself madly at work, playing firefighter on a work project gone horribly awry.] Write down some of your favorite ingredients on small pieces of paper. Put them all in a jar, pick three at random (no cheating!) and see if you can come up with a recipe to make the most of your trio. Sometim...

"Fraises au Sucre et Eclats de Fève de Cacao" continues »

April 6, 2005

Confit d'Asperge aux Amandes et au Romarin

Head over to NPR's website today for my Spring piece, a recipe for Asparagus Confit with Almonds and Rosemary! This is the first occurence of their Kitchen Window column that will be published online every other Wednesday, featuring different guest writers....

"Confit d'Asperge aux Amandes et au Romarin" continues »

April 4, 2005

Miel de Lourmarin

Yet another edible souvenir I brought back from my stay in Lourmarin over the Easter week-end: this large jar of thick and gloriously amber-colored honey. I happen to have somewhat childish tastes in honey, and I am often put off by honeys that taste too much like sap, sharp and woodsy to the point of bitterness. This probably makes me a diletta...

"Miel de Lourmarin" continues »

April 1, 2005

Gibassier de Lourmarin

Le Gibassier is a specialty from Lourmarin, the beautiful village in Provence where I spent Easter in my aunt and uncle's house. It is a large blond cookie of about a foot in length made with olive oil and shaped like an oval leaf. It is possibly named after Le Gibas, a nearby summit of the Luberon mountain range, but the confusing thing is that...

"Gibassier de Lourmarin" continues »