Traditional? (Martica's Christmas tree in Varennes sur Loire)
Red? (Place de la Madeleine, Paris)
White? (Rue Royale, Paris)
Foodie? (13 Provence desserts, Dolce et Gabbana window display, rue Saint Honore, Paris)
Golden?
Yesterday December 14th we celebrated Celine and Joren's wedding in Paris, in the same Townhall as Jean-Louis and I got married 32 years ago. 
Celine is my daughter, and the happy owner of Tao (aka Taocito) the friendly bichon you have seen often in this blog. Celine and Joren, who live in Amsterdam, wanted to get married in the city of lights, and Joren's family accepted to come to Paris for the event.
I had arranged a city tour in a private van after the Civil Ceremony for Joren's family to enjoy their stay in the city; the time spent together was fun and the city decorations and lights a great gift for all of us - in spite of the heavy traffic at 6 pm. 
Then we all came home for a cocktail: Champagne a go go, and canapés and verrines from Lucullus, a well known caterer in rue d'Auteuil.
We had booked a table for 12 at Restaurant Le Congres Auteuil, in the same building as our flat, and I must say everything was perfect!
scallops with risotto, or grilled duck breasts, or lamb in a thyme sauce.
Rami Restaurant in Sultanhamet, Istanbul, caters to tourists but is worth the visit. Serving Ottoman cuisine in a barroque Western style setting, the experience is very pleasant - but the check ... high!
The dramatic view of the Blue Mosque at night as seen from the third floor is simply fantastic!
A must when you visit Istanbul is the Grand Bazar!
Many bright colors shine under the high roofs and naroww alleys, they will delight your eye!
Bags, jewels, rugs, paintings, and more ... I got a painting of a women's Hammam for my bathroom.
Miniatures, both old and new are to be discovered.
And why not a Chess game with the terrible janissaires and the Sultan as King!
Not only did I find the egg holders for you, but I also found a stand with specialities from Alsace (eastern France, on the German border) such as this lovely honey bread or pain d'epice. 
Pain d'epice is also prsented in big loaves, and they have different types of the basic honey and orange recipe: with hazlenuts, with figs, with candy orange skin ... delicious. Some chefs serve foie gras on a toast of pain d'epice.
Other baked goods were also available and it was pretty hard to resist the contagious joy of the place! 
But it is not all about food! Some stands had figures for the Nativity.
We ended our tour with a real carrousel tour ... it was so much fun!
Black is very trendy in the "arts de la table" (everything related to the table, tablecloths, decorations, chinaware, glassware, silverware ..) and these have a Paris touch with the Eiffel Tower in white.
Bonne chance!
Barbara has been living in Paris for a couple of years - and loving it! A French teacher in, she was already loving everything French before she relocated here. And because French culture is related to the kitchen among other things, she had French glassware, French plates, French pots and pans, and more in her home in Saint Louis! 
I was delighted to be invited to her Thanksgiving lunch last Thursday. 
She dressed a beautiful table in autumn colors and we all loved her American Thanksgiving decoration: porcelein turkeys! Arent's they beautiful? She had placed walnuts here and there to stress the seasonal theme.
She prepared a stuffed turkey, and the turkey was so big that it did not quite fit in her (French) oven! She's so ressourceful! She presented the stuffing on an oval dish.
Actually, she was lucky to find a turkey over at her local butcher's! Whole turkeys are only available here around the Christmas season. She regretted that the turkey had been kept in an oven that was a bit too warm - but we all told her that it was deliciously cooked! 
The sweet potatoes were divine - I LOVE sweet potatoes and never get around to using them!
I am very grateful that she managed to find cranberries - for that is what makes Thanksgiving in my mind! I loved them. 
Feeling that all this was not enough for the eight of us, she served grilled vegetables that she presented with chopped parsely, garlic, and bread crumbs.
Her pumpkin pie was perfect. A balance of smooth mashed pumpkin and the spices it takes (she brought All Spice from the States), the crust was very crsipy.
Here's her group! We all enjoyed each other's company as much as Barbara's cooking.
Thabk you Barbara!
Get a celery root from your local market. Celery root or Apium graveolens is a large brown root from the same family as the celery. It has a similar sharp taste and can be used cooked (see below) or raw, grated with a sauce "remoulade", and you will get the "celery remoulade t -hat is often served in the raw vegetables platters in France (assiette de crudites). Wash it thouroughly, remove the green leaves and the thin roots (I kept a few green leaves to give flavor to a soup).
Cut it in two and peel it (or peel it and cut it in two!). Then make large cubes. Put them in a pan with 6 cups of water over high heat. Add sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Let boil until tender (it may depend on the freshness of your celery root). Use a knife to check that it is soft. Then blend it until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of "creme fraiche". Serve lukewarm with the topping you like. See below.
Fancy: Salmon eggs with freshly ground black pepper and thin slices of endive.
Summer: Finely cut chives and new baby turnips cut in mirepoix (small dices) that were previously blanched.
Winter: Plenty of thin slices of endives and paprika.
Pink: Beetroot cut in mirepoix and pink dry berries!
My starting point was this beautiful (natural) purple cauliflower bought over at my local producer's at the Murat Market. I also had beetroot, a bit of trevise salad, red onions, and some pink potatos! The tone was set! I had bought the day before a "carre" of free range pork over at my usual Charcutier (his prok comes from a farm in the Sarthe).
I set a nice yet not fancy table (I have told you, 40% of the success of your dinner!) with this table cloth bought in Singapore's little India that I love, anthracite color dishes, the Ercuis stainless steel silverware, the tall mouth-blown water glasses from Cairo, and the as tall wine glasses I bought to match the water glasses. I put my thick, dark brown glass candle holders, and the pot-pourri I have made with the roses my husband gives me for my birthday, contained in a mouth-blown glass fruit bowl.
My "mise en bouche" was Pink Verrines in three layers: Bottom layer, cream of mushrooms bought from the Greek lady at my market. Medium layer, cream cheese with diced beetroot in mirepoix and freshly ground red pepper, top layer of green olives tapenade, and a "tear" of tomato concentrante on top!
My appetizer was a Lukewarm Cream of Celery Root with Diced Beetroot and Pink Dry Berries.
The main course was not so purple but delicious nevertheless, a
The garnish was a Sauteed Purple Cauliflower simply mashed with a fork and served hot in a separate dish.
Lettuce and trevise salad, tossed with an olive oil vinaigrette was served after the main course followed by a fabulous Mont d'Or cheese, ripe and tender bought at my favorite cheese shop, Fouchereau on rue d'Auteuil. 
Baked Apples with home made blueberry jam (the one I made in Santa Monica last summer!) proposed with Calvados was dessert. 
Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrive! (The new Beaujolais has arrived) read signs at wine bars, wine shops, and restaurants every year the third Thursday of November.
lais villages, Beaujolais, and Beaujolais Cru..jpg)
1. I learned to like wine only after I got married, thanks to my French husband Jean-Louis. I was not used to drinking wine - at all!
2. Although I do not drink a glass of wine at every meal - like many French do - I cannot think of a good meal without wine.
3. My favorite red wines are Pomerol, but I also love Saint Emilion. The Bordeaux wines are made mostly with Merlot and Caberent grapes.
4. The white wines are prefer are from Burgundy, which are made with mostly Chardonnay grapes, and my favortie is the Pouligny Montrachet.
5. I have been attending a monthly Oeonology course at the University of Angers since 2008.
6. I am trying to learn to understand Burgundy wines, made mostly with Pinot Noir grapes.
7. I always have a bottle of Champagne in my fridge.
The rules are as follows:
1. Thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the award and place it on your blog. (See it up there?)
3. Link the award back to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself.
5. Pass it on to seven (7) other blogging friends (check your comments!).
Rebecca's smile stayed all over my place when she left!
Rebeca's lovely family in my living room tasting my apple quatre quarts with tea. Jasmine loved the "biscuits cuiller" that I had bought specially fpr her! 
Apple Quatre Quarts 
When we moved to our current home, we bought "baguettes" from the closest bakeries and did a "baguette tasting", can you believe it? Our favorite is from Le Grillon d'Auteuil. It is on rue d'Auteuil; there are three other bakeries on that street, but only Le Grillon has a line everyday! 
This was the line Sunday morning at 10 am!! We patiently wait inside to get our favortie type of bread. Don't come at lunchtime, the line swirls outside past the wine shop and the cheese shop!
The biggest sale is "baguette". Here they are presented in a rattan basket that comes and goes: they bake new baguettes every half hour or so!
This is the right side display at Le Grillon. Besides baguette, there are many special breads as well: rye bread (for sea food and oyesters), with grains (for those concerned about healthier foods), batard (a 500 gs baguette type), sandwich bread (for canapes, or smoked salmon)... 
This is the left side display, with crowns, peasant brads, "boules", country breads ....
The other bakery near my home is Bonneau. You may read Artisan Boulanger clearly here. Only bakeries where the bread is baked in the same place where it is sold can use the word "artisan". So places like Paul, very popular among tourists, cannot use the word "artisan" because their bread is more industrialized, it's kneaded in a centralized place (very big indeed) and then distributed around Paris. Often frozen baguettes are delivered, and they are baked on the spot, that's why you find warm bread at Paul's or Fournil de Pierre.
Bonneau bakes all bread in the shop. Dark flour baguette, "Bonneau" baguette (I love it), traditional baguette, reregular baguette ... you have a wide choice, all freshly baked.
Bonneau has a screen where you see the bread being baked! You can visit their website, where you can see the bread being baked (click on webcam)!
Bonneau has a different bread for every day of the week. On Sundays, it Mustard grains bread.
Tao wagged the tail while I was reciting over and over the lyrics above young French children recite when they play hide and seek or other games ...
Tips for keeping cheese in the fridge:
1. if you keep your cheese for a week or so, it is better to keep it refrigerated. Get a special box for cheese and wash it with baking soda regularly. 
2. keep a small bowl with ground coffee in your cheese box; coffee absorbs smells.
3. always wrap cheese in the same paper. Don't use the blue cheese paper to wrap your camembert! Wax or parchemin paper are the best.
Write a comment about this post and you may get this French cheese-knife! I bought it for you at La Vaissellerie, in Paris.
A name will be drawn on Friday November 13 at Noon Paris time among the fellow bloggers who will have left a comment here ! The French say that Friday 13 is an "unlucky" day, the lucky winner will prove them wrong.
Apples are abundant in this season - and will be all throughout the winter.
Another classic in my home these days is fresh nuts and bread!
We buy country bread (flour, yeast, salt, water, nothing else, no FAT or OIL, no additives, no conservatives, no SUGAR), then crack open some nuts. Try to put a pice of bread and a nut in your mouth ... healthy and delicious!
Fromage Blanc with any of my many jams and preserves is an almost daily pleasure! This is guava jam my mother made (she does fantastic jams!) I serve two spoonfuls of jam over a bowl with plain cream cheese (or cottage cheese, or sour cream, see link). Simple, delicious, and full of healthy stuff!
In spite of many joys, we had a particularly difficult year, so allow me to remember here family members and friends who are no longer with us.
But I do not want to finish this post on a sad note. So I thank Nat, of
ENJOY!
This very dear friend went into the trouble of organizing a dinner to introduce me to some of her friends. The seeting was casual yet delightful. The water tumblers, made of stainless steel, were a sharp contrast with the stems of the wine glasses. The earth color chinaware matched the napkin and mat, and all the shades of browns and off whites were in beautiful harmony.
We started with baguette canapes with a spread of chopped olives and olive oil, mmm, delicious! The excellent American sparkling wine served in high high flutes set the tone!
The coversation was very animated when the mise-en-bouche was presented: dices of smoked wild salmon with a smooth sauce. My friend's brother had done both jobs: fishing and smoking. Delicious!
To remind us of Halloween, she had prepared a thick and tasty pumpkin creme, which matched perfectly well the deep dark brown soup bowl.
She had roasted to perfection a turkey roast with herbs, tender and soft; the gravy was sharp in taste and light. The choice of grilled vegetables gave color to the dark plate. The green beans were home grown.
We had a very good full bodied red wine throughout the meal.
My friend has lived in France and knows all about French cuisine! Between the main course and desserts, she served a salad and a cheese platter with a soft cow milk cheese with herbs, an aged goat cheese, and a blue cheese, a perfect balance!
After this tasty and varied meal, she opted for a light lemon sherbert. Very French indeed!
These days horror is king in the streets and the homes! Halloween is everything witch and everything pumpkin! I'd rather use the latter in the kitchen than trust the former!
In Pittsbrugh, where I was last week, the tradition is followed with devotion! Spider webs, sticky and frightening, inspire anything from cookies
to house decoration! Got a pumpkin? Try my version of Halloween!
Laura's pumpkin creme.
I bought a thick slice of panceta, 1/2 cabbage, a celery branch, 2 carrots, 2 medium leeks, 2 potatoes (pink) ...
What's today's special? Since there were plenty of ripe red tomatoes in my basket, I cooked the red mullet in a tomato robe, and also made some tomato sauce that I stored in the fridge for later use (can also be frozen). 
Later in the week I prepared a Heirloom Tomato Tart with a garden salad.
My market bags also had 4 small egg plants, 2 bunches of parsley, and 1 bunch of mint leaves. I was in Lebanon!
Cucumber salad with yogurt vunaigrette and cilantro
Red mullets in tomato robe
Steamed Basmati rice
Creamy fresh cheese with home made strawberry preserve
I bought two medium sized red mullets (one per person), I asked the fish mungler to scale and empty them. Before using them I washed them under running water, outside and inside.
I diced 4 medium ripe locally produced tomatoes.
I sliced one fresh garlic clove.
I put olive oil in a rectangular pan, then the diced tomatos, the sliced garlic, I seasoned (sea salt and piment d'Espelette).
I placed the two mullets. I seasoned the fish.
I pour 1/2 glass of dry white wine and I cooked in the oven 20 minutes.
While the fish was in the oven I cooked 1 cup of basmati rice in the rice cooker.
I prepared a cucumber salad as an appetizer and we had creamy fresh cheese (replace with sour cream) with a home made preserve for dessert.
How long did it take me to fix a well balanced nutritious lunch?
TWENTY FIVE minutes ! So there are NO EXCUSES not to eat healty!
Last Friday afternoon I headed for Geneva, Switzerland, where I spent a wonderful weekend with very good friends. Geneva is 320 miles (500 km) from Paris, it can be reached in only 3 1/2 hours thanks to the marvellous French High Speed Train (TGV). The weather at destination was gorgeous, blue sky and 76 F. I have been numerous times to this very international city, therefore I did not go with a list of "must-see" things and I let my hosts organize the outings. 
The region around the Leman lake is a well known wine producing area, and last weekend was a very active one as the grape harvest took place. During the grape harvest the scenery is always beautiful! The orderly vines loaded with heavy and generous grapes were beautiful to look at. We stopped at one place that announced: "Grapes for free" and strolled in the vines admiring the stunning beauty of the landscape - and eating the sweet free bounty!
Sailing on lac Leman was new to me, so I promtly accepted the invitation! Lac Leman is in the border of France and Switerland - I am sure you all know Evian water, bottled on the French side of Lac leman. 
After sailing, a night walk in the old city was also a welcome option. 
No cars, a gentle breeze, a bit of music, people gazing and strolling, cafes and restaurants with tables outside, the premises to a good time were thus reunited. We walked into a brasserie to have a little something to eat. 
I had a plate of Viande de Grisons, a cold cut typical from the canton of Grisons, in Northern Switzerland. Viande de Grisons is made with lean beef ternderloin that is seasoned, compressed, and kept for several weeks in very cold temperature (almost freezing), before being cured in the fresh air. As you can easily guess, it was a way to preserve beef throughout the cold winter.
My friend, an "habitue" of this brasserie, ordered a good red Chamoson wine - with lots of character! It is made with Humagne Rouge grapes, a variety that grows also in the Rhine. 
On Sunday we drove along the lake, from little town to little twon, and bumped into a "brocante" where the items were very different from the ones one finds in Paris. Here, used clothes are everywhere. I stopped to have a look at this black velvet jacket - I had a very similar one 10 years ago that I loved! 
What about buying a bell for your cows? Or a scale, or old chairs, new tables, a model sailboat, chinaware and more. 
The stroll was so delightful that I did not want to leave .... A bientot Geneva! 
I have been given the One Lovely Blog Award by Petite Nyonya, a bogger from Singapore!
Buy 4 medium Charente melons, ripe and sweet (they have to be heavy). Cut them in two, remove the seeds, and peel them.
Cut them in pieces, not too small, weigh them, and put them in a large salad bowl, or a pan.
Add 60% of the melon weight in sugar. Chose if you want to enhance teh flavor with lemon rind or ginger ... or your own idea! 
Cut thin slices of lemon rind. Be careful with the fertilizers, your lemon needs to be organic! About 3 or 4 Tbsp.
If you use candied ginger, cut it also in thin slices. I have done both and love them! 
Add your ingredient to the melon and sugar. Stir well. Let them macerate a few hours.
If you like your jam thick to use it as a spread on a toasted baguette, you can add pectin at this point. Melon has no pectin (pectin is in the seeds, and fruit have more or less pectin, fruit like quince and apples have lots of pectin), your jam will be pretty liquid. But it will be perfect to mix with yogurt, to serve on top of a cottage cheese as an easy dessert, to eat with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
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