Candlemas and Crepes!

Sorry my friends, I missed La Chandeleur!
I forgot to share with you this French tradition last Tuesday February 2. Candlemas is a catholic holiday. In France, crepes are served on this day. The tradition is to toss the crepe in the air (see picture below) with your left hand while holiding a gold coin in your right hand to have wealth throughout the year.All this is history and legend, but crepes remain!
Crepes originated in Brittany, where savory and salty crepes are served at Creperies with a bowl of cider. May I invite you to prepare your own? Flmabees, like you see below, or simply with sugar, enjoy!
Easy recipe for crepes.
2 cups flour
a pinch of salt
3 eggs
2 ½ cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the eggs and beat well. The dough has to be very smooth.Add the milk little by little, beating hard till the mix is smooth. Once it's smooth, add more milk, and only once it's smooth to prevent having clusters of flour. Let rest 1 hour (this allows the flour to take full body)Heat the pan with a few drops of oil. You may need to add a bit of water if the dough has become too thick. Add one ladle of mix in the frying pan, turn with a circular movement quickly so that the batter fills the pan in a VERY thin layer. Cook one side, then toss in the air, cook the other side, remove. Cover with foil paper, to keep warm. Eat with sugar or jams, or flambe for crepes suzette!


Enjoy!

A dinner with friends

Thursday night (yesterday) we had, as we often do, friends for dinner. THursday is an unsual day, but a couple was in Paris for a few days only as they live in the South. Entertaining is a delightful way to keep friendships alive.
You all know that I am not for spending too much time preparing the meal .. my recipe?
A nicely dressed table - 20% of your success,
presentation - 20%,
your creativity - 30%, so that leaves ...
30% for the actual meal!

I used white Limoges dishes, my mouth blown water glasses from Egypt, my water pitcher from Mexico, my tall wine crystal glasses, my Ercuis stainless steel cutlery, and the tender green Jacquard Francais tablecloth.

We served Champagne while we chatted and introduced the guests to each other.

I started the meal with a veloute of cauliflower a la Barry , a cauliflower cream soup. I boiled the cauliflower flowers with water and milk, I blended, added creme fraiche, sea salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg, and served with salmon eggs. See the detailed recipe in the link. Note that one guest had come alone, his wife had another engagement. Marie, an excellent and creative cook, called me this morning to tell me that her husband had said I had served a delicious meal - and she wanted the recipe of my appetizer!

Then came my own lamb leg "mauresque", where I revisited my souvenirs of Northern Africa: lamb, cooked in a fractionned way. I cooked the lamb in the oven in a cast iron pan three times, one hour each time, morning, afternoon, and evening.

I cooked aside chick peas which I added to the lamb sauce the last time I cooked it.

After the lamb, I served a "sucrine" salad, a crisp yet tender salad grown by my local producer. I seasoned with coarskey chopped flat parsely, olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and freshly ground pepper. I used my Kenya salad spoons to toss the salad.

I presented a cheese platter together with the salad, and the challenge was:
Find what's common to all these cheeses .. and you will have the right to have some!
Are they all made with cow milk? No!
Are they all soft? No!
Are they all ... "Saints"? And the answer is YESSS!

Saint Nectaire, Saint Marcelin, Saint Felicien, Saint Flo, Pouligny Saint Pierre.... Only two found the right answer! Bravo Olivier and Elizabeth!

My dessert was a clafoutis of pears and chocolate, served in individual ramequins placed on turquoise Qing design dessert plates. The clay ramequins come with Saint Felicien cheese. This cow milk cheese is so soft that it has to be "contained" in a ramequin. I recylce them for clafoutis and individual crumbles.
We served a red Saint Emilion Bordeaux wine, 2005. Perfect pairing!

I must also say that my guests spoiled me with beautiful flowers! These light pink delicate anemones and a bouquet of bright pink roses.

Recipe of Lamb leg "mauresque"

Ingredients:
1 lamb leg
2 cans of tomatoes (tomatoes only, without seasoning or additives)
3 Tbsp of wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried mint or a branch if fresh
1 branch of parsely
4 Tpsp of olive oil
1 Tsp of harissa (a spicy paste from Northern Africa, replace with chili powder if not available)
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup of pistachios, shelled
Garnish
1 cup of chick peas, leave in 3 cups of water water 24 hours before.
Steps:
Cook the cick peas in salted water. When they are cooked (soft), drain and keep aside.
Heat the oven at 250 F.
Heat the oil in the pan. Brown the lamb leg. Remove, add the vinegar and grate the pan with a wood spatula.
Add the tomatoes, the herbs, the garlic, harissa, and spices. Bring to a boil. Stir and season to taste.
Add the lamb and put in the oven 1 hour. If you prepared this dish the day before or in the morning, in the afternoon bake again 1 hour, adding at this point the chick peas. If you can, do this three times. The lamb will be moist but well done, delicious! Roast the pistachios in a pan, and sprinkle on top of the lamb before serving.
Serve very hot.

Bon appetit!

White coated Paris

It was snowing very hard in Paris this morning!
I made this short video and shots for all of my readers who love Paris as it is an unusual view. But also for my dear daughters Aurea who is in Sunny California, and Celine, who's "freezing" at 75F in Dubai, and for my dear friends, Jennifer, who left Paris Thursday last week and must be in deeper cold back in Montana, for Jamini and Priscilla who may have never seen such a day during their respective Paris stays, for Nora and Alvaro, who came in Spring or Summer ... for all those I love and are far away - and I miss!

A glance, a smile, a taste, a shivering delightful sensation!

All about cheese!

Did you know cheese was first invented in Mesopotamia & India in 15C B.C.?
Did you know the word "fromage" dates back to the 15C?
Did you know there are over 350 types of cheese in France ?

And .. do you know how cheese is made?
Do you know how to pair it with wine?
This and more is what participants in our All About Cheese Atelier explore when they take the class!

We start with a coffee and a cheese quizz! We discuss our cheese options and typically every participant chooses a type of cheese.

Then we go to one of the best cheese shops in Paris where, with the help of our award winning "Maitre fromager" (cheese master), we select the various cheeses to sample.

After we have our bounty, we come to my studio to enjoy our "plateau de fromage" (cheese board) with a salad and three different types of wine: one red, one dry white, one sweet white ... and we discuss about our cheessy sensations while we learn All about cheese.
Our last workshop brought a variety of flavors and challenges!

Our group settled for

Saint Felicien, soft cow milk, (top in the clay pot)

Epoisses, from Burgundy

Pyrennees with sheep milk

Mimolette, aged 24 months, cow milk

Roquefort, sheep milk

A goat cheese from Poitou.

All About Cheese ateliers are scheduled once every 6 weeks.

Scones

Oh, how I love scones! My grandmother's were delicious, and my mother's too. This receipe has traveled across the continents and seas!

The first time I visited Lndon I was very sad to see that you cannot find them freshly baked - even those from good houses such as Fortnum and Mason were good, but not great.

I had not made for a loong long time, and the other day, I invited Jennifer, a friend who lived in London, for tea, and decided to make some.

Our recipe is one of the best-kept family secrets! That lemon in the warm milk makes a huge difference. Grand Aunt Madeleine loved cooking and we all loved what she cooked!

Scones as done by Aunt Madeleine
Teatime, difficulty: easy

Preparation: 15 minutes

Bake 15-20 minutes

Heat the oven over medium-high heat

What you need:
1 medium bowl
1 cookie sheet
1 wooden spoon

Ingredients and cooking method
> 2 ½ cups flour or 250 grs
> 4 tsp. Baking powder
> a pinch of salt, sift together in a medium bowl
> ½ cup + 1 Tbsp. or 100 gr unsalted butter, rub the butter in the flour till the mix feels sandy
> ½ cup + 3 Tbs milk and
> 1 Tbsp. lemon juice, mix together to turn the milk into sour milk then mix with the flour.

Be careful with the amount of milk! Better to add little by little until you get the desired consistency. Flour can take more or less liquid according to the atmospheric conditions of the place where you live.

DO NOT KNEAD, just mix gently with a wooden spoon and finish with your fingertips. If mix is too soft, you may add 1 or 2 Tbsp. of flour.
Put the mix on the counter, about 1-inch thick, and cut about 10 scones. Place on the cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Remove and let cool. We had them with my home made jams, but they are also delicious with butter and honey!

Scones with raisins: Add ¼ cup of golden raisins to the flour before mixing
Scones with cheese: Add 1/3 cup of Cheddar grated cheese and a pinch of pepper to the flour.

More about my home - and aswers to your comments

The building where I live was build in 1865. I found in a brocante a postcard dated 1906; I blew it up and framed. On the left, my building. The trees, that reach the 2nd floor in the postcard, are very high now, they reach the 5th floor! Today the train tracks have disappeared - and the horses too! I live in the 2nd fl (American 3rd) of the building, right above Le Congres, as the restuarant is now called. In this Hausmann style architecture, the 2nd and 5th floors have balconies. This picture shows my side balcony along the boulevard.At the turn of the century, the restaurant in the ground and first floor, called then La Rotonde, got permission for an extension in front. The roof of the round extension is ... my deck!! Here is my living room as seen from the deck in the evening.

Going back to my cellar, it is located in the 2nd basement, and it is pretty big. The second basement means that there are two flights of floors underground. Both have cellars, one per flat, plus one we use for bicycles. The first underground floor also has the elevator engine.

We store wine and "stuff", such as a couple of solid oak beds I had when we lived in Kenya 30 years ago, metal trunks with loads of souvenirs, paint, Christmas decorations..... and more

One of the owners remembers that during WW2 my cellar was used by the building dwellers during the bombings. The Renault factory at Billancourt Island, which was bombed during the war, was only 2 miles away.

If walls could talk!

> You cannot store wine in just any cellar, you need good humidity and temperature conditions. Because only old cellars (dirt floor, stone walls and no concrete) are optimum to store wine, you can buy wine storage cellars that look like a fridge. The challenge for the manufacturer was to avoid the virbrations of the engine that would very much damange the aging of wine - that's why these cellars are NOT a fridge!

A visit to my cellar

I live in a typical 19C Parisian stone building. These 6-7 storeys buildings have all a similar architecture, and give Paris the feeling of harmony one experiences when visitng.
Every one of these buildings has two floors of basements where the cellars are.
They were meant to store wine - although we now used them as storage of everything we cannot fit in our small flats: suit cases, Xmas decorations, old furniture, tools .. and more.
The walls are in rough stone and the entrance arched. The doors are pretty rustic!

We have around 150 bottles stored - and classified - in our cellar. There is always Champagne! I have some fine wines here, such as Pomerols, Saint Emilions, Pauillac, and more. I love Bordeaux wines!

You can see here the stone which contrary to convrete, "breathes" and creates a perfect environnement for wine storage. No need of sophisticated systems that keep temperature and humidity even! Natural materials work great.

When it comes to whites, my favorite are Sancerre, Pouilly Fume, Chablis, and some Savennieres! The very yellow bottle on top is a Sauternes I keep for foie gras.
When I buy wine, I ask how long it needs to be stored before drinking it, and how long it can be kept, and I write it on tags that help me find my way when I want a bottle.

Cheers!

Hosting a birthday party in Paris!

When Jo Ann contacted me sometime ago, I loved her story: six girlfriends, all married and with children were coming on a "girls-only" trip to Paris to celebrate the birthday of one of them.
Since they're all foodies we arranged to do together a 4-hour Paris market discovery and French Cuisine atelier! To my dismal, it was snowing on the day of our meeting! But Valerie, Kala, Jennifer, JoAnne, Melissa, and Charlene arrived laughing and enjoying the cold - no wonder, they are from Chicago!
We prepared together broccoli flans as our apetizer, pork tenderloins in a light sauce with carrots and lardons, onion compote, and pear and dark chocolate clafoutis fro dessert. We had a sparkling Vouvray to celebrate the birthday, and we paired the meal with a red from Bourgueil.

Happy Birthday KALA!!

Welcoming 2010 in a Parisian home!

We were invited by Martine and Denis to welcome 2010 in their Saint Germain the Pres beautiful flat - and Martine entertains with style! She had chosen silver as the main theme where the colorful touch was given by her beautiful red and gold glass ware.

The apéritif is a wonderful invention - it is a drink that is served before the meal to stimulate the apetite and prepare your taste buds for sheer culinary pleasure. Denis served Champagne - what else? Martine had prepared a collection of cold canapés.
The apetizer was a plate of gambas, very large prawns, that had been simply steamed. They were accompanied by a mayonnaise seasoned with piment d'Espelette - a mildly hot chile from the Pyrennées.
Martine had baked for over three hours in her convection oven a stuffed 6 lb poularde - a young hen that has been spayed for fattening. She presented it with a morilles sauce made with "yellow wine" a special wine from the Jura region (near the Swiss border) that is similar in taste to Sherry. It is matured in a barrel under a film of yeast on the wine's surface and has a very characteristic falovr. Oh, my, it was delicious indeed!

The cheese platter was a delight! Two cheeses from Burgundy, where the hostess is from, and two goat cheeses brought by Patrick who ownes a home in Sologne where goat cheeses are a local speciality. We also had a fourme d'Ambert a blue cow milk cheese from Auvergne, and Beaufort from Savoie. The cheeses were served with a Pessac red wine from Bordeaux.

A bavarois glace made by the hostess was the perfect end of this wonderful meal. Dessert was served with ... Champagne!

Bonne Année 2010 to you all!

How is your Christmas?

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?

Happy Holidays!

Celine's wedding!

My house is full of beautiful flowers! Roses, tulips, orchids, more roses, and more tulips! 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.
My tablecloth was in white organza hand emroided with small yellow flowers. I had bought it many years ago with a wedding in mind ... Actually, Celine was 6 years old when I bought it!

I had ordered a bouquet with touches of yellow from Le Bois d'Auteuil, a delightful flower shop near my house, on rue d'Auteuil.

My silverware is Christophle and the glasses in Baccarat crystal.
Coffee was available to keep awake those who were driving back to the Netherlands after the meal, my cups are in fine 5 colors decorated porcelein from China.

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!
For the appetizer, we proposed a choice of Foie Gras, Oysters, or Warm Goat Cheese on a bed of green beans.
The entree could be scallops with risotto, or grilled duck breasts, or lamb in a thyme sauce.

The wines were a Gewurstraminer vieilles vignes for the foie gras (sweet white wine from Alsatia), a white Menetou Salon for those who had opted for sea dishes, and a Bordeaux Saint Emilion (red) for the meaty courses.

Everyhting was just perfect!
Special thanks to Faty, who assisted us and helped our Dutch guests in their choices.

We came back home for dessert - and more champagne. We had ordered a classic French wedding cake, a piece montée, from Le Notre, a wonderful and well known Parisian patissier. According to Wikipedia, a pièce montée (from French, literally "assembled piece" or "mounted piece" ) is a kind of decorative confectionary centerpiece in an architectural or sculptural form used for formal banquets and made of materials such as confectioner's paste, nougat, marzipan, and spun sugar.

Vive les mariés!

Dinner at Rami's with Coco!

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!

We went with Coco who is curently working and living in Istanbul. I ordered a main course and dessert, and could not resist the basket with warm bread!

My choice was a stewed lamb, Ottoman style. It is served in an oval pewter dish.
The portions are rather small, but the lamb was delicious.

I ordered a coupe of home made compote, with peaches, cherries, and quince in a light syrup.

We had a great time, but were sorry to see that this magnificent three storey mansion that houses the restaurant was almost empty!

We paid $60 per person for three main courses, three desserts, one appetizer, and one bottle of Turkish wine.

Bon appetit!

A week-end in Istanbul!

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!

>>> READ THIS !!! AUREA has an incredible give-away!
Some stunning beauty products by Elizabeth Grant!!
Don't miss it!

I have a winner!

The Christmas market at the Champs Elysees was full of treasures! 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!

And now the much awaited announcement: After lots of Ams Stram Grams, one by one my fellow bloggers were eliminated, and the winner of the French egg holoders is:

My Caroline Kitchen!

Please contact me!

Oeuf a la coque 4 you (soft boiled eggs) - Laura's giveaway!

I was looking for a good "recipe of the month" in my website's database of recipes and was so happy to see tat I have many recipes from bloggers! Thank you to all of you!
But I did not find something "suitable" for my mood!
Then this morning I was at the Christmas Market in the Champs Elysees with a friend, it was a cold early December day,the sun was low .. and we had one glass of vin chaud!
What a good diea ... a Vin Chaud or hot wine ...
Find my recipe on the right side of the blog or in my website!\

I found in the market these lovely "coquetiers" (soft boiled egg holders) and I thought of you all!

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.

What do you think?
Leave a comment in this post in they can be yours! I will draw a winner by December 8, when I come back from Istanbul - I will mail them so that you get them before Christmas! Bonne chance!

Thanksgiving in Paris

Meet Barbara!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.
Barbara presented the traditional feast - and her French friends were very glad to discover this classic American tradition - first hand.

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!

Celery root cream (the recipe)

This recipe was inspired by my luncheon at Texture in London. I have served it many times, more or less thick, more or less warm, and with different toppings, and it always a great success! It's a great idea for an easy yet unusual appetizer that you can serve for your Thanksgiving menu! 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!

What is your version?

Celery root has plenty of vitamin K. Another celery root idea? Blend it until smooth, make home made mash potatoes and mix well. Delicious!

Short of ideas? Be creative!

I was having guests for dinner, and had no time to plan. Plus, Xavier and Jia Lin are both excellent cooks; it is always difficult to match their talents! I had a look at my fridge and decided to do a "purple theme dinner"! 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.
And here is my menu:
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.
I will give you the recipe of this delicious and easy celery cream in a post to come soon! I took pictures "step by step"!
The main course was not so purple but delicious nevertheless, a
Carre of Free Range Pork in a Curry Sauce (yes, I peeled the pink potatoes and spread some pinck dry berries on top!) 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.

Anncoo , the blogger who takes me back to Asia so often through her incredible dishes, has surprised me - and delighted me! - with this Excellence Award!

I have been writing so many truths about myslef lately that I am not sure I have any left.

So this award can be shown without risking anything (ha ha ha)!

Bon appetit!

Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!

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.
Beaujolais nouveau is a French red wine produced in the Beaujolais region of France, which is South of Paris, roughly between the city of Macon (the Maconnais region) and Lyon (the Lyonnais region)

This wine, made from Gamay grapes, is a great marketing hit!
In Japan, it's really big, and Air France and Beaujolais promote this wine with great success. Those fond of Beaujolais wait for the arrival at Narita airport!

It is a light purple-pink wine that has been fermented for just a few weeks and sold. It can only be sold for a period of time (till the end of the year). Served always a bit chilled (13 degrees C) it has a fruity flavor, pleasant and inviting ... and as every year, we played the game and bought two bottles for the dinner we had on Friday. The 2009 version is quite pleasant!

Note that the Beaujolais region produces other appellations (Certifications delivered in France and Europe that guarantee the origin of the product) such as the Beaujolais villages, Beaujolais, and Beaujolais Cru.

Beuajolais nouveau is fun - but not a great wine! Everybody knows it ... nevetheless ... Enjoy!

Bella has awarded me the beautiful Kreativ Blogger Award and I am very grateful for that. Since this post is about wine, I will play the game of the 7 things about myslef with wine!

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!).

Blogger Chow and Chatter visits me in Paris!

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

3 eggs, separated

250 g sugar
250 g butter
250 g flour
1 pinch of salt

1 apple, peeled

Heat the oven at 375 F

Mix the sugar with the butter, beat until the mixture becomes light yellow.

Add the egg yolks and beat well.

Add the flour and salt

Beat the whites on high speed until they are stiff.

Blen carefully the whites and the previous mix.

Add half the apple cut in slices.

Pour in a pan previously buttered and flowerd.

Place the remaining half of the sliced apple on top.

Bake 40 minutes. Remove and let cool off.

Serve!

Easy Monday, enjoy bread: bakeries near my house

Chrisitne of Soul Aperture sugested a "simple things Monday" in her last post. I signed for it and here is mine: bread, one of the simplest if not the simplest of all meals!
Kristy Gourmet who lives in Johor, Malaysia, and runs the fabulous My Little Space , asked me to take pictures of French bread, so this post is also for her!

I have seven bakeries within walking distance from my Paris home! Today I will tell you about the two nearest ones: Le Grillon d'Auteuil and Bonneau. 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!
A "baguette" weighs 250 grs and is 60 cm long. It is made with yeast, flour, salt, and water - but can contain up to 2% of fava flour. The special kneading gives the baguette its aspect and texture.

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.

So now you understand why I do not bake bread! I admire those among you who bake their own bread. I often leave comments in your blogs saying so. Having seven bakeries near, I am not so motivated to bake my own bread.

Ams Tram Gram

Ams, tram, gram,

Pic et pic et colégram,

Bour et bour et ratatam,

Ams, tram, gram.

Ams, tram, gram,

Pic et pic et colégram,

Bour et bour et ratatam,

Ams, tram, gram.

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 ...

.... and he is happy to annouce the happy winner of the French Cheese Knife.

Karine of Food gourmand

The knife will fly to Toronto! Karine, please contact me!

UPDATE: Saturday 14 (have a little more time today to add a few suggestions)
Some cheese platters to give you ideas:

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.

Watch for another giveaway soon - another French cuisine item.

Laura's Cheese Knife giveaway & Honest Scrap Award!

Today, November 11, is a public holiday in France. We commemorate the end of World War I. The armistice was signed in 1918 by the Allies and Germany. It is said that it was signed at 5 am in a railroad car parked in a French forest near the front lines.
This year, Chancellor Angela Merkel will come to Paris to attend a ceremony at the Arc du Triomphe, where the unknown soldier tomb is.

Get ready for 10 truths
and participate in my November giveaway !!

Fellow blogger Di loves gardening, among other things, and her blog is devoted mainly to gardens and photos and developments of her life. She has awarded me the Honest Scrap award!

• Rules of this award:
  > Post 10 truths about oneself: done!
  > Pass the award to 10 others (with their links): done!
  > Include the link of the person who honored you with the award : done!

My Ten (Random) Truths !

1. I do not know how to dance and I am ashamed of it.
2. I hate going to the dentist and when I am sitting on the dentist chair I also hate the dentist!
3. When I say my height, I always add one centimeter!
4. I've never read Proust's "A la recherche du temps perdu" and pretend I know all about Proust's "madeleines".
5. I once served "fondants au chocolat" (chocolate cake) from a pastry shop and pretended I had baked them!
6. Doctor said I have to lose 8 lb - but I cannot get myself to work hard enough on this - and pretend everyday I am trying hard!
7. I never watch TV, I simply do not like it and do not enjoy it.
8. Inspired by Sonny who got the same award, I must say I am better at cooking than I am at baking.
9. I am petty busy during the week and sometimes I prepare two/three posts ahead of time (nos you know why sometimes I don't visit your blog)
10. I love blogging!

These ten fellow bloggers will have to tell us their ten truths too!
Allow me to introduce to you ten super blogs for you to visit:
1. Alice from Canberra, Australia, and her blog A Growing Delight
2. Dhanggit, from Aix-en-Provence, France, Dhanggit's Kitchen a blog where East and West collide.
3. Denise Clarke and her amazing Adventures of food and wine pairing
4. Pink Nest does not tell much about her in her blog, but it is delicious! Try Pinknest
5. Mardi? Is that her name? Her blog is about eat, live, travel, and write
6. RoyalTLady from Malaysia, who shares with us family tales, nice shots, delicious recipes, and more
7. Lindsey enjoys cooking and sharing what she has learned with my friends & family, and you are a friend so go and visit Tiny Skillet
8. If you believe that a home is more than a house, stop by Melissa's Sunbonnet Cottage
9. Betsy C. who has relocated from the US to Aveyron, France, and shares with her readers passions, great shots, feelings, and more, so visit La France Profonde for a ride into deep France and Frenchiness.
10. Jamie, a lovely blog of a mother' cooking abilities as they are trsnamitted to her children in Mom's cooking club

Congratulations to all!

And now...

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.

(really) simple & healthy snacks

Let's talk healthy snacks! Apples are abundant in this season - and will be all throughout the winter.
When friends bring us apples from their country houses, I peel them and put them in a tightly covered pan, with no water, and with a piece of cinammon bark and a vanilla bean.
I let cook over very low heat until they are cooked and can be mashed. It's very nice when they just start to stick to the bottom of the pan ...
Compote de pommes is a classic family dessert in France.
Some types of appel may require you add some water to the pan.

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!

What are your healthy options?

Remembering ... plus two awards and an apology.

Remembering ... On November 2, All Souls' Day, we remember loved ones who have left us. Traditionally in France people bring flowers to the graves and chrysanthemums are found in all the flower shops. I have preferred this delicate flower from my deck ... 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.

Family on my husband's side, in France: Andree, Maurice, Michel.

Dear friends: Francis in Thailand, Ponchita, Walter in Montevideo, Maria in Buenos Aires.

Farewell...

But I do not want to finish this post on a sad note. So I thank Nat, of
Girls are made of sugar and spice, for her Kreativ' Blogger Award. Visit her blog now, you will see the pictures of her two pink fairies!

What would you find worth reading about myself? Mmmm ... let's try to make it tasty!

1. My first and trademark dish when I was young was a braised roast beef in a creamy sauce.

2. The first time I went to the local market in Nairobi I was knocked off by the strong smell of cilantro, sitting in the sun for hours the smell of cilantro mixed with the smells of rotten fruit and vegetable was pungent. I couldn't stand it! Then I tamed my scent and now I love it!

3. I first tasted curry in Kenya, over at friends' whose family had come from Punjab; it blew my mouth! I also learned to tame my mouth!

4. The first time I tasted green tea, it was near Shanghai, at Long Jing, or Dragon's Well, a very famous Chinese brand. Felt like grass ... but now I have some 5 different green tea types in my pantry, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean!

5. My first snails (and last ever) were experienced at a restaurant in Rochester, NY! I have been offered many many times and have politely declined ...

6. I tried oysters for the first time in France - my French friends were expecting me to be disgusted, but they didn't know I used to eat raw mussels in Punta del Este when I was little!

7. While in Colombia, in a visit to Bucaramanga, I tasted the local specialty: grilled ants ... mmm, no comments!

After my "first-time confessions", I will nominate seven bloggers.
Among the many blogs I enjoy reading, I will try to name seven I have not given an award to in the past (I have made a careful list and I have already given awards to roughly 25 bloggers out of the fifty something blogs I visit regularly!).

1. Blogging in English from Canada: My Folie a Deux with Jen Laceda's remarks in fashion, travel, lifestyle, and more!

2. Blogging from Johor, Malaysia, My Little Space loves baking, cooking, and sometimes ... jungle tracking!

3. Tina in Florida tells us about Life in the slow lane at Squirrel Head Manor

4. Do I need to introduce Sam Hoffner and her delightful My Carolina Kitchen - a blog that celebrates its first year.

5. Michelle Hobart greets us with a G'day from Tasmania (Australia), tells us about her daily life in Alpaca, Chook, Garden, Travel and Michelle's Musing

6. SJ Gourmet delights us with her beautiful pictures of food because this Chef loves the documentation of food as much as the actual food preparation.

7. Fifi Flowers is all over my Parisian flat, her paintings fly over land and ocean from LAX to land on my walls!

So this is what you have to do:
1) Thank the person who has given you the award (that's me!).
2) Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3) Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4) Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5) Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

Last but not least, a very special thanks and an apology to Patti Friday who runs the beautiful Liberty Post for this joyful award that I acknowledge only today! ENJOY!