April in Paris

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Louvre

“We always returned to Paris no matter who we were or how it was changed or with what difficulties, or ease, it could be reached. Paris was always worth it and you received return for whatever you brought to it.”
—Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

In order to get ready for Pairs, I’m re-reading Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast. Our April in Paris group NotreDameis going to some of the very same places he frequented in the 1920s, and our hotel is right in the heart of Montparnasse, the center of Parisian intellectual and artistic life during the early part of the twentieth century.

Just off the plane from San Francisco, but Paris already has us slightly giddy and somewhat alert. After checking in at Les Six, fruit standour first stop is for two café crèmes at Café de Flore. And somehow between checking out the nonchalant chic, I manage to spot an ATM across the street that’s next to a Caron boutique! John has the good sense to buy a bottle of my favorite perfume, and we drift back to the hotel in a cloud of divine fragrance.
chefericThe next day our group assembles, and we all enjoy a glass of Champagne before our first dinner together. Introductions are made, and we take a very pleasant walk to the legendary Les Deux Magots where we enjoy a fantastic dinner with superb wine. Highlights of the next few days include our visits to the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and the Pompidou. Our cooking class is a blast — chef Eric is hilarious and at the same time a seriously ambitious chef. We love buying ingredients at the market, learning to filet a fish, making ratatouille and a white chocolate mousse with strawberries. We feast on what we cooked in class at a table overlooking the fishmarketSeine and Notre Dame. Of course, it’s one of our best meals—something you’ve cooked yourself always tastes best! And then there are our meals at Café Marly, Les Éditeurs, Cuisine de Bar, Restaurant Georges, and after an enchanting walk over Pont Alexandre III (the Alexander III bridge) for an astounding meal on the terrace of the Mini Palais. We really haven’t ratatoillebeen at a loss for incredible food all week. And to put Cooking School Lunchthings over the top, there’s blissfully warm weather and a nearly full moon! What an experience, what an amazing week! Come join our April in Paris group next year!

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Winter Fancy Food and New York Gift Shows

Posted on February 7, 2013 by

Winter Fancy Food Show

Only 6 aisles and already my stomach is layered with fried clams, ginger beer, umami paste, maple syrup, dolmas, gingersnaps, tart cherries, chocolates, olive oil, and gelato… honestly! If X-rayed at this moment, I would be a sedimentary example of some of the best gourmet foods worldwide!

At the Fancy Food Show, our Menus and Music booth has been filled with chefs, grocery store buyers, brokers, farmers, bakers, winery owners, app designers, etc. We’ve enjoyed meeting hundreds who rave about our combination of recipes and music. Since it’s near the end of the show, I’ve been set free to roam, or is it waddle, the aisles for a while.

Three days later, we’re off to the winter gift show in NYC, where it’s cold, bustling, and thrilling! Luckily the show coincides with Restaurant Week, and I’ve booked in advance so we have quite an eating itinerary planned.

Avra

After flying in from San Francisco, we’re in time for dinner at Avra. We feel like we’ve stepped into a cozy villa in Greece. The place is packed at 10 pm on Thursday evening, and we have a blast enjoying the absolutely fantastic food at the counter. The next night we’re at the landmark 21 Club for a very memorable cocktail at their legendary bar followed by a not very memorable salad, a truly scrumptious dish of scallops, mussels, calamari, cod, cannellini beans, and tomato sauce, and a divine vanilla bean crème brulée.

After our afternoon visit to the Museum of Art & Design on Columbus Circle, we have a craving for pizza and end up at Angelo’s Coal-Oven Pizza. Our table is surrounded by photos of famous former patrons and the sound of glee… we end up sitting close to an only in NYC birthday party for a nine year old and her 12 best friends, who actually raise their hands to let everyone know that they want to talk next.

During the next 3 exhausting and energizing days, we’re busy at the gift show presenting Menus and Music to buyers from almost every state in the nation and those who have travelled from abroad, with New Zealand being the most far flung. At the same time I’m squeezing in some important product shopping. In the evenings we’re more than ready for dinners at Benoit–Alain Ducasse’s romantic bistro (thank heaven for little

DB Modern

bistrots), DB Moderne, Daniel Bolud’s superb contemporary French American food and

DB Moderne

boisterous in a type-A New York kind of way, and Amma, for family-style Indian food. But a real highlight comes after the grueling last day of the show—on Wednesday evening Boqueira is ready to greet us with it’s hanging jamons, energy, and impossibly delicious tapas. Of course the patatas bravas are great, but the dates stuffed with almonds blue cheese and wrapped with bacon are off the chart. Then there are those croquetas with jamon and raisin puree; mushroom and tuffles; bacalao with citrus aioli; beef and potatoes like a shepherd’s pie… we’re in

Boqueira

heaven biting through each crunchy exterior to discover the soft, flavorful interior. Then comes a startling little plate entitled Beauty of the Bay with roasted octopus (actually the best octopus I’ve ever tasted) over an amazing fresh salad; roasted cauliflower that’s perfectly balanced with romesco sauce, a little plate of black bass with turnips, mushrooms, yogurt and preserved lemon. We stop there.

MFA

Next day John and I board Amtrak at Penn Station to visit our daughter and her husband in Providence, Rhode Island. If you find yourself in Newport on a weekend, stop by the gorgeous Chandler House and listen to some great jazz by Dick Lupino and his group. We also loved our day in Boston at the MFA and Isabella Stewart Gardiner museums!

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A Tropical Vacation in Your January Kitchen

Posted on January 22, 2013 by

The past few days have been the total opposite of the January doldrums! Although the new year had a truly slow start, during this week we’ve heard a gorgeous San Francisco Symphony concert highlighted by the diva Renée Fleming singing Debussy songs, viewed Treasures of the Louvre at the Legion of Honor, watched the masterpiece of a movie Lincoln, and are within hours of sitting down to see tonight’s episode of Downtown Abbey.

But the cold weather that’s keeping everyone inside has me hankering to make a concoction that will send John and me off to a vacation in the South Pacific while still in our own kitchen!

One of the main reasons I love cooking is that I’ve always liked making strange little experiments. For my ninth birthday my parents gave me a chemistry set and within days this propensity for experimenting led to the creation of a chemical reaction that exploded all the way to up to the ceiling of my bedroom laboratory… not so good because my parents were trying to sell our house at the time. And now whenever I open my refrigerator door, I’m usually confronted with a little array of my concoctions… maybe it’s my attempt at making homemade ginger beer, an interesting syrup or two that I’m infusing, a winter pesto, or a traditional Irish mushroom soup to which I’ve added some new fresh herbs.

So as the light starts to fade this afternoon, I’m concocting a drink from an amazing blend of ginger, lemongrass, kaffir lime, vanilla, and beet for brilliant red color. Years ago I was invited to a birthday party for an orchestra conductor and everyone was supposed to bring a gag gift… the most memorable gift he received was 3 beets (beatsJ) Anyway, the Orient Refresher cocktail that follows is fabulous for special occasions and its alluring flavor is also fantastic mixed with sparkling water instead of alcohol. This will be a perfect cocktail to sip before Downtown Abbey, and we’ll try it again for Valentine’s Day!

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The Orient Refresher

Posted on January 21, 2013 by

Probably the most astounding cocktail we’ve ever made! Sensationally aromatic, it has sophisticated, complex flavors and a color that is absolutely gorgeous.

SOUTH-EAST-ASIA-The-Oriental12½ small raw beet, peeled and thinly sliced into 6 slices
2 teaspoons peeled, chopped fresh ginger
6 to 8 kaffir lime leaves
½ stalk lemongrass*, smashed and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Heilala vanilla syrup

2 ounces vodka
1 ounce plum wine or port
1 ounce Limoncello

In a cocktail shaker, mash the beet, ginger, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, lemon juice, and vanilla syrup together with a muddler or the blunt end of a wooden spoon for 1 minute, or until the aromas are released. Add ice cubes, vodka, plum wine or port, and Limoncello to the cocktail shaker and shake well. Strain into 2 martini glasses.

To make the foam float for the top of the cocktail: In a deep bowl, beat 1 egg white until lightly foamy. In a tall glass, mash 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger with 2 tablespoons Heilala vanilla syrup. Strain into the egg white, stir to combine, and float on top of the cocktail.

*Choose a fresh lemongrass stalk that has a pale green color. Peel off the tough outer leaves, smash the stalk to release the oil, and chop with a sharp knife (the stalks are very fibrous.)

Makes 2 cocktails

Recipe courtesy of Heilala Vanilla.

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Organic Vanilla from the Kingdom of Tonga

Posted on January 16, 2013 by

Heilala Vanilla Bean PasteThings are looking better after a plateful of scrumptious vanilla waffles on a rainy Saturday morning in January. In fact with a mug of steaming hot tea and some great music filling the house, this moment is a bit of perfection!

I’ve been making waffles on the weekends for years. They’re so easy, quick, and fun to vary that I can’t understand why there’s a market for packaged mixes.

Vanilla SyrupThe story here is that a dairy farmer from New Zealand was given a gift of land in Tonga. He looked around, saw the unemployment, and decided to start a vanilla plantation. With a near perfect natural growing environment and soon a half dozen This morning I added some luscious vanilla flavor to our breakfast that came to me from the Kingdom of Tonga by way of New Zealand.award-winning products, his venture is now a major success story. Heilala vanilla bean paste and vanilla syrup can both be purchased at Menus and Music. Hope you enjoy the recipe!

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Vanilla Waffles

Posted on January 15, 2013 by

For a perfect weekend breakfast, try these easy, golden brown waffles. Our superstar vanilla bean paste and a drizzle of vanilla syrup make them fabulous!

Vanilla Waffles with Heilala Vanilla Syrup

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 ½ cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon Heilala vanilla bean paste
3 tablespoons melted butter, olive, oil, or canola oil
Heilala Vanilla Syrup for drizzling

In a medium bowl, use a fork or whisk to stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until blended.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and butter or oil to blend. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until blended; the batter should be a little lumpy.

Heat a waffle iron. Add about ¾ cup batter onto the hot waffle iron, close the lid, and and bake the waffle until it stops steaming and is lightly browned. Drizzle the waffle with vanilla syrup and enjoy!

Makes 4 to 6 servings

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Dreaming of Paris

Posted on January 8, 2013 by

Early January and it’s starting to sink in that the holidays are really over. Today we’re taking ornaments off the tree, returning strands of lights and household decorations to their boxes, putting the train away, and trying to stay warm and burn some calories by going on a long walk…  We’re in need of some cheer and a little good food and music, so tomorrow I’m planning a “we’re looking forward to Paris day!”

Travel to Paris!John and I are getting really excited about our trip to Paris this coming April! I just sat down to listen to my Paris Cafés CD and came up with a short list of things I’m looking forward to—

  1. Seeing the fabulous art on the 5th floor of the Pompidou Centre
  2. Having lunch or dinner at the stylish MiniPalais
  3. Crossing the river Seine on the beautiful Pont Alexander III
  4. Strolling the enchanting Luxembourg Gardens and watching the children sail their model boats
  5. Enjoying a galette or two or three at the Breizh Café
  6. Sipping a café crème and people watching at the Café Deux Magots and Café de Flore
  7. Walking underneath the Eiffel Tower, hopefully at night
  8. Spending a few amazing hours at the Musée du Louvre
  9. Enjoying a Champagne or glass of wine Café Marly
  10. Crossing the Pont Neuf over the Seine
  11. Having an ice cream at Bertillon on the Ile de la Cité
  12. Shopping!
  13. Seeing the Impressionist collection at the Musée d’Orsay
  14. Walking the street of the Marais
  15. Visiting the magnificent Notre Dame cathedral
  16. Enjoying a hot chocolate at Angelina

This morning, we enjoyed fresh croissants with jams, yogurt, fruits, and coffee over the Sunday papers. And for dinner, I cooked a traditional and wonderfully easy bistro recipe from Astier in Paris — Chicken with Mustard Sauce (recipe posted earlier). Served with fresh noodles, green peas, French bread, and a little good French wine, this was a very satisfying way to end the weekend and gather energy for the coming new year!

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