The Sweet Life! - Thursday, 31 October

Today's main entertainment: the annual "Salon du Chocolat" at the exposition center at Porte de Versailles in the 15th arrondissement. You're hit with the scent of chocolate even before you walk in the door. Several vendors are selling crepes and waffles, so those scents make the air even sweeter (which is hardly possible).

Boy, these Frenchies sure know and love their sweets - this two-floor 400-exhibitor giant "salon" is not limited to chocolate, far from it! I took a few photos to prove it. The funny part is that when I got home I realized that I hadn't taken any shots of the bewildering variety of chocolate (and other) candy vendors and their products, just of the ancillary stuff! Oh, well, trust me. There was a massive amount of chocolate there. This event goes through Sunday...I wonder how much the vendors be taking home with them. Hey, maybe I should head out there again on Sunday afternoon to see if I can pick up a few really good deals! (Nah, today's crowd was almost overwhelming...I can't imagine what it will be on Sunday!)

By the way, you can click on any photo in this blog to enlarge it.

Some ancient candy-making machinery.  Not sure what it was for, but it sure looked serious!

 Mounds of colorful spices, rices, salts and peppers

Giant round loaves of spicebread, a big treat here.  It is served with cheese, sausages, foie gras (and anything else that might strike your fancy!).

Chocolate clothing. Yup, a style show is apparently a traditional feature of the exhibit each year. Only in France!

My favorite "Canelé" cakes, a specialty of Bordeaux, and something few bakers seem to get right (they are a bit tricky to get absolutely tender inside and nice and crispy outside). I grabbed a box of eight of the minis, and I'm happy to report that they're perfect! I see that this vendor, Canelé Lemoine, has a shop in Paris...must add that to my standard itinerary!

Crowds lining up for foie gras sandwiches

Grilling the foie gras

A cooking competition









Racks upon racks of chocolate-making supplies, molds, tools, fountains, etc.

More spicebread, this time baked in giant square loaves. I bought some of this guy's honey-raisin-prune variety. Yum yum!

A whole world of nougatine awaits you

 And mountains of dried fruit

A Champagne tasting booth. Here you could pay 8 euros and try all of their varieties. There are other booths with chocolate (and other) liqueurs to drink &/or to use in candy making. Lots of wines too - they do go well with chocolate.  So there's no excuse for going home either hungry or thirsty!

 Giant slabs of chocolate piled on top of each other like tectonic plates

Crowds gathered for the demo by chefs from the Ferrandi cooking school in Paris. There was almost a stampede when they offered copies of the recipes. 

The demo begins.  There were also several smaller workshops on specific topics throughout the building. And a song-and-dance show on the 2nd floor (as if all of this chocolate and sugar didn't have us wired enough already!).

This appeared to be hands-on training in front of an audience. The participants looked only slightly bewildered!








I bought my ticket online in advance for 13.5 euros - it provided entry and lots of sampling. But can you believe that I didn't buy any chocolate at the show? Actually, many of the great vendors have shops in my 'hood, and I'm guessing that their prices are about the same. I did manage to snag some wonderful dark "miel de foret" (forest honey) and some whimsical macaron earrings (in addition to my Canelés and spicebread), though. So it was an entertaining and successful afternoon as far as I'm concerned. But then I'm easily entertained!

Halloween "Light" - Thursday, 31 October

There's little evidence of American-style Halloween here in Paris. Apparently some merchants tried to get the populace interested in decorations and costumes a few years ago, but it fell flat. I did see one woman with her two little kids in costumes this evening, but that's about it so far.

Except for the very cute and subtle decorations on the sidewalk tables of the café where I was "celebrating" happy hour. The proprietor had hollowed-out some oranges, cut Jack-o-Lantern faces in them, and made votives out of them! So I'm gonna call it Halloween "light" (groan!).

The good news is that you have plenty of time to copy this idea for your party table tonight.  You're welcome!

Euphoria Times Three - Wednesday, 30 October

One of my very favorite cheeses is Brillat-Savarin, a soft and velvety 75% fat creamy-yet-zingy and slightly salty cow's milk cheese eaten young.  I had read that you could buy Brilliat-Savarin with an embedded layer of black truffles in Paris at this time of year, and sure enough, they had it at the cheese shop around the corner.

Wow! It blew me away. Euphoria times two.  I think that little bits of flesh from the top of my head must be stuck to the beams in the ceiling.

And this half-wheel cost me just 5 euros! Euphoria times three. I picked up a decent bottle of Bordeaux today for 11 euros (2010 Chateau Goubau) and one of Eric Kayser's fabulous "baguette cereal" (whole grain with sesame and poppy seeds). This will certainly tide me over until dinner late tonight. Or who knows, it might take the place of dinner!

Artisan de le Dallage - Wednesday, 30 October

A little section of rue Montorgueil (the great food street just outside my door) was damaged. It had been quickly repaired with concrete. Yesterday they were jack-hammering the concrete. Today the artisans were out, repaving it with the classic paving stones, about 3"x3"x3" cubes of granite.

Beautiful!  I love this place!

My Pavlovian Reaction at Vaugirard - Tuesday, 29 October

I attended a lecture/demonstration at Le Cordon Bleu today, and I gotta tell ya - I have a downright Pavlovian reaction just riding up the escalator exiting the Vaugirard Metro stop and seeing the beautiful building just ahead of me and the Square Adolphe Chérioux to my right (named after a former mayor of the 15th Arrondissement, in which this resides). These videos probably won't do anything for you, but I add them for my own saliva-inducing benefit!

On the "menu" of today's lecture/demonstration were:
* a Chanterelle "fricassee" with apricots, chicken oysters, cocks' combs, New Zealand spinach and "Vin Jaune" wine emulsion
* rabbit saddle prepared Jean-François Piège style, polenta with olives, tiny gem lettuces with a basil/oliveoil/salt puree, and rabbit/veal/sage jus
* citrus zest ice cream with kiwi coulis, meringues, white and red grapefruit sections, Chantilly cream, and mint leaves

The final dish

The raw cock's comb

My favorite Chanterelle mushrooms cooked gently in oil and butter with shallots, dried apricots and just a splash of Vin Jaune (a dry white, slightly straw-tasting wine) was a revelation - great depth of flavor, and the play of various types of earthiness was wonderful! Chicken "oyster" muscles were blanched, then rinsed, then sauteed - very tasty.  The cocks' combs were cooked in a "blanc" (water, a bit of flour, salt) then rinsed and cut into triangular sections, sauteed and then deglazed with red wine vinegar (while they were still in the sautée pan - a typical technique when preparing all "organ" meats, this ensures that there is no residual bacteria in the final dish). The cocks' combs were rather strange - not very much flavor and very gelatinous (I don't think I'll go out of my way to have them again!).

The preparation of the rabbit saddles was fascinating.  The backbone was removed (and later sauteed and reserved for the jus). The "flap" portion was kept attached to the loin, and the interior side of the flap was lightly scored in a criss-cross fashion. The kidneys were skinned then sliced and placed on the flap, and it was seasoned with pepper, lemon zest, fresh thyme, and fresh marjoram. The loin was then rolled up into the flap and the whole thing was rolled up sausage-style several times in a piece of aluminum foil and the ends twisted. The rabbit saddle was then sauteed right in these little aluminum foil rolls - a great technique that preserved the moisture (rabbit can often be dry) and flavor and delivered a nice tender texture.  The polenta-with-olives went very nicely with it, offering both sweet and sharp notes. And the little lettuces were cute and tasty and provided a nice crunch!

Chef's presentation included some
sterling silver leaf!

My portion of dessert - they
gave me one of the fanciful
meringue shapes as well as
one of the little "hedgehogs"

I'm not too crazy about grapefruit with ice cream, but this ice cream was fabulous - strips of orange, lemon and grapefruit zest were infused in the milk as it was warmed for its crème anglaise base. The meringues were tasty, crispy and fancifully shaped. And the kiwi coulis (the flesh cooked in 50% sugar syrup and then pureed) provided a nice color and flavor contrast.

Chef Frédéric Lesourd taught this class.  He holds several diplomas and has worked in significant positions at Maxim's, Le Bristol, L'Espadon at the Ritz, Hotel Meurice, and at Élysée Palace.  He has taught at Le Cordon Bleu since 2008 (including several of the lecture/demonstrations I've attended) and always has fun with the students while always provideing a wealth of historical and technical information.

If you've read my previous blog entries, you know all about lecture/demonstration classes at Le Cordon Bleu. So this is for you new folks! Anyone can attend one of these for 45 euro, and typically there is no need to pre-register (although it doesn't hurt to call ahead). You're just attending the 2.5 hour lecture portion of a lesson along with the regular students (they later make the same dishes in their "practical" - this portion is not available to the public) and you get to taste the end results. LCB publishes a quarterly schedule of these classes and you can call ahead to get your name on the list if you like or just show up at least 15 minutes before class starts (it can get pretty crazy busy in their lobby). You can pick up the quarterly schedule at the school (8, rue Léon Delhomme in the 15th arrondissement) or request one from their website www.lcbparis.com (although finding it is a bit tricky) or write them an email at paris@cordonbleu.edu . Classes are taught in French, but they are fully or partially interpreted in English.

For my Resume: French TV Food Reporter - Monday, 28 October

What can I say? My life cracks even me up some days.

Like today. I'm strolling through the 'hood after lunch, down rue Bachaumont (a beautiful little street where I rented an apartment for a couple weeks a year ago).  Almost right outside the door of that building was a new shop: L'atelier de l'eclair. You guessed it, a tea shop / pastry shop that sells only eclairs. You can buy them "to go" or sit down at tea time for your eclair fix (something we all need, right?).

Apparently the shop just opened, because a TV crew was there filming. And guess who the reporter wanted to answer some questions for the camera. Oui, moi. And they were fine with interviewing me in English. THIS IS GOING ON MY RESUME!

It seems that eclair shops are all the rage now. Of course eclairs are almost as Parisian as croissants - you can find them in all patisseries. But shops that have a dozen sweet varieties and a dozen savory varieties (ham & cheese, salmon, foie gras, club sandwich, ...) in three sizes - well, that's pretty new.  http://www.latelierdeleclair.fr/14-nos-eclairs

I took home two tiny "cocktail" size eclairs: one salted caramel and one "red fruits" (filled with fabulous mousse and topped with an intensely flavored glaze), made some coffee, and inhaled them. Woo hooo! This is the life!

I also grabbed a coupon for two eclairs + coffee for 6 euros in the sit-down tea shop. Guess where I'm going for afternoon tea tomorrow?

At this point they have three locations:
* 66, ave des Champs Elysees in the 8th
* 16, rue Bachaumont in the 2nd
* 13, rue des Archives in the 4th

It's comforting to know that I never have to go too far for my "fix" if I stick to these fashionable neighborhoods.

Remember to watch for me on TV if you're in Paris over the next few days! And if you see me walking down the street laughing to myself, be kind - I'm not crazy, just terribly amused by my life.

I Don't THINK we Brought Home Any Fleas! - Sunday, 27 October

Michal and Liz considering
an alternative to Delta
for their trip home!  Yup, this is
in the flea market.

This afternoon I dragged Liz & Michal up to the Marché aux Puces (flea market) at Saint-Ouen (just past the end of the #4 Metro line at Porte de Clignancourt). I frequently try to describe this place to people, without a lot of success -  it just boggles the imagination! One of these decades I just have to buy a chateau in the countryside and furnish it with antique furniture, mirrors, sculptures, fabrics, rugs, plates, crystal, silver, prints, artwork, chandeliers, marble fireplaces, kitchenware, books, music, Victrolas, and miscellaneous baubles from this market! (That is, of course, if I buy a winning lottery ticket or all my pals chip in!)

The First-Class cabin

This time only I bought a couple little items from one of the hundreds of markets within Saint-Ouen, so chances are good that we didn't bring home any actual fleas. But we all ignored my admonition to "just keep walking" through the cheap merchandise stalls you encounter before entering the market. Some little souvenirs plus really nice scarves and a jacket were just too much to pass up!

It was drizzling as we walked home from supper this evening, so we didn't look our tidiest, but Liz & I just had to have our picture taken occupying my building's elevator. It has a maximum capacity of four! Yup, right. Four skinny Frenchies!

Reformation and a Revelation - Sunday, 27 October

Today was Reformation Sunday, and the worship and sermon at The American Church in Paris (my favorite Sunday morning haunt) were absolutely edifying and challenging. The place was full as always, and Luther, Calvin, Cranmer and Knox were present in their stained glass windows!

And, as always, the coffee after the service was good and strong and hot! This non-denominational Protestant church attracts people from all over the world for whom English is a first or second language (and who are visiting or working in Paris) - just imagine the lively conversations that take place over coffee.  The #63 bus stops right outside the church, so lots of parishioners board it at the same time to go home, and they continue their conversations there.  Today I eavesdropped on a journalist and a mathematician who were talking about their recent articles/books and the changing landscape for freelancers in Paris.  The women of the church publish the best guide for living here that I've seen - it's called "Bloom where You're Planted" and covers everything from schools to shopping to renting/buying to services to health care to raising a family to starting a business to .....  So if I were to ever decide to actually move to Paris, you can pretty easily guess where I'd first start connecting with people! http://www.acparis.org/

Ms. Anderson (left) talking to
some folks after the service.

This church has a great music program - choirs, soloists, organ, piano, handbells, etc. (plus very fine free recitals by visiting musicians every Sunday afternoon).  But choirs and soloists from all over the world also come to The American Church to offer their unique gifts to enhance the Sunday worship services.  Today was a revelation!  An amazing virtuoso solo handbell player, Christine Anderson from California, played her arrangement for handbells and piano of "Fount of Blessings" between the Epistle and the Gospel and "Be Still My Soul" for the Offertory.  Wow!  It was something I've not seen before and am unlikely to see again.  Here's a video of her in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkkC4oMdJ54

Disagreeing with Parisian Audiences! - Saturday, 26 October

I was so excited about seeing and hearing Leonidas Kavakos play the Brahms Double Concerto for Violin and Cello with Enrico Dindo (Cello), Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig at the Salle Pleyel tonight.  And the Brahms Symphony No. 1.  It's part of a week-long Brahms festival with all four symphonies and various soloists on concertos.  And bonus: I got to attend the concert with a couple fabulous violinists (Liz & Michal Sobieski) with whom I could compare notes.

The view from my seat

Diasppointment #1: discovering the little insert in the program announcing that Kavakos was sick and would be replaced by Julian Rachlin in the double concerto.  Rachlin is a 38-year-old violinist and violist born in Lithuania who studied in Vienna.  He was OK but certainly no Kavakos.  And the cellist was quite a bit stronger, so the concerto felt a little off-kilter.  Kudos to Rachlin for stepping in like this, of course, but it was still a letdown.

Disappointment #2: the performance of the Brahms Symphony No. 1 was the weakest I can remember hearing in a live concert of a professional orchestra.  Sigh.  Liz & Michal & I were focusing on different things, and we disagreed somewhat in our assessment of the performance.  It's one of the really great symphonies of all time of course, and it's always a pleasure to hear a live performance of it, but (silly me!) I was expecting something more like the kind of performance I would hear from the MN Orchestra.  Instead, entrances were choppy, solo lines were kind of plopped down rather than integrated with what came before and after, the brilliant giant lines and phrases of this symphony felt like they were cut short, the horns way over-blowed some of their passages (especially the horn calls at the beginning of the 4th movement), the rest of the winds sounded like a bunch of soloists instead of an ensemble, and the orchestra didn't seem to be following Chailly at times.

Another view from my seat

In general, the performance sounded athletic and abrupt rather than lush.  But maybe that's a German performance style? Or a new trend in interpretation? (If you know, shoot me a note!) Or maybe I'm just old and stuffy and sentimental. I can tell you that the crowd (a full house) disagreed with me - they went absolutely wild! They bravo'd and clapped rhythmically and received multiple bows by conductor and sections and sectional soloists and even got an encore (a Brahms Hungarian Dance). So classical music (including the old war horses) is alive and demanded in Paris.

The good news is that I'm even move excited that I'll be able to hear Brahms' 2nd Symphony on November 14 & 15, performed by the mighty Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra under the baton of the GREAT Stanislaw Skrowaczewski!  http://www.minnesotaorchestramusicians.org/skrowaczewski-artymiw-november-14-15/

The first patrons at Cafe Pleyel

And the other good news is that Salle Pleyel has a little cafe integrated into the 2nd floor lobbies where they serve a decent 30 euro prix fixe pre-concert dinner.  If you have a ticket for the concert, they let you in the doors early.  Liz & Michal & I were the first ones there at around 6:30!

Pigging Out at The Pig's Foot - Friday, 25 October

Liz enjoying her first
foie gras and Sauternes
ever!

(a.k.a. The Three Little Pigs Do Paris!)

One of the things my friend Liz Sobieski wanted to be sure to have in Paris is foie gras.  Smart chick!  As I'm fond of saying, you could have it here every day, so why not?  There are many ways to prepare it, so step #1 in anyone's quest would be to just order it when it's on the menu. And the next time it is. And the next time....

We spent a chunk of today wandering around my neighborhood so that I could introduce Liz & Mike to some streets and shops and sights that they could explore more fully on their own.  And of course I had to introduce them to my pal Franck at E.Dehillerin!  http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.fr/2009/06/chefs-shangri-la-e-dehillerin-saturday.html

Another happy camper!

But first we needed to stop for lunch somewhere, and why not make it the famous "Au Pied de Cochon" (The Foot of the Pig), one of the most well-known brasseries next to the old market district of Paris, Les Halles.  6, rue Coquillière   http://www.pieddecochon.com/en/

We attacked the plate of
foie gras so quickly that
I didn't get a snapshot
until it was almost gone!

This place is famous for its French onion soup gratinee (with a thick layer of cheese), its braised pigs' feet, its enormous raw seafood platters, and its desserts. It also just so happens that they have slices of foie gras terrine as an entrée (appetizer).  So we got one order of foie to share and three glasses of Sauternes (the late-harvest sweet white wine that is absolutely brilliant with foie).  It wasn't the best foie I've had, but it was pretty darn good.  And Liz liked it (and the Sauternes)!

We also all ordered the soupe à l’oignon gratinée, which couldn't have been a better choice since we were sitting outside where it was a bit cool and drizzly. And the thick viscosity of my favorite mineral water, Badoit, (from a newly designed bottle) married nicely with it.  

When you order coffee after your meal in Paris, you usually get a square of chocolate or a little cookie or a meringue with it.  Au Pied de Cochon has THE CUTEST meringues (and they're pretty tasty too).  Take a look!  And don't be shy about pigging out at The Pig when you're in Paris!

Fall into Spring! - Thursday, 24 October

This evening my friends Liz and Michal Sobieski, just off a Mediterranean cruise, came up to Paris to spend a few days with me.  We had made some tentative plans for the weekend, and it looked like we weren’t going to be able to eat at the hotly popular “Spring” restaurant because it was, well, so hotly popular that we couldn’t get reservations.  But Spring called me this morning to say that they had just had a cancellation and could accommodate a party of three at 7:00 or 8:00!  Liz and Michal hoped to be to the apartment by about 7:00, so I went out on a limb and said “yes,” we’ll happily take the 8:00.  Their transport into the city took longer than expected, so they got here around 7:30, just in time to clean up a bit and catch a cab to the resto.  Whew!!!

It just so happened that we got the same table as I was able to snag almost exactly a year ago under similar circumstances!  http://mariellen-musing.blogspot.fr/2012/10/buckets-of-buddies-and-bonuses-thursday.html  The moral of the story: if you get a "sorry, we're full" response, be flexible and ask them to give you a call if they have a last-minute opening - you might be pleasantly surprised!

Here are some photos and brief descriptions of our dinner:

REALLY delicious Kir Royales for our aperitif!

Our amuse-bouche: creamy yellow squash soup with chestnuts and lardon (blanched and then crispy fried bacon), almost-Prosciutto-style dried ham with charred sweet peppers, and smoked trout - all were deeeelicious with whole grain rolls and very fine salted butter.  Just the thing to get the appetite cranked up if it wasn't already!

Next, buttery oh-so-tasty intensely flavored poached languoustines with a only-slightly-acidic orange sauce, avocado puree, carrots, radishes and beets.  Sorry that I gobbled almost all of my langoustine before taking the photo!  I can assure you that we put our bread to work soaking up every drop of these delicious sauces!

Next, gently cooked delicate and flaky sole and a poached oyster in an astonishing crème fraîche sauce that was subtly flavored with fresh ginger and horseradish. WOW!!!!  Just enough zing and flavor to enhance but not overpower the delicate fish. The watercress accenting this dish provided another just-pungent-enough fresh herbal essence to the whole thing.  

Our final "regular" course was duckling two ways.  The first way: plated slices of duck breast with a deliciously reduced, pure and non-fatty duck stock and fabulously smooth and smoky roasted eggplant puree, chives and dried apricots. The second way: roasted duck thigh meat and deeply earthy sauteed cèpes mushrooms served in a little copper gratin pan for us to share. The intense aroma from these dishes arrived at our table before the food did!

Then came desserts - four of 'em!  Walnut cake with walnut cream, blackberries with fabulous thyme & rosemary ice, Poires Belle Helene (poached pears with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and - unusual bonus - little bits of candied ginger tucked under the pear), and pistachio cream with pistachio tuille cookies.  

And bonus of bonuses, when we had finished our wine (a 2011 Villard Vallon Viognier) and they brought "l'addition" (our check) they also brought three tiny cream puffs filled with the most deeeeelicious cream and sprinkled with coarse sugar. They even know how to sweeten the pain of paying the bill!

Three happy eaters!

Decanting and serving wine

The staircase to the
downstairs tables

Fabulous bread!