0 Meeting The French - Chef Marthe

 Last Friday I took a cooking class thanks to Meeting The French in a French chef's home.

 And what a gracious home it is, like walking into a Matisse painting.

 Chef Marthe Brohan, used to teach in her bistro's kitchen in the 11th. Now she opens her home to share bistro trade secrets. Before cooking we went off to the marche Raspail for ingredients.

 Chef Marthe shares her favorite purveyors for olive oil and olives of Nylons/Provence. Irresistable.

 Back in her apartment, it's all hands on deck to make the 3-course menu:

Mediterranean zucchini

Chicken with two vinegars

Citron Madeleines

 I fell in love with these special herb cutting shears
.

 I found them on Saturday at the Bio marche on Raspail as directed.

 On to our main course - the chicken with two vinegars + a touch of honey and rosemary.

 While the chicken is cooking we move on to dessert - lemony madeleines. Marthe makes it easy as pie.

 And shares her favorite cookbooks...

 Who knew the American Embassy had such a terrific cookbook? Marthe has marked up many pages for reference. I must get this book.

 You can find it on Amazon in English:
Elegant Entertaining, Seasonal Recipes from the American Ambassador's Residence in Paris.

 Another favorite book.

 And just out in the US,

 French Bistro, with recipes from Bistro Paul Bert and L'Ami Jean. It looks gorge.

 Enfin a table!

The poulet is fragrant and delicious - so simple
.

 Is anything better than eating madeleines right out of the oven? It will spoil you forever. And so easy using Marthe's methods. She explains a French expression to us -

'it is the 'Madeleine de Proust'

meaning this is something I ate as a child. Nostalgia for dishes of one's childhood is so much a part of French taste/gout.

Truly the highlight of my Paris trip cooking in Marthe's cuisine.
Merci Meeting The French

0 What's On in Paris?

 Becky said..I have a trip to Paris planned in early May & was wondering..where do you find a schedule of events going on while you are there??

Lots of people buy Pariscope on Wednesdays to find out. Not me. I find it too confusing.

 I prefer to check the posters in the Metro...

 On the sides of buses...

 And those scrolling announcements in the street...

 I check to see what's on at my favorite museums online...

If you don't want to stand online it's a good idea to buy your ticket ahead...

 At FNAC's instore ticket counter. You can see what's on at their website. And you can buy/printout your billet/tickets too, but it was a little trop advancee pour moi...

 It's fun to get on line at the hottest exposition in Paris to see what people are wearing. Then jump the queue with your ticket in hand and pop right in. Go the first day a show opens and you'll miss big lines and crowds. It worked at the Sempe show. Are they waiting to read the reviews?

 Google 'Paris March 2012' - many event sites will come up like KLM.

 It has links to special event websites to like PAD.

 I hope to catch the Jean-Paul Goude retrospective at Les Arts Decoratifs 107, rue de Rivoli 75001 Tuesdays - Sundays from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. It is open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Closed on Mondays.

 *Dont FORGET MACARON DAY!

20 March and on a Tuesday(!?) Usually it's on a Sunday.Will the school kids play hookie? Will you be in town?
*Don't forget MEETING THE FRENCH at work for fun visits.

I really like this book for boning up pre-trip, but today was the 1st time I ever played the audio CD.

mon dieu...c'est pas facile

#@!%&*

Any other Paris suggestions are most welcome PBers.

0 Meeting The French Chocolate Tour

I was invited to join the Meeting The French Gourmet chocolate walking tour. Two hours of tasting the best chocolates on the Right bank at 5 different shops in a close vicinity of Metro Concorde (our meetup point). First stop Angelina on rue de Rivoli, with their decadent African chocolat chaud/hot chocolate...

So we can walk, sip and explore further...

Second stop around the corner on rue Cambon is reknown patisserie Pierre Herme...

But Herme's chocolates should never be overlooked. They are superb and his small tasting box for 10 euros is one of the best deals in town IMHO (the price never seems to rise).

As Paul A. Young in London said,

'Buy smaller boxes, more often'.

Don't miss for the nice big chocolate map showing all the flavors lurking behind the counter...

Third stop Jean-Paul Hevin on 231, rue Saint-Honore

We taste chocolates at each stop - our guide advises us on the endless array of flavours and textures.

Fourth stop: Michel Cluizel, where a crowd is leche-vitrine/doing heavy window browsing at 201, rue Saint-Honore

Again choosing would be next to impossible without our guide's experience to depend upon...

What would you choose?

 We waltz from chocolate shop to chocolate shop learning Parisien secrets.

Where to get an excellent glass of wine (Le Rubis), which oysters to eat in October(I forget..they begin with a G), what church to pop into for a moment of serene respite from intensive chocolate tasting (St-Eustache on rue St-Honore). Plus a full history of chocolate, the best beans and where they come from. The tastebuds, the feet and the brain are getting a workout.

 Last stop is the newish Hugo & Victor. The chocolate concept is seasonally based on wines + accompanying natural flavors.

The Indian Summer chocolate flavor (Almond) available only in September-October comes packed in Moleskine-like boxes. I fell victim

Their towers of macarons are irresistable.

I polished off the last of this pack today. This week's PB posts has been deleterious to my diet.

I also got a figue religieuse at H&V.

Fortunately Fr Girl assisted at the tasteoff that night - by then, post chocolate walk, I could barely take a bite. Meeting the French does a Left Bank chocolate tour and has a new Christmas gourmet tour onboard. I'd love to try it but not this week. I'm in recovery from pastry raids in my fridge :)

BON WEEKEND!