July 2008 archives

If I had to compile a list of the top five National Dishes of France, right up there would be carottes râpées, or grated carrot salad. And it’s everywhere. You’ll find it on many café and bistro menus, charcuteries sell it by the kilo, and even mega-supermarkets add a few extra ingredients for ‘safekeeping’ and sell it packed up in rectangular plastic containers, ready to go.

Which, I probably don’t need to add, should be avoided at all costs.

If you order salade de carottes râpée in a restaurant, you’ll just get a pile of carrots with a wedge of lemon on the side. My frugal grandmother would’ve flipped; “Why order something you can make at home?” she’d say to me if I ordered something like, say…a nice-looking fruit salad in a restaurant.

I don’t know the answer to that.

Continue Reading Salade de carottes râpées…

French people often drink apéritifs before dinner, but rarely cocktails. Americans who come to Paris are often perplexed when the waiter asks them: “Vous desirez un apéritif?” and a few minutes later, they’re handed a glass of red Martini & Rossi instead of the straight-up, dry martini that they thought they had ordered.

And another heads-up: tourists are equally perplexed when the check arrives and they find that that dinky demi-flute of kir Royale costs more than their main course.

Continue Reading Baba Ganoush Recipe…

Well, they may claim to “Sell no wine before its time”…

…but they don’t mention anything about after it…

Well, it’s the end of July and Paris has, at long last, warmed up. It’s actually so warm here that—get this: a few Parisians actually went out without scarves tied up around their necks!

While we’re all enjoying the Parisian sunshine, over in Istanbul, Cenk at Café Fernando churned up a batch of Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream, from my ice cream book, which looked so lovely, I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I was wandering around Belleville the other day. If you don’t know the area, Belleville is a lively ethnic neighborhood in Paris where there’s lots of Paris Pas Cher stores; huge variety stores where you can find everything from hair extensions to cookware—really, really cheap.

Probably scarves, too, but I ain’t exactly in the market for one at the moment.

Continue Reading Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles…

With summer in full swing, I’ve noticed some interesting ice cream and sorbet recipes popping up around the web. Here’s a few scoops that are keeping people cool this summer…

Lemon Balm Ice Cream (Accidental Hedonist)

Plum Sorbet (Simply Recipes)

Homemade Ice Cream Drumsticks (Baking Bites)

Vegan ice cream (Vegan Ice Cream)

Pineapple Ginger Sorbet (Mark Bittman)

Spaghetti Ice Cream

Granny Smith Lemon Grass Sorbet (delicious:days)

Semolina Halva with Turkish Ice Cream (Café Fernando)

Rose Strawberry Sorbet (Vegan Visitor)

Blackberry Lemon Verbena Sorbet (LynnyLu)

Vegan Basil Ice Cream (Couscous Kitchen)

Coconut Avocado Ice Cream (Perfect Pantry)

Brown Butter Ice Cream (Michael Laiskonis)

Pistachio Gelato (Chocolate & Zucchini)

Chocolate Sorbet (Smitten Kitchen)

Homemade Fudgicles (Serious Eats)

Brownie Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches (Food Beam)

Lemon Verbena Ice Cream (dl)

Golden Raspberry and White Peach Sorbet (Chocolate Gourmand)

Related posts:

Ice Cream Making Tips

More Scoopers…

They’re Scoop-endous!

I had big plans for this cake. I bought these gorgeous apricots, packed them up to take out to the country last weekend to make a cake. I planned to pick some rose geranium leaves to flavor the batter, and I was going to bake it and serve it proudly forth.

Except someone decided to use my perfectly-ripe apricots to make some jam, and the Hooters-worthy neighbor who promised me rose geranium leaves, actually brought me regular geranium leaves, which I was certain would kill us all if we ate them. So I had to make some last-minute adjustments.

Continue Reading Upside Down Cake Recipe…

Even though I live in a small apartment, I’m not especially good at keeping it tidy. I’m fairly neat and organized, which is essential when living and working in the same space. But I’d rather spend my time baking brownies than scrubbing sinks, if you can believe it.

Jeanne is my housecleaner and she comes every other week. (Except during her eleven-week summer vacation.) The first time we met, she strode in the front door for her interview, and immediately said to me, “Je ne suis pas une voleuse, monsieur”—”I am not a thief.”

I was sure she was telling the truth, since she was better dressed than I. She arrived wearing a silk scarf tied impeccably around her neck and strode through my door in elegant leather pumps. The flowery lilt of French perfume wafted towards me as she entered, and her hair was so neatly-coiffed and sprayed into place that a mistral, the violent wind that sweeps through Provence, wouldn’t have been able to budge it.

Being from San Francisco, I did the brief Adam’s-apple check and yes indeed, Jeanne was the real thing.

Continue Reading Jeanne…