December 2008 archives

I couldn’t let the year end without a little reportage about Christmas this year. You heard about my last-minute scramble to find the World’s Most Expensive Pastry Bag, which is now safely stored away in my Safe Deposit Box for next year.

There’s a joke that the only bad thing about Paris is that it’s full of Parisians. I’m not going to comment on that, but Paris pretty much empties out, and is glorious time to stay in town. Also Christmas is taken pretty seriously around here. It’s considered a close, family holiday and even though the big department stores have spectacular window displays, Christmas hasn’t been overtly commercialized and kids are content when la grande-mère hands them a bag of fresh clementines, and don’t throw tantrums if they don’t get the latest version of the impossible-to-get video game. At least in my French famille.

The only tantrums being thrown were by me, making my Bûche de Noël, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Continue Reading Noël…

I always dreamed of writing a soup cookbook. A book of recipes where there’s no need to carefully measure or weigh anything, variations are not only allowable, but encouraged, and cooking times are merely suggestions, and not cast-in-stone instructions to be followed like the ten commandments.

In addition, yes—most soup recipes can be successfully multiplied or divided, and yes—they can be made in advance and often frozen. And if someone adds an extra onion or potato to the pot, the world won’t open and swallow us all up, and life as we know it won’t end.

Aside from clutching our hot water bottles, Parisians keep warm during the winter by eating lots and lots of hot soup.

Continue Reading Celery Root Soup Recipe…

Today I turn fifty. Excuse my French—but holy crap!

I’m sure you’ve heard this a zillion times before, but I have no idea where all the time went. Believe me, when it happens to you, you’ll say it too.

Did I really go to college for four years then travel around Europe for another year after that? Did I really work away in restaurant kitchens, day and night for twenty-plus years? Did I actually hunker down in my home kitchen, here and there, melting chocolate and whipping up all those cakes in cookies? And what was I thinking, moving to a foreign country, one that I spoke barely two words of the language, and one where I didn’t know anyone?

Continue Reading My Birthday Bouillotte…

There’s a phrase that’s used in restaurant kitchens, in the weeds, which means that basically, you’re sunk. It’s when the orders are coming up too fast and you’re behind, or that you’ve taken on more work than you can chew and you can’t keep up.

A few weeks ago I volunteered to make a Bûche de Noël for the Christmas dessert. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but this morning, I’m not so sure.

Continue Reading Ma Bûche is In the Weeds…

….would that be a selling point.

Well, if that doesn’t scare away the riff-raff, those of you who are left have a spectacular chance to win a slew of equally-spectacular prizes in Menu for Hope V. This is the home stretch of the benefit and we’re up to $18k $22,445 $25,175 $52,131, last time I checked, which is terrific, but far short of last year’s $92k. Which means that some of you may have passed over a chance to win one of the prizes.

So I thought I’d use something no one can resist to get your attention: S-e-x.

I mean, how about cool would it be having this vibrating Cuisinart ICE-50 Ice Cream Maker in your bedroom, like I do?

This sturdy mother-of-all home ice cream machines will satisfy you like no man or woman, or either (depending…) could ever do. I mean, you just press a button and in about forty minutes you’re on your way to bliss. And seriously, you can’t expect that with every Tom, Dick or Harry…or Harriet.

And ladies, there’s no batteries to run out at the wrong time, either.
; )

Can one even put a price on that?

Continue Reading Pimping for Prizes…

In my high school locker room, when the jocks congregated after winning a big game, they’d all jump around, yelling the word, “Sah-weet! Sah-weet!“ adding a big, tight, thumbs-up for emphasis, while jumping all over each other celebrating their victory.

While not as exciting as a group of sweaty, nearly-naked high school athletes jumping all over each other, I don’t know about you, but what turns me on these days is Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Continue Reading Warm Sticky Toffee Pudding Recipe…

Ouch!