Yesterday was Jeudi noir, or Black Thursday, where pretty much everyone who works in the public sector, and many others, took to the streets across France. It was a general strike, not just for one issue in particular, and reflected the frustration that people are feeling about their country and their President, Mr. Sarkozy, who is proposing (and implementing) the dismantling of a lot of…
The pastry department is always the most popular part of the kitchen amongst the rest of the staff in a restaurant. For one thing, anytime there is a staff birthday, you’re called into service to make the cake for the party. And since everyone has a birthday, everyone has to be nice to you the other 364 days of the year. Another thing is that regular…
I’m not sure if there’s a French term that’s the equivalent of “phone tag.” I’m pretty sure there isn’t one for “internet tag”, but I can say with relative certainty that there isn’t one in English. At least I think there isn’t. I’d met Frédéric Chambeau’s father about five years ago and he graciously invited me to visit their laboratoire in Paris, but hadn’t heard…
When I was a newbie, someone in the cookbook biz once told me that if a cookbook has one great recipe in it, it’s totally worth it. And I agree with that. I have a mountain of cookbooks, and most have plenty of tempting recipes but I’ve only made one thing from many of them. But those that do make the cut become standards—or what…
The yogurt aisle in any French supermarket is the largest, longest, most well-stocked aisle in the store. (Wine, I think, runs a close second.) While there’s a disconcerting number of dubious treats there (coconut macaron or lemon madeleine-flavored yogurt anyone?) the simplest varieties are wonderful. I’m hopelessly boring, but I like whole milk plain yogurt, which is my afternoon snack. I eat it with dried…
A subject, and and ingredient, comes up frequently when talking about baking and candy making. And that’s about using corn syrup in recipes. I use it judiciously when it will make a discernible difference in a recipe. For those of you who are regular readers of the site and my books, you’ll notice almost all of the time, I rarely use pre-packaged or convenience foods in my…
On her last visit to Paris, I introduced my cousin who’s a Franco-phile, to confit de canard, knowing that she’d love it. When I saw the rapture that took over when she put that first forkful in her mouth, I could see that she was hooked as I am. I’d taken her to Chez Dumonet, which is reliably excellent. This time, though, I’d like to…
I’m not much for standard restaurant “reviews”. I think dining is a personal experience and while one person might find a dish excellent, it might not be to another person’s liking. Some folks like loud, hip places, and I’m more inclined to hit the classics. Another thing is that when I go out, I don’t always tote my camera or want to have to remember…
When I was writing and churning up recipes for my ice cream book, I heard through the transatlantic wind that another ice cream book was coming out. It’s hard not to be influenced by others when writing and creating recipes, and even though I was sent a copy, I didn’t want to look through it, so I gave it a cursory glance, then shelved it…
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