A Far Cry from Fine French Dining

What are three girls in Paris, lodging out in the sticks near the Gare du Nord, to do for dinner when they realize they are starving at 8pm on a Sunday night? 

When we found ourselves in this position we had several big issues to work out-

• we were poor and didn’t want to spend too much money
• we were exhausted and too tired to walk to the subway and then walk to some great cafe again
• we were starving and really wanted to eat right away (due in part to our cost cutting measures of not eating much to save $$$)
• we were in an area of town that had no real food options, especially on a Sunday night (well it really had nothing much to offer…)
• we had an established rule that we would eat no fast food while overseas

How did we solve this big quandary?  We went to the French McDonald’s right down the street.  The very same McD’s that we had walked past morning and night for the last 6 days, frequently commenting on the poor souls that are in France and eat at McD’s…Yes, we broke our rule and ate at a fast food joint.

And guess what?! 

It was better than the American McDonald’s.  That is what we told ourselves as we devoured the salad with quartered eggs instead of egg crumbles, and ate the panini .  (And in case you didn’t know, since panini is Italian it is much classier than the plain old bread of the USA.)

Not beautiful or inspiring, just funny

Since you know that I like NPR, here is another great show, but in an entirely different vein-Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.  This is an NPR news game show.  If you watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, you will do very well on this show. 

This week’s show featured Michael Moore as the celebrity guest (and shhh, he was actually very funny!)

Beautiful, simple, inspiring music

You must listen to some of this.  I so enjoyed this Speaking of Faith broadcast.  This is an old interview with Joe Carter and hearing him talk of the Spirituals, their meanings and their role in the lives of the slaves is informative and moving.  It is wonderful to hear him describe the role of faith in their daily lives.  The reflections on the basic elements of our faith are wonderful-love, faith, hope. 

The very best part is when he decides to sing the song he is discussing-wow!  You’ve just got to take a couple of minutes and at least listen to some of the music.  I know the interview is long, but it is good, I assure you!

A Culinary Dream

Having gone to cooking school, I know well that French cuisine is oh, so extraordinary and oh, so walking the line of food that I can actually stomach. 

 I have read La Techinque and La Methode by Pepin.  I have read Grastonomiqueand Escoffier.  I know that the French have done wonderful things with food, and I know that they do things with food that I could never handle.

Even though I know this, I figured that when I was in Lyon, the gastronomical capital of the world, I needed to eat something decidedly Lyonnaise.  I was tougher than anything the French would put in front of me, I could eat it, I had this one chance to do it.

So here is the Lyonnaise sausage-

Looks harmless enough, right?! 

Much to the dismay of our very French waiter, I could not get this down.  There was no earthly way that I could eat all that was encased in this gastronomical capital of the world sausage.  In the end, I was more thankful for french fries than I have ever been.

Just in case you are wondering, Lyonnaise sausage is full of mystery meats.  Very large chunks of mystery meat.  Mystery meat that on inspection was far too pale and varied in texture to be the cuts of meat that my stomach can handle. 

 I made a valiant effort, but could not eat more than half.  And eating that half was tough, full of moments of really, really thinking that I was finally in France and I was going to totally embarrass myself by losing my dinner.  And I make it a point to never embarrass myself.  Our waiter knew I was struggling to eat the sausage of his town.  I could feel his glares every time he walked by…

We decided to really make him happy by asking him to take our picture.  Nothing screams dorky tourists like asking the waiter to take your picture…with multiple cameras.

Medieval Helpdesk

Bittersweet, by the great Alice Medrich

Meet my latest cookbook purchase-

                            

Medrich is a chocolate queen and this newest book is just what every baker needs.  Medrich realizes that our chocolate world is rapidly changing and she wanted to be sure to meet the demands of the broadening chocolate world.  Do you ever wonder about the differences in cocoa powders?  Or now that we have all of these different percentages of chocolate, do you fear how your favorite recipe will respond to the 82% you are just dying to use?  Without a doubt, these are the big questions that plague people who care about baking…

I have read this book and learned gobs.  Do you read cookbooks?  I have to read a cookbook before I can use it…So I am now really ready to use this book.

I have tried one recipe so far-the Molten Chocolate-Raspberry Cakes.  Yummy!  These are those great gooey, warm individual cakes that are so fun to order at a restaurant.  Only these have a raspberry chocolate truffle in the center…

I should bake more…but then I certainly don’t need to eat it.   And something like this is always a bit of an ordeal.  When I make something like molten cakes, I have NEVER made a single recipe, never experienced the speed of whipping out 6 little cups of cake.  Think not 6 but 18. 

Do you even have 18 custard cups?  Thanks to my great family, a family that loves little cakes, and loves me, I have 18 beautiful Italian custard cups…

Oh, and by the way, I met Alice Medrich and she signed this cookbook.  I know you are all wondering how you missed out on this!

Umm, the Brits have this and we have AI?!?

Click here for the amazing BGT finale performance of Paul Potts.  The English are so…classy.

Paul Potts Sings

A Great TV Time for Foodies

As those who share a tv with me already know, I love food competitions.  I actually have very little patience for regular food shows that are sooo slow and drawn out and full of planned conversation.  Food competition shows are an entirely different ball game, and this is food competition summer-Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen and The Next Food Network Star.

The Next Food Network Star on Sundays…

Hell’s Kitchen with the amazing Chef Gordon Ramsey on Mondays…

Top Chef in Miami on Wednesdays…

Leisure, the Basis of Culture

 

So, I am taking notes on this beautiful book (it is just way to lovely to mark up) and I realized that I was proceeding at a rate of about one quote per page…it isn’t a long book, but at this rate I’ll have too many notes to keep track of. 

Here are a few to help you love this book-

“Look at the worker and you will see that his face is marked by strain and tension…They are the revealing marks of the intellectual sclerosis that comes with not being able to receive or accept, of that hardening of the heart that refuses to suffer anything…”

“The highest moral good is characterized by effortlessness-becuase it springs from love.”

and a quote of Goethe, “…in that way I was useful to society as a whole; I contented myself with expressing what I recognized as good and true.  That has certainly been useful in a wide circle; but that was not the aim; it was the necessary result.”

Father’s Day Feasting

What a great Father’s Day-the US Open is just what he wanted!   All of the little ones make things fun too.

We also had a great dinner with Wood-Smoked Tri-Tip with Sicilian Herb Sauce, Grilled Vegetables with Cilantro-Lime Butter (the butter was great with the corn, but the flavor was lost on the pepers and asparagus), risotto, fruit salad, green salad and bread…