Searching for Aimée Leduc

If you have read any of Cara Black's Aimée Leduc novels, you know the significance of this pink Vespa that I photographed during my recent trip to Paris.  AND I even spotted it on Ile St. Louis.  Pink Vespa + Ile St. Louis = Aimée.  It must be hers.
I accidentally stumbled upon Cara's books while roaming the aisles of Barnes and Noble a few years ago.  Each murder mystery is set in a different neighborhood of Paris.  I've read them all.  I am reading the most recent one right now.  It came in the mail while I was in Paris.

Aimée has a private detective/computer security business passed down to her by her grandfather.  Her father was a police officer who was blown up by bad guys.  Her godfather is one of the top dogs of the Paris police force.  Her mom abandoned her when she was eight years old.  Aimée dresses in vintage designer clothes she finds at the flea market.  In the latest book, she wraps a Hermès scarf around her neck before going out.  I have one, too, Aimée!!  I found it for $5 at one of the local consignment shops.

As far as dressing goes, that's about all I have in common with Aimée.  But wouldn't I love to shop at the Paris flea market?  Oui, oui et oui.   Aimée has a bichon frise named Miles Davis.  I searched for Miles while on Ile St. Louis, but I didn't see him so I lifted a photo off the internet.  If I lived in Paris and wanted a dog to keep me company, I think he would make a great companion.

Aimée has had her heart broken several times.  She is attracted to "bad boys." I would match her up with a younger Bruce...

He was in concert in Paris last summer while I was there.  Maybe Aimée went to hear him?  Her latest love interest is a flic, a cop, but it isn't going well at the moment.
Her best friend and business partner, René, has been lured to Silicon Valley, but he is in over his head, too, although Aimée doesn't know it yet.
I really shouldn't give away any more of the plot.  I want to race through the book, but I am trying to slow myself down and savor it.  I could stay up all night and gobble it up, but I would have a sleep deprivation hangover worse than I already do and it will be a while before Cara comes out with the next book.
At the very great risk of messing with my odds for winning, Cara has a contest associated with this book.

I plan to win.  A week in Paris with Cara tracing the footsteps of Aimée.  Details are inside special editions of the book and on Cara's website.  I promise to blog all about it while I am there.
Aimée often forgets to eat while she is out looking for clues to the latest mystery.  In Murder Below Montparnasse, she is on the trail of a stolen Modigliani painting.  I have seen his work in museums but needed to google him.

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)

He was an Italian painter and sculptor, but he lived mainly in France.  He painted a lot of portraits.  His style is very distinct.

Anyway, while on the trail of a stolen portrait of Lenin, Aimée talks to a woman who has just taken a batch of financiers out of the oven.  Aimée eats half of the still warm cakes.  This is  my first time making them.  They are a Parisian concoction, created by a baker in the 19th century.

Enjoy the book and make some financiers of your own.  Aimée would approve, I think.

I do not have financier molds.  I used a cupcake tin, buttering and flouring each cup.  And do be careful about browning the butter.  It cooks pretty quickly-  I boiled mine for about 3 minutes.  I was so excited to finally find ground almonds at Harris Teeter.  I found them in a special section of kosher foods since it is almost Passover.

Tea time on this rainy chilly Sunday in North Carolina... I don't think my little cake will make it long enough to be room temperature.  Désolée, Dorie!  Aimée didn't wait either.

Financiers
recipe from Dorie Greenspan

Makes 12 cookies

1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces; 180 grams) unsalted butter

1 cup (200 grams) sugar

1 cup (100 grams) ground almonds

6 large egg whites

2/3 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

Put the butter in a small saucepan and bring it to the boil over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally.  Allow the butter to bubble away until it turns a deep brown, but don't turn your back on the pan - the difference between brown and black is measured in seconds.  Pull the pan from the heat and keep it in a warm place.

Mix the sugar and almonds together in a medium saucepan.  Stir in the egg whites, place the pan over low heat, and, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, heat the mixture until it is runny, slightly white and hot to the touch, about 2 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour, then gradually mix in the melted butter. Transfer the batter to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing it against the surface of the batter to create an airtight seal, and chill for at least 1 hour.  (The batter can be kept covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Butter 12 rectangular financier molds (these were tested in 3-3/4 x 2 x 5/8-inch [10 x 5 x 1-1/2-cm] rectangular molds that each hold 3 tablespoons), dust the interiors with flour and tap out the excess.  Place the molds on a baking sheet for easy transport.

Fill each mold almost to the top with batter.  Slide the molds into the oven and bake for about 13 minutes, or until the financiers are golden, crowned and springy to the touch.  If necessary, run a blunt knife between the cookies and the sides of the pans, then turn the cookies out of their molds and allow them to cool to room temperature right side up on cooling racks.

Bon appétit and happy reading!!

Random Sunday Update

This post is long overdue.  I should be rechecking and editing my mid-term exams.  I should be cleaning the downstairs floors.  Or folding laundry. Or emptying the dishwasher.  Or even taking a shower.  But I need to send some tender loving care to The Sabbatical Chef.  Hopefully my faithful readers haven't deserted me.

The Christmas tree is up and my downstairs smells of pine.  My favorite wintertime smell (well, right up there with sugar cookies baking in the oven...).  The crèche made up of tiny figurines given to me by La Brune is in the kitchen window.  I put it there so that I can look at it when I am washing dishes and cooking.  My kitchen sink gets a lot of use.  The figurines come baked into la galette des rois or King's Cake and La Brune has been collecting them her whole life.  They are now one of my prized possessions.

I really do not do much decorating other than the tree and a few random Santas placed around the house.  I did put lights outside on our porch and I hung a wreath that the Best Mother-in-Law gave us. I love this little tableau, too, that is on our mantle.  The Lovefest candles make it Christmas-y.  My Arles lady (me in a former life), her goat, and the lavender she loves.  Sam the Dog has been added.  The Ex-Ex bought it.  He has stopped calling Sam The Damn Dog, so early Christmas miracles do happen, Virginia.

Son #2 is home from his next to last semester of undergraduate work.  But, hey, who is counting? More home cooking is happening.  Yesterday I made beef stew.  In my beautiful blue Dutch oven that I gave myself for an early Christmas gift.  Stove top or oven ready for soups and stews.

I used the last of my Beaujolais Nouveau to make the stew.  Big sigh.

I stopped in at our newest grocery store, Fresh Market.  It just opened this past week and yesterday was my first chance to go in and wander around.  It won't be my everyday store, but I love it.  I could spend some serious money in there.  I treated myself to a couple of things yesterday.

A ridiculously expensive coffee tin-- yes, there is coffee in it.  David Lebovitz posted this past week about making treats and putting them in the tins he has collected this year.  So, I will blame him.  I, however, will not be giving mine away.

French demi-sel butter.  I will make some bread just so I can spread this butter on it and close my eyes and pretend I am back in Arles, eating the last of a baguette as I clean the table from breakfast. If only I had some of Érick's home made confiture...  He makes the best apricot jam ever.

I also bought America's Test Kitchen's Best-Ever Christmas Cookies Special Collector's Edition magazine.  I love Cook's Illustrated.  It is hands down the very best for recipes that I might be reluctant to try otherwise.  They have tested and tested and re-tested their recipes until they are fool-proof.  I look forward to adding a couple of new cookie recipes to my repertoire.  Palmiers and Pistachio-Raspberry Financiers are included this year.  One of the 8th grade girlies made blueberry financiers for her classmates this past week.

According to America's Test Kitchen:

Technically cakes, financiers are the name for the French bankers who frequented the bakery where they were invented.  They are traditionally made with almond flour and baked in small rectangular molds that resemble gold bars.

La Brune sent me my very own mold so I make them sometimes, too.  They are so good.  And the 8th Grade Girlie did an excellent baking job.

I've done a bit of shopping and found a cute Paris jar at TJ Maxx.  I filled it with Lindt chocolates as a gift for a young lady I tutor every Sunday.

In an attempt to French-ify my Sunday morning breakfast, I put my sausage on sliced sourdough bread and added some Dijon mustard.  It tasted much better eaten off my Mikasa Parisian Scenes plate, of course.

I know, I know... I am hopeless.  Does everything have to be French?  In my life, oui.

However, once in a while my true roots show.  Not my hair.  I am over that since I have returned to my natural hair color (or the absence of that natural color for half of my head).  My small town mountain roots.  The music I am listening to --  Balsam Range.  Sister Moo and I heard Buddy Melton sing at a BBQ festival in Asheville a few years back.  We were hooked.  What a voice. Bluegrass music at its finest, folks.  Moo has seen Balsam Range live several times since then around Spruce Pine and Burnsville, but she fears those days are over as they have hit the big time. They are playing at Best of Our State at the Grove Park Inn in January.

Listen in--



Go ahead and tap your toes.  Get up and dance if the spirit moves you.  Makes me want to clog.

I was reading through blogs one day last week and came across a post from Stephanie at Plain Chicken.  White Trash.  Doesn't necessarily sound very politically correct, does it?  I wouldn't want anyone to describe me or my family that way, but I can do it if I want to since it's my family.  Right?  Right.  I stopped at Harris Teeter grocery store on the way home from school and bought the necessary ingredients and whipped up a batch.  I took little plastic baggies of it to school to my buddies the next day.  And to a couple of upper schoolers whom I tutor in French 3 and 4.  Pretty yummy.  Nice combination of sweet and salty.

White Trash Mix
from www.plainchicken.com

3 cups corn Chex cereal
3 cups rice Chex cereal
3 1/2 cups Cheerios cereal
2 1/2 cups mixed nuts
1-12 oz. bag of M&M's
1 package of pretzel Goldfish crackers
3- 12 oz. packages of white chocolate chips

In a large bowl, toss together cereals, nuts, M&M's and pretzels.

Melt white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl on high for 1 minute.  Stir.  Continue heating chocolate in 30-second intervals until melted, stirring in between.

Pour melted white chocolate over cereal mixture.  Toss until fully coated.  Pour coated mixture on foil, parchment or waxed paper.  Allow chocolate to cool and set up.  Break mixture into pieces.

Bon appétit!  Happy shopping, happy baking, happy toe-tapping, happy decorating, happy getting ready for the holidays to all!

The writing continues... day 4

It is Day 4 and I am still writing.  I am up to 7913 words.  Inspiration comes from the wonderful world of iPhoto.  My photos bring the places I've visited back to me.  My fingers move across the keyboard attempting to bring these experiences back to life.  I am up to Arles 2006.  The Arles 6 (plus 1 in Paris!)  has returned.  I love these people.

Unadulterated joy and living in the moment.  That's what this is about.
The story has its fair share of angst and anguish as I examine and relive my past.  But if life hadn't taken me where it did, I would never have met these people (except for Arles Lucy/Sunflower Child).
I have put other projects on hold.  The Ex-Ex is eating his fair share of soup and egg salad sandwiches.  I have Dorie Greenspan's new book, Baking Chez Moi, sitting on my counter, but I haven't even opened it yet.

(photo from Dorie's website, cited above)

Financiers and French Apple Tarts will have to wait a few days until I am sure that I am going to finish this writing project by the deadline that I have taken on.

Wish me luck, mes amis.  Here's a post from the archives so you can get a feel for what I am trying to get down on "paper."

Sort of ...  A tribute to Chef Érick

Bon appétit to all writers and readers!

Nutella for breakfast

Well, why not?  Not only Nutella but Nutella and coconut.  Is there a better combination?
Last Friday, I was fussing at myself in front of one of my 7th grade classes about the fact that I saw a really cute Nutella cookbook at a bookstore in France, but I hadn't bought it.  Lo and behold, first thing Monday morning what should walk through the door of my classroom but the cookbook AND one of the recipes prepared by one of the girlies who went on the trip with me.

Isn't this seriously cute?  This girlie wrote me a thank you note that is now safely taped to the inside of the book.  She made the treat pictured above for her classmates.  I took one bite and then showed great restraint by waiting to consume the rest only after escaping from campus during my free period to get a cup of coffee.  Civilized, non?  I wanted to savor every little crumb.

There are 30 recipes for deliciousness such as Whoopies au Nutella et à l'Orange (they really like to use the word Whoopie now!)

Financiers coeur Nutella (a different take on my last blog recipe- I need a pan!)

Petites crèmes au Nutella

Sucettes au Nutella coeur au caramel fondant (see how this oozing caramel keeps showing up??)

Crumble aux poires et au Nutella (the Frenchies love crumble, too)

Macarons au Nutella

and Petites meringues coeur Nutella.

The other kiddies are drooling over the book and may ask to copy recipes.  I've already promised one class Nutella brownies or cupcakes and I need to make good on that promise en grande vitesse...

Coulants au coco coeur Nutella

4 servings

Recipe and photos from Les 30 meilleures recettes Nutella, Larousse 2011

140 g / 5 ounces (almost 2 cups) shredded coconut

80 g / 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

40 g / 3 Tbsp. softened butter

1 egg yello

100 g / 3.5 oz. / 1/2 c. coconut milk

3 egg whites

A pinch of salt

Flour for the molds

4 tsp. of Nutella

1.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F / 180˚C.

2.  In a bowl, mix the coconut, sugar, butter, the egg yellow and the coconut milk.

3.  In another bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until the eggs whites form stiff peaks then gently fold them into the coconut mixture.

4.  Butter and flour 4 ramekins.  Divide the mixture into 4 equal parts.  Put one teaspoon of Nutella in the middle of each one and cover it with the coconut mixture.

5.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven, let them cool for 5 minutes, then gently remove them from the molds.

*Push the Nutella into the middle of the coconut mixture so that it doesn't dry out or form a crust while baking.

Bon appétit, Nutella!  Merci, jeune fille pour le petit livret de recettes!

Double Nickels

The sun rose beautifully on my birthday last week.  I was very proud of myself for getting up in time to see the sight from the roof deck of the house we rented at Sunset Beach.  It was check out day and we were hoping to beat most of the other families off the island and avoid the traffic jams around Wilmington.  We accomplished that and celebrated with a biscuit at Bojangle's.  Yoo hoo!  My first biscuit of the summer and it was really good.

A package from Mme P had been patiently waiting at home for me for over a week with the instructions Ne Pas Ouvrir Avant le 27 Juillet.  So I did not ouvrir before July 27.  Can't risk making my dear Frenchie friend mad at me.  And she is a middle school teacher with beautiful, piercing blue eyes that see everything, even across the Atlantic Ocean.  Trust me on that.

I promptly got out the butter and went to work making financiers with my new moule and Dorie Greenspan's recipe.

The Ex-Ex and I went to dinner at Pizzeria Toro, one of my favorite spots.  I chose Orange County potatoes, bagna cauda (I had to ask... it is a sauce made with garlic and anchovies), and pecorino.

The Ex-Ex needed his meat so he chose House pepperoni, vidalia onions, and Rustico B.P. (the cheese, I am assuming).

With a red Italian Montepulciano.

I can spend hours there just watching the guys operate the pizza oven and watching the kitchen staff put it all together.

We then ventured up the street to Bull City Burger and Brewery.  The BFF was on duty, managing a crowd that was practically lined up out the door.  But she took the time to bring me birthday ice cream with a candle!

My first ice cream of the summer, too.  Double yoo hoo!

My gift from the BFF came the next day.  BCBB closed its doors to the public Sunday evening for a Hog and Beer Dinner.  The BFF invited me, Arles Lucy, and Ironwoman for the five course, plus amuse bouche, plus dessert dinner.  (I invited the Ex-Ex to go with me but he didn't think that he could eat some of the offerings so I took back the invite.  I hold to my Arles pledge to try anything that is offered to me by a chef I trust.  Seth Gross and his staff definitely deserve my trust.  The Ex-Ex was just fine with that.  He enjoys a break from my food adventures and photo-taking, I think.)

Amuse-bouche:  Pork Belly "Corn Dog" paired with Bryant Bridge Gateway Golden Ale.

It did indeed tickle my mouth.

First Course:  "Skin on Skin or Piel con Piel" Crispy Pork Skins- Chicharron, Pickled Pork Skin- Cueritos paired with Viola Weiss.

Very spicy delight.

Second Course:  "Head and Hash"  Pig Head Torchon breaded and deep fried, South Carolina Pork Hash paired with Parrish Street Pale Ale

(No photos taken... too busy eating, I guess.  I was very curious about this one.  The BFF texted me late one night a few days before the dinner to say she had just helped prepare it.  Yes, she did.  She has come a long way in the past couple of years...)

Third Course: "Kimchee vs. Kraut"  Weisswürst with our House Sauerkraut, Asian Five Spice Sausage with House Kimchee paired with Malbourne Maiboch.

I had been warned that the kimchee was spicy, but it was no where near the heat level of the first course which had left my lips tingling.

Fourth Course: (We were warned at the beginning by Seth, Grandé Burger Flipper,  to eat small portions... I listened because I knew this course was coming!):  "Of Course there's Salad"  Pork Rillettes with House Croutons, Local Greens Salad with Lardon, Hard Boiled Farm Fresh Eggs and Bacon Vinaigrette accompanied by Bull's IPA.

Oh mon dieu.  I could have dined on this course alone and been a very satisfied woman.  I am a big rillettes fan (a kind of pork paté).  The little toasts were perfect... crunchy yet chewy.  I ate two, I confess.  If I could've stashed the little pot of leftovers in my purse, I would have.  Trust me on that one.

The salad was perfect.  The vinaigrette delicious.

Scroll back up and take a look at the BFF's candle creation.  A mason jar filled with water and fresh mint with a floating candle.  I was very impressed!  The perfect touch.

Fifth Course:  "You've got the whole pork in your hand"  Pulled Pork Carnitas with House Made Tortillas, Cilantro, Red Onion, Salsa Verde and Lime paired with Pigmeat Markham Smoked Rye.

Since I had eaten two rillettes, I only had room for one of these.  But I wanted a second one.

Dessert:  House Made Vanilla Ice Cream with Bacon, Caramelized Sugar, and NC Peanuts with Bacon Tuile paired with HsaWaknoW (try spelling Wonka Wash backwards-- not easy) made with cacao nibs.  No kidding.  Very, very good.  Before dinner started, I was asked by the girls if I knew what tuile meant (we tend to zero in on dessert pretty quickly) and the only translation I know for the word is tile, like the lovely red tiles on roofs in the south of France.

Eager to impress Seth, I shared that little fact with him.  He grinned and told me that they had taught him that in culinary school.  So much for showing off.  The man knows everything.

It was a lovely evening and I enjoyed every minute (and bite).

Thank you, BFF!

I have such good friends who know me well.  Arles Lucy found beautiful sticky notes and wrapped them in a box with the Eiffel Tower on it.  My Sabbatical Chef photo notecards have already filled it up. (More about those one of these days.)

Ironwoman found Eiffel Tower goodies, too.  Cookie cutters that I have been coveting for a while--

Mildred the Mixer and I made cookies yesterday using a recipe for rolled sugar cookies that I have had for many years.  Oui, mine are pink, bien sûr!

Ironwoman also found Eiffel Tower chocolate molds, so I made some chocolate lollipops, too.  (The Ex-Ex is the taste-tester...)

Trop mignonnes, ces sucettes, n'est-ce pas?

She also found lavender infused balsamic vinaigrette at Blue Sky Oil and Vinegar.  We are lucky enough to have two of these stores near by.  One in Durham and one in Chapel Hill.

Another envelope arrived France, from French Frog.  He is very thoughtful, too, and has helped me grow my library of books about Provence. 

This one is full of photos, recipes, and decorating ideas, among other Provence specialities.  Such as this pot made from broken dishes--

Could we do this, Arles Lucy?

I treated myself to a bottle of my favorite French perfume.

Mme M gave me my first bottle quite a while back, when Cacharel first introduced it.  It is not available in stores in the U.S. (as far as I know), but I ordered it from Perfume Spot.  I had stopped wearing it for several years, but I missed it.  I hope they never stop making it.

It was a lovely birthday.  I received many happy wishes from friends on Facebook.  I am known to stretch the celebration out as long as I can, but now that it is August, it is time to call it a year.  I have moved on to "Double Nickels" as the guy who helped with the financing for our new car called it.  I was in total denial, thinking that I would be 54... until he and the Ex-Ex made me do the math.  Oh well.  (This post will be followed by an article I found that puts age in perspective.)  As Tommy Bell was fond of saying "It beats the alternative."  Very true.  Thanks for the advice, Daddy.  Sister Moo Moo has been teasing me with pictures of earrings that she bought for me, but I don't get them until I get up to Spruce Pine to see her.  I'm coming, I promise.  In time for a swim in the cement pond.

Bon appétit et merci to all my family and friends who helped make it a great day (and year!).