Paris by proxy

Joanie on her pony

Jeanne d’Arc, 1874, Emmanuel Frémiet, 4 rue des Pyramides, Paris 01

Okay, so I am not really sure that I am using “by proxy” properly, even though I looked it up on-line at Urban Dictionary.

by proxy:  the ability to do or be something without actually physically doing it. “John was invited to the party, and since I’m his best friend I was invited by proxy” “Sarah lives with a smoker so when they watch tv together she smokes by proxy”  -by Ballet Queen June 01, 2005

One of my buddies is in Paris this week. At this very moment, she is eating foie gras and sipping Bordeaux. (I know this because I texted her for an update. I just cannot help myself.) I guess I could have called this post Paris Vicariously, n’est-ce pas? Am I jealous? Envious? Of course I am. I haven’t been there since March. Six long months. But who is counting, right? I am, however, thrilled that she is there. We have been to France together several times and she is an excellent traveling companion… meaning we laugh at the same things, we both love art museums, getting lost, eating in places with great views, and sipping wine and/or champagne and watching people.

She may very well kill me for what I am going to post next, but I have to do it. It is just too funny not to. I will ask forgiveness when she returns. Here is the first text I received, the day she arrived:

First off. On our flight here there was THE MOST GORGEOUS FRENCHMAN!!!!!! sitting in our row. Pleasant with manners and looks that I cannot describe… cut jawline, thick gorgeous hair, leather coat and well he looked good:) you’ll love this… he had a glass of milk and put on the shades for the evening. No meals. I said they are bad, aren’t they and he laughed and said oui!! He is from Lyon. Oh to be young again and free spirited. We can always admire from afar. We went to the Passage St. André des Arts. Saw your Tennessee hangout and ate dinner in one of the restaurants. We are trying to map out as many as we can. Rodin is tomorrow!! We are staying on Rue Saint Sulpice. Pierre is our host… another helpful and friendly skinny good looking Frenchman. So far the most fun was people watching at our café at lunch. Miss you mon amie. I have done a bang up job of using my French:) they always answer in English… does not deter me:) Bisous

The day she sent this, I showed a ZAZ video, Sous le ciel de Paris, to my 7th graders and talked to them about street art which has helped me to appreciate.

I could watch this over and over– oh, wait, I HAVE watched this over and over.

Next text, a bust by Camille Claudel from the Rodin Museum.

What a talented, tragic woman. There was a movie made about her life in 1988. I found this blurb-

When renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin (Gérard Depardieu) notices the raw sculpting talent of the beautiful and precocious Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani), the two artists begin a scandalous love affair. Camille becomes Auguste’s muse and assistant, sacrificing her own work to contribute to his sculptures. However, when her work goes unrecognized and she desires attention of her own, Camille is left alone and gradually spirals into mental illness.

Then two photos from her visit to Les Invalides. The first is of the Cathedral St. Louis des Invalides.

The flags are from Napoléon’s campaigns. From the Musée de l’Armée’s website:

The cornice of the Veteran’s Chapel is decorated with some hundred trophies taken from the enemy, throughout the history of the French armies, from 1805 to the 19th century. Bearing witness to age-old traditions, these trophies were hung on the vault of Notre Dame Cathedral up until the French Revolution. Those which escaped destruction were transferred to the Hôtel des Invalides from 1793. The Hôtel des Invalides was then entrusted with the mission of keeping French emblems and trophies. Nearly 1,500 of these trophies were burnt in the courtyard in 1814 by the Governor of the Hôtel des Invalides to prevent them from failing into enemy hands.

It is one of the only, if not the only, church where the French flag is on display. Separation of Church and State is taken seriously here.

Next came Napoléon’s tomb — “he had a rather large ego”

I found this information on the Napoléon.org website:

Visitors enter the crypt via a staircase. This leads to a heavy bronze door (forged from cannons taken at Austerlitz) flanked by two statues. Above the lintel is the following inscription (an extract from Napoleon’s will): “I wish my ashes to rest on the banks of the Seine among the people of France whom I so much loved“.
The sarcophagus was put up on a green granite pedestal and contains a nest of six coffins: one made of soft iron, another of mahogany, two others of lead, one of ebony and finally the last one of oak. Napoleon is dressed in his Colonel’s uniform (of the cavalry of the Guard) which bears his sash of the Légion d’Honneur. His hat rests on his legs.

I have paid my respects to the Emperor several times. And heard some interesting stories from some of the guides we’ve had… I will leave it at that. But one is about a missing body part when his body was exhumed to be sent back to France for burial. This part was supposedly bought by an American urologist and has been kept on display. That’s all I know.

One of my friend’s goals on this trip is to visit as many of the beautiful passageways of Paris as possible.

Here is the Galerie Vivienne-

It is located at 4, rue des Petits Champs, Paris 02.

I thanked her for this photo and she came back with:

De rien!! Most of the good ones are on my Canon camera. Will show when home. I have taken some on my phone just for you. Had a wonderful French lesson with a taxi driver… too much fun. We have walked over four miles or so each day. Hubby has a cold, but has hung in there so after walking all over yesterday and walking to the Rodin and Invalides he was ready for a taxi. Lucky me!!! We have met some wonderful people and some Frenchies that are not so tolerant of my attempts at speaking their language. Pas problème:)!! Give me six months and my taxi driver and I would be good to go.

Before she left for Paris, she checked the weather and it looked as if it was going to rain quite a bit. So I asked– Raining much?

No!! We have had a bit of rain off and on. Mostly good weather!!! Just pulled out the umbrellas and kept walking. It is 64 and cloudy and feels great:)

This is from the woman who was THRILLED that it snowed one March while we were in Paris. Of course, we had just read one of Laura Florand’s romance novels about a gorgeous French pastry chef (or was he a chocolatier?) who has a snowball fight with his equally gorgeous American girlfriend on the Ile Saint Louis, but I digress.

Next text-

Hubby walks 10 feet behind me looking at his google map. He directs and I lead:)!! Crazy, I know, but it works for me:) I love Paris!! Headed to Père Lachaise maybe tomorrow. Mapped out all the folks I want to pay my respects to.

And to go along with this photo of her kir royale, she texted:

You have taught me well, my friend. Where to go, what to drink and how to enjoy it all.      Je t’aime.

That is the highest praise I could receive.

Next week, another friend will make his first trip to France, spending time in Normandy and in Paris. I’ve shared my Paris Cheat Sheet with him, but I am sure that he will not be sending me texts. I am not even sure that he has a smartphone! That’s okay.

I have no recipes for foie gras, but I have photos. I eat it as often as possible when I am in France. These are from January 2013.

This particular amie is very fond of mousse au chocolat. In a text responding to my wish that she eat and drink good things for me, she said-

Definitely taking care of that. Rosé twice a day! It’s chocolate that I have neglected. Remedy tomorrow.

In her honor, I will repost my favorite recipe for mousse. For its origins, read this post.

La mousse au chocolat de Fanny

6 eggs
70 g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
200 g dark chocolate (use the best you can find/afford– the Nestle’s she uses is dark 52% chocolate; European chocolate is just plain better than our stuff unless you go high end; they have higher standards for theirs)
pinch of salt

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  Do not let it get too hot.  Stir it with a metal spoon, not a wooden one.  Take it off the heat as soon as it is almost melted and continue stirring until completely melted.

Separate the egg whites and yellows.
Beat the whites, with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form.

Mix the yellows and the sugar.
Then add the melted chocolate.

Delicately add the whites, about 1/4 at a time.  Fold them in very gently.

Refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before serving.

Bon appétit! Bon voyage! Bonne journée! Bonne soirée! Bon courage! Bonne chance! May my friends continue to travel and enjoy all the sights, sounds, tastes and inevitable adventures that come with traveling.

Sabbatical Chef Dinner 2015

Since returning from my 2008 sabbatical in France (and becoming the Sabbatical Chef), I have offered a dinner for four as part of the annual auction at my school, Durham Academy.  I enjoy this tremendously.  I usually attend the auction although the Ex-Ex does not go with me.  Not his thing and I understand this about him the second time around.  But I have trouble passing up a party with good food and wine.  I always sit with other faculty members and we have some fun.  This year, the theme had to do with Emerald City and The Land of Oz.  I bought a new dress.

Went to see Tom, the best manicurist in Durham, for red nails (instead of my usual almost natural color).

I bought some red lipstick since I had none (I do have many shades of pale pink, however).  Estée Lauder's Scarlet Siren Lasting Creme. Oh là là.

The evening of the auction, I donned my dress, painted my lips, and pulled on my red cowboy boots.  The theme was Dorothy after all and my boots are my only red shoes.  My friend and colleague Ms. Cuteness, made her own glittery shoes from a pair she found at a thrift shop.  Of course she did.

We had fun.  I sat with these gals.  JL, our librarian was with us, too, but she took the photo.  Should have thought to have the one husband at the table take the photo of all of us...  Next time.

There is a silent auction, as well as a live auction at this event.  Then music and dancing.  The live auction is at the end of dinner.  Tickets to the upcoming Taylor Swift concert were up for grabs.  Our upper school director helped with the bidding and decided to get his Taylor on.

 At the last minute, I decided to buy into the raffle for a trip.  The Ex-Ex did tell me to spend some money if I wanted to as I was on my way out the door.  When the winner was announced, I wasn't even listening to the auctioneer.  I was going on and on about something to Librarian.  She is the one who punched me in the arm to let me know that my name had been called.  Oui, I actually won.  (Tom says that red is the color of good luck in his native Vietnam and he says it is my nails that did it.)

I have chosen New York City and we will celebrate our second 6th anniversary and my birthday in La Grosse Pomme in July.  More about that later.  (Have I ever mentioned the fact that I consider myself a very lucky girl?)

After the silent auction was over, I was thrilled to learn that a woman I am very fond of bought my dinner.  She has offered up her home and kitchen for the dinner in the past, but this time she was to be the hostess.  I have known JB for a while, having taught her son, and I am always completely at ease with her.  We discussed the menu and settled upon the following:

Dinner with The Sabbatical Chef

Chez Jean

Friday, June 12, 2015

photo:  Fanny, Pujaut, France 2015

  

Terrine de Chevreuil

Rillettes au Foie de Canard Gras

Pissaladière

Salade de chèvre chaud

Gigot d’agneau

Gratin dauphinois

Haricots verts à l’ail

Tomates provençales

Fromages assortis

Mousse au chocolat à la Fanny

Bon appétit!

My sous-chef, The BFF, was unavailable so I had to carry on without her.  Hélas. I did most of the cooking at home, saving only a few details for Chez Jean.  The ladies arrived right on time and the evening began.

One of the gals brought a lovely bottle of rosé champagne to start the festivities.  It was délicieux. (Oui, the Sabbatical Chef always gets to sample, too!)

I didn't photograph everything, but here's what I did capture.

David Lebovitz' Pissaladière (recipe follows)-- It is a Provençal speciality, caramelized onions, anchovies, and black olives.

Salade de chèvre chaud-- my favorite salad when in France.  Rosé Venus de Pinchinat accompanied the pissaladière and salade.  

Leg of lamb stuffed with garlic slivers and anchovies-- the rosemary is from my little herb garden. So proud.  The lamb came from Whole Foods and was perfect.  

With the lamb, we had two different red wines.   DC, bringer of the champagne and a wine aficionado, brought a Vacqueyras red (but silly me, I did not take a picture of it-- help, DC?) and I supplied a bottle of Mas de Libian Côtes du Rhône 2013.  It is a biodynamic wine of 65% Syrah, 20% Grenache and 15% Mouvèdre, truly the perfect blend, in my humble opinion.  My buddies at Wine Authorities never steer me wrong.

Fanny's Mousse au chocolat was a huge hit, as you can see.  I served it with raspberries on top.

Craig, the owner of Wine Authorities, suggested a wine to accompany the mousse.

And Craig, comme d'habitude, you hit the nail on the head with this one.  The ladies loved it and there was nary a drop left.  It is a 2011 Grenache-Carignan blend from Roussillon.

(The BFF and I got to be in Wine Authorities advertisement.  The photo is also on the back of the Enomatic wine card.  So proud to be a frequent drinker of the amazing wines from this shop.)

It was a great evening.  Merci, Jean!  

At the end of this school year, in honor of my 35 years of service (How did that happen?), the Parents Association gave me a book.  It took me about 3 seconds to choose which book I wanted.  I gave a copy to a dear friend for Christmas and have lusted after it since.  Now I have my very own.

(I also have a new Hermès scarf, given to me by an 8th grader.  I sure hope that his grandmom, mom or sister don't come hunting me down looking for their scarf.  Way too generous, but I will wear it proudly.  C'est promis!  I have two others-- one given to me by a dear, dear friend and my mentor and one that I found at a local consignment store... for $5.  I was shocked and snapped it up really fast. Lucky girl?  Oh yes, most definitely.)

Pissaladière – Provençale Onion Tart

from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

Crust:

¾ cup (180ml) tepid water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

Topping:

4 tablespoons (60ml) olive oil, plus more if needed

3 pounds (1.25kg) onions, peeled and thinly sliced

10 sprigs thyme

4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

½ teaspoon granulated sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

30 Niçoise olives or 20 larger olives, pitted or unpitted

16 good-quality oil-packed anchovy fillets

To make the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl, by hand), combine the water, yeast, and ½ cup (70g) of the flour.  Let stand 15 minutes, until little bubbles appear on the surface.

Stir in the remaining 1 ½ cups (210g) of flour, the olive oil, and the salt.  Knead on medium speed for 5 minutes, until the dough is a smooth ball.  Oil a bowl, drop in the dough, and turn it so the oiled side is up.  Drape a kitchen towel over the top, and let the dough rise in a warm place for about an hour, or until the dough has doubled in volume.

Meanwhile, make the topping by heating 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onions, thyme, garlic, salt, and sugar.  Cook, stirring infrequently during the first half hour, then, as the onions cook down, stir more often, until the onions are deep golden-brown, about 1 hour. (If they start to burn on the bottom, add more olive oil.)  Stir in a few grinds of pepper and remove from the heat.  Once cool, pluck out the thyme.

To assemble and bake the pissaladière, preheat the oven to 400˚F (200˚C) and line a 13 x 18-inch/33 x 45cm) baking sheet with parchment paper.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch the dough with your hands into an oval about 12 inches (30cm) long.  Let rest for 15 minutes.

Transfer the dough to the baking sheet.  Pat the dough with your hands until it reaches the sides of the pan.  Spread the caramelized onions over the dough, leaving a very narrow rim around the edges. Dot with the olives, lay the anchovies over the top either haphazardly or in a decorative crisscross pattern, and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Bake for 20 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned.  Remove from the oven and slide the tart off the baking sheet and parchment paper onto a cooling rack.  Brush a little olive oil over the crust and cut into squares or rectangles.  Serve warm or at room temperature with glasses of iced rosé, of course.

Bon appétit, auction gals, dinner ladies, and merci beaucoup to Chef Érick Vedel for taking me on and teaching me so much about eating and cooking.  I am forever indebted to you, mon cher.