A random day in the life

This is the color of today's scarf.  Not really pink, coral or red.  But it is my splash of color against the background of a black dress.  Black dress, black skirt or black pants.  My "uniform" of choice for school days.  I love this scarf.  I found it at an outdoor market in Sarlat, in southwestern France, back in 2008.  The reunion trip of the Arles 6.  A lovely week spent visiting a different market everyday and preparing wonderful meals together.
Our house--

The Three Mousquetaires (we were near Bergerac, by the way)

I tend to always look confused.  Even when I'm not.  Arles Lucy and I are holding on tight to Pat.
Anyway, I always tend to head down memory lane even when I don't set out to.  I love looking at my photos.
Here's what I look at on my desk as I sit at my computer.

My inspiration, I guess.  Eiffel Towers, gargoyles, Charles de Gaulle, dry erase markers...
I wear inspiration around my wrist, too.

Since it's so close to Mother's Day, I am wearing the charm bracelet my boys gave me when they were little.  A baseball glove, a basketball, a Hershey's Kiss, a football, an Eiffel Tower, a J, a G, a smiley face.  Precious souvenirs. 
Lunch at school today was provided by parents in appreciation for our work with their children.  It was delicious and I got to sit and talk to my colleagues/friends as I ate.  I didn't take photos.  But I brought a little container of strawberries back with me.  (I ate vanilla pound cake with a bunch of strawberries topped with whipped cream for dessert!)

I love these lovely red little darlings.  The taste of summer.  We had a strawberry patch when I was growing up.  I always asked for strawberry shortcake for my birthday cake (in July).
Try it for yourself since the berries are in season now.  Make the cake yourself or buy it if you don't have the time or inclination to bake.  Get the ripest berries you can find.  Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Your choice.  You'll feel closer to summertime.  I promise.  14 more teaching days.

All good Southern cooks worth their salt have a favorite pound cake recipe.  It's a staple.  Trotted out for potlucks, deaths, sicknesses, faculty meetings, book club get togethers, any number of social occasions.  Or just to show off.  And say "Oh, it's just something I threw together when I got the news."  Mine comes from the Junior League of Durham and Orange Counties' Even More Special.

Pound Cake

2 cups butter, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 8-ounce carton sour cream, at room temperature

1.  Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan and set aside.
2.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar well.  Add 2 eggs, beating well.
3.  Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl.
4.  Add the flour mixture to the butter alternately with the 4 eggs until all is added.
5.  Stir in vanilla extract and sour cream.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.
6.  Place pan in the middle of a cold oven.  Set temperature at 325˚F and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Do not open oven door for the first hour of cooking time.
7.  Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing from pan.

16 servings

This cake freezes well and may be kept for a month in an airtight container.
You may substitute almond or lemon extract for vanilla.

Bon appétit, all my hardworking colleagues!

Seeing Pink

I love pink.  My motto is "You can't have a bad day while wearing pink."  I own multiple pink sweaters and t-shirts in many shades of the color.  I bought the above pictured pile of pink while in Paris in March.  Arles Lucy and I were strolling the Champs-Élysées, letting the kiddies shop, when we happened by H&M.

I know there is one in Raleigh, but I don't get over to the Capital City very often and I've never been there.  But we just couldn't help but go in to take a look at the happening colors for spring and summer.  Orange.  And pink.
Aren't these beautiful enough to eat?

While on the TGV heading to Avignon, I did eat this pink Pierre Hermé macaron Arles Lucy bought for me at Galeries Lafayette.  Délicieux!

My eye is just drawn to pink.  I can't help it.
At the Marché d'Aligre--

Tea anyone?  Guess which cup I chose.

The pink pillows give just the right splash to the room, don't you think?   (Two lucky women in my BFF group will stay in this room during our summer trip.)

My messy bed in the Hôtel Princesse Caroline in Paris--

The pink evening sky from "my" window in Mme MLQ's house in Provence.  Maybe a little orange mixed in, too, n'est-ce pas?  Très chic.

Quelle heure est-il?  I don't know.  Let me check.

Time for a glass of pink?

Enough reminiscing about the last trip to France.  I do have a story to tell.  Lest I forget it in all this pink haze.
While in Paris with the kiddies in March, we decided to take them to the movies-- au ciné.

The Artist had just won Best Picture and that dashing Jean Dujardin took home the Best Actor Oscar.  None of the little darlings had seen the movie.  So, we strolled down the Champs-Élysées, got in line, and I bought a round of tickets for everyone.  Arles Lucy and I had already seen it, but we were eager to see it again.  The Best Guide in Paris, Thierry, had not seen it yet.  We got settled into our seats, the lights went down, the movie trailers came on, and one of the girlies came down with a nose bleed.  It happens all the time, she said, and off she went to les toilettes with one of the other girlies to fix it.  When they hadn't returned after about 10 minutes, I leaned over to Arles Lucy and told her I was going to go check on them.  I headed out the door, only to have it slam behind me before I realized I didn't go out the same door I came in.  Mince!  I thought to myself (or worse).  I was locked out of the theater.  Oui.  Not completely, but enough so that I couldn't get back into the room where the movie was actually playing by this time.  I banged and banged on the door, slowly realizing that no one knew or cared that I could not get back in.  I didn't have my ticket, coat or cell phone.  Not that any of those except the ticket would have done me any good.  I finally decided to just go on down the little hallway and exit the building, walk around the block and re-enter the theater, hoping the ticket seller would remember the woman who bought 23 tickets.  He did.  So, up the stairs I went, stopping at the bathroom to make sure the girls weren't there (they weren't) and that there wasn't blood everywhere (there wasn't) before going back in to watch the movie.  The group was sitting towards the front of the theater, but I didn't want to crawl all over everyone to get back to my original seat, so I just found a seat on the aisle, a couple of rows down from Arles Lucy.  I wanted to make sure she knew I had (finally) returned.
Now, I need to back up a minute and tell you that I was wearing a cute dark gray dress, black tights, black Paris suede boots, and the H&M scarf in the first picture.  Actually, it is much larger than a normal scarf, but I am not sure what else to call it.  For me, jeans lover that I am, that was pretty stylin' for a night out in the City of Light.  I am not a young chick.  I have passed the half-century mark.  I do not think that adventure is lurking in a dark cinéma in Paris.  I am (usually) okay with that.
Anyway, back to my story.  I hadn't been in that aisle seat five minutes before some random man sat down right next to me.  The row was empty.  What's up with that?  I thought to myself.  Personal space?  Seriously.  Oh well.  I was engrossed in the movie.  And Jean Dujardin.  And that cute little dog.  All of a sudden, I realized that there was a hand in my lap and it wasn't mine.  But for a few seconds/minutes, I was afraid to touch it and thought to myself that there was no way that this was really happening to me.  I hadn't felt its arrival.  How long had it been there?  Did Random French Man REALLY put his hand on my leg??  Really?  As it was, I was practically sitting on the arm of my seat.  The side next to the aisle, that is.  After a few minutes, that felt like a few hours, I took the hand and flung it back at its owner.  I will bet that he thought for a split second that I was going to actually hold it.  I stayed in my seat, wrapping my pinkness tightly around me, edging even closer to the arm of the seat, and enjoyed the rest of the movie.  Random French Man didn't move either.  But he didn't mess with me again.  I did not feel threatened in any way.  I knew that Best Guide in Paris would beat the merde out of him, if need be.  After the film ended, I headed back to Arles Lucy and RFM left, I guess.
I had to laugh, though, telling the story to Arles Lucy later.  I knew what the Ex-Ex would say when I relayed the tale to him.  You can't blame a guy for trying, can you?  And that's exactly what he said.
I couldn't make this stuff up, you know.
Let's drink to that.  Make mine a kir royale with a view of the Sacré Coeur, s'il vous plaît!
Santé! 

Kir Royale


Crème de cassis (black currant liqueur)
Champagne

Pour the crème de cassis in a champagne glass.  Start with a tablespoon and add more if you want a stronger flavor.
Add well-chilled champagne (or any dry bubbly wine).
Sip and enjoy!

Bon appétit, pink and RFM.  Hope you have more luck the next time!

Over the French Broad River...

And through the Pisgah Forest to fetch College Son's stuff we go.
Yes, he has made it through one year. One year of out-of-state college tuition down and three to go. He didn't have a car this year until the last month of school. He presented a good case for one-- mainly a big fraternity dance in Hilton Head and the need to pick up his date in Athens, Georgia on the way. So, we made a quick trip across the state line

And through a tunnel or two


To get some of his belongings since they all wouldn't fit in the truck he would be coming home in (didn't want to take a chance on rain).
Ever wonder what the light at the end of the tunnel really looks like?

Well, that's what I saw, anyway.
Going to see him and help him out gave us a good excuse to visit the mountains. The rhododendrons are blooming.

This bush is in the in-laws' yard in Brevard. Aren't they just about the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen?
Sister-in-law even made a little centerpiece out of them.

Trop belles, ces fleurs.
And breakfast wasn't bad either!

Crumbled up cake, fresh peaches, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream.
The nest is half full again for a couple of months.
Bon appétit, summer vacation!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Meet M. le Président

Photo:  Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

 
It's being called a "humiliating" defeat.  Nicolas Sarkozy lost the election today to François Gérard Georges Hollande.  Hollande becomes France's first Socialist president in 17 years, since François Mitterrand left office.  He won with 51.9% of the votes to Sarkozy's 48.1%.  The French vote on Sundays and voter turnout was almost 80% in the first round of voting on April 22.  I will be very curious to see the numbers for the final vote when they are published.  That puts us Americans to shame, quite frankly.
A few personal facts (I can't speak much to his politics yet)-- He was born in 1954 in Rouen; lived in US during the summer of 1974, while a university student; Ségolène Royal, Sarkozy's competition in the 2007 election, was his domestic partner from 1973-2007; he is now with Valérie Trierweiler; he has four children.  He will be the Co-Prince of Andorra, as well Président de la République Française, for the next five years, taking office on May 17.  He will live in the Palais de l'Elysée, the official residence of the president in Paris.  I have no photos.  You can't leisurely stroll by and take them.  There are really grouchy guards at the gate who hurry you along and growl Pas de photos, madame!  It's not far from the American Embassy (where you can't take photos either), very close to the Place de la Concorde.
So, in the spirit of eating, I am posting a video I found about French state dinners held at the Elysée.  Much more interesting than meetings anyway.
I do wonder who furnished the celebratory champagne?  After the research I conducted in Reims in 2008, I can tell you firsthand that there are some lovely champagnes there.

Sarko chose Taittinger for a state dinner--

Who knows?  More research is required!

Bon appétit et félicitations, M. Hollande!  Should you wish to invite moi, The Sabbatical Chef, to one of your little dinner parties, I would gladly accept!

Cinco de Mayo

Battle of Puebla

photo from wikipedia

 Bah humbug, to quote Charles Dickens' grumpy old Ebenezer Scrooge.  Why would I want to celebrate the defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862?  Do Americans really know what they are celebrating?  Does anyone really care?  No, especially when it involves cold Corona beer with lime alongside chips and salsa.  The history of the whole celebration gets lost in the mariachis and quesadillas.  The truth of it is is that Napoléon III sent some Frenchies to Mexico, along with some Brits and Spaniards, to check out what was happening and collect money.

Napoléon III

 The Nevada Observer

I am sure he needed some funds for something.  Building something nice in Paris, peut-être?  Somewhere along the line, though, the Brits and Spaniards decided to cut their losses and go home, leaving the French troops to deal with a misunderstanding between the two governments.  The Mexican villagers saw Frenchies marching in, figured that negotiations had broken down and they were coming to do battle.  That seems rather logical, doesn't it?  Maybe no one thought to ask.  Or maybe the Frenchies couldn't speak Spanish and the Mexicans couldn't speak French.  Who knows?  Maybe they should've sat down to dinner and talked it out, gesturing as best they could.  Anyway, the Mexicans were beaten in a skirmish (score a little one for the French), retreated to Puebla, a well-fortified spot.  The French general mistakenly thought that the folk of Puebla were on his side (bad info) and against the advice of those in-the-know, decided to attack.  They ran out of ammunition pretty quickly, retreated, a big rain storm made a mess of mud everywhere and, at the end of the day, 462 Frenchies and 82 Mexicans had died (in French, you can say ils ont disparu-- they disappeared, they can't be found, they ceased to exist.  Kind of like our passing away, I guess.  See how confusing it can be sometimes?)
Back to our battle at hand.  It was an impressive victory, BUT the Frenchies regrouped, Napoléon III sent in more troops, and won the second battle of Puebla on May 17, 1863, if Wikipedia is to be believed.  May 5th isn't even a holiday in Mexico.  A lot of misguided Americans think it is the Mexican independence day.  Nope.  Non.  Just a good excuse to drink Corona, as I stated earlier.
And to be clear here, Napoléon III should not be confused with his uncle, Napoléon I

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/bonaparte_napoleon.shtml

or with Napoleon Dynamite.

 http://www.moviefone.com/movie/napoleon-dynamite/18465/main

(The t-shirt is a bit suspect, considering what we are discussing here, don't you think?)

Since it is Friday, May 4, the eve of Cinco de Mayo, I came home from school and decided to make good use of a couple of avocados in my refrigerator and a can of black beans.

Happy Cinco de Mayo.

Guacamole
1 1/2 cups

1 large or 2 small ripe avocado, mashed
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice, or more to taste
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder
Tabasco or Louisiana hot sauce to taste
1 2-ounce jar diced pimentos, drained, optional
2 slices very crisp bacon, crumbled, optional
1/3 cup mayonnaise

1.  Mash avocados.  Add onion, lemon juice, salt, chili powder, and hot sauce (to taste). If desired, add optional ingredients.  Mix well.
2.   Spread top with the mayonnaise and chill at least one hour before serving.
3.   Stir mayonnaise into mixture before serving.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Black Bean Dip
2 cups

1 15-ounce can black beans or black-eyed peas
1 Tbsp. chopped jalapeño peppers, fresh or canned
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. picante sauce
1 1/4 c. grated cheese (mild Cheddar or combination of Cheddar and Monterey Jack)
Freshly ground pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2.  Drain beans and discard juice.
3.  Mash beans with a fork, leaving some chunks.  (Do not use blender or processor.)
4.  Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1/4 cup of cheese, and mix well.
5.  Pour into a 1-quart baking dish and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  (May be prepared ahead to this point refrigerated.)
6.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
7.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Bon appétit!  ¡Buen provecho!  Here's to chips and salsa!

Red Rouge

These past few days, I've been seeing red.
Red ripe juicy strawberries from the Durham Farmers' Market.

Red chicken combs in Dave's flock at Elodie Farms.

Red Apples to Apples card.  Interesting one, huh?

Red roses in bloom all over town right now, this one at Elodie Farms.

Red beer tent from Fullsteam.

No red beer, but a nice cold one on a hot day fetched just for me by the Ex-Ex so we could explore Dave's farm.

Red cherry tomatoes (or maybe grape tomatoes?) in the salad prepared by Jean-y.  Seriously good salad (still waiting for the poppyseed dressing recipe, girlfriend...)

Red book!!  About Paris, no less.

I saw an article about this book in The Independent, a weekly newspaper here in the Triangle. 

Think that cover caught my attention??
Rosecrans Baldwin spent 18 months living in Paris and then came home to write about the experience, calling it Paris,  I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down.

Trust me, if you love stories about Paris and good writing, you will love this one.  He read a couple of excerpts from the book at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill and really had me laughing at the story, the storytelling, and the storyteller. 

His love of France began while he was enrolled in 7th grade French.  Pay attention, mes élèves.  This may happen to you, too.
The BFF, Arles Lucy, and I had a great time.  I love to drag others along on my adventures.
We ate personal pizzas at Foster's Market, right next door before the reading.  I took no photos...  But trust me, the Frenchie pizza, with grilled ratatouille vegetables, garlic olive oil, and chèvre was délicieuse.
And last but not least, rounding out my tribute to rouge, is the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake that one of my advisees made and brought to school. 

This year, I have an amazingly talented trio of 7th grade boys who like to bake.  Pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, red velvet cake...

This is quite possibly the best cake I have ever put in my mouth.
Try it.  See for yourself.
You might see red, too.  But in a good way, bien sûr.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
from RecipeGirl

12-14 servings

Ingredients

Cheesecake:
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (two 1-ounce bottles) red food coloring
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted lightly to remove any lumps
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract


Prepare the cheesecake layer:  Preheat oven to 325˚F.  Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the over.  Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil.  Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.  Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan (you want to seal it so that water from the water bath doesn't seep into the pan).  In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese. Blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy.  Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition.  Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Set the pan into the roasting pan in the preheated oven.  Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the roasting pan (it will fill the pan surrounding the cheesecake).  Pour enough water so that there is about an inch of water coming up the foil along the sides of the cheesecake pan.  Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes.  It should be set to the touch and not jiggly.  Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour.  When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely.  This can be done in several hours or overnight.

Prepare the cake layers:  Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round metal baking pans (or spray with nonstick baking spray with flour).  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar to the flour mixture.  Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat on high for 2 minutes.  Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans, dividing equally.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.  Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of the pans, then invert cakes onto a rack to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not overbeat).


Assemble the cake:  Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter.  Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan.  Peel off the parchment.  Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers.  If the cheesecake layer turns out to be slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers.  Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer.  Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.

Frost the cake:  Apply a crumb-coat layer to the cake-- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin layer of frosting.  Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (this way you won't be transferring any red crumbs into the bowl of frosting).  Don't worry at this point about the crumbs being visible in the frosting on the cake.  When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to "set" the frosting.  Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the second layer.  Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake.  Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake, too.  Because you applied a crumb-coat layer, you shouldn't have any red crumbs floating around in the final frosting.  Decorate as desired.**  Keep this cake refrigerated.  If you are serving it at a party, it's okay to leave it at room temperature for an hour or so while serving.  Otherwise, keep it in the refrigerator.  It freezes perfectly and thaws quickly.


**RecipeGirl suggests white chocolate shavings.   To make these, purchase a hunk of white chocolate.  Microwave the chocolate to soften it up slightly (15 to 30 seconds, depending on the size).  Use a potato peeler to run down the side of the chocolate to create shards/shaves/curls of white chocolate.  "I like to shave it onto a paper plate and then just use the plate to slide the chocolate onto the top of the cake."

My 7th grade boy used red sprinkles.  Very pretty.

See RecipeGirl for credits.

Bon appétit, young bakers and all things rouge!