I was able to blog on Wordpress but not on Blogspot while away. I had a fabulous, amazing, delicious week in Paris. Here are two posts I did while on the road--
It has been an amazing trip. With only one more night to go. It always goes by so (too) quickly. I bought the macarons and chocolate today during a Montmartre food/art/history tour with the amazing Bertrand.
If you ever need a guide to show you around, Bertrand is your man. He knows Paris like the back of his hand. We learned about cheese, foie gras, bread, pastries, Picasso, other artists who lived in this wonderful neighborhood as well as the history of the quartier. My Private Paris.
I saw where my beloved Vincent Van Gogh lived with his brother Theo.
There is so much to see if you take the time to follow the winding streets, such as Rue Lepic, to the top, instead of just taking the metro to Abbesses and then the stairs or funicular to the Sacré Cœur Church.
We had blue skies (Bertrand says he has an app for that on his watch) and wind, but, hey, it’s January. Who cares anyway? There are two things I cannot control during my trips– the exchange rate and the weather. Right?
I ate lunch at a little café Bertrand recommended, Le Colibri. Excellent. Stéphane, the owner/server (?) suggested “farandole de légumes farcis” and I took him up on it.
Delicious. Yellow pepper, zucchini and tomato. Now you see it–
Now you don’t. It was that good. Stéphane asked me if I liked it, I nodded enthusiastically to which he replied “Si vous êtes contente, je suis content.” If you’re happy, I’m happy.
I love making desserts, but I really don’t eat them all that often. Tarte Normande is hard to pass up, though. I’ve tried to make it, but without a great deal of success. It is not like this…
I suppose I will keep trying!
I have made some wonderful new friends and I saw a few from last year and the year before. This type of experience feeds my soul (as well as my tummy) and makes me a much better teacher. I put my heart into teaching and I am so lucky that I get to experience France twice a year. I think I bring that enthusiasm back to my classroom. I certainly give it my all.
This trip will deserve a much longer blog post and a couple of new recipes when I get home. Until then, how about a photo of tonight’s souple à l’oignon gratinée? A great dish for a chilly rainy evening.
Bon appétit à tous!!
The view from the street just as I turn the corner to my hotel, the Hôtel de Senlis, just next to the Panthéon.
I am just next door to Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Louis Braille and Jean Moulin. Just to name four. I feel very safe! And smarter and more courageous.
It is pretty glorious here in Paris. After walking all day, I decided to take a break in the shadow of Notre Dame. I went in to the cathedral to light a candle for Mme Christiane Buchanan, my high school French teacher.
I always do this when I am in Paris. Merci, madame.
There was delicious eating going on last night on the 10th floor of the Pullman Hotel (used to be the Hilton Paris). This was our view–
ACIS treated us to an apéritif dînatoire. Ready?
And looking at them now, I realize there were things I did not photograph before eating. Oops! My bad. Little bits of lots of goodness.
Check out this cute little eating utensil!
Très pratique!
Breakfast today at hotel —
Lunch at a café near Le Grand Palais just off the Champs-Élysées-
The was the perfect bite– cantal cheese, gésier and a fried potato-
When I put those three together, I felt kind of like the rat In Ratatouille before he gets electrocuted.
And now, lo and behold, it’s dinner time. Off to explore the neighborhood around my hotel to find something yummy.
Virginia Kelser Jones is a photographer and Paris lover. We are Facebook friends, although by looking often at her photos, I feel as if I know her and that we have shared several meals and glasses of champagne in la Ville Lumière. I decided to enter one of mine at City Daily Photo after I saw the one she entered. I saw this llama at The Divine Llama Winery on a recent trip to Mt. Airy, North Carolina. I love these critters and I thought the light was magnifique.
So, I want everyone to know that I just got up off the sofa, out from under this amazing blanket (a late Christmas gift from an 8th grade girlie and her mom), put on my clogs, and braved the cold- 24˚F- to take a couple of photos for you. I am brave like that. Teaching the kiddos yesterday, after a two-week break, was exhausting. Hahaha
I love this holly-type bush/tree just outside my door.
The Ex-Ex is already out driving around in it. He went to check the roads so he can tell his coaches that their will be no coaching going on today. He also went to fetch my computer charging cord because I didn't believe it would really snow and left it on my desk. He likes to put the Jeep in 4-wheel drive and go exploring. Pas moi.
You can see his foot prints.
He did ask me to sweep the steps clear of snow if the spirit moves me. Hey, I did get up early and take a shower and put on my favorite sweatpants. I am not a total bum. And those steps might get swept in a bit. On ne sait jamais.
I have stuff to do right here on this sofa. Write this blog. Listen to some music while I type away. Right now, my very talented friend James Green is playing Dan Fogelberg's Same Old Lang Syne on his saxophone. I have a thing for sad songs and this is one of my favorites. Listen. James has his own YouTube channel in case you want to hear more.
And then if you want to listen to Dan sing it, here you go.
I also need to grade some pen pal letters that my students wrote before the break. I am going to hand deliver them to Mme M next week. I will indeed tuck them inside my suitcase and take them across the ocean. Oui, off to Paris next week. Just a tiny bit excited.
For three glorious days, I will be a guest of ACIS, spend some time with other teachers, wander the streets of the City of Light with Betrand, my tour manager and our tour guide next week. Then I will have three more glorious days solo. I have some trip scouting to do for the March student trip. A few places to check out in advance. I buy postcards of places and works of art that the kiddos will see to hand out to them so that they can prepare short presentations they will share with their fellow travelers during the trip. Last year, Bertrand and I came up with the idea of asking each of them to photograph their favorite work of art in the Musée d'Orsay (yes, you can now take photos in there without a long lecture from a guard). We also asked them to be prepared to tell us the name, artist and why the piece "spoke" to them. Later that day, we sat on steps near the École Militaire, if memory serves me correct, and everyone, including the adults, took turns. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.
What else do I need to do today? Finish a project for Seth and Luke at Bull City Burger and Brewery. A table and "curtain" for beer-tastings. I am their resident seamstress.
I am currently reading a biography of Hadley Richardson, the first Mrs. Ernest Hemingway. It is Paris Without End: The True Story of Hemingway's First Wife by Gioia Diliberto. (It's on Amazon Kindle for $1.99 today. I get nothing from Amazon for posting that, BTW. I have a Kindle app on my iPad and read a lot that way.) Sofa-reading under the new blanket seems like a nice way to spend some time on a cold day. I enjoyed The Paris Wife by Paula McLain a couple of years ago and decided to read more about Hadley.
Sister-in-Law sent photos a week or so ago of French onion soup that she made in her crockpot. Needless to say, I have been craving it since. (Dare I ask the Ex-Ex to stop at the grocery store on his way home to pick up onions and beef stock?? I usually have both but the cupboards are a bit bare right now.)
S-in-L and I also discussed the recipe when we were together during New Year's. This is one of my very favorite dishes. It is also probably the first thing I will eat when I hit the streets of Paris. Last year, I found a café near my hotel and ate a bowl of soup, sipped a glass of Côtes-du-Rhône, and watched a man delicately devour un hamburger-frites with a knife and fork. I wish that I could have videoed that feat. Hamburgers are the rage in Paris. I hear that there is also a hamburger food truck roaming around.
Anyway, revenons à notre soupe. Sister-in-Law is very clever and has her favorite recipes in Evernote and sent it to me. I use Evernote for my class assignments. It is so easy and user friendly. Using for recipes would mean that I could easily bring up a recipe on my phone while at the grocery store. Smart, right? Here you go.
How to make French Onion Soup in the slow cooker
from the Kitchn.
I haven't tried it, but S-in-L and her husband raved about it. She cut the recipe in two since there are only two of them.
Serves 6 to 8
What You Need
Ingredients
3 pounds yellow onions, peeled, sliced, and cut into quarter-moons
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper
10 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons brandy (optional)
To Serve
4 to 6 toasted baguette slices per bowl
1/3 cup grated Gruyère cheese per bowl (1 1/3 to 2 cups total)
Chopped shallot or fresh onion (optional)
Equipment
Cutting board and chef's knife
5-quart or larger slow cooker
Wooden spoon
Oven-safe soup bowls
Rimmed baking sheet
Instructions
Season the onions. Place the onions in a 5-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir in the butter, oil, salt, and a generous amount of pepper.
Cook on LOW for 12 hours. Cover and cook on the LOW setting overnight until the onions should be dark golden-brown and soft, 12 hours or overnight.
Add the broth and vinegar. Stir in the broth and vinegar.
Cook for LOW 6 to 8 hours. Cover and continue cooking on the LOW setting for 6 to 8 hours. This is flexible; as long as your slow cooker holds moisture well (wrap a towel over the lid if quite a lot of steam escapes), you can cook the soup for hours. Longer cooking will only intensify the flavors. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if needed, and stir in the brandy if using.
Portion the soup into oven-safe bowls. Arrange a rack in the upper third of the oven and heat to 350°F. Ladle the soup and onions into oven-safe soup bowls and place the bowls on a rimmed baking sheet.
Top with toast and shredded cheese. Top each bowl with a slice of toast and a generous quantity of shredded Gruyère cheese, about 1/3 cup per bowl.
Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake until the cheese is completely melted, 20 to 30 minutes.
Broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the oven to broil. Broil until the cheese is bubbling and browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with chopped fresh shallot or onion if desired.
Recipe Notes
Adjusting Consistency & Thickness: When I have made this, the soup has always been just the right consistency. But if yours seems a little thin or watery, you can quickly finish it off on the stovetop by simmering gently in a saucepan for 15 minutes or until the broth has reduced a little.
Bon appétit and Happy Snow Day to all! Stay warm and toasty. Eat something tasty. Listen to some music. Read a good book.
An article written by Adam Nossiter for the New York Times partially republished in this morning’s Durham Herald-Sun immediately caught my attention. It is about French chef Jérôme Brochot, owner of Le France in Montceau-les-Mines, giving up his Michelin star.
This is practically unheard of. Those stars, however, drive up prices and bring a lot of pressure. It is very difficult and very expensive to maintain the stars and add more. Halfway through the article, Sébastien Bras’ name jumped out at me. MySébastien Bras? I thought. Yes, indeed. Last fall, Sébastien, with his father Michel’s blessing, asked Michelin to remove his three stars. I googled and found this from the New York Times.
In 2013, I was asked to review a documentary film Entre les Bras(Step Up to the Plate is the English title), for The French Review, a publication of the American Association of Teachers of French. It is an excellent film. I actually know someone, a parent of one of my former students, who has eaten at Bras’ restaurant. That’s as close as I get in the grand scheme of degrees of separation to Michel and Sébastien. I did eventually send them a copy of the article and I received a very nice thank you note.
While googling Sébastien and Michel, I also found these videos of them preparing their signature dish Gargouillou.
After watching the film several times and reading all I could find about them in order to write my review, I felt as if I knew Michel and Sébastien. I got rather attached to them actually. I hope that Sébastien is happy and has found joy in cooking again. I still hope to visit Laguiole someday and meet les Bras. It’s on my to-do list.
Here’s my review of Entre les Bras. If you enjoy documentaries and food, this film is a great way to spend an hour and a half.
Last year, I was asked to write about Entre les Bras for the French Review, the official publication of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF). The editor of the film section of the Review, Dr. Michèle Bissière, lives and teaches in North Carolina and is active in our chapter of the AATF. She attended a presentation I made about my sabbatical or about cooking with my students. Not sure which. Anyway, she sent me a copy of the documentary, asked me to watch it, and write a review. Wow. Documentaries about French food and chefs are right up my alley after falling in love with Jacquy Pfeiffer in Kings of Pastry. Durham, NC hosted the North American preview of the film as part of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival and I wrote a review about it for our local newspaper. Jacquy and his wife were in the audience, no less.
I watched Entre les Bras (Step Up To The Plate is its English title) several times and set about writing and daydreaming about actually eating there. I am not sure that dream will ever come true, but I started thinking about it again after recently reading Ann Mah’s book Mastering the Art of French Eating. Journalist Ann actually went to the Aveyron départment of France and interviewed Sébastien Bras. And Papa Michel came in while she was talking to his son.
I realized that I haven’t posted my review. I had grand plans to send it to Michel and Sébastien after it was published last spring, but either common sense got the better of me or I’ve been too shy to do so. Silly me. I need to mail it off with a fan letter. Pourquoi pas?
Read the review and if you are in the mood for beautiful views of la France profonde, cows, and a glimpse into the life of a Michelin star chef, rent the film.
The parents of one of my 8th grade students have actually been to the restaurant in Laguiole… Sigh.
Lacoste, Paul, réal. Entre les Bras (Step Up To The Plate). Michel Bras, Sébastien Bras. Cinéma Guild, 2012.
I recently read the story of Bernard Loiseau, a chef who committed suicide in 2003 at the age of 52, after rumors that his restaurant might lose one of its three Michelin stars. Remembering that tragic story and considering that we have elevated chefs to rock star status in the United States, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a documentary about a three-star Michelin chef. Would Michel Bras be a temperamental egomaniac? Would he spend his time berating the wait staff in his restaurant or slamming pots and pans? Or would he be riddled with self-doubt? Or worse yet, would he have no confidence whatsoever in his son and heir-apparent, Sébastien, and belittle him?
Bras, père et fils, have a restaurant and hotel in Laguiole, in the Aveyron department in southern France, built on a hill with a breathtaking view of the valley below. Michel Bras is undoubtedly a perfectionist, as the viewer quickly finds out by watching him choose vegetables, herbs, and flowers for the restaurant. His ties to the land where he has spent his entire life seem to be as deep as his family ties. Michel is a slight, serious man, a runner, with round wire-rimmed glasses who looks more like a university professor than a chef. He is, however, quite an entrepreneur and has built an empire based upon his expertise in the kitchen.
Food is the Bras family business. Michel’s mother ran a restaurant and he followed her, taking over and earning Michelin stars. He decided to build his current showpiece several years ago, secure in the knowledge that Sébastien would stay with him in the endeavor. The premise of the movie is that Michel is ready to retire and hand over the reins to Séba, as he calls his son. I expected the movie to be mostly about Michel, but I found myself just as engrossed in the emotions of Sébastien and the idea of family duty. There never seemed to be a question of what his life’s work would be. The photos of him at a very young age in a chef’s coat and toque made for him by his grandmother foreshadow his destiny. But is it easier to start from scratch as Michel did or to inherit an empire and try to stay on top?
Entre les Bras is divided into seasons, a fitting and logical setting for a movie about food and life. The story comes full circle, in the course of a year, from spring to spring, watching four generations of family interact with one another around food. Sébastien works on his own signature dishes, telling his own story, built on the time spent with his grandparents on their farm. One touching scene shows Sébastien alone in the kitchen creating a dessert that he later calls his own chemin, or pathway, using elements from his childhood: bread (his dad), milk skin and chocolate (his mom), and blackberry jam and Laguiole cheese (his grandmother). He seems truly at peace with the completion of this dish. He must find his own way. He knows this and his dad knows this.
The changing of the guard occurs as the viewer watches Michel take down his photos and mementos from the office bulletin board and put away his notebooks filled with recipes and drawings. Sébastien’s notebooks and a final scene of Alban, Sébastien’s son, cooking in the kitchen with his grandfather, wearing a miniature chef’s coat and toque, replace them. Michel’s work isn’t finished yet.
From one of the first scenes, showing the plating of Michel Bras’ signature dish, Gargouillou, to the beauty of the Aubrac sunrises and sunsets, this is a stunningly beautiful and poignant story of the humans behind the creation of legendary food.
Searching for a recipe, I found Michel’s Coulant au chocolat. Have you ever eaten a molten lava cake aka fondant au chocolat aka moelleux au chocolat? Well, mon dieu bon dieu, I just discovered that Michel INVENTED it. I have attempted it several times, but mine never seems to coule… to flow. I even found a video produced by FR2, a French TV station, about French desserts that features Michel and his dessert. It’s in French and the photos are amazing. If you don’t like chocolate, don’t bother!
There are a lot of recipes out there for this amazing treat. Here’s the one I will try next. Maybe this afternoon? When I need a break from grading exams? Should La Table de Claire be on my Paris to-do list? Well, malheureusement, that won’t be possible. It is fermé– permanently closed- now.
Fondant au chocolat recipe from La Table de Claire
With black-and-white floor tiles, a Formica bar, modern light fixtures and a sunny terrace, this is the little bistro everyone dreams of having around the corner. La Table de Claire in the 11th arrondissement made its name thanks to the ‘chef d’un soir’ nights, in which amateur chefs would take over the restaurant. Chef Claire Seban has moved on to other projects, but the current chef/owner, Lofti Sioud, continues to serve a spontaneous cuisine inspired by his travels and by seasonal produce. Because so many customers had a soft spot for Claire’s fondant au chocolat, it often appears on the menu.
Serves 8.
• 220g dark chocolate, the best you can afford
• 200g butter
• 100g white sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 level tbsp flour
• A little butter for the mould
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a heavy saucepan, melt the dark chocolate and butter together over a low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Let the mixture cool to lukewarm and add the eggs one by one. Finally, fold in the flour.
3. Pour the batter into eight buttered ring moulds placed on a baking sheet, or eight buttered shallow dishes (crème brûlée dishes would work well). Bake for eight minutes.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream.
Bon appétit, mes amis, near and far. As 2017 comes to a close, I wish you all happiness and good eatin’, surrounded by loved ones. I will be with my in-laws, celebrating my belle-mère’s birthday.
