From the Shores of Broken Bow to La Bastille

Picture of Susan Loomis
Susan Loomis

Bonne Année and Bonne Santé for 2025! The year made it, and we will too! To celebrate, I’m offering a special discount of 15% on classes if you sign up before February 14, 2025.

Join me in my new Paris cooking studio, where we will make the absolute most of the season to prepare mouth-watering dishes from the French classic and contemporary repertoire. My focus is French technique, which I will teach as you transform local and seasonal ingredients into delicious meals which we will enjoy together. I cannot wait to introduce you to my world of food, flavor, France, French culture, and more. To register, simply go here.

Subscribe now

NEWS

I was in Texas for the holidays with the family, and we enjoyed our round of celebrations which included a Georgian gathering with dishes that we’ve come to know and love.

Favorite were Satsivi (dreamy chicken in walnut sauce), my daughter-in-law’s pickled vegetables which are served with everything, and her Khatchapuri (boat-shaped dough filled with mozzarella and feta and topped with a softer than soft egg that you eat by dipping the bread into it), Tolmas (spicy stuffed cabbage leaves), Mchadi (fried cornbread served hot with slices of feta), and an amazing cake called Aniuta, which I will attempt to conquer in the coming weeks. We’re all smitten with Georgian cuisine which bursts with flavor and texture. Even 2-1/2 year old Susie, my granddaughter, munches on the garlicky pickled cabbage before eagerly diving into Tolmas or Satsivi. Because she is growing up with these dishes, she loves them the way my kids did pâté and Camembert.

We began each evening with cocktails, our favorite always being a jasmine, which our friend and cocktail buff, Charles Malody, introduced to us years ago and which is perfect for all seasons (recipe below). After Christmas in Dallas, we set off for Oklahoma, and the pristine shores of Broken Bow Lake. It’s not a long journey, just a few hours, but it might as well be on another planet as the flats of the Dallas area give way to lush and rolling terrain, then dense pine forests.

Broken Bow Lake is not a lake but a reservoir created in the 1970’s, yet it does a very good imitation with little pine-punctuated islands, a fragrant pine forest that runs down to the shore, and gorgeous, rusty-brown shale and sparkling granite thrusts that make perfect spots to sit and watch the dimpled lake. Not to mention the excellent opportunity for skipping the chips of shale that litter the shore. So brittle they reminded me of Necco wafers, even a novice can get a good number of skips out of them.

When I mentioned to friends that we were going to visit Oklahoma there were titters, because it hardly has the allure of Portugal or France, New York or Montreal. But like anywhere, there is much to discover there, including a French history . Oklahoma was part of the Louisiana Purchase so its residents – including native tribes – were French citizens for a time. Does this mean today’s Oklahomans might be eligible to be elected to political office in France, as Bill Clinton was (and he was highly desired here)? I’ll have to check that out.

The cuisine of Oklahoma relies heavily on fried foods and…barbecue. In fact, Oklahoma barbecue is considered by many to be the best in the country, and while I cannot speak to that, what we had from NAAMAN’S BBQ (87 Sugarberry Trail 580-494-3017) was so moist, delicately smoked, perfectly spiced and tender that we will return just for that. Like entering a Parisian café, going into a barbecue joint is a voyage to another time and place. They share a raw simplicity, the people behind the counter an open if somewhat gruff friendliness when you have NO idea what to order or how. And accents can be so strong that it is hard not to say “What?” in favor of just slowing down and truly listening. I haven’t mastered it yet but I will, remembering coleslaw as the perfect side dish, frahd (fried) potatoes too, and an extra of sauce.

But of course, what I’ll remember most about our visit was the fragrant forest that surrounded our cabin, the way the rain sounded in its canopy, cocktails on the porch when the stars came out, and crackling fires in the fireplace that made a perfect backdrop for stories, dancing, and board games.

As I sit today, looking at the winged Genie de la Bastille in my temporary quarters (more on my apartment soon as it resurfaces from the rubble of transformation), the juxtaposition between it and Oklahoma is extreme. But in our lucky lives we can have that as easily as buying a plane ticket and taking the ride. Ten days ago, I was hiking with my kids surrounded by the sounds of forest fauna and crackling twigs, skipping million-year-old pieces of shale on a glassy lake, buying bags of barbecue, and roasting marshmallows in a fire in preparation of making ‘smores. Today, I’m listening to Chopin and looking at a spare winter landscape with a historic column topped by a gilded bronze genius that has broken the bonds of oppression. Our minds must be nimble to absorb such contrasts.

I’ll sign off now so that I’m not late for lunch at @mokonuts. But before I go let me remind you that I’m now exclusively in Paris teaching cooking classes, and I’m offering special prices for the next month.

And let me wish you, wherever you find yourselves, a year filled with warm and generous moments whether they’re looking at a gorgeous statue or skipping a stone or two. Vive la vie!

If you want to help in California, go here

And now, to brighten your evenings, here is a recipe for the inimitable jasmine.

On Rue Tatin with Susan Herrmann Loomis is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

JASMINE

Follow the recipe, then play with your favorite ingredients (I like more lemon juice in mine, and you can substitute orange shrub for the Triple Sec, or whatever orange liqueur you have on hand). Jasmine must be served very cold.

50 ml (3 generous tablespoons) gin of your choice
30 ml (2 tablespoons) Campari
20 ml (1-1/2 tablespoons) Triple Sec (or orange liqueur of your choice)
20 ml (1-1/2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Measure all of the ingredients into a cocktail shaker, then fill the shaker one-third with ice cubes. Cover and shake gently until the shaker is very cold, about 30 seconds. Pour the cocktail into the glass of your choice, and if it isn’t cold enough for your liking, add an ice cube.

You might also enjoy

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This