Nutmeg, More Precious Than Gold
In the 14th century, a pound of nutmeg was purportedly worth three sheep and a cow; in the 17th century, the little, fragrant nut was valued higher than gold.
Cook From Your Heart
I cooked for a French family to earn my keep while I studied as an apprentice chef in Paris. At first, I was completely petrified. Me, cook for French people?! I’d been an enthusiastic cook since I was a teenager so I dove in. Though I was immersed six days a week in a classic […]
French Grill Fandango
Dateline:Hot Springs, Virginia. Eileen and Betsy are back… with their LABOR DAY FRENCH GRILL FANDANGO “No one really cares that OUR objective is to cook our way through French Grill,” Eileen said. “Every day we got the question “Are we having the Camembert burger today?’ More about that later. We grilled ourselves to…well I don’t […]
Apples Apples Everywhere
Friends recently stopped by with two huge crates of apples that ranged from scrubby green to lush, deep red. When I asked about the varieties I was met with a shrug. “We don’t know; these trees have always been on the farm,” said Francois Bourdon, who brought them. “Some are for eating, some are for […]
Happy Classes and Summer’s End
It’s been a whirlwind of classes in Louviers and Paris for the last many weeks, and recently in one of my favorite U.S. cities, Asheville. Each class is so different and so unique, depending on those who come to participate, the nuances of the season and the ingredients, the choice of dishes, the location. I […]
