Late Season Makes for Happy Meals
Everyone here – everyone being most of the growers I buy from – says we’re three weeks behind the normal season. This means that instead of jumping feet-first into the strawberries, those gorgeous harbingers of spring are trickling in. And in Normandy, where the soil is still cold, they are a pleasure yet to come. […]
Grilling in Parisian Traffic
I don’t care how many books I write, each one is a labor of love, and as the publication date approaches the excitement builds, and there is suddenly so much to do. As part of all of that, my favorite photographer, Francis Hammond and I took to the streets of Paris to shoot some photos […]
New Season; New Classes
I keep waiting for spring and finally, today it knocked on the door. I know, officially it’s been here since March 21, but nothing about the world has felt springy. The temperatures have been so cold nothing will grow which means market offerings are skimpy; the skies have been roiling with winter clouds that threaten […]
Sunday Lunch in the Country
I’ve experienced and written a lot about Sunday Lunch, because I think it’s such a warm and admirable French tradition. Families and friends get together to while away the day simply enjoying – a meal, a beautiful table, each other. It’s always a moment hors temps, outside of time, where the clock ticks more slowly, […]
French Scenes
Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the beauty and curiosity of things I see as I walk around in Paris and Louviers, Honfleur and anywhere else I happen to be. It is a never ending tableau of bizarrities, beauties and everything in between.
The Events, the March
Charlie Hebdo. Hidden in a modest office on a small street near the Place de la Republique in Paris, the newspaper that pokes fun at all, no holds barred, has no sign on the door. No one really knew, or cared, where the office was. Today, everyone in the world knows where it is. Charles […]
Kougelhopf
Every year at Easter I make kougelhopf. Why for Easter? I’m not sure except that to me Easter is, among many other things, a feast of gorgeous baked goods and spring treats. Besides, kougelhopf holds special memories for me. Not only do I love its taste and buttery texture, the way the raisins float in […]
Love Letter to a Parisian Restaurant
At 21 Mazarine Chef and Paul Minchelli, has the softest, most delicate touch with seafood of any chef I’ve ever known. Didier Granier, also part owner who runs the front of the house, greets each guest as though they were JUST the person he wanted to see. Their combination is irresistible. And then there is […]
Restaurant L’Itineraire and its Vegetables
The rain has been unbelievable. Paris was submerged the other night, enveloped in a steady drizzle that penetrated everything, including my raincoat, as I walked down Boulevard St. Germain on my way to dinner at L’Itinéraire. I gratefully pushed open the door into the entry where a young waiter greeted me warmly and offered to […]
Radishes & Pink Martini
The other day an email dropped into my mailbox, with the subject line “You’re IN!” This was from my friend Timothy Nishimoto, who is the percussionist and a major singer for my home-town (Portland, Oregon) band, Pink Martini. He gets me tickets to concerts when the band is in Paris if seats are free; […]
