Category Archives: Paris

A Moveable Feast

mussels and scallops

One of the high points of my recent trip to Paris with my sister Diane was the cooking class we took at Cook’n With Class, a Parisian cooking school offering classes in English to locals and tourists. Diane and I chose the Morning Market Class, in which students shop with the chef for fresh ingredients and then prepare a four-course meal back at the school.

We met Chef Patrick Hebert and four other students on a very cold morning at a Métro stop near Montmartre. Chef Patrick led us to the markets, where we inspected the meat at a boucherie:

boucherie

. . . the fish at a poissonier:

fish

fish 2

scallops at the market

. . . and the cheese at a fromagerie:

fromagerie

Chef Patrick gave us pointers on choosing the freshest fish:

chef patrick inspecting fish

Guided by the chef’s suggestions and the food preferences of the students, the group mutually decided on this menu:

Scallops and Mussels in Saffron Sauce
on a Bed of Caramelized Fennel

Duck Magret with Figs
Haricots Vert (Green Beans)
Celeriac au Gratin

Cheese Tray

Chocolate Souffle

Talk about fresh fish! We watched the fishmonger shuck and clean the scallops we ate later that day:

shucking scallops
After shopping for fruit and vegetables, we headed to the cooking school to prepare our feast. The classroom was all set up, with a station for each student:

CooknWithClass classroom

cooking class station

We got right to work, separating eggs for the soufflé . . .

separating eggs for souffle

. . . chopping fresh tarragon . . .

dlw and dks chopping tarragon
. . . measuring Grand Marnier for the chocolate soufflé . . .

measuring grand marnier
. . . sautéing the fennel as Chef Patrick looked on . . .

sauteeing fennel
. . . buttering ramekins for the soufflé . . .

dlw buttering ramekins
Chef Patrick showed us the correct way to sharpen knives . . .

chef patrick sharpening knives

. . . and how to keep our fingers out of the way when chopping vegetables. Here he is slicing celeriac:

slicing celeriac
Dinner is coming together! Here is the celeriac au gratin bubbling in the oven . . .

celeriac gratin bubbling in the oven

. . . mussels cooking in cream . . .

mussels cooking in cream

. . . scallops sizzling in the pan . . .

scallops cooking
. . . and the duck magret resting in a bowl . . .

duck magret, resting
Dinner is ready.

The first course: mussels and scallops in saffron sauce on a bed of caramelized fennel:

mussels and scallops
The main course: duck magret served with figs sautéed in butter and port, haricots vert, and celeriac au gratin:

dinner is served
While the chocolate soufflé was in the oven, we enjoyed a cheese course:

cheese tray 1
Chef Patrick showed us how to slice the variously shaped cheeses so that the last person wasn’t left with all the rind:

serving cheese
Now, ready for dessert. Ah, the first bite of chocolate soufflé:

chocolate souffle

Délicieuse!

Here we are at the end of the day with Chef Patrick:

chef patrick and his students
Don’t we look well fed and contented?

 

 

 

Posted in family, Paris, update | 11 Comments

Homeward Bound

In a few short hours, my twin and I will be winging our way back to America, our two-week sojourn to Paris at an end. And what a wonderful sojourn it has been! I cannot imagine a better way to celebrate turning 65.

The big day is actually next month, but every time Diane and I lifted a glass of wine or champagne, we smiled at each other and said, “Happy birthday!”

The twins in Paris
Dawn and Diane in Paris

 

In a few days, when I’ve had a chance to sort and edit my pictures, I’ll post my favorite ones. I hope you’ll come back to see the highlights of our trip.

 

 

 

Posted in family, Paris, update | 3 Comments

“It’s deja vu all over again . . .”

The late great Yogi Berra supposedly said that. Even if he never spoke those words, I know what he meant. I’m having a very déjà vu moment. I am in Paris, in the same apartment (Chez Anna) where my husband and I spent three weeks in the spring. This time my twin sister Diane is with me, and we are here for two weeks.

How did this stroke of good fortune come about? Well, Diane was supposed to join my husband and me for several days during our earlier stay. A family emergency (since resolved) kept her from coming. Her ticket was good for a year. Through a combination of luck and good timing, we were able to arrange this visit to coincide with a trip my friend Anna and her beau had scheduled to the United Kingdom.

Part of the deal is that we take care of her cat Buddy, whom I already adore:

image

Diane and I have  a Big Birthday coming up next month (think Medicare). Is this not the perfect way to celebrate turning 65?

 

 

Posted in cats, family, Paris, update | 9 Comments

We’ll Always Have Paris (Part 2)

Continuing to relive my recent Paris trip, here are some photos, in no particular order, starting with this one of Notre Dame on a cool and drizzly day in early May:

2 paris notre dame with moi(That’s moi in the foreground, in the polka-dot raincoat.)

Inside Le Grand Colbert, the restaurant featured in the 2003 Diane Keaton film Something’s Gotta Give:

2 paris inside le grand colbert

A niche in the wall at Place St. Germain des Pres:

2 paris st germain des pres
The giant stained glass dome inside the Galeries Lafayette department store:

2 paris inside galleries lafayette

A perfect Parisian rose, rivaling those in my hometown Portland OR, known as the City of Roses:

2 paris rose

A theater lover’s delight: seeing Juliette Binoche in an English language production of Antigone:

2 paris antigone poster

Street scene snapped while riding on a city bus:

2 paris street scene

One of the most iconic images of Paris:

2 paris eiffel tower

Inside E. Dehillerin, the famous cook’s supply store frequented by the likes of Julia Child and the Barefoot Contessa:

2 paris inside dehillerin

A delicious grocery store discovery:

2 paris lemon tartelettes

Best enjoyed with a cup of coffee served in a French mug:

2 paris mug
Strolling along the Seine admiring the chestnut trees for which Paris is justly famous:

2 paris chestnuts along seine(Here you have to imagine Ella Fitzgerald singing “April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom, holiday tables under the trees . . .” And yes, I took that photo in April.)

And finally, since this is primarily a sewing/quilting blog, my final shots are of images I want to reinterpret as quilt blocks:

2 paris wrought iron balcony

2 paris fleur de lis in les invalides

2 paris tile inside les invalides

 

The sights, the sounds, the smells . . . Paris was a feast for the senses. I feel so fortunate to have spent three weeks there.

 

 

 

Posted in Paris, update | 5 Comments

We’ll Always Have Paris (Part 1)

Hello out there, hello. Or should I say, “bonjour!”

I’ve been home from my woooonderful Paris trip for over a week now and have yet to get back into my sewing/quilting groove. Oh, I’ve washed and ironed several pieces of fabric pulled from my stack of recent purchases, and I’ve started prepping for a new class. I’ve even taught a class. But I have yet to sit down at my sewing machine. Unusual, most unusual. I usually return from a trip raring to sew.

I’m sure my sewing mojo will return shortly. In the meantime, since I’m still basking in the glow of all those happy Paris memories, I’ll share a few photos. My husband and I were there for three weeks, exchanging housing with a friend who stayed at our home and took care of our little cat Theodora while we took care of her big cat Buddy. The exchange worked out splendidly.

Some of the landmarks beginning (of course) with the Eiffel Tower, viewed on a rainy afternoon from the Trocadéro:

Paris Eiffel Tower
La Tour Eiffel

 

The Arch of Triumph (photo taken on the 70th anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day:

Paris Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile

 

The Museum of the Army of France (Napoleon’s final resting place):

paris les invalides
Musée de l’Armée, L’Hôtel national des Invalides

 

The doors of Paris! They could be the subject of a photo essay. Here are just a couple of those pretty portals:

Paris portal 1

 

paris portal 2

 

Stately old buildings, so many of them beautifully adorned with wrought iron balconies:

Paris bldg balc 4

Paris bldg balc 1
Paris bldg balc 2
Paris bldg balc 3
paris bldg balc 5

 

We ate our share of what the French call “sandwichs,” our favorite being jambon et emmental (ham and cheese) on baguettes, often enjoyed on a park bench after a museum exhibition or other outing. I also sampled French onion soup:

Paris food onion soup

Carpaccio di manzo, in a French-Italian bistro near the Bastille Métro stop:

Paris food carpaccio

Cafe crème, our favorite mid-afternoon pick-me-up, never served without a square of dark chocolate on the saucer:

Paris food cafe creme

Standing in front of French patisseries eyeing the offerings in the window was a form of entertainment in itself:

paris food patisserie window

 

We visited a number of small museums and saw some fascinating temporary exhibits, most of which were not the least bit crowded. An exhibit at the Biblioteque Nationale de France (French National Library) celebrating the 100th anniversary of chanteuse Edith Piaf’s birth:

piaf exhibit
Au Temps de Klimit: La Sécession à Vienne (In the Time of Klimit: the Vienna Secession), tracing the development in Viennese art from the end of the 19th century until the first years of Expressionism:

Klimt exhibit

Inside this beautiful building, Palais Galliera, also known as the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, a wonderful exhibition on milliner and couturier Jeanne Lanvin. She died in 1946 but her house of fashion survives, the oldest French one in existence:

lanvin exhibit

 

I see now that I need to break this post up into two parts. I hope you will indulge me. Please come back to see several more pictures, including a few images that I took because of their potential as quilt blocks or quilting motifs.

À bientôt!

 

 

 

Posted in family, Paris, update | 5 Comments

“Never an umbrella in Paris . . .

. . .  and, by all means, rain the very first day.” So says Sabrina Fairchild (Audrey Hepburn) in the classic 1954 movie, Sabrina, one of my all-time favorites.

I’m  happy to report that I followed Sabrina’s instructions to the letter. The light rain falling on the day of our arrival was most welcome. The Dear Husband and I have the great good fortune to be spending three weeks in the City of Light. We are staying at the apartment of a friend, who is staying at our home in Portland during the same time frame.

As I write this, night is falling on the city, and from our dining room window we can look out and see the very top of the Eiffel Tower all lit up. The top of the Pantheon is also visible in the distance.

Under these circumstances, I hope you’ll forgive the lapse in posting. I’ll resume as soon as I’m back home. In the meantime, I’m enjoying  la vie en rose. According to Sabrina, it means I’m looking at Paris (and the world) through rose colored glasses.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Paris, update | 9 Comments