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:

. . . the fish at a poissonier:

. . . and the cheese at a fromagerie:

Chef Patrick gave us pointers on choosing the freshest 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:

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:

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

. . . chopping fresh tarragon . . .

. . . measuring Grand Marnier for the chocolate soufflé . . .

. . . sautéing the fennel as Chef Patrick looked on . . .

. . . buttering ramekins for the soufflé . . .

Chef Patrick showed us the correct way to sharpen knives . . .

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

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

. . . mussels cooking in cream . . .

. . . scallops sizzling in the pan . . .

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

Dinner is ready.

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

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

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

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

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

Délicieuse!

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

Don’t we look well fed and contented?

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!”

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.

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:

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

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

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

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

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:

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

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

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

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:

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:

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:

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!