Monthly Archives: February 2013

Purée de potiron au parmesan

This is the longest and dreariest winter I can remember in my more than 30 years in Paris. Gray, gray, gray every day, and it keeps snowing at a time of year when the café tables have usually started to … Continue reading

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Rodolphe Paquin

When Rodolphe Paquin took over 16 years ago as chef at the Paris restaurant Le Repaire de Cartouche, the place was in a shambles. Which is a shame, if only because of the restaurant’s unique frescos depicting the life of … Continue reading

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Huîtres gratinées aux épinards

I’ll never forget my first taste of an oyster. My French boyfriend showed me how it was done. He took an open oyster on the halfshell, detached it with a sharp knife and, in one swift gesture, let the glistening … Continue reading

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Velouté de cresson

Watercress was considered by the ancients to have medicinal and even magical properties. The Romans thought it could cure baldness, the Greeks that it could cure madness and moderate the effects of overindulgence in wine. Dioscorides, a Greek doctor who … Continue reading

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Omelette bonne femme

I wanted to give you a great recipe for Valentine’s Day, and this is what I came up with. It’s a delightful brunch dish when preceded by a glass of champagne — and can also make a light supper with … Continue reading

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Are cookbooks finished?

This is the question nobody wanted to ask out loud at the Roger Smith Cookbook Conference, a gathering of cookbook writers, editors, publishers, agents, food bloggers and food historians that has just concluded in New York. But it was lurking … Continue reading

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Suprêmes de poulet aux morilles

Tender chicken breasts poached in white wine with a little cream and the woodsy succulence of morel mushrooms – sounds great, right? Wish I could remember. I’m having a little trouble conjuring up this dish right now because I’m on … Continue reading

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Salade d’hiver aux poires et aux noix

Take a couple handfuls of mixed winter greens, add bits of pear and walnut, spritz on some lemon juice, add olive oil, salt and pepper, et voilà — a zesty winter salad that takes no more than five minutes to … Continue reading

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Vacherin aux fruits de la passion

Ethereal, sweet, light as air, meringues make a lovely dessert in various guises. In France, when meringues are combined with whipped cream, ice cream or both, the dessert is called vacherin. Julia Child explains how to make a large ice … Continue reading

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