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Spices for the pumpkin soup—cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cayenne, paprika, cumin, cardamom seeds (not pictured coriander and curry)
I should move out of the country more often. This year I celebrated Thanksgiving not once but three times! That’s three turkeys (or really big chickens), three stuffings, three mashed potatoes, and three pumpkin pies, among a few hundred other dishes. Click here to indulge in all three Thanksgiving meals...
Snow in Paris, France ~ November 2005
This is truly la vue de ma fenêtre, the view from my window, late this morning looking out toward Place Monge. So now it's really snowing in Paris! Big floppy, stick-to-your-tongue flakes that are so fun to watch. Kids were throwing snowballs and my indoor/outdoor thermomoter still reads -50F so I guess it is officially the start of winter. Click below to see all the pictures....
Continue reading "La Vue de Ma Fenêtre ~ La Neige à Paris" »
I am posting this repeat from last year since thousands of Goggle-ers searching for a picture of a Thanksgiving turkey have landed on my little site in the past week! This picture reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when Kramer sunbathes in butter...
For the second year in a row, I won't be in front of the TV early Thursday morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Did you know that the parade was not started by Macy’s, but rather their employees? The employees of Macy’s were once made up mostly of immigrants who were truly appreciative of their lives and opportunities here in the United States.
All from different backgrounds, countries and religions, they gathered at 125th Street dressed as clowns and other costumes carrying balloons. They marched in celebration and gratitude to Macy’s on 34th Street. 250,000 people came out to watch them and be part of the celebration of life itself. It was such a success that Macy’s fully got behind it the following year and it has been part of our tradition ever since. That was back in 1927. Incroyable, non?
Bon Appetit! and a very Happy Thanksgiving to you all! May you have much to be grateful for... Meilleurs voeux de Paris ~ Best wishes from Paris. Laura
It's c-o-l-d in Paris! How cold, you ask? Well, today it
was a balmy...
degrees! And yesterday it was 38F so could snow be far behind?
Or if my indoor/outdoor thermomometer is correct, it reads
-50 degrees (really!), perhaps the next ice age....
Directions à la Bibliothèque, Gare de Chagny, Bourgogne ~ October 2005
Wise words to live by indeed, as well as the theme for this year’s 19th Annual James Beard Foundation Holiday Auction & Dinner. French chefs from around the world were on hand for this “Celebration de la Cuisine Française” at The Essex House in New York City. Click here to feast your eyes....
I don’t mean to complain but this is getting ridiculous. Really. I am sure there are worse stories than mine, much worse, but I need to vent... I loathe SuperShuttle. I really really really loathe them, them and their ubiquitous blue vans crawling about the city like cockroaches. So where does such enmity come from, you ask? Well, let me tell you.
I had a 9:30pm flight out of JFK and having blown the budget on meals decided to be prudent and take SuperShuttle ($19). I would have taken the subway ($8) and cool new airtrain but I overpacked, comme toujours (as usual), and knew that schlepping my beast of a suitcase up and down flights of stairs would wreak havoc on my back. Had I known what was really in store, I would have walked to the airport...but I digress...
I reserved a place on the 6:20pm shuttle as the agent said to plan on an hour to get to the airport. The longest it’s ever taken me to get to JFK was an hour and a half on a Friday afternoon of the 4 of July weekend. 6:20pm, no problem. Or so I thought... Did I mention that I loathe SuperShuttle? Anyways...
As I was checking out, a SuperShuttle van stopped by the hotel at 5:20pm so I thought pourquoi pas (why not)? I hopped on. I figured I’d get to the airport early, hopefully upgrade or at least get a better seat, and treat myself to a badly needed manicure/ pedicure/ neck massage. Sounds like a good plan to me. Unfortunately God, that prankster that he is, had another plan in mind as he so often does...
This driver must have hijacked the van because I spent the next three hours in hell. I was his first stop then we headed to the heart of Times Square for a few other pick-ups. Most weren’t ready so we waited and circled and waited and circled. Circling Times Square. At 5:30pm! Gas. Brake. Gas. Brake. Gas. Brake. An hour and a half later he had picked up two more travelers and then headed to the airport...or so I thought.
Gas. Brake. Gas. Brake. Gas. Brake. One more Gas-Break and I was about to hurl my turkey sandwich. A half hour later we stop at a hotel downtown! And wait and wait and wait. I asked him what the you-know-what we were waiting for as I was supposed to be at the airport, uh, now! He ran in to the hotel and a woman followed him out and jumped in the front seat. No doubt a friend...an unofficial friend that was obviously not on the official SuperShuttle reservation sheet. I was steaming.
Visions of my manicure/pedicure/neck massage at the Spa in Terminal 1 quickly vanished. I was going to have to pull an OJ Simpson (run through the airport, not kill a spouse) to catch my plane. So two hours out and I am still in Manhattan! Lucifer (as I have now named the driver) assured me that I will make my flight and that he is headed for the airport. Why am I not buying this? For the next hour we careened through the bowels of Brooklyn, gunning it at the green lights and slamming the brakes at the reds, passing and weaving and swerving. My temples were throbbing and my turkey sandwich was in acid reflux.
I once again began bargaining with God (never a smart thing to do). I promised him that if I got to the airport on time and in one piece... well never mind the Spa in Terminal 1, just get me there alive and uninjured. An hour later, so three hours in all, that blue van from hell screeched up at an angle to Terminal 1 wedging itself in between two limos. I flew out, grabbed my suitcase, threw my cash at the driver and ran to check in. I asked the attendant if I could have a better seat. He laughed. You see, I was the last one to check in! Did I mention that I loathe SuperShuttle?
It gets better...
I finally get through security, held up because someone didn’t take their laptop out of their bag! Hello!? Unless you’ve lived under a rock the past 4 years, you know that near stripping is required to get through security and that you must take your laptop out of the bag. Anyways, I drag myself to the gate, glancing bitterly, enviously, resentfully at the people reclining in the spa, blissful smiles atop relaxed shoulders. Grrrrrrr.
I try to call SuperShuttle “customer service”. They no doubt trained with the United Airines “customer service” team as I was on hold for 20 minutes before I gave up. Either that or there were a lot of complaints that evening. I’m inclined to believe the latter. We start boarding within a few minutes. I sat down, stowed my carry on items, and fastened my seat belt low and tight across my waist. I immediately fell asleep. I guess I was a little, oh I don’t know...EXHAUSTED!
As we are taxiing to the runway, I wake up. My arm is wet, as is the seat next to me. I first thought I spilled my bottle of water but then I rememebred I didn't have water. I look up to see the stewardess wedging a napkin into a crack in the overhead bin. It seems the air conditioning is leaking. She said it usually happens just before take off when the plane is warming up. Excuse me? Did I hear that right? They know about this?! Now I’m flying Lufthansa so I can’t even blame United for this bit of abject incompetence. She places a stack of napkins on the top of the seat next to me to replace the napkin currently wedged as it becomes too wet.
I am officially in hell. Really. The van-ride-from-hell and now Chinese water torture on a German airplane. Someone please kill me. The woman in the row behind me graciously agreed to take over napkin-wedging duty for a while so I gulped an Ambien and sleep for the next 6 hours. I woke up in the City of Lights, never happier to see the Air France bus, and ready to kiss the Champs-Elysees.
But it gets better....
I am now sick as the proverbial chien (dog). Between the van-ride-from-hell, the water torture, and the sheer exhaustion, my throat revolted. I dragged myself across the street to my pharmacy and feebly tried to explain to the pharmacist that I have a sore throat, that it hurts to swallow. Ma gorge fait tres mal, il blesse pour avaler. At least that is what I thought I said. I have no idea but the look on the poor man's face did not express pity at my malaise. I pointed to my throat, made a face, tried to swallow, made another face. I think he finally got it as I stumbled out with a pack of lozenges, some nasty throat spray that makes me gag, and a serious dose of vitamin C. Someone please wake me up from this nightmare...
Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! The New Beaujolais has arrived! In a rare display of marketing acumen, a practice normally scorned and reviled throughout French vineyards, the Beaujolais producers created not only an event but a tradition that has now permeated even the smallest wine shops around the world. What began as a local celebration of the yearly release is now a global phenomenon, with French decree that the release of Beaujolais Nouveau is to be no earlier than midnight on the third Thursday of November.
So at 12:01 a.m. November 17, 2005, over a million cases of Beaujolais Nouveau began their journey to all corners of the world via Fedex, La Poste, Vespas, wheelbarrows, camels and any other mode of transportation imaginable. With over 120 million bottles produced, over half will be consumed almost immediately. And with the increasingly elaborate methods of wine production, it’s remarkable that barely a month earlier the wine was still encased in grapes. A quick harvest, swift fermentation and even faster bottling, badda-bing-badda-boom!, it is ready to ship on the third Thursday of every November! The Gamay grapes are pressed within a few days of picking, thus eliminating the astringent tannins normally attributed to red wines, so Beaujolais is much lighter, fruity and tres easy to drink. To me it tastes like Kool-Aid but then again my wine knowledge would fit in a thimble...so enjoy! Cheers!
While I was in cooking school I volunteered for every culinary event imaginable and I also worked at Degustibus, the cooking school in Macy’s Herald Square (headquarters for the Thanksgiving Day Parade) assisting the chefs -- one in particular, Michael Romano of the Union Square Café.
Michael Romano and his team of cooks were an absolute pleasure to work with, no egos, fun and appreciative of the help—a rare occurance in a kitchen and a thrill for a new, deer-in-the-headlights culinary student. Someone pinch me. I had purchased the Union Square Cafe Cookbook in anticipation of this class and not only the chef but everyone on the team signed it. I practically skipped home that night.
So whenever I am in New York I always make a point to visit. After meandering through the Greenmarket, I popped in for a quick lunch at the counter. They had just celebrated their 20th anniversary—in restaurant years that’s worthy of a personal birthday greeting from Willard Scott himself!
and....Larry David (Seinfeld & Curb Your Enthusiasm) was dining there! ;-) My one star-spotting for the trip....
A beautiful basket of fresh sourdough, flat bread and whole wheat sesame rolls with a bowl of sharp, chewy olives
Black Bean Soup with Lemon and a Shot of Australian Sherry (this was so good I ate the lemon!)
Roasted Butternut Squash & Mascarpone Raviolini with Sage Brown Butter and Parmigiano Reggiano
~ with a glass of Pinot Noir from Monthélie, Pierre Morey, Côte de Beaune 2001
I was going to order the Vanilla Panna Cotta with Pomgranate Syrup and Tangerine Sorbet but as I had a big dinner coming up, I thought I’d best save some room. What was I thinking!? Next time....
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Union Square Café
21 East 16th St @ Union Square
New York, NY 10003
212-243-4020
www.unionsquarecafe.com
