College tour!

Back in Paris after our quick trip to Boston. Don't you just love the portable DVD and ice cream!!

We drove from Boston to Troy NY, I've forgotten how beautiful autumn in the states can be! 'They' say we hit the tail-end of the leaf season, and judging from our snowy trip back to Boston from Troy, I'd say 'they' were right. There was still enough color for me to appreciate fall! We managed to tour three schools.

Clay and I stuffed ourselves with seafood and I did some power shopping near the Marriott, Copley Place. Of course there was a beautiful Williams Sonoma for me to peruse many times!

Did I really need that 'breading tray set', you ask? I now wonder, how did I ever live without it! Look at that lovely Panko Crusted Chicken in the last tray, waiting to be seared in my copper pan. The eggs in the middle tray have been enriched with Moutarde Violette, that has 'mout de raisin' in it.

To accompany my chicken I got the 'big fat fryer' out and fried some sweet potatoes.
Healthy... no? Add a salad and I'm happy to be home again!

Come into the Kitchen

Before I head back out to Boston with Clay to do another college search....I thought I'd show you around the kitchen! This idea started in this bloggers kitchen and has spread from there.

For a French house this place has large a kitchen, I have a table in there! This table does double as a pastry board because of the beautiful marble top. Sometimes in French homes the kitchen is as small as the WC. We used to have a kitchen that when the oven door was open I had to straddle over the open door to get to the other side. No table in there!

My kitchen is big enough with a little rearranging that I can seat 10 ladies for a cooking demo. Cozy!Anyway, notice my copper and pottery collection. Tajine bases, pottery from Nice and Greece & other parts of France adorn my wall! Home is where my 'stuff' is, right?? I've got a real butcher block, found in an old junk shop in a nearby town. A prize antique marble pedestal table from a Boulangerie sits on top of the kitchen table.
Oh yeah, all that stuff hanging from a ceiling rack is in easy reach to pull down whenever I need it. That is in my laundry room/pantry/second oven and second fridge room.
I'm also afraid that there is another room that had to be given up for my kitchen equipment and cookbooks and my stash of precious items from the States (Campbells soup) and UK (Malden Sea Salt) and Chinatown. You get the picture, the cook gets a break when she needs more room. By the way, the painting that is in the armoire is for sale in 'print' form. She is great artist who lived in Paris for a while did that painting for me, all my favorite French things.I could upload more photos, but I need to pack my bag and take poor sad Max to the kennel!
See you soon!

BBM2......WOW!

There is a fun event that many bloggers are participating in, called Blogging By Mail. The first event was created by Nic, of the fabulous BakingSheet. I received a wonderful box from Cathy! Over the summer, BBM2 was instituted. The number of participants are growing by leaps and bounds and BBM3 is now gathering names and addresses. This one looks pretty fun because there are items of interest you need to put into the box before you sent it off.
A couple of days ago, I received my box of goodies, from the BBM2 round. When I opened the box I was hit with a delicious coffee bean aroma! Next, I spied a can of Chai Tea....I opened the can was hit again with an exotic 'nose'. It smelled so delicious, I was tempted to use it as a potpourri. Pawing through the box, I found were some Nibs from Scharffen Berger Chocolate. This was the most delightful smelling box of treats I've ever encountered!
I can't forget about the lovely tea bread that was included in this incredible box! Karine, my BBM2 buddy sent a very detailed letter complete with recipes for the Lavender Tea Bread. And a recipe for Deep Chocolate Brownies with the Nibs from Scharffen Berger. Karine told me that she created this recipe herself! I can't wait to try it---always in the mood for chocolate! I can't thank Karine enough for all the kindness in the box!

I encourage you to get involved with BBM! You don't need a blog to participate. You'll meet new people from around the world and get a chance to sample some pretty delicious goodies and enjoy some regional specialties! Just click on the BBM3 link above and join the fun!

For those who participate in DogBloggingWeekend.....here is your favorite Black and White dog!

Yep, he looks rather regal on the bed with his legs crossed....the calm before the storm. Max is very much a puppy who loves a good dig in my garden. Just part of the fun of owning a dog!

You gotta' love 'em.....BEETS!

I love beets!
In France you can find beets already pre-prepared in the market. You use a giant pickle fork to neatly grab one and put it in your plastic sack, keeping your hands from being stained. You can also find them vacu-packed. These aren't your Grannies pickled beets! Sweet and earthy!
I do a beet chutney that accompanies a goat cheese stuffed chicken breast......the chutney has jalapanos & fresh cilantro & lime juice.. it is a good combo! The herbed goat cheese oozes out of the chicken breast, hmmmmmm........I might make it this coming weekend!

At the Ferme de Gally, they have some gorgeous raw beets right now. I wash the beet, wrap in foil and let the oven bake them till tender. Then comes the messy part, the peeling.
I am using a terrific recipe from Epicuious that is featured in the above photo, perfect for the upcoming holidays.
Beets are always a part of our fall table!

Cleaning out the Fridge

You know the feeling, hungry....but nothing to eat in the fridge?
My family always complains that for such a good cook, there is never anything to eat. Hunger pangs didn't go away after a piece of fruit, so I started to dig-----down-----deep-in the back of the fridge------where green things grow!

It isn't that bad (just sometimes I find green things), but I did net some taboule' (yes, that is green) bought from the Galleries Gourmand, some Ricotta and Feta cheese as well were lurking in the fridge. I just happened to be thawing out some pizza dough from my Mediterranean Bread class a few weeks back, when, the creative juices were flowing towards a pizza compose'! Roughly translates to, dump anything that sounds good and semi-fresh on some really good pizza dough.








Now, on to somebody handsome and hairy.......DogBlogWeekend3.......you know him and love him......this is Max! The bearded one is, Clay!