My fabulous husband gave me two sessions at the Cordon Bleu Culinary School in Paris for Christmas, one for French Sauces and one for Terrines. So with a friend from Dijon we headed off to Paris for two days...(after the prerequisite organizational marathon that is always required when leaving the family for a few days...you know, clean house, food in the fridge, bills paid , baby sitters organized etc etc.) I like to think of it as leaving a clean work station for TBG... (but of course I was always the kid who had to have a spotless house before doing my homework...) Procrastination or anal retentive, not sure which...likely some (lots) of both...
As soon as we arrived we dropped of our luggage to wander around for the afternoon. This shot is in Isle Saint Louis, one of the little island villages in the middle of the Seine just before Notre Dame. I love the look of the consummate French woman doing her marketing at a local cheese shop with her wicker trolley basket...
I always fird the food shop windows so very interesting...this one being no exception..
We had a fabulous lunch in a little cafe, a glass of wine to set the mood for the shopping for the rest of the afternoon.
How's this for a BIG CHEESE...
There is a very cool club called the Buddha Bar that produces their own version of club groove music, so were determined to hit it for a cocktail and check it out. Look them up if you want some ultra funky eastern-influenced lounge music...
On the way home (back to the hotel) it was drizzly and grey, but the sky was lit up by the Eiffel Tower and it's spotlight...I am a huge fan of Gustav Eiffel and his temporary tower...but I think you will agree what an amazing image of the Paris skyline (even if it is a little fuzzy...)
The next day we headed for the course, all ready to acquire some more culinary knowledge to get closer to Foodie-Nirvana...
We spent the morning learning how to make Veal Stock, Chicken Stock and Fish Stock, the base liquids for any good French Sauce.
The chef was buoyant and very very french...we all had a great time and came with a bunch of new skills to add to the arsenal. In the afternoon we made Magret de Canard a L'Orange, Blanc de Volaille wih a mushroom sauce, Shrimp and Langoustines in a Lemongrass sauce. Mmmmm....Fabulous. 
A traditional "Bouquet Garni" for stock with fresh Thyme sprigs, a bay leaf, 3 cloves and some parsley wrapped into a piece of Green leek stem and tied with string.
Very Cool...(if you are a crazy food freak like me....)
6 comments:
I'm not "a crazy food freak" like you, but, wow - I am very, very, impressed with you.
And envious of both your jaunt to Paris and your culinary ability.
For the millionth time I'll say it - "I really wish I loved to cook."
Oh, how incredibly wonderful. TBG came through in spades. You look fantastic too I would like to add.
No smoke detector for you this year...though you haven't fessed up about your wedding...what are those lists couples makes of the gifts they would prefer for their wedding. I am pretty sure we got you three or four smoke detectors....someone else gave you an ax I think..
I'm sooo jealous!!!!
Love the photos, you know how much I love the Eiffel tower.
So does this mean I get a class in sauces when you visit, or are we just going to get sauced?
xo
So are you going to cook that stuff for the family now? That's what I want to know.
Sounds fab!
But, but.... It's those little chicken feet sticking up in the air....
Sounds like you had a great weekend. So how was Buddah Bar?
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