De Ma Cuisine

Paris Archive

Wednesday

19

February 2014

10

COMMENTS

Paris Potatoes

Written by , Posted in Brunch, Dinner, Gluten Free, Kid-Friendly, Lunch, Potatoes, Quick and Easy, Sides, Travel, Vegetables, Vegetarian

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Remember that time that I went to Paris, then came home and talked about it a lot? Sorrynotsorry. I’m still kinda obsessed.

You may remember that I mentioned (more than once, again… not really sorry) a place called Au Bon Coin. We ate there quite a few times and loved it. I have a need for potatoes like that in my life. I’ve spent some time trying to get them perfect. I think that’s impossible. Perfection will happen only when we’re back in Paris, seated in that tiny, crowded, amazing café with our friend, Simone and her dog, Pom.

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But, a little less than perfect is still really delicious.

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These potatoes have a texture and crunch unlike the fried potatoes that I normally make. Fried potatoes are a staple in our home. They’re simple and delicious (cut potatoes, fry in oil, eat). I wasn’t sure, but I thought that the Paris potatoes might require something else. An extra step.

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I steamed them first, then cooked them in a good amount of butter and olive oil.

Simple.

The first time I made them I flipped each potato individually, to be sure each side was perfectly browned. I don’t think this is necessary, but it was kinda fun to put that much care into a dish. The second and third times, I just flipped them all. That worked just fine.

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Now please excuse me while I eat some of these this entire panful and watch a slideshow of our 3,000 photos from Paris.

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Bon Appètit!

Paris Potatoes
Recipe Type: Side, Potatoes, Dinner, Gluten-Free, Kid-Friendly, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian, Vegetables
Cuisine: French
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-4
My version of some of the best potatoes we had in Paris at Au Bon Coin.
Ingredients
  • 4 red potatoes, cut into medium-sized chunks (peeled if you want)
  • water (for steaming)
  • 2 T unsalted butter
  • 1-2 T olive oil
  • to taste salt
Instructions
  1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add potatoes to a steamer basket and place in pot. Cover. Cook for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are pretty tender.
  2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and oil. When oil is hot, add the potatoes and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes (don’t turn them until they’ve crisped sufficiently), then turn every 3 minutes or so, for about 9-10 minutes total, or until potatoes are crispy (adding the last 1 T of oil if needed).
  3. Taste and add more salt if needed.

 

Tuesday

4

February 2014

3

COMMENTS

#TimAndRachGoToParis2013 – What We Loved

Written by , Posted in Thoughts, Travel

First-SD-Card_3354Have you ever been to a place where words flow with such ease, where beauty lies in more than art – in architecture, as well as Monet. Where sitting at a crowded café, the air filled with whisps of French can bring you to tears?

We came for the food, but found so much more. But it wasn’t just the art, the culture, the fashion… it was the people. The vieille femme who came into Au Bon Coin every time we were there, with her sweet dog Pom. She is now a friend of ours, even if we can’t pronounce her name. The man at the antique store who complimented us on our taste when we chose 5 tiny art nouveau cups, who said we recognized something good. We conversed in French, me translating uncertainly to Tim, the man, adding a few words of broken English. He is now a friend. The girl at Le Brio who explained the entire menu in English, because she wanted to be sure we understood. Another amie.

It was the jeune homme on the metro who gave up his seat to an older woman. The jeune who came on to our train to play a song for a few coins. They made an impression.

We came for the food, and were not disappointed. But, it was the people who captured our hearts.

How dare we leave?

* * * * *

I wrote that as we were packing to leave. Fighting the tears, as I had been the past few days, at the thought of leaving our Paris.

* * * * *

For the last Paris post, some of our favorite things.

We were in awe of the amazing architecture. Not an ugly building in sight.

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We laughed a lot.

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We walked for miles and miles along those cobblestone streets. They’re not the easiest streets to walk on, but they’re the prettiest I’ve ever seen.

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Le metro. The best way to get around. We were old pros at it by the end of our three weeks. We even got asked for help by someone trying to buy tickets. Yeah, we looked Parisian (or so we like to pretend).

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The Eiffel Tower. What a magnifique sight. It was hard to say goodbye.

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The baguettes and the pain au chocolate. I suspect that if you searched the world over, there’d be none that could compare.

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Learning how to make Parisian food. I had such a fun time taking cooking classes at Cook’n With Class.

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Seeing movies set in Paris IN Paris.

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Au Bon Coin. Our little corner of Paris. I will be forever missing the people, the food, and the atmosphere of this fabulous bistro.

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The price of wine – cheaper than most other beverages on the menu (um, except for the time that we tried to eat at a restaurant that was selling a €6,000 bottle of champagne… we left soon after seeing that).

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The sound of French being spoken all around us. In the third week of our trip I finally felt like I was able to understand more of what I was hearing.

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Au revoir, notre chère Paris, ravis de vous avoir rencontre. Jusqu’à  la prochaine fois.

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Wednesday

22

January 2014

2

COMMENTS

#TimAndRachGoToParis2013 – What We Saw

Written by , Posted in Thoughts, Travel

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I’m listening to Edith Piaf as I type this post. It makes me both extremely happy and incredibly sad.

I miss Paris.

To make me feel a little better I’m going to think about some of the fun touristy things we did while we were there.

Since we had three weeks, we had plenty of time to do (almost) everything we wanted to do, some things more than once. We saw the Tour Eiffel quite a few times. We would just “happen” to be in the area and figure we might as well see it again. Or, we’d be at the top of some amazing structure, like the Arc de Triomphe, and be so fortunate to see the tower sparkle for 5 minutes at the top of the hour.

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Yeah, let’s talk about the Eiffel Tower some more. It was my favorite thing to see in Paris. I don’t know why. I just had an emotional sort of attachment to it. I think because it’s something that I feel like I’ve always known about. A representation of a place I’ve always wanted to go. I don’t know. I might just be weird. Whatever the reason, I took a bazillion pictures of it. Daytime, night time, cloudy, sunshine… I could not get enough.

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I shouldn’t have been surprised by the beauty of places like Notre Dame, Sainte-Chapelle, and Sacré Coeur. But, I was. I just don’t see that kind of detail and care put into many of the buildings around here. At Sainte-Chapelle, which is smaller than Notre Dame, but much more intricate, they were restoring the stained glass. As in, taking each panel out, removing every piece of glass, re-painting some‚ cleaning them… each piece of glass. What?! It was made for Louis IX. Can you imagine, a church made for a king?!

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While we were looking around the inside of these cathedrals, there were church services going on. That felt a little weird, like we were intruding. It made me wonder, does anyone go there go there? Or were they all tourists?

We climbed the 400 steps to the belfry of Notre Dame. The view was phenomenal, but it was cold cold cold!!! Take a freezing day, some under dressed Californians, and then climb up 400 steps to the frigid, windy belfry. Cool. Literally. We stood up there for a long time because we were waiting for the bells to ring on the hour. They didn’t. Our hands and feet went numb, so we left.

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We found a Rick Steves walking tour of Notre Dame and Sainte-Chapelle in the Paris guidebook that our friend, Christy, had given us before we left. In addition to tours and info about the places we were visiting, we consulted it constantly for tips on where to eat, where the bathrooms were, hours of operation etc. It was invaluable to us.

Sacré Coeur was part of the view out the window of our flat. So it was extra special to us. We had friends from Germany come to spend a few days with us and they stayed in that area, so we saw it often. But, let me tell you, this was one of the worst places for the bracelet scams and young girls trying to get us to sign petitions. I don’t know what the deal is with the petitions. I watched a few people sign something and never saw a second person pick their pockets. When coming out of the metro in that area once I was met at the top of the stairs by three young women, all shoving clipboards in my face, trying not to let me pass. I had to put on my mean face and push through them. The bracelet scam was a little scarier. There were clusters of guys waiting for tourists. They’d come up to you and start tying string onto your wrist and if you didn’t stop them, they’d make a friendship bracelet for you while you stood and waited. The catch is that they expect you to pay them. One started to grab Tim’s wrist and got upset when Tim told the guy not to touch him.

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I loved the Louvre. What I loved the most was the building itself. It was beautiful. We wandered around Napoleon’s apartment. We might have set off an alarm by leaning too far into his dining room. We were like, “Oooh, some tourist is setting off the alarm!” “Oh, it’s us.” Also, um, hello living room. Just a tad fancier than ours (which is also in an apartment, but is just a little bit smaller, and without a single chandelier).

I liked the Louvre better than Versailles. I know, I might be crazy.

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While Versailles was insanely, seriously, obnoxiously beautiful, I was a bit underwhelmed by it. Not by the grandeur. Gosh, we walked about 5 miles that day, just on the property. It was stunning, breathtaking, gorgeous. I guess I just preferred the Louvre. It felt like so much at Versailles was something that “could have been similar to what Marie Antoinette” used/slept on/ate off of/wore.

At the Louvre we got to see some of the crowns they wore. I’m so fascinated by things like this because I can’t fathom that this type of thing is/was actually real. People wore crowns, really?!

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Of all the museums, our very favorite was the one we spent the least amount of time at. The Musée de l’Orangerie is where Monet’s Water Lilies are. We admired his beautiful murals until we were forced to leave because the museum was closing. We read about an 80 year old man, in the later years of life, painting “Darkness Descends on the Pond”. I thought it was a dark, sad picture, until I noticed the three bright lilies in the center of the canvas, brightening the twilight.

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Many of the touristy things that we did were covered by the four day museum pass that we purchased. We definitely got our money’s worth out of it, visiting 8 museums in 4 days. And another plus, at most places we got to go to the front of the line (weeeeeeee-hoooooo!). A bonus when it’s just day 3 and your feet are done. Like seriously done. In case you care, we went to these museums/monuments with our museum pass: Louvre, Rodin, l’Orangerie, Notre Dame belfry, Sainte-Chapelle, l’Arc du Triomphe, Versailles, and Orsay.

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Aside from museums and the Eiffel Tower, we had plenty of other touristy business to attend to.

Tim loves to find the place where a favorite movie was filmed. Paris has plenty. Of the many, we saw just three. Inception bridge (twice), Inception café, Charade pillars, and maybe the best of the movie places: we did an Amélie walking tour. Amélie (one of our favorite movies) was filmed in Montmartre, where we stayed. Our main metro stop is the stop in the movie. We were just a 20 minute walk from Café des 2 Moulins (the restaurant she works at), and Mr. Collignon’s market. We also found a few other places that we recognized from the film.

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Another favorite of Tim’s was Shakespeare and Company. An English bookstore across the way from Notre Dame. It was opened by George Whitman in ’51. (Not the original Shakespeare and Company, which was Sylvia Beach’s store and the one frequented by the likes of Hemmingway and Joyce.) It has always been a place hospitable to writers and readers alike. We spent hours there and had to check a third bag because we just had to have so many books stamped with the Shakespeare and Company logo.

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We ventured just outside of Paris to a marché aux puces (flea market). Within minutes I’d found a large copper skillet with a lid for €30. I was happy. Although not thrilled that I had to carry it around for the rest of the outing. Ok, I didn’t really care. I was so pleased with the purchase.

It was probably the main reason we needed to check a third bag (because in France they weigh the carry ons… a copper pot is heh-veee). Whatev.

We wandered, bought treasures, got yelled at for touching a €300 1800’s tea cup and saucer (um, if you don’t lock your display case, I’m pretty sure that means I can take things out…). It was a really fun day.

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Our weeks were full full full of amazing sights. This is just a glimpse.

Part three of our Paris adventure will continue next week.

Aurevoir.

Wednesday

15

January 2014

7

COMMENTS

#TimAndRachGoToParis2013 – What We Ate

Written by , Posted in Reviews, Thoughts, Travel

Paris-WhatWeAte-2When we talked about the trip before we left, all I could think about was the food. And it didn’t disappoint (with the exception of one calzone and the pâté that I just couldn’t force myself to like). We were blessed by so much more than the food though. But, food is where we will begin.

We spent three weeks in Paris and in that time, I cooked dinner just once. I’ll admit, as much as I love to cook, it was really nice to have a break.

So we ate out a lot.

I won’t bore you with every detail of every single meal (you’re welcome). But, here are a few highlights.

We ate baguettes every day. They might be what I miss the most about Paris. Not joking. I have refused to eat “French bread” since we’ve been home. It is not the same. I was given a kitchen scale for Christmas so I can finally try to make my own baguettes. Wish me luck! They’re harder to make than I’d expected (more about that in the Cooking Classes post).

We ate a lot of butter. (We also walked about 3-5 miles a day…) Amazing, salted, European butter. The best butter is obligatory when eating a French baguette. Our first meal in Paris was at La Chope. We ordered ham sandwiches and got a baguette with butter and ham. Not what I’d expected. It was better. The sandwiches were simple and delicious. I had mine with my first glass of lunchtime wine, a rosé. We ate (trying to convince ourselves that we weren’t exhausted), watching people through the window. There was a man selling oysters in front of the café. People would walk up and get a sample. Most bought some too. It felt like everyone had a baguette in their bag. I knew we’d come to the right place (because of the baguettes, not the oysters… not my favorite).

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We ate a so many little cafés that I’ve lost track. Most were great, a few were just good, some were more touristy. Our preference was to dine at the ones where we felt a little out of place, but got along just fine. (Note: We didn’t experience any of the “French rudeness” that people talk about. I speak French, but Tim doesn’t. However, he tried. The server would come over to take our order and Tim would ask me how to say something, I’d translate it, and he’d repeat it to the server. All the while the server knew what we were both saying, but waited patiently for Tim to finish. My French was corrected and also complimented. We thought the French were incredibly kind people.) Our two favorite restaurants were like this and we ate surrounded by the locals, enjoying real French food.

Our favorite favorite favorite experience was at a little bistrot called Au Bon Coin, located at 49 rue des Cloys, Mairie du 18e, Paris, France. We had been in Paris just two days. We were finally getting over our jet lag and feeling a little more normal. We walked a few minutes from our little rented flat and decided to try it for lunch. It was crowded. We found a table at the back and sat down. We waited, sipping water, for menus that never came. I tried to translate the menu that was scrawled on the wall. But, even after taking 12 years of French (a long time ago), there was a lot missing from my vocabulary. The server came over and we ordered what the guy next to us was eating, with glasses of vin rouge (red wine). It looked like some sort of beef with potatoes and green beans. Seemed safe enough. It was the best meal (we went back 3 more times and ate the same thing). My goal for 2014 is to attempt to duplicate it. They may have other things on their menu, but I don’t care. I only want this. (Tim tried the Boeuf Bourguignon once. It was good too.) The beef was pink, pretty rare, but so tender and delicious. The potatoes were exactly as amazing as they’d looked. Crispy and so piping hot that I burned my mouth in my need to eat them all as quickly as possible. I need to have them in my life on a regular basis. (They might be the thing, food-wise, that I miss the second most about Paris.) The green beans weren’t the star, but they were good enough. I guess you need something to bring the meal back down to earth.

But, the food wasn’t the only reason we loved that meal. The man sitting next to us started talking to us. Eventually ending up at our table (we were at a table for 4 – note, don’t do this if you are only 2, and want to continue your meal just the two of you, they will seat someone beside you). The server said (in French), “Don’t worry. He’s nice.” and plopped his plate down next to Tim. So we continued our conversation, noticing that the older woman, who’d come in with her dog, was paying attention to us. She joined in on the conversation. I think we sat there for an hour with them, with me trying desperately to understand them and remember anything that sounded like French to say in response (while silently cursing my lack of motivation during the hours and hours of French classes that I’d taken in school!). Anytime anyone asks us about our favorite experience in Paris, this is what we tell them. Au Bon Coin is what we consider “our place” in Paris.

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Our second favorite restaurant was another little bistrot‚ just around the corner from home, called Le Brio, located at 216 rue Marcadet, 75018 Paris, France. We made friends here too, this time with the server. A sweet college student who took the time to explain the entire menu to us in English. We ate here a number of times and spent hours at their tables with our books, chatting, watching people, and eating a lot.

Our last, including our last evening in Paris we ate here. I tried the croque monsieur and we finished off the evening with some delicious chocolate cake and champagne. This place that we would see every night as we walked home from the metro felt like home.

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There was another meal that was simply incredible. It was at a café by the marché aux puces (flea market) that we went to. We didn’t have the opportunity to go a second time, but it was one of the best meals that we had in Paris. The café is called Café Le Paul Bert and is located at 20, Rue Paul Bert 93400 Saint Ouen, France. Our entire meal can be seen in that little cast iron pot. It’s chicken with the creamiest, most delicious rice, and the softest carrots imaginable. I need to discover their secret. I may have eaten (almost) the entire serving. You know when something is so good that you really shouldn’t stop even though you know you should? Yeah, that happened here. But, since we would almost always walk again after a meal, I don’t remember feeling overly full. Winner.

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There were a number of other noteworthy meals and experiences that took place around food.

I discovered is that I do not like pâté.

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I do, however, never tire of soupe a l’oignon (French onion soup). I can’t remember how many different places we tried it. Some places make it with dehydrated onions, some put the bread and cheese on the side, some make it with so much cheese there’s a huge plomp of it at the bottom of the bowl. Most were good, one or two were great. I think my favorite was at a café next to the Shakespeare and Company bookstore (although I’ll admit I felt a little sick after, maybe because it was so incredibly rich… but it was worth it).

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We tried many crème brûlées. They were all surprisingly different from one another. Some thick, some more of a crème anglaise, some with a super crunchy layer of brûléed sugar. You almost can’t go wrong here.

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We were told that we had to, at some point, try the nutella crèpes. We were wandering around one evening and found a street vender with this simple treat and ate it for dinner as we strolled down Rue Cler.

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We made coffee at home some mornings and drank it while eating croissants, baguettes with beurre, or pain au chocolate. But, it wasn’t nearly as good as the café‚ crèmes that we drank at the cafés. We never once ordered a regular cup of coffee. I’m not even sure if you can. If you order a café, you get a tiny cup of espresso. Who knows. C’est un mystére.

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I had two burgers in Paris. I’ll admit, I needed a burger and frites. Buuut, they were not from McDonalds. 😉 And, they were very good. In fact, I ate frites quite a few times. The Parisians sure know how to fry a potato.

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I sometimes have a hard time buying something at a restaurant that I can make at home. Since I have successfully made Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon twice, I have no need to pay someone else to do it. But, that didn’t stop me. I mean, I was in Paris. What’s more Parisian than that (besides baguettes and many other things)?!

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The one place that we didn’t eat that I was really disappointed to miss out on was Les Deux Magots. I’d read about Julia Child eating there in My Life in France and really wanted to eat there too. It was closed for renovations. Sigh. Oh well, guess we will just have to go back.

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Now that I’m absolutely starving for all the foods I can’t have, I’m going to go make some popcorn for dinner.

Baguettes are on my to do list this week. It’s a must. I need some bread and butter.

Part two of our Paris adventure will continue next week.

Aurevoir.

Friday

8

November 2013

0

COMMENTS

#TimAndRachGoToParis2013 – Bon Voyage

Written by , Posted in Thoughts, Travel

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There is a city that Tim and I have been wanting to visit together for as long as we’ve been married. There are actually a few, but one in particular that has held a special place in our hearts: Belle Paris.

I remember dreaming about it when we were first married, living in our tiny bungalow (ahem, which was definitely larger than our current home…). We had an old blue jar with a label that read “Paris”. We would put a few dollars in every once in a while, intending to store away enough to take this trip.

Seven years later, it’s time.

We are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary (a few weeks late). Celebrating life together. Celebrating our love of food.

How we have waited and waited…

We’re excited for croissants, for the markets, and the Fromagerie where they will help us choose a cheese to go with our bread and wine. I’m anxious to try out my rusty French… I had 12 years of French classes. I hope I remember something more than bonjour and je veux une baguette s’il vous plaît (although I just checked my grammar in a translate app and it said that I wrote, “I want a wand please”… um…)! I haven’t taken a French class in 14 years. This could be interesting!

With that, we will give the keys to the house sitter and bid the dog adieu…

On y va… Au revoir!

(Now that we’re back, parts one, twothree, and four of our #TimAndRachGoToParis2013 adventures.)