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June 28, 2012

A Visit to Les Clos de Paulilles

Wini Moranville, author of one of my favorite recent cookbooks The Bonne Femme Cookbook, is writing some guest posts this week. Enjoy!

Here in the Roussillon, I had the great pleasure of being hosted for a wine tasting at Les Clos de Paulilles, on a beautiful stretch of vineyards skirting the coastline between Port Vendres and Banyuls.

While here, my host, Tom Warner, showed me around the grounds. I knew of Les Clos de Paulilles from their wonderful Banyuls, a wine that I have enjoyed often in Collioure. Banyuls is a Grenache-based dessert wine that is made in a way that I haven't ever seen.....

After picking the grapes at a luscious, over-ripe stage, the harvest is fermented, but the fermentation is stopped thanks to the addition of a neutral spirit....sounds a little like Port, doesn't it?

In fact, Banyuls is often regarded as France's answer to port.

But then it takes an interesting turn....The Banyuls is placed into glass demi-johns and stored outside for two winters and one summer....

I have toured lots of wineries in lots of regions, and I have never seen glass demijohns of wines sitting in the sun quite like this.

Tom Warner explained to me that this causes a violent oxidization process; the wine loses its color and becomes orange-yellow, in a marmalade-y kind of way. Then, it spends 8 to 10 months in a barrel, where it regains its color--deep, orange-brown. The process lends fascinating spicy, nutty, candied-cherry appeal to this complex wine.

I have been drinking lots of Banyuls down here, let me tell you. While it is considered a dessert wine in the US, it is often an aperitif over here--a wonderful way to kick off an evening. Serve it well chilled, of course.

Or, try it in a way I just discovered on this trip.....in Banyuls sangria. I don't have an exact recipe, yet, but I'd say just make your usual red-wine sangria and add Banyuls instead of whatever spirit you usually use. I promise to develop a great recipe once back home.

The two Banyuls made by Les Clos de Paulilles are Banyuls Rimage (which, I should mention, does not undergo the demijohn treatment, but is a fine Banyuls and somewhat widely available in the U.S.). And Banyuls Cap Bear, which does undergo the Demijohn treatment, but is more difficult to find.

And if you happen to be coming this way, head to Les Clos de Paulilles--they do wine-tastings, and they have a lovely ferme-auberge (roughly, a farm-to-table restaurant) where you can dine and enjoy the full line of Les Cos de Paulilles wines with food and a view of the sea. Find out more at http://www.clos-de-paulilles.com/

Want more updates from the South of France? Follow me on Facebook at
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Click here to order The Bonne Femme Cookbook.

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New Yorkís best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

June 28, 2012 in Guest Posts, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 27, 2012

A Cool French Salad for a Hot Summer Day

Wini Moranville, author of one of my favorite recent cookbooks The Bonne Femme Cookbook, is writing some guest posts this week. Enjoy!

I'm in Collioure right now, but I hear you're having a heat wave in the U.S. I thought I might help....

This recipe comes from my book, The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple Splendid Food That French Women Cook Every Day. It's a great recipe for a summer party--double it to serve more. A super go-along is roasted asparagus topped with thick shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese; I set the platter, with both the salad and the asparagus, in the center of the table and let guests serve themselves—dining on the patio at its freshest and simplest best

Make this early in the day while it's still cool, but don't add the endives and watercress until just before serving. Chill everything, and bring to cool room temperature before serving.

P.S.: I'm a huge fan of French green lentils from Le Puy--they're wonderfully nutty, beady-like gems. Once upon a time, they were something I had to bring home from France with me in a suitcase.

Fortunately, thanks to gourmet shops, Whole Foods, and other greatvenues, you can easily find them stateside.

French Green Lentil Salad with Roasted Asparagus

Makes 4 servings

Lentils:
1 cup French green lentils (lentilles vertes du puy)
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups water

Dressing:
1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
1 dash hot red pepper sauce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salad and shrimp:
1 Belgian endive, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch thick slices (discard
solid heart)
1 cup watercress, rinsed with tough stems removed
4 green onions, sliced into matchstick-size strips
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Butterhead Lettuce Leaves

1. Rinse, drain, and sort through lentils to discard any pebbles or
non-lentil items. In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic hot oil until
tender but not brown. Add lentils and slowly add water. Bring to
boiling reduce heat and simmer, partially covered about 15 minutes or
until tender but still firm. Drain and rinse lentils; cool to room
temperature.

2. For dressing, in a small bowl combine vinegar, salt, pepper,
mustard, and hot pepper sauce; whisk in olive oil until well blended.

3. In a large bowl, toss lentils, endive, watercress and
matchstick-sliced green onions together until combined. Drizzle with
dressing and toss again.

4. Place shrimp in an 8×8 baking dish; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Toss with olive oil, garlic, fresh tarragon and thinly sliced green
onion. Bake in a 400°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until shrimp are
opaque throughout.

5. To serve, arrange butterhead lettuce leaves on a large platter. Add
lentil salad and top with shrimp.

Click here to order The Bonne Femme Cookbook.

June 27, 2012 in Food & Gourmet Shops, Guest Posts | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 26, 2012

The Cote d'Azur Versus the Cote Vermeille

Wini Moranville, author of one of my favorite recent cookbooks The Bonne Femme Cookbook, is writing some guest posts this week. Enjoy!

For years, in the 90s and early 00s, my husband and I would stay in a summer rental in the charming town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the Cote d'Azur--that amazing stretch of Mediterannean coastline in south-eastern France, near Italy. We thought it was heaven. But then, we discovered the lesser-known, less-trampled Cote Vermeille, on France's western stretch of the Mediteranean, near Spain. And so in recent summers, we have found ourselves staying in a charming summer rental here.

This year, feeling like we should visit Beaulieu-sur-Mer for old-time's sake, we flew into Nice, spent a few days in Beaulieu (our first visit since 2003), and then drove across the south to our rental in Collioure. Seeing both regions in one trip made the differences between
the two come into sharp focus.

If you're considering a trip to France's Mediteranean coastline, and don't know which part is for you, perhaps these observations might help.....

Few coastlines are more spectacular than that of the Cote d'Azur. Every single time I see these dramatic cliffs above the sea, I can't imagine being anywhere more beautiful.

However, the Cote Vermeille also has its charms. Rising above the sea are les Alberes, the coastal range of the Pyrenees. When you swim in the Mediterranean here and look up at the hills, you will see lush, green vineyards. On the Cote d'Azur, you will either see sheer
cliffs, or sheer overdevelopment, with villas and condo complexes, etc., everywhere.

The Cote d'Azur caters to the yacht crowd. One major downside of that is that the yacht crowd often throw their trash overboard, so, alas, you have to choose your beaches very carefully.

Speaking of beaches, this is the best one on the Cote d'Azur: Plage Mala at Cap d'Ail. I rarely see trash here.

The Cote Vermeille, however, caters more to the sailboat crowd. Or better yet, the on-foot crowd. My town, Collioure, has a pedestrian-only area that stretches over a significant part of the older area.

I think you know where this is going....The Cote d'Azur is more, let's just say, posh, while the Cote Vermeille is a little more laid back (though make no mistake, it is a string of fishing-villages turned resort towns....you are going to find lots of tourists here, too, though more Europeans than North Americans).

Perhaps the most palpable difference between the two can best be expressed by what I experienced last night. As we were strolling home from dinner, we walked by Picasso's former haunt, that wonderful bar, Les Templiers (which is worth a posting in itself). A local brass band was spontaneously playing, and frankly, not very well...but it was fun and crazy and goofy and open to everyone. I said to myself: One would never see such slap-happy silliness on the Cote d'Azur.

As you have probably guessed, Eye Prefer the Cote Vermeille! And you?

Click here to order The Bonne Femme Cookbook.

June 26, 2012 in Guest Posts, Travel | Permalink | Comments (2)

June 21, 2012

Parisian of the Month: Patricia Wells

I am thrilled to have Patricia Wells for my Parisian of the Month. My first book I ever bought about Paris was her original Food Lover's Guide to Paris in 1984. We met for our interview at Comme la Maison, my favorite place for hot chocolate in Paris, and I was gleeful that I could share with her a place even she didn't know about.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 5, 1946 (9 months to the day my father was released from the Army in World War II).

When and why did you move to Paris?
My husband Walter and I moved to Paris in January 1980. Walter was an assistant national editor at the New York Times and I was a food reporter. He was offered a job to come to Paris as a deputy editor at the International Herald Tribune. We thought it would be for two years, and I good idea for my career.

How did your interest in food start?
I grew up with always fresh, homemade food. My mother was Italian and always made her own pizzas, bread, pastries, lots and lots of cookies, she preserved everything. I guess that I grew up feeling that fresh food would always be part of my life.

What are some of the biggest differences in the Paris food world from when you first moved here in 1980 and now, both positive and negative?
Positive: Restaurants open 7 days a week; young chefs in outer arrondissements offering original food at reasonable prices; a less formal aire.

Negative: Too much chi-chi on young chefs from bloggers, etc, when in fact a lot of it is not totally original or spectacular; the loss of the brasseries which are now almost all pretty bad; too much media attention that turns chefs into stars overnight.

Rather than asking you what are your favorite restaurants, I want to know which restaurants offer the best value in both expensive and inexpensive categories?
Best value in inexpensive:
La Table Eugene
Philou

Best value expensive:
Guy Savoy (lunch)
Astrance (lunch)

Which “hot” restaurants are overrated and tell us why?

Frenchie and Arpege.

At Frenchie, after reserving weeks and weeks in advance at Frenchie, I had the very same meal in June and December, smoked mackerel and sweetbreads. Not that I have anything against either but I don't consider this the epitome of "fresh, local, seasonal." Also the service is horrible and at night so dark you have no idea what you are eating.

At Arpege, I have been "back and forth" with Alain Passard and his food, and is embrace of vegetables. What "broke the camel's back" on a visit in July, when tomatoes and all summer vegetables were in full swing, I suffered a lunch that was mostly carrots, beets, turnips, and onions. Inauthentic I say.

What was it like working with Joel Robuchon on the cookbook you wrote with him?
It was heaven. For years I would walk from my apartment on Rue Daru in the 8th to his restaurant Jamin in the 16th, about a 30-minute walk. I would spend the morning with my notebook and pen, lots of questions, chefs ready to answer anything. When we got to working on a recipe for the book, they would weigh and measure everything, we would discuss, they would prepare it. But more than that was the ambience of the kitchen, the rapport of the chefs, the feeling that they and Joel were at the top of their craft. Always humility, always.

You sent me you new app., an updated version of your book The Food Lover’s Guide to Paris and I love it. Please tell us the details about it and how you developed it.
I had decided long ago not to update the book The Food Lover's Guide to Paris since I had done 4 updates and that seemed like enough. But one day my husband Walter suggested I update it as an app. That seemed like the most perfert format for an app so I jumped in head first. I worked on it for 14 months, visiting and revisiting every old and new address and it was a joy. And we are getting great response.

Your cooking classes have become one of your most successful ventures. How did you come up with the idea to start them and share with us what the experience has been like?
I began cooking classes in Provence in 1995 and in Paris in 1997. It was an experiment, to see how people would respond and how I would like doing it. It's been great. It is fabulous to share my experience, knowledge, and surroundings with students. We have a fabulous time and it is wonderful to know we have this huge group of friends around the world that we would not have otherwise.

If there is one person living or dead you could cook dinner for, who would it be and what would the menu be? Would it be in your Paris apartment or your house in Provence?
I would like to mostly cook for nonfood people, like actor Matt Damon, singers Jane Monheit and Stacey Kent, and of course Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. We would eat in Provence, at Chanteduc, either under the oak tree or beneath the pergola.

Are you working on a new cookbook or anything new related to food?
Yes my next book has the working title of Cooking with Patricia: Lifestyle Lessons from My Two French Kitchens. It's a gorgeous work based on cooking classes in two places, with lots of workable recipes, beautiful photos, and tons of tips.

What do you prefer about Paris?
Its beauty, beauty, beauty!

http://www.patriciawells.com/

Click here to download her Food Lover's Guide app.

June 21, 2012 in Parisian of the Month | Permalink | Comments (2)

June 20, 2012

Door of the Month: Grande Mosquée in Latin Quarter

I wrote about the Grande Mosquée in the Latin Quarter a few years ago but didn't take photos of the front door.

The intricately detailed door is dark and light wood covered with metal studs and floral-like circles. The door handle is quite unique and has a dangling woven disk.

The mosque was built in 1926 as a tribute to 100,00 Muslim tirailleurs who died fighting against Germany in WWI. The mosque is built in the mudejar style and the minaret (tower) is almost 100 ft. high. It was originally sponsored by the king of Morocco but it was reassigned to Algeria in 1957. The mosque also served as a hiding place for dozens of Jews during WWII.

There is also a lovely outdoor tea salon that serves mint tea and mid-eastern pastries along side an authentic Hammam (Turkish steam bath).

2 bis Place du Puits de l'Ermite, 75005
Metro: Censier- Daubenton
Open Sat-Thurs 9:30am-5pm
http://www.mosquee-de-paris.org/

June 20, 2012 in Door of the Month | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 19, 2012

Meredith Mullins: Reflections on Rain

Music for me is a powerful force. When I first listen, it sweeps and dusts my cobwebbed mind and leaves it clean and uncluttered for a creative adventure. The depth of tones and layered vibrations always find a way to work their magic, no matter how much stuff has to be moved away to clear the path.

The most recent transformation happened at Saturday night's Josh Redman/Brad Mehldau concert. My eyes were closed so I'm not sure if I was meditating, dreaming, or just high (no drugs involved ... I'm saving those for Bruce Springsteen). The notes became visual— little chisels carving out jazz arcs in my mind. Then, they became moving objects—pulses of light kicking up their invisible heels as they skipped from cerebellum to cerebrum. Then, of all things, raindrops. (You were perhaps wondering how I would bring this around to rain.)

Maybe these raindrops appeared because we've been having so much rain in Paris. A relatively dry winter has led to a very wet May and June. But once thoughts turn to rain, visions of life become impressionistic. Everything seems tear-stained or splattered or refracted a bit—made just a little more elusive.

However I arrived at these moments (whatever freed my mind), thank you Josh and Brad. The music ...and the rain ... were heartbreakingly beautiful.

Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and Director of the International Fine Art Photography Competition. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is also available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris. Contact her at [email protected]

June 19, 2012 in Meredith Mullins | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 18, 2012

Parisian Dessert of the Month: Customized Strawberry Tart at Fauchon

In the Paris patisserie wars, upscale, boutique-like patisseries battle to stay on top and outdo each other with their extravagant confectionary concoctions. Even a simple strawberry tart can be reconfigured in a whole new way that makes it sexy and exciting, as I experienced last week at Fauchon.

On Fridays and Saturdays for the month of June, Fauchon has set up a strawberry tart stand where you can customize your tart. In total there are 27 variations on the theme and here is how it is broken up:

3 types of strawberries: Mara de bois (large wild strawberries), Fraise de bois (small wild strawberries), and Gariguette.

3 types of crusts: pate sable, sweet crunchy, and caramelized millefeuille

3 cream fillings: nougat, pistachio, lemon

3 sizes: individual, 4 people, and 6-8 people

You choose one for each category and voila! you have your perfect, personalized tart.

I chose the individual tart (although I would have had no problem polishing off the 4 person serving in a nano-second) with the pate sucre, the delicate, tiny fraise des bois, and the pistachio cream. I watched in fascination as the pastry chef skillfully prepared my tart. He took a pastry bag and effortlessly filled my tart, whizzing to and fro with the pistachio cream. He carefully arranged the fraise des bois on top of the cream and packed it in a Fauchon shocking pink box to go. It was gorgeous!

I live about 20 minutes from Fauchon, so it was 20 minutes of pure agony waiting to dig into my tart. Without even taking off my coat, I ravaged the pink box into shreds and dove in, mouth first. The crust was crunchy and cookie like, the strawberries tangy and pungent, and the pistachio cream subtle but flavorful. An harmonious dessert trio in perfect sync.

Fauchon

26 Place de la Madeleine 75008

Metro: Madeleine

Open 8Am to 9PM

The tart bar is open on Fridays and Saturdays for the month of June

http://www.fauchon.com/en/

June 18, 2012 in Parisian Dessert of the Month | Permalink | Comments (3)

June 14, 2012

Laura Stevens Hotel Amour Portraits

I receive many emails with all kinds of ideas and pitches for blog stories. Some pique my interest and many fall into the category of "Why on earth would I put your story on my blog if it has nothing to do with Paris", after receiving emails from publicists about writing a story about voting on some flash-in-pan celebrity who I never heard of wearing too racy a bikini.

Laura Stevens, a British photographer living in Paris, emailed me a few weeks ago about something I thought was Eye Prefer Paris worthy. Laura is doing a series of portraits of couples in a hotel room called the the Hotel Amour series. She has reserved a romantic suite at the Ermitage Sacre Coeur Hotel with antique furniture and floral patterned fabric walls. It's right next to Sacre Coeur and the feeing is pure Amelie Poulain. Each couple will have an hour time slot to have a intimate portrait of them taken by Laura. The dates are July 7-8 between 12PM and 12AM. The cost is 125 euros and each couple will be given a signed A4 archival print of their choice.

The event is to raise money for Laura to mount a solo show in Latvia called Us Alone with portraits of couples in their homes in Paris, London, and Brighton.

Click here to contact Laura to reserve a place. you can reserve up till July 6.

www.laurastevens.co.uk

June 14, 2012 in Events, Museums/Galleries/Exhibits | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 13, 2012

Caroline Nin at L'etage

I was invited to hear a friend of mine's friend sing at a new cabaret/piano bar Sunday night starting after 10PM. I usually don't go out that late on a school night, especially Sunday, and I almost declined the invitation. But then I said to myself, sometimes life is a cabaret old chum, so I came to the cabaret. I didn't know the singer or the venue but I liked the mystery of that. Would it be cute and corny or was it going to be gay and glamorous? Luckily it was the latter, and the singer's name was Caroline Nin and the place was L'etage, located on the second floor of the new restaurant Les Jalles.

Les Jalles is on a deserted street off the Blvd. Capucine right by the Opera and I had to walk through the restaurant, which was a beautiful but pricey affair to go upstairs to L'etage, the cabaret space. It was a cozy, dark room with low sexy lighting, comfortable, plush club chairs, a long bar, and a black lacquered piano. It was decorated in a faux Art Deco style but it almost passed for a real Art Deco nightclub except the only thing missing was a sultry chanteuse. Well, my wish was soon fulfilled when Caroline Nin took the microphone: she was long and leggy, smashingly dressed in a tuxedo with sky-high heels and sporting blond hair. Very modern day Dietrich. She had a smooth, crooner style voice and jumped from Cole Porter to Fats Waller to Edith Piaf effortlessly. I also liked that her singing didn't overtake the room or demand your full attention and I didn't feel uncomfortable chatting my friend during the performance.

There was an impressive cocktail menu and apparently the mixologist is highly regarded. Soon as I sat down I was served a glass of ice water with lime even though I said I was waiting for a friend. Service was off to good start and it was attentive and caring all night. I had some non-alcoholic concoction with a strong ginger tang to it with fruit juices. There was a small bar food menu but they were out of four of the seven items I ordered which I found annoying since it was not that late and I was hungry. They were able to eek out three dishes and although they were good they were too precious and puny. A charcuterie plate for 9 euros consisted of 10 paper-thin slices of only one type of sausage. Not my idea of a real charcuterie platter.

What I liked best about L’etage was that it was an informal place to drop by and hear some soothing music, enjoy a cocktail, and relax in an intimate space, all without a cover or minimum, which is rare in Paris these days. Sunday night is not the most exciting night in Paris but Caroline Nin at L'etage is changing that.

You don't have to eat at the downstairs restaurant to get into L'etage. L'etage is open 7 days a week till 2AM.

Caroline NIn will be appearing at L'etage the rest of June at 10PM on the following dates:
June 10, 11, 12,17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26

For more info on Caroline's performances at the bar go to www.carolinenin.com

L'etage at Les Jalles
14 rue des Capucine, 75002
Metro: Opera or Madeleine
www.lesjalles.fr

Above photos courtesy of Carla Coulson

June 13, 2012 in Entertainment, Music, Parties,Nightlife,Openings | Permalink | Comments (1)

June 12, 2012

Wim Delvoye Rorschach Show at Emmanuel Perrotin

Belgian artist Wim Delvoye shows a brilliant set of sculptures for his new at exhibit "Rorschach" at Emmanuel Perrotin Gallery in the Marais. He uses the the principle of Rorschach tests as his influence.

In the main room on the left of the gallery are gleaming figures of Christ in metal bent into a circular shape. The mirrored wall behind them and white fluorescent tubes above heighten the experience and you feel like you are in a room of infinite liquid silver.

In the second room there are twisted interpretations of Gothic cathedrals in bronze with the fines, most minute detailing. The last series are bright copper which reactivate mythological figures originally sculpted by Auguste Moreau, Antonin Mercié, and Jean de Bologne.

Delvoye also has a show simultaneously at the Louvre till September 17, in case you miss the show at Perrotin.

Bravo! to Emannuel Perrotin Gallery for presenting yet another smashing show.

Till June 16
Gallerie Perrotin
76 rue de Turenne, 75003
Metro: Sebastien Froissart
Open Tuesday to Saturday 11AM to 7PM
www.perrotin.com