“Oh, I adore to cook. It makes me feel so mindless in a worthwhile way." - Truman Capote, Summer Crossing, 1943 High season. It’s been hectic, to say the least, to put it mildly, and I don’t know where I find the energy. Commitment to the project, to the team, to my own sense of self. Thirty, thirty-five, forty ...
Small Town Life
A small town is a place where there's no place to go where you shouldn't. - Burt Bacharach I like the small-townness of Chinon. Everyone seems to know one another but not in an American small-town way; the knowing is very discreet, a restrained nod of the head in passing, a simple acknowledgement of recognition, of ...
Strawberry Mascarpone Whipped Cream Tart
Spring flew swiftly by, and summer came; and if the village had been beautiful at first, it was now in the full glow and luxuriance of its richness. – Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist I really did not think that I would be making strawberry jam this early in the season. Strawberries had just begun making their ...
Orange Chocolate Marble Pound Cake
Wild Goose Chase Moricette. I don’t call her Moricette, I call her Mme. Lainel, but my husband refers to her as Moricette, her first name, when he speaks of her, fondly. Because it is such an old-fashioned, musical name. And she is such an old-fashioned, delightful woman. Mme. and M. Lainel were the first owners of ...
Cocoa Espresso Almond Sponge Cake for Passover (Gluten-free)
Our sweetest songs are those of saddest thought. – Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Complete Poems This is an odd time of the year for me. Passover – and I imagine Easter for those who celebrate it – is a time of celebration, redemption and rebirth. But it is also a time of memory, both the good and ...
Lemon Almond Sponge Cake for Passover (Gluten-free)
My parents were the model of discreetness. Social, well-known and very involved with our local synagogue, family mealtimes were nonetheless private affairs, the six of us finding ourselves around the dinner table every night without guests, friends, family or company of any sort. The food was plentiful but plain, a mix of Russian Jewish cooking, ...
31 Breakfasts
It wasn’t so much the 31 breakfasts that wreaked havoc on my nerves. It was the cleanup after the 31 breakfasts – in the middle of which I had to dash to the market to pick up the cheese I had ordered - that turned my mood sour. I don’t serve breakfasts alone, I have ...
Dark Chocolate Sesame Truffles
Whosoever says truffle, utters a grand word, which awakens erotic and gastronomic ideas.... - Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste Of course Brillat-Savarin was writing about the tuber, the earthy truffle snuffled up by pigs, priced like gold, and then eaten in savory dishes finely shaved. But cannot I say the same of these astonishing, rich ...
Learning to Swim
The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. - Pablo Picasso It’s astonishing how quickly one can become acclimated to something new: a new life, new schedule, new job, even a new profession. I have been feeling lately that starting over in life is like being ...
Baked Chocolate Tartlets with Caramel Sauce
It has been shown as proof positive that carefully prepared chocolate is as healthful a food as it is pleasant; that it is nourishing and easily digested... that it is above all helpful to people who must do a great deal of mental work. - Anthelme Brillat-Savarin An absolutely stunning recipe, my Baked Chocolate Tartlets begin with a ...