Picnic by the Seine

During our Paris dinner cruise we saw people lining the river banks, picnicking.  We decided that as this was what the locals were doing, we should too!  We were staying in an apartment in the 9th Arrondissement, very close to Rue des Martyrs which is an awesome street full of all types of food shops.  There are Boulangeries and Patisseries, Fromageries and Charcuteries and all sorts of produce shops.  We were set!  We purchased a beautiful hard sausage, of course cheeses, some lovely radishes and figs, and the obligatory baguettes.  We packed it all up and took the Metro to the stop by the Louvre, meeting up with other very important members of the group who had brought the wine,  and picked a spot on the walkway that had a lovely view of the Musee D'Orsay.  It was a truly beautiful evening, and one of the highlights of the trip.  And you will be happy to know, we waved to all the dinner boats.

Paris in Spring

I love my girlfriends!  How cool is it to decide that you want to celebrate a significant birthday in France, then make it happen.  AND have 8 friends join you!?!  I did feel just the tiniest bit guilty last week for jetting off to Paris without my Aussie husband - it is after all the city where he proposed to me.  However, this was most definitely a GIRLS trip and he would not have fit in.  Except maybe during tastings in the Champagne region... but I am getting ahead of myself.
About half of the ladies had never been to Paris, so we signed up for some touristy things so that they could get some sight seeing in.  One of those was a dinner cruise on the Seine.  We had some misgivings, but the cruise was lovely and the food surprisingly sophisticated.  Here is my foie gras first course-

The wine was also quite good, and as they left the buckets for the white wine right next to me and there were several bottles of red on the table, I had ample opportunity to taste them.  =)
It made for some very interesting photos of the Eiffel Tower at the end of the cruise!
 

Girl's Trip to Paris!

I am very excited, as I will be in Paris next week to celebrate a girlfriend's significant birthday.  There will be quite a group of us and we are planning all sorts of fabulous things to do.  My Aussie husband is excited too, because he gets to stay home and do guy stuff while I am gone.
We will see who has more fun! 

It is all in the Presentation

They say people eat with their eyes first, so how you present a dish is every bit as important as what you put into it. We see it all the time in all the cooking shows we watch.  I'm not sure I completely buy into that, but I can attest to the fact that the appearance of a dish is directly related to my anticipation level for eating it. When we have our TFS dinners, everyone always looks forward to CB's dishes because they are always presented so beautifully.  Mine on the other hand, are merely functional.  I have been trying to step it up in recent months, studying plates at restaurants carefully to see how they are constructed.  I now have a collection of pictures of them, taken before anyone is allowed to touch their meals.   I even practice when it is just my Aussie husband that I am serving to. 
It is bordering on an obsession.
I have also decided that food can't possibly be presented correctly on our existing dinner plates - oh no.  We need special plates, plates of different shapes and sizes so that I have options when creating my masterpieces.  (well, masterpieces might be a strong term for them - now)  My Aussie husband thinks I need to calm down.  I think I need to buy more rectangular plates.  Doesn't the food look impressive served on them?

Side note- thank you for your patience while I learn how to navigate around our new Win8 laptop.  Apparently I can still learn new tricks, although it takes a lot longer...

Seven Deadly Meals in One Weekend

Do I like to cook? Yes! Do I like to eat? YES! Do I like to spend time with other people who like to cook and eat?  Of course I do.  And that is why my Aussie husband and I spent a long weekend away recently, with a dozen other like-minded people, in a rented house chosen for just such a purpose.  It was in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to do except cook, eat, drink, repeat.
We actually had a theme for our meals - "The Seven Deadly Sins" - and everyone did their best to represent Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Wrath.  We ALL exhibited Greed, then Sloth after each meal.  It was a very extravagant weekend, with food such as Beef Wellington,  foie gras, and caviar on tiny little quail eggs.

And of course, desserts.  We had beautiful chocolate-dipped strawberries, an insanely rich and delicious 2-tiered chocolate mouse with a perfect meringue on the side.  And Port and Sherry and Madeira to drink with those lovely desserts.

We are already planning next year's weekend!

Treasured Items

Well that last post was a little lacking, I think.  I didn't even try to convey the excitement of being a part of the whole Olympic experience, the excitement of seeing the best in the world compete, the excitement of scoring a pair of the Team Canada mittens that were the must-have, absolutely HOT item!  All it took was one wave of an athlete's hand during the televised Opening Ceremony, and all of North America wanted The Mittens.  We arrived in Vancouver in the afternoon and headed for Robson Square, where there was all kinds of entertainment, all day, every day.  We were watching an interview of a downhill ski racer on the big screens when I noticed that the woman next to me had the coveted items.  I very quietly leaned over and asked where she got them.  In an even quieter voice, she said "the 5th floor" and pointed at the big department store 2 blocks away.  "Go straight past the Olympic display on the 1st floor and take the elevator.  They are back in the corner of the 5th floor."  I felt like I was some kind of operative, receiving clandestine information.  We slipped away, followed her directions and were rewarded.  Ta-Da!

Going for the Gold

So this past week I have been glued to the TV, watching the Olympics.  I love the winter games – the skating, the hockey, the insane ski cross, and the curling.  I am crazy about curling!  It is like shuffleboard but with a 40 lb stone.  We were introduced to Olympic curling 4 years ago at the Vancouver games and I have been looking forward to watching it in Sochi.  We tune in to the Canadian station to get better coverage, as I’m not sure the US really knows anything about the sport.  CBC on the other hand, gives us exhaustive reporting of every throw and zeros in on the frantic sweepers.   It may not look like much on the screen but live, it is quite exciting.  We also went back to Vancouver to watch curling in the Paralympics and were astounded at the athleticism demonstrated by the wheelchair-bound curlers.  I hope they televise the Paralympics from Sochi too.