Chef Amy Ferguson's Travel Blog

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

You know your holiday is a good one when your heart is filled with love, joy and peace. The kind of peace you feel when all is right with the world... at least in my world.

This has been an incredible week ridden with opportunities for miracles. Nick my 16 year old is home from school. He has been spending  a lot of time with his dad. Time well spent, because Frank my ex is the local Hawaiian connection for Nick. Frank has spent the past week teaching Nick about trapping Pigs, skinning, etc..and diving. Frank is a champion free diver and is very knowledgeable about the ocean, the tides, things that live in and around the ocean. One night last week Nick and Frank took the boat out for a what was suppose to be a short dive. Neptune reared his head and the seas became rough. Nick alone on the boat with the anchor set...ran into trouble. The boat flipped capsizing and throwing his overboard into the rough sea. About that time, Frank surfaced to see the situation in progress...He got to Nick positioned him on the capsized boat and wait for rescue. No one came. Pitch black, the day before the new moon, they were going to wait with the boat until daybreak. Unfortunately the boat sank around 1am. Frank being the powerful swimmer and loving dad that he is grabbed Nick and towed him to shore not withstanding the struggle of a high sea, distance and rocky Kona coast. I could have lost both of them that night. I knew when I couldn't reach something had happened. When I got that call 6:30am the next morning I cried with relief that every pray I prayed was answered. They were safe.

Christmas has a very special meaning for me this year. I am grateful our family is safe and sound...

I'd like to take a minute to say one last thing before I continue cooking for the 30 folks coming to Christmas dinner... My heart goes out to my friend Bill who I was lucky enough to get to spend Christmas Eve day with. My relationship with Bill has always been a sort of doting, care giving, big sister sort of role...we have been told we have spent many lifetimes together in one fashion or another... He is recovering from a form of brain cancer that is curable and the treatments are working. Bill, my friend who I fought with, been mad at, loved and laughed with has been a source of renewal for me. An awakening you might say. Have you ever caught yourself going through life numb unaware of anything but your day in day out existence...well that's where Bill and I found each other...I was going through divorce and Frank and Nick were really mad at me for my choice and then Bill came along and added laughter to my broken hearted life. Yesterday as we sat and watched the food network, AFV, Psychic Detectives... I cooked and organized and decorated a bit for Christmas...Bill still has he way of making laugh and feeling at peace...time melts when Bill and I get together..hours run into days etc. Christmas Eve was no different. A trip to make lunch ran on into a 7.5 day. Nick ran errands and then fell asleep on the floor. You might say he gave all of us a floor show, snoring and talking in his sleep. Bill, thank you for a great Christmas gift. The joy of sharing time with you and kind Capt. Bob who has been watching over you this holiday season...you will be eternally in my heart. I have said this many times. I have never known any one person loved by so many people as you are Bill. Your gift of laughter has been contagious and created a network of wonderful relationships around the world...Mele Kalikimaka Bill.

Well I'm off...to make Latkes (our tradition on Christmas morning)..don't ask. Pop a bottle of Champagne and cook for my ex-tended (no pun intended) family...

HO HO HO...Amy  May your Christmas be as wonderful as mine.

Beaujolais Nouveau...almost forgot!

I arrived the day the 2006 Beaujolais Nouveau was released. First stop the Seine St. Denis neighborhood Brassiere where Chef George had the appropriate daily fare to accompany the release...

I finally got it! It's no better there than here. What was I thinking? I thought go to France taste it in it's region and some sort of phenomenal palate experience would emerge...NOT! It's the same there as here, meaning it's a commercial ploy to celebrate...which in my mind isn't such a bad idea...after all we all deserve celebrations...

As my days in Paris continued, I found myself dragging home bottles of Beaujolais to taste...Oddly enough after tasting 6 or 7 different ones the one I liked most was the one no one could purchase because it was a special bottle from my friend's employer. It seems her Japanese based company wanted to celebrate the Beaujolais Nouveau release in a BIG way! So, they bought 700,000 cases of prepared to taste wine to ship to Japan...wasn't I lucky to get in on this tasting? This one was very different from the rest...it didn't have the dry empty body with the fake perfume aroma that distracts your palate and leave you wanting to spit... It was rounder more friendly fruitier...food friendly...Now that I think of it was it enhanced to resemble a Merlot??? I am no expert, it's just an observation.

As for the others, I tasted at the Musee Rodin, at a cafe at the Auber metro stop across from the Galeries Layfette, on the bullet train to London, as well as the numerous bottles I brought to Michelle and Frank's house from the Carre Four (french version of a Big K...only with cool french foods ...more about that later). They all had one thing in common for me...They are meant to be chilled and served with a hearty flavored dish... and perhaps tasted once  to say, Yes indeed I did try the 2000 something release...

Looking back to my first Beaujolais Nouveau experience...While having lunch with Janet Yaseen, the wife of the head of the US Chaines Des Rotisseries, in a Soho Brasserie in NY, back in the 80's ( I was 20 something), she chose a Beaujolais to accompany of chaucouterie style meal. When she asked for it  to be chilled, I thought it's red why would you do that...clearly I had not been spending enough time in wine cellar at the restaurant I then worked at in Houston, Charlie's 517 (known for it's Grand Master Wine List rating)... Janet the gracious hostess she was began to teach me...then she took me through their wine cellar...We should all have basements to create wine cellars...think of the cheeses and sausages we could store! It was only one of my memories from this trip to NY in my 20's...When I do Champagne I'll tell you about the day Crystal was released and Pierre Franey introducing me to the NY culinary world and Joe Baum the man who built the then World Trade Towers...that's later.

Back to Paris, Well you can't say I didn't try to find that perfect Beaujolais Nouveau...it all went to Japan...I am beginning to see a pattern. So there is no Beaujolais Nouveau on my Taste of France menu that will be served next Tuesday, Dec 12th. When I called Jessica, my friend and our GM to say the Georges Beouf Beaujolais is awful, she laughed and  said "You didn't have to go to France to find that out. Did you?" I thought, geez...she's right it's a novelty for those  you need a reason in November...as though the other releases aren't enough! I still say, the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau is a Great reason to celebrate!

For those of you who would like to attend our Taste of France, please call soon, we may have to do a second seating...I had no idea how popular Traditional French Cuisine was...or perhaps how deeply it is missed by many here in Hawaii.

Here's the menu...PS a few of the wines are winging their to Hawaii as we speak. Those are the surprise wines that will be coupled against other French wines found here in Hawaii...yes a dual tasting. Two wines per course on our 9 course French dinner. BTW, this will be fun to see test the Metro's cellar master's selection against our local French selection we tasted only yesterday...

                            Amuse Bouche

Kir Royal

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Foie Gras de Maison

Nicholas Feuillates, Brut N.V. Champagne

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Coquilles St Jacques

Trilogy of Scallop, Quenelle & Prawn Citrus Butter

Triennes Viognier, Provence

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Escargots De Bourgogne en Croute

Escargot in Garlic Butter With Pastry Cap

Routas, Rouviere, Provence

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Trou Normand

Sorbet de Pommes Vertes

Calvados

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Cassoulet Toulousain

White Bean Casserole With Confit of Duck, Lamb, Pork

Domaine Michel Gros, Hautes Côtes de Nuits, Bourgogne

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Lapin au Vin Rouge

Braised Rabbit in Red Wine

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Brie Meaux et Frissée

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Tarte Tatin, Profiterole, Mousse au Chocolat

Upside Down Apple Tart, Cream Puff, Chocolate Mousse

Cremant de Bourgogne, Brut

                                       $105

Check out this site for cool French culinary supplies

http://www.lavaissellerie.fr/

Home for the Holidays...

Funny, I am home, but I have been homesick. I ask why and for what? Home is where I am. We all carry home with us or do we?

I remember when I began this trip to Paris, I caught myself saying I'm going home... I have been left with numerous thoughts about why I would; one, think of Paris as home and; two, why would I feel homesick now. I think I figured it out.

The first time I went to Paris it was at 15 with my Mom. My mom has since passed to another realm. I like to say she is on her world tour. It was mom's dream to have an European education but WW2 preempted it. So, you might say I fulfilled a portion of that dream for her by going to school in France. I was and am still very close to my Mom. You may or may not relate. Surely there is that special connection you have with someone who is always nearby in a thought. I think I went home to Paris to find mom. Odd to think it was my turn, I was mom with Nick in tow. It was very much like my first trip...so much so that there were things I meant to accomplish while there that never happened.

Moving on...homesick. The more I look at it the more I understand. Most of our time there involved family, family gatherings, meals, trips, activities...it was not my normal life. My life is as far removed from family as any other empty nester business owning person without a spouse or significant other...I work, seldom socialize and find myself dining alone most always. Don't get me wrong, that's the life I created...but it dawned on me how important family is and if you or someone else doesn't take the time to pull the troops together there is no family. Mothers are good about that. I know my mom kept things and us in order especially around the holidays...I know my job now and have fully embraced it.

Just coming off this "homesick" feeling I have decided to create as much family feeling in my life as possible...beginning at my little restaurant O's. Thanks to Jessica reminding me how I am surrounded by family.

My extended O's family is 30 strong, not to forget all of our loyal clients and newcomers. Jessica my friend and the GM of our restaurant, the staff and I began by decorating O's for the holidays, then Jess helped me pick out my Christmas tree. She picked a beauty! While looking for ornaments I came across all of my cookie cutters, so I decided to make a Christmas cookie party and then I had the great idea to reach out to the community and advertise our O's Bistro's Christmas Cookie Contest with prizes and all...you have to have prizes after all I bet we get to taste a lot of great cookies...my family is growing see how this works...Call me crazy, then I called up my ex-husband and asked him to invite all of his family, their families and I added a few of my friends (since my family is in Texas and my 2 brothers aren't talking to one another, even at Christmas) to Christmas Dinner at my house. Nick will be home from school and he will have his driver's license so he will not only be a big help, but will get to see all of his family and friends...Our family continues to grow with the addition of our O's family New Year's Day party upon the Fairwind's cruise...we are off that day...all we have to do is rest and relax together laughing, swimming, snorkeling and just enjoying ourselves...

Well, as you can probably tell, I am not homesick anymore. I have a lot of "home" to enjoy. I must say this to Frank and Michelle, thank you for helping me find home again by making me and Nick a part of yours. After all home is where we find it within each of us, it is in our hearts. I'm home...

Happy Holidays...here's my favorite Christmas sweet, my mom's fudge. Please make it and make your own innovations by using different chocolates, flavorings, dried fruits and nuts...

Mom's Fudge

12 oz.   Chocolate (your preference, mom always used semi sweet)

14oz     Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

1 Tbsp. Butter, unsalted

1tsp.    vanilla extract

2 cups  Powdered Sugar (10x)

1 cup   Nuts (mom used pecans)

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Add milk. Cook until thick. Cool to room temperature add remaining ingredients.

Spoon fudge in small bite size spoonfuls onto waxed paper or parchment. Allow it to dry firm to touch, not rock hard.

Tricks: don't over cook! Mix sugar in thoroughly until the appearance is satiny. Don't spend too much time spooning out or fudge will get hard. If you don't dry the fudge will mildew, especially in this climate.

That's it so go out and experiment...Yes they packaged mixes...but why buy them when you have the b est fudge recipe and it's this easy to do.

In addition I want to share Maria's Shortbread cookie dough recipe...it is very versatile...Jess says it's very close to my favorite French cookie the Sable which is a shortbread...but there is a flavoring I need to add to make it exact and I have yet to find it. I will post it shortly... Meanwhile here's a Madeleine Cookie recipe

Madeleines:
10 tablespoons (6 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter 2 madeleine pans (with 12 molds each) using 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, and set the pans aside.

Combine the eggs, sugar, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the bowl over a pot of gently simmering water and stir constantly. Once the ingredients are warmed through and the sugar has dissolved, remove the bowl from the heat. Using an electric mixer, beat the mixture until it is pale yellow, light, and slightly thickened. Fold in the sifted flour, remaining butter, and lemon zest.

Use a small spoon to drop a generous tablespoonful of batter into each mold of the prepared pans. Bake until the batter is set like a cake and golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Release the madeleines from the pans and cool on a parchment paper lined cooling rack.

Yield: 24 cookies

Lost in Paris…

November 16 to 20

Lost in Paris…four days later and I emerge from a blur of metro stations, monuments, museums, cafes and markets… This is a Paris I don’t remember. It’s modern. After all, 31 years ago I spent most of my time as a student in and around the 7e…not being a tourist. I am busy trying to show Nick, my 16-year-old son Paris for his first time. We find ourselves strolling into small souvenir shops looking for shot glasses with the Eiffel Tower engraved on it for his Russian school friend or instead of couturier on the rue de Rivoli….we are shopping for Bob Marley patches and wall hangings on the Champs Elysées…interestingly enough these items have been easy to find…I don’t remember Paris being this commercial nor for that matter this filled with tourist…many of them are French who have come to see the sights…

Walking is still my preferred method of getting around town. However the RER Red Line is a great way to reach the outskirts of the city. Seine St. Denis is the district where Nick and I are the guests of Frank and Michelle Lodinzski, Jessica’s mom and dad. They live in a charming home surrounded by beautiful gardens and with a kitchen equipped as well as only found in commercial restaurant. They have a passion for food and cooking. I have been dazzled by the variety of preparation that spans numerous countries… Simply put it has been by far my best food experience in France. Here’s just a few menu items for thought….Golobki (stuffed cabbages),Moules Frites , then next day Mussels in Garlic Sauce, Poached sole, and prawns in a light lemon hollandaise filled puff pastry with braised endive and courgette and carrot custard, next day for lunch we had a well marbled Beef Carpaccio with shaved Parmesan and an incredible Penne Arabiata spiced with Harissa and lots of my favorite…garlic. I never knew I was a fan of raw oysters until now…Normandy Oysters with Balsamic Mignonette, Sea Urchin straight from the shell…  and Frank’s hand thrown Pizza…better than any I have found stateside…these are just a few of the items Nick and I have happily consumed.

Touring the markets with Michelle is an education. I must admit while I am excited to see all of the overwhelming choices, I am a bit sad there are few places in the US that have this sort of variety of seafood, produce, meats, cheese, breads…not New York nor San Francisco can compare. And I am only talking about the variety found at a local Farmer’s Market on Sunday morning in this quaint town Of SSD.

 

Highlights:

Paris: Musée d’Orsay (don’t forget to stop by their café for a bite…it’s beautiful and the food and wine selections is surprising for a museum café), Stroll down Champs Elysées, Around the Arc de Triomphe, Trocadéro, Père – Lachaise tombs of Chopin, Sarah Bernhardt, Jim Morrison of the Doors and various tourist sites not to forget Nick’s shopping spree at Galeries Lafayette…and a regrettable forgettable Fauchons…what did they do to that once landmark shop?

Champagne: The caves at Moet et Chandon…lunch at a country restaurant featuring Pate Maison, Coq au Vin with Agatha Whipped Potatoes and Chanterelles…yummy! Last but far from least, our spontaneous drop in on  René Geoffroy to taste not only his champagne Brut Rosé but try his Cumieres Rouge. His dessert wine Rafiata (I have to check my spelling is a great alternative to a dessert Sauterne)

Farmer's Market: Potatoes...here's just a few; Ratte, Pompodour, Le Charlotte, Amendine, La Belle de Fontenay, Mona Lisa, Agatha....a pink one I have forgotten it's name...there are more of course. The shallots: Cuisse de Poulet (the real shallot/ mildest), Grey shallot (spiciest) and our common shallot (medium spice)

My greatest pleasure has been being Michelle and Frank's guest...talk about 5 star treatment! Merci beau coup, mon Ami's

In tribute to my friend Michelle who always sets a proper table, makes every dinner a party while making it look easy, I givee you her recipe for a fast yet fabulous Penne Arabiata.

Penne Arabiata

Fry a generous amount (lots) of sliced garlic cloves in a flavorful fruity olive oil until the garlic is golden (not burned). Add Good canned Italian Whole Tomatoes that were previously pureed. Add Harissa (chili pepper sauce) to taste (start with a tablespoon..then add more if desired). Season with salt (Fleur de sel / the top layer harvested from sea salt). Simmer until tomatoes no longer taste raw and garlic has infused sauce. Simply boil Penne pasta until it is al dente. Drain and serve hot in a pasta bowl with the heated Arabiata sauce on the side with Parmesan Regianno.  Frank and Michelle served this after a beautiful beef carpaccio laced with good olive oil and shaved Parmesan...crusty french bread is a must to satisfactorily sop up any remaining sauce in the bowl....

Bon Appetit

Flashback...Meeting a 23 year old aspiring to be a chef

A friend of mine wanted me to attend a dinner last night to meet a young man who had just recently graduated from the California Culinary Academy in SF . I forget how old I am at times. Thirty-One years as a chef is longer than most of my cook's and chef's ages. However,cooking is an ageless profession. I hope to be cooking as long as the great late Julia Child did professionally. It has never been about age, sex etc...it's always been about passion, dedication and focus. I was once again taken back to my childhood as we discussed the TV chefs he watched who made a lasting impression on him. His favorites of the time were Martin Yan of Yan Can Cook and Ming Tsai... It hit me, how many generations of cooks /chef have followed since I was that little girl watching the early Julia Child and Graham Kerr (when they were both still drinking on camera)...Things have changed.

Cooking shows are faster...driven by the current lifestyle. Perky 30 min meals, tailgate parties and home cooking. How we have flipped from classic technique which is seldom spoken about to simple down home pleasures...quick and easy sometimes even healthful. Of course I have been aware of these changes, but I have never thought about the impact...the instant chef. Why not? The profession I entered with a degree of seriousness, dedication, focus and extreme professional guidelines has emerged. It is no longer a closed society, but a free for all who have the passion to cook from the heart, 24/7...of course today most chefs and their staffs are insisting on 5 day work weeks... thats a 11/5 I guess. Still, a chef's mentality is one of eating, breathing , and living his or her passion...cooking (or should I say food for the raw foodist) and everything that surrounds it!

I guess I miss those classical days. Last week, I decided I would cook an extensive Spanish Meal; 18 items...Simplicity is nice, but give me a challenge. The real deal, something I can sink my teeth into and sharpen my knives for (my knives are always sharp)...3 days and 6 hrs of paella practice and we were ready for our Taste of Spain... It was fun to push it a bit...It's the thrill of the challenge that only you can set for yourself. It was no more or less challenging than the classical french meal I prepared at 15. The only difference was there was no question that it would be expertly executed. Comfort comes with time. I have sweated literally over numerous meals and special events worried it would not live up to someones expectation. As a chef, I always work toward exceeding everyones expectations...after all I am my worst / best critic.

Remind me one day to tell you about Food Choices 2000, an event hosted by The Ritz Carlton Mauna Lani of which I was Executive Chef at the time. We had 200 chefs, writers, food professionals from around the world...and I was responsible for the 8 day event. Whoever said too many cooks spoil the soup wasn't at this event. It was incredible...

Check out the sidebar for a short segment of Julia Child and me cooking on her Master Chef's series. Julia to this day remains my lost but never forgotten friend, mentor and guide..I know she is watching from a far with a great glass of wine...reminding me to add a bit more butter because it tastes goods...As for my young chef friend, may your passion never burn out...remember always to cook from your heart and only confer with your head when necessary...

I wish you all a good palate and culinary sensibilities...

Amy...got to go. I need to find my passport! 

 

Memories

Paris is only a few days away and I wonder if any of the foods, chefs, charcuterie, markets, cafes I remember are still there. I look forward to retracing my steps. Food memories: Sables, pain au chocolat from the corner boulangerie on Rue de Grenelle....the 5 franc (then) 4 layered chocolate meringue filled with chocolate mousse covered with bittersweet chocolate from the En Face du l'Eglise on Rue St Domonique, The Drugstore hamburgers (unlike the American version) on the Champs Elysees along with the decadent ice cream parfaits and sundaes,the petit suisse with strawberries, street vendors selling both marron roti and marron glace, the rotisseurie chickens and pomme de terre frites, and the saucissions, pates, rillettes, foie gras from the charcuterie found on rue Cler ...all eaten with baguette straight from the ovens...if I timed it right.

As a student with limited funds, these were treats. I spent most of my meals in the student cafeteria eating grilled steaks of horse meat...Yes I said horse. They were raised for food. (Perhaps that is why I spent the years following my staying Paris as a vegetarian)...Accompanying that delicacy was a leafy salad with a sharp vinaigrette and of course baguette...and yes wine sometimes cheese. This only lasted a short time until I moved into a demi pension with a fellow student Helen Go, a girl from Hong Kong. Then I discovered the delights of French home cooking and the french housewife's favorite simple sauce...the beurre blanc. I still have fond memories of veal birds, quenelles and creamed spinach...as well as the sip of anisette after dinner.

One of my favorite meals out was a Ham, Potato, Mushroom, Gruyere cheese omelette from an omelette cafe not far from the Sorbonne...I will make a point to see if it still exists...Another were the beautiful steamed mussels from a bistro near the metro Ecole Militaire.

If there is one concern I have returning to Paris this time it would be I would fall in love all over again and not want to leave...the other is not ordering correctly in the markets / cafes...It's been a while and even though my french friend Jessica tries to build my confidence in my ability speaking french ...who's kidding who. It's been 31 years. The quantities are what get me...I need a crash course in numbers...3 kilos of mandarin oranges is a lot to have to return because you made a mistake in the weight...you get my drift. If I over order, I just hope I err on the side of too much foie gras, chocolate or champagne...Nick and I can live with that...

Ah memories are overtaking me...The first classic French menu I prepared before heading to France my first time: Escargot Bourguignon, Ris de Veau Bourguignon en Brioche, Mousse au Chocolate. I was 14 cooking for and to the surprise of my then 15 year of boyfriend... I found back then it was best not to tell them what they were eating until they swallowed a few bites. My dad thought I was going to cook him out of house and home...I was always force feeding boyfriends ... thank god we were all young.

One more memory...The last thing I ate before leaving Texas to move to France was a peach so juicy the juices ran down my arm... hum...I have yet to find another peach as juicy.

To this day , I still look back and cherish my early days in the kitchen. Food is my passion , I love it in it's raw state of perfection and truly endeavor to never mess it up by preparation. The foulest form of arrogance in the kitchen is to ruin food by over manipulating it ... enough with the serious talk. To be totally honest with you the only time I have ruined food not on purpose but energetically is when I am cooking for someone I am mad at or have just been hurt by. There have been boyfriends who worried I might actually poison them...how ridiculous...they were lucky they got off with a bad meal...for that matter any meal at all! Did I say I am passionate about food...

I am including my Mousse au Chocolat recipe. It is classic and by far the best I have ever found... Bon Appetit Amy

Chocolate Mousse

Serves 6

4 Eggs room temp, separated (no yolk in the whites)

¼ cup Sugar Blend together in a bowl and cook over a dbl boiler until a ribbon stage.

Add: 1 oz Cognac or other flavored liqueurs Cook longer until bubbles appear indicating the alcohol is being cooked off.

Using a bowl of ice water: Place bowl with yolk mixture over ice and whip until cool.

Meanwhile: Melt over a dbl boiler:

8 oz. Chocolate: semi sweet, bittersweet or even white

2 Tbsp. Kona Coffee

4 oz Butter, unsalted

Blend cool to touch chocolate into the yolk mixture. Set aside.

Whip: 4 Egg whites to a soft peak

Fold egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Do not completely incorporate.

Whip: 2 cup Heavy Cream, to firm yet smooth peaks Finish mousse by folding the whipped cream.

Please be mindful not to over mix thereby changing the mousses’ texture. No Cream nor egg white should be visible. Chill for a minimum of 3 hrs or overnight.

The velvety texture will embrace your palate and delight your senses. Savor every small spoonful and think of me at 14 making this for the first time in my mother's kitchen. Recipe provided by Neva Paul my first cooking teacher.

A walk down memory lane...Paris 31 years ago.

Aloha

I am still in Kona preparing for my long awaited return to France. It's been 31 years since I left Paris. Bright eyed and full of ambition. My dream of becoming a chef could only manifest if I were to return home to Texas to put to use everything  I had absorbed as a student living in the 7e. Looking back, 17 and living in Paris...it was so "Sabrina". I was 8 maybe 9 when I knew I wanted to be a chef. I loved  to cook for my family...later my friends...always from my heart. It was the my way of showing love to those special to me.

Back to Paris, I was 15 when my mom first took me to France and England to visit schools. Of course I would choose France for my studies only after promising my mom that I would major in art. She did not want me to be a "servant". Clearly a difference in generations. I respected her wishes and became intimate with the art of France, Spain and as well as the Dutch masters. 

My earlier years was spent reading Larousse Gastronomie, Ma Point (Fernand Point's story), Escoffier Cook book. My father thought I was a little different. When other kids were out playing I was sitting on the edge of my bed plowing through cookbooks. I could not get enough of it...I was hooked! It must have been from a past life after all a young girl living in Houston Texas, steak, BBQ, and Mexican food...not a lot of French cuisine. Never the less, the books allowed me to experiment and dream. It all seemed so easy..it came naturally to me.

As I prepare for my return to France, I am compelled to share my experiences with anyone interested. It will be on this journey that I re-visit my youth. I am taking my son Nick who is 16 along with me. He is about the age I was when I first saw Paris. I can't help but wonder how it will effect him. He loves art...now let's see just how much he loves it after I take him on one walking tour after the other of through the museums I studied in daily. This could prove to be a turning point for him. Or it may just be another trip with mom. 

Highlights to look forward to on our trip:

Release of the Beaujolais Nouveau (it will be released upon our arrival)

Champagne..the region and the wine!

The Markets

The Catacombs...

The TVG bullet train to London...the trip through the tunnel under the English Channel

and of course the museums, tombs and Brasseries

Daily Notes and photos will be posted to keep you informed of our travels in and out of Paris...

My favorite part will be retracing my steps when I was student; the cafes, la Caves, Quartier Latin, the artists scene, if I can find it...Gitanne / Gauloise filled cafes, the Tunisian bakeries ...

For now A bientot...