Cooking at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris

Although I’ve been coming to Paris for years, I had never attended a cooking class at the city’s famed Cordon Bleu until a few days ago. I took one of the 3-hour demo classes, given in French but translated into English by a skilled young interpreter.

In only a few short hours, Chef Bruno Stril, a seasoned veteran of the school, chopped, diced, sautéed, simmered, and roasted ingredients, turning out a cornucopia of dishes, all with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

A Great Tour in Paris and a Pair of Patisseries!

This past week my husband and I were lucky enough to have been the lecturers for a Paris tour for Amherst College alums and friends. The themes of this early summer trip were art, history, and food.

Highlights included a tour of the Paris (Garnier) Opera house with a rare backstage visit, trips to the Louvre, the Jacquemart-André, the Nissim de Camondo, and the Rodin Museums, and a walk through the Invalides where Napoleon rests. Another day we took a stroll through the Marais on Paris’ Right Bank, stopping at the gorgeous La Place des Vosges.

Naturally we managed to spend plenty of time enjoying la cuisine française. Our group had a fabulous wine-tasting dinner at the Left Bank Il Vino restaurant, and spent a day traveling to Reims in Champagne where we indulged in a delectable midday feast at the Michelin-starred Le Millénaire, followed by a Champagne tasting at a nearby vineyard. At the Jacquemart-André Museum we even lunched under a Tiepolo ceiling. We also had a cooking class at the Cordon Bleu!

In between all of these activities, many of us found time to sample sweet treats at Left Bank patisseries. My two favorite pastry shops were short walks from our hotel. Pierre Hermé is located on rue Bonaparte right near the famous Eglise St. Sulpice and La Pâtisserie des Rêves is on the rue du Bac.

An Old Favorite Still Pleases

 A simple-to-make mushroom pâté, which I first sampled more than 30 years ago, looks and tastes just as good today as it did way back then. I served it twice this past week, once at the graduation party that I wrote about in my last post and again this weekend when we had house guests.

This is my “go to” appetizer because it’s takes only a few minutes to prepare, can be made ahead, and has an incredibly delectable taste. As an added bonus, none of the ingredients are hard to find or costly. You sauté chopped mushrooms, green onions, and garlic in butter, then simmer them

Graduation Time!

Following a week of drenching New England rains, this past Saturday arrived with cloudy skies that miraculously changed to sun-filled ones by the afternoon. The good weather was just in time for a celebration my husband and I were hosting to honor six of his students who were graduating from Amherst College.

Each of these young people—four girls and two boys—was receiving their degree with honors so we had plenty of champagne chilled for toasting and a table laden with platters of appetizers for nibbling. I chose some of my all-time favorites for this fete, all of which could be conveniently prepared in advance. Our menu included:

 Mushroom Pâté with Garlic Toasts

Melon Slices Marinated in Pernod and Mint

Savory Mexican Cheesecake with Tomato Salsa and Chips

Smoked Salmon with Lemon Crème Fraîche

Asparagus Topped with Chorizo, Hard Boiled Eggs, and Scallions

Creamy Orzo Flans

A Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinner

Deciding what to serve for a weeknight supper is often more challenging than planning a dinner party menu. That’s certainly the case at our house. After working all day, often testing recipes for classes and articles, I am weary by supper time. My husband, not a cook, but an enthusiastic eater, arrives home hungry for a good meal after a day of teaching, while I waver between resorting to “take out” or whipping up something simple.

Linguine with Asparagus, Crab, and Chives definitely falls within my comfort zone of quick, yet delectable choices for such days. Start to finish, this all-in-one main course takes less than 30 minutes and is accented by the fresh flavors of spring. You simply put a pot of water on to boil, cook the pasta until almost done, and then during the last few minutes, add some sliced asparagus. Once drained, the linguine and asparagus are returned to the pot in which they were cooked, and tossed with crème fraîche, Parmesan, lemon zest, and crabmeat. For serving, mounds of this pasta are topped with snipped chives and shaved Parmesan.

Dinner and a Play in The Big Apple

For my birthday last month, my husband planned a short visit to New York for us to have dinner and then to see "War Horse," a new play at the Vivian Beaumont Lincoln Center.  He took care of the theatre tickets and left me in charge of the dining arrangements.

I chose Bar Boulud since it was close to Lincoln Center, and because I am a fan of several of Daniel Boulud’s other restaurants.

Best-Ever Mint Juleps for Derby Day

Some things are timeless—the VW Beetle, the little black dress, and a mint julep on Kentucky Derby Day. When I was newly married several decades ago, my mother and her sister decided that no Southern wife, even one living far above the Mason-Dixon line, should be without a set of mint julep cups. Over the next few years, for every birthday, Christmas, and anniversary they each sent me an individual silver beaker until I had a dozen! When the set was complete, I began a quest to find the best recipe for this popular libation.