I read today that Sheila Lufkin, the author of “Silver Palate Cookbook 25th Anniversary Edition” (Julee Rosso, Sheila Lukins) had passed away. I was struck that her cookbook got me started cooking when i was just out of college, some 25 years ago. During my weekends to NYC from Boston where I attended college, many… Continue reading First foray into cooking was through Silver Palate Cookbook
This dressing your age thing is tricky, for myself and for my daughter. My daughter, who is nine, has grown too old for the ‘kids’ clothes at Du Pareil au Meme, Jacadi, or BonPoint, but still too young to wear truly teen age fashion. One thing is for sure, her feet has grown so much… Continue reading Une femme/une fille d’un certain age
You got very hungry when you did not eat enough in Paris because all the baker shops had such good things in the windows and people ate outside at tables on the sidewalk so that you saw and smelled the food. When you were skipping meals at a time when you had given up journalism and were writing nothing that anyone in America would buy, explaining at home that you were lunching out with someone, the best place to do it was the Luxembourg gardens where you saw and smelled nothing to eat all the way from the Place de l’Observatoire to the rue de Vaugirard.
…I certainly have memories of it, and things I crave when I’m away, but, justement , I keep coming back to Paris because I can’t replicate the feelings I have when we’re here.
My husband and I were just talking about ‘terroir,’ and why is it that we feel healthier, and more connected to the earth, when we’re in France, even though it seems we eat more cream, cheese, and desserts when we are here. Roger Cohen encapsulated my thoughts more perfectly, ‘TIme bows at the altar of… Continue reading Advantage France
If I had prizes, I’d give them away, but this quiz has more to do with smug self-satisfaction. Extra points if you know what words the letters say. 
But spare a thought for France, where the opposite is true: local authorities regularly force men to ditch their Bermudas and parade in skin-tight budgie-smugglers for the greater public good. In French public pools, from the racing lanes of Paris to the open-air lidos and water parks of the south, anything bigger than Speedos is banned and you must hoist yourself into a posing pouch as a civic requirement.
… This sounds like another attempt to shore up French industry, but it does have a certain logic in a country trying to welcome differences, but at the heart, trying to make everyone into a Frenchman.
Well, that used to be the case, back in the day when people took vacations where no one can reach you and you forget as much as you can about worklife for a week. … I don’t think you can discount the long term effect of the Haussmann reconstruction of this city that made it into a fairly uniform, but beautiful composite that also reflects a golden light that is unique to Paris, at least among large cities. … We come from San Francisco so we know what natural beauty is, but we’re always dismayed by urban San Francisco: the omnipresent work-live lofts which now dominate every neighborhood with an architectural style that no one would ever want to represent their city.
What a find. Our friends Jean-Jacques and Jane, my husband and I had a dinner out at Chez Michel, in the 10th arrondisement. Cuisine is Breton, and the atmosphere breezy. According to our discriminating friend Jean-Jacques, Chez Michel is one of the top 10 traditional bistros in Paris, and indeed, I think it lives up… Continue reading Chez Michel
Our friend Pierre surprised us by inviting us for a Sunday brunch at Kong . … Food was nice enough but definitely an ‘inside’ experience, especially its kooky, disco-ball-and-kid-sumo-adorned bathrooms. Apparently, It was featured as a chic eatery in Sex and the City. 1 rue de Pont Neuf, Paris, 75001.
We always see our friend/proprietor Sophie Clavié and her gracious husband Philippe when we’re in Paris. Her neighborhood bistro is Closerie des Lilas, the world famous magnet for the avant-garde for generations. Their book shows all those who have passed through the place, from Bernard Kouchner, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Ingres, Henry James,… Continue reading Tarte du Soleil and other perfect plats
