Sipping Sunday

A pre-lunch apéritif.

***

Happy Sunday

Wine Wednesday

 

 

Evening apéro outside a small Italian traiteur in Montmartre.

Above: La Vie en Rosé

 

Sit-down Saturday

 

Wine barrel tables at a favorite Left Bank French tapas wine bar.

Below: a summer apéro finished off w/riz au lait (creamy rice pudding) made w/vanilla bean and topped w/dried raspberry petals, dessert du jour

 

 

  L'Avant Comptoir du Marché

 

***

 

Merci Yves Camdeborde

Green Fairy Friday

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

 

Above: at the counter of historic Montmartre café/bar Au Rêve

 

*** 

 

Dubbed "The Green Fairy" due to its supposed hallucinogenic effects and re-legalized in 2011, absinthe is often associated with artists,writers and as a preferred apéritif of Vincent Van Gogh.

Wine Wednesday

 Midweek apéro of charcuteries and cheeses from Spain and France separated by a vibrant red from Portugal.

 

Wine Wednesday

 

A market stall stocked with Medovina, a sweet mead, Czech in origin, made from honey and apple cider.

 

Welcome back Wednesday

 

 

Good weather prompts an impromptu apéro in Montmartre among friends.

 

A Paris planche

 

 

Once a rarity, the planche mixte, perfect for a sharing apéro or even a light meal, seems to be everywhere - and some of the best are at local cafés and wine bars.

June newsletter

A spot of cheese

And the spot? The laid-back terrace at L'Avant Comptoir du Marché.

***

Sadly, many small wonderful places we'd frequent did not survive the lockdowns.

 We are very happy that this one did.

 

Repost 

***

Merci Yves Camdeborde

Flashback Friday

 

Going green:

Green tea with a splash of eau de vie surrounded by vibrant green fields, in the Aubrac.

Go figure

  

Seasonal figs at a Paris street market.

Below: cut in half and grilled w/goat cheese, cashews, drizzled w/honey

 

 

Aperitivo

 Time for an aperitivo on the Left Bank.

Work break

 

 

A sidewalk terrace, a simple planche, a bottle of (Bandol) rosé on ice.

Gin juleps

The French-inspired mint julep of The Old South - originally sipped from silver goblets - just in time for this week's coming heatwave.

 Above: gin replaces traditional rum or cognac

 ***

Gin

Perrier or soda water

 Freshly-squeezed lime juice

Mint

Ice

L'apéro du jeudi

Radishes are back in season.

 Above: w/bacon-wrapped prunes, piment d'espelette chips, AOC French cheeses

Drinks: kirs bretons (crème de cassis + chilled apple cider)

 ***

 Today is National Cheese Day (March 27 in France) 

The cheese snuggled into its tiny box (below) is Le Petit Gaugry, a delectable raw milk discovery I made years ago staying in a village in Burgundy. Despite its size, it packs a punch, possessing all the character of the region's heady Époisses, but ripened for weeks in Marc de Bourgogne, an eau de vie distilled in oak vats, giving it an amber hue. - BPJ

 

Paris meets London

Evening apéro of saucisson sec à l'ancienne and herbed baguette croûtons paired with a crumbly Shropshire Blue and splash of port.

Cheers!

Garlic Provence

Please, treat your garlic with respect! - Anthony Bourdain, U.S. celebrity chef, author, travel writer

Above: ail rose (pink garlic) from Lautrec

***

If I had to pick one ingredient that embodies Provençal cuisine, I'd have to say, garlic. In France, the purple variety called ail rose or pink garlic from Lautrec (a village just an hour's drive from Toulouse) beckons from many a market stall. Provençal cuisine, with its liberal use of garlic, wild thyme and other herbs, lemons, peppers, anchovies, tomatoes, capers, olives and olive oil often gets compared to cuisines of southern Italy and parts of Spain, nearby regions that share an identical terroir.

 

We have French family in that region and one dish, a hearty sort of fish stew that emerges only on special occasions, would be incomplete without its aïoli on the side. My favorite, from Spain, is made by pounding garlic cloves into a smooth paste with coarse salt and a small amount of fresh lemon juice (is there any other kind?) in a stone mortar, then incorporating green olive oil little by little until everything magically emulsifies. No egg. French aïoli, which is what I usually make using an immersion blender, is quicker and more like a mayonnaise. My mother-in-law's version incorporates mustard instead of lemon juice, salt, and an egg yolk, then all is vigorously mixed with a fork as quality olive oil is drizzled in bit by bit, and when it reaches the right thickness, crushed garlic is added, but only at the end. - BPJ

Below: garlic, almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts ready to be taken home and pounded into a pistou

  

Tomorrow:

More Provence

Season of the spritz

Originating in Italy the Aperol Spritz continues to reign as Paris' #1 summer terrace drink.