Tête de mule

 

"Tête de mule" means obstinate and these artisan "tourtes de meule" at a bakery in the Pigalle district remain obstinately (and thankfully) in demand for many a breakfast table, and more.

 France: a culture of bread - BPJ

Six of one

A half dozen hard-boiled eggs huddle around a lone salt shaker on a café counter.

Baking bad

Paris' boulangeries work round the clock, in good times and bad, turning out an essential part of French life.

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

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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)

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 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

 

Almost normal

 

All over Paris there was a festive mood as terrace dining re-opened yesterday. It was a breath of fresh air. Like so many, we'd made reservations far in advance at one of our favorite local cafés, and as our party of four made its way to our table familiar faces sans masks lifted glasses in recognition, all of us delighted to see each other again - and in good health. With each departure, the terrace turned into a whirl of well-wishers stopping at tables to chat. And it felt almost normal. - BPJ

A French tea

 

Teatime in France, as in England, is around 4 p.m., and a perfect way to share a pre-curfew afternoon.

Salad season

As the weather gets warmer simple salades composées with (or without) accompaniments make satisfying meals.

 Above: refreshing salads w/a planche of Saint-Nectaire cheese, saucisson Iberico; baguette garlic croûtons on the side

French toasting

 With bars, cafés, and restaurants still closed the tendance for small gatherings to meet for apéros at private homes more than ever before continues.

Un bol de café

 

 

Traditional French breakfast coffee bols bide their time on shelves waiting for the day this café-boulangerie will re-open.

 

Coquelicot
24 rue des Abbesses 75018

Doggie style

 

 

A small dog sports the stripey shirt of Brittany with matching jeans.

 Below: a closer look

 

(click to enlarge)

 

Café Paris

The talk in Paris is that cafés will re-open in mid April.

 And maybe restaurants.

 Above: fresh croissants and hot coffee en terrasse

Café to go

 

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All over Paris coffee lovers who've been cut off from their local cafés can be spotted meandering semi-conscious in search of a decent cup. But it's not just coffee they're craving, otherwise they would stay home and brew their own. No, these are the displaced, whose cafés were abruptly shuttered, thus cruelly shutting down a lifestyle, a French lifestyle, of savoring time, with coffee as the backdrop.  

 

But thankfully, with each confinement many cafés, boulangeries, pâtisseries and small shops that weren't in the business of selling drinks-to-go have risen to the task. No one is complaining about the once annoying noisiness of espresso machines, now a welcome sound. Or pointing at tourists carrying drinks while walking around, until now a very un-French habitude.

 

Parisians are finding these stop-and-go places set up to sell coffee their sole reprieve. Sometimes there will be pastries, sandwiches and crêpes. And if they happen to live in a neighborhood where many know each other, such as Montmartre, these quick coffee stops will provide a welcome excuse to speed socialize and catch up on local gossip - which makes taking a walk something to look forward to. - BPJ

 

Above: a coffee roaster shop makes use of its burlap coffee bags to show they now have coffee to go

 

Below: freezing weather doesn't deter this man in flip flops, T-shirt, and shorts; a café-turned-hot-drinks-street-food vendor w/plenty of hand gel on hand on a side table

 

Note:

 The latest curfew begins each evening at 6 p.m. and ends at 6 a.m.

(exceptions: if you have a dog to walk, a signed attestation to justify why you are out. If nature calls toilettes will be off limits - however a need to step outside for a smoke isn't.

 

  

  

 

Cuisine cuisine

In French, cuisine is a type of cooking, as in English, but it also translates literally to, "kitchen."

Above: cuisine de grandmère; a Paris cuisine

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 Merci A&JM for an unforgettable evening

 

Apéro evenings

  Small private at-home gatherings have become the default setting for many a Paris apéritif.

 

Above: apéro set out on upstairs deck; on ground floor, living room of beautiful home opens onto a spacious garden

Outside in

Today Paris cafés and restaurants are (finally) able to welcome clients inside.

Above: tables and chairs were allotted more sidewalk space than usual

Chairs in...

And today, chairs (and tables) out. Terraces only. No interior dining until further notice.

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Phase 2 déconfinement: New rules

A summer soupe

My recent post on gazpacho andaluz inspired another cold soup, this one a personal rendition of the (some say American-invented) classic, Vichyssoise.

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Recipe in June newsletter

Gazpacho in heat

Above: a cobbled street in Cadaqués, Spain leads to a small market square on the bay; gazpacho andaluz w/traditional toppings

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Looking back:

As temperatures climb towards June our Paris kitchen has been the scene of an outpouring of gazpacho, that queen of the cold soups from Spain that magically appears each summer as a primer plato, entrada or even refreshing drink in almost every restaurant, tapas bar and café from the Costa Brava to the Costa del Sol. Sometimes served with ice cubes bobbing on its surface, this simple and refreshing sopa made its way to France and now, as in Spain, it's a seasonal menu staple.

During my time in Barcelona and Cadaqués everyone I knew - including me - kept a freshly made supply cooling in the fridge. So when an industrial facsimile began showing up on supermarket shelves it didn't make sense: with a hand blender, gazpacho took almost as much time to make as it did to open a box and pour, faster than you can say “¡Hace calor!”

But mind you not just any gazpacho would do. All over Spain, at least, it had to be gazpacho andaluz from the sunny south. Less tomato and more cucumber meant a much lighter color than expected. When visiting Italian family in Rome in summer, I'd whip up a pitcherful in the late afternoon at the urging of my Tante Maria, an excellent cook who preferred hers with extra garlic. When I added a dash of cayenne pepper by accident, a version she called “Gestapo," she declared, “This replaces all of the minerals you lose in your sweat!” (She'd also insist that spaghetti al dente with nothing in it but grated parmesan and burro was a "complete food" containing "everything anyone would ever want" for optimum health).

Some prefer their gazpacho sieved until creamy smooth; others, like me, prefer texture. Either way, accompaniments of fried croûtons and assorted chopped raw veggies such as tomato, cucumber, onion and avocado add yet more structure and flavor. - BPJ

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Recipe in June newsletter

Sparkling rosé

  Closed cafés + sparkling spring weather = apéritifs at home.

Above: it's rosé season and shelves are being restocked as quickly as they're emptied