Cooking food I love is my biggest passion. Our kitchen reminds me of a temple, plates covered with fruits and vegetables, brightening the room with all the bold colours. Inspiration comes from my past food memories. I’ll have a sudden idea, a craving for a taste. That’s when I get driven to create le plat du jour (dish of the day). You just can’t beat … Continue reading Yellow chicken, Yellow wine
We had such a fun-filled week entertaining guests (à bientôt Jodie, Sophie & co.!). We were at least twelve at the table for dinner, so I proposed crowd pleasing succulent dishes to satisfy everybody’s appetite. Parmesan soup (those croutons were a hit), duck confit parmentier (duck cottage pie), an enormous chocolate tart with mascarpone and vanilla bean whipped cream. My husband took over the kitchen … Continue reading A little Saturday lunch in Médoc
Dates, otherwise known as the fruits of paradise, certainly live up to their reputation. I’ve always had a passion for this sticky fruit, mostly because my mother loves them so much. We always had dates at home, as well as almonds. Eating them together is so pleasurable, especially with a hot drink to warm up the palate. I recently read about all the benefits of … Continue reading Date & almond cake
One would think that after all these recent festivities, I’d had my dose of chocolate. But no. I wanted more. My friend Sheyenne gave me a recipe during the Christmas holidays for passion fruit chocolate truffles. Just the name is inviting enough. When I saw all the passion fruits at the market, I knew I had the perfect recipe up my sleeve. I love the … Continue reading Passion fruit chocolate truffles
I wanted to cook a special Valentine’s day menu, filled with some of the favourite flavors I’ve shared with my husband a few romantic meals ago. I’ve always felt a link with Saint-Valentine, perhaps because my middle name is actually Valentine. My full name is Marie-France Valentine Thorisson, sounds very old-fashioned to say the least! That’s why everybody calls me Mimi. Yesterday morning, despite the … Continue reading Roses & Oysters
What a pleasant surprise I had when my heliciculturalist (snail farmers) friends Francis and Françoise dropped by to say Bonjour. After saying our belated ‘happy new year’, they gave me a pack of snails from their ‘petit gris’ farm as a gift. There was also a little bonus. A succulent recipe for a garlic and almond cream sauce to go with the snails. I couldn’t … Continue reading It might as well be spring
Some of my most delicious childhood food memories are linked with Shanghai. Growing up in Hong Kong, my family had a lot of Shanghainese friends with whom we would often feast on amazing meals from their region. I have such a soft spot for Shanghainese style cuisine. The food is all about slow cooking, seasonal and fresh ingredients braised in rice wine, vinegar, soy sauces … Continue reading Hong shao pork, fava bean fritters & tea eggs
Blanquette de veau (veal stew) is what I call the mother of all French dishes. It’s the ultimate French home cooked meal, so traditional, bourgeois yet simple. Ever so often, when I go to the butcher, I have a natural inclination to say, ‘Michel, prepare me some veal for a little blanquette de veau please’. I like to have the necessary ingredients available at all … Continue reading Blanquette de veau
Médoc is looking more and more like Venice these days. The rain hasn’t stopped for days, we now have a pond in our garden, which is quite fun for the kids and the dogs I suppose. I wouldn’t mind a bit of snow, a peaceful change of creamy colors and scenery, but that won’t really happen here. Driving through the beautiful châteaux of Pauillac and … Continue reading La tarte au chocolat
Looking out the window today, all I could see was rain, rain and more rain. It’s one of those January days where you want to be creative. Dazed by the weather, I was suddenly transported to Italy, reminiscing on past holidays. Rome is one of my favourite romantic cities and I was taken back to the time my husband and I had a beautiful honeymoon … Continue reading Winter vegetable tartlets
