Tomatoes are vegetables that make good neighbours. Bernadette, my lovely ‘voisine‘ (neighbour), is passionate about her home-grown pomme d’amour (that’s how she calls them – love apples). Whenever I drop by to say hello, she will meticulously tell me the difference between the yellow, red and green ones. Each type has a story to tell, […]
Out of all the days of the week, Sunday is the golden day. We take time off and enjoy a quality ‘déjeuner‘. Our kids love this family ritual, and I secure it by making sure to cook something memorable. I would like to imagine my children’s lives bookmarked by food memories, especially Sunday lunches. It’s […]
This nostalgic ‘plat de famille‘ (family dish) from Lyon is certainly one of the most luxurious macaroni and cheese around. The term ‘bon-vivant’ must have been linked with Lyonnais style cooking, for every dish from this region always has a certain finishing touch unlike no others. The gruyère cheese and Beaujolais wine make this macaroni […]
What’s a summer cook to do? With temperatures reaching more than thirty-eight degrees, I hardly want to switch anything on, especially the oven. We have been alternating between the pool, the Atlantic beaches (Médoc is a peninsula with eighty kilometers of beautiful beaches), trips to Cap-Ferret and some brave city slicking in Bordeaux where the […]
When you have friends over for dinner, what do you enjoy cooking for them? The words sharing, laughter, delicious, special, impressive and fun come to my mind. You want to enjoy the moment, accompanied by fine wines, good music and candlelight. The key to a successful dinner is cooking something that everybody will like, making […]
Every now and then it is a bare necessity to have a bowl of comforting steamed white rice with a tasty Chinese stir-fried dish. This kind of food reminds me of strolls down memory lane in Hong Kong, where I would be tempted by every single local street restaurant where you can just go in […]
Nervous and excited, that’s essentially how I felt about cooking lobster. We had a very Annie Hall moment in the kitchen, as much as I had no problems holding these glorious shellfish, there was no way I would plunge them in boiling water, so I asked my husband to do the job. To celebrate last […]
Sometimes there is a certain ‘je ne sais quoi‘ that triggers my appetite for a special dish, something sweet, savoury and out of the ordinary. Perhaps it’s the combination of the sun, bright coloured flowers and the smell of my tiaré sun oil – whatever it is, it sets the tone to my hunger game […]
When I visited Yves Bruneau butcher’s shop earlier this week, I bought Pierre Oteiza’s label of black pig. Pierre Oteiza is a champion charcutier from the ‘Vallée des Aldudes’ in France’s Pays Basque. He breeds exceptional meat, one of my favourite being the black pig. Roaming free in the green Basque pastures and forests, they […]
Just like a summer hat, a pretty floral dress or a smashing bikini, crab cakes are a major part of my summer panoply. They always make me feel like I am on a holiday, somewhere on a beach with a faraway lighthouse. It’s the kind of food I want on every restaurant menu, and I […]